texts:
Which is the correct way to mention the idea of feeling cold in a part of the body:

  My head felt cold.

or

  I felt cold in my head.

or

  I sensed cold in my head.

I was just describing the journey to a desert in a winter night. So I had to choose any one of the above two sentences. The complete description that I used is as follows:

  Suddenly the temperature started declining. I felt cold in my uncovered head.

So, I know what the word means. I just need to know how to use it so it sounds natural.


texts:
I'm making a birthday card for my British dad who's living in Germany and is going to get hit hard by brexit.

  Expats also are migrants

Or

  Expats are also migrants

I tried to research it but the answer I found is that depending on context both versions could be correct. Now I'm not sure which one to use. In my opinion the first one looks better but I'd like to know for sure.


texts: How to differentiate woods by tree density?

texts: I'm making a game with different types of terrain. Some areas will contain woods and some of these woods will be easier or harder to traverse due to the number/density of trees. What would you call these? I'm thinking sparse and thick woods respectively but I'm sure there are better ways to name these areas.


texts: Which one is correct? "I am glad to be taught by you" or "I am glad to have been taught by you"?

texts: I want to tell my teacher that I am glad to have her as my teacher. Can I say "I am glad to be taught by you" or "I am glad to have been taught by you"?


texts: Why do we say "study window" not "study's window"?

texts: Do you know why we say study window not study's window although we mean the window which belongs to study(room)?


texts:
Can we use third statement or not?

  I study at school "correct"

  I am studying at school "correct"

  I am study at school.


texts:
The dictionary enlists it as "fund," but the word "funds" is used quite often and it means money (Ok, it can have other meanings as well. I get that)

Do I say, then,

  how much funds did the organization raise? (because I am talking about
  an amount)

or

  how many funds did the organization raise?

I don't care if you're a native speaker, but please answer this if you're sure about the correct usage. Many thanks.


texts:
I don't quite understand the sentence in bold. Can someone explain it to me, pls? Does it mean "But he often keeps some on hand to sell to those who want to drive out in their new Rolls-Royce or Lamborghini while waiting for the car they ordered?"
Customers often order these cars to their exact specifications and wait months for them to be built, Miller said. But he often keeps some on hand to sell to those who want to drive out in their new Rolls-Royce or Lamborghini that day. That's just not possible right now, he said. He can't keep the cars on the lot.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/01/success/luxury-car-sales-pandemic-2020/index.html


texts: NB latin abbreviation not known to most English native speaker ? what others?

texts:
NB latin abbreviation is used everywhere in French, and present in English dictionaries and wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nota_bene , but quite often English speaking people ask me what it means. So, is it unusual or deprecated in either English or American English ?

BTW, does someone know a list of latin abbreviations

that are "standard" and commonly used in English too (like I.e. , P.S. or C.V.),
vs, commonly unknown to English speakers (or American English),
vs, used but not-so-standard, i.e., mainly used by ( American) English speakers only, like E.g. ?

Or might it be that the dots are really important, and people would understand N.b. but not NB ?


texts: What is the most idiomatic choice in this case

texts:
I am studying to become a pharmacist and I found a summer job in a pharmacy, I have just signed my contract

Shall I say

I am working for  the next two months. I begin 1st july and finish 1st september

I am going to  work the next two months .I am beginning 1st july and finishing  1st september

I think both are ok but the first seems to me a bit better


texts: What is the meaning of "take your mind off"

texts:
What is the meaning of

  take your mind off


texts: Medick or burclover is a "multiple harvest" (?) plant: word for a hay plant with several yields per season

texts:
What is the most proper adjective or adjectival construction to describe a plant like medick (burclover) that can be harvested for hay several times per season?

  Medick is noted for being a perennial, ____ plant with a high yield.

Would "multiple-harvest" fit, or is it better to remodel the sentence? How about "multi-cut"?

A woman was translating the sentence from Russian, and asked for the proper term on a translators' forum. The original Russian adjective (многоукосный) was unknown even to me, it is so rare, but I wondered whether there is an alternative in English.

This original word is basically "multi-cut" (mnogo = many, kosit' = to cut (grass)).


texts: What's the word for a new symbol, or usage of a new symbol?

texts: Neologism is defined as: a new word, expression, or usage. In mathematics, there are new symbols created every year, and new usages for those symbols. Is there a word for a new symbol or usage, like neologism exists for word? If there isn't any word for it, how would you refer to the idea?


texts: Position of adverbs in a sentence with modals + present perfect

texts:
This is how I would position the adverbs in the following sentences:

  Jan can't ever have seen a mobile phone before.
  Arnie must have undoubtedly been treated badly.

If my word order is correct, can someone please provide a rule for both cases? I haven't been able to find one that would deal with cases where there is a modal and present perfect in one sentence.

Thank you very much for shedding light on this.
Mel.


texts: How tell current situation? Verb Past Tense or Present Perfect Tense?

texts:
Friend: Please give me access of your computer.

I did some changes in the system.

What should be my reply to him?

a) I gave you the access, please check?

b) I have given you the access, Please check?


texts: What preposition should I use when referring to the lamp in / on the ceiling?


texts: Subject-verb agreement with "what-clauses"

texts:
Usually the 'What-clause' is considered to be a singular subject. I am under the impression that it takes a singular verb even if the predicate is plural, but I may be wrong. Examples:

  What we need is not protests.  What we really need is new generations
  able to voice their opinions. What we need is Chinese men and women
  eloquent in foreign languages.

Please correct or confirm.


texts:
I'm reading The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and there's the following phrase: "They were a powerful people, and rich, and great builders."
However, I've googled a rule: Plural nouns can be used with the definite article or no article at all; to use an indefinite article would be incorrect.
Does it mean that "people" here is a singular noun? Is this because the phrase refers to people as a tribe/community?


texts: Should there be a comma in "In this talk, I will …"?

texts:
Should there be a comma when I write:

"In this talk, I will briefly explain how to safely build a computer from scratch."


texts:
Her only hope for the future is her children.
Her only hope for the future are her children.

Do we have to use 'is' or 'are'? Why is that?

Our principal crop is potatoes.
Our principal crop is the potato.

Can we use both of them? How about 'are' instead of 'is' in #3?


texts:
If you have "a house on the coast" it means your house is within a few kilometres of the sea" means.

I am wondering how this preposition of has been used. Or what could it mean?

What is more, I think it'll be useful to show me another sentence using such a function.

Any help would be greatly appreciated


texts:
It is rather a nuisance.

  It is a rather nuisance.

Which sentence is correct, and what is the meaning of rather here?


texts: "I didn't know Ed was Welsh" or "I didn't know Ed is Welsh"?

texts:
I came across these two sentences and asked myself whether I could always use both versions:

  I didn't know Ed was Welsh.
  Did you know that Cliff's wife is Canadian?

Both relates to someone's nationality. I assume both people still live. So could I say I didn't know Ed is Welsh? Or as I know now - do I have to use the simple past (was) here?


texts:
You know there are some breaks when students don't go to school for a while like Thanksgiving break, summer break, spring break, winter break, etc.

My questions are

what preposition is used before these breaks. What is the right collocation?

We had fun at/on/in summer break.

Do all breaks take the same preposition? I'm not sure if e.g.  Thanksgiving break needs specifically 'on' or not.

Thanks


texts: 'I am looking for a baby' vs 'I am trying for a baby'

texts:
I am non native English speaker and was being convinced by someone today that "I am looking for a baby" means the same as "I am trying for a baby"

Is that correct English?


texts: Difference and usage between "I dare say" and "dare I say it"

texts:
I dare say is defined on Dictionary.com as:

  to venture to say (something); assume (something) as probable.

I've also heard of the expression dare I say it as well; however, I was unable to find a definition of it. Do they mean the same thing?

Although I understand the definition of I dare say provided, I'm not quite sure how, and in what context do you use it, and what does it convey.


texts:
What are the differences between misuse and abuse?
This is what is listed for misuse in the dictionary:

Verb: Use (something) in the wrong way or for the wrong purpose.
Noun: The wrong or improper use of something: "their misuse can have dire consequences".

And abuse:

Verb: Use (something) to bad effect or for a bad purpose; misuse.
Noun: The improper use of something.

Is there any general difference or does it depend on the context?
I always have trouble to recognize which one to use.
I am also interested in how the word is used in the other context like law and crime.


texts:
I found this sentence:

  Ancient Greece was a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity (ca. AD 600).

on this wikipedia page.

Is this sentence correct?

I wonder what of the 8th refers to. Did the ancient Greece last from 8th BC to 600 AD? Or did it last from 6th BC to 600 AD? Did the author mean that the Archaic period lasted from 8th to 6th BC?


texts:
I spent what little time I had with my family.

What is the 'what' role?


texts:
The investigation revealed that Cherish had cancer. Doctors told Lewis that germ cell cancer is growing in Cherish's ovary. But it was surprising that germ cell cancer in girls' ovaries is not the same at this age. Doctors started treatment for a delay without delay. Cherish's chemotherapy also began with treatment. Because of which all his hair blown away Let the doctors now have removed the tumor from the stomach's stomach. Because of which the size of his stomach is gradually becoming normal.

What does that bold sentence mean?

"for a delay without delay"

Does that mean "delaying the death by starting the treatment without delay"?


texts:
Here's from an old song (1963) "She's A Fool" by Lesley Gore.

  She don't know that she's a lucky girl

Here's another example, "Silence is Golden" (1964) by The Tremeloes
[YouTube link]

  Oh, don't it hurt deep inside to see someone do something to her.

I wonder how common it is to say "She don't" or "don't it".
Do native English speakers often use these?

By the way, Lesley Gore is American, and the Tremeloes is British.


texts: What is the difference between the following sentences in this context?

texts:
If I want to ask my friend if a school work that we are doing belongs to a specific school subject which of the following sentences should I use:

  1 does that work have to do with that subject?

  2 is that work related with that subject?


texts: Shall I use gerund or infinitives with the verb "to apologize"?

texts:
Which of the two sentences is correct?

  I sent an email to apologize

or

  I sent an email for apologizing


texts: What do you say when you're referring to a chess game?

texts:
Playing as blacks
Playing black
Playing with blacks

On the internet, I've found these 3 versions and people are using all of them. However, I don't know which one is a correct version.


texts: " ... need [something] 'verb-ing' ... " vs. " ... need [something] 'infinitive' ... "

texts:
Like most backup programs, you need another drive to store the File History archive. You can use an external USB drive or a network location, and Microsoft has instructions for setting up either method on its site.

English Grammar Today by Cambridge says: "We use for + the -ing form of a verb to talk about the function of something or how something is used".

According to this grammar book, the above piece, quoted from The New York Times, would be wrong where the journalist write the bolded sentence because s/he is just talking about the drive function.

So, always in reference the mentioned rule, the journalist should write: "you need another drive for storing the File History archive".

Since I have found other occurrences of " ... need [something] 'infinitive'  ... " on the Internet ("You need a licence to store petroleum spirit.", "Children need their own space to develop free from the prying eyes of parents" and many others), the question is: Is the above rule an actual rule? Or, does the verb "to need" has something special that makes it generating exception?


texts:
I am trying to say: something getting copied and it is in progress now. So which one to use?

  It is being copied

or

  It is getting copied

Which one to use professionally?


texts: someone who fails to pay when it's due and the opposite of it

texts:
You know there are some people who buy something on credit but fail to pay it back or borrow some money from friends but don't give it back on time. In my native language, We have two words to describe such people and those who are opposite of them who pay their debts on time so they can be trusted when it comes to lending them some money.

I've been looking for English words, expressions, and idioms to describe such people and I found these.

  Habitual defaulter

  People who pay on the nail.

I need to confirm/reject these, and also to ask you for appropriate and common equivalents. If there are informal words for these please mention them.

Thanks


texts: How to distinguish a preposition and an infinitive marker?

texts:
My question hails from this answer.

Let's take one of the examples mentioned there.

  Seven steps to reaching your goals

Non-native speakers like me can identify if the sentence is already written. Say the one I just quoted. I see that 'to' is followed by 'verb-ing' and therefore, it's a preposition and not an infinitive marker.

But, I'm pretty sure that if I were to write this sentence, I'd have gone for...

  Seven steps to reach your goals

Now, the question is, how to identify whether we use 'to' as an infinite marker OR a preposition? I repeat, I'm asking about writing on my own, and not something that is already written.

The similar question has been asked previously and the answer says that 'there's no such rule'. But then, Damkerng has come up with a very useful comment. I'm looking forward to having such kind of answer to this. If there's no one rule, at least something that helps us decide it?


texts: "as if they mean exactly the same thing" vs "as if they meant exactly the same thing"

texts:
From Chemguide:

  Lattice enthalpy and lattice energy are commonly used as if they mean exactly the same thing - you will often find both terms used within the same textbook article or web site, including on university sites.

Shouldn't it be "as if they meant exactly the same thing", to indicate that in reality they are not the same thing?


texts: Is a narrator's pronunciation a dialect? "How far" is the U.S pronunciation "stretching" so now?

texts:
When I was watching this video,

I was shocked the female narrator is pronouncing the one of the most distinguished honor ( therefore, I think one needs to pronounce correctly ), Pulitzer, ( as should be pronounced ˈpʊlɪtsər' ( like a er of the word "letter" )), apparently, from 0:15: as "Pullitzer" or "Poulitzer".

And as I commented at comment line, it seems to me, she seems to be pronouncing "news" as "Neows" ( like cats crying ) from 1:59:

Furthermore, she seems to be pronouncing "bodyguards" as "baudyguards" from 2:22:

To a non native speaker which tries to listen to enhance the listening ability, this came to me with a bit of a sort of a "disappointment".

Can anybody help me with these some kind of "unpleasant" situations?

By just of a pure curiosity. But any answer / comment be welcome.

Thanks.


texts: What does "at least initially" mean? I've heard this but don't understand this phrase.


texts:
Source

  Pick-up's are welcome from the north side of our red nets.

This sentence is an advertisement of a cherry farm. What does the term "pick-up" mean? Is it referring to a truck or the person or the activities to pick up the cherry?


texts:
Imagine that there are three of us out here and there is an accident.
I want to take care of the people who got injured, so I talk to one of my friends and say

    "You and I stay here. He goes to ask for help and will be back right quick"

My question is whether I can just use simple present tense for different personal pronouns when I give orders or divide jobs to people or in any similar situations that would make me divide jobs.(I think you have got the idea.)

In order to make my point more clear, here is another example:

let's assume that there are three of us at home. I am talking to one person and make a joke to the other, whose name is Richard, and say

    "I stay home, you stay home also, and Richard goes to buy dinner for us"


texts:
What does "steeped with" mean? I used this link: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/steep_2

  From the start, workers receive indoctrination into the BMW Way. They are steeped with a sense of place, history, and mission. Individuals from all strata of the corporation work elbow-to-elbow, creating informal networks where they can hatch even the most unorthodox ideas for making better Bimmers or boosting profits. The average BMW buyer may not know it, but he is driving a machine born of thousands of important brainstorming sessions. BMW, in fact, may be the chattiest company ever”(Edmondson, 2006, p. 2. Copyright2006. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.).

Source: https://books.google.com.vn/books?id=iRArDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA259&lpg=PA259


texts:
1.I was shown by Kate all the things she bought.

  2.I was shown all the things she bought by Kate.

Which position is suitable for "by agent" in this passive voice?


texts: Is the use of "a" in the following context correct?

texts:
A question for Mormons. Would you support a polygamous relationship over a monogamous one?

  Question for Mormons. Would you support a polygamous relationship over a monogamous one?

Both of the sentences are very commonly used. Is there any difference between the two? Can they be used interchangeably?


texts:
You say "do jumping jacks", but why can't you say "do some wrestling"?

Is it because of ing form or something else?

For that matter do you say "do some dancing"?


texts: How to say that a point should be skipped so that we can move on to a better (or deeper) question?

texts:
My question is in the context of essay writing. My essay will discuss the viewpoints presented by this video from BBC. In the video, the question "How should we include transgender athletics in sport?" is discussed.

Let me give a brief summary about the video first.

Over all, the video presents the case for and against the rules that allow trans women to compete in female sport subject to the condition that the trans women keep their level of testosterone low for a certain period of time. In the first half of the video, people express a view that this kind of hormone therapy doesn't do enough to eliminate an advantage trans women have because even after the therapy they still have a male body. On average, trans women will be taller, bigger and stronger than their female counterparts.

The part of the video that is particularly relevant to my question is when a medical expert, whose her research plays a role in determining the rules, introduce a new question "Can transgender women and cisgender compete against one another in meaningful competition?" [4:55 in the video]

I want to write a part of essay that conveys a meaning similar to this: "Please don't keep arguing endlessly that trans women have got physical advantages over women in sport... In stead, what we should care is whether or not it is still possible for them to compete in a meaningful way." (By meaningful, I mean that the gap in physical strength between trans women and women is reduced to the point that trans women do not always win.)


texts: Preposition for conversion to another unit

texts:
Which preposition should be used when I want to say a value in a different measure unit? For example, what is a correct preposition in the following sentence?

  Twelve miles? I have no idea how far that is. What is it __ kilometres?


texts: "becoming a doctor is not that important to me" vs. "for me"

texts:
A post gives good examples to distinguish "important to" and "important for"

"It is important for you to get well" ~ your life will be improved by returning to health
"It is important to your family that you get well" ~ they put a high value on you being healthy.

Apply those "rules" to the following example (adapted from another related post)

Schoolwork is very important for Bob to become a doctor.

Which means Bob's life will be improved by becoming a doctor. Who could be the speaker? The common possibilities would be Bob's parents, Bob's friends, Bob himself.
What if Bob himself doesn't want to be a doctor? So, the situation becomes

Bob's mother says: "Schoolwork is very important for Bob to become a doctor."

Bob says to his best friend: "To be honest, becoming a doctor is not that important to me."

It is my understanding correct?


texts:
Which is correct:

  1) Because of what did you do it ?

  2) What did you do it because of?

And the second one:

  1) Without what did you do it?

  2) What did you do it without?

As I got it, we can use preposition both at the end and at the beginning while the beginning usage is more formal and the ending one is more slang-like.
But do we have the same two options if the preposition(if those two expressions are prepositions but not some other sentence parts) is longer than the usual "in", "about", "with" and so on.


texts:
In The Kissing Booth 2 (2020), Marco just performed a street song, asks Elle and Lee:

Marco: What'd you think, Elle?
Elle: Oh, you know, my opinion doesn't really matter. I'm sure you're
impressed with yourself enough for the both of us.

Is the word "which" omitted before "enough"?


texts: Use of subject again after "and" is more natural or not?

texts:
Example:
"I like reading books and love to swim"
or
"I like reading books and I love to swim"


texts:
Situation: you just watched a video of a baby crying incessantly, which you thought that you might be like the baby when you were at that age (now you are an adult). You express this as:

  "It's possible that I used to be like that."

Is the phrase correct in relation to what I'm really trying to say?


texts: 'singular' vs 'plural' subjects with "no"

texts:
Should I use plural or singular nouns with no in the following context? What's the difference between the following sentences? Are both of the following sentences grammatical?

1- No engineer can do what he can do.

2- No engineers can do what he can do.

Note that the person referred to here as he is not an engineer. And I want to say that He can do something that engineers can't do.


texts: What's the polite way to say "I need to urinate"?

texts:
What's the polite way in the UK to say "I need to urinate" (both for men and for women)? Or maybe there's no problem with that sentence?

N.b. I'm asking about situations in which I know where it's located but I need to inform the one/s that I'm with, about my leaving at this certain moment.


texts: Can I use "No, at all" instead of not at all"?

texts:
When we were asked, "Would you mind...?" we answered, "No, not at all."

But can I use "no at all" instead of "not at all?"


texts:
How does the phrase "sheet music" constructed?
When I encounter this phrase, I am completely lost as to what it meant. My analysis is that noun sometimes can function as a modifier to the other noun, so I immediately view "sheet" as a modifier to music; yet this doesn't make sense semantically.
Now I know it means printed music, as opposed to performed or recorded music. But I think should't it be better to constructed as "music sheet"? So that music modifies sheet?


texts:
What is the term used for a baby born with biological conditions that do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies? What is used in the UK and USA?

Is the term 'intersex' acceptable?

Can we say, 'The baby was born intersex'?
Or the term 'third gender' is acceptable?
My question is about the one who is naturally born in such state as mentioned here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex#The_term_%22intersex%2


texts: Difference between "pardoned" and "forgiven"

texts:
What is the difference between words "pardoned" and "forgiven"?

For instance:

  After ten years in prison, Stephen was {pardoned/forgiven} and set free.

I found the definitions of both:

Pardoned - forgive or excuse (a person, error, or offense).
Forgiven - stop feeling angry or resentful toward (someone) for an offense, flaw, or mistake.

And to conclude from definitions I would say that "forgiven" encompasses "pardoned", but I am not sure about that. So how can one decide where to use pardoned or forgiven?


texts: Can "being attend to" be expressed as "in attendance"?

texts:
EDIT: I structured my question around the misconceived assumption that "requests" could be "attended to", whereas what I meant translates to requests being processed.

In Portuguese, when someone or something is "being attended to" we say it is "em atendimento", which for English learners seems to be literally translated as "in attendance" (even Google Translate does the same). After some research, I now believe that's a false cognate and saying, for example, a request is "in attendance" isn't correct. Am I mistaken? Also, is there an adjective-like expression for "being attended to"? Something as close as possible to labels like "open requests", "cancelled requests", and not as big as "requests being attended to".


texts:
I have come throw this word many many times but I couldn't get the meaning of it from the context.

It have appeared to me know in an online course on FOL (First Order logic ) when the instructor say:

  In the course, there are a few domains
  that we will refer to repeatedly,
  and some others that we'll just introduce on an ad hoc basis.

What does "ad hoc" mean in this context? Can you provide similar sentences to clarify the meaning more? Can it mean anything different in a different context? any examples?


texts: I don't get the meaning of the last lines in bold clearly

texts:
With the line still doubled around the rope, one of the tellers stuck a “POSITION CLOSED” sign in
  her window and walked to the back of the bank, where she leaned against a desk and began to pass
  the time with a man shuffling papers. The women in front of Anders broke off their conversation
  and watched the teller with hatred. “Oh, that’s nice,” one of them said. She turned to Anders and
  add, confident of his accord, “One of those little human touches that keep us coming back for
  more.”

  Anders had conceived his own towering hatred of the teller, but he immediately turned it on the
  presumptuous crybaby in front of him. “Damned unfair,” he said. “Tragic, really. If they’re not
  chopping off the wrong leg, or bombing your ancestral village, they’re closing their position."

Dose it mean: He imagine the two women's behaviour like a crybaby and said it is very unpleasant if the tellers don't behave corectly or shut your mouth up. and if they close their position.

there is some expressions I could not find by searching and I guess what I understant I would be thankful if you help me.

This text is from Bullet in the Brain.


texts: from chilliest era of the Cold War -- where did the article go?

texts:
Source: A new Cold War with Russia?

  Last week the U.S. House voted overwhelmingly in favor of an anti-Russia resolution so full of war propaganda that it rivals the rhetoric from chilliest era of the Cold War. Ironically, much of the bill condemns Russia for doing exactly what the U.S. government has been doing for years in Syria and Ukraine!

I showed this to an English native speaker and he told me that probably it would sound better if there was "the" but it still might work even if there's none. My questions is this: why is there no article on front of chilliest?


texts:
I don't know if a native speaker would say that but I will try to understand better the usage of this word.

Would you say

  I merely like something.

For example :

  I merely like pizza.

If it sounds natural  does this sentence connote either "you like pizza more than average" or "you like pizza less than average"


texts:
.    .
Hello, friends. Could anyone please listen to the movie clip
(from 2m51s to 3m30s)
and check my following transcription? for mistakes?

??? Go on! Don't get back here. No more.
Why don't you close the entrance? Close the entrance.
Filipino soldiers, Serge. They tried to get in.
Chop(???) off those yellow monkeys. We can't afford to be suffocated here.
Shoot them. Kill them. Shoot anything. Don't let them in. Monkeys!
Yes, sir! All right, men. Get the machine gun ready. When I give the word,
let them have it. (...) Let them have it.


texts: How does article deletion work in phrases like "both a hot weather and cold"? Is that allowed?

texts:
Consider the self-made sentence below

  They assessed the durability for the both a hot weather and cold.

Is both a hot weather and cold correct?

I don't know if I can omit the indefinite article  as above.

I didn't notice that I was using an unidiomatic collocation for "a + adjective + uncountable noun" pattern, but as @Jason noticed it my point was something else. Thanks for correcting that issue anyways.


texts:
Recently, I have started studying English with reading The New York Times.

In a sentence

  At five stories high with a crew of 20, the cigar-shaped behemoth was grinding away underground on a two mile long, $3.1 billion highway tunnel under the city’s waterfront on Dec. 6 when it encountered something in its path that managers still simply refer to as “the object.” nytimes.com

"on a two mile long" seems strange to me.

Is it OK to use "on" instead of using "which" or something?
And why the writer specially use "on" rather than other preposition like "in" or "at"?


texts: Meaning - 'out of all proportion to the ambiguity'

texts:
The bolded in the last para about the fewer v less dispute confuses me:

  The Cambridge Guide to English Usage notes that the "pressure to substitute fewer for less seems to have developed out of all proportion to the ambiguity it may provide in noun phrases like[:] less promising results". It describes conformance with this pressure as a shibboleth and the choice "between the more formal fewer and the more spontaneous less" as a stylistic choice.[7]

What's the meaning of out of all proportion [ie: wholly disproportionate] to the ambiguity? What ambiguity is there? Why substitute one for the other if it still provide[s] ambiguity?


texts: Can the meaning of "cost" correctly be used to refer to "time" here?

texts:
In the following construction, can I use costed to mean consumed?

  Working through these steps cost much time, but it was worthwhile to get a good outcome.


texts:
I just heard it on radio, but I am pretty sure that "on the average" is incorrect.

  On the average, the prices for cars will increase by 2 494$ if the tariffs
  against auto imports is implemented.


texts: A recent report vs the recent report by HelloWorld Company, is there a rule to determine to use A or The?

texts:
Previously I asked the question about how to join two sentences together.
Is there word which is better than the word Among for joining two sentences

In the question, I said:

  Some research suggested that we should sleep seven hours per night.

Now I want to rewrite the above sentence this way:

  [A / The] recent report by Helpguide suggested that we should sleep seven
  hours per night.

But I am not sure if I should use A or The for the new sentence.


texts:
Consider a sentence like

  We consider a cluster only if the size of the cluster is at least 1/k of the size of its parent.

How can we reword the sentence with a fraction + noun. Maybe something like this:

  We consider a cluster only if it has at least 1/k vertices of its parent.


texts: Question about the meaning of the word "treat" and "moderate" in this text

texts:
Fentanyl treats moderate to severe chronic pain. This medicine is a narcotic pain reliever.

Does the word "treat" here mean "act"?
Does the word "moderate" mean "so so" ?


texts: Are these sentences all mean the same thing? (past tense)

texts:
I have tried restarting my computer but it was no use.
I have tried to restart my computer but it was no use.
I have restarted my computer but it was no use.

context: I had a computer issue so I called someone for help. He asked me to restart my computer.
Are these sentences all mean the same thing? Are there any differences?


texts:
Trainer got stuck in traffic so we will be starting at 11 AM.
  Trainer got stuck in traffic so we will start at 11 am.

Is there any difference between future tense and future continuous tense.

Why do people say "we will be starting"?


texts:
Imagine a husband and wife are watching TV. Suddenly the TV shows an advertisement which is going to introduce a sport device which can help you reduce your weight.

  Wife says: Oh, how is it possible. Sounds great. Let's text them to send us one of that devices.

  Husband (who disagrees) says: These are all............advertisements, don’t believe all the hype.

Which one of the following choices can be used in the self-made sentence above in a manner that it could sound natural?

  a) exaggerated

  b) melodramatic

For me, both are the same here.


texts: "That" usage: when should I point something using "that"?

texts:
When should I use "that" explicitly and when I can imply it? For example, I'm describing some circumstances and I need to point something in this description:

  This means that a street name was written with several mistakes.

or

  This means a street name was written with several mistakes.


texts:
"This ensures she doesn't get paid from any other source besides me."

"This ensures she doesn't get paid from any other source besides I."

Which one is correct? Why? Is there a heuristic you can recommend that I could use in future?


texts: Quotation marks are necessary in this context?

texts:
Moreover, they are causing the disappearing of several Punos, which are endemic wetlands of my region vital to the wildlife. Karachi is where my family and I plan to keep living , but due to the current situation , we feel our future is at risk.

Quotation marks are necessary in Punos? Since it is the specific name of this kind of wetland, I am not sure whether I could use the word Punos wihtout them?

Is it possible to avoid using the highlighted commas? The commas are those before and after: but due to the current situation


texts: Is the phrase "in the weekend" really wrong? Or might there be some exceptions?

texts:
I have learned that "in the weekend" is a kind of weird expression, and that we should use "on the weekend" or "at the weekend" instead.
I, however, noticed that the phrase can be seen sometimes even on prestigious newspapers and magazines as in the below examples, and I just would like to confirm with you whether they are all errors or not. I'm curious if there's any exceptions.

The Guardian "I don't know if I'll be here next season". His
comments came before his opposite manager on Saturday, Chris Hughton,
was sacked later in the weekend.

Financial Times Although senior executives might not have been
rushing to the office in the weekend, most banks’ analysts
were.......

The New York Times In Asia, where trading ended before Monday’s
de-escalation, markets suffered steep losses, reflecting the trade
turbulence earlier in the weekend.

Time Magazine The fifth winter storm of the season is forecast
to move from the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys on Friday before pushing
to the northeast and into New England later in the weekend.

POST EDIT (I added some more examples)

BBC The election committee gave no date for a declaring the
result, but the speculation is that it might be announced in the
weekend.

Nature the total distance of taxis has a low peak in the
afternoon of the working days, but not in the weekend; the
total distance of buses has two peaks in the morning of workdays but
only one peak in the weekend.

Forbes
In the weekend of their first launch, Hoyt and Yanda made $120,000 in course sales.

Sydney Morning Herald And so it was in the weekend,
when a reporter was rude enough to ask US Environmental Protection
Agency chief Scott Pruitt about the impact of climate change on
monster hurricanes that have been smashing southern states, he
responded:


texts: A synonym for "to make someone mess something up"

texts:
If someone is making something and you start talking to him and because of this, he loses his focus and becomes unsuccessful in making that, how do you state that in spoken American English? Is this right?:

  I made him mess making that up!

I know that "I messed him up" has a different meaning.

Is there any better way to state that?


texts:
The Swallow's persistent evocation of Egypt and its exotic and imaginative landscape is also central to his link with Catholicism. His psychic connection to the warm climes of the Middle East seem to aid his sojourn in the English winter: his imagination allows him to visit there and gain some of its benefits without ever physically making the journey. Egypt is a version of Catholicism here, as it represents the Oriental spirituality the Victorians believed characteristic of Catholicism.

From The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde by Jarlath Killeen (Routledge, 2007).

I am not sure whether I understand the sentence properly. I would add two words: that and is.

  "Egypt is a version of Catholicism here, as it represents the Oriental spirituality that the Victorians believed is characteristic of Catholicism."

In the case of that, I understand the omission. But why is is absent here?


texts: What is the contrast that the idiom, "the other way round", is pointing out here?

texts:
The idiom "the other way round" can be used for claiming that the opposite of what just has been said is true. For example:

I always thought that rugby was a rougher game than football, but in fact it’s the other way round.

In the following usage of "the other way round", simply, what is the opposite of what?

I = Interviewer
P = Professor

  I: On today’s programme, we’re going to talk about women’s films, and here to talk to us is Janet Shaw, professor of Media Studies at Midland University.

  P: Hello.

  I: First of all, Professor Shaw, what ARE women’s films? Are they all about romance and relationships?

  P: Well, they aren’t just one kind of film, in fact, there are lots of different kinds of women’s films. Yes, a lot of them are about romance and relationships. Women’s films focus more on the people and dialogue, and men’s films often focus more on the action.

  I: So action films are men’s films.

  P: Well, not necessarily. Some women’s films are action films too – but they take a women’s point of view, and the main characters are often women – characters that female audience can identify with. For example, there was the film Thelma and Louise, about two female criminals, or the science fiction film Alien, with Sigourney Weaver.

  I: Ah. Are the main characters always female?

  P: No – a lot of women’s film have lead actors like Nicolas Cage or Hugh Grant or Mel Gibson – male actors who a lot of women find attractive.

  I: Uh huh. Are women’s films actually made for women? I mean, do the film makers sit down and say ‘We’re going to make a women’s film here’?

  P: Yes, they often make a story which they think women will like. But often it’s the other way round. For example films from classic literature, such as Pride and Prejudice – these could be called women’s films.

  I: Because they focus on characters …

  P: Yes, characters and relationships – more dialogue, less action.

  I: OK, and finally – do women watch only women’s films?

  P: No – that would be impossible! There are far fewer women’s films than men’s films, so women have to watch men’s films, too. And of course, people aren’t just stereotypes. There are a lot of men who like women’s film. And a lot of women who actually prefer men’s films.

  I: OK … and what about you?

  P: Ooh, now that’s a difficult question! Actually, I prefer reading books!

  I: Ah ha, yes, I see. OK, well, thank you very much for joining us today.

  P: You’re welcome.

  I: Goodbye.

-From a transcription in Headway-Intermediate


texts:
Is no just=Not only

Can we replace not only with no just.
Eg:

  You visited not just/not only/no just people and places but the hidden crannies of your own memory.

Is it necessary to use but also in sentences like-

  It was not only her parents who met her at the airport, but also her entire extended family.


texts: "Over three occasions" – How many times?

texts:
"Over three occasions, each of 3 nights, a total of 21,830 moths were collected, representing more than 1250 morphospecies."

"Over three occasions". Is that just three times, or more than three times?


texts: you should make your bed after you wake up (or say: after you woke up)? A dilemma in expressing the idea

texts:
Ok, A should say:

you should make your bed after you wake up.

or

you should make your bed after you woke up.

In case 1, the waking-up action happened before "make the bed", but English doesn't have "past in the future" tense though we do have "future in the past" tense (was going to do....)

In case 2, you broke the universe because the "waking up" action did not exist at the time of saying.


texts: What is the meaning of the phrase "the 'one ring' of something"?

texts:
I have encountered the phrase in the following context

  This tool is the 'one ring' of static analysis tools in Python


texts:
Sometimes I find it difficult to set my tenses correctly without sounding awkward. It is caused mostly by the fact that I tend to either not understand the rules for switching tenses or repeat modal verbs many times throughout the sentence.

Here's two sentences I've read just today. Both of them utilize the present tense despite the fact that they clearly relate to either unreal or past events.

  Imagine how people would react when they see how many mistakes you've made.

Why shouldn't I use "would see" in this one, instead of switching to the present tense all of the sudden?

  When I was a kid I remember my dad taking us to get lunch, then go play disc golf, soccer, or do something else free and fun.

Why is there a sudden switch in tenses? Doesn't it violate the tense consistency? This doesn't look like Historical Present to me.

But I also encountered a problem of my own, this time relating to the constant repetition of modals. I was playing a pretty old game with my mate, and I wanted to prove him I knew exactly what one of the characters would do.

  That guy will for some reason kick the ball in a second, and then the other guy will come and pick it up.

After all I felt like there were to many "wills" on the dance floor, but I have no idea how I could change it.

Similar situation happened when my SO told me our mutual friend was going to apply for a pretty difficult job. Over the course of our conversation I came up saying:

  I don't know if I would handle such a task, even if they would charge me with it.

Although I suppose this is the one instance where I know what I've done wrong: I should have used the second conditional instead of repeating "would" twice. I've mentioned it just to make sure.

The same problem with repeating verbs appears when I want to formulate sentences like:

  I will talk to him, but I will not try to convince him.

Is it possible to drop the second "will", or basically any other modal verb, in such cases?

  I will talk to him, but not try to convince him.

It's a pretty long question, but I hope you'd still be willing to help me and able to do so.


texts: Question about "an unlimited number of times"

texts:
Sentence 1: They can delegate the computation of intersection an unlimited number of times.
Sentence 2: They can delegate the computation of an unlimited number of intersection.

Question: Do the two above sentences have the same meaning? Are they both correct?


texts:
It was eaten by a tiger.
  It's been eaten by a tiger.

Do these basically mean the same thing?  Can they be used interchangeably?


texts: "The links are not working" vs. "the links don't work"

texts:
My manager at work has sent me two links for competitors in order to check their products. Unfortunately, these links are not working.

I want to send a reply to my manager to inform her of this problem. Which of the following two replies is correct?

  Dear Ms. XXXX,

  The links don't work.

  Dear Ms. XXX,

  The links are not working.


texts: What is a Pressure cooker relationship? I searched for  the meaning on the internet but I could not find any definition.


texts: Is there a phrase that means "make your mind less confused"?

texts: I know for a fact that the word "unconfuse" doesn't exist, and I can't think of any phrase that mean "make your mind less confused", so what are some option. I am thinking of a situation where someone is saying a lot of nonsense and can't think rationally and someone tells him to "make his mind less confused" before saying anything that he may regret.


texts:
A course book presents the bolded part of the below  sentence pairs as examples of fragments:

  I am planning to go for a new smart phone. The one I am using is dead slow.
  An MNC has expressed interest in recruiting our students for back office positions. Their HR managers are expected to visit our
  college soon.

But my instinct is that both of them are full sentences, not fragments. They do not come within the definition of a fragment, i. e. "A SENTENCE FRAGMENT fails to be a sentence in the sense that it cannot stand by itself. It does not contain even one  independent clause".

Edit:

In grammar anaphora is the use of a word referring back to a word used earlier in a text or conversation, to avoid repetition. In both the "sentences/fragments", there are anaphoric pronouns.

Can the anaphoric pronouns make sentences fragments?

Are they actually sentence fragments?


texts:
I have a sentence improvement question .

  Don't sit in the grass. It's wet.

A) on

B) no improvement

Which one is correct answer ? Google shows sentences with both ( on & in ).


texts:
Given: They looked for him in the forest.

  Question:  Where did they go in search of him?

  Possible Answers:

  1.They went to the forest in search of him.

  2.They went into the forest in search of him.

If both are correct, what will be the difference between "to" and "into" in this sentence?


texts:
1- We had a terrible night. The baby wouldn't go to sleep.

  2- I was late for work today because my car wouldn't start.

  3- The CD wasn’t working so I brought it back to the shop but they
  wouldn’t give me my money back because they said the box had already been opened.

I suppose I can use "didn't" instead of "wouldn't" in these sentences.

I don't understand the logic of using "would" in these kind of situations. What kind of difference do we convey when we use "would" instead of "did" in these situations?


texts:
"Just like everyone has their own features but they are nearly the
  same."

Q 1: I wonder what is the part of speech of "like". Is it a preposition or a conjunction? What's more, I want to know whether there is a rule:"There is only a conjunction in one sentence.".

Q 2: Why use "the same" not "same"?


texts: Word or phrase for "the call just ended"

texts:
If we don't pick up a call,it just ends. So can "hang up" be used in this sense? I mean it's used with people.

Like:

  Mom: Hey! I thought my phone was ringing.

  I: It was but it just hung up.(no one picked it up and it ended like any call if no one picks it up.)

I guess the use of "hang up" isn't natural. So what will be actually be used in this context?


texts:
I thought about a particular example, and I was wondering if there's a problem when you use "where" in a situation where the thing in question are situated on the ship and not inside the ship. I don't think it's important, but I wasn't sure if it impacted the correctness of the sentence.

For example:

  A spaceship where the guns are made of a titanium alloy.


texts:
It is from Crash Course World History. It is at 3 minute and 55 second. Here is the context:

  Point being, for 250 thousand years all power was muscle power and unless you could ride a cheetah you were not going to go faster than about 20 miles per hour.

What I am really confused by there is the use of the word being
instead of the word is. But also what I am puzzled by is the use omission of articles before the word point.


texts:
I know how going to is used in a sentence. However, whenever it's mixed with come, I get confused. The answer here has some clarifications.

However, my specific question is, do the following two sentences mean exactly the same thing? Also, which one is more grammatically correct (especially in formal writing)?

  I'm going to come to your house as soon as the work in hand is done.
  I'm coming to your house as soon as the work in hand is done.

or should I just use plain will:

  I'll come to your house as soon as the work in hand is done.

The reason I'm reluctant to use will is because it sounds more in the future than I intend to.


texts: How to avoid multiple "of-phrase" in a sentence?

texts:
I am writing a scientific article, Please suggest me an alternative to sentence below to avoid "of" phrase multiple times.

  The polarization and rotation angle of BO6 octahedron of some
  perovskite materials are listed in table


texts: What are the prefixes for sextuple, septuple, octuple, etc. called?

texts: It's a simple question, really, but I have never known who to ask or what to Google.


texts: What does "for context" as a standalone phrase mean?

texts:
In the article Random Sneeze Call, the author writes:

  This group was given no allergens at all; they just sat alone in a room for a total of 176 20-minute sessions.

with a note next to it:

  For context, that's 490 repetitions of the song Hey Jude

What does for context mean in this, erm, context? Strangely enough, googling "for context" only yields results as [noun] for context, which is not a standalone phrase. The word has only one meaning that we already known (from Oxford Dictionary):

  the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.
  "the decision was taken within the context of planned cuts in spending"

I think it simply means that the author wants to provide more information, might be irrelevant to the main point, but I'm not sure about that. The footnote itself is to provide more information already, and he also use it heavily for irrelevant information without have, so there is no need to use for context. The research he refers to also have no single Hey Jude appears once.

Do you know what it means?


texts: What is the tense of "wasn't interrupted"

texts:
So I'm writing a book and English is not my native language. As I've gotten deeper into the writing process I noticed that I'm almost randomly choosing between past tenses without making much logic (which I realized 20 pages into the book). Therefore, I started relearning all the English tenses in an attempt to proofread what I've written so far on my own. Long story short, there is one sentence in which I just can't put a finger on a specific tense.

"If this day wasn't interrupted by a sudden radio cast, so and so would have happened." (the so and so is not relevant)

I'm thinking past perfect simple, but I can't see any reasoning behind it; it just sounds fitting. My problem is there is no "had". Would that sentence make any more sense if I exchanged "wasn't" with "hadn't been"?

Thanks a bunch!


texts: The difference between "there are" and "I have" in terms of implication

texts:
There is a mountain very close to my house. It's only five minutes' walk. That's why I have many unusual birds coming to my yard all year around.

If I change the last sentence to "There are many unusual birds coming to my yard," is there any difference in the implication? I think this is a very basic question, but I still wonder which I should use, "I have" or "there are".


texts: What does "a fear of he was not certain what" mean?

texts:
A sort of premonitory tremor, a fear of he was not certain what, had passed through Winston as soon as he caught his first glimpse of the cage.
(which is quoted from the sixth or maybe the ninth paragraph in the fifth chapter in the third part of the novel.)

When I was reading Orwell's 1984, I found the phrase "a fear of he was not certain what" difficult to understand. What is the meaning of it? I would appreciate it if you would answer my question.
I would also like to know how the phrase is constructed grammatically, if you could tell me.
Thank you.


texts: U.S. college courses naming system -- how does it work?

texts:
Example:

  ECO 305: Money and Banking

What do those three letters and the number exactly mean? Could you please give me a brief, general-terms type of introduction to the college courses naming system in the U.S. so that I at least have a basic idea of how this thing works?


texts: "You are" vs "you is" when "you" is used as both singular and plural?

texts: The word "you," when used in a sentence, is always used as "you are" rather than "you is". This happens regardless of whether the speaker is speaking to one person or many. Is "you are", when applied to a single person, an example of the numerous exceptions in the English language? Is there ever a situation where it is appropriate to use "you is"?


texts:
This site says

Be like or what is … like?

  We can use be like to ask for a description of someone or something
  (e.g. their appearance, their character, their behaviour):

What’s your new apartment like?

Not: How is your new apartment like?

What does "someone" mean? Is "a dog" belonged to someone or something?

Is "How is your dog like?" wrong?


texts: I need to ask some details but in a gender neutral way

texts:
I want to ask a landlord if there are any special rules for bachelors and bachelorettes who wish to rent his property.

Is there any way to use just one word instead of bachelors and bachelorettes?

Off-topic: Is bachelorette really a word?

OR completely change the sentence,

  Are there any special rules for unmarried....

I don't know how to end that sentence in the right way.


texts: Meaning of "Being a poor person for the job"

texts:
Could someone please help me to understand the bold part in text below?

  I am sure you would like to hear news of home, but I am a poor person
  for the job, being an outsider here. I do talk to people in the
  Library and in the hotel. The travellers in the hotel mostly talk
  about how business is (it is brisk if you can get the goods) and a
  little about sickness, and a lot about the War. There are rumors on
  rumors and opinions galore, which I'm sure would make you laugh if
  they didn't make you angry. I will not bother to write them down
  because I am sure there is a Censor reading this who would cut my
  letter to ribbons.

  "Casting Away" by Alice Munro

I think it means she is jobless but I am not sure because I believe she is still a librarian.


texts: Is 'mating' only used with males? What if I use it with females? Is it incorrect?

texts:
Google ngram shows 'lion mating' word, but not lioness mating, and so goes with most of the species of animals. Why?

Do native speakers prefer males for describing 'mating'? Will it be incorrect if we describe females mating? Is there any such grammar rule?

I want to learn the use of the verb 'mating'. Is it used only with masculine gender?


texts: Swapping words across the preposition "as"

texts:
Can we say the following sentence

    I have many foreigners as my classmates.

in the following form:

    I have my classmates as many foreigners.

I have seen many people speaking the last-mentioned sentence.

I tried to check the matching meaning of "as" in the above context with the meaning given in Oxford. I think the following meaning matches this context.

    PREPOSITION Used to refer to the function or character that someone or something has.

Can we swap other combinations in a similar way?


texts: finished; has been sitting; or had finished; sat;

texts:
In Michael Swan and Carherine Walter book "how ENGLISH works" there are exercises:

  Choose the right tenses (present perfect, past or past perfect, simple or progressive).
  25. After he (finish) breakfast he (sit) down to write some letters.

My answer is :
finished; has been sitting;

but correct answer in the book is:
had finished; sat;

I am thinking that both are correct and ask myself why authors did not give us both solution like correct?
My thinking I have just shared with you.


texts: "This past weekend", "last weekend, or "this weekend" in context?

texts:
Let's say today is Monday, February the second and I want to say that I did something on Sunday, February the first. Does the following sentences all mean the same?

  I cleaned my house last weekend.

  I cleaned my house this weekend.

  I cleaned my house this past weekend.

I aksed a similar question, except it was about the use of the phrases with night. And I was told that this past night doesn't sound as natural. What about weekend?


texts:
Are all sentences correct? I have the first one in my grammar book.

I don’t like hot weather, but Sue does.

vs

I don’t like hot weather, but Sue likes.

vs

I don’t like hot weather, but Sue likes it.

TIA


texts:
"Even if you are doing moderate exercise only once or twice a week
  there are still improvements in cognitive function, but the
  improvements were better the more exercise was done," he said.

Why is Present Continuous used in this sentence? Shouldn't it be Present Simple because of repeated actions "once or twice a week"?

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-39693462


texts:
I read a sentence with a structure like the following:

  The painting, drawn by Leonardo Da Vinci, renowned artist of the era, is on display in our museum.

The sentence indicates that the painting that is drawn by a renowned artist Leonardo Da Vinci is placed in the museum. I had no problem understanding what it means but wondered whether it is gramatically correct.

Basically the structure goes like this

  The painting, (which is) drawn by Leonardo Da Vinci, (who is) renowned artist of the era, is on display in our museum

To me, it has too much omission which makes the structure too complicated.
Is this sentence gramatically correct?

Thank you


texts: Can we use the present perfect in this case?

texts:
In Korea, we learned that we should use the past tense when the subject is an historical event, as in "The Korean war broke out in 1950."

However, I think that when the event continues to affect the present (now), we should use the present perfect.

So I think that we can say 'The Korean war has broken out in 1950.'

Am I right?


texts: Subtraction, what find the product of 2 and 9 means, then take that by 3 means?

texts:
Find the product of 2 and 9 and then take that from three.

I'm confused. What does that mean?


texts:
When compared to the current domestic spending through the market of around
  $70 million, the expanded spending of some $137 million is a considerable boost.
  Subscriptions as well as transaction fees would considerably lift the under $1
  million commission received since the 2002 Post buyout of the cartel.

What does "lift the under" mean here?


texts: "my first book working with you" - is this acceptable?

texts:
This is my first book of poetry working with you, so I hope this will eventually be the first step to a long partnership.

I got this from my American buddy, but this is weird to me. Is he making a stupid mistake? Or am I stupid?


texts: Is "... we can already make..." grammatical?

texts:
the lecturer is saying

  we can already make two observations.

it seems that already is used for perfect tense, so is this expression here grammatical?


texts: A word to say I'm "full of expectations and impatient to see it"?

texts:
When I watch series and I just "can't wait" until the next episode, is it OK to say "I'm stretched how it's going to end"?

A simple translation from google gives me tight and uptight.


texts: Difference between rights and reponsibilities

texts:
The expressions below can be associated with rights

be entitled to
be empowered to
be allowed to
be authorized to
be permitted to

and the expressions below can be associated with responsibilities

have a duty to
be obliged to
be committed to
be required to
be held accountable to

The question is if the ten expressions shuffled how can I determine which ones are responsibilities and which ones are rights.

P.S. It was a test and I am unable to find a logical way to do that.


texts: Correct usage of pronoun in this sentence?

texts:
This question was on a test I recently took. What's the correct answer?

A poor man _____ I knew nursed the orphan. (a. whom, b. who c. that d. none of these)


texts: How do you link "o" and "s" in cursive font?

texts: I'm learning English cursive font recently. And I'm confused about how I can link the "o" and "s" together in words such as "those", "goes", and so on. Because the end of "o" is much higher than that of "s". By the way, I use the attachment as the model.


texts:
I would like to meet my lecturer in August. I want to send an email to her.
Is this sentence correct:

  When will you be free in August?

I want to know if that's the correct way to ask for an appointment in English.


texts: Which word is stressed in this sentence “Sometimes you don't even know…” of the below video?

texts:
Some told me different word stresses in a sentence conveys different meanings. So I'm learning to find out where the stress is.

If the word is said clearly, powerfully and highest in pitch, then it's easy to find out it's the word the speaker wanna emphasize. However, there were some cases, in the same sentence, the word - that I thought it might be the main stress of the sentence - was said in the highest pitch but sound very weak and less powerful than the lower pitch (for example, there was a case in which the word "really" in "really gorgeous" was said in higher pitch than "gorgeous" but less powerful). So that causes me difficulty to find out which word the speaker want to stress, and then I can't fully understand what they mean.

Which word is stressed in this sentence in this video?

I take the above video to make it clear for you to understand what I'm saying. In that video I hear "sometimes" was said clearly and was in the highest pitch, but I think the speaker wanted to spilt "sometimes" and "you don't even know..." into 2 parts and each part has it's own stress. So I don't care about "sometimes", I turn my attention to "you don't even know..." and question myself - which word did the speaker want to emphasize?. Then it's confusing when I hear "don't ev..." was said in higher pitches than "know", but "know" was drawled longer than "don't even".

So Which word, "sometimes", "don't", "even" or "know", did the speaker stress?


texts: “Had complete", “Had completed", “Have complete", Have completed"

texts:
what's the difference between these sentence ?

He had complete his work.
He had completed his work.
I have complete my work.
I have completed my work.

Does it make sense to use present tense after had ? Like had finish, had go etc


texts:
So, I'm actually a native American English speaker, but I can't figure out what 'aye' could mean in this song.

"At the sad decree...they'll depart for aye", "for alas I'm doomed...for aye".
The Lost Soul by Doc Watson Family

I already know aye can mean "yes", but it doesn't make sense here. I looked it up and could only find the Scottish "always/still" (which is archaic, on top of that), but I still have doubts, especially since the speakers are from Southern USA (North Carolina).
So, does the phrase "for aye" really mean "for always; forever" or is it something else? Thanks for any input! :D


texts: If-clause, referring to the future and main clause — to the past: is it possible?

texts:
Here are two sentences which, in my opinion, can't be both right.

Said in the morning:

  If it rains this afternoon, then yesterday's weather forecast will be
  wrong.

  If it rains this afternoon, then yesterday's weather forecast was
  wrong.

Sticking to the rules, the first one is correct because we won't know if the forecast is right or wrong before later in the day. (Conditional  type 1)

But, following the logic — the second one doesn't seem incorrect because the forecast was already wrong yesterday, but this will be proved later today when we say: Yesterday's forecast was wrong."

My questions are:

Which of the two is grammatically correct, and if it is the first one, why not the second (and vice versa)?

Would it be correct with would in the main clause:

  If it rains this afternoon, then yesterday's weather forecast would be
  wrong.

If it would, what type of conditional would it be then?

Any helpful answer will be highly appreciated.


texts:
'Who do these things?' Dan asked, and straightened his back at the bench as he turned the schooner end-for-end in the vice to get at her
    counter.

    'Them which don't wish other men to work no better nor quicker than they do,' growled Mr Springett. 'Don't pinch her so hard in the vice,
    Mus' Dan. Put a piece o' rag in the jaws, or you'll bruise her.

This from "Rewards and Fairies" by Kipling.

I do not understand what the  line  below means.

  and straightened his back at the bench as he turned the schooner end-for-end in the vice to get at her counter.

What does "turned the schooner end-for-end" mean?
What does "to get at her counter" mean? Is there any counter on the schooner?


texts: Meaning of "He was quite sane but abhorred conversation"

texts:
Please help me, I don't get the drift of bold part in the sentence below.

  The father himself did not complain about the omission. On the day of
  the funeral, which was very fine, he headed out of town as he would
  have done ordinarily on a day he had decided not to spend at Douds. He
  was wearing a felt hat and a long coat that would do for a rug if he
  wanted to take a nap. His overshoes were neatly held on his feet with
  the rubber rings from sealing jars. He was going out to fish for
  suckers. The season hadn't opened yet, but he always managed to be a
  bit ahead of it. He fished through the spring and early summer and
  cooked and ate what he caught. He had a frying pan and a pot hidden
  out on the riverbank. The pot was for boiling corn that he snatched
  out of the fields later in the year, when he was also eating the fruit
  of wild apple trees and grapevines. He was quite sane but abhorred
  conversation. He could not altogether avoid it in the weeks following
  his son's death, but he had a way of cutting it short.

   "Casting away" by Alice munro


texts:
Here is a sentence from the description of a battle game:

  In the arena maps you will find the obstacles to take cover behind and
  foliage you can hide in.

I am not sure if the word "foliage" means "leaves" here. How can one hide behind leaves?


texts:
What does "stream out" mean in the following?

  In addition to that Musk must also stream out revenue channels and profit goals. If these milestones are met, Musk’s total equity earnings would zoom to $55 billion by 2028 hoping that Tesla will not float any additional shares.

Source.


texts: a guard of honor march to -- is "march" a verb?

texts:
Example:

  A guard of honor march to the eternal flame on Nakhimov Square on the memorial of the heroic defense of Sevastopol (1941-1942) as Crimeans celebrate the first anniversary of the referendum on March 16, 2014 in Sevastopol, Crimea. Today marks the first anniversary of the referendum which resulted in the annexation of the territory by Russia.

Is march used as a verb here? If so, then I must presume that a guard of honor is a plural noun, but it does not sound plural to me at all. Another way to look at this sentence, though, is treat guard of honor as an adjective describing march, but that can't be right either since structurally that part must be the main clause of this rather long sentence and would require a verb which would be missing. Which interpretation do you think is the correct one or am I completely wrong about all this?


texts:
I feel a little tangled in grammatical nuances and would like you to help me clear some things out. I know it's possible to use either the past simple, "used to" and "would" to talk about past habitual actions. But is the use of the last two of them limited only to personal experiences, or is it also correct to utilize them while talking about, say, historical events?
In other words: do these sentences mean exactly the same thing to you? Do you sense any differences between them?

Jack the Ripper approached/would approach/used to approach his victims slowly and nonchalantly.

The Aztecs fought/would fight/used to fight their enemies with wooden pikes.

When he was a boy he practiced/would practice/used to practice playing piano.

I read/would read/used to read a lot about astronomy even during my childhood.

I know a lot of such cases depend on the context; past simple can mean both a specific action and a series of repeated events, right? Oftentimes it's the words that create the meaning, not grammar, but does it apply to the utterances listed above?


texts:
Bowness [name of pub] does all right for watering holes, but just then they were too busy.

What does that mean?

source: "New Beginnings" by "limeyLady"


texts:
Which one is correct?
Should the word "grade" be written in capital letters or not?

I'm in grade 3.

I'm in Grade 3.

I'm in grade 3.

I'm in the third grade.

I'm in the 3rd grade

I'm in 3rd grade.

What about these examples?

We invite all grade 3 teachers to the ending of the school year.

We invite all the third grade teachers to the ending of the school year.

We invite all 3rd grade teachers to the ending of the school year.

Which one is correct?


texts: Differences between 'altogether' and 'at all'

texts:
Do 'at all' and 'altogether' have any difference in their meanings
And if they haven't got any difference, does this sentence:

"It wasn't interesting altogether."

Mean:

"It wasn't interesting at all."


texts:
I was reading an answer on a forum and didn't understand what "less so" means. Here's the context

  "Yeah, that combo is my work daily driver right now, in an MF108 case. It's the most tactile thing ever and amazingly enough it's not quite as loud as some other switch/keycap/case combinations. It's not quiet, not by any stretch, but less so than Outemu Blues being pounded on at the desk next to me."

I think that by using “less so” he means that his combo  is quieter than Outemu Blues. Am I right?.


texts: English: I needed to check in at a hotel I booked online

texts:
I'd like to know the sentences for checking in at a hotel I booked online. I know normally I can say

  "I'd like to check in under the name of ..."

But if I want to specifically express that I booked this hotel on agoda(a website where you can book hotels), what should I say?

For example, how about

  "Hi, I am checking in. I booked a room for tonight and tomorrow night using agoda/ on agoda"

Also, I want to confirm that the whole package includes breakfast and dinner, what should I ask to the front desk when checking in?

For example, how about

  "Also I'd like to confirm that the room I booked comes with dinner and breakfast"


texts: What does "remains steep" mean in this context?

texts:
"Ultimately, what is going to matter is if inflation is going to tick up more than rates are going to pick up–meaning is the Fed going to be behind the curve or not? If the Fed is behind the curve, then gold should do just fine; if however the Fed is able to get in front of this or if inflation is not going to materialize much but the yield curve remains steep and real rates rise, then yes, the gold selling is over," he added.

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/15/gold-set-to-get-a-boost-as-president-elect-donald-trumps-spending-plans-fuel-inflation.html

Can someone explain the meaning of the phrases marked in bold text?


texts: Why "His dad joined" instead of "His dad had joined"?

texts:
Why past simple "joined", not past perfect "had joined" in this sentence:

  His dad joined the army before he was born.

This sentence is from a course of the A.J. Hoge.

My opinion is:

"...before he was born" here is marking of the times, answer to question when and in that circumstances always go past simple. It is as we say:

  His dad joined the army last Wednesday.

last Wednesday = before he was born.
Am I right?


texts: The use of "since" in “The Empire had long since fallen to the Barbarians”

texts:
Although Justinian’s reign started inauspiciously, he still enjoyed astonishing success. Rome and Western Empire had long since fallen to the Barbarians. But he and Theodora set out to recover the lost territories of Roman Empire.

To me, the it might be Rome and Western Empire had long been fallen to the Barbarians. Why is there a since? Any help would be appreciated.


texts: He had known what I had done VS He had known what I did

texts:
(1) "He had known what I had done."
(2) "He had known what I did."

What is the difference between them??
What does it mean by using past perfect in a clause when a main clause is past perfect?
What does it mean by using past tense in a clause when a main clause is past perfect?
These questions keep coming up when I read novels= =
And, How about the difference in this case?

(3) "He knew what he would want to know."
(4) "He had known what he would want to know."


texts: Do "I'm through it" and "I'm done" have the same meaning?


texts:
In ESPN videos (1, 2), Boston Celtics was pronounced as  /sel-tik/, but the dictionary says both /kel-tik/ and /sel-tik/ are acceptable pronunciations and clicking the sound icon on the dictionary website gives /kel-tik/.

Questions:

How did this word come to have two different but acceptable pronunciations?
Which pronunciation is more common? Does this depend on the country or area you live in?

Edit:

This is what I have found about the pronunciation of celts. To make it short, the pronunciation was originally /k/, but later changed to /s/. Then /k/ went into German, /s/ went into French and both went into English. For a long time it remained /s/ in English following the French convention, but recently /k/ gained ground again. However, /s/ is the most recognised form in names of sports teams.

This reveals some history about the pronunciation but still doesn't answer how this word is pronounced in modern English by native speakers. It gives me the illusion that /k/ is more common but /s/ should be used for sports teams. I'm not quite sure if this illusion is false.


texts:
I want to say that I need to drink coffee everyday, otherwise I can't survive.

Is it idiomatic to say:

  It's not bearable for not having a coffee in a day;

  I can't go without coffee everyday;

  I can't go a day without coffee;

  I can't survive without coffee everyday.

or there is a better way of saying it?


texts:
When I first wrote

  I am Taiwanese not Chinese as most of people in Taiwan considered themselves to be today.

I mean that

I am Taiwanese not Chinese.
Most people in Taiwan considered the same as me that they are Taiwanese not Chinese.

But when I think it again, will it make a confusion?

Can it somehow be misinterpreted as

  I am Taiwanese not (Chinese as most of people in Taiwan considered themselves to be today).

which somehow is completely opposite in meaning. (Meaning people in Taiwan considered themselves to be Chinese today, which is wrong.)


texts: "Very not fair" vs "not very fair" which is correct

texts: I was in a situation where I wanted to let the other person know that whatever they said was not fair to me or to the point we were discussing so I used "This is not very fair" and then realised may be I was wrong in terms of sentence usage. Please suggest which one should be used.


texts:
Have we got any eggs?

vs

  Have we got any egg?

What is the difference between these two sentences in terms of meaning?


texts:
I'm practicing something and I came to the word shorthand.
I know it's useful for fast writing and all that, but what is the other way to say that? Is there any synonym or phrase?

I need the other word or phrase for shorthand with meaning a system of fast writing, using lines and symbols to represent letters, words, and phrases


texts: What is the main meaning of "relieve you of your command"?

texts:
It's a line of The Big Bang Theroy

  Pursuant to starfleet general order 104 section a, You are deemed
  unfit and I hereby relieve you of your command.

The main meaning is "relieve you" or "relieve your command"?

What is "you of your command"?


texts:
I am totally confused by this sentence. Can anybody help me with the phrases used in it? (understand deal, the second "for")?

"So he recently took to Twitter to publicly invite Silicon Valley investors to spend a "few weeks homeless, functionally impaired or caring for a child with complex needs." On a phone call with CNBC, he said an experience like this is "bread and butter" for design thinking and customer development. "How else will a VC understand deal flow for a population for served by Medicaid?""

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/09/medicaid-chief-andrey-ostrovsky-silicon-valley-missing-unicorns.html


texts:
consider:

we have node i.
we have node j.
there is a link between two nodes.

Please help me in below sentence.

There is a link between node(s) i and j.

Plural or singular ? I have found both of them on google.


texts: "I made sure we choose/chose items that doesn’t use the most plastic."

texts:
In the following sentence:

Yesterday, when I was shopping with my mum, I made sure we choose items that doesn’t use the most plastic.

Which is correct: to say I made sure we (choose) or (chose)?


texts: Formal Writing: Capitalise Professor XX?

texts:
In formal writing, do I need to Capitalise the title of the person I'm referring to ? For example,

  I wrote to Professor Cassest yesterday.

Is it correct to capitalise both Professor and Cassest?


texts: "I had just two flights last year, and I'd had/I had 4 or 6 of them the year before" - Past Simple or Past Perfect?

texts: All grammar books teach us that we have to use Past Perfect for the action that happened before another action in the past, but I feel that it doesn't always make sense. For example, in this sentence, 'I had just two flights last year, and I'd had/I had 4 or 6 of them the year before,' we just state two facts about the past that are not connected. It's not a story. Moreover, it is clear which happened before thanks to the phrases 'last year' and 'the year before'. Is my gut feeling right? Or do we still need to use Past Perfect in this case?


texts: What will be the Indirect form of the sentence - Ron said, "Jean will look after the dogs while we are away." -

texts:
The answer given in textbook is  - Ron said that Jean would look after the dogs while they were away.
But this doesnt seems right. "were" sounds wrong


texts: Is there any relationship between *bearing* and *bear*?

texts:
Why adding -ing after bear becomes totally another word bearing whose meaning seems had nothing to do with a bear?
 + -ing
becomes
.
Was there any relationship between the two words?


texts: When do you say "you are not doing something"?

texts:
For example

  You are not going to ignore me.

It means "I" command "you" not to do that, or "I" wish "you" not to do that?


texts:
Which preposition follows 'vain' when it is used as a synonym for proud?

Example:

  The actress was vain ___ her looks.

It should be worth noting that I'm in ICSE, and that at this point, I don't even know if the sentence is correct at all...


texts: Are "uses" and "usage" interchangeable when talking about different words?

texts:
Note: This post is NOT a duplicate of Are "uses" and "usage" interchangeable when talking about different meanings of the same word?, which is discussing the situation of the same word. Oppose to that, this post is discussing the situation of two words.

Per Cambridge Dictionary, the word "usage" could be used as plural. Cambridge Dictionary also gives this example.

  Now these two usages are syntactically distinguished as c for the first, and c for the second.

Consider this example

  Spanish and Portuguese speakers often use
  the preposition 'en'
  where in English we use both 'on' and 'in'.
  Two separate words with very different uses in English.

which uses "uses" to convey the meaning of "the ways we use those prepositions"

Does it mean the same if "usage" was substituted for "uses"?

  Two separate words with very different "usage" in English.


texts: What does this text from Bernard Shaw's book mean?

texts:
Sorry for this vague title but I don't understand the whole passage below and didn't know what to ask specifically. Any correction to the title would be appreciated.

  We all deprecate prejudice; but if all of us were not animated sacks of prejudices, and at least nine tenths of them were not the same prejudices so deeply rooted that we never think of them as prejudices but call them common sense, we could no more form a community than so many snakes.

  -George Bernard Shaw (The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism, Capitalism, Sovietism and Fascism)

I don't really understand what the text above means, and the problem is not the figurative expressions used but more about the structure(?) I guess.

Shouldn't it be like below?

  If all of us were animated sacks of prejudices, ... we could no more form a community than so many snakes.

If we are  not walking prejudices, then why does he call us people are snakes, not a community? I don't get why the negative assumption "if ~ were not" was used here.

What am I missing here and what exactly does the passage mean?


texts: Is the preposition "to" obligatory after the phrasal verb "listen in"?

texts:
One of the meanings of the phrasal verb to listen in is "to listen to the radio".

Once the preposition to is already present in the definition, is it needed after the phrasal verb as well?

  Q: What do you think she is doing now?

  A: Listening in (to?) a drama show as usual.

I've never used this phrasal verb before, but something makes me doubtful whether the preposition to is obligatory here; although most certainly I am mistaken.

Could you elucidate that for me, please?


texts:
I learned English long time ago. The native speaker teacher told me that we always use comma after the word then. However, one proofreader told me that I must not write a comma after then. I am really confuse. Could some one please explain to me when it is correct to use comma with then?

For example,

  Then, the next step is estimating the model parameters.

  Set x as a first point, then, find the point y given x.


texts:
I want to coordinate with you this day

or

  I want to coordinate this day with you

What sentence are correct or they are interchangeable ?


texts:
In the phrase "appropriate substance use information", what noun does appropriate modify? I'm guessing it is information, is that correct?

Is this a general rule? How would you go about modifying any of the other 2 nouns?


texts: Is it "required login" or "login required"?

texts:
I was testing some authentification API, and it returned me

REQUIRED LOGIN

It feels a little bit odd here. Shouldn't it be LOGIN REQUIRED?
Or are both grammatically correct? If so, as a standalone phrase that is a response code, which one is better to use here?


texts: British English influenced by American English

texts:
I guess Br.E. is being influenced by Am.E. very much. That probably changes British words and spelling?

People who study English in schools in Britain and America, should they strictly use British spelling and words or American spelling and words or can they mix?

I mean, suppose one needs to write a dictation in Britain. If he writes "color" instead of "colour" will it be a mistake?

If somebody is writing a composition in an American school and uses the word "lorry" instead of "truck" will it be a mistake?

I just wonder how strict are rules to use exclusively British or American spelling and words in schools, universities and e.t.c. This concerns our Russian schools and universities too.


texts: What's the word that refers to markets where cheap, often used, goods are sold? I forgot the word that refers to such market. Also, if you know the word, is there an alternate way to refer to it, I remember it was called a ___ market, but I would rather use a single word if that's possible. I am sure they don't really exist anymore because of eBay and Amazon.


texts: what does * faint applause* mean in the this sentence?

texts:
what does  "faint applause" mean in this passage?

  The Bank turned 50 in 1995 to faint applause. Public protests against the
  Bretton Woods Institutions at the World Bank–International Monetary
  Fund Annual Meetings in Madrid dampened the celebratory mood. The
  protesters’ slogan, “50 years is enough,” forced the Bank’s management
  to reappraise the Bank’s development policies and to intensify its efforts
  to convince civil society of the Bank’s relevance.
  What does the whole sentence mean therefore?

Development Economics through the Decades: A Critical Look at 30 Years of the World Development Report, Shahid Yusuf, page 34


texts:
I'm having some trouble with sentences joined by "And" , like
I like to go ciclyng and I like to play chess.
can I say, I like to go ciclying and to play chess ? or do I need to repeat the verb ?
Also, I have a similar phrase
MARKETING is the art of promoting products to compete with other companies and to boost your sales.
is that properly said ?  I'm not very sure about this Double "to's"
thanks :)


texts: "Now" instead of "from now on" with the future tense

texts:
A couple of examples first:

I fixed the tap in the bathroom, from now on it won't be dripping.
I got a new job, from now on I'll have to wake up at 6
AM.
Our neighbors have left the house so from now on they won't bother you.

Can I simplify the highlighted part somehow? It sounds too formal now.
Does that option work?

I got a new job, now I'll have to wake up at 6 AM.


texts: meaning of the phrase "imagine someone complexly"?

texts:
I have come across it in Crash Course World History. It is at around 10 minute and 9 second. Here it goes:

  I just hate when people, and also microbes, are super self-involved. Like, don't tell me you got to take a day off to go to your mom's birthday party, Stan. That is not imagining me complexly. I have got needs over here.

Could anyone please tell me what the presenter meant by that?


texts:
In Cyndi Lauper's song called Money Changes Everything she says:

  I'm sorry, baby, I'm leaving you tonight.

  I found someone new he's waitin' in the car outside.

Is it grammatically correct to use of  I found instead of I've found in this context?

I think it would be correct to use I've found since the time (when she finds someone new)  isn't specified.

Am I right?


texts: "the average person" or "an average person"?

texts:
Which usage is correct/preferred?

1. How many words does the average person hear a day?
2. How many words does an average person hear a day?


texts:
I saw the following sentences on the cambridge online site.I made some changes and I want to know if they are applicable ?

1- They are digging up the potatoes.
(Original)

2- A detective to dig up information about the employee. (Original)

3- They are digging potatoes up.(Edited from 1)

4- A detective to dig information about the employee. (Edited from 2)


texts: The preposition to use after the verb "to turn"

texts:
I couldn't found the directions of using the proper prepositions with the verb to turn.

What is the right way of usage: to turn to, to turn into or to turn without any preposition?
Especially in the context of colors changing.

  The red color turns ... pink when adding the white.


texts:
I need to do the work.

In this sentence, which is the main verb? Is it need or do?

I think the main verb is do and need to is a semi modal. Am I correct?

One of my friends said that need is the main verb here and to do the work is a prepositional phrase. Now I am really confused.


texts: How do I know whether a noun is countable or not?

texts:
I'm new learner and often confused with countable nouns.

Is there any way that I can know whether a noun is a countable noun?

Thanks


texts: “My start day will be ..." or "My starting date will be ..."

texts:
Which is correct:

  My start date will be

or

  My starting date will be

I mean to inform a company when I will be starting new job


texts: Which article would be more natural here?

texts:
He's had conflicts everywhere he's been. A/the manager at/of a restaurant where he worked as a waiter told the police that he...

Could someone please tell me which article you would find more natural to use in this context?


texts: What is the meaning of given quote - When hungry, eat your rice; when tired, close your eyes

texts:
I wonder what is the meaning of this quote, It seems nothing is there. Or I am not understading. Thank you

  When hungry, eat your rice; when tired, close your eyes. Fools may
  laugh at me, but wise men will know what I mean


texts: What does "lending themselves to being long" mean?

texts:
Can somebody explain the phrase in bold for me, please?

  "That tells me that both markets remain skeptical about the continuity of this potential growth as we go forward," he said, adding that these issues are lending themselves to being long the dollar right now would be "very, very dangerous" due to such uncertainty.

Source: Is the dollar’s run done? Why some traders say yes on CNBC


texts: What's the correct word to describe spontanous software closure after being stuck?

texts:
What's the way to describe the following thing?
I use Office Word software, and once it was stuck and wasn't responsive and then (I'm looking for the correct word here: closed, failed, crashed etc.).


texts: Is "in" before "losing" correct in the following phrases?

texts:
Sample #1: I am interested in doing the sport, and in losing weight.

Sample #2: I am interested in doing the sport and in losing weight. (comma deleted before and)

Question: Is placing in before losing is correct in two phrases above?


texts: Why there is no definite article (Part II)?

texts:
This is a spin-off from my previous question. Here I will elaborate more.

  Coconuts and other fruits formed the basis of the sailors' diet while they were shipwrecked on a desert island.

For me it should be the other fruits, because it refers to the fruits that grew on the island. But the answerers said that since these fruits have not yet been introduced and it is the first time you hear about them, the definite article must not be used, otherwise it is ambiguous.

I will advocate my point; consider this sentence from ESL Podcast:

  If you fly to New York, and there is a snow storm and you can't leave the city because the planes are not flying, you're stranded in New York...

Why here it is the planes? The situation is similar to that at the island. The planes were not introduced before, it is the first time you hear about them. And the planes here obviously means the planes at New York's airports.


texts:
If I want to say that a person A went to people and said that he is person B... (he uses his name, as well as other his unique) what's the way to refer to it?

He pretends him

or

He pretends to him.

The preposition 'to' is idiomatic in this context?


texts: How to analyze the phrase "having to deal with other man" in context grammatically?

texts:
I'm expecting some grammatical analysis of the bold phrase "having to deal with other men", and then the explanation of its meaning. Thanks in advance.

Lest we become misologists, he replied: no worse thing can happen to a man than this. For as there are misanthropists or haters of men, there are also misologists or haters of ideas, and both spring from the same cause, which is ignorance of the world. Misanthropy arises out of the too great confidence of inexperience;—you trust a man and think him altogether true and sound and faithful, and then in a little while he turns out to be false and knavish; and then another and another, and when this has happened several times to a man, especially when it happens among those whom he deems to be his own most trusted and familiar friends, and he has often quarrelled with them, he at last hates all men, and believes that no one has any good in him at all. You must have observed this trait of character?
I have.
And is not the feeling discreditable? Is it not obvious that such an one having to deal with other men, was clearly without any experience of human nature; for experience would have taught him the true state of the case, that few are the good and few the evil, and that the great majority are in the interval between them.
-- Plato's Phaedo 89


texts: What are the differences between definite or indefinite articles?

texts:
I am trying to fill in the blank of this sentence. Is it "a" or "the"?

  "They said they were employees of ..... textile factory".

I think the blank should be "a". But the answer key of my grammar book says; it will be "the".


texts: What does "probe down" mean in this context?

texts:
What does "probe down" mean in football (soccer) context?
74 min: Richarlison probes down the left and wins a corner off James. Digne’s corner lands in a crowded box but somehow avoids everyone. The ball eventually sails away from the danger zone.


texts:
We say:

  What is there in the box?
   There is a watch in the box.

Can we also say:

  What is it in the box?
  It's a watch in the box.

I think they don't have the same meaning, but does the latter sound grammatical?

To me, it more sounds like you've seen the thing in the box and say it to mean "What is that thing in the box?"


texts:
I wonder which version is correct? Correct me if I am wrong.

  I was thrown out from the place
  or
  I was thrown out of the place

For example, I am at my friend's house and my friend has a brother and we are hanging out in his room. Then my friend's brother comes and yells: "Get out! Leave!" and throws us out.

Can I say ‘he threw us out from his room’ or ‘he threw us out of his room’?


texts: What does it mean: 'to sleep on somebody'?

texts:
How could the following twit be explained:

  Tech companies, y'all are sleeping on me. I'm available to hire now and that won't always be the case. Whoever gets me is getting a great team member.

The source.


texts:
What is a correct preposition after "clusterize"? The sentence context is:

  We have clusterize data in/into/on/... several groups


texts: What does "aren’t you the one?" mean in this context?

texts:
help me, please, to understand the meaning of the phrase "Aren’t you the one?" in the following context. It seems that this phrase can have any possible meaning here...
 My guess is something like "aren't you a sweetie" or "you look like a boy yourself". Thank you!

"“Luscious Lily!” Popping up, he clapped his hands together. “Gino’s
already at his station. This can’t be your granddaughter. You’d have
been ten when she was born!”

“Cicero!” Lily exchanged kisses. “Aren’t you the one? Caitlyn, this
is Cicero.”

“My sweet girl.” He clasped her hand in both of his. “What a
beauty! I’ll take you right back. Now, what can I get you? Your morning latte, Lily, my love?"

Nora Roberts "Hideaway"


texts: Column titles in a table: singular or plural?

texts:
Should column titles in a table be written in singular or plural form?

E.g. singular:

plural:


texts: Leave application for "days in the past" and "future"

texts:
As we know there are two types of leave application:

Asking for leave of absence for days that have passed, ie, writing after being absent.

Leave of absence for days that are yet to come, ie, writing before being absent.

But being a learner, I use the sentence:

Kindly grant me a leave of absence for the days aforementioned.

in both the case, ie, 1 and 2.
Is it natural?
Is the phrase "leave of absence" can be used in both the cases?
Thanks in advance.


texts:
I’ve asked question about the title’s, but I don’t see any coherence in the usage, that some of them sound natural and others don’t.
For example, they said  “Through the wood is the nearest way.” which is written in a grammar book sounded natural, and “Under the siege was the hardest time.” which is what I constructed on the logic I think I saw in the first sentence sounded unnatural.
And here is what I think now, you can’t actually use this “prep+noun” as a normal noun all the time  otherwise it sounds unnatural depending on the sense. What do you think?


texts: Is “so” different from “this” in these sentences?

texts:
Here are the sentences:

  It was only so long. It was only this long.

  Is your dream only so big? Is your dream only this big?

I think they’re the same, but with different feelings that I couldn’t describe.