texts: The combination of "hope" and "by the time"

texts:
We normally use hope with present tense. If we use hope in past tense, the way signified in the sentence below, should we use "found out" or "would find out" or any thing else? Also the use of "by the time" is really confusing for me. I wonder if the sentence below is grammatically correct.

  "I hoped by the time they found out about the missing car, I would miles away."


texts: What does this piece of punctuation ("--") mean?

texts: I've seen a couple writers use this "--" in their writings; what does it mean? I don't have an examples. I would do a simple google search on what it means, but I don't even know what it's called to do so.


texts: Is it too passive to start a sentence with 'To do something'?

texts:
There are two types of pollution, local pollution and non-local pollution. To quantify local pollution, this paper adopted a mass balance approach.

Actually the two sentences are from two paragraphs. The information of the first sentence is from a previous paragraph, and the 'To quantify' sentence is placed as the first sentence of the following paragraph.

I know I can reframe this sentence like 'this paper adopted a mass balance approach to quantify local pollution'. But I feel it lost the emphasis. But my supervisor said the sentence is too passive...


texts: "If only 10 years ago..." -- punctuation

texts:
I want to write this:

If only 10 years ago I would have thought the way I do today.

How should I punctuate this? I am not sure where commas go. I haven't tried much yet.


texts:
I know that when it comes to graphical elements (such as figures, pictures, photos) you should always use in, for instance:

in the picture,
in figure 4,
...

But what about code listing? Should I write "on listing 3" or "in listing 3"?

I would like to say something like this:

  As it can be seen on/in listing 3, the variable needs to be initialized with the value of 1024.

I meant the source code listing. The code of the computer program, given in text.

On/in listing below, the port variable is initialized with the value of 1024:

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
    char * ip_addr;
    int port = 1024;

    // ...
}


texts: Is there a word/phrase that means "first nature"?

texts:
I'm aware of the phrase second nature:

  second nature

  a tendency or habit that has become characteristic or instinctive.

  "deceit was becoming second nature to her"

Source.

Is there something that means "first nature"? Example sentence:

  His light, like air, had become __ to her.

(Maybe "first nature" is common enough? And applicable in this situation?)

Note: By "first nature" I mean, things that are fundamental to us like food, shelter, air, etc.


texts: difference of "have been working" and "have worked"

texts:
I have a question. Yeah it is kinda easy but it made me a bit confused.
My teacher said: "I've worked at there for 3 years." implies, I've worked 3 years and I still work at there.
But as I know, if we want to imply that we must say:  "I've been working there for 3 years."
Does "I've worked there for 3 years."  mean I still work at there? Or which one is correct?
in this case, I'm tend to say "I've been working". And probably it's my mistake of having lack of information but "I've worked" seemed to be like "I'm not working here anymore" for me. Which one is better?


texts: Analyze the structure: A particular bacterium that has never encountered a particular virus

texts:
A particular bacterium that has never encountered a particular virus
  will usually succumb to it, a susceptibility that may, surprisingly,
  be beneficial to the colony in which the bacterium lives.

This sentence seems to have two verbs, ie. "will usually succumb", and "may, surprisingly, be beneficial".

My teacher told me one sentence can only have one verb, how come does this sentence have two? Or does it have structure permitting this that I'm not aware of?


texts:
I know that loss is a noun and lost is a verb/adjective but if we lost the connection with a server, which of these two messages will be the most accurate:

Connectivity loss with server

or

Connection lost with server

Maybe I'm mistaken but I read the first one as losing some messages but being able to reach the server; and the second as not being able to reach the server at all.

Thanx in advance.


texts: There are four cabinets in total, right?

texts:
According to Cambridge Dictionary, "cabinet" is a countable noun, so I can say "a cabinet", "one cabinet", "two cabinets" etc.

In the image above, I guess each circle represents one cabinet, so do the arrows. So, there are four cabinets pointed out in total.
Is my understanding correct?


texts:
I've come across the term "golden fingers" in a book, in the following context:

Timing recovery has long been perceived as a field
in which 'golden fingers' and intimate familiarity with analog circuitry are crucial.

I couldn't find the translation of this term or another example of usage. I should note that author is from the Netherlands. Intuitively I would guess that it means that someone can be considered very skillful, and in my native language (not Dutch) there is a corresponding idiom with literal translation "golden hands".
Is "golden fingers" a common idiom in English? If not, is there a proper term or idiom of that meaning?


texts: What is the meaning of "shop-wise" in "… and talk turned shop-wise"?

texts:
I read a sentence in Word by Word by Kory Stamper which was:

  We had the restaurant mostly to ourselves, and talk turned shop-wise.

The context is:

  A month, I have come to discover, is not that long in lexicographical terms. In 2013, the University of Georgia hosted the biennial meeting of the Dictionary Society of North America, an academic society for lexicographers, linguists, and logophiles interested in dictionaries. One of the attendees was Peter Gilliver, a lexicographer from the Oxford English Dictionary, who joined a crew of us for dinner.

  We had the restaurant mostly to ourselves, and talk turned shop-wise. We discussed the differences between defining for the OED, which is a historical dictionary with over 600,000 senses, and defining for the Collegiate Dictionary, a relative lightweight at about 230,000 senses.

I want to ask what does shop-wise mean in the above sentence.


texts:
Anesthesiologist meets Paul, occupational Therapist:

  Paul: Yeah, well, I get a little carpal tunnel of my own from time to
  time.

  Anesthesiologist :Tell me about it. Medicine these days is all about
  covering your ass.

What does it mean, "Medicine these days is all about covering your ass"?

Does it mean Medicine should talk the blame but not
now these days?

I find these line in Downsizing 2018


texts:
I've found one interesting expression on Google Translate that violate syntax grammar rules:

  Oh heck, I can't for the life of me remember

I don't see the main verb just after the auxiliary one. What the syntax grammar rule used here?


texts: I want to ask why we use leaving for in this sentence. Do you have a flight leaving for New York

texts:
Do you have a flight leaving for New York?

I would like to ask about this sentence why don't use leave for instead of leaving for.


texts: Should this sentence have "whoever" or "whomever"?

texts:
I'm trying to understand how I can correctly apply "whoever" and "whomever" in sentences. I've read up the rules, and I want to know if I'm applying it right.

In a sentence like this, should I use "whomever" since it follows the pattern of "I'll be proud of him/her"?

  Her mother said, "I'll be proud of whomever you choose to be."


texts: I heard this phrase once: "He was driving slowly to save fuel." However it says about some particular fuel, which is in the tank, so using the definite article would be more logical. Why the article was omitted here?


texts: What does "up" mean in this phrase? "a long skirt with a slit up the side"

texts:
The sentence is from here:
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/slit_1?q=slit
Does the sentence still mean the same if I replace "up" with "on"?


texts: Present continues and present simple, case verb(look)?

texts:
I hear you're having your house repainted !!!

How does it look ?
How is it looking ?

Grammar's rule  is :
We use present continues when we want to emphasis the station is temporary.

but the two questions are correct ? I don't understand why?


texts:
A.This tree (be) was planted by the settlers who (found) founded
our city over four hundred years ago.

B. This tree (be) was planted by the settlers who (found) had founded
our city over four hundred years ago.

According to a grammar website ,correct answer is A,"founded", but i think it should be "had founded" because first ,the city was found and then, the tree was planted. Am I wrong here ?


texts: Meaning of “liberties taken with the word”

texts:
I can't even guess the meaning of the words 'liberties taken with the word' in the last sentence. Could anyone explain it?

Within Frost’s Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS), researchers and the general public alike commonly see personal standards (PS) and organization (O) as positive forms of perfectionism.
(....)
Organization is arguably not even a part of perfectionism. Not all researchers agree with the liberties taken with the word.

(From 'How to Be an Imperfectionist' by Stephen Guise)


texts: Singular or plural, subject verb agreement

texts:
Let's suppose I am talking about people in general, but my subject of the talk is 'people', the plural noun. Now, which of the following fit best?

Their heart turns to piety.

Their hearts turn to piety.

Thing to be noted is that I am talking about all of them at a time and of course everyone has 'one' heart. So if they are 100 people, it will make a hundred hearts I am talking about.


texts: What is the difference between "out of" and "of"

texts:
I saw this sentence in a grammar book.

Who is the youngest girl of the three.

But I think that I can change of to out of without changing the meaning. Is it true? Please tell me.


texts: What does the phrase "be kept in check" mean in this sentence?

texts:
In case you will be confused about the context, I put it up as well. Here is the paragraph:

  The cooling increases the ice cover, which increases the surface albedo, so the climate gets even colder, causing more ice to form and so on. This is called the ice albedo feedback. Normally the process is kept in check by the ocean's absorption of solar radiation, but according to the Snowball Earth hypothesis, the feedback loop didn't stop.

Does the phrase "is kept in check" mean being restricted or being continually scrutinized?


texts: What is the correct "tense" that follows 'if' in this question, and the tense of the clause that follows next?

texts:
My sentence structure is:
However, if Steven refused (refuses? refuse?) to remove the instruction from the note, it will (would?) confuse people.
I am confused about the tense that follows 'if' in this hypothetical situation.
Please help!
Thank you!


texts:
What is more proper or actually correct. I was giving some "test data" to my friend. Do I say:

  I will prepare you some test data.

or

  I will prepare for you some test data.

Which one natives say?


texts:
I know the girl who/whom/that you are talking to.
  It was the girl who/whom/that her mother punished for stealing money.

In these two sentences,which relative pronoun is suitable?


texts:
Is the structure "wise men are the people having or showing the ability" natural in Engish? Should it be "Wise men are the people who have or show the ability"?

Wise men are the people having or showing the ability to make good judgments based on a deep understanding and experience of life.


texts:
I know that "between" is used when the individual items are specified and "among" is used when they are not. Ref:
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/between-among/ . Examples:

I need to choose between Yale, Oxford and Stanford.
I need to choose among these universities.

Based on that, "among us" should be correct and "between us" incorrect, but I am not sure this is always valid. For instance:

Let's keep it between us.
Let's keep it among us.

Both sound correct to me. Is that right? If so, is it an exception or have I misunderstood the rule used to choose between "between" and "among" ?


texts: What are some alternative ways to say "read the following for more"?

texts:
Do all these mean the same:

Read the following for more.

Refer to the following for more information.

Further reading.


texts: How can I understand ‘neither’ in this context?

texts:
... ...in talking of library rules... ...

“No cameras are allowed. And neither is making copies of anything.”

How can I understand grammatically the use of ‘neither’ here?
Neither is followed by linking verb ‘is’ means it is a subject of this sentence, but neither can not be a subject , right?


texts: Why is it "lay still" instead of "lie still" in this scene in Wonderwoman?

texts:
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/91b8b6ce-5a99-4bae-983d-2585944b7834

This is from Wonder Woman, and a woman on the left is laying the wounded woman down on the grass.

  She says to the hurt woman, "lay still."

I don't understand why it's "lay still" instead of "lie still".

I already googled the difference between "lie" and "lay" and lay is a transitive verb which needs an object. It also doesn't make sense if lay here was used as a past form of "lie", since in this scene, the woman is ordering(not exactly ordering in the sense of forcing someone) the wounded woman to lie down still and thus present verb should be used.

What am I missing? Why is it "lay"?


texts: "here" vs. "over here" in an area of an eye

texts:
I went through a post (Can you tell me about the correct usage of "over here" and "right here"?) and I guess I understand the explanation on it

  "right here/there" sits inside "over here/there"

A tutorial (00:02:23) seems to use the expression to convey another meaning

  ... the cornea over here ...

The area pointed out by the red circle is very close to the exact area of the cornea, which is along the blue one.

I guess the green one demonstrates inside while the blue one means next to. Is my understanding right? Could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.


texts: Go for tuition (extra classes) (private tutor)

texts:
This question is about the use of "tuition" in AmE.

In America are there "private institutions" [not schools, universities]. So will it be okay to use:

  I go for tuition .

What about:

  A:"Where do you go for tuitions?"

    B: "I go for tuition to X." ("I go to X to get tuition in a particular subject", that is, "I go to X for extra classes)

  I am taking tuition in Science. (I am teaching students Science)

  I receive (or "being given") tuition in Science. (I have been taking extra classes in Science)

All these are private classes by tutors teaching a group of kids.


texts: "Pretending like a dog," "act like a dog," or "imitate like a dog"?

texts:
John looks his son, pretending like a dog.

  John looks his son, acting like a dog.

  John looks his son, imitating like a dog.

To make his son laugh, John acts/pretends/imitates like a dog.

Which one of the word is correct between acts, pretends, and imitates?


texts:
I read an English grammar article in which the author talked about the correct use of pronouns.

He writes:

  If the extended sentence is “She’s more likely to ask him than I am,” in which the comparison is between the subject and the writer, I is correct. However, if the intent is to convey that the man referred to as him is more likely to be asked something by the subject than the writer is, the correct pronoun form is me, but that distinction should be clarified with a revision like “She’s more likely to ask him than ask me.”

Before reading this piece, I thought that the two sentences had the same meaning.
While the second example is quite clear for me (“She’s more likely to ask him than ask me”), I don't think that I have correctly understood the first one.
Could anyone explain it to me, please?


texts: Can I use "it" in place of "that" in this sentence?

texts:
Naruto

In the video, the anime says

  Why don't you show me what the true power is, and defeat me with that.

I am wondering, is it possible to use it in place of that and still the sentence remaining grammatical?


texts: Some other day: Is the form "days" possible in this expression?

texts: The meaning of the expression "some other day" is "next time, not now", but what if the expression is used to denote an action which is going to take place in the future, several days in a row? Is it acceptable to use the form days in such a case?


texts: present perfect and past simple in the same sentence

texts:
I have the sentence below from a dialogue between a doctor and a patient. The doctor speaks to the patient in order to reassure him:
"You left the hospital yesterday and only two weeks have passed since the accident"
Thanks!


texts: Translation of words stubborn and obstinate

texts:
I'd like to find a word, which will express better such a human quality: when you work hard to achieve a goal not paying attention to any obstacles, and when you can't leave a task before finishing it.

I would say something like stubbornness or obstinacy describes it, but I'm not sure whether these words can be used in such a meaning


texts:
What is the synonym for "in this sense"?
Is "in this sense" equivalent to "in other words"?  Or it is equivalent to "to this end"? Or none of them?


texts: Help parse "There is much more to preventing employee crime than background checks..."

texts:
Consider:

There is much more to preventing employee crime than background checks and traditional audits. It's not just about the employees you don't know; some of the biggest crimes are committed by long-tenured employees who have gained the corporation's trust.
--When the Cat’s Away by Doug Karpp Link

I understand the first sentence this way:
As to preventing employee crime, there is much more than background checks and traditional audits.
I think preventing is a gerund here. Preventing employee crime couldn't be semantically in parallel with background checks and traditional audits.
Is my understanding correct?
And I ran across this sentence before:

There is much more to the universe than meets the eye on earth.

Does this have the same structure as the former one? Can you please adjust these two to a more straightforward version or template?


texts: 'be' that expresses position by linking the prepositional phase and the subject , or means 'exist in certain place'

texts:
I am a boy.

I was tired.

I was in Las Vegas.

I know that the be verbs in the first two sentences are 'be's that link predicate adjectives or nouns. But I'm not sure about the last one. In some dictionaries, its 'meaning' is illustrated as 'exist in a certain place', and in some other dictionaries, its 'function' is illustrated as 'linking prepositional phrase or adverbials that shows time or location'. Which analysis is actually correct? How do the native speakers actually think of this 'be'?


texts: Should I use "might" or "might have" in a past context?

texts:
Here is the sentence from C. S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew:

  Down and down they rushed, first through darkness and then through a mass of vague and whirling shapes which might have been almost anything.

As far as I know, might refers to the present and future, and might have refers to the past. This sentence is in the past, so I think that might would automatically refer to the same past moment, and might have would refer to the moment that was earlier.

Still, I can't understand the reason of using might have here because it's apparent that the characters' journey and the whirling shapes were at the same time.

Why is might have used here, and what would the meaning be if we used might?


texts: The meaning of 'otherwise' in this sentence

texts:
I have read this sentences and wonder what and why there is an "otherwise" in this sentence. And what is actual meaning of this, do I have responsible in this case?

  You shall not otherwise be responsible for the damage of the good.

I am not native English speaker.


texts: "had to" or " had had to" in a reported speech

texts:
She said " I had to finish the work"
when we convert the above sentence into an indirect speech which of these is right? should we use back shifting and add "had" before "had to" or just leave it as it is?
a) she said she had to finish the work, or
b) she said she had had to finish the work.
which of these is grammatically accepted?


texts: meaning of the phrase "in a sure sign of something"?

texts:
Here is the context:

  Culinary cultural fusion is all the rage; more novels translated from languages then ever before, although few are read, and in the surest sign of cultural globalization, football, the world's game, finally has reached America.

Actually I cannot get the grammar of the phrase. Why did the speaker use the preposition in with it? Wouldn't it make sense without it? If it would not, then could you please explain what the difference is with in and without?


texts:
Why we use single had in this sentence "Those who died yesterday had a plan for today? We use had had when something happened in the past before a past event.
Then why we don't use had had as a person had made a plan before he died in the past


texts: what does this phrase "What he wouldn't give now for" mean?

texts:
What does this sentence mean (from HarryPotter)?

  What wouldn’t he give now for a message from Hogwarts?

I don't know the grammar of this sentence. Why use "give" rather than "receive"?

Can somebody explain this sentence for me?


texts:
Meanwhile, Shi, who goes by Chris, shed more light about a confrontation Friday morning that he said led his family to contact  Redding Police.
  Source

I looked it up means according to sth, follow sth.


texts: Why not "She pulled him gently towards herself" but "She pulled him gently towards her"?

texts:
We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject
  of the sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end in "-self"
  (singular) or "-selves" (plural). Source

Eg: I cut myself

I saw myself in the mirror

But see this sentence in the dictionary:

  She pulled him gently towards her.

Why don't they say "She pulled him gently towards herself"?


texts: What's the verb or phrasal verb for rotating lights?

texts:
The police lights rotated and projected their lights onto other
people's homes.

Doesn't sound very idiomatic or naturally flowing, I can't think of a better verb for rotating lights.


texts:
I read that we can't use any subordinate clause at the beginning of our phrase.

I would like to know any advice to recognize them. Any memorization trick?
If there are any, learning them by heart is the only way to recognize them?


texts: What does the term "new found glory" mean?

texts:
What does the term mean?

A reference below:

  I was mowing away, basking in my new-found glory, and suddenly I was saying a prayer.

https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=XzX4vu5ACyAC&pg=PA29&dq=%22new+found+glory%22&hl=zh-TW&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22new%20found%20glory%22&f=false


texts: Is it a future simple tense or present progressive tense?

texts:
"I am going to do the work"

I know this sentence works like future though it has "am" and (verb+ing) which is the characteristic of present progressive. Can I say it is a future simple tense?


texts: Is it grammatically correct to write: "It needs not to be known"?

texts:
For an academic writing, is it correct to say:
"This variable needs not to be known."?
I would be grateful if you could tell me possible differences in British and American usage.


texts:
"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't
  take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.  Dudley's mouth
  fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on
  Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day,
  to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year,
  Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two
  streets away. Harry hated it there. (Harry Potter and the
  Sorcerer's Stone)

What does ‘it’ imply?


texts: Merely copying in this or that dictionary definition 'does not an answer make'

texts:
In one of my answers, I had only copy-pasted definitions from a dictionary so the moderator commented on my post and said:

  Merely copying in this or that dictionary definition does not an answer make.

What kind of grammatical structure is this? Does it have a name?


texts: what does the word"controls" would mean here?

texts:
What does controls means? and what does the bold following part could mean?

Controls who had not been placed under a trance, but were instructed to attach a colour to each number, did not make this mistake (Psychological Science

.........
DO WE all have the capacity for synaesthesia or is the brain's ability to blend senses bestowed on a select few at birth? It now seems it could be a mixture of the two.

Synaesthesia seems to underpin some savants' enhanced memory and numerical skills. The hope is that a better understanding of its origins could help to explain savant abilities - and perhaps even shine some light on whether we are all capable of attaining them.

The condition is thought to arise when extra connections in the brain cross between regions responsible for separate senses. To see if genes play a role in building or maintaining these connections, a team led by Julian Asher at the University of Oxford took genetic samples from 196 individuals from 43 families, 121 of whom exhibited auditory-visual synaesthesia, meaning they "see" sounds. "When I hear a violin, I see something like a rich red wine," says Asher, who is a synaesthete. "A cello is more like honey."

From their analysis, the team were able to pin down four chromosomal regions where gene variations seemed to be linked to the condition (The American Journal of Human Genetics, DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2009.01.012). As one of the regions has also been associated with autism, there may be a common genetic mechanism underlying the two, says Asher.

So if we are genetically disposed to develop synaesthesia, does that rule out the possibility of inducing the experience? To find out, Roi Cohen Kadosh from Imperial College London and colleagues hypnotised four volunteers so that they viewed numbers as having innate colours, known as grapheme-colour synaesthesia. The volunteers then looked at a series of coloured slides, some with a black digit in the centre and some without (see diagram).

Like people with synaesthesia, roughly 80 per cent of the time the hypnotised volunteers failed to see the digits when the background colour corresponded to the colour they associated with a number. Controls who had not been placed under a trance, but were instructed to attach a colour to each number, did not make this mistake (Psychological Science, DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02286.x).

"It shows that even without hyperconnectivity in the brain, you can still have synaesthesia," says Cohen Kadosh. He says hypnosis may reactivate connections that had been suppressed by the brain.

Hypnosis may reactivate connections that had been suppressed by the brain, causing synaesthesia Julia Simner from the University of Edinburgh, UK, has further evidence that synaesthesia is not the result of neural connections fixed before birth. She studied 615 6 to 7-year-olds, eight of whom turned out to be grapheme-colour synaesthetes. Over the course of a year, these children gradually associated more letters with colours, showing that the ability developed with time (Brain, DOI: 10.1093/brain/awn292).

So should we all attempt to develop savant-like abilities? "Synaesthesia is strongly linked to improved memory capabilities so it would definitely be a good thing to research," says Simner. Asher is more cautious, stressing that synaesthesia is often distracting, for example, while reading or listening to a lecture. He hopes to develop a genetic test to diagnose children and warn teachers of potential difficulties.

,,,,,,, Extracted from Internet


texts:
Example:

  Descriptive names can be carried to an extreme, of course. There's no point in naming a form frmUpdateContactInformation if frmUpdateInfo does just as well. Long names are more easily misspelled or misread than shorter names, so use your judgment.

Could you please explain the inner workings of this construction to me. Is this something along the lines of will do?


texts: "Something needs to be done" vs "something needs doing"

texts:
There is the sentence "...but there's obviously some work that needs doing." in a video of Oxford Online English.
Why not "... some work that needs to be done."? Is it correct to use "doing" instead?


texts: Should I use present perfect simple or continuous in this phrase?

texts:
This week I __________ (spend) a fortune because I have been going out every night so far.

In the previous sentence should I use present perfect simple or continuous? And why?

Personally I know that present perfect continuous takes precedence over simple if there are no reasons not to use it. Does the fact that "a fortune" is a quantity bring me to use the simple past?


texts: Difference between "had come" vs. "came" vs. "used to come"

texts:
What is the difference in meaning between these three sentences?

  Aren't they the ones who had come over for lunch?
  Aren't they the ones who came over for lunch?
  Aren't they the ones who used to come over for lunch?

Last one sounds like a habitual and reoccurring action but what do the first and second one mean?


texts: What is the meaning and usage of “Turtles all the way down”

texts:
Can someone please explain the meaning and usage of

  "Turtles all the way down"

in simple words? I read Wikipedia and have some level of understanding of it but was hoping someone would make it more clear here. For instance, I would like to know if this expression is used on a day to day conversation? Is this expression understood by all native English speakers regardless of their specific knowledge of the background of the phrase?


texts: Using conditional rules to describe past unreal events

texts:
Recently I just had a flight to my village. My plane got into the Cumulonimbus cloud and got some heavy turbulences, but luckily we survived and arrived safely in my village.

I want to make a hypothetical sentence based on the past horrible moment like the following :

"I thought we would never survive. I cried as if I would have never touched the earth again".

Is that past unreal conditional sentence correct?


texts: Is it correct to say, "This is 1,000 people"?

texts:
An infographic in a BBC article reads, "What does 500,000 people look like?" followed by, "This is 1,000 people," instead of "These are 1,000 people." I can see that it is an acceptable way of saying when talking about a group of things/people. It is, of course, correct to say, "This is a group of 1,000 people."
Just wondering in what grammatical sense this is correct.


texts:
When my friend is sending me a wallet, I want to know what it’s made of, which should I say:

  What was it made of?

or:

  What is it made of?

If I ask my friend about the wallet, I should use is or was? Which is right?


texts:
Are there any rules as to an article before a noun in the singular in headlines please, i.e. lack of an article?

  Description of Type of Investment


texts: Is this 'might have p.p' a back-shifted form?

texts:
And Andrew shouted that the sea was coming in, so she leapt splashing
  through the shallow waves on to the shore and ran up the beach and was
  carried by her own im-petuosity and her desire for rapid movement
  right behind a rock and there –– oh, heavens! in each other's arms,
  were Paul and Minta kissing probably. She was outraged, indignant. She
  and Andrew put on their shoes and stockings in dead silence without
  saying a thing about it. Indeed they were rather sharp with each
  other. She might have called him when she saw the crayfish or
  whatever it was, Andrew grumbled. However, they both felt, it's not
  our fault. They had not wanted this horrid nuisance to happen.
  (Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse)

I’m very confused whether the sentence is a back-shifted form of present form –– “she might call him when she sees the crayfish or whatever it is,” Andrew grumbles –– or it is an irrealis. Which side do I have to look at?


texts:
Is there a rule for using gerunds and infinitives instead of memorizing the verbs?
I mean when to use gerund or infinitive just by looking at the sentence.


texts: I want to know the difference of each sentence below

texts:
What brings you here?
What makes you come here?
Why did you come here?
What was your motivation to come her

Is there any difference of meaning between each sentence?


texts: Can "Karst" be expressed as area or spot?

texts:
Preliminary research found 112 caves in Karst areas/spots (?) in X regency

Can Karst be expressed as:

Karst areas or Kars spots?


texts: When you don't understand a joke right away

texts:
In my native language we have lots of ways (some of them very funny) of saying that you, or someone else didn't understand a joke right away. That is, he/she needed some time to figure it out.

I wonder if there's any idiomatic way of expressing that in English.


texts:
Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power
  of Thor.

Now is that a correct sentence to start with?

Does that strictly mean, 'when somone is worthy, then he can hold the hammer and posses the power'?

Or

Can this sentence also mean, 'Hammer can be held by anyone but only if he is worthy, he shall possess the power'?


texts:
Which of the following is more correct:

We were provided a form to fill.
We were provided with a form to fill.

If one is correct and the other is not, why?

And do both kinds of usages exist - 'provided' and 'provided with'... In what cases?

Thanks!


texts: What is the word for people who are presumptuous and with the same root as "presumptuous"? Thanks.


texts:
So I am studying tenses and while going through Past-Perfect Tense I am stumped.

My research shows that Past-Perfect can be used to show three kinds of timelines (don't know if this is the right word to describe it but I hope you get the point).

1. An action started in the past and ended in the past.

  I have read The Hobbit. (Present-Perfect)

How is it any different from,

  I read The Hobbit. (Simple Past)

Don't they both tell us the same information that at sometime in the past I have read The Hobbit and I have finished reading it. Or are these going to be different answers (telling the same thing) to different questions ?

  Have you read The Hobbit ?

  Answer in Present-Perfect.

vs

  What book did you read ?

  Answer in simple past.

2. An action that started in the past and remains true in the present.

and

3. An action that started in the past, remains true in the present and may continue in the future.

The following example is most suitable for which of the above ? Are 2 and 3 basically the same ? i.e. If something is true in the present, it is likely to continue to be true in the future as well ?

  "We have lived in the hut for three days."

  (a) We have lived in the hut for three days sometime in the past and are not living anymore.

  (b) We have lived in the hut for three days sometime in the past and are still living  today.

  (c) We have lived in the hut for three days sometime in the past, are still living  today and will continue to live.

How can I differentiate between these three situations, given a Present-Perfect sentence ?

Thanks.


texts: Meaning of "Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life."

texts:
What is the meaning of this quote by Terry Pratchett?

  Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and
  he's warm for the rest of his life.

I think I understand the first sentence. It says that if you give somebody e.g. a torch or help set a fire with a limited quantity of wood, it will burn only for a couple of hours and then it's done.

But what does "set fire to him" mean exactly?


texts: English article: a temperature vs temperature

texts:
I was looking the definition of temperature in Merriam-Webster. In count noun section, I noticed a sentence with no article before "temperature".

If a noun is countable, we must use an article (a or the) before it. Is this rule inconsistent?

The sentence is as follows:

  There was a sudden fall/drop in temperature.

A screenshot is below. Look at the second to last example.


texts:
What's the right way of asking the following question:

  How did World War II start?
  How did World War II get started?

Do both convey the same meaning, or is the use of 'get' superfluous?


texts: Asking someone to name every thing in the list using "Which"

texts:
Here in Urdu, if I have to ask someone about naming all the books one have read (in say last 2 months), I will ask something which roughly translates to:

"Which which books have you read in last 2 months?"

What will be correct English statement for this?


texts: How to reword properly "Stick to the plan at any circumstances"?

texts: I changed  "at" --> "under" and "stick" --> "adhere". Doesn't work. Google finds no results at all.


texts:
What is the meaning of "Herrmans" here?
I checked various editions of book but this word was repeated in all of them, although i think it is not correct and it must be "humans". What do you think?

  "No, my belief in Spiritualism has undergone no change. When I made
  those dreadful statements I was not responsible for my words. Its
  genuineness is an incontrovertible fact. Not all the Herrmans that
  ever breathed can duplicate the wonders that are produced through some
  mediums. By deftness of fingers and smartness of wits they may produce
  writing on papers and slates, but even this cannot bear close
  investigation. Materialization is beyond their mental calibre to
  reproduce, and I challenge anyone to make the 'rap' under the same
  conditions which I will. There is not a human being on earth can
  produce the 'raps' in the same way as they are through me."

Source - http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0301051h.html


texts: part of speech of "all" in "it all went wrong"

texts:
Do you think "all" is a pronoun or adverb in "It all went wrong"?

Is the "all" identical to the "all" in "Tom removed them all"?


texts:
Recently reading this article, there is a line, By the CEO of Amazon,

"The unionization push being voted on at Amazon's Bessemer fulfillment center has been the focal point of a high-profile labor dispute between the behemoth "everything store" and the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. Amazon has aggressively pushed its workers to vote against unionization, launching a campaign called "Do It Without Dues" to encourage workers to stick to the status quo.

Does here, "due" mean the payment to the Union?
And please let me know what that means.
Thank you.


texts: Is it grammatically correct to ask "How is going everything?"

texts:
Is it grammatically correct to say:

  How is going everything?

And does it convey same meaning as "How is going your life?"


texts: 'order number 1 and 2', 'orders number 1 and 2', or 'order numbers 1 and 2'?

texts:
From this question by jess:

  Is there a difference between using "number" and "numbers" when referring to multiple numbers?
  For example, when calling a merchant to inquire about multiple orders, should I say:

    I need RMAs for order numbers 1 and 2.

  or

    I need RMAs for order number 1 and 2.

  This question might sound stupid, but I'm not sure what the main subject is. Is "number" the subject and therefore should I use "numbers"? Or are the order numbers (1 and 2) the subject, so should I keep "number" singular?

FumbleFingers answered :

  Personally, I'd say "for orders number 1 and 2".

while TecBrat answered :

  I usually hear that as "order numbers 1 and 2", with the "s". Fumble's comment gives a good way to get around it anyway.

Which one is correct? Which one is wrong and why?


texts: What is the meaning of "overarch" in this sentence?

texts:
I consulted the dictionary and saw the definitions of overarch:

  verb (used with object)

  to span with or like an arch: A new bridge overarches the river.

  verb (used without object)

  to form an arch over something: a cerulean sky overarching in the early twilight.

In this sentence,

  In this blog, I intend to identify and discuss the overarching
  benefits derived from successful Strategic BI implementation.

what is the meaning of overarching? Does it mean overflowing?


texts: Is it right preposition in the sentence?

texts:
sentence:

  The man has senseless ability to low temperature (he feels no discomfit when his body exposed to low temperature)

question:

  Should I use 'to' or 'of' preposition in this sentence?


texts:
"If I would’ve heard that before I would’ve named one of the cars Jalopnik" (from http://goo.gl/KvE2tB)

"Would have + P2" in main and dependent clauses seems odd to me. Is this correct?

I expected:
"If I had heard that before I would’ve named one of the cars Jalopnik".


texts: what is the between past and past participle in meaning only

texts:
He had worked hard.

He worked hard.

I understand the grammar of both sentences, but i don't know when i should use the first sentence and when use the second.


texts:
At this point signing a contract would be little more than a
formality.

Does ‘more than a formality’ mean ‘very formal’?


texts: Is the sentence "To better visualize it she skipped one step each time she took a stride" grammatically correct or not?

texts:
An answerer explains a sentence "She ran up the stairs two at a time" this way

  It simply means that she took two steps at a time. To better visualise it she skipped one step each time she took a stride.

I could have said

  To better visualize it, you could say, she ...

Because the remaining part seems to be a clause, which usually follows "it means that".

Is my understanding right? Could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.


texts:
Did you think you ....  me somewhere before?

options:

  a) have seen
  b) had seen
  c) were seeing

My approach:

I am confused between "were seeing" (c) VS "have seen" (a).

I think have seen should be there because it is used with the words "ever","never","before".


texts:
You must submit your assignments by next Monday at the latest.

Is "next" optional in the above sentence? I think by "by Monday" should be clear enough and "next" is redundant.


texts: "My wife and I have been living here since we have been married." is the tense correct?

texts:
I want to make a sentence meaning that "we have been living here since the day of our marriage" but is the latter part of the sentence correct?
"My wife and I have been living here since we have been married."
Or should I write "since we married."

Thank you so much.


texts: Which of 'Question on', 'question about', 'question regarding', 'question related to' is best?

texts:
Which of these sentences are grammatically correct?

  A: I have a few questions about this course.
  B: I have a few questions on this course.
  C: I have a few questions regarding this course.
  D: I have a few questions related to this course.

Is B incorrect? Also, is the meaning of D identical to other sentences?

In general, do all of these have the same meaning? Can they be used interchangeably?


texts:
I have a doubt about this sentence:

  Othering is a binary process between the colonizer and colonized by which the former is able to affirm his own identity, but the last is considered as the other

I'm confused about the use of "by which". Is it correct?
If there are any errors in the sentence please tell me.


texts: A comparison between "make", "Lead", "Prompt" and "Cause"

texts:
Please imagine a queen (a king's wife) or an authority's wife "helps" him to come to power in a country. Which one of the following self made sentence works better here:

  a- His wife made him come to power.

  b- His wife led him to come to power.

  c- His wife prompted him to come to power.

  d- His wife caused him to come to power.

For me, all the choices above work properly excepting the choice 'd'. It is somehow off. I have no idea if I can explain it, but I think there is a force behind "cause". In my opinion no achievement would be obtained forcefully while one doesn't want it themselves.


texts:
As far as I know, when we can't remember the name of a person or when we didn't hear it properly, or even if we never learned the name of a person before, we can say "What was your name" to that person by backshifting the verb (This can be done in my native language in this question and in some other questions too. It can be done in any question where we can't exactly remember the answer of actually.). Can we do the same thing in all other kinds of questions too (this is my main question to you)? For example, can I say these sentences below?

  "Where were you from?" [Can I say this in any part of the conversation (at he beginning or wherever) even when I am sure that I was never told where the person I am talking to is from?]

  "Had you been to USA?" (Can I say this sentence when I sort of remember that the person I am talking to has been to USA but I am not sure? Or can I say it even when I merely wonder if he has been to USA? I mean even when I have no idea if he has been there or not, when I am sure no one ever told me he had been there or not.)

  "Did you play guitar?" (I guess I can say this just like the ones above in a situation where I like remember that that person plays guitar but I am not sure. But I am not sure if this one can be said when I merely want to learn if somebody plays guitar.)

  "Was your name pronounced as 'John'?" (My questions are the same on this one as the ones in the parentheses above: Can I say it either when I want to learn the pronunciation for the first time or when I can't remember it? *Context: Let's say I am asking this one of a Swedish person.)

From what my ears which are sort of used to hearing English (American English especially) tell me, English and Turkish are similar in terms of this. I think in English, just like Turkish, we can backshift any question when we feel like we knew something but we can't remember it. And also again just like Turkish, when we are sure we never knew or heard about the thing we are going to ask about, when we merely want to learn something for the first time, it is wrong to use the backshifted version except for some questions like "What was your name?" Maybe in formal contexts, all questions where we are wanting to learn something for the first time can be backshifted. I don't know.


texts:
What's the proper adjective to describe something that should not be ignored? My intuition is that it should be "not ignorable", but my chrome spell checker doesn't think that is a correct word, and when I looked it up, I found it is only "Austral, informal". Hence the question. Thanks.

Note,

I want to say "not ignorable", instead of something like "significant" or alike.
I also tried "neglectable", but my chrome spell checker doesn't think it is a correct word either. And besides, I think the meaning is slightly off as well.

Supplement:

For the context of the question -- this is meant for a business environment, when delivering some minor negative news. I want to be polite and respectful of my audience, but make them aware of something - to call their attention to it.


texts: How is this the present perfect continuous?

texts:
Pakistan has been slow to embrace the revolution that is the internet.

According to present perfect continuous tense, has/have + been + istform + ing is used, but in this case slow is used. I am  confused. Please help.


texts: How is 'rest' a verb or noun in the following sentences?

texts:
Rest as a noun:

  The boulder came to rest just behind the house after rolling down
  the mountain.

  Now that we're all in agreement, we can put that issue to rest.

  She was laid to rest in the village cemetery.

Rest as a verb:

  We need to rest the horses before we ride any further.

  The blame seems to rest with your father.

I thought 'rest' in all of the sentences were verbs? If so how can I tell if it is a verb or noun, especially with the first example: The boulder came to rest just behind the house after rolling down the mountain. Wouldn't 'rest' be a verb in this case as it is describing the action of the boulder?

Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rest#English


texts: the tense of the verb in a subordinate clause

texts:
"He graduated from Havard last year. He majored in philosophy. And yesterday, Sarah told me that he (had also majored/ also majored) sociology."

Can I also use "also majored" instead of "had also majored" not concerning the tense of its main clause("told"), but simply matching the tense with "graduated", which is not its main clause, if the time of "also majored" is clear? Or at least, is this phenomenon undoubtedly commonly occurs among native speakers? I would appreciate many opinions.


texts:
Iannucci’s film features a host of acting talent as the Russian dictator’s underlings, including Steve Buscemi, Jason Isaacs and Michael Palin.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/11/the-death-of-stalin-first-trailer-armando-iannucci-steve-buscemi-jason-isaacs-michael-palin

I would like to ask why the noun "talent" is in singular. I understand the sentence that in the movie some actors which do not come from the same country as the director will appear and that these actors will play the roles of underlings. So I would wait "talents" (Steve Buscemi, Jason Isaacs and Michael Palin).


texts:
Do we use singular or plural countable noun with word "Any"?

For example:

  She hasn't any friend

or

  She hasn't any friends

which of the above is correct?


texts:
does "low" is metaphorical here? like "inferior"?

Mr. P. B. Randall, in his biography of the Davenports (Boston 1869,
published anonymously), points out that their mission to England was
"to meet on its own low ground and conquer, by appropriate means, the
hard materialism and scepticism of England."


texts: Reported speech of "conditional sentences"

texts:
what should be the reported speech of the following sentence?

  John said, "Paul would help us if we needed a volunteer."

Should I report it this way?

  John said that Paul would help us if we needed a volunteer.

(or)

  John said that Paul would have helped us if we had needed a volunteer.

This site says "We can use a perfect form with have + -ed form after modal verbs, especially where the report looks back to a hypothetical event in the past."

The site also says modal verbs like would, should and might remain unchanged. Then which of my above answers is correct?


texts: Using the word 'Celebration' for a sad event

texts:
I hesitate using 'celebration' word for a sad event.

Say,

  On March 28, we celebrate the death anniversary of ....

Now, here 'celebration' does not mean that we gather, laugh, drink, or enjoy. Instead, we peacefully pray for the divine soul, may give some good speeches, exchange his thoughts, and so on.

Any better alternative to that?

Anyway! Is celebrated okay?


texts:
Situation: Let's say two neighbors are talking about their neighborhood.

  Sentence: ''The houses here has/have many windows''

There is an article, but the noun that it introduces is plural.

Do I use has or have?


texts: Does the sentence "I am surprised" have the pattern (S+V+C)?

texts:
I am confused about this sentence pattern (S+V+C):

I am surprised [ to see you ].

I am surprised [ at how many have never heard of it ].

I am surprised [ by his response ].

I am surprised [ that some people study the past ].

I think that the sentence "I am surprised" has the sentence pattern "Subject + Verb + Complement".
So the phrases following the complement should be adverb phrases, because they modify the complement (surprised), right?
But the sentence "that some people study the past" is a nominal clause. It should be unable to modify the complement (surprised).
So why are these following phrases able to modify the complement?

to see you
at how many have never heard of it
by his response
that some people study the past


texts:
Can we use future form in below sentence? There is 'after' which indicates time clause (as far as I know present simple or present perfect should be used instead of future in such case) so can I use future tense here ("We will be tired after")?

We will be tired after the training because we will have been riding a bike for an hour.


texts: Does word "someone" refer to both an animal and a human being or only human being?

texts: The word someone is used for human beings but I am having a hard time understanding if it is also used for animals!


texts: What should I reply with when someone ends conversation with "take care" in online chats or in-person?


texts: What is the correct term if a technical device is not within its working limit?

texts: If you have a device, e.g. sensor, which currently is in a state, in which it does not work (e.g. speed too high), what would be the correct term to express that ?


texts: Is omitting subject-auxiliary verb combination a formal and grammatical way of writing?

texts:
The left hand side of the equation is equal to the right hand side of it. Hence, proved.

Wouldn't it be grammatically like this-

  The left hand side of the equation is equal to the right hand side of it. Hence, it is proved.

I hope the auxiliary verb are is used correctly in the given below another example.

  The ongoing call or data session are not disconnected, hence no financial loss.

  The ongoing call or data session are not disconnected, hence there is no financial loss.


texts:
Which one of these is right?

  Is there a way [...]?

  Is there any way [...]?

May I use either? If yes, what's the difference?


texts: English common name for "a document allowing the holder to pass"?

texts:
could you tell me the common name for "a document allowing the holder to pass"? I found that some organisations in UK and US use the term "a laissez-passer" while other use either "a pass", "a permit" or "an access badge". Which one is common?

Don't mention temporary passes like 'visitor pass', only permanent ones.


texts:
It's from the 7th episode of the 7th season of the Walking Dead. Here is the context:

Guy A: At least Negan's smart enough
not to let that mess anywhere near us.
Fat Joey's good for something, at least.
Guy B: What, eating cake?
He rigged the herdway.
Just trips.


texts: Can a conjunction intervene between between a noun phrase and a relative clause?

texts:
In my native language (Malay), it is possible to use a conjunction followed directly by a relative clause. (At least according to my intuition):

  Ia satu pemandangan yang luar biasa, tetapi yang saya tidak mahu lihat semula.

Is this possible in English? For example:

  It was a sight to see, but which I never want to see again.


texts: I noticed people using "we are come", "he is come", etc. in older texts but some not too old (J.R.R. Tolkien uses it occasionally in The Lord of the Rings). Is this valid contemporary English (bookish, perhaps)? Are there situations in which I should use this construction? Or is it considered archaic?


texts: What the the meaning difference between "prefer" & "would prefer"?

texts:
In this site

Both "prefer" & "would prefer" express the preference.

This site said "You can use 'prefer to (do)' or 'prefer -ing' to say what you prefer in general" & "We use 'would prefer' to say what somebody wants in a particular situation (not in general)".

However, this site said "We can use would prefer and prefer with the same meaning. However, the only difference is that we cannot use verb+ing after would prefer."

What is the meaning differences between:

  She prefers to drink tea.

&

  She would prefer to drink tea

So what the the meaning difference between "prefer" & "would prefer"?


texts:
I was talking about 'Gardens by the bay' which is in Singapore. I said:
"There were flowers from practically all over the world. It was so colorful there wasn't a single color I didn't see."
Is it correct to say things like:

There wasn't a single color I didn't see.
There wasn't a single person I knew who could help me.
There wasn't a single house that wasn't haunted.

If they are incorrect please let me know how to express this idea correctly.


texts: How to describe that the plants or seedlings will grow well?

texts:
Imagine seedlings which have great roots - the roots will help the plants grow well in your garden.

I can think of:

1. The seedlings will easily take new roots in your garden.
2. The seedlings will easily take root in your garden.
3. The seedlings will easily take in your garden.

How would you describe it? Synonyms and single words are welcome.


texts:
Can I omit the second "I" in the following sentence:
"I wanted to have another serving but somehow I restrained myself."


texts: Why does the phrase "drop dead gorgeous" mean "very gorgeous"?

texts:
I came across the phrase Drop Dead Gorgeous which means very gorgeous or good-looking.

Why does the above phrase have this meaning? How do the given words relate to the meaning?


texts: Is it okay to omit "a" with "going for"?

texts:
Is it okay to ask:
Are we going for film?

Or is it compulsory to add "a"?

Are we going for a film?


texts: What is the meaning of this line in a song?

texts:
I listened to "Congratulations", a song by the Youtuber Pewdiepie, and I'm having trouble figuring out what this line means:

There is no army in the world I'd rather give me watch time.

I don't understand what "giving watch time" means.


texts: Can we use a past form of verb with present form of linking verb 'be'?

texts:
I am learning English grammar from a book. The current section I am learning is Adverbial clauses of time (future reference).The section says to use present form after adverbial clause when referring to future. e.g

The Owens will move to new flat when their baby is born.
We should visit the Duty Free Shop before our flight calls.

Now as we know called is the past form of call verb, So how can we say ...before our flight is called.
like is it right to say e.g

The verdict was announced and Pierre is punished for a crime he is unaware of.

So my question is, can we use the past form like punished or called with is, as we see in the sentences: Pierre is punished or flights is called.


texts: Do we say "cut / break / tear / rip it in 3 / in 4 / in quarter / in 5 / in 6 etc"?

texts:
We often say

  break/cut/tear etc something in half / in two (=into two equal parts)

  She tore the piece of paper in half.

However, let's say there are 3 or 4  or 5 or 6 or more people and we want to divide the cake equally between them.

Do we say "cut / break / tear / rip the cake in 3 / in 4 / in quarter / in 5 / in 6 etc"?


texts:
Here is the context from a novel 'Angels and Demons' by Dan Brown. I know 'sold' is the past tense of sell, but here, I think the word has another meaning.

  Vittoria sounded only slightly more hopeful. "I suppose Galileo could have created some sort of mathematical code that went unnoticed by the clergy."
  "You don't sound sold," Langdon said, moving down the row.


texts:
BBC Radio Liam Gallagher:

  Liam - Another thing that toss me annoying, when people go, comes out for a beer, no no no I am trying to be good and they say - just come for one. What is the point going for one. You know what I mean, they just try pull wool over your eyes. Who ever ask one? I am gonna get on, put clothes on, me and you in the boozer, alright "not sure what he is saying here"  you don't die?  Listen at that then we have the beer and that is it. We are going out. we gonna have a hundred. Do you know what I mean?

I am not sure about toss me annoying and the bold one I marked.
video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIgNHUMzKbA


texts:
I had the essay published in the school paper.
  I made the essay published in the school paper.

Why I can't use "make" in the sentence ?


texts: What does "Bankroll someone's rage" mean?

texts:
During an episode of The Practice, the context can be understood from the actor's whole line.

  Ellenor: Now, I suppose it is politically incorrect to call cancer victims a bunch of whiners, but let's fess up. No other lawyer would touch this case because it is a case that stinks. Did those power lines give you cancer? My bet is yes. Can we prove it in a court of law? My bet there is a resounding, "No." He took this case not because he was greedy, but because he felt sorry for you. And against all odds, he got you an offer like this, it's a miracle. Close to a million dollars, I am sorry, but that is as good as it's gonna get. And while you have the right to reject, if you do, I am gonna recommend Bobby to drop you as clients. We are sympathetic, but we are certainly not gonna bankroll your rage.

Bankroll means providing the money that someone needs for a plan, business. How can you make a figurative meaning out of this?


texts: Do I need an "it" at the end of this sentence?

texts:
Tonight there were as many as grains of sand, a boundless cosmic
  beach, with a black ocean stretching infinitely behind (it).

Why and why not?

I get both instances on Google:

  ... it is a likeable geometry that covers up a mystery stretching
  infinitely behind it (but science hates a mystery). [Source]

  It's right on an unknown, barely visited beach with the estuary
  lapping within yards of the door and meadows stretching infinitely
  behind. [Source]


texts: What is the difference between ‘born this way’ and ‘born to be’?

texts:
What is the difference between "born this way" and "born to be"?

And I also want to say:

  We were born these ways, we are physically weak.

Is it correct?


texts:
I have two sentences:

  John, Jane, and I went to the party.

  He and I went to the party.

But I think there is a rule that says a pronoun at the end of a list should be in a special form (for "I", the special form is "me").  So, my sentence 1 and 2 should be rewritten like this:

  John, Jane, and me went to the party.

  He and me went to the party.

But in a lot of writing, sentences like sentence 1 and 2 are used instead of sentence 3 & 4.  Is there a special rule that allows not using "me" for sentences similar to 1 and 2 for casual writing?


texts:
The flowers in the vase were arranged by the maid.
  The flowers were arranged in the vase by the maid.
  The flowers were arranged by the maid in the vase.

Which sentence is more meaningful?


texts:
So, i have to translate a sentence that basically has this meaning:

  There cannot be a validity date before the revision date.

Or in broken english but making sense logically:

  Validity date must be > than revision date.

How would I form the sentence precisely and formally?  Perhaps the following:

  The validity date cannot be anterior to the revision date.

Is the sentence above correct?  How would you, as a native speaker, change it to make it sound more natural and formal?

Thank you all in advance.


texts: Inversion in a sentence with the continuous tense

texts:
The original sentence is

  The two men were talking in front of the station.

Which one of the following sentences is correct, if I place the adverbial phrase at the beginning?

  In front of the station, the two men were talking.

  In front of the station were the two men talking.


texts: "to keep them/to be kept at the required temperature"

texts:
Perishable foodstuffs are kept in refrigerated cabinets to keep them  at the required temperature.
  Perishable foodstuffs are kept  in refrigerated cabinets
  to be kept at the required temperature.

Which is better, active or passive?


texts:
I used to be fat.

Is this correct?
I feel 'used to' is used with repeated action but not being done now.

I used to smoke.


texts: What is the single word of a group of objects which appears at least twice?

texts:
From the Wikipedia, the set is defined as:

  a collection of distinct objects

What is the single word for a collection opposite to this one? The collection of not distinct objects - it means at least 2 should appear. A collection without orphans?

The following ones are qualified because all the items occur more than 2 times:

  cat, dog, cat, bird, dog, cat, bird, dog, cat

  1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3

The following ones are not (a dog and 3 occur only once):

  cat, dog, cat, bird, cat, bird, cat

  1, 1, 2, 2, 3


texts: a term to refer to "take away part of their salary"

texts:
In my company, employees should work from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, 5 days a week. My company buys employees insurance, provides stock options to employees and pay wage monthly and had never been delayed.

If an employee makes a mistake, HR will deduct/take away part of their salary, for example, being late one time will make the employee lose $100 in salary, only for that month.

Is there a term or common phrase to refer to this kind of rule?


texts:
Imagine I had a conversation with a boss of an organization about a rule which I suggested. We discussed advantages and disadvantages of this new rule and its impact on the organization. After the discussion I was just texted "The rule is out."

As a non-native speaker I fail to guess whether the meaning is rather "The rule has been published" or "The rule has been canceled".


texts: Is there a name for a person who has 2-3 citizenships?

texts:
Is there a name for a person who has 2 or 3 citizenships?

It should be an adjective or noun that can describe this person.

By intuition, I guess that if there is,  for the one who has 2 citizenships the name should start with the prefix "bi-…", while for the one who has more than 2 citizenships the name should start with "multi-…"


texts: How to make the following emphasis in other tenses: "I did read it yesterday" and "I do read it every day"

texts:
As you know we can make emphasis in the simple present and past tense by using the auxiliary in the following way:

"I read newspapers everyday to keep myself updated" can be used "I do read newspapers every day...."

And as far as I know, we can do this only for sentences which are structured in the simple present tense and simple past tense. For instance, in simple past tense, it would be: "I did read newspapers yesterday."

However, if we want to make the same emphasis in other tenses, how can we do it? how can we make the same emphasis in other tenses (future, perfect and continuous tenses)?

For instance we can't say "I will will read newspapers tomorrow" nor "I was was reading newspapers" nor "I am am reading newspapers", but there must definitely be a way to produce the same emphasis in writing in the tenses other than simple present and simple past.


texts: Does "the only one difference" sound wrong?

texts:
I've encountered the expression the only one difference (as in, "The only one difference between these two cars is the color"), and to my ears it sounds wrong, excessively redundant, but the writer claims it is just for added emphasis.

Are there any good examples of usage for this expression? Google only gives me results of dubious quality.


texts: "What is the seating capacity" or "How many is the seating capacity"?

texts:
If I want to ask about the number of a seating capacity, or the volume of a battery, should I begin with "what" or "how many/much" ? For example:

What is the capable of the theater?
How many is the seating capacity of the theater?
How much is the capacity of your phone battery?


texts: What is he meaning by saying "grab on" in a context?

texts:
I was just looking our country's martial video on Youtube, and the guy who has been strictly practicing the art is saying as the following. (My Youtube "logo" is TK),
He said,

People might think this is technique from Unsu, but Shukumine only ever learnt three kata: Naihanchi, Passai and Kusanku. The kick most likely comes from Kushanku principles, but since a really big part of Gensei-ryu and Taido is based on Passai, there might be some of that in there too.

Please forget names you haven't heard because they are the name of the schools of the different Karate. (which I also don't know).
I said,

T K
You do know surprisingly very well about Tadio. Just great. I am now 46 years old but till 1 year ago I didn't know anything about Taido at all, shame.

*Taido is the martial arts you see in the video. And he responded,

I've been training in strictly Taido for about ten years, as well as some amount of years in studying the Kishimoto katas from Seitoku Higa and Shukumine's older Gensei-ryu stuff. You'll eventually grab on to some stuff in that time.

By that word was he trying to say "you are going to master (learn) if you continue watching/practicing?
Thank you.


texts:
As a non-native speaker of English, I am not quite sure whether or not I can use the phrase Thanks a pile to tell someone I am pleased for something good they have done.

Is this phrase commonly used in everyday spoken English?


texts: What's the meaning of the expression "financial savy" in the phrase bellow?

texts: Record companies expect to make a profit, and little concern themselves with a given performer's lack of business or financial savvy, as artists such as George Michael have discovered.


texts: Is this acceptable: 'but ironically I was thinner this time'?

texts:
When I was chatting with one of my colleague, she sent me her old photograph. To that I replied-

  nice pic, you are looking healthy.

To that she sent me-

  thanks, but ironically I was thinner this time.

From my observation she was looking fat in pic and now she had lost some weight. but what she meant to say, I did not understand her reply?   Was that sentence grammatically correct? I used the word 'healthy' instead of fat, so Was my selection of word correct this time?


texts: Accent Reduction Between Native Speakers

texts: Has the accent between native English speakers decreased in recent decades with the advent of TV and now with the internet?


texts: Is the usage of 'x times' correct, if you want x pieces of something?

texts: In German you can say something like 'I want this 2 times', meaning that you want 2 pieces of something. Is this correct in English to say, or is the equivalent rather 'I want 2 of these'?


texts: Help me, please, to choose between Perfect and Continuous

texts:
Here's the end of the text presented in a question I posted previously.

  The coastal ice in parts of Canada and Alaska has become quite
  brittle. Ice easily breaks away in large pieces and melts in the open ocean. Now there is also less sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. It happens because ice is floating  into the Atlantic Ocean.

  Scientists say that the lack of ice represents clear proof that the planet ___________ (WARM). Back in the past it could take three years to get through the waterway's thick ice successfully, now – just a few weeks.

I reckon, Present Continuous and Present Perfect are both possible there. However, I wonder if there is enough context to eliminate one of my choices and have the only one left?


texts: Phrase for use in written communications"no more information"

texts: In written formal letter should I say"I have no more information about his health state?"


texts: What days (IS or ARE) Johnny attending school?

texts:
What is the proper verb conjugation in the following sentence:

  My son is attending school on MWF this week.  What days ____ Johnny
  attending?

Is it "are" or "is"?

Does the verb apply to the plural "days" (and is therefore "are") or to Johnny (and is therefore "is")?

I tried to google around but I'm not even sure how to describe this situation to get to any good examples.


texts:
You know all those people who do something for personal reasons, e.g. quit their job, abdicate from politics etc.

Given I do something like this for a non-personal reason, e.g. I change the employer for salary reasons, is there a special word for it, or is non-personal good enough? If there is a better word, would it be case-specific? If so, let's use the example of quitting a job here. If you have other reaons, feel free to give them as examples, too.

I tend not say For business reasons I quit my job., because that sounds as if it were one of my tasks as an employee to quit my job.


texts: The bodies have been (were) sent to hospital: difference in meaning

texts:
The bodies have been sent to hospital for post-mortem examination.
The bodies was sent to hospital for post-mortem examination.

What is the difference between them?
Reference: Stomp


texts: "Does anyone have used this before?" or "has anyone used this before?" which sentence is correct? or both of them are incorrect ? and what is the correct sentence?


texts: What's the meaning of to "tear someone down"?

texts:
This is a verse from Bruno Mars' song When I was your man:

Same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now
Our song on the radio but it don't sound the same
When our friends talk about you, all it does is just tear me down
Cause my heart breaks a little when I hear your name

What does tear me down in line 3 mean? I've looked it up and oxforddictionaries.com defines it as:

US informal criticize or punish someone severely:
they tear a man down and threaten him and then they give him another chance

but I have a feeling that it means something else, is this the correct meaning of the phrase in this context?


texts: What do you call a table that is unstable?

texts:
Let's say there is a table or a chair for that matter, which has one of its legs broken a bit at bottom, because of that it is unstable and every time you lean on it wobbles due to lack of balance.

Describing it as unstable or unsteady seems very general, is there any word precisely for this?


texts: “We shall never learn to feel and respect our real calling and destiny, unless we have taught ourselves to consider every thing as moonshine, compared with the education of the heart.”


texts:
which one is correct, when talking about names of a group of person :

  ....persons' name

  ....person's name

I guess that the first one is correct, because, persons is plural and also I guess that name should be singular, because in this group of persons, every one has one name, other way we should say, I guess, persons' names


texts:
I was wondering what the difference is between these pairs of examples:

Okay, so if we are going to work where do we begin?
Okay, so if we are going to work where do we start?

And

We are going to have a party tomorrow. We should start making preparations today.
We are going to have a party tomorrow. We should begin making preparations today.


texts:
Here is to check out if it is okay to say "do some recreation" to mean "do some leisure activities"?

The original sentences is "Doing some recreation during the leisure time is good for us."


texts:
Did I use the word "Task" appropriately in the following sentence:

  Living in a foreign country could be a challenging task for everyone.

How can I say in a formal writing that the difference between the origin culture and the destination culture is huge?

Is "In case of huge cultural differences" used appropriately in the following sentence:

  It is more challenging to get adopted in case of huge cultural difference.


texts:
From a paper by Anthony Baker titled "“for the murder of his own female slave, a woman named Mira...” : Law, Slavery and Incoherence in Antebellum North Carolina":

  Apart from its gripping melodrama and epitragic conclusion, the case of The State of North Carolina v. John Hoover would not appear to commend any appreciable attention from legal historians seeking to trace the potent interface of law and society, on first, quick reading.

What is the meaning of epitragic here? Since "epi" means "upon", could it mean "finally, tragic conclusion" ("tragic-in-the-final-end")?

I came across the word reading this topic on History SE.

Of course I did look for it in a dictionary, and found it not.


texts:
I open up myself very well
  I open myself very well

For emotions, vulnerabilities, which form is right or better?
Does "open up" exist?


texts:
Not a native English here and I'm having the issue with I didn't and I haven't use when saying

I hope I didn't forget/haven't forgotten anything

(to say/mention when answering the email or message) at the end of the email/message/letter.
Can you please help me understand this in the easiest possible way.


texts:
What’s the difference between these three usages?

All that glitters is not always gold.
What glitters is not always gold.
That which glitters is not always gold.

Are they interchangeable?  What kind of meanings do they convey, respectively?


texts:
Temperatures  on  the  moon  are  quite  extreme,  ranging  from  110°C  to  -  173°C.  This  occurs because  there  is  no  atmosphere  to  filter  sun’s  rays  when  it  is  shining  and  then  to  blanket  in  warm  air when  the  sun  goes  down.

In this paragraph, what does 'it' refer to, the moon, the sun or the meaningless subject for weather?
What is the object of "blanket", the sun's rays or the moon?


texts:
what is the meaning of "advance the cause" in this context?

  It was in this year 1871 that Kate Fox's visit to England was brought
  about through the generosity of Mr. Charles F. Livermore, a prominent
  banker of New York, in gratitude for the consolation he had received
  from her wonderful powers, and to advance the cause of Spiritualism.
  He provided for all her needs, and thus removed any necessity for her
  to give professional sittings. He also arranged for her to be
  accompanied by a congenial woman companion.

from http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0301051h.html


texts:
Is it grammatically correct to say :

  When did you read a book last time?

Are there any differences between them in terms of meaning?

  A. When did you last read a book ?

  B. When did you read a book last time?

  C. When did you read a book for the last time?

  D. When was the last time you read a book?


texts:
I would like to use and with my following sentence but I feel my structure is wrong.

We used lower and upper tails dependency shapes and positive and negative dependency shapes.

How can I use and with this sentence? any idea or help, please?


texts:
Can you recommend me a good source of hyphenation rules in English? Something that would begin with explaining how words are divided into syllables, which I am not entirely sure about.

For example, intuitively, I would split "recommendation" as re-commendation and "compare" as com-pare; however, a machine (which probably should know it) says, rec-ommendation and com-pare.

Is rec-ommendation correct at all? If yes, why?

By googling, I found the "maximal onset principle" saying that the second syllable grabs as many consonants as possible, as long as an English word can begin like this, so using that principle, it should be re-commendation. Additionally, it would make sense to have a break after a prefix, and re- is a prefix. (An unnecessary one in this word, as Latin 'commendatio' means 'recommendation', but it is still a prefix.) By that rule (I don't know if it is a rule in English, though), it would be, again, re-commendation. So why is  rec-ommendation recommended in several sources, e.g.,

https://www.hyphenation24.com/word/recommendation/

(I'm happy with com-pare as it would be difficult to imagine an English word starting with mp-. In addition, com seems like a prefix, although I am not sure if it is thought of as a prefix in English.)

Thanks for any com-
ments!


texts: What is the different between Ever and Never?

texts:
Something I know using word never. For an example:

  I never do this thing.

but I don't know what is the meaning of ever. Can you describe me both never and ever?


texts: What is the difference between "me neither" and "me either"?

texts: I want to know the difference between "me neither" and "me either", are both correct?


texts: How to structure a sentence describing a range with over two values?

texts:
When we are given a range within 2 values, we could write the sentence as 'over a range from A to B'. This usage is pretty common, as you can see.

In my sentence I have 3 values, an initial, a peak and a final. How would we describe the range in this case? Here's what I am working with.

  Experiments were carried out over a range from an initial temperature of A, peak temperature of B and final temperature of C.'

Is this usage correct? If not, can anyone suggest a better option? Please note that the 'range' aspect is relevant because the experiments were also carried out at several temperatures between A, B and C.

Thanks is advance


texts:
Imagine you enjoy when someone speaks because of some personal habits that they do while speak and you want to mention that you like the way they peak. I was wondering if you could let me know if in the self-made sentence below, the gerund form would work better or the infinitive one:

  I like him .......... like that way.

  a) speaking

  b) to speak

For me, they both work properly without any significant semantic change.


texts: Which should I choose , "Butterfly" or "Deer"?

texts:
I remember there is a phrase which means feeling the heart beating fast because of nervousness.

is it

  "have some deer running in my heart"

or

  "have some butterflies flying in my heart".


texts:
What does the meaning of the sentence actually begin with "what does it mean to ..."

I encounter sentences like:

What does it mean to know the word?
What does it mean to use a method?
what does it mean to solve an equation?

In the example of the sentence "What does it mean to use a method?" does that mean the meaning is "the benefits of using a method"?

The question What does it mean + to-infinitive / gerund is more towards grammar while my question asks the meaning of a sentence


texts:
What do you call an act of aid given out of pity? I thought "charity", but it sounds weird when I say it. The word doesn't need to imply it's done out of pity, but the meaning should be close. I don't think the word "help" works either, because it's too general.

For example:

  "I am homeless, I know, but I don't need your ____."

  "No, I insist."


texts:
Which is correct?

(1) Only 100 workers were employed in the construction site.
(2) Only 100 workers were employed on the construction site.


texts:
In the following sentence I think to should be omitted.

  As tensions between the U.S. and China rise over the novel coronavirus pandemic, India, which is set to take over as the next Chairperson of the World Health Organisation’s decision-making executive body in May, is faced with a major choice on whether to support a U.S. move to reinstate Taiwan’s observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA) or to China’s opposition to it.

Because the sentence can be re-written as

  is faced with a major choice on whether to support to China’s opposition to it.

and here to is wrong.


texts:
If you let a person in, make sure to see their ID first.

Is it grammatically correct to use a plural determiner for a singular noun in situations like this when it implies that “person”, “client”, “tenant” etc. can be either he or she?


texts:
Currently reading this article, I am afraid I don't understand the bold part.

It used to be “easy” to tell the American and Chinese economies apart. One was innovative, one made clones. One was a free market while the other demanded payments to a political party and its leadership, a corrupt wealth generating scam that by some estimates has netted top leaders billions of dollars. One kept the talent borders porous acting as a magnet for the world’s top brains while the other interviewed you in a backroom at the airport before imprisoning you on sedition charges (okay, that might have been both)

I think this part is talking about the American politic tactics(ways).
But I'm very afraid I don't understand what this part means.
Could anyone explain to me kindly?


texts:
today in the internet  I read the sentence:

  "I don’t like the team to play like that for an hour" (Carlos Ancelotti)

Is this correct English? I think I've never heard this construction before and I'm not sure if it's correct. To me, it sounds pretty strange.


texts:
She was sitting there one afternoon in early June. The sun was coming in at the window warm and bright; the orchard on the slope below the house was in a bridal flush of pinky-white bloom, hummed over by a myriad of bees. Thomas Lynde—a meek little man whom Avonlea people called "Rachel Lynde's husband"—was sowing his late turnip seed on the hill field beyond the barn; and Matthew Cuthbert ought to have been sowing his on the big red brook field away over by Green Gables.
-- L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

What does over mean? (I guess over has two possibility: (1) over the orchard - vertically upward; horizontally from here to there, (2) all sounds are drowned because of the bees’ humming.)


texts:
I wrote "robustus" (a type of dinosaurs), and the examiner corrected me as "R. robustus" and commented:"Try to write as it is mentioned in the passage."

does that mean "try to write robustus as same as it is mentioned in the passage."?

thank you.


texts: Does "that's" mean "whose" in this context?

texts:
"Insurance is another sector that’s European activity is highly concentrated in London and where Brexit may hurt. But the UK’s main competitors are in Asia (Singapore and Tokyo) and the US. The access that London has to EUropean money is based on proximity and historic relationships, not on being part of the EU. In short, even in insurance markets it is hard to see a rapid shift away from the City of London."

If yes, why can it be used that way?

source: http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-why-london-wont-lose-its-crown-as-europes-financial-capital-2016-8


texts:
They are talking on the issue.
They are talking over the issue.
They felt concern over the matter.
They felt concern on the matter.

I get to hear both types of sentences.please tell me difference between "on" and "over" in this context.


texts: What's meanings of 【press on】&【tap into】right here?

texts:
Here is a short piece from one of my books called 365 Self-Displines.

  My goal to build a successful company was of immense importance to me,
  but the path I chose was making me so miserable that I hated waking up
  every morning. I could have pressed on, tapping into the deepest
  reservoirs of my willpower, but ultimately life was telling me that
  this path wasn't for me.

So what's the meaning of "press on" in this context? I looked up dictionary, which says it means to continue with a task. Or is it like press a button on the reservoirs? I am not sure about it. I am torn between the two meanings.

Thank you!


texts:
I've looked up the word Thaï in many dictionaries. It seems that its plural form may be "the Thaï", in the same way as "the French", or "the Thaïs" like "the Israelis."
Which one is most used by native speakers in the UK and in the US?


texts: If there are 2 but there aren't 4, is 'half 4' valid phrase to express 2? Otherwise, is it valid only when there are 4?


texts:
The verb "require" in this sentence from a web page strikes me as unusual.

  All cars require a $5 GA State Park Pass.

My understanding is that it is the law/regulation that requires a pass of cars. I thought the sentence should read:

  A $5 GA State Park Pass is required of all cars.

or

  All cars need a $5 GA State Park Pass.

While the meaning of the original sentence is crystal clear to me, I am wondering if its usage of require is a rare case or the author's peculiarity. Require appears to take on the meaning of "need" in that sentence. I have checked several dictionaries and can't find an example similar to that sentence. Although there is the definition of "to demand as necessary or essential : have a compelling need for" on M-W, it doesn't seem to fit in the context I am asking about.


texts: How to say that a word is not used with its literal meaning?

texts:
I have found the following definition for the verb to steam:

  to steam = to move or proceed with energy or force

in the context:

  We steamed south. From the sea we could see the extent of the development on Coconut Island.

As far as I understand, it is not used with its literal meaning.

Question: What adjective defines that a word is used not in a literal, indierect meaning?


texts: When you shop online or when you are shopping online

texts:
I have written this sentence:

  When you shop online, it is a big chance you buy something that
  doesn’t fulfill your expectations.

Is it good or should I use present continuous? I don't know why but present continuous sounds better to me. But from what I have learned, I could use it only if I was online shopping at this specific moment.


texts: Why does Harry Potter put everything on his plate except peppermints in this passage?

texts:
Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.

  The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if It made him sick. Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious.

  -- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling.

I don’t get from what reason Harry excluded peppermints. Is it just a dessert that has to be picked up after his meal? Or is there any other reason?


texts: The articles with specific and less specific objects

texts:
Let's assume I have a lot of everything (motherboards,glasses etc)
From specific to not-specific

The motherboard is broken but NOT A motherboard is broken

A Glass is broken and the glass is broken - Both are correct

A chair is broken and the chair is broken - Both are correct

A tree is broken and the tree is broken - Both are correct

It's all according to my New Zealander teacher.
What makes  a motherboard so special? What if I would talk about a PC?


texts: Is a verb missing from "...the company had turned away from DJs and towards the audiophile market..."?

texts:
From the article Technics’ new “standard” SL-1200GR turntable expected to cost $2,000 on factmag.com:

  Earlier this week, Technics’ creative director Hiro Morishita told The New York Times why the company had turned away from DJs and towards the audiophile market with its reissued line of turntables.

I think a verb is missing in this sentence

  Earlier this week, Technics’ creative director Hiro Morishita told The New York Times why the company had turned away from DJs and  turned  towards the audiophile market with its reissued line of turntables.

The fact of turning towards at the time of speaking (earlier this week) is still true so that should not be past perfect but past simple even it is reported speech


texts:
"I remember that you had sent me a photo with half yours and half hers photos."

In a sentence like above, I know using collage will be a better option. But I would like to know if this construction is correct or not. It does sound a little odd though.
Are there any ways to correct this sentence in this same construction if it is incorrect ?


texts: What do you call an ad-hoc outside eatery for soldiers?

texts:
What do you call the place/system where soldiers eat outside, with usually a few food carts with huge pots, and soldiers standing in line to receive food in their mess kit and eat it?

In French: cuisine de campagne, popote


texts: What does "on" mean in "not minute too soon on this transmitter"?

texts:
A situation: a man arrived to the radio/TV transmitter to fix it and he tell yourself:

Boy,  I wasn't a minute too soon on this transmitter.

I want to know what is the meaning of the preposition "on". Is there a direct bound with "be"- verb at the beginning sentence? Or does it show the place where the man arrived to?


texts: Do Prepositions Alter Meaning of a Subject?

texts:
Do prepositions alter the meaning of a subject in a way that changes what the verb's compliment is referring to? (Specifically infinitive phrase compliments)

Examples:

I work at my position in time to have pie. [Does at my position in time make "to have pie" refer to me specifically at my position in time has pie or I at any time have pie]
Larry under the table fears to stand up. [Does under the table change the subject for "to stand up" to mean: if Larry was not under the table he might not fear to stand up]

If prepositions do alter the meaning of a subject, what could I do to make those infinitive phrases refer to the subject without the preposition?

(I know I'm trying too much to have no confusion in the meaning, however the situation requires this level of scrutiny.)

Edit:
It has been proven that prepositions after the subject alter the meaning of the subject.  However it has not been answered whether prepositions after the verb alter the meaning of the subject.


texts:
This shirt is the cheaper of the two

I wonder why the comparison is cheaper and not cheapest. Aren't the sentence is referring to more than two items and so it should use -est? And cheaper will be used when comparing two items.


texts:
"the gun discharged on its own during the struggle"

How is d pronounced here? Is it like [t] or like [d] (especially given that the following word "on" starts with a vowel sound)?

Neither Webster, nor Cambridge, nor Collins provide pronunciation transcriptions for "ed" in the end of some verbs' past forms.


texts:
In the following sentence either ran out should be used or was running out

US Secretary of State made it clear that time __________ for diplomacy over Iran's nuclear program and said that talks aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon would resume in April.

I think it should be ran out because it would be better to say the time duration of the talks was over and talks would resume in April
But the answer in my book is was running out


texts: How to explain that a man was blessed with a baby?

texts:
My manager(male) blessed with baby, my friend is asked why your manager not coming to office. I told:

  Manager got baby.

My friend laughed a lot. Is this sentence is wrong? If right in which context I can use.


texts:
'He told me a story'
Me- indirect object(it answers question from 'whom')

A story- direct object (it answers question from 'what')
2.'He asked me to go'
Here, 'me'- indirect object and also the agent of Infinitive (doer of Infinitive)
'To go'- A direct object (as It answers question of what,
'he asked me what'....the reply would be 'to go'. But it is also giving the sense of an Adverb as it answers 'why'
'Why he asked me'.....the answer would be 'to go'
So I am confused....here 'to go' is an Adverb or a Direct object. And please correct me If I'm wrong anywhere.

'He told me to go'
'To go ' here is a direct object or Adverb?


texts:
Is that real.

  Really.

When you hear a unbelievable thing, can I say both of them?


texts: But not everyone realizes that fact. Vs But not everyone realizes this fact

texts:
Small churches aren’t just smaller versions of big churches. They have
  unique gifts, challenges and methods of operation.

  But not everyone realizes that fact. Including some small church
  pastors.

  This often leads to frustration when we go to ministerial conferences
  or read pastoral books.

Why does the writer say that not this?

My guess is  because he is speaking about a fact and not his own thought.

Or because the writer refers to something mentioned before not something he is speaking about. I am not sure.

And why he use this not that in the following paragraph ?

Thank you


texts:
what is the meaning of "in the affections of" in this context?

  This strange, eccentric, and formidable man had his proper environment
  in the 17th century, when his prototypes were holding moorland
  meetings in Gallo way and avoiding, or possibly even attacking with
  the arms of the flesh, the dragoons of Claverhouse. But, live when he
  might, he was bound to write his nacre in some fashion on the annals
  of his time. We read of his strenuous youth in Scotland, of his
  rivalry with his friend Carlyle in the affections of the clever and
  vivacious Jane Welsh, of his enormous walks and feats of strength, of
  his short career as a rather violent school-teacher at Kirkcaldy, of
  his marriage to the daughter of a minister in that town, and finally
  of his becoming curate or assistant to the great Dr. Chalmers, who
  was, at that time, the most famous clergyman in Scotland, and whose
  administration of his parish in Glasgow is one of the outstanding
  chapters in the history of the Scottish Church. In this capacity he
  gained that man-to-man acquaintance with the poorer classes which is
  the best and most practical of all preparations for the work of life.
  Without it, indeed, no man is complete.

from http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0301051h.html


texts:
Frollo himself had a very interesting
  history. From childhood, his parents had
  trained him for the priesthood. While still
  very young, he had been sent away to study.
  He learned to read Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
  By age 18, he believed that life had but one
  purpose—to learn.

Dose it mean: while he was a teenager or while he reached in young age.(at beging of young age)?


texts:
Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives - he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back.
  (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

Is "ask for ~ back" a phrasal verb?

"Ask for" collaborates with back and select books as their object.

How would you parse it?