texts: How does this use of "and" differentiate between objects and their properties?

texts:
what is the meaning of this sentence:

"Gold and silver ornaments are precious."

Does it mean that: 'ornaments made of gold and ornaments made of silver are precious'

I mean does it refer to two different types of ornaments ,i.e., gold ornaments and silver ornaments or does it mean that 'ornaments containing both gold and silver are precious'

That is referring to only one type of ornaments which are made up of both gold and silver (like 14k yellow gold)
Thanks


texts: Meaning of "on the page" in "When you were around, he was on the page."

texts:
What kind of condition is "on the page" in the following paragraph?

  He was confined to the house, and that was horrible. He would sit in a chair with a book and just sit there. There was nothing left for him. The only time I saw him happy was when you visited. When you were around, he was on the page. He adored you: you were Daddy’s little girl. Otherwise, it was take a nap, take a nap, there was nothing else left. He liked to eat, and that was it.

This is in this book.


texts:
The following example is from the book Oxford Guide to English Grammar describing Not usage

  Beggars are a not unusual sight on the streets of London.

Should that be

  Beggars are not an unusual sight on the streets of London.

"a not unusual" in the first sentence seems not idiomatic or right to me.

Can anybody explain this to me? How a native speaker would say this?

Also I want to know the two negative words "not unusual" is all right to use?

Thanks.


texts:
The book is a hit.

I'll classify the as a determiner, and parse it as an adjective modifying book.

Is that correct?


texts: He did not personally offend anyone vs He did not offend personally anyone

texts:
He did not personally offend anyone.

  He did not offend personally anyone.

I want to say that he did not give a personal offense to anyone.

So which one is right here and what is the difference ? I have no clue but I just feel the first sentence is correct.

Thank you in advance


texts: "like doing ... and doing ..." or "like doing ... and do ..."?

texts:
In the 2 sentences below, which one is correct or both of them are correct?

People like reading ghost stories and watch scary films.
People like reading ghost stories and watching scary films.

If both of them are correct, is there any difference between them?


texts:
What does 'demons in the snow' mean in the following context?

  The E30 generation 3-Series is a classic design that has yet to truly grow old. Many consider this generation of 3-Series to be the quintessential BMW. It is also a great car to learn how to drive in. Most are rear-wheel-drive and are equipped with a manual transmission, making them a true driving experience.

  There are all-wheel-drive variants available as well that are just demons in the snow. The engines are very reliable and once again, like the Mercedes, fairly inexpensive to repair.

www.businessinsider.com/best-first-cars-2012-1?op=?


texts: Should I say "the group concluded his portfolio" or "its portfolio"?

texts:
Referring to a group of students, should I say

  the group concluded HIS portfolio

or

  the group concluded ITS portfolio?


texts: The meaning of "I could use a good wife!" in this passage

texts:
I don't know the meaning of "I could use a good wife" and also this sentence "you couldn't afford one" in this passage:

  She: “Well, I took your suits to the laundromat and got them cleaned and pressed. And I got a great present for your secretary’s birthday. Oh, your Mom called, and I told her you were too busy to go out to dinner this week, but I would take her to lunch Friday.”
   He [distracted as he looks through the mail]: “Oh, yeah, thanks. . . .”
   She [miffed as blood pressure rises]: “I could use a good wife!”
   He [startled and angered by her sarcasm, responds in kind]: “You couldn’t afford one!”


texts:
I was reading my English book when I suddenly read this sentence: "If I had a digital camera, I would have taken some pictures".

If the sentence isn't wrong, can someone explain which conditional type this is?


texts: Is "They continue attached to something" correct?

texts:
They continue attached to something.

Is this sentence grammarly correct? I mean "attached" seems to be an adjective, so should we say "They continue to be attached to something"? But can we omit "to be" in this case?
P.S. this question is derived from my previous question.


texts:
Sentence A : My mind is full of thinking problems in my life.

Question :
Please correct the sentence above, just like a native english speaker would use.


texts: What's the difference between "a second" and "the second"?

texts:
SOURCE    (The Platypus)

The story is about an animal.

  "A second example arrived from Australia, and then more, and the scientists realised that this unusual creature was real."

I kind of understand it, but I can't explain it. I would be really grateful for your options;)


texts: How to intuit or rationalise 'rather than + that-clause'?

texts:
[Source:] The British Military Governor in Germany, Air Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas, was strongly opposed. He wrote: "We are apparently prepared to send these men, including one who is 73, to trial by the Americans. I frankly do not like this. I feel that if the Americans wish to be critical in our inaction in trying war criminals, I should prefer that they should continue to criticise rather than ♦ that we should commit an injustice in order to avoid their criticism." ♦

1. Any other formal terms describing this syntax? I know that rather than is a conjunction.
I added the lozenges to surround my guess at what is the that-clause (in this quote).

2. I can't pinpoint why, but this syntax looks strange and wrong to me? How can I naturalise it?

3. To investigate 2, I tried to replace rather than with its synonyms. So is it perfectly right to form instead of + that-clause, in place of + that-clause, ... ?

Footnote: I had never before encountered this syntax (which seemed more intricate); so suspected that Sir Sholto studied languages in some way. I seem to be right; he did classics at Lincoln College, Oxford.


texts:
Im learning whats loot and ive seen is like to steal or stolen things
But is Christmas loot like gifts stolen? Or is an idiom


texts:
The natural world had thoughts, desires, and emotions, just like
  humans. Thus, the realms of man and nature were indistinguishable and did not have to be understood in
  cognitively different ways. Natural phenomena were imagined in the
  same terms as human experience. These ancients of the Near East
  did recognize the relation of cause and effect, but when
  speculating about it they came from a “who” rather than a “what”
  perspective. When the Nile rose, it was because the river wanted to,
  not because it had rained.

What does they refer to here?
 If it refers to ancients, what 's the meaning of came from, the verb of they?


texts: Can 'any' and 'some' express mild asking?

texts:
Do you have any money?
I hope I've been of some help.
Can I have some water?
(All are from Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s)

‘Any and ‘some’ are very difficult to grasp what they mean in contexts. Sometimes they seem to be equivalent to this Korean word, 좀 [dƷom], which denotes: “[mainly close together with a noun or adverb in a predicate] used to put it mild to ask a favour of something or ask for consent.”
But there seems not any accounts for the meaning. Does this mean that the two words don’t have the meaning, but have the meaning only in some contexts? Or don’t they have the meaning I’ve said at all in the above sentences?


texts:
I have doubt on semicolon and comma usage, should I swap their positions? Or should I put colon instead of semicolon?

  Out of the major expenses incurred by the company, raw materials accounted for 46 percent of the total income, employee cost; nine percent, power and fuel; two percent, advertisement; one percent, interest; four percent, depreciation; four percent, tax; two percent, dividend; two percent and other expenses 20 percent.

I have a doubt about the way semicolon is used, for example:

  employee cost; nine percent

I have used a 'comma' after nine percent and before 'power and fuel'. I have separated 'employee cost' 'power and fuel cost' and 'advertisement' cost with comma – am I correct in separating the content by comma and using the semicolon for depicting the percentage?


texts:
What does 'get emotionally taken away" mean?
I found this in a interview to some competition winner.
He won the competition and said,'You can let yourself get emotionally taken away.'
I understand 'emotionally' and 'taken away' separately, but can not get 'emotionally taken away.'

Does it mean like 'too happy to hide your emotion' or 'explode in joy'?
Could you tell me the meaning?

Thank you for your cooperation.


texts:
I just looked up "at (the) most" in "Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English". It was under the entry for "most" as determiner and/or pronoun. One of the example sentences for it in the dictionary is:

  It’ll take 20 minutes at the most.

But I feel its role is like an adverb. For example in the above sentence it seems that it adds more information to the verb, exactly the function of adverbs. Am I right?

Any response would be appreciated.


texts: "Watching PewDiePie videos" or "Watching PewDiePie's videos"?

texts: I saw both forms where the nickname of an user is used as an adjective, but which one(s) are idiomatic and why?


texts: I would/could/might call it self-defense

texts:
We use "would" when we want to express our opinions, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/would:
Definition 14:

I think you'd agree he's a very respected columnist.

I would class her among/with the top ten American novelists. (mine)

We would describe the standard of the food as poor. (mine)

I would call it self-defense. (mine)

Q: Can we replace "would" with "might" or "could" in these examples? In other words, can we use "might" or "could" with this "opinion meaning" of "would"?


texts: What is the difference between the adjective "health-conscious" and "health-minded"?

texts:
What is the difference between the adjective health-conscious and health-minded? For example:

Kate doesn't drink or smoke. Se is health-concious, which is a real asset.
Kate doesn't drink or smoke. She is health-minded, which is a real asset.


texts: Can you explain the tense structure here in this dialogue?

texts:
If you lay even a hand on him, you are dead.

That was telecasted in a naruto episode.I wondered it should be you would be dead.
Can you explain me this.


texts:
I am writing a paper where I must say that I am using Software 11, but the latest  version is Software 12. So, how should I say that X 11 is the "second-latest" version?

Sentence:

"at the moment of writing, Software 11 is the [...], with the lasted version being Software 12."


texts: Which title would be the most acceptable in doing a literature review for an academic research?

texts:
I am doing a literature review on Driver Drowsiness/Distraction Detection topic and I want to choose my title. Which one of these would sound the most professional:

An investigation on various Driver Drowsiness Detection or Driver Distraction Detection methods in the automobile industry.
An investigation on various techniques for Driver Distraction and Drowsiness Detection in the automobile industry.
An investigation on Driver Drowsiness and Driver Distraction Detection techniques used in the automobile industry.

Is it worth repeating the word driver, and is it better to use "and" instead of "or" to differentiate between the two terms ?


texts: Which tense is correct for a subordinate clause in indirect (reported) speech?

texts:
Here are a couple of examples with which I'm struggling.

  He said that they had been living separately for 2 months before they
  got divorced (or had got divorced) in June.

Should it be either of these: divorced or had got divorced, or both are fine and perfectly ordinary English? Perhaps, the latter is more formal, isn't it?

A similar example:

  He said that man had been drinking for the whole year before he
  sobered up (or had sobered up?).


texts: "could" in the past referring to a single possibility/opportunity

texts:
I decided to create another question as this addresses another aspect of the topic I discussed in my related questions.

I know that in general, "could" is not used to describe a specific possibility in the past - I should not say "I could buy the car yesterday" when I mean that I had a chance/opportunity to buy. For that, "could have bought" should be used.

  He dropped the heavy Tenontosaurus and faked an attack at the male,
  they both fell for it and the Aerosteon ran past them. Now he could
  run away if he wanted to.

In this case, I believe the could does express a single possibility/opportunity in the past, and the usage is correct. However, I do not know what usage is this, it just refer to the past, so according to one comment it is a hypothetical scenario in the present/future?

I tried to reproduce the pattern but it does not feel right:

  I went to the dealership and test drove the car. I could
  buy it but I decided not to.

Could this be changed so that it works with simple "could" as the dinosaur example above?


texts:
I am not sure I quite understand the meaning of “in the evidence” in this sentence:

“The organization would feature in the evidence as an alleged MI6 front operation”.

Does it mean: “It turned out that the organization was a MI6 front operation”?

Searched sources: Oxford Dictionary; thesaurus.com; Webster Dictionary.


texts:
Is this correct to use "so (that)" this way if not then can you explain please?
We need a volunteer to help us (This one is correctly).
Can we say that one this way?

We need a volunteer so that he can help us


texts: "wet" is pronounced /wetʃ/, is it a common accent?

texts:
I clearly heard the speaker is pronouncing "wet" /wetʃ/

  you could "get wet". If you're out in the rain: "Aw, I got wet in the rain." So: "got", past tense.

Is it a common accent?


texts: What is AmE's analog for 'one-off'? Lexico says it's British.


texts:
These days I see many people are tweeting or re-tweeting or liking tweets like this:

Some instances are the follows:

https://twitter.com/patrickmineault/status/1388224997622231040
https://twitter.com/zacharynado/status/1388298365390229505
https://twitter.com/rosorg/status/1388280173036904449

My questions are these two:

Are they viral memes? Or viral/sarcasmic templates? I think it would be something like "黑话" in Chinese and wonder if they are argots(the translation of "黑话")?
What is such a phenomenon called?


texts: No Starch Press -- explain the idea behind the name

texts:
No Starch Press is a, relatively famous in certain circles, publishing company that specializes in publishing books on programming, web development and other computer technologies. I wonder what their trade name actually means. I'm pretty sure it is some kind of pun or simply a play on words.

No Starch Press logo:

Starch, as far as I'm aware, is a type of organic chemical that has a white color, looks like powder and is typically used for ironing clothes (an image of a clothes iron in the logo gives that away). Press—apart from meaning newspapers, magazines and book publications, of course—is the action of pressing something just like when you're ironing your cloths—you are pressing on the clothes with the iron to make it flat and straight. What also springs to mind is the idea of pressure, like, the kind of pressure and stress you're under when you're having problems in your life or can't deliver a project on time. No should probably be understood as part of the expression no pressure.

For instance:

  — What is the time frame for this project?
  — No real time pressure. Take as much time as you need to get it done.

That is basically all I have been able to infer so far. Pretty sure that it's a spin on the expression no pressure. I just can't figure out where exactly starch fits in here. Please, help me put the other missing pieces together to get to the bottom of this thing.


texts: I wouldn't call myself vs I don't want to call myself

texts:
Let's say you were asked by one of your relatives.

  Question:Are good at using technology?(computer)

  Answer#1: Well, I wouldn't call myself a computer buff, simply because I still have so much rooms to learn.

  Or

  Answer#1: Well, I don't want to call myself a computer buff, simply because I still have so much rooms to learn.

What do the #1 actually mean? Is this just a style to be polite(would) or a hypothetical answer?


texts: burn the midnight oil [doing something entertaining]

texts:
Can we burn the midnight oil doing something entertaining?
Is the following natural?

John is burning the midnight oil playing video games.


texts: Meaning of "a homicide in Palermo is news"

texts:
“Palermo, in the 1980s, counted a dead person a day, they were so common people were almost used to them. Now, a homicide in Palermo is news,” he says.

Source: How the Mafia's Murder of an Italian Prosecutor Became a Turning Point in Italy's Fight Against the Mob

I am a little bit puzzled by the bolded part in the above sentence. I presume that the author wants to say that murders are in current Palermo a rare phenomenon. Does the word "news" have such a meaning in the context of my sentence?


texts:
I need the wheat flour of which I bought 20 kg. two days ago.

  I need the wheat flour 20 kg. of which I bought  two days ago.

Where should I use '' 20 kg.'' in the sentences above or would these sentences mean the same? I thought both have the same meaning but I couldn't be sure.


texts:
In my mother language, when someone is going to curse or damn someone who's been the origin of a bad social disaster or someone who has caused a big catastrophe in a family and does not know who was the guilty person, says:

  God damn the cause.

Where "cause" is the guilty person who's been in charge.
This is a direct translation from my language.

My questions:

Is there such a comment in English at all in such a scenario?
If there is, then does my sentence work? If not, please let me know, how should I indicate such a concept?


texts: Do we say "they ran out to play in the snow" or "they ran outside to play in the snow"?

texts:
The children looked out of the window of their house and saw snow falling outside. The children wanted to play in a place that near to their house like their backyard.
In this case, do we say "they ran out to play in the snow" or "they ran outside to play in the snow"?
We often use "out" for activities that are not close to our house. For example, "we went out for dinner" implies we went to some restaurant or place which may not too close to our house.
We often use "outside" for activities that are close to our house. For example, "we went outside for dinner" implies we went to our backyard or garden or place which is close to out house.
But "out" sometimes means "outside". For example, "There were children playing out in the street."


texts:
In 2018, spending for online advertising shot up by 16.6%.
  In 2018, spending on online advertising shot up by 16.6%.

What's the difference between the two lines?


texts: What is the meaning of OTOH abbreviation?

texts: In this answer at StackOverflow, the OTOH expression was used, but I couldn't get this by the context. What it means?


texts: I don't understand this pun about chickens and math

texts:
[math teacher] your homework looks like chicken scratch, but you got them all correct
  [later at home] I think she's on to us, mathmachicken

I didn't get the above chicken pun.


texts: If it's weekdays / On weekdays - the same here?

texts:
Q : How do you decide what to wear?
A :  It depends on the day.

If it's weekdays, I wear comfortable clothes.

On weekdays, I wear comfortable clothes.

If It's on weekdays, I wear comfortable clothes.

I think #2 is perfectly suitable but I'm not sure If #1,3 are the same meaning and possible to use.


texts:
Source

  This was big for bankers, up until the year 2008 when the global
  financial crisis hit.

What is the meaning of big in this sentence?


texts: Is "bring in its wake a loss of jobs" correct?

texts:
The spread of multinational products can often bring in its wake a
  loss of jobs, as people turn to buying the new brand, perhaps thinking
  it more glamorous.

Can you explain the structure of "its wake a loss of jobs"? It seems unordinary to me. Does not a comma missed after 'wake'?  (I know that wake means aftermath/backwash here)


texts: What does "a stay on" mean in this context?

texts:
Unlike Bentham, Mill saw little reason for confidence in democracy as a stay on the oppressive hand of government.

  From The Moral Foundations of Politics by Ian Shapiro

I understand the sentence as this: Democracy is a stay. This stay is on oppressive hands of government. Am I wrong about this? Help me please to understand the sentence.

My another question is: Does the oppressive hand of government means the hand of oppressive government or it just means what it says?


texts: The meaning of "he stands to lose ten dollars"

texts:
This is from Collins Dictionary.

  9 to be in a (specified) condition, relation, or circumstance (used with a phrase, infinitive, or adverb)   ⇒ "they stood in awe, he stands to lose ten dollars"

Does "he stands to lose ten dollars" mean that he will lose ten dollars implying he's bet $10 on something? If so, is there any special reason to say that using 'stand'?


texts:
I argue that the following sentence is grammatically correct:

Apart from a good student, he is a good son too.

Wouldn't it better to say:

Apart from being a good student, he is a good son too.

I feel the sentence a bit off without 'being'.

Thanks!


texts: "one main use of X" vs. "one of the main uses of X"

texts:
I wrote:

  One of the main uses of the post-assignments is to set some global variables.

Can I reduce it to:

  One main use of the post-assignments is to set some global variables.

Are they equivalent? If yes, what is the trick or related grammar here? I mean how "uses" is changed to "use"...


texts: Can I make a sentence with "impressive of"?

texts:
Is the word "impressive of" an appropriate preposition? Do you think the sentence is correct:

  The museum is impressive of its design.

Can I make a sentence this way or correct me please.


texts:
NB. I just posted a similar question regarding another piece of equipment. I've though about it but decided that those are two different questions and made it convenient for me by copying most of the text.

What would be the right term for air pressure pump that e.g. gas station's personnel would use? C.f. traffic turn indicator would be called blinker. So I'm looking for an informal name used by common people.


texts: Does an adjectival following a verb complement the verb or the subject?

texts:
My feet they are sore, and my limbs they are weary;
  Long is the way, and the mountains are wild;
  Soon will the twilight close moonless and dreary
  over the path of the poor orphan child. (Jane Eyre)

Ought the highlighted part of the sentence be called complement for subject, or complement for verb?


texts: Chulada Shop or The Chulada Shop? Which one is correct?

texts: What is grammatically correct for a business name, Chulada Shop or The Chulada Shop? Why? My online business (I sell Mexican accessories) is called Chulada Shop but I wonder if it's grammatically correct, my native language is Spanish. Please help :)


texts: Should "the" be repeated when connected by "and" and "same"?

texts:
In a list where I'm repeating the word "same", should I repeat the word "the" also?

For example:

  Some people of the same nationality, the same age, the same sex, and
  the same height are in the room.

Are all the "the"-s needed in the above sentence?


texts:
I have known Tom since he lived next door.

The most common views of this sentence means

  I have known Tom from the day he moved in.

But someone argues that "live" is a non-continuity verb. So, here "since" means "because", and the sentence means

  I have known Tom because he lived next my door.


texts:
I'm reading Bible, and i saw a sentence:

  Never forget: “A righteous man’s supplication, when it is at work, has much force.”—James 5:16.

What does "when it is at work, has much force" mean? I've searched on http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/be-at-work, and see that "be at work"means "to be having an effect, usually an obvious or bad effect", so "when it is at work" will mean "your prayer receive good result", right? And can you explain to me the expression "has much force"?
Thank you!


texts:
Tom said the following.

  We have to win this game.

Will the subject change in the reported speech?

  Tom said to me that they had to win that game.

or

  Tom said to me that we had to win that game.


texts:
It is from this article. It was in the headline. Here it is:

  Russian helicopter crashes, deaths feared.


texts:
There was a little old woman among the slaves called Sarah, who was nearly past work; and, Master Dickey being the overseer of the slaves just then, this poor creature, who was subject to several bodily infirmities, and was not quite right in her head, did not wheel the barrow fast enough to please him.

The above paragraph is from 'The History of Mary Prince'

I just presume 'past work' means she is too old to work, but I am not very sure.

Many thanks in advance.


texts:
I was asked to write a passage to introduce a friend, which I wrote

"I have a friend. He is Mike..."

and my teacher said "he is" is kind of wrong here, it should be "his name is..."; I agree "his name is..." is better when it comes to introducing a person.
My question is, when there are two friends to be introduced, should I say

"I have two friends. Their names are..."?

It sounds kind of weird to me, I think

"they are XXX and XXX"

will be better.


texts: question in an email is it correct to write: any news for new courses

texts:
In an email I want to send to school where I work is this correct to ask 'any news for new courses?'
can I say courses or better to say classes?
is preposition  for correct?


texts:
When we turn direct reported speech into indirect reported speech, the rules are different depending on whether the speech is an imperative or a statement.

Direct: He told her "Turn right at the stoplight and go straight for
two blocks."
Indirect: He told her to turn right at the stoplight and go straight
for two blocks.

And

Direct: He told her "The supermarket is on the right and you can't miss it. "
Indirect: He told her that the supermarket was on the right and she couldn't miss it.

But how do I combine the two indirect reported forms into one, using one reporting verb (tell) when one is an imperative and the other is a statement?

He told her to turn right at the stoplight and go straight for two
block, the supermarket was on the right and she couldn't miss it.

Is this sentence grammatical/idiomatic?


texts:
Suppose you use a dimmer (a device for varying the brightness of an electric light) at home. When you fell the light is too bright, you can ask someone to dim the light, but what a native would say as a request from someone to make the lights bright?

  Example) Here is too dark Andy. Please..........(make the lights bright)

Does "Brighten the lights" work?


texts: How to say "if I were you, I wouldn't do that" in past?

texts:
Imagine a friend is talking about a past event that is finished and he has made a decision in the past. While he is talking I want to say that I would make a different decision. How should I say that?

If I were you, I wouldn't do that.
If I had been you, I wouldn't have done that.
...

the first one seems more correct to me. But as far as I know that is often used to talk about the present. What is the right structure to use in these situations?


texts: we use by when something happens by a time in the future not until

texts:
"It's too late to go shopping. The shops are open only until 5:30. they will be closed by now."

First: what is closed here? an adjective?

Meanwhile:

Taking the italic part into account, there has been obviously mentioned the fact that if something happens, then we use by. Nevertheless, in my original question, the following phrase is just a statement not an action, so why don't we use until?

"Closed" represents a state, not an action.

........................

EDITED:
My biggest and most important and specific question:

My specific question, now, is about the fact that considering the following explanations, and as being closed is just a statement not an action, why does my original sentence use by rather than until?

The followings are extracted from the book English Grammar in Use:

  1 until
  Something continues until a time in the future:

    Fred will be away until Monday. (so he'll be back on Monday)
     I'll be working until 11.30. (so I'll stop working at 11.30)

  2 by
  Something happens by a time in the future:

    Fred will be back by Monday. (= he'll be back not later than Monday)
    I'll have finished my work by 11. 30. (I'll finish my work not later than 11. 30)

  C. You can say 'by the time something happens'. Study these examples:

    It's not worth going shopping now. By the time we get to the shops,
    they will be closed. (= the shops will close between now and the time we get
    there)

  . . .

  UNIT 119 By and until, By the time...

  A. By (+ a time) ='not later than':

  I posted the letter today, so they should receive it by Monday. (= on or before Monday, not later than Monday)
  We'd better hurry. We have to be at home by 5 o'clock. (= at or before 5 o'clock, not later than 5 o'clock)
  Where's Sue? She should be here by now. (= now or before now - so she should have arrived already)

  You cannot use until with this meaning:

  Tell me by Friday whether or not you can come to the party. (not 'Tell me until Friday')


texts: What does this sentence from the Tempest mean?

texts:
This is a quote from "the Tempest" by Prospero:

  This misshapen knave,
  His mother was a witch, and one so strong
  That could control the moon, make flows and ebbs,
  And deal in her command without her power.

And it translates to (according to this source):

  This ugly monster had a mother who was a witch so powerful that she could control the moon and the tides.

To me that translation is pretty much correct but it explains the meaning of the original sentence until the "make flows and ebbs" part. What does the next part of the original sentence mean?


texts: What does "air pocket" mean here? Difference?

texts:
Cambridge dictionary says:

  air pocket (noun) an area in the sky where the air is flowing differently from the way it is in the surrounding parts. Air pockets can sometimes cause aircraft to go up or down suddenly.

But what does the term mean in this news story?

  “The one stock that could kind of surface as strong here is Netflix,” he said on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.” “You’re definitely seeing a little bit of relative strength. There’s a pretty good air pocket right there between FANG and Netflix.”

  Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/07/fang-is-dead-moneywith-one-exception-technical-analyst-says.html

Edit: The story also says that FANG is:

  Wall Street’s widely used acronym for Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet


texts: had sold or sold simple past with past perfect

texts:
I have a doubt with the following statement

The day before, Gimbels had taken out a full-page newspaper advertisement in the New York Times, announcing the sale of the first ballpoint pens in the United States. Within six hours, Gimbels had sold its entire stock of ten thousand ballpoints at $12.50 each- approximately $130 at today's prices.

As per the past perfect tense definition, When we are talking about the past and want to mention something that happened earlier we use past perfect tense.
As per the given sentence advertise is a incident that happened before sell. Therefore, had taken out a full-page newspaper advertisement is OK. However why we use had sold? Shouldn't it be simple past tense?


texts: Fill in the blank: "The first rule of sailing is, when you see _______ in trouble, you help him."

texts:
Choose the most appropriate option to fill in the blank.

Later when asked about his decision he said, "The first rule of sailing is, when you see _______ in trouble, you help him."
Options:
(a) anyone
(b) none
(c) someone
(d) one

My try:- I got confused in options (a) and (c).
Option (c)None can't be used as it doesn't make any sense. Option (d)one can't be used. But I think both the options (a) and (c) make sense.


texts: Is it correct to say a program is "buggy"?

texts: I am writing an internship report and I wonder if I may use the adjective buggy. I mean, if a computer program has lot of bugs, is it correct to say that the program is buggy?


texts: does "their own" refer back to "the investigators"?

texts:
Does "their own" refer back to "the investigators"?

  "We have had experience in these latter days of mediums giving
  themselves up in the same unreserved way to scientific investigation
  and being betrayed by the investigators, who had not the moral courage
  to admit those results which would have entailed their own public
  acceptance of the spiritual interpretation."


texts: Meaning of "over to the side" in a skateboarding manual

texts:
From a skateboarding how-to:

  Foot placement for manualing is important. You'll want to have your back foot covering most of the tail of your skateboard, and the ball of your front foot right behind your front trucks. Take a look at the photo to see.
  Now remember - there is no right or wrong way to skateboard! So, if you feel more comfortable with your front foot more toward the nose of your skateboard, or back more, or even over to the side - feel free. Do what works. But, right at the start, I recommend putting your feet in this position. It works best for most people.

What is the meaning of "over to the side"?
With your foot hanging in the air?
Or "with the ball of your foot shifted to the left or to the right of the imaginary axial line running through the board lengthwise"?


texts:
This is a passage from a novel:

  Neal had lovely ears. A little too big, and they poked out at the top like wings. Georgie liked to hold his head by his ears. When he'd let her. She could imagine his head in her hands now. Could feel her thumbs stroking the tops of his ears, her knuckles brushing against his clippered hair.

What does clippered mean in the passage? I looked it up in the dictionaries, but there are no definitions of clipper in verb or adjectival form.


texts:
What do the Americans call something which is young friendly and something that is enjoyable for youths:

That type of games are young-friendly.

That type of games hip with the kids.

----- OR ------

These sport shoes are young-friendly.

These sport shoes hip with the kids.

If none of these choices work, please tell me the correct word/expression for that.


texts:
I’m learning conditional sentences recently ,and I’m confused by the two sentences below because they don’t seem to fit any type of conditional sentences my grammar book categorizes.

I think they look like mixed conditionals of type 2 and 3, but I’m not sure.

According to the book, the the main clause of type 2 is accompanied by common modals such as will, can, may, might, should; And the main clause of type 3 is accompanied by the modals would or could.

I’m not sure if I can use would in type two.
If I can, what would be the the difference between using will and using would(I don’t even know whether this sentence is correct anymore).

Here are two sentences extracted from
 The Economist.
Could you tell me which categories do they belong?

  But it would be a surprise if the presidential election scheduled to take place in Venezuela is allowed to threaten the position of the country’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro.

That would be make it seem like a type 3, but that is allowed to seems like a type 2.

  Finding a viable way to mine outer space’s plentiful supplies of platinum, for example, would surely lead to a meteoric descent in the price of the metal.

Is this even a conditional sentence?
The book says nothing of this kind.
Why did the author use would instead of will here? That would makes it sound like a past tense.

Thank you!

————————————————————
Skip this if you already know what conditional sentences are.

Here’s what the Top 20 grammar book says about the four types of conditional sentences.


texts: What does this mean? Does this mean what I think?

texts:
We should believe his story with no less of a grain of salt than may consist with his reputation as a fibber. Grammar Reference

Does this mean, "since he is infamous as a fibber, we should never let our guard down when we hear his story."?


texts: Your bad intonation is more likely to make your informal English sound unnatural than grammar {is / will / would}?

texts:
Your bad intonation is more likely to make your informal English sound unnatural than

  grammar

  grammar will/would/is

which is correct?


texts: "He had already left the house yesterday." Is this correct?

texts:
We cannot use the present perfect with an expression of time, like yesterday, 2 years ago.
Yeah, I(non-native speaker) know that. But how about the past perfect?

a. We visited him yesterday but he had already left the house. (OK)
b. He had already left the house yesterday. (???)

I think 'a' is ok, but how about 'b'? Is 'b' correct? Can we use the past perfect with yesterday like 'b'?


texts: meaning of the word "some" in this context

texts:
"Right," says Dracula, slamming the front door. "I've decided to stay. Pull down the window shades quickly— quickly! Let's move it!"

  "What window shades?" asks the baker.

  "There are none, right? Figures. You got a basement in this joint?"

  "No," says the wife affably, "I'm always telling Jarslov to build one but he never listens. That's some Jarslov, my husband."

Dose it mean: It is very good to have basement?
Dose "some" means: very good?


texts:
I've seen '' Would have + ed '' in the sense of have + ed or just ed. why ? for example :

Context : '' Z had no house because he's poor but now he has a house. A and B his friends are wondering how he did to buy it. ''

A to B: According to what C said V would have helped Z to buy his house. What do you think?

B to A: I don't think V (have) helped Z buy his house..


texts: What is grammitcally correct when trying ot schedule an appointment

texts: .. Any ‘ol way.. just let me know when you are/will be free upon your return.


texts:
I usually use that said or that being said etc.

Today, for the first time in my life probably I read an email with This said.

Is This said correct? If so then why we don't commonly use it instead of that? In fact Wiktionary and macmillandictionary and many others have the phrase this said and not that said

After all, texts are written a text like so:

  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

  That said, Lorem ipsum dolor etc..

The two paragraphs are in the same dialogue, one paragraph apart. So if this said is an option, then perhaps we should use it more commonly than that said since the events in the dialogue aren't far apart.


texts: Shall I use Present simple for fixed timetables

texts:
I am 30 next month or I am going to be 30 next month
I think you can use present as it is a fixed timetable
Am I right?


texts:
I don't understand the meaning of 'out of' in the sentence below:

  "We had to make sins out of what they thought were natural actions"

I think that 'out of' means 'what they thought not', but my English book says
that this sentence means "We had to make sins what they thought were natural actions" like 'out of' has no meaning.


texts: Can candlelight be in plural contrarily to light? I am wondering if candlelight can be plural when there is many candles contrarily to light, which is an uncountable word. What's the consensus on this?


texts: Difference between "uptown", "downtown" and "midtown"

texts:
I've noticed a frequent usage of the words uptown and downtown while watching movies made in the USA. Also the word midtown is seldom used.

What is the difference between them? Is possible they can refer to different places and areas in order what city I talk about? Is there a simple way to recognize what exact place the speaker speaks about?


texts:
Jake has watched TV every night this week (recently and repeatedly).

Why we use present perfect simple instead of present perfect continuous in this example?
Isn't it incorrect?


texts:
A: Where is John?
B: I don't know. He could be in the market.

You could write a letter to the principal.

The first sentence is a speculation, and the second, a suggestion.
Q: Do we stress the first "could" (speculation) in speech?


texts:
From related questions (see below), I have understood that the meaning of "welcome to" and "welcome in" is dependent on the context. Because of that, the question

  What is the difference between "welcome to" and "welcome in"?

is not a well defined question in the first place.
That means it can not be directly answered.

So I will give a precise context, to create a strictly defined question.

This is about comparing the two phrases

  Welcome to Berlin!

and

  Welcome in Berlin!

as opposed to the general comparison without specific city.

The Situation is a short verbal interaction with a traveler inside the city referred to in the sentences. The interaction is finished with the discussed example sentence.

It is meant to mean: "You are welcome in this city, I hope you will enjoy being here!" without implication about visiting or staying for long time.

What's the difference between "Welcome to Berlin!" and "Welcome in Berlin!"?

There is a more general similar, closed question: Difference between "welcome to", "welcome on" and "welcome at" It has an answer, but it's not really helpful.

Also similar, but more general and without answer is "Welcome to" or "Welcome in"?


texts: What are words that can distinguish these two business types?

texts:
I'm looking for words that can distinguish two business types. Take, for example, McDonalds and Takara. McDonalds is a business that, while it is a "restaurant", does not behave like a restaurant, in the sense that customers just order food and directly pay there, much like retail. On the other hand, Takara is also a restaurant, and it behaves like one in the sense that customers order food, wait, and pay once they're done.

I was thinking of the terms "Retail" and "Restaurant", but in the case of McDonalds and Takara, both are restaurants but one acts like retail and the other doesn't. What are good words to categorize these two business types in order to differentiate them?


texts: Passive voice in cases when principal clause is followed by noun clause

texts:
Active: People say that he lives abroad now.
  Passive1: It is said (by people) that he lives abroad now.
  Passive2: He is said to live abroad now.

  Active: We understand that he dislikes children.
  Passive1: It is understood (by us) that he dislikes children.
  Passive2: He is understood to dislike children.

In the above cases where a principal clause is followed by noun clause, the passive voice  can be formed in the above two ways. I noted that in the first way the change is made only to principal clause and not the noun clause.

But then in a test I came across a question:

  Active: We hope that we shall win the match.
  Passive (my ans) : It is hoped (by us) that we shall win the match.
  Passive (correct answer): It is hoped that the match will be won by us.

When to make changes to only the principal clause and when to both?


texts:
The company is being taxed
  The company has been taxed
  The company has been being taxed

These are three examples listed in a book on syntax.

In the first one, the book suggests that "is" is the progressive auxiliary and "being" is the passive auxiliary.

In the second one, the book suggests that "has" is perfective and "been" is passive.

In the third example, the book suggests that "has" is the perfective, "been" is the progressive and "being" is the passive.

Firstly, I was wondering how does one define what the passive auxiliary actually is? I understand how one forms the passive tense, but I'm unsure what a passive auxiliary actually is.

Secondly, It seems odd to me that in the third example, "been" is noted as the progressive auxiliary, whereas in the second example the word "been" is defined as being the passive auxiliary.

If anyone could clear these issues up for me I would be extremely grateful.

Thank you.


texts:
When you use 'it is', sometimes it is contracted, and other times two words are fully prounced.
Is there a meaning for this difference?

It's
it is


texts: Is it appropriate to use ish-suffix with languages? (ex. Englishish)

texts:
Is it appropriate to use ish-suffix for “it's sort of English but not quite”?

  Standard Russian order is “surname, first, patronymic”, because there is special abbreviation "ФИО". “first, patronymic, surname” is Englishish order.


texts:
I was reading Attack Dog Wiki article, where it is said,

  An attack dog is any dog trained by a human to defend or attack a
  territory, property or persons either on command, on sight or by
  inferred provocation.

I very well know what each word means and how each is used separately. But I am having a hard time understanding how those two words come together and what they mean in this context.

I know that it probably means that if the dog is provoked, he will attack. But the use of inferred is confusing me here.


texts:
I've received an email from a native English-speaking colleague containing the following bit:

Can anyone help with the request?
If so, let George and I know.

It really seems wrong to me, and I want to change I for me. What is the correct way and why?


texts: "He is very good shape" vs "he has a very good shape"

texts:
Which sentence sounds more natural to you? I've seen both lots of times:

  1) He is very good shape.

  2) He has a very good shape.

  3) He is a very good shaped young man.

In my opinion the most should be "good shaped", though you will find easily lots of examples on the internet without the ending "ed".


texts:
Which preposition should below sentence use and why?

In the given chart, we can observe cellular phone sales for four companies OR

In the given chart, we can observe cellular phone sales of four companies.


texts: What does it mean to "absorb rather than learn"?

texts:
While he waited to change trains in Kansas City, he heard his name called and a message was shoved into his hand-orders to report to Washington to the office of the Secretary of War. Adam in his five years had absorbed rather than learned never to wonder about an
  order. To an enlisted man the high far gods in Washington were crazy, and if a soldier wanted to keep his sanity he thought about generals as little as possible.
  (John Steinbeck, East of Eden)

Why is there rather than in the sentence? I don't know at all the meaning. Would you explain it?


texts: what does "not even related to..." mean?

texts:
I read a sentence:

  Not even related to my leukemia my cardiologist had me undergo an MRI to assure that I did not have arterial issues.

How am I to understand the first half of this sentence?


texts: Can we use "have" in the meaning other than the usual "giving orders" meaning and such?

texts:
Can we use personification in accordance with the verb have when talking about an action or feeling inspired by something that has no authority over us and no ability to make us do anything or give us orders?

"The article had me mad at the dishonesty in it."
"The movie had me getting bored, it wasn't very interesting."
"All the work had me exhausted by the end of the day."

And is it possible to have an inanimate object do something without the most commonly associated implication of giving an order, but rather an undefined way of causing it to perform the action? e.g.:

"The lovely scent of spring had me want to go outside."
"When the button is pushed the doll has it's head turn."

And also can we say the following:

"He won by having someone else helping him."
"She was thought to have been having someone else doing her work for her."
"The dog died by having a careless driver drive over it."

Do the above examples make any sense?


texts: Is there any difference between these terms?

texts:
I'd like to know why we say "Mississipi river" and "New York City" rather than "River Mississipi" and "City New York".
I'm assuming these are the names of the river and the city, respectively.
Is there any grammar rule that states it has to be this way?
And why do we say "My friend Joe" and not "My Joe friend", if the names come first?


texts: Is there any difference between "time line" and "timeline"?

texts: Whenever I type "timeline," without a space, it gets red squiggly line. But when I search to Google, the word actually exists. Is there any difference? And please give some other compound words that can be written in many ways? Adding a dash and a space and without any.


texts: What does "Write code that creates a list of all integers from 50 to the power of 300." mean?

texts:
I'm trying to figure out what the sentence below means.

Write code that creates a list of all integers from 50 to the power of 300.

I'm struggling with the "from 50 to the power of 300" part.
I've been googling for an hour now, but I've never heard "to the power of 300" without a base.
What does that mean? From 50 to what number? Is it possible that the teacher made a mistake?
So we came up with another way on how to interpret that, and given our previous exercises, this probably makes the most sense:

Write code that creates a list of all integer digits from 50 to the power of 300.

This would be still a little ambiguous, however we could interpret that as first calculating 50^300 and then creating a list of integers that includes each digit of 50^300 individually.


texts:
I heard this word in a song by Nicki Minaj and Britney Spears. This line:

  "Anyway, brembedell, whats that?

  I don’t know: Femme Fatale."

What does the word "brembedell" mean?


texts: "Few" after possessive adjectives: "He sold his few books"

texts:
When you say:

  He sold his few books.

Does it mean he sold a few books or he sold few books?

If it means few books, should I say:

  He sold his some books.

to mean he actually had some books?


texts: Can I use 'would like' or 'want' in place of 'wanted'?

texts:
"It’s been so long since we last were in touch but I haven’t forgotten all the wonderful times we spent together last year. It’s my birthday coming up and I wanted to invite you over to stay at my place for the celebration."

In the above quote can I say:

It’s my birthday coming up and I want to invite you over to stay at my place for the celebration.

OR

It’s my birthday coming up and I would like to invite you over to stay at my place for the celebration.

And by "wanted" does it mean that he was thinking of inviting her in the past, before writing the letter?


texts:
I don't understand how this is good for me.

I don't understand why this is good for me.

Do they mean the same? If not what's the difference? Or maybe nuance? What context would one use them respectively and what would the answers be. Thanks.


texts: What the determination for this depending changing?

texts:
Conjugation is:

put - put - put

eat - ate - eaten

run - ran - run

Question:

  What the name for this depending between subject and verb:

subject (he, she, it) = verb (eats)

subject (we, you, they, I) = verb (eat)

subject (he, she, it) = verb (is)

subject (we, you, they) = verb (are)

my guess: the process of depending between subject and verb is a declension


texts: Which word family of 'satisfy' should be use in this question?

texts:
I am so ______ with your report. Surely, you can do better. (SATISFY)

I'm just wondering which one is correct to use in this sentence above, satisfied or dissatisfied?
Firstly, I answered 'satisfied'. Then, after I took a look at it again. It seems to me that both of them is acceptable. But in the assignment key, it says the correct answer is only 'satisfied'. Can anyone gives me a explanation on this?


texts:
1). Do you wish to watch TV or to go to bed early.
2). Do you wish to watch TV or go to bed early.

What is the difference in meaning between these two sentences? My friend is saying second sentence is correct because we should use bare infinitive after or. Is he correct?


texts: I wish it was longer vs I wish it had been longer for a video I just watched

texts:
Which  one is right ?

  ''The video was great. I wish it was longer.''

  ''The video was great. I wish It had been longer.''

I'm not sure what to choose because I know ''was'' is used for present like '' I wish I was taller.'' but not sure if it used to talk about something that one has just seen .


texts: Difference between "cultured " and "cultivated" when describing a person

texts:
Cultivated

  The adjective cultivated is used to describe someone who is polite and
  civilized. The cultivated people at the party would be very offended
  by crude behavior.

  Someone who's cultivated is knowledgeable or at least familiar with
  the arts, current events, history. He or she probably has traveled
  widely, or at least has read about other people and places. (From
  https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/cultivated)

  Cultured

  A cultured person usually enjoys art, music, expensive restaurants,
  and other things considered fancy or educated.

  An old lady sipping tea with one pinkie sticking out, wearing a
  flowered hat, and listing to Brahms (the classical composer) would be
  many people's idea of someone cultured. A cultured person is also
  called refined, genteel, civilized, and cultivated. Cultured people
  have good manners and etiquette. (From
  https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/cultured)

In sum,

Cultivated: polite, civilized,  knowledgeable or at least familiar with the arts, current events, history

Cultured:  have good manners and etiquette and usually enjoys art, music, expensive restaurants, and other things considered fancy or educated.

These two words look very similar in meaning. What is the difference between them when describing a person?


texts:
‘I wouldn’t go down there sir. It’s high as a f**king kite.’
  Creeley wasn’t exaggerating. Even in the relative cool of the late afternoon the smell wafting off the farm was stomach turning.

Does the phrase  "It’s high as a f**king kite" really mean that "it smells terribly" as is apparent from the context of my sample. I have tried to make some research regarding this phrase but without success.


texts: A word to use in articles to mean a chapter for additional content

texts:
I am creating an article.  I have chapters such as Objective, Preamble, Assumptions, Instructions. I need to add a chapter for some things that are out of the article essence but related to and important.

I have found some words in a vocabulary:

  addition additive supplement accompaniment addendum appendix appurtenance perk perquisite adjunct affixture allowance capper dope suggestion topping add-on
  replenishment addition complement completion pendant pendent

I get the feeling that supplement, appendix, add-on or completion would fit.
Wouldn't they? Which should I use?


texts: to fight the urge vs to fight off the urge

texts:
I was trying to fight off the urge to sneak into the kitchen for something to eat.

I came across a phrasal verb "fight off" and wondered if it would still be correct to leave "off" out and whether it would change the meaning.

I was trying to fight the urge to sneak into the kitchen for something to eat.


texts: Use of 'asphyxia'-a medical term, in an English sententence

texts:
In science class I learnt about Asphyxia which means 'a condition arising when the body is deprived of oxygen, causing unconsciousness or death; suffocation.'

I wanted to construct a sentence like

  The confines of the deep dark chamber was asphyxiatic which drove him into oblivion.

However on searching the net I found no such word as 'asphxyatic', although there is a word called asphyxiation. So is the sentence I constructed incorrect(because it is a medical term) and no such word exists?


texts:
What's the difference between the two? For example:

  One plus one, that was the first equation she had (ever) learned.

How does the "ever" change the sentence?


texts:
Can I use following sentence in American English?

  I was ready to go but the party got canceled.


texts: How to attribute the adjectives "open/closed" and "undone/done" to a "zipper", "zip", "fly" or a "button" correctly?

texts:
It strikes me that almost always using all four adjectives "open/closed" and "undone/done" for all the words "button", "zipper", "fly" and "zip" can be used interchangeably and freely; but I need to make sure about it!

  E.g.
  - Your (zipper / button / fly / zip) is undone/open.
  - Your (zipper / button / fly / zip) is done/closed.

Is there some fixed terms about it in English or depending on personal preference one can use each one of them?


texts: A word to refer who doesn't want to study anything

texts:
I need to know if there is a word to refer to someone who doesn't want study anything, who is a bad student etc.

Example:

  He was a bad student because he didn't study anything.

I would like know if I can replace "didn't study anything" with an adjective.


texts: Hey i am not an English speaker and i have and easy question the nouns fish and shop etc when you make it verb its fishing shopping the question is there a grammar or schedule that shows how to turn names into verbs


texts:
What I want is the verb that has the meaning of "stalk", as in a person following someone he or she likes, but which doesn't have any negative meaning like "stalk".

For example,

  She asked him, "Why don't you ask me out? You're always just verb me all the time."

Stalking is obviously illegal and considered a crime, but I want to know a verb that indicates a guy just following/chasing a girl he likes since he truly loves her. No bad connotation. And for the verbs "follow" or "chase", I wasn't sure either if I could use these or not.


texts: What does construction appendices and shockproof socket mean?

texts:
I am translating a user manual of a wine cooler and I found some expressions that I don't understand. Could you please give me a definition or description?

expression

  Do not install this appliance in areas that are too humid or too cold, such as the construction appendices, garages or wine cellars.

I dont understand what construction and appendix means together. Does it have something to do with a construction area?

expression

  Always use a correctly installed shockproof socket.

Cambridge Dictionary says that a shockproof watch or other device is not easily damaged if hit or dropped. In case of a socket I think shockproof means that the socket is properly grounded. Am I right?


texts: What is the grammar rule for "might + verb1, and verb2"?

texts:
Exposing individuals' personal data might make them vulnerable to
  cyber fraud and piracy, which might result in them losing money and
  put/puts their privacy at risk.

When I write might + verb1, and verb2, should I treat verb2 as if it was preceded with might? and what is this rule called?


texts: Usage of the determiner 'the' within a sentence for two subsequent objects

texts:
Please consider the following sentence with a particular emphasis on the determiner, the:

Have you locked the door and the cellar?

Could you please advice novices (like myself) whether the usage of the for the second object (i.e. cellar) above should be deemed redundant or not? Resulting in:

Have you locked the door and cellar?


texts: Help to understand the sentence from a Yahoo news article

texts:
“Given the numbers of people who continue to be killed and injured in Afghanistan, it is unconscionable to claim that the country is safe enough to send people back to," Omar Waraich, deputy director for South Asia at Amnesty International, said.

  "Callously diverting their eyes from the bloodshed, states that once
  pledged their support for the Afghan people are now putting their
  lives in immediate danger, in brazen violation of international law,”
  Waraich added.

  “The international community cannot abandon Afghans fleeing conflict
  and violence at this time."

I don't know how to parse the sentence in bold above(such as subject, verb, object, etc), hence unsure what it exactly means.

Also, I don't quite get the meaning of "cannot abandon Afghans fleeing conflict
and violence".

The full source.

Appreciate if one can help me!


texts:
In an American novel, I found this sentence, but I don’t understand the exact meaning of "living in refusal". The man here, who in the past worked as an engineer, is a Jew living in the USSR, and he lost his previous job because of discrimination.

  He had applied for a job as an elevator operator in a hospital, but he
  was waiting to hear about that. Such menial jobs were quickly filled
  by Jews living in refusal, all of them with specialist degrees.


texts:
I am struggling to construct a sentence, I have rearranged it so many times that it started to become meaningless in my mind so I would appreciate some help:

This is what I currently have:

  Integrity and discipline are strengths I work towards developing every day of my life.

However, I feel like there is something wrong about it. I'm just trying to say that I consider those two things (integrity and discipline) very important and I try to develop them every day.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
In the sentence,

"My school requires the following: a resume and a good grades."

Can I use a colon?  I realize that grammar rules require an independent clause before the colon.  Is, "My school requires the following" an independent clause?


texts:
What motivated people usually say in normal English when they tend to say something bad is meaningless for them? (I am looking for the most natural way to say this sentence.)

What comes to my mind (a direct translation) is something like:

  (Surrounder / giving up) is meaningless for me.
  "Impossible" is meaningless for me.

Etc.

But I have no idea how native speakers would say the same thing. In my language there is one single epidemic structure to convey this message. We can use it for any concept. E.g the above words. I would appreciate it if you could help me with t.


texts: A simulated TOEFL examination prior to the official one

texts:
We have the adjective mock in English to describe anything that is going to be real (to me, it has a direct connotation of a simulated thing like an examination).
For instance, we have a test standard called mock test/exam/etc. which as a practice is taken before the official examination! Like: In IELTS mock test (BE)

But as you see, it is a sort of BrE term which suits for the IELTS examination.

What do you call such simulated exams for an American standard like TOEFL?

There are some links for TOEFL mock test, but as dictionaries mentioned, the word "mock" does not fall into the AE terminology.


texts: What does "until the pain began to prickle and I was out of options, out of breath" mean in this context?

texts:
I would like to know what "until the pain began to prickle and I was out of
options, out of breath" means in the following sentences:

The night had grown colder. The street was empty. The light of the
street lamps was dim and the cursing of invisible drunk men and women
pierced the air. I knew you wouldn’t come after me, and most of me
didn’t want you to. But without knowing why, I began to run, fuelled
by some kind of elated panic. I ran as fast as I could on the frosted
pavements, alongside the battered buildings, across a naked square. I
ran without stopping, feeling the cold sting my lungs, feeling it rush
through my head and out. Through the warren of the cobbled streets,
past the golden dome of the Orthodox church, straight on towards the
bridge. I ran until feeling returned to my body, until my legs became
heavy, until the pain began to prickle and I was out of options, out
of breath. When I stopped, I was standing on the bridge, clutching a
rail, bent over like an upturned L. I drew in deep, hot, thorny
breaths. My head was spinning. I closed my eyes. I held on tighter to
the rail, much tighter. Until I sank to my knees and cried out in
pain, and felt the cold, hard concrete push against me.

Tomasz Jedrowski, Swimming in the Dark, Chapter 7

In this novel which is set in the 1980's in Poland under the socialist regime, where homosexuality was socially unacceptable, the protagonist Ludwik (a university graduate) left Poland in 1981 to live in the United States of America. And he remembers what it was like back then in Poland, where he went to the flat of his lover Janusz to report his decision that he would leave the country to the U.S.. And then he ran out of the flat. (The main reason that Ludwik decided to leave the country was the fact that his lover Janusz constantly tried to straddle between Ludwik and a girl named Hania, who was the daughter of some powerful Party officer and was in love with Janusz, and thus, could be of use to Janusz, who wanted to make up in this socialist regime. The second reason that Ludwik decided to leave the country was that he applied for a doctorate after having finished his studies at university, but his proposal was rejected because he had no "contacts." So he tried to make friends with Hania to ask a favour of her to get some help about his doctorate, but eventually he witnessed a scene where Hania and Janusz were having sex during a drug party. Seeing this scene acted like a last straw for Ludwik.)
In this part, I wonder what "until the pain began to prickle" means. Does "prickle" mean that he ran so fast for a long time that his legs stung, became painful?
And I would like to know what "I was out of options" means. Would that mean perhaps that he had no choice but to stop running, because of the pain? Or would it indicate that he had no options to stay in this country but to leave...?
I would very much appreciate your help. :)


texts: Is "At [year]" correct? (from Wikipedia)

texts:
Could someone explain to me why the preposition "at" is used in this article: Abortion in the United States?

From the article:

  Abortion in the United States has been and remains one of the most controversial issues in United States culture and politics. Various anti-abortion laws have been on the statute books of each state since at least 1900. At 1973, abortion was prohibited entirely in 30 states and legal in limited circumstances (such as pregnancies resulting from rape or incest) in 20 other states.

Is this usage incorrect?


texts:
I asked a related question, which its answer's comments say I can use different tense after "Until", I thought of posting the question in a separate question to get a complete answer.

Which of the following are possible or more natural

  I waited until he left the room, then I entered there
  I waited until he leaves the room, then I entered there
  I waited until he had left the room, then I entered there

I know it could also be the following, but I didn't find a better example with "until". If you know use that.

I waited for him to leave the room

What about present:

  I am waiting until he comes back
  I am waiting until he will come back
  I wait until he comes back

Or

  I can't help you until I finish/have finished my work


texts: "Before doing X or doing Y, you need to do Z", does it mean Z, X/Y, Z, X/Y OR Z, X/Y, X/Y, X/Y?

texts:
While camping, you plan to fry some eggs and steam some fishes. Before
actually frying an egg or steaming a fish, you need to check that the
fire is still burning.

Which of the following does the paragraph above mean? Is the description so ambiguous that you can't tell either way?

Interpretation 1:

Check fire
Fry a egg or steam a fish
Check fire
Fry a egg or steam a fish
Check fire
Fry a egg or steam a fish

Interpretation 2:

Check fire
Fry the eggs or steam the fishes, in whichever order you prefer


texts: What is the difference between "writing in" and "written in"?

texts:
I read an article of Economist, and now I have a question.

  Chamberlain returned home believing that he had cast-iron assurances from Hitler not to invade Czechoslovakia, famously waving the letter Hitler had signed as he disembarked in Britain. Writing in 1938, The Economist was far more cautious. “There is nothing optimistic,” we wrote “in a forecast that sees only a breathing space before the return of crisis, whether that breathing space be six months or two years.

Above is an excerpt from the article, and I wonder why they used "Writing in 1938" instead of "Written in 1938". I mean, I think it would be much more correct gramatically when it comes to say "Written in 1938, The Economist was far more cautious."

Can you tell me the reason why they used 'writing in'?


texts:
There's "slam the door" and "shut the door" for non-gentle actions applied towards a door but are there any gentle one-word actions?

I tried to search for the opposite (antonym) of "slam" and "close" but that's not what I was looking for. I have no idea how i should search then.


texts:
Can a adverb dependent clause in a compound-complex sentence modify multiple independent clauses? For example like the examples below.

How can I tell how many independent clauses a dependent clause modify in a compound-complex sentence?

I put the dependent clause at the beginning for Example 1.

Example 1:

  If you don't feel tired in the language class, it doesn't mean you will be good at languages, but it means you are passionate about languages.

How about putting the dependent clause at the end like the two examples below?

Example 2:

  You are not necessarily an introvert, but you are a quiet type of person if you don't feel like talking to classmates often.

Example 3:

  Miraculously, the couple suffered only light injuries, and no other residents of the building were injured as the old building collapsed.


texts: Is there an English word for the fruit we call paterna in El Salvador?

texts:
Can someone name the fruit in the pictures?

Here in El Salvador we call it paterna but if I literally translate it  means something related to father as in paternal X obviously it's not what I'm looking for. So if someone knows the name of it please be kind enough to share it with me.


texts: "facility wide", "facility-wide", or "facilitywide"

texts:
From what I've been able to find, "facilitywide" is the proper term. However after a quick search I've been unable to find this term actually used. "Facility wide" and "facility-wide" are used about 50/50.

I looked up dictionary (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/wide) definition of "wide" and there it says: "a combining form of wide, forming from nouns adjectives with the general sense “extending or applying throughout a given space,” as specified by the noun: communitywide; countrywide; worldwide." Note the examples given at the end of the quote.


texts: Words to Disambiguate Alphabet Letters from Others

texts:
Dictating e-mail/website addresses each one letter by one on a phone call is always challenging for me. I found that listeners often misspell certain letters like B/D/V because the pronunciation is distorted.

With a list of 26 words that represent each alphabet letter, if any, communications are going to be easier:

  I: R-A-N-D-O-M-A-L-P-H-B-E-T.

  Listener: (Simultaneously) R-A-N-D-O-M-A-L-P-H... wait. D or B?

  I: It's B. B of 'black'.

'Black' is a quick example of my own but seems good enough because 'black' is simple, easy, and there's no word such as "vlack", "dlack", "glack", etc.

I'd love the list of words like 'black' if there is already one in common use.


texts: I'd like to get a job in the medical (career or profession)?

texts:
What's the correct sentence?

  I'd like to get a job in the medical career.

or

  I'd like to get a job in the medical profession.


texts: Best phrase to convey the meaning of meeting place / confluence

texts:
At the outset let me admit that English is my third acquired language. The question may sound trivial to the native speakers but it's not the same for me. Also, I have tried to search extensively not just SE but other forums also. Didn't find an authoritative answer from an expert.

I have to come up with a punchline / tagline for my business to convey the idea that patients meet doctors for free.
Attempt #1: Where Patients Walk-in Free
Attempt #2: Where Patients Catch-On Free
Attempt #3: The Doctor Patient Junction
Q1: Are all three of these grammatically correct? Do they convey the meaning properly?
Q2: Is there another English phrase that expresses the idea more succintly? I am ready to do the research/diggning if you can give pointers.

TIA


texts: How to ask a question like "Why are so many students in the class today?"

texts:
I don't know how to ask a question about why there are so many people in a place.

For ex: You are student of a university. Normally, each class of your university only has 20 students. However, today, when you go to your class, there are about 30 students. You want to ask your friend sitting next to you that why there are so many students here. How will I ask?

  Why are so many students in the class today?

Is it correct?


texts:
Optional depictive predicatives as adjuncts

  Obligatory predicatives are clearly complements, dependent on the occurrence of an appropriate verb.  With optional ones, however, there are grounds for saying that while the resultatives are complements, the depictives are adjuncts. Resultatives are either obligatory (as in the He talked himself hoarse construction) or else need to be licensed by the verb.  Optional depictives, however, are less restricted in their occurrence.  One manifestation of this has just been noted: they can occur in transitive clauses with either S or O as predicand.  Another is that they can occur in combination with an obligatory predicative or in the ditransitive construction:

29  i) They look even more fantastic naked.
   ii) They served us our coffee black.

  We will therefore regard such predicatives as adjuncts, so that the predicative/non-predicative contrast cuts across that between complements and adjuncts.

  Like numerous other kinds of adjunct, predicatives may be integrated into the structure as modifiers, or detached, as supplements:

30  i) They left empty-handed.                                 [modifier]
   ii) Angry at this deception, Kim stormed out of the room.  [supplement]

  (* This long words were typed by @snailboat: Only a little of which were originally posted by me, and then he added the long words to clarify my question , thankfully.)

This highlighted part, so that ~ that between complements and adjuncts, is very hard to understand. Above all, I can't guess what 'that' in the words means. Can you explain the meaning of the that and the whole meaning?


texts:
I was uncertain whether you should write "a hash" or "an hash".
Searching on the web I found 3.000 results with "an hash" and 300.000 with "a hash", so for sure most people say "a hash".

However "an hash" still sounds better to me, especially when "hash" is used alone (as opposed to "hash table", "hash function" etc.).
That's because I'm used to pronounce "hash" without stressing the h, so its initial sound is similar to that of "hour" (which I'm sure has to be used with "an").
I know that at least some people say it stressing the h, so for them it's for sure correct to use "a", however I wonder if there are different (official) pronunciations and thus both "a hash" and "an hash" are acceptable in written text.

I'm not a native english speaker and I never stayed for long in an english-speaking country, so it's entirely possible that I made up my pronunciation of "hash".


texts: is the below sentence correct? should be use "to" or "in" after the word exposure?

texts: he has gained exposure in various fields  like Management Consultancy. should be use "to" or "in" after the word exposure?


texts: What do we call the end of school everyday

texts: What's the appropriate term to describe the end of classes in school at the end of the day everyday (to resume again the very next day). Can we call it school break or disassembly or is there a specific term to describe it?


texts: How can I properly say that I've already compensated for a specific day that I didn't work

texts:
I have been working with a distributed team for the last 6 months. When I can't work I need to add an event to a shared google calendar that we use. I would like to add in the event's name if I've compensated or not for those hours that I was not available, my question is: is there a word for that? Example:

When I haven't compensated for the hours:

  (In-debt) Dentist

When I've compensated for the hours:

  (Compensated for on the 03/15) Dentist

Thank you.


texts: A GRE verbal reasoning question: "served" vs "controlled"

texts:
Source

  The reclusive clergyman may have lived and died in melancholy, but this doesn’t seem to have (i)_____ his genius in any way. On the contrary, we find ourselves wondering whether his genius wasn’t (ii)_____ in some mysterious way by his mood.

  Blank(i)

  A. influenced
  B. hampered
  C. triggered

  Blank(ii)
  D. served
  E. controlled
  F. identified

I think both BD and BE are okay in this question. This clergyman's mood can either serve or control his genius. I can't decide between D or E.


texts:
As far as I am concerned, when a company offers financing or when a bank gives people a loan to buy a car or a house the relevant terms differ in English!

For instance, we can ask someone:

  How much is each installment of your car?
  Tomorrow, I have to pay the first installment of my car!

But how about a house loan?

Can we say:

  How much is each installment of your house?
  Tomorrow, I have to pay the first installment of my house!

Or we have to use "mortgage" here? If so, then how? I.e. I have to say:

  How much is each mortgage of your house?
  Tomorrow, I have to pay the first mortgage of my house!

Please do me a favor and explain that to me.


texts: "It’s not perfectly clear to me what it is you’re trying to say" vs. "It’s not perfectly clear to me what you’re trying to say"

texts:
It’s not perfectly clear to me what it is you’re trying to say.

It’s not perfectly clear to me what you’re trying to say.

Supposing (2) is grammatical, what, if any, is the difference between it and (1)?
Anyway, is (2) good English?


texts: "A container had a line with a number beside it for every hour."


texts: What's the meaning of "For far too many"?

texts:
I'm looking for Far too many expression's meaning.

Phrase I found the word in:

  For far too many, the dream has dissipated.


texts:
I want to say something like:

He wants to play basketball, play volleyball, or go for a walk.

The meaning I'm trying to convey is: he wants to do 1 of 3 things - play basketball, play volleyball, go for a walk
Can I shorten that sentence into:

He wants to play basketball or volleyball or go for a walk.

Or do I need a comma somewhere. Something like:

He wants to play basketball or volleyball, or go for a walk


texts:
Is the use of the word "better" correct in this text? Or rather, does the text, as a whole, make any sense?
I'm completely exhausted. Sometimes I really feel that I better get myself out of this relationship and start a new life in another place.


texts: I know you can use past participle as an adjective, let’s say, the laptop is built well. But let’s say, I bought a designer bag, now I regret it, does it make sense to say the money is wasted on this bag?


texts: What is the meaning of Judge warning words to Lawyer?

texts:
Situation: Lawyer showed Johnson's family photos who died in plane crash to defendant, Johnson, who got razed upon seeing the photos. Case is filed by family of Johnson's wife on Johnson. Later, Judge called Lawyer to his chamber & warned him.

  First off, you ever pull crap like that in my court again. I will have
  hardened inmates using you as a dress-up doll.


texts: How to say when you want to say that someone is available in his office, like The Doctor is in his seat or The Doctor is on his seat?


texts:
1: I walked up and asked, “What is the matter?” and I regret ever doing that.1
2: You can see by the situation I'm in that I regret ever using drugs.2

Is this ever grammatical here?
OxfordDictionaries includes the definitions at any time and at all times; always. In the cited usages, does it mean "I [now] regret having done [the regretted thing] at any time in the past"? That seems unlikely in the context of #1, since the action could obviously only have happened at one specific time.
Or does it mean "I always regret / have always regretted doing it"? In which case, is the regret implied to have started immediately after I did it? That seems unlikely in the context of #2, since presumably the speaker repeatedly used drugs after the first time.

1. That a Man Can Stand: The Evolution of a Nation
2. Google


texts:
I am wondering whether the tenses are not quite good in the following:

  Inside the homes of high-ranking chiefs is where house poles were found.

As you can see, there are both present and past tense forms.

Also, what's the difference between the above and the following?

  Inside the homes of high-ranking chiefs was where house poles were found.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts:
I'd like to know if there's any difference in meaning between 'where' and 'the place where' here.

I'd like to talk about where I usually play basketball

I'd like to talk about the place that I usually play basketball at.

I think both of them are perefectly the same meaning.

I like to play basketball where there are a lot of people.

I like to play basketball at a place where there are a lot of people.

I don't think there's a difference.
Am I right? Or are there any differences?


texts: Definite article for contextually clear references

texts:
Do we use "the" if we understood from the context that a noun is specific? If your answer is Yes, and I cannot imagine another answer, then the above statement contradicts with the following example which is extracted from the Guardian:

  Arriving in Plymouth all passengers were invited to take a leaflet to
  claim compensation. I did so by post. A month later, I called
  customer service to follow up my claim and.......

Although that previous paragraphs imply that the writer is specifically referring to the customer service of GWR, in the second paragraph, the speaker simply said "I called customer service" (without the). Obviously this is not a typo, I found several examples like this one. So either I don't fully understand the rules of the definite article or this is another special case.

Also this one

  The regulator also banned Solarplicity from taking on new customers
  because of poor customer service and problems with customer switching.

If I was the writer, I would write "of the poor customer service" because it is very obvious that we are talking about the customer service of Solarplicity.

Also I found the following examples, and I cannot explain why the writer used "the" or "zero article" here. See below

  Perez alleges that her former boss, the US head of sales Brian Berner,
  took only male employees to the Sundance independent film festival in
  2016 and 17. She says employees spoke of “drug use” on these “boys’
  trips” and alleges that one man got into a physical fight during one.
  She claims these trips excluded more senior women.

I would write “the US head of the sales” because we talk about a specific sales department. It is the sales department of Spotify US. Why the writer did not use "the"?

  Perez’s suit also alleges that men in the sales department received
  “higher compensation and equity” than their female counterparts. She
  quotes the company’s chief financial officer as having said that he
  did not care about diversity at the company and that an HR executive
  told staffers his favourite swear word was “cunt”.

The writer finally did what I expect, he wrote “the” sales department. I guess because we are talking about the specific sales department of Spotify.


texts: The use of a mixed conditional in context

texts:
Tell me please if my sentence is grammatically correct.

  If you are hungry, eggs would be a nice choice to satiate hunger.

By using would, I tantively suggest that eggs are a great choice. Is that a correct use of a mixed conditional? By the way, eggs are a great choice or  eggs is a great choice.


texts: What does the phrase "boot down" mean here?

texts:
Please help me understand the meaning of the phrase "boot down" in the following text from the description of the game "Bomb Chicken":

It can double as a barrier to keep enemies away, too. But these aren’t smart bombs – your payload is as deadly to you as anyone else.
When the way you get around is also the biggest danger you face, exploring becomes thrillingly tense and tricky.
But as long as you’re careful, you’ll never cry fowl – and there’s little more satisfying than mastering the ‘lay and punt’ technique, where you boot a freshly-fabricated bomb down a tunnel to clear it out, or at a distant switch to open a door.

I know that the lexical meaning of the word "boot" is "to kick"/ However, I am confused by the word "down"here.

Thank you for your time.


texts: What's the subject of each of these sentences?

texts:
Her best season as a hitter was 1998.
Even the less difficult of the two problems was too hard for Mark.
Even the slowest of those workers finished ahead of the people in my group.

I think the subject of the first one might be 1998 but I'm not sure, but can a year be the subject? It's a thing so why not?
As for the second and the third one, I'm thinking this might be a case of nominal adjective, but again I'm not sure. I'm thinking the subjects might be " the less difficult " and " the slowest ", because maybe they're adjectives functioning as nouns here. I just want someone to either confirm this or correct me if I'm wrong.


texts: No definite article before 'topics' in "touching on topics" in this sentence?

texts:
(Quora) Eric Lander chose lectures that would give the audience a perfectly relevant introduction to Biology, touching on topics in his research in the Human Genome Project.

Where is the definite article? Should not it be the topics, because these are the exact topics


texts: Grammatical number agreement: "We detected particles with a distinct envelope and a dense internal part"

texts:
It is okay to mix the grammatical number thus in a complex sentence? "Particles" are plural, but they have (based on the available data obtained using electron microscopy) a singular "part" and a singular "envelope":

  In the intercellular space and on the surface of about 5% of the cells we detected spherical viral particles 100-120 nm in diameter with an electron-dense internal part and a distinct envelope with "spikes" about 10 nm in length.

Or should one to use a word like each to avoid this number mix-up:

  In the intercellular space and on the surface of about 5% of the cells we detected spherical viral particles 100-120 nm in diameter, each with an electron-dense internal part and a distinct envelope with "spikes" about 10 nm in length.


texts: Difference between {climb/climb up/climb down/climb on}

texts:
I saw him climbing up/on or climb the tree to pluck the mangoes.

"Climb", by itself, means to go upward gradually. Then why do we use climb down?
How do we differentiate and use them in a sentence? Can't I simply use climb?


texts: Comparing some sentences with the participle

texts:
Could you explain to me the difference in meaning between the following sentences?

  1) Asked whether the discussion had brought agreement nearer, he said that every useful conversation was a step forward.

  2) Being asked whether the discussion had brought agreement nearer, he said that every useful conversation was a step forward.

Does 1 mean that he was asked only once while 2 means that he was asked repetitively?
Do you agree that "Asked whether the discussion ..." = "When asked whether the discussion ..."

  3) Written in pencil, the article was difficult to read.

  4) Being written in pencil, the article was difficult to read.

If I can make a conclusion about "one-off action versus a series of actions" in the first two examples then I can't see how a letter can be written by means of series of actions. What's the difference between 3 and 4?


texts: Which form should be used for nationality: German or Germany

texts:
In forms, what should I write for nationality fields? The name of country or the word for people of country?

German, English, Iranian vs Germany, England, Iran.

(I need this for listening section of IELTS)


texts: Six days later, by the following Wednesday evening, she was able ~~~. what does it mean?

texts:
From then on, every day after school, Matilda shut herself in her room and practised with the cigar. And soon it all began to come together in the most wonderful way. Six days later, by the following Wednesday evening, she was able not only to lift the cigar up into the air but also to move it around exactly as she wished. It was beautiful. "I can do it!" she cried. "I can really do it! I can pick the cigar up just with my eye-power and push it and pull it in the air any way I want!"
Six days later, by the following Wednesday evening
what does this sentence mean??


texts:
Which one of the the following is correct?

  We have many car in our showroom.

or

  We have lots of cars in our showroom.


texts: Can you explain the confusing part in this paragraph?

texts:
I have a paragraph as follows:

  Those who are most uncomfortable in uncertain situations, those with the least courage, often like to state that some people are born this way and you cannot change who you are. There is some truth to that. It is just that some people are not born courageous, all of us are, and you can change who you are; in fact, everyone who is not courageous anymore has obviously already changed

What does “there is some truth to that” mean? And if “ some people are not born courageous, all of us are”, why did the writer say “everyone who is not courageous anymore has obviously already changed”


texts:
I'm reading a technical book about programming and I came across on this sentence,

  "A dependency abstracts functionality away from calling code. You don't need to worry too much about what a dependency is doing, much less how it is doing it, but you should ensure that all dependencies are correctly managed."

I did not quite get the sentence. Can anyone explain me this?


texts:
The flagpole was prodeced with the height/length of 10 feets.

Which one should I use in sentence above “length or height? As the flagpole is produced horizontally I think I should use length ? But I couldn’t be sure ?


texts:
Our class had been practicing for an upcoming play.(They aren't  practicing at the moment because they're studying Math). Our Math teacher was teaching us, when the teacher who was in charge of the play showed up. She said:

  Can I take a few minutes of your (math) class? These kids have to practice for their upcoming play.

By "class" I don't mean the group of students in the classroom at the moment"  but I mean "Math class".

Is the use of "take a few minutes of your class" natural? If not, then what will be a natural way to express it?


texts:
I'm currently reading a book on syntax and it states the following:

"Be careful not to confuse the past participle with the past tense...They differ, however in that the past tense form is finite, while the past participle form is non finite"

The verb dance was used as an example e.g. I often danced vs He has often danced.

What I am wondering is, of course the simple past tense is finite, but isn't the past participle also finite? In the sense that it has tense about an action that occurred in the past? In this case the act of dancing? Or is one to assume it's acting as an adjective?

Appreciate any help.

Thanks.


texts: Are there solutions to know which verbs are followed by the infinitive or the gerund?

texts:
I can know some patterns like these.

I enjoy cooking.
He wants to swim.

But for other verbs like admit, allow, agree, appear and so on. It seems that I have to remember which verbs are followed by infinitives or gerund.
I know I have to listen a lot. At least I know how to use "can't help" from this song "but I can't help falling in love with you...."
But for learner do we have only to remember them or are there any other solutions?


texts: Why do Americans pronounce the word "shorter" differently from the British?

texts: while I am learning the American pronunciation, I find that the American pronounce the word "shorter" quite differently from the British. Specifically, the "t" sound in the word is pronounced like the "d" sound. Therefore, could somebody help me to explain this? Is there a rule behind this? Thank you in advance and have a nice day.


texts:
Sally: You will have to meet my parents tomorrow.

  Jack: What time would/will it be?

I think that I will have to use will in this case, as the situation is likely to happen, but using would sounds more polite. Which one must I use in this situation?


texts: What's the difference between Compensation, Indemnity, and Reparations?

texts:
I'm really confused about which term I should use in order to say that someone received money from his job after suffering an injury at work.

  He was compensated by his job?

  He indemnified by his job?

  He received reparations from his job?


texts: How would you put three and a half hours in numbers?


texts: What is a less vulgar way of referring to someone's posterior?

texts:
What is the least vulgar but still natural (not overly formal) of these: Bum, bottom, backside, behind, rear end...
As she walked past him, he stared at her _________.


texts:
What is the difference between would and will in the following examples?

  How would you use this word in a sentence?
  How will you use this word in a sentence?


texts:
But that did not solve his problem, his mother's birthday was next
  week, he had counted on Arsenal beating Manchester and if that idiot
  of a referee had not awarded that idiotic penalty.

I am wondering what's the plural form of the bolded part. Is it "these idiots of referees"? It doesn't sound right.


texts:
When she got into the car at five, ready for the fifteen-mile drive across London, it wouldn't start.

What does this stretch of language represent? Is it an adverbial?


texts: Action recently stopped or still going on

texts:
Is this a strange sentence?

  Z have been supporting and are still supporting the current uk dates for X.

"Have been supporting" is present perfect continuous that means the action is still going on , so there is no need to add "are still supporting". Or maybe the action stopped recently, started again after a little break and is still going on in that case I understand "are still supporting".


texts: These dreadful circumstances bring out the worst in 'absolutely' everybody

texts:
These dreadful circumstances bring out the worst in absolutely
  everybody.

Might I trouble you to tell me why absolutely
 is between them? Why is an adverb placed between 'in' and 'everybody'? Could it be an error?


texts:
I can't find the right definition for the thing that you see on the right. If we put all parts of it together we will get a box that we can rotate (this picture is taken from a quiz for kids - they need to guess which picture they will see if they look at each cube from the top).

But what is this unfolded thing on the right called in English correctly, in a single term? I found the word "scan" but I'm not sure it is a correct one.


texts:
"square of a" is equal to the product of a and itself.

to refer to this, "square of a" or "squared a", which one is more idiomatic in the context of academic, such as a textbook?


texts:
If someone does something that is not good for someone's image what is a natural way to describe that?

  He ruined my image.

  He spoiled my image.

  He damaged my image.

  He harmed my image.


texts:
I saw it many times in many texts. There will be a word or a phrase inside a text and surrounded by square brackets.
Examples:

This is [the] main purpose of xxx.
And it was called [xxx].

There are many examples out there. What does it mean when you surround a text in square bracket inside a whole text?


texts:
He felt a pang of guilt over lying to her girlfriend.
  He felt a pang of guilt about lying to her girlfriend.

I saw many texts which contained "guilt over", but when I looked the word "guilt" up, i saw that it comes just with the preposition "about".

What is your explanation on this issue?


texts: Usage of "noun of noun": mountain of an uncle, gem of a person

texts: Mountain of an uncle, gem of a person, dude of an actor, dreamboat of a husband. Please explain this usage of "noun of noun".


texts: Where to put relative clause in sentence with a future condition?

texts:
I want to know where to put the relative clause in this sentence:

  Code following must be modified when a routine will be available that
  automatically shows installed applications

or

  Code following must be modified when a routine that
  automatically shows installed applications will be available

Thanks


texts: Is there any difference between "this weekend", "on/in this weekend", "during this weekend", "over this weekend" and "through this weekend"?

texts:
Could you tell me if there is any difference between this weekend, on this weekend, during this weekend, over this weekend and through this weekend? For example:

I am going to read the book you lent me this weekend.

I am going to read the book you lent me on this weekend.

I am going to read the book you lent me during this weekend.

I am going to read the book you lent me over this weekend.

I am going to read the book you lent me through this weekend.

I am going to read the book you lent me in this weekend.

By the way would the meaning somehow change if I swapped this for the in the sentences two through six. For example:

I am going to read the book you lent me on the weekend.

I am going to read the book you lent me during the weekend.

I am going to read the book you lent me over the weekend.

I am going to read the book you lent me through the weekend.

I am going to read the book you lent me in the weekend.

By using the, I am still trying to say this coming weekend.