texts:
I have checked some material which says "for somebody to do something" is a compound structure used to be attribute such as "It’s time for everybody to go to bed." So in this example:

  This is the last call for passengers to board Flight 139 at Gate 57.

this is the subject;

is is the predicate;

the last call is the predicative or complement for subject;

and for passengers to board Flight 139 at Gate 57 is the attributive.

Is that right? and I wonder if "for passengers to board Flight 139 at Gate 57" could be divided intensively?


texts: Besides, Other than, But, Except, Except for

texts:
Is there something that is not the apple on the table?
  Is there something but the apple on the table?

Are they the same in meaning?

  I can eat everything but tomatoes.
  I can eat everything that is not tomatoes.

I know they are the same. But I think it’s because of “everything”. “Something” means a thing.

I want to know what to use instead of “but”.


texts:
many people encountered a fake website, especially when download some software.

so, we need to examine whether a website is the official website for that software sometimes.

is the saying "official website" idiomatic?


texts:
Someone farts in the class.

Jack noticed that and said, "What's that smell?"

Keith haven't smelled that and asked Jack, "Smell, I didn't smell anything."

Jack said, "I smell stinks." or "I smell some bad smell."

Smell can be verb and noun, how do we used it?


texts:
I have a question about the usage of the prepositions "on" and "under".  Let's say the context is colleges with semester systems and quarter systems.  From this website:

  Of the 48 contiguous states, 40 state systems (83%) operate on a semester system and 5 state systems (10%) operate on a quarter system.

, which suggests that "on a quarter/semester system" is standard English, and that "under a quarter/semester system" is not.

But then, I saw this example sentence for the definition of "system" in some dictionary:

  def 3a:  Under the new system, students will have to pass an exam to graduate.

So, which one of "on a quarter/semester system" or "under a quarter/semester system" is standard English?


texts: Examining some elliptical structures - Part I

texts:
After reading the comments and answer for this post, I have realized that the best (and/or maybe the only) way to master elliptical structure is seeing and examining more examples in this subject.

I have found out that we can have many examples of elliptical structure in coordinate structures, such as

  I ask you to do something, and you ask me to do something .

However, I have been notified that the following example cannot be linguistically acceptable:

  He studies books about mathematics, and she studies books about physics.

(Please note that in above examples the elided words are indicated with subscripts.)

After observing the former typical example, I expected we can have the latter one. Can anyone explain why I should not have expected this typical example?

Updated

It may be needed to explain why I have mentioned that the second example may not be linguistically correct.

I have been notified that there exists a view stating that for gapping structure the elided material should not reduce a major constituent; by constituent of a sentence I mean the largest sequence of words that can be replaced by a single part of speech: a noun, a verb, an adjective, or an adverb. Now, in the sentence “She studies books about physics”, “books about physics” is the major constituent, so according to the mentioned view it should not be reduced by elision.

Now, my question is:

  Is the above view globally acceptable among all English writers and linguists?


texts:
I have read a lot of textbooks on finance.  A lot of sentences include "would", but I have difficultly understanding the intended meaning of them. The word "would" does not appear to express presumption or expectation or hypothecation or habitual action in the past.

Could you please help me to clarify this in these examples:

  Authorize.net would be a competitor to our services. We do include some cascade options for other processors such as Epoch, but we do not support any other payment gateways.
  Activities that generate fees, such as most investment banking activities, are straightforward. Accrual accounting rules similar to those that would be used by any other business apply.
  CAT bonds typically give a high probability of an above-normal rate of interest
  and a low-probability of a high loss. Why would investors be interested in such
  instruments?
  Consider two bonds that have the same coupon, time to maturity and price.
  One is a B-rated corporate bond. The other is a CAT bond. An analysis based
  on historical data shows that the expected losses on the two bonds in each year
  of their life is the same. Which bond would you advise a portfolio manager to
  buy and why?
  Advocates of hedge funds would argue that hedge fund managers search for profitable opportunities that other investors do not have the resources or expertise to find. They would point out that the top hedge fund managers have been very successful at finding these opportunities.
  The simplest type of trade is the purchase of an asset for cash or the sale of an asset
  that is owned for cash. Examples of such trades are:

  The purchase of 100 IBM shares
  The sale of 1 million British pounds for dollars
  The purchase of 1,000 ounces of gold
  The sale of $1 million worth of bonds issued by General Motors

  The first of these trades would typically be done on an exchange; the other three
  would be done in the over-the-counter market. The trades are sometimes referred
  to as spot trades because they lead to almost immediate (on the spot) delivery of
  the asset.


texts: "Today the weather was snowy" or "The weather was snowy today"?

texts:
"Today the weather was snowy"

Or

"The weather was snowy today"

Which sentence is more correct according to the grammer rules?


texts: Reducing ambiguity in a description that might apply to one or two nouns in a list

texts:
The state and local governments must take into account characteristics of family members and family types in coming up with the policies.

In the way it is expressed right now, there is no way to tell (it is ambiguous) if 'characteristics' is associated with both 'family members' and 'family types', or just 'family members'. How would you rephrase this so that this distinction is clear? (i.e. 'characteristics' should only be associated with 'family members')

Also, what would be the natural assumption, if there is any, as to the question of associativity of 'characteristics' in the given sentence?


texts:
Could the following sentence mean " the car is speeding in a crazy manner/ in high speed / uncontrollable way" or it can have only one meaning?

  The car is speeding around the bend.


texts:
Can we use past continuous tense to refer a past habit with adverbs of frequency words? For example:

  He was going for a morning walk every day.


texts: What can you call a low quality "best 10 everything" website?

texts: Sometimes when you google something like "best camping stove" or "best coffee maker" (just examples) you can see low-quality websites that look very similar, full of amazon affiliate links. And if you know something about the topic (camping/coffee in my example) you quickly understand that the text is written by a freelancer/copywriter (probably not even a native speaker) who understands nothing about the products he/she writes about. What can I call such a website in 1-3 words?


texts: "Consider" vs. "look" when asking someone to take a fact into consideration to back up one's point

texts:
Is there any difference between consider and look when asking someone to take a fact into consideration to back up one's point? For example:

That guy is really rude. Consider how he treated the waiter yesterday.
That guy is really rude. Look how he treated the waiter yesterday.

Are both sentences perfectly natural?


texts: The use of be form twice in one sentence

texts: Is it correct to write a phrase like "The guy that is responsible is David"?


texts: Which one is the better choice of writing numbers?

texts:
In a scholarly paper, which of the following is the right way of writing down numbers?

  The country is the first in the region, fourth in the continent, and
  sixteenth globally.
  The country is 1st in the region, 4th in the continent, and 16th
  globally.


texts: What type of inversion is in the following sentences? : Thee will I honor, praise and give glory

texts:
e.g:
Thee will I love, my Strength, my Tower
thee shall I love in endless day


texts:
This video has no sound/audio.

But can it be:

This video has no volume.

Because all the websites use "audio" or "sound" but never "volume".
Thank you:)


texts:
I wonder if there are any differences between  in the following sentences
in terms of meaning.

I have little money to buy a new car.
I have too little money to buy a new car.

As far as I know, both convey a meaning that it is " not enough" and using "too" makes  the situation a bit more emphasizing.


texts: Does "all-month" mean "from month to month"?

texts:
There is all-day, but I'm not sure whether all-month exists or means "from month to month" or not. I can use month to month too, but all-month seems more suited in this writing:

  No parenting book can help a mom to know whether her child playing Counter Strike all-month is a healthy hobby, an addiction to violence or a determination to become a professional gamer.


texts: This seems not a question but what is it?

texts:
"And if I find you have broken your promise to me and to God, I will
  reveal your crime to your victims."      "And they will
  kill me. Good work, Father."      "As far as I can see,
  it's the best way out of a moral dilemma. And my priest agrees. So
  take it or leave it."      "I have no choice."
     "God bless you, my son," said Spirya.
  Lev walked away.      He left the grounds of Ty Gwyn
  and headed through the rain back into Aberowen, fuming. How like a
  priest, he thought resentfully, to take away a man's chance of
  bettering himself. Spirya was comfortable now, food and clothing and
  accommodation all provided, forever, by the church and the hungry
  worshippers who gave money they could not afford. For the rest of his
  life, Spirya would have nothing to do but sing the services and fiddle
  with the altar boys.  (Ken Follett, Fall of Giants)

The clause seems not a question for there’s no question mark. And so I imagine a parsing: “how like a priest” is “what a (darn) priest” and to infinitive is the reason for the previous part. How do I understand it?


texts: Meaning of “as soon as school was out for the day”

texts:
As soon as school was out for the day, they always came to play there.

What should I understand when I read this expression: ”as soon as school was out for the day”


texts:
What does the author ‘+ing’ after ‘to’ in the following sentence?

  These symbols, knows as conventional signs, are the ‘key’ to reading maps.


texts: "Neither they nor I am an idiot at all" or "Neither they nor I are idiots at all"

texts:
I'm wondering which is grammatically correct:

  Neither they nor I am an idiot at all.

  Neither they nor I are idiots at all.


texts:
"How should you respond to
  congratulations?"

OR

  "How do you respond to congratulations?"

Do these two sentences convey the same idea?


texts: What does it mean to say "Except as otherwise"?

texts:
What is the exact meaning of except as otherwise in the following phrase?

  Except as otherwise provided in these bylaws,

It seems it's very common in the legal contexts. It is used frequently in phrases like these:

  except as otherwise specified in this agreement

  except as otherwise agreed

  except as otherwise expressly set forth herein


texts: Coolest jacket I ever had/ have ever had?

texts:
I bought a jacket today, and it is really cool, so I want to tell my friends.

Which one of the following sentences is correct?
Is there a difference between them?

  It's the coolest jacket I ever had!
  It's the coolest jacket I have ever had!


texts: He was angry with his brother. VS. He was angry at his brother

texts:
He was angry with his brother.

He was angry at his brother.

Any different usage could be? Or exactly the same?


texts: that claim and two slices of bread will get you a bologna sandwich -- what does this mean?

texts:
Source: Absolute FreeBSD: The Complete Guide to FreeBSD, 2nd Edition by Michael W. Lucas (2008)

Example:

  Tapes tend to stretch, especially after they’re used the first time. (I know
  perfectly well that modern tape vendors all claim that they prestretch their
  tapes, or that their tapes cannot be stretched, but that claim and two slices of bread will get you a bologna sandwich.) Retensioning a tape is simply running the tape completely through, both forwards and back, with the command mt retension.

What do you think he's trying to say there? Does this have something to do with the expression baloney which means nonsense talk?


texts: 'Secure' followed by direct and indirect object?

texts:
R. H. Tawney wrote the following in The Acquisitive Society (1920):

  The greater part of modern property has been attenuated to a pecuniary lien or bond on the product of industry which carries with it a right to payment, but which is normally valued precisely because it relieves the owner from any obligation to perform a positive or constructive function. Such property may be called passive property, or property for acquisition, for exploitation, or for power... It is questionable, however, whether economists shall call it "Property" at all, and not rather, as Mr. Hobson has suggested, "Improperty," since it is not identical with the rights which secure the owner the produce of his toil, but is opposite of them.

Shouldn't there be another preposition in the bolded sentence? Definitions 1 and 3 of the link contain at least one. If so, which should be used?


texts: "I am?" or "Me?", what is the difference between those responses

texts:
For example:

  "You have been promoted!"

  "Me?" or "I am?"


texts: Should I use 'kinds' or 'types' here, and in which position?

texts:
We can see four kinds of sentences.
We can see sentences of four kinds.
We use different types of sentences.
We use sentences of different types.

Here,  do 1&2 and 3&4 have same meaning or different? And usage of words with preposition are correct?


texts:
When talking about two objects using and and or, when should I use a and an? Take the following sentences as an example. When is the article appropriate?

  I have an orange and apple in my hand.
  I have an orange and an apple in my hand.
  I have a television and radio at my home.
  I have a television and a radio at my home.
  I would love to have an orange or an apple in breakfast.
  I would love to have an orange or apple in breakfast.
  I had some money three months ago, I could buy a television or a radio.
  I had some money three months ago, I could buy a television or radio.
  I have a mango and an apple in my hand.
  I have an apple and mango in my hand.


texts: Is "transferring data" used when talking about people?

texts:
I know that "data" and "transfer" are used when talking about technology and things like that. My question is when talking about people learning new things, can I use the words "data" and "transfer" as well?
For example in the following sentence:

  Data is transferred to/among new students from their teachers.

Is that usage correct? Is there a more colloquial way of saying it?


texts:
I have a question regarding what verb tenses to use when using "will" and "would".

So if I start my sentence using "will", do I need to stick to using will throughout my sentence? I was recently taught that I'm using conditionals if I'm using "will/would" and that I need to stick to the verb of the conditional verb.

I've always said the following, though.

  A: I will buy it if the price goes down.

  B: I'll buy it if I have money.
  I would buy it if I have money.

Do you think it should have been this?

  A: I will buy it if the price will go down.

  B:  I'll buy it if I will have money.
  I would buy it if I had money.

Similarly, I've always said the following.

  She told me that she will go grocery shopping tomorrow, but I told her I won't be able to go with her.

Should it be this instead?

  She told me that she would go grocery shopping tomorrow, but I told her I wouldn't be able to go with her.

Is it ungrammatical to mix tenses in conditional sentences?


texts: Does the expression 'a person without a core' make sense?

texts:
The context where I want to use this expression is as follows:

  The stronger the urge to make yourself known, the more likely you are to end up papering an entire wall of your cubicle with all sorts of images. In the end, this not only diminishes the impact of your message, but also leaves an impression of you being a person without(lacking) a core.

  The stronger the urge to make yourself known, the more likely you are to end up papering an entire wall of your cubicle with all sorts of images. In the end, this not only diminishes the impact of your message, but also leaves an impression of you being a person without a center.

Any other way to express this?


texts: When I read some questions on Stackoveflow, some of them begins with "So"

texts:
Here are some typical example question which I have seen began with "So".

So I have write this code so far.
So I have this code here.
So here is my code
So I'm new in Java.

So I actually don't know if it's correct to begin a question with "So"?


texts: The further you move away VS The further away you move

texts:
I am sorry for asking. There are plenty of similar questions and I know the structure of the more... the more:

  The + Comparative + Subject + Verb

But I want to make sure that I write correctly.
Which sentence is correct:

The more users register, the further you move away from the beginning.
The more users register, the further away you move from the beginning.
The more users register, the further away from the beginning you move.

My opinion, the first is correct.


texts:
Example:

  The discussions in this book assume the reader has more than a conversational knowledge of ANSI C programming. This book is not a tutorial on the entire language. It is aimed at the advanced beginner to intermediate-level programmer who feels relatively comfortable writing C programs but who has a distance to travel when it comes to the topic of pointers.

What exactly do you think that means? I particularly don't understand how the word conversational is used here. Conversational usually refers to something that has to do with verbal conversation.


texts:
Your team is working on the same research areas as me.
Your team is working on the same research areas like me.

I am not sure which of the above sentences is correct. My grammar check program tells me that 1 is wrong, but it sounds ok to me (even better than 2). Can you help me understand?


texts: difference between corner, end, edge and border

texts:
I want guidance in relation to geometrical aspects about the image I've added.
The part where the man's got his right hand is called 'edge' or 'end' 'horizontal border' or 'border'? Similarly, the place where the man grips the sheet with his left hand is called 'end' or something else?


texts:
I wouldn’t take too long thinking about it, if I were you.
This sentence comes from the movie Once Upon a Time in the West. Although I think I understand the meaning (I wouldn’t hesitate to do it, if I were you) the construction seems to me to be odd. Is "take thinking" some sort of the idiom?


texts: What's the meaning of "look where that got her"?

texts:
There is a sentence in An unwanted guest by Shari Lapena:

  She glances at her friend. But just look where that got her.

What does

  look where that got her

mean?

The fuller text is:

  She[Gwen] is a modern young woman. She consider herself a feminist.
  But she has never been particularly sure of herself, it's a quality
  that she admires - even envies- in others. she wants to be strong and
  independent, like Riley. well, like Riley used to be. She glances at
  her friend. But just look where that got her. Beside her, Riley
  guzzles her first glass of wine like water on a hot day
   [...] she
  [Riley] was always an accomplished drinker
  [...] Riley seems to emerge
  from her semi-catatonic state to motion to the young man with the bar
  cart and says "May I have another?"

https://www.amazon.com/Unwanted-Guest-Shari-Lapena/dp/0525557628/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  page 24


texts:
I encountered a very interesting sentence on the Red Bull distribution company website. I'd like to know what kind of a writing technique, or maybe a grammar structure was used to express the second (highlighted) sentence. I noticed that the object was omitted in this sentence, but I have no idea what is going on here.

Red Bull North America, Inc. (RBNA) has been giving wings to US consumers since 1997.Based in Santa Monica, California, RBNA operates as a subsidiary of Red Bull GmbH, responsible for all sales and marketing activities related to Red Bull Energy Drinks across the United States and Canada.


texts: Can "stark" be used as a synonym to "strong"?

texts: Can "stark" be used as a synonym to "strong" or "of a strong will" in a sentence like "She was a strong person" or  "You need to be strong to stay sane in captivity"?


texts:
Context: "Nadine has so much confidence in her gift that she says the award is hers(,) and she claims to own the title, even before the contest has started.
Should there be a comma here?
I am not to rephrase the sentence, unfortunately.


texts: What is the word for the military unit that provides communication service in battlefield?

texts: I'm looking for the word for a military unit that provides the communication service in the battlefield. This unit has to transport, encrypt and decrypt information for other units in the battlefield.


texts: What do you call information obtained from an impartial source?

texts: What do you call information obtained from an independent source (as opposed to official and/or biased sources)? Can I call it, too, independent? Like, "independent data", "independent survey", "independent exit polls", etc. It sounds kind of wrong, but I'm not sure. You can say "independent investigation", for instance


texts: Is 'sidelined' the right word here: "But these days she feels as if she has been sidelined."

texts:
Also, are these sentences grammatically correct? If not, why?

But these days she feels as if she has been sidelined.
But these days she feels as if she has been sidelined, pushed back as far as she will go.
But these days she feels as if she has been sidelined, pushed back as far as she can be.

I'm looking for a word to describe the feelings of 'being left out, ignored' etc. And the setting is an office. Does 'to be sidelined' make sense by itself?


texts: "Were you" vs. "Weren't you" when you turn a statement into a question

texts:
The usage of something like

Were you vs.
Weren't you

for an example:

  You were going to talk to Michael, (were you/weren't you)?

In the sentence above, which makes sense grammatically? And if both makes sense then what is the difference between ending that sentence with "were you?" or "weren't you?".

  You were going to talk to Michael, were you?

  You were going to talk to Michael weren't you?


texts: a word or short phrase that can stand for "a book, play, or film/movie"

texts:
In Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, the first definition of the word dialogue is as follows.

  conversations in a book, play, or film/movie

In that specific dictionary, the phrase, a book, play, or film/movie is used a lot to describe many words' definitions.

As it seems that a book, play, or film/movie all share some quality in their nature, I've thought that the phrase can be substituted by other expressions.

What I came up with are as follows.

conversations in art
conversations in a piece of art or literature
conversations in a produced content with imaginary characters in it

I would like to ask you how correct those are and ask for your guides.


texts: Should I use "air" or "the air" when talking about waves in the context of physics?

texts:
This post by @choster gives a nice explanation about using 'in the air' rather than 'in air'.

Unfortunately, when I google: how does sound wave travel through air, I found that lots of guys are using ‘in air’ when talking about physics, in particular, when talking about waves.

example_1:

  Sound travels in air as a series of compressions and rarefactions.

example_2:

  Sound waves traveling through air are indeed longitudinal waves with compressions and rarefactions.

Q: Should I use “air” or “the air” when talking about waves in the context of physics?


texts:
Does the phrase "though without major piece" mean "though without the most important part"? If so, it is still not clear to me.
Merriam Webster explains "major piece" as "a queen or rook in chess", then the phrase could mean "though without a center". I am not sure.
Steven Pinker tweeted just now:

The Darkening Mind: Interesting analysis of the zero-sum, pre-Enlightenment thinking of the Trumpist right and woke left, partly overlapping with Enlightenment Now (though without major piece: data showing that the Enlightenment is working).


texts:
had assumed

Just like some movie scenario, one had thought another dead. When they met, one said,

  I had thought your were dead.

Or

  I had assumed you were dead.

Which is correct?


texts: How to ask someone for a picture taken with you?

texts:
Say, I meet a famous person and want to have a picture with them, what is the proper way to ask? Here's some of my own proposals:

Could I take a picture of us?
Could I take a picture with you?

Are they correct in this case? Do they sound natural?


texts: What kind of fish (will you use/are you using/do you use)?

texts:
If I see my friend preparing her/his fish for cooking, and I wonder what kind of fish it is, what is the suitable sentence to ask her/him?

  (a) What kind of fish will you use?

  (b) What kind of fish are you using?

  (c) What kind of fish do you use?

...etc

Is there anything wrong if I use the present simple tense
because I just want to know the general information?

I am afraid of overusing the continuous tense in speaking.


texts: Conditionals where consequences take place before conditions

texts:
How do I express the thought that the occurrence of some event results in the occurrence of another before it.. in other words, that if an event were to happen, some other event would happen before it?
I would say:

If A were to happen, B would happen before it.

or:

If A would happen, B would happen.

or:

If A happened, B would have happened.

In the second example, I used would because I read this on Grammarly:

An if- or when-clause (often used to form conditional sentences)
generally does not contain “will,” which is the simple future tense of
the verb “to be.” One exception is when the action in the if- or
when-clause takes place after that in the main clause. For example,
consider the following sentence: If aspirin will ease my headache, I
will take a couple tonight instead of this horrible medicine.

and this from wikipedia:

Also, in cases where the event of the if-clause follows that of the
main clause, use of would in the if-clause is standard usage (this is
similar to the aspirin example given above for will):
If it would make Bill happy, I would give him the money.

And from my understanding, I think that the last example only describes or talks about the present, it doesn't say anything about the future. The result clause concerns the past of the moment of speaking, no more, and the condition concerns one case or instance whose result took place already in the past.
Do the examples express that thought?
Also, does the following express that thought?:

If A will happen, B will happen before it.


texts:
A. the effects of the spraying of Matacil...

B. the effects of spraying of Matacil...

Would you please tell me if you feel any difference in meaning between those, and which of them could be treated as a good English?

Thanks in advance


texts: What do "lay down" and "as the eleventh commandment" mean?

texts:
The most sensible and intelligent of all nations in Europe lays down the rule, "Never Interrupt!" as the eleventh commandment. Noise is the most impertinent of all forms of interruption. It is not only an interruption, but also a disruption of thought.

I really cannot get the bold part. Would anyone please simply explain those?

Thanks in advance

source: Mastering the SAT Critical Reading Test


texts: Say "See you tomorrow" in email for an phone interview

texts:
I was writting an email to decide the time for a quick phone interview with a recruiter, and say, it is decided to be 3pm this Friday. I hesitate about whether I can write "See you this Friday" at the end of the email, since we won't "see" each other this Friday. Is it okay to say that, or are there other proper expressions?

PS, the recruiter is almost of the same age as me and our emails start with "Hello + first name", so the whole conversation is really formal.


texts:
I would like to know whether my brother's answer is right.

The question is to find two errors and correct them based on the dialog.

-dialog.

  G: Hi, I'm looking for a T-shirt. Which T-shirt do you recommend?
  M: I recommend this green one. It's our most popular model.
  G: Do you have it in another size?
  M: Yes. We have four sizes. Would you prefer a smaller or a bigger one?
  G: I'd prefer a smaller one.
  M: Then what about this T-shirt? It's the smallest of the four sizes, and it's on sale now.
  G: That's just what I need. I'll take it.
  M: Ok. Do you need anything else?
  G: No, thank you. That's all.

  -> I bought this green T-shirt today. It's a popular model, and it comes in four different colors. I chose one that is not on sale. I think I made a perfect choice.

So, my brother corrected (colors -> sizes) and (is not -> was).  But his teacher said that the second one was incorrect because my brother should have changed "is not" just into "is".

If "is not" is changed into "was", is it incorrect? Rather I thought that answer is more accurate.


texts:
If I were you, I would have seen to it that I won the prize.

What is the meaning of this sentence? I being a non-native English speaker, can't understand what it means exactly.


texts: What is the difference between "you are being" and "you are"?

texts: Having a debate on whether "You are being a jerk" and "You are a jerk" have the same meaning in context. Are you calling someone a jerk if you state they are "being" a jerk or is the context that they are portraying qualities of a jerk?


texts: Where can I put "who knows what else" in a sentence?

texts:
I want to put the phase "who knows what else" in a sentence. For example:

  I cannot find my key since I've already searched my whole bag. It got lost somewhere.

I want to put "who knows what else" or "what else" or "else" in the last sentence. for example:

  Who knows what other places it got lost.
  I lost my key somewhere who knows what else.
  I lost my key who knows what other places.

Which of those are valid? How can this phrase be used?


texts: Etymological relation between different meaning of "kid"

texts:
I looked up kid and got two different meanings.

(of a goat) give birth
deceive (someone) in a playful way; tease

Both are known to me in meanings such as "I'm kidding you" and "it's not my kid". However, I got curious as to the etymology of the two different meanings. If I'm to speculate, I can think of two ways to explain it.

First way would be some, to me unknown, common origin that gradually over time wandered off in to separate directions. The second way that those two have different origins and only happen to be spelled the same way.

So the question is which of the two above, if any, is the correct one in this case.


texts:
I was wondering what I could do about the problem I'm having with my big right toe.
What's seems to be the problem?

If there is such a contraction, what is it? What has seems or what is seems? Or is it a typo?


texts: Which part of this Shakespearean sentence translates to: "Thank you"?

texts:
This is a quote from The Tempest by Stephano:

  Be you quiet, monster.—Mistress line, is not this my
  jerkin? Now is the jerkin under the line.

And it is translated (according to this source) into:

  Be quiet, monster. Madame clothesline, isn't this my jacket? Thank you kindly. Now the jacket is under the line.

What is in the original text that translates to anything like expressing thanks?


texts: "Proofreading (was never/has never been) my strong point"

texts:
Why is the phrase "Math was never my strong point" more common (about twice as much according to a simple Google search) than "Math has never been my strong point" when the last one makes more sense? Is it because the former phrase is shorter?

The question came up here when @StoneyB replied with "Proofreading was never my strong point" to a comment made by @tyler-james-young

Update:

Here is an example from OALD, Oxford's Advanced Learner's Dictionary, found in the Sense 13 of the word Strong:

good at something

The play has a very strong cast.
Mathematics was never my strong point(= I was never very good at it).


texts:
I'd like to know what is the real meaning of this expression: Is that so?

In the text where this expression was, There was an ask denied before this phrase

Thanks!


texts:
I came across some sentences in which they add as before a adjective, but I can't make it clear all the time, saying

  revising is more involved and typically means you've re-checked everything and made changes as necessary

and

  It is not really as serious.

In the above two instances. why do they add as? I think regardless of the first one, it is not really serious could make sense as well, as to the first one,  I am more confused about its meaning and usage.


texts:
Should I say focus in or focus on.
In which situations is better to use one over the other.

  I need to focus on/in quality issues.


texts: "calculus" and "the calculus" - what's the difference?

texts:
Example:

  Now, if you picked up the book and looked through it, the first thing you'd notice is that it was presented in the imposing format that the ancient mathematician Euclid had used in his famous book on geometry. You know, the one we all learned in high school. Lots of definitions, propositions, corollaries—that sort of thing. It looked like a book on mathematics. Many of the problems and their proofs were very complicated. Newton had, in fact, invented a new mathematical technique—the calculus—to help him solve the difficult problems he was addressing. But he didn't use calculus in the book. He presented his conclusions in the traditional geometrical form of his day so that he'd be understood.

This is an excerpt from a video course on the history of science. The lecturer first says the calculus and then drops the article and says just calculus. Well, I know that generally you don't place any articles in front of calculus when you use that word when you mean calculus as a branch of mathematics but he did. What gives?


texts: During Easter there is a lot of talk about the "passion" of Jesus Christ. Usually passion means (more or less) a very strong emotion or desire. That doesn't seem to fit here though - is there a separate meaning? If there is, how do the two meanings relate to each other?


texts:
I have to transfer this sentence from reported speech into direct speech:

  Tom had had a car accident the week before and he had been ill since
  then.

Is there a difference in meaning between these two sentences?

Tom: "I had a car accident last week and I have been ill since then."
Tom: "I had a car accident a week ago and I have been ill since then."

Are both sentences correct. Or can " a week ago" only be used in end position and may not be followed by a secend sentence connected with and?


texts:
When to use infinitive  and when to use present participle of a same word?

I like to play cricket.
To play cricket is fun.
I love playing cricket.


texts:
I was once told that "learn information" is not natural English. However, I see the following:

  Vygotsky scaffolding and the related concept of the zone of proximal development are teaching methods that can help students learn much more information much more quickly than they would with traditional instruction.

Is the above use correct?


texts: Is it idiomatic to say "I cut myself and blood came out" or "I cut myself and the / my blood came out"?

texts:
In this English exercise, they say

The girl had cut herself with a knife and blood was coming out of her
thumb.

Why not "her blood was coming out"?
"I cut myself and blood came out" or "I cut myself and the / my blood came out". Right at that moment, you saw the specific blood came out.
Also, Why do native speakers say "I slapped the mosquito and blood came out", which is confusing because we don't know whose blood it is "me or the mosquito"?
Suppose that the mosquito sucked someone's blood and when it was flatten or killed by me, the blood in the mosquito came out, not my own blood.  Would we say "I slapped the mosquito and its blood came out"?


texts: The verb "to move" to express the idea of arousing someone's sexual desire

texts:
Here goes Mary Magdalene's solo in the Jesus Christ Super Star rock opera:

  I don't know how to love him.

  What to do, how to move him.

And then, there comes:

  I don't know how to take this.

  I don't see why he moves me.

Does the verb move here mean to inflame/ get inflamed sexually? If yes, could someone kindly suggest a couple of common, maybe idiomatic, expressions of the same connotation?


texts:
Which sentence is correct:

He has a poorly controlled diabetes mellitus.

He has poorly controlled diabetes mellitus.


texts: Can the expression 'keep the party going' be used in a figurative way in English?

texts: I seek to translate the Russian expression 'требовать продолжения банкета' which could be literally translated as "demand the continuation of a banquet". 'Banquet' in the phrase stands for some fun, enjoyable (albeit harmful or irresponsible, perhaps) activity so it means to seek to keep that sort of activity going on, even when it's wiser to cut it out. In English, can I say, instead, "demand the party to go on"? I know there's an expression 'the party is over' where 'party' means something similar to what 'banquet' means in the Russian expression. So, I suppose, you can turn it around to convey what I want to convey, can't you? Would it be idiomatic? If not, what would you recommend instead?


texts: Reducing adverbial clauses when the subject is different from main clause

texts:
To perform this pose, they rest on their legs while positioned
  wide apart, as if they were straddling an invisible horse. (while those legs are positioned)

After I saw that sentence above, I started wondering the way that "while" was used. As far as I know, if you want to reduce the "while part" of a sentence, subjects of the clauses must be the same (subject of the main clause,and subject of the while clause). But here they are different, one subject is "they"(talking about models) the other is "legs". I think we need comma here because it is unclear that who or what is positioned.

Another question: Don't we need "being" before "positioned" here?  As in:

  To perform this pose, they rest on their legs, while being positioned wide
  apart, as if they were straddling an invisible horse.

I have written some examples to understand the issue better. Which versions of the examples are grammatically correct?

  1- You can read the new issue of my journal when it is
  published. (it refers to the "new issue of the journal")

  1a- You can read the new issue of my journal, when published.

  1b- You can read the new issue of my journal when published.

  2- I touched the meat while it was being heated in the pan. (it
  refers to "the meat")

  2a- I touched the meat, while being heated in the pan.

  2b- I touched the meat while being heated in the pan.

  3- You can use  my computer if it is available. (it refers to
  "the computer")

  3a- You can use  my computer, if available.

  3b- You can use  my computer if available.


texts:
He is a nice enough boy - Rather Jimmy Olesenish I thought.
He's an honest man, rather Lincolnesque in his manner.
She has an unreal figure, rather Barbieish in its proportions!

Can anyone explain the usage? I am very confused by -ish in such situations.


texts:
Can we say that someone is doing something on his/her feet if that person is doing it in a standing position. For example, are sentences like the ones below correct?

Everybody clapped the performers on their feet.

I work on my feet the whole day.

I like playing guitar on my feet.

The whole class sang the song on their feet.

I am asking this question because all the examples I found of “on one’s feet” are sentences like “Everyone’s on their feet” which say someone is standing. I couldn’t find a usage in which it is used to mean someone is doing something standing.


texts:
Example:

  I have two PCs that have the same applications installed, but the version of some of the applications is different between the two PCs.  So, I need to identify an application whose version is different between the two PCs by comparing the version of each of the applications in one PC with the version of a corresponding application in the other PC.

I would like to know the usage of article for the bold word "an application".  In the example, the number of applications whose version is different between the two PCs is undefined yet (i.e., may be only one or may be more than one) because the identification is not started yet.  In such a case, do native speakers use a singular form or a plural form?


texts: What's the difference between "take out", "take from" and "take out from"?

texts:
Can I always use any of these phrases, or is there a difference ? For example:

I took it out of the box.
I took it from the box.
I took it out from the box.


texts: learnin the english. ing grammar and simple present

texts:
which sentence is correct?

1-meditation really relax you.
2-meditation really relaxing you.

we should use present simple or present continuous?

thank you.


texts: What is the difference between "yell" and "scream"?

texts:
I am having some problems to differentiate between "yell" and "scream".

From what I understand (and read), when somebody screams he/she is shouting in a loud way. Then, yelling is the same, only that it has the connotation of shouting out of control.

Am I right? Is there any piece of context I am missing?


texts:
I'm in a restaurant. I see something I'd like in the menu, but I don't know what it's called.
I point to it and say:

  Can I have one of these, please?

or I should say:

  Can I have one of those, please?

Update:

Can we use "those" with items that are close to speaker?


texts: from time to time VS. every now and then

texts:
Is it okay to use 'from time to time' and 'every now and then' interchangeably?

Any comment would be greatly appreciated


texts:
Having written the letter, she hurried to the post-office to post it.

I do not quite understand the sentence clearly.   Which of the three below is correct?

  she hurried to the post office and then she actually posted it.
  she hurried to the post office in order for her to post it.
  it depends on the context.

Could you help me clarify it?  Thanks.


texts: Can anybody tell me what "blue" means here?

texts: I have a question about the lyrics of "Blue" by Zayn. When he says "I need somebody to love me blue", what does that mean? Where does that expression come from?


texts: Is that true what native English speakers are using more sentence form like "How/Wh~ does/ do /did"?

texts:
I have a question about how does native English speakers more use proper question sentence form?
for example,
1. What is meaning ~
2. What does mean ~
So I am curious about which of the following sentence is more used in native English speaker?


texts: Is this sentence grammatically and structurally correct?

texts:
The premise of reducing crime rates in urban environments is hardly conceivable, understanding not these situations and conditions.

Does it simply mean:

  without comprehending some situations and conditions, we can't reduce crime rates.

?


texts:
We found that if we remove the extraction line and the desorption line, it will turn into a much more simple system.

Do I need the second "the" in this sentence?


texts: How can I explain that a boy keeps coming in my home, without saying anything specific about the timing of when he comes?

texts:
There is a boy whose name is Peter he keep coming  in my home frequently not regularly sometime he come after three day sometime come after one month.

So how can I translate such a sentence? and speaking time I don't want to put timing when he comes.  I want to give answer to someone without timing if someone asks about Peter. Then what is the correct option from the following ones?

  Peter is coming my home.
  Peter comes my home.
  Peter coming my home.

Please explain to me which of these sentences is correct.


texts:
In school, for exams we FILL UP forms.

But I have seen people saying "FILL IN the form."

Fill the form in OR fill  the form up, which is correct. Please explain.


texts:
When I refer to a habitual activity that takes place regularly once a week, do I need to use a plural form of the name of the day of the week or a singular one?

  I do one sport on Thursday at this time.

or

  I do one sport on Thursdays at this time.

?


texts: Why there is a comma in this short sentence?

texts:
This is a line from a movie called Being John Malkovic

  Carrot juice, and lots of it.

I need to know why the comma is used in the above sentence. Is "lots" the subject in it, and thus it is an independent clause and so a comma is there?


texts: Best way to reduce wordiness: the unemployment rate in their region is lower than the unemployment rate in some other regions?

texts:
This is my original sentence:

  And it is unfair that some workers are entitled to fewer weeks of benefits simply because the unemployment rate in their region is lower than that in some other regions.

What is the best way to make the part in bold less wordy?

The full thing would read "... simply because the unemployment rate in their region is lower than the unemployment rate in some other regions."

Other options I tried include the following: ... simply because the unemployment rate in their region is

lower than in some other regions.
lower than elsewhere.
lower relative to other regions.

Background: The country is divided into 62 "regions". These regions have their own unemployment rates. Unemployed workers receive longer duration of unemployment benefits (greater weeks) in regions of higher unemployment. The higher the unemployment rate in the region, the greater is the number of weeks of benefits offered. So workers in region A (where the rate is 6%) will get lower weeks of benefits than workers in region B (where the rate is 7%)


texts: Is there a term describing someone who kids himself?

texts: I would like to find a term, if it exists, to describe an individual who kids himself. Specifically, the term is to describe someone who does something that is obviously self-deceiving in some sense.


texts: the skull protects "on the brain" or "the brain"?

texts:
What's correct?

  1) The skull protects on the brain

or

  2) the skull protects the brain


texts:
In the language I speak when we see someone getting a lot and we don’t get that much, to speak to God in a sweet way, we say a sentence whose literal meaning in English is:

  May I be sacrificed for your indifference!

Actually what we want to say to God is:

  You are giving to him, but not to me. Ok, no problem I don’t mind it.
  I just felt it that he’s being given but I am not. However, I still have no objection on this. I was just expressing my feelings. I believe God, you may give whatever you want, to anyone you want.

But my position is that this shouldn’t be translated like this but rather in such situation we indeed exclaims thus if we say the sentence mentioned above, a native wouldn’t even understand what we mean to say because the structure with ‘May I be sacrificed…!’ seems to give some other impression. Should this be in English?

  What indifference!
  How indifferent you are!
  How un-wanting you are!
  How generous!

Secondly, does the word 'indifferent' has positive meaning or negative meaning or both? Can we say this word to a superior? Such as:

  The king is indifferent.


texts: Is an expression like "work upgrading" a correct construction?

texts:
We also launched initiatives to put people to work upgrading our homes, businesses, and factories so that they waste less energy.

The expression work upgrading confuses me a little. Does the word work have an expression of the form work doing something? Why does the word upgrading use the form doing instead of to do?


texts:
According to Cambridge Dictionary the phrasal verb agree with someone can be used in the following way:

  If a situation or new conditions agree with you, they make you feel healthy and happy:
  Example: You look well - the mountain air must agree with you.

I was wondering if I can use this verb in the scenario below:

Imagine you have an old friend who disappeared after marriage a long time ago (say one year) and was never heard of again!
One day, you run into him out of the blue when you are walking down the street where he lived before. You immediately notice that he has put on weight and looks far more happier and healthier comparing the time he still was a single man. Can you say smilingly and as a joke:

  Hey, it seems that marriage has agreed with you man.

If no, then why?


texts: Is it correct and natural to say "work in a managerial role"?

texts:
Is it correct and natural to say work in a managerial role? For example:

The job description says that to be considered for the position you need to have at least one year working in a managerial role.

If it sounds off, could you tell me how you would phrase it?


texts:
Let's say there is a region with two parts, north and south. This region has a railway and has been urbanized, which can now travel towards northern train line, crossing over a river.

  The railway from the southern part of XYZ region has just been extended, which can cross over a river towards the northern train line.

Or

  The railway from the southern part of XYZ region has just been extended, which can cross over a river towards northern train line. (please see the picture on the right)

(Added sentence after the comments and an answer)

*The railway from the southern part of XYZ region has just been extended, which crosses over a river towards north.


texts: What is the name of these parts of a stove?

texts: Home electrical stoves normally have four or five places for cooking. What is the name of each one of these places where a cooking pot is placed?


texts:
Following situation:

The protagonist of a story arrived at a gallery and observes the interior of it. Afterwards he stopped to compose himself.

I looked to compose oneself up in a dictionary, but I wonder what looking at the gallery has to do with composing oneself. Can someone explain it to me?


texts: "behave toward someone well" or "treat someone well"?

texts:
Tell me please which sentence sounds the most natural.

  The teacher always behaves toward his students well.

  The teacher always treats his students well.

What I am trying to say is that the teacher is always kind to his students. If either of the sentences don't sound good, then could you offer the native sounding to express that?


texts:
How to say correctly: How many items I can / can I add?

Help, please.


texts:
Can I use the following sentence constructions:

I much more relate to A than to B

or should I say

I more relate to A than to B

?


texts: How do you say images inside a link with no chance for misinterpretation?

texts:
I want to say that the images are inside the links and can only be viewed when he or she visits the links.

The images are within links
The images are inside links
The images are embedded within links
The images are linked

I am concerned that the sentences above might indicate that the images are either just thumbnails or merely inside the anchor tags.

How should I construct the sentence If I want no chance for misinterpretation?


texts: How should I ask the staff if I need to exchange my electronic tickets for physical ones in order to get in a theme park

texts:
I bought a ticket from a theme park's website. I am not sure if this ticket along is sufficient to let me get in since it has a bar code on it, or I need to go to some kiosks and show my ticket to get a physical ticket.

Can anyone teach help me regarding the matter? I know I might get my message across just by saying what I wrote on the title of the question but I'd really like to learn some authentic English.


texts:
In this song of Hunger Games [The hanging tree], there's this part that seems odd to me:

  Are you coming to the tree, where they strung up a man they say who murdered three.

Why is "Who" used here? Is it a relative pronoun, or something similar?

I believe "who" is used to substitute "a man". However, it sounds very odd to me, since I haven't ever heard something likewise.

However, if "who" is really substituting the noun "man", does that mean I could say:

  They didn't like Maria. They said who was not such forthcoming person.

Thank you in advance.


texts: Using who/whom/whose for taking a picture

texts:
Which is the best way to ask this question?

  a. Who did he take a picture of at the party?

  b. Whom did he take a picture of at the party?

  c. Whose picture did he take at the party?


texts: what's correct in the following sentence "doesn't" or "doesn't have"?

texts:
What is the  correct form of the end of following sentence?

  1) Is the difference between vector and axis that the vector has a direction while (an/the) axis
  doesn't have?

  2)  Is the difference between vector and axis that the vector has a direction while (the/an) axis
  doesn't?


texts: On Adele´s song "Someone like you" there´s a part that says "Bound by the surprise of our glory days". Is it an actual Passive voice?


texts:
These contributions-- his two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, both released in 1970-- transcend his work with late-60s Pink Floyd and make for haunting aural documents of a prolific talent's dilapidating psyche while paradoxically managing to retain a rich charm and hooks sharp enough to make Peter Pan wet his tights.

Source: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/568-wouldnt-you-miss-me-the-best-of/

Does an allusion to Peter Pan have any particular meaning in the review? I do know how to interpret it within the context.  Is "to make Peter Pan wet his tight" some sort of a metaphor?


texts: asked him something/asked something of him

texts:
(a) I asked him something.

  (b) I asked something of him.

  (c) I asked something from him.

Which of the above could be used for the following situations:

  I asked him a question
  I asked a favor of him
  I asked him to give me something


texts: Implications in Boltzmann's wiki article

texts:
Found something odd while reading this.

  When Boltzmann was 15 his father died.

The way it's phrased, it sort of implies that his father died because Boltzmann was 15. Unless I'm reading into it too much.


texts:
Using how much with an action

I need to see how much you act upon this thing.

Is this a correct sentence? I think 'how much' is used for "quantity", not for frequency. Like we can say:

How much love do you have for this?

For the sentence in my question the correct structure should be:

I need to see how often you act upon this thing.


texts:
The overarching question guiding my research is how the societal development of human society changes the natural environment, as the answer to the question is the key to protect nature.

The question – how does societal development affect the natural environment – has always underpinned my research, and I believe that research shedding light on this question is key to finding the answer to protecting nature

I wrote the first one, and my friend rephrases it to the second one. But I can't tell the differences. Can you help me to understand why the second one is better than the first one?


texts: How to put multiple pieces of information in one relative clause

texts:
This reminds me of the discussion that

  1.I had with Jone (people)

  2.at his home (place)

  3.in 2018 (time)

  4.about the impacts of climate change on the poor (topic)

  5.(the discussion) has profound impacts on me (significance)

If keep all the information in the relative clause, can the sentence still sound naturally?

If really should move some pieces of information to the main clause, what should it/them be?


texts: Is a phrase followed by a that clause specific?

texts:
From a textbook

A probabilistic model is a mathematical description of an uncertain situation.
It must be in accordance with a fundamental framework that we discuss in this
section. Its two main ingredients are listed below and are visualized in Fig. 1.2.

The "fundamental framework" is a phrase followed by a that clause which describes it. Therefor, the "fundamental framework" is specific, which means the textbook should say

... It must be in accordance with the fundamental framework ...

Is my understanding correct?


texts:
Do I have to use "according to" or "as" in following sentences.

  Someone applied for job who doesnt smoke as written his cv.
  Someone applied for job who doesnt smoke according to information in his cv.

Which sentence more formal?


texts: The formal way of saying "keep away from"

texts:
What's the legal term for "keep away from" / "keep a distance from"? I'm looking for a verb that means/expresses such a concept.

What I really want is not the legal term but what those people says in law-related TV dramas, that sounded fancy when I heard them. E.g.:

  Due to the conflict of interest, I decided to ( keep away  ) from this matter.

I think I've heard such conversation/situation many many times, in all different TV series, but just forgot what that fancy word they use.


texts: The difference between "How does it work?" and "How it works?"

texts:
Suppose , that I have an object and I am describing how it works to other people. Which sentence of the below should I use? Why?

How does it work?

How it works?

Please give an explanation.


texts: How can "products to be coated" be described?

texts:
Products to be coated (with paint or the like) are set in the coating machine, and the coated products are set in the drying machine.

I am searching for an adjective that can be replaced with "to be coated" in the sentence above I created, because I use the expression "Products to be coated" many times and want more simple expression.

I first thought that "pre-" would be used like "pre-coated products, but I am afraid that "pre-coated" means that it is already coated.


texts: The usage of ''the only'' usage on a sentence

texts:
Is this sentence correct?

  The only countries from South America that I know are Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

Is not 'the only' meant for just only only one?


texts:
In Pulp Fiction (1994), Pumpkin says to Honey Bunny:

Pumpkin: Heard about this one bloke, he walks into a bank with a
portable phone. He gives the phone to a teller. The bloke on the other
end says, "We got this guy's  little girl. If you don't give him all
your money, we're gonna kill her." Knucklehead walks into a bank with
a telephone. Not a pistol, not a shotgun, a fuckin' phone. Cleans the
place out.

What does "Cleans the place out" in bank robbery context?


texts: What does "shotgun unity" refer to here in this sentence?

texts:
An example sentence on a Merriam Webster page has me scratching my head over a phrase:

  after the national emergency had passed, the political parties abandoned their shotgun unity and reverted to their partisan squabbling

"Shotgun unity" doesn't seem to be idiomatic. What does "shotgun" mean here? Shotgun as in "a shotgun approach"?


texts:
During a discussion, a question occurred to me. If we want to get rid of something that is done to us, should we use Active voice or passive voice? Example: I have a fellow who talks too much. I am annoyed and want no more of his talking. Which one of the following two should I use?

I want to get rid of talking.

I want to get rid of being talked to.


texts: The difference between 'extra chair' and 'spare chair'

texts:
I was talking to one of my friend about a student who came in to our class and took an extra chair away. My friend corrected me and said, "you mean a spare chair?" and I replied, "yes we have so many of them in our class and they're taking up a lot of room." I didn't ask him if there was any difference between an extra chair and a spare chair.

I looked up the words and I don't see any difference at least in this context! Was he right to correct me? Is there really a difference?

If as a student you need a chair and you wonder if some are available in other classrooms and you go knock at the door of one, what would you say?

  I wonder if there is an extra chair I could borrow.

Or

  I wonder if there is a spare chair I could borrow.


texts:
[Just as crucially] the order had come about only after the jammu and kashmir government had agreed to it and passed a similar legislation in its own assembly making it clear these powers were jammu and kashmir's to give and not india's to take.

What is the meaning of just as crucially in this context?


texts: Question about use of "do" in wh questions

texts:
What  you usually call a president who is not going to be in power after new election ?

Or

What  do you usually call a president who is not going to be in power after new election ?

My perception: here because the answer is not direct object, first one is correct.


texts: When asking someone to smell something, is it correct to say “smell of this” or “smell this”?

texts:
Which is grammatically correct?

Smell of these fresh coffee beans.
Smell these fresh coffee beans.
Is it correct to use the preposition “of”?


texts: What does "in a complete froth about" mean?

texts:
Source: The Executive Guide to Artificial Intelligence: How to identify and implement applications for AI in your organization by Andrew Burgess

  I talk about these AI Winters in a little detail because there is the obvious question of whether the current boom in AI is just another case of over-inflated expectations that will lead to a third spell of the technology being left out in the cold. As we have seen in the previous chapter, the marketing machines and industry analysts are in a complete froth about AI and what it will be capable of.

I consulted dictionaries and searched google for in a froth about idiom, but I couldn't find anything helpful. Thanks in advance.


texts: Is the use of "raid" common or it "search"?

texts:
I am trying to use "raid" properly in a sentence...

If the police break into someone's house,  what will be a natural way to say that:

  The police is raiding their house.

  The police has raided their house.
  (They are still raiding the house)

And after the raid is over:

  The police raided their house.

Will "raid" sound natural this way? Or should it be "search"? (I mean while talking to a person)


texts:
It has been accepted by Japan since 1950.

It was accepted by Japan 1950 onward.

It feels like to me that these sentence have the same meaning. I wonder if native speakers of English think so too.


texts: "by the lake" or "at the Lake" /"in the backyard" or "on the backyard"?

texts:
I would like to know which one is correct or what is the difference:

By the lake or at the lake
In the backyard or on the backyard.


texts:
Is it correct grammatically using "both X and Y as well as Z"  such as in the example bellow:

  Sleep deprivation can be damaging to both physical and psychological well-being as well as interpersonal relationships."


texts: meaning of 'no mortal with lips untouched by a live coal from the altar ever so spake before!'

texts:
As Benedicta proceeded with her narrative she gained courage. She rose to her feet and stood erect, threw back her beautiful head and lifted her eyes to the heavens as if recounting her wrongs to God’s high angels and ministers of doom. She stretched forth her bare arms in gestures of so natural force and grace that I was filled with astonishment, and her unstudied words came from her lips with an eloquence of which I had never before had any conception. I dare not think it inspiration, for, God forgive us all! every word was an unconscious arraignment of Him and His Holy Church; yet surely no mortal with lips untouched by a live coal from the altar ever so spake before! In the presence of this strange and gifted being I so felt my own unworth that I had surely knelt, as before a blessed saint, but that she suddenly concluded, with a pathos that touched me to tears.

It's from Ambrose Bierce's 'Monk and Hangman's daughter' (1911).

From the above paragraph, the bold letter 'no mortal with lips untouched by a live coal from the altar ever so spake before!' seems to having something to do with Bible, but I don't understand exactly what it really means.

Many thanks in advance!


texts: Which is the right one? "neither bought" or "bought neither"

texts:
Which is the correct one?

  John neither bought a car nor a bike
  John bought neither a car nor a bike


texts:
I have this sentence.

  It rains dogs and cats

It makes me crazy because I didn't know the meaning of it, until someone told me that it means "it rains a lot."

Now I have this sentence.

  If we examine porpoises and dolphins at this level, they are as physically different as dogs and cats.

What does dogs and cats mean in this other sentence?

Is there any other usage of dogs and cats?


texts: Are the question words, such as when, where, who, why and how, adverbs? If yes, can anyone explain why they are adverbs?


texts:
I've been asked "will you stay in this country for good?"

At that time I didn't know "for good" mean forever.

I wonder why it could be forever.


texts:
I just heard a conversation as follows, and I don't get the meaning of "Would you say that you are capable of being really hard?" does that mean it's regarding the person should equip with strong mind?

Q:Good.  Sometimes,  though,  you may have to be very tough,  for example,  you may have to sack someone.
Would you say that you are capable of being really hard?

A: If something has to be done,  I'll do it.


texts: Is there specific name bunk beds that are stable in a room?

texts:
As far as I know "bunk beds" are beds that a bed stacks on another one.

Is there a specific name for bunk beds that are the built-in type like this?

Image from http://trica-hostel.com/jp/hostel.html#dormitory


texts:
I found my key when I (had looked/ was looking) for something else.

What is the correct choice and why?

My answer is "was looking" because the event of “founding the key” was interrupted “looking for something else”.

But my teacher says that it’s “had looked” but I can’t get convinced.

Thanks!


texts: Meaning of "turtles were drawing" in this paragraph

texts:
The paragraph exists in this website:
http://news.discovery.com/animals/why-do-some-turtles-breathe-out-of-their-butt-140617.htm

  And yet, when scientists placed a small amount of food coloring in the
  water near these turtles, they found that the turtles were drawing in
  water from both ends (and sometimes just the hind end.)

Here is what I can understand:

  And yet, when scientists placed a small amount of food coloring in the
   water near these turtles,

I think this means: Scientists put food in the water near turtles.

What is the meaning of turtles were drawing? I don't think that turtles can draw paintings on a paper!!

The word hind means back or behind is that correct?


texts:
The article I posted on my facebook:

  They always guarantee readers a thing, giving word to them (including
  me). But when the time's up, the promise just suddenly BECOME
  mendacious. This ain't no joke.

Is it ok to use BECOME this way?


texts: 'In a hurry', why is this used with the infinite article 'a'?

texts:
I was so confused with this.  So I look up the word 'hurry' in the Oxford dictionary and I found that it is an uncountable noun. Is it possible to use 'a' before 'hurry'?

Why is it possible? Do I need to think this as an idiomatic phrase? I don't just want to memorise this. I want to know the reason why there is 'a'.


texts: Which day of the working week is called blue?

texts: I heard that there is one, which is it? I couldn't find it. All I found was Blue Monday (date) on Wikipedia but here I am looking for a day of the week. Is there one?


texts: "Beer never tastes so good" or "Beer never tasted so good."

texts: What is the difference between "Beer never tastes so good" and "Beer never tasted so good?"


texts: In the question: "Could you come with me, please?" I would stress the content words "come" and "please" and let the other function words unstressed. I think this is the way we pronounce it as long as we don't shift the stress for special emphasis. Am I right? I'm not sure about the word "me", though. It's a function word and I think some people would stress it, but I don't see any reason to stress it as long I don't make a contrast or something like that. Am I right?


texts: Is "no" omitted in a series of coordinations?

texts:
Because of Oklahoma!’s enormous subsequent influence, its novelties—no opening ensemble number, chorus girls in long dresses, dancers who don’t appear until late in the first act, the integrated score—have lost some of their original lustre.

Is "no" is omitted for the following juxtapositions? So in fact the sentence could be written as " no opening ensemble number, (no) chorus girls in long dresses, (no) dancers who don’t appear until late in the first act, (no) the integrated score"?


texts:
Sometimes “distribution” takes the definite article:

  “He studies the distributions of wildcats in North America.”

  “The company handles the distribution of goods to stores nationwide.”

and sometimes it doesn’t:

  “Was it by cutting staff that he managed to save the firm?” “No, it was by improving distribution that he made it profitable.”

  “The university does not permit distribution of leaflets on campus.”

How can I tell when to use the article with this word?

(The example sentences come from Merriam-Webster dictionary and Hewings’s grammar.)


texts:
“I should like very much to see her,” thought the soldier; but he could not obtain permission to do so. However, he passed a very pleasant time; went to the theatre, drove in the king’s garden, and gave a great deal of money to the poor, which was very good of him;

This is a part of the fairy tale "The Tinder-Box" by Hans Christian Andersen.

"which was very good of him", I don't have the faintest idea what it means.

What's the meaning of "be good of sb"?

And what's the difference with "be good for sb"?


texts: Are these questions grammatically correct? Present Simple

texts:
The sentence: He gets up at seven every morning.
Why do we can't ask "When does he get up every morning?" and can "When does he get up at seven?".


texts: Which is natural and correct in "I prefer train/a train/trains/the train to other methods."?

texts:
This question is related to the form of a noun, like whether to add an article or not in some sort of contexts.

Which noun form is natural and correct below?

  I prefer train/a train/trains/the train to other methods.

  I prefer pencil/a pencil/pencils/the pencil as a tool to write with.

To a non-native English speaker like me, when to choose a right noun form in expressions like above, they are confusing too much.

In my thought,
as the noun should represent one kind among other kinds of things, adding the definite article at front feels reasonable, but on another hand, as the noun should represent all of many of one kind, a pencil or pencils feels right.

But as I intuitively and simply approach it, just "pencil" looks natural.

What is right here?

Thank you. :)


texts: Does the word "considerably" make sense in "considerably understandable English"?

texts:
I was writing a message to someone who judged my grammar and I apologized and made it clear that English is not my native tongue. My apology went a little like this:

  I do apologize if my English has confused you in any way. I did believe I had considerably understandable English.

He simply responded by saying I do not because "considerably" means "large amount" and that I used the word incorrectly in the sentence. Did my sentence really not make sense?


texts: What does the phrase “brains to spare” mean here?

texts:
I am not sure about the meaning of the phrase "brains to spare" in the following sentence:

  Factor in a smattering of stylus minigames - including a terrific dash
  to piece together a cantankerous rag doll zombie - and Teenage Zombies
  seems to have brains to spare.

This is from a game's review. Here is a preceding paragraph:

  Play itself is slightly more by the book - or, given the bookish
  style, less by the book. There's a trio of teenage zombies each with,
  you guessed it, unique powers that help overcome individual obstacles.
  What should be rather tired is kept fresh - or rather, rotten - by the
  odd character design. Slurpy tentacle boy Fin and
  half-a-kid-on-a-skateboard Half Pipe are grim enough to disguise the
  fact that they boil down into Mr. Can Climb Walls and Mr. Fits In
  Small Gaps, respectively.


texts:
So far as I know 'here' and 'there' are adverbs.
I always listen 'in here' and 'in there'
Are the phrases correct?


texts:
We'd better buy something useful with the money would have spent or /will spend for the wedding party.

My question is for you as a native speaker which one you might use and why?


texts:
How to use possessive by and of ? On the internet I have read that we use by with one work or one kind of work and of when we mean all the works.

Example: A writer A wrote many books. He wrote five romantic books and eight adventure books.

This romantic book is by A.
All the books are of A.

Example: A writer B wrote eleven books (five horror books, six school books), built five houses, painted seven paintings and make three cars.

These three horror books are by B.
All these books (eleven) are by B.
These two paintings and those two houses are by B.
These paintings (seven) and houses (five) are by B.
All these things (eleven books, five houses, seven paintings, three cars) are of B.

Did I understand it correctly?


texts: To be minus of a sum of money periodically?

texts:
I'm looking for a short urban idiom that I seems to knew but it eludes my mind.
Let's say somebody spends a thousand dollars on something periodically. How do I casually describe that he is minus of a thousand dollars each time?
Can I say "He is down on a grand every time he ..."?


texts: One of his many good traits that come to my mind was(is?) his modesty

texts:
I read the sentence in title in an English grammar book by P.C. Wren although the actual sentence given in exercise was :

  One of his many good traits that (come or comes) to my mind was his modesty.

This exercise is of subject verb agreement  for which I think the answer should be come as the antecedent of  the relative pronoun that is plural(traits)  but Is the was used here correct ? Shouldn't it be is ?


texts: Can i use 'Not only but also' and 'as well as' in a sentence together?

texts:
Please provide an example if I can use as well as and not only but also in a sentence.
For example

He was not only a humanist but also a short story writer as well as a novelist.


texts:
Here are two complete sentences

  This is the weirdest case of scientific field.

  This is the weirdest case of a scientific field.

I just want to know which is grammatically correct, with an "a" or without one?

I am talking about a particular scientific field within science (there are many). The question can be simplified as follows: a given particular scientific field, say biology, is it

  a case of scientific field

or

  a case of a scientific field

Thanks!


texts:
From this post:

  ..., because it will you you more performance or power reduction or both.

the article use will you you sth. Grammarly notify me that you you should be you-you, but I also don't understand. BTW, is the double you here just typo?

In Cambridge dictionary, when will is used as a verb(not modal verb), I only see will sth/sb to do.

So, does will somebody something exist?


texts: What does the "two millennia of Diaspora" mean?

texts:
Source

  In today's Israel, it refers to ultra-Orthodox Jews, whose dour dress and fervid quaking before God hearken to bygone centuries and distant lands where their ancestors lived during two millennia of Diaspora

Does the bold line imply that the diaspora was longer than 2 thousand years?


texts: Should I use "could" or "would" in the following sentence?

texts:
She stared at her phone for a minute she wished could/would
  stretch until infinity.

Should it be could or would? Or maybe both but would mean different things?


texts: meaning of the phrase "keep one's head on in something"?

texts:
Here is the context:

  Whether you believe that partners should or shouldn’t disclose everything, it’s probably safe to say that good reactions tend to encourage more discussion and more disclosures. This is easy to say, but sometimes really hard to achieve, which is why it drives personal and relationship growth. It’s that parallel process of learning how to feel confident in our own desires, regardless of our partner’s reactions, while also being able to manage our own reactions to our partner’s desires. If we can both keep our heads on in these sensitive moments, we will be better able to understand each other’s positions and why we each feel that way.

I am aware of the phrase keep one's head meaning to stay calm. But I am not really sure what keep one's head on in means there.


texts: Difference between "He had taken a photo of me" and "He had been taking a photo of me"

texts:
What is the difference in meaning between

  He had taken a photo of me

and

  He had been taking a photo of me.

What would be the passive voice of sentence 1?

  I had my photo taken
  A photo of me had been taken

Are these sentences grammatically correct? Do they make sense?


texts:
Are the folowing sentences all natural? If so, what's the difference?

a. The shape is longer than it is wide.

b. The shape is longer than wide.

c. The shape is more long than wide.


texts:
Which is the subject and the verb in the following sentence?

  This Beach's beauty is startling.

I'm reading a book of English grammar and I need to underline the subject and verb.


texts: What is the meaning of a Falling Intonation in a yes/no question?

texts:
In the question "Did you leave an Easter egg during our interview?" from this video entitled, Taylor Swift Answers Ellen's 'Burning Questions'

  Why did Ellen DeGeneres say "during our interview" with a falling intonation
  instead of a rising intonation at the end of the sentence? (see the below picture)

As I know a yes/no question should be finished with a rising intonation.


texts:
Take the sentence (1)“The boy is a hardworking student.” The words “a hardworking student” are the complement. There’s no agreement problem in that sentence, it's all singular;(2)“These people are my friends.” , it's all plural.

But what about a sentence like this: (3)Computers are an important research tool.

Why is the subject plural, but the complement is singular?


texts: 'Haha' over 'lol' -Do natives consider 'hahaha' as an offensive gesture?

texts:
Most of the times, I don't lol. Yes, there's no loudness in my laugh at all. And, 'lol' is probably used by everyone on the Internet/mobile even though when they laugh little. 'lol' is also used when the matter is not of some joke [However, I strictly avoid such usage].

For instance, in chat...

  I know you are at Ruby's house  lol, I've not visited hers for past one month.

Now, if I use 'haha', is it considered offensive? Especially to native speakers. Let's say, I'm talking to my client who is from London or NYC. If she says something little funny which should not be replied with LOUD laughing, is it okay to use 'hahaha'. Will she consider that as an offensive gesture?

For instance...

  Julia: Hello Maulik, I was busy yesterday. Sorry, I could not contact you.  Me: That is fine.  Julia: Yeah...I was pissed off; my boss flooded my inbox with loads of work.  Me: lol/hahaha/haha I hope you are okay now!

Finally, does the number of repetition matter? "Haha" is okay but not 'Hahaha' which may have a bit of offensiveness?

Is it okay if I use 'lol' there? I don't think so...it's not something I'll laugh out loud.

I'd like to clear that in this example, Julia is NOT my bosom-friend. She's a client and we know each other for past 10 days. That's it.


texts: The meaning of 'a powder blue nothing' here

texts:
From The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler:

  Ida had just emerged from her bath and she sat in a powder blue
  nothing before a mirror at a little table crammed with jars. The
  mirror had an elaborate white frame with armed cupid carved into each
  corner.

I can understand 'she sat before a mirror' part but what is the bold part? Is she wearing some kind of a powder blue gown? Then, what does 'nothing' here mean?


texts:
Could anyone explain the difference between these examples?

  1- Does this bus go through to Santa Fe?

  2- Does this bus go through Santa Fe?

  3- Does this bus go to Santa Fe?


texts: How can we use "who" properly in this context?

texts:
I want to say that parents are the decision makers about their child's marriage. Is it correct to say these sentences?

  Parents decide whom their children are going to (get married)/(marry).

  Parents decide on who is going to marry their children.

I want to formally write it.


texts: What does "one" mean or stand for in "Hey, I'm on my way, all right? One."?

texts:
In this movie two brothers are talking on the phone:

  — Yo — Hey, Isaiah. Hey, are you going to pick me up, man? —
  You all right? What happened? — Man, just some skinheads
  tripping, man. — All right, I'll be there as soon as I can, all
  right? Taking care of some business for Armand. [...]
  — Look man, I really need to speak to you, man, for real. I got some
  sh** to run by you. — Hey, I'm on my way, all right? One.

  [ Urban Justice (2007, Don E. FauntLeRoy) ]

Does that one mean anything outside of this context, is it based on the idiom at one as in in a state of agreement/united in thought or feeling? Or is that more along the lines of see you in a minute but literally one minute? Is it like "copy" or "over" on "military radio", or a binary exit status of some kind inspired by an IT metaphor, is it the equivalent of ok, is it a figure of speech, making the issue be the only one thing on his mind (an exaggeration), just pure styling, or something else?

In so many words is it a phrase, what is it related to and what does it mean?


texts: "we didn't expect you for hours" meaning in this context?

texts:
"Sit down, dear, I'll knock something up."

  As Harry sat down a furry ginger cat with a squashed face jumped on to his knees and settled there, purring.

  "So Hermione's here?" he asked happily as he tickled Crookshanks behind the ear.

  Oh yes, she arrived the day before yesterday," said Mrs Weasley, rapping a large iron pot with her wand it bounced on to the stove with a loud clang and began to bubble at once. "Everyone's in bed, of course, we didn't expect you for hours. Here you are -"

  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I don't quite understand "we didn't expect you for hours" in this context. Maybe, the use of "for hours" confused me. What does it exactly mean?


texts: 'He is able to speak English' ('be able to' is one chunk or can be stopped after 'he is able'?

texts:
'He is able to speak English'

'to speak' is a to-infinitive usage? If so, 'to speak English' modifies 'able' as an adverb?
Or 'be able to' is one chunk unit to learn by heart as an idom?


texts: How can I ask what number of time it is of the person doing something in correct and concise way?

texts:
The answer I'd like to receive upon my question is this:

  It is my 4th.

The question I'd like to ask is something like this:

  What timeth is it you are trying to do this?, or
  What timeth you are trying to do this?, or
  How many timeth ... (1.) and (2.)

I hope I am clear.

I still cannot find out how I should edit my question in a few examples that would yield the answer I want. Could you help? This has been for so long on my mind, at last I found a place to ask help


texts: problem with understanding the structure

texts:
Nevertheless, had she not initially felt enough respect to want to understand what was important to her husband, she wouldn't have made the shift.

Could someone explain the structure used in this sentence and put it another way?


texts: How do you interpret "barred face identity mask"?

texts:
I don't quite understand these(below) lines of a poem named "The Laburnum top":

She stokes it full, then flirts out to a branch-end showing her "barred face identity mask"

Would the correct parse be (barred) (face identity mask)?


texts:
crumb(n) a very small piece of food, especially of bread or cake,
  that has fallen off a larger piece

  She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater.

  shred [usually plural] a small thin piece that has been torn or
  cut from something synonym scrap

  shreds of paper

  His jacket had been torn to shreds by the barbed wire.

  Cut the orange peel into thin shreds.

can I say "shreds of food" or "crumbs of paper"?

What are the difference between "shred" and "crumb"?


texts:
What's the word for "writing in braille"? Since braille is not written per se since we don't use a pen to "write in braille"? What's the verb we use to mean "writing in braille"?

For example:

  Robert finished ___ braille and gave the book for his blind friend to
  read.


texts:
What are the collective nouns for stewardess? Like the group of stewardess, the team ... what else could it be?

I've been trying to google it, but haven't found it yet =(


texts: What does 'limited' mean in the passage?

texts:
Does it mean 'that the people in the hallucinations have the limited range of actions'?

  Sometimes, she said, before the people come on, she may hallucinate
  pink and blue squares on the floor, which seem to go up to the
  ceiling. I said, "Is this like a dream?" And she said, "No, it's not
  like a dream. It's like a movie." She said, "It's got color. It's got
  motion. But it's completely silent, like a silent movie." And she said
  that it's a rather boring movie. She said, "All these people with
  Eastern dress, walking up and down, very repetitive, very limited."

https://www.ted.com/talks/oliver_sacks_what_hallucination_reveals_about_our_minds


texts:
I had a discussion with a colleague about this today:

He thinks it's: As 'company' partner, I get 5% discount

I think it's: As 'company' partner, I get a 5% discount

Who is correct and why?


texts: what is meant by 'look and see' in this sentence?

texts:
Here is an example from the OXford Dictionary

1. I'll look and see if I've got any sugar in the cupboard.
2. ‘Has the mail come yet?’ ‘I'll look and see.’

Could you please explain the meaning of 'I'll look and see'  in the above example ?

I'd appriciate if you could provide more examples.


texts: Is "you" here used as generalized "you"?

texts:
Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving. He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.
  "P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one."
  "I — don't — want —" said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.
  "And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family." They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by sweater.

  —J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Is 'you' here used as 'generalized' you, (everyone in general), not specified someone? So George's word implies "We're not going to stay with the prefect, Percy"?


texts:
Sandeep Mathrani starts as the office-rental firm’s chief executive today. He could scarcely provide a more striking contrast to WeWork’s founder and ousted boss, Adam Neumann. With no prior experience in the industry, Mr Neumann built WeWork’s valuation to a notional $47bn, largely on the strength of his charisma and vision. His erratic behaviour and the revelation of the company’s out-of-control finances last autumn, however, wiped out most of WeWork’s value and led to the cancellation of its initial public offering. Mr Mathrani, however, is a seasoned executive from Brookfield Properties, a large property-investment firm. His hiring signals that WeWork’s primary backer, SoftBank, wants to turn the loss-making, tech-focused company into a profitable lessor of office space. Any extra value he can squeeze out of WeWork would be welcome to the Japanese tech-investment firm. It has already lost more than $4bn on its stake in the office-space upstart.

scarcely : almost no

a more striking contrast to : unlike

What does the sentence mean, the current boss is similar to the previous one?


texts: Which word? enforceability/enforceable/enforcement/enforcive/enforcing in nature?

texts:
Context: I'm trying to tell the reader that the guidelines are intended/designed to enforce previous rules. The new guidelines do not add new rules, just enforcing previous ones. How to I write this?:

These guidelines are of enforceability in nature

These guidelines are of enforceable in nature

These guidelines are of enforcement in nature

These guidelines are of enforcive in nature

These guidelines are of enforcing in nature


texts: Having a hard time "verb-ing" vs having a hard time to "verb"

texts:
What is the difference between:

  Having a hard time "verb-ing" vs
  Having a hard time to "verb"

For example:

  I'm having a hard time explaining vs
  I'm having a hard time to explain


texts:
Is it grammatically wrong to say

  Tim seems can't understand it.

What should I say to make it make sense, while retaining the meaning?


texts: is it ok to use "unstick " when you don't want people removing a plastic trip from its intended places?

texts:
This is a picture of a diaper. It has a small strip on its back. After use, The trip will be used to fasten the diaper for easy disposal.

Your child often tries to remove or "unstick" it.

is it OK to say "Please don't unstick it".

The oxford dictionary has the adjective "unstuck" but it doesn't have the verb "unstick"

  come unstuck

  to become separated from something it was stuck or fastened to

  The flap of the envelope had come unstuck.


texts:
Case sensitivity depends on a value of the FooBarBaz variable. The default value is Off and it's strongly discouraged to change it. If you really need to do so, change it back as soon as possible.
FooBarBaz = On
// Do something
FooBarBaz = Off

As soon as possible sounds too harsh to me, and hence I would to replace it with something more neutral.

If you really need to do so, change it back right after.

This phrase is emotionally correct, but I'm not sure whether it's grammatically correct. I have a feeling (I'm not sure, though) that we should specify "right after what". Something like this, probably:

If you really need to do so, change it back right after you have finished your tasks.

But there are two problems here. First, I simply don't know how to say it really correct. After you have finished your tasks is nothing more than a draft.
Second, it sounds unnecessary wordy.


texts: What is this action on computer windows called, "expanding the window"?

texts:
When pressing on the the double squares on the right upper corner of browsers (Chrome, Explorer, Firefox etc.) or office word, power-point, or almost any window in computers, can I refer it as expanding the window?

  "Please, expand the screen by clicking on the double squares" would be
  correct?

I'm not sure if this is the verb used to describe what I mentioned.


texts: you're gonna go out with this win -- meaning?

texts:
Example (audio clip):

  Yeah, they had us the first half. I'm not gonna lie—they had us. We weren't defeated, but they had us. But it took guts, it took an attitude—that's all it takes. That's all it takes to be successful is an attitude. And that's what our coach told us. He said, “Hey, it's gonna be tough. It's gonna be hard. You're gonna go out there, you're gonna battle, you're gonna fight, you're gonna do it for one another. Do it for each other, you're gonna do it for yourself, you're gonna do it for us, and you're gonna go out with this win.” And we believed that, we truly did. And it's an awesome feeling. It's an awesome feeling when you truly believe that you're going to be successful.

First of all, I don't think that the first sentence in bold is grammatical. Do you agree?
As for the second sentence, that's where I have a problem. I don't think I fully understand what the speaking is trying to say. What win exactly is he talking about? Go out with it where? To the field or from the game?


texts: How to say that you are a teacher because of your education?

texts:
Imagine you're being interviewed for a job and you're asked to tell about your profession. You're a professional, let us say a teacher, because you studied in a pedagogical university. What is the right way to say that?

I'm a teacher by/according to/based on my education.

What preposition should be used while using exactly this word order?

Thanks!


texts: Word 'idiom' s sudden jump to current meaning from its original

texts:
I am learning English steadily in a way to discern its culture context behind the vocabulary.

In my opinion, it's a big jump of word 'idiom' from its orginal to current meaning

In Etymology Dictionary, it specify:
from idioumai "to appropriate to oneself," from idios "personal, private," properly "particular to oneself."

The current meaning in Oxford Dictionaries
 is
group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g. over the moon, see the light). synonyms with set phrase, fixed expression, phrase.

It's a long stride from 'private' to 'fixed expression'.

How to interpret it?


texts: Which of the following verbs are the most common regarding to meetings?

texts:
Which of the following verbs are the most common when talking about meetings?

  Scenario 1: I should say to my friends that we should _______ meeting after a long time that we didn't see each other.

  Scenario 2: I should say to my business colleagues that we should to ___?____ about new products that we can market.

There are the options for the verbs that I found here on ELL site, but I want to use the common once and not be sound weird or awkward (especially in the UK or Canada)

  To do a meeting.

  To make a meeting.

  To conduct a meeting.

  To have a meeting.

  To hold a meeting.

  To arrange a meeting.

  To set up a meeting.

  To manage a meeting.

  To determinate a meeting.


texts: Is there any difference between "not much use" and "no use"?

texts:
Are these sentences equally acceptable?
It is not much use trying to convince him of that.
It is no use trying to convince him of that.
There's not much use trying to convince him of that.
There's no use trying to convince him of that.


texts: How to understand "that was my friends' nickname for me" in this sentence?

texts:
I'm Moony -- that was my friends' nickname for me at school.

The sentence confuses me. Is 'Moony' the nickname of his friends or his? I interpret it as: "his friends gave him the nickname Moony" or "He was addressed with the nickname Moony among his friends". What's the correct way to understand it?


texts:
For these sentences:

  The road goes around by the lake.
  The road goes around the lake.
  The road goes by the lake.

How are they different?


texts:
What is the right name for this vegetable (see the picture above)? I usually call it a (vegetable) marrow.

Is it correct to call it a squash? (Pumpkins and courgette are types of squashes, so I would like to avoid any ambiquity.)


texts: What is the meaning of this sentence which I found?

texts:
Source

  [...]: he claims he does all the work himself, only hires men he can trust to complete the work and will eliminate the need for a "contractor", a middleman of sorts that will collect more money from the community that Daniel believes should go back to the landowners themselves.

I didn't understand from: a middleman of sorts & remaining sentence

What is the meaning of this sentence which I found ?


texts: Meaning of "I want you to understand what I said"

texts:
I want you to understand what I said.

What does this sentence mean?

It's what I want that you understand what I said. (Referring to the present)
It's what I want that you will understand what I said. (Referring to the future)
Either 1 or 2 according to context.

I think the sentence means 1 or 2 according to context.

If the sentence is written to describe your present understanding about what I said, I think option 1 is correct.

(And I know sentence 1 and 2 are ungrammatical because "want" does not normally take a clause as an object, but I couldn't figure out better sentences, so I reluctantly wrote the sentences to ask this question, but I guess native speakers will easily understand what the sentence means.)


texts: He carried or delivered me to Peshawar in a BMW?

texts:
Which of the following sentences is more suitable?

  He delivered me to Peshawar in a BMW.
  He carried me to Peshawar in a BMW.

Should I use delivered or carried?