texts: "Translated a technical manual", does it serve the purpose?

texts:
In the following sentence, I want to emphasize the idea that the translation was technical, that the user manual was related to technology, and not to any other fields or topics.

"He translated a technical manual."

Did I actually succeed in achieving my purpose?


texts: "encourage us to do so" or "encourage us"

texts:
We are so worried about our appearance because
  a lot of pressure are encouraging us to do so.
  We are so worried about our appearance because a lot
  of pressures are encouraging us.

The fact that confuse me is whether I need to add "to
do so" or not.  From only my point of view, I don't want to
add "to do so" as the sentence is clear in meaning without it.


texts:
I'm having a lot of issues with a sentence I need to write. I need to
  say something like "Run away from daily routine and escape to our
  paradise resort."

But, without saying "from daily routine and escape". In the context the reader already knows where the reader has to run away from.

The sentence I would like to write is:

  "Run away to our paradise resort."

But I'm not sure if this is correct in English. How can I put this idea into words in English?


texts: Which tense should be used with 'thought'?

texts:
I thought you were a doctor.

I thought you are a doctor.

What is the major difference between these two?
Also, when can we use 'thought' in the present tense?


texts: Why Present Perfect sometimes interpreted as "past action with indefeinite time span"?

texts: There are several interpretations of Present Perfect. Couldn't you clarify this one: "past action with indefeinite time span"?


texts: What does "his account of the proceedings" mean

texts:
his account of the proceedings

Could you replace the words "account" and "proceeding" with simpler words?
Here is the full text:

Only 123 of the defendants were present. The rest were either released, out on bail or on the run.
"When the trial starts on Saturday and it is just a procedural hearing, and the judge doesn't listen to any lawyers or witnesses and doesn't even call the defendants, you are before a group of thugs and not the judiciary," Walid, a relative of one of the defendants, said by phone.
It was not possible to confirm his account of the proceedings independently.


texts: Is "too important a tool" a noun phrase?

texts:
The reason is that state banks are too important a tool for the
  government.

Do the words in bold form a noun phrase?


texts: uniform has a meaning of rational number?

texts:
Upon reading the python documentation, I encountered  random.uniform random — Generate pseudo-random numbers — Python 3.7.3 documentation

  random.uniform(a, b)¶
  Return a random floating point number N such that a <= N <= b for a <= b and b <= N <= a for b < a.

The end-point value b may or may not be included in the range depending on floating-point rounding in the equation a + (b-a) * random().

Corresponding to the integers, random.uniform here is floating number of rational number.

I looked up various dictionaries but did not find meaning of number in 'uniform"

Does uniform has the meaning of rational number as jargon in any disciplines.


texts: “the size of diagrams” or “the sizes of diagrams”

texts:
I have many diagrams with different sizes. I try to reduce the size of
  each diagram.

Or:

  I reduce  the sizes of diagrams

Please tell me which one is correct and why?


texts: I want to know what differences are among these expression

texts:
What are the differences between these three sentences?

  I went to school and I ate my lunch in 3rd class.
  I went to school and my lunch was eaten by me in 3rd class.
  I had gone to school and ate my lunch in 3rd class.

Are these sentences correct? Are there any differences between the meanings of these sentences? If there are no differences, why might one sentence be used instead of another?

I know about the passive voice and the past perfect, but only enough to pass an English test. I don't have much practical experience.


texts: On the right usage of "had they been ..."

texts:
I need to know if my usage of the term had they been. This is a phrase:

  Had they been aware of the danger, they would perform regular checks

I want to say if they have been aware of the danger, they would rather performed regular checks.

I am not sure if I am suing the had they been phrase correctly. How can I correctly use the phrase had they been.


texts:
I have some doubts about the following issue. Let's say that we have a sentence:

  It's difficult to perform the calculations.

Now, I want to make "the calculations" the subject of this sentence, so I write:

  (1) The calculations are difficult to be preformed.

But is it correct not to use the passive voice? Something like that:

  (2) The calculations are difficult to preform.

I thought that the passive is mandatory in such cases, but then I saw the following example from Cambridge Dictionary:

  This meat is difficult to chew.

So, it isn't fully clear to me how to use it correctly. I would write something more like

  This meat is difficult to be chewed.

Could anyone comment on that issue?


texts: Can we use "but also" without "not only"

texts:
let's begin with the example:

  Women achieved the abolition of bigamy in 1950(for example). This action, in turn, paved the way for other women's rights, but also led to a huge backlash against them.

By using this instance, I wanted to ask whether "but also" can only be used with "not only" or we can use it separately.
I should add that, the structure of the sentence and refinements could be done to it is not noteworthy to me since it is just an example to discuss the abovementioned inquiry although if you provide it apart from replying to the chief question I appreciate it. Thank you in advance for your contribution.


texts: In what situation can I use ‘that’s not fine’ or other similar phrases instead of ‘that’s fine’when I completely disagree with the questioner?

texts:
I don’t know what exactly should be the reply to the following situation when I completely disagree with them?would ‘that’s not fine’ be the reply or so?

Would you like to make an appointment with Dr Smith on the first of February?
I forgot your note book today. I will bring it back tomorrow.
I didn’t come in time so as to finish my project.(Supposing that the speaker would completely disagree with the above)


texts: "To do this" or "For doing this" to start explaining something?

texts:
Many questions have been asked and answered about "to + bare infinitive" vs "for + gerund" in the middle of a sentence.

However, when one wants to start explaining something, what is better? For instance:

"Now, let us focus on baking the bread.

To do this, start by turning the oven on.", or
For doing this, start by turning the oven on."?

Are there even better expressions?
I have not found anything concerning this situation, and I feel that the answers about the same problem but in the middle of a sentence do not apply here.


texts:
Following is a quote from the novel, "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins (emphasis mine):

  "My laptop is on the floor next to my bed; it sits there, a squat, accusatory presence."

What does "squat" refer to in this context?

Dictionary provides the following two meanings:

"crouch or sit with one's knees bent and one's heels close to or touching one's buttocks or the back of one's thighs"

Wonder how will a laptop squat?!

"unlawfully occupy an uninhabited building or settle on a piece of land"

The girl in question owns the laptop, which is lying next to her bed, which is in a home she rents. So definitely the laptop isn't occupying that place illegally.

So what exactly does it mean?


texts:
I have come across this passage on BBC news website.

"Video and pictures taken by resident Malcolm Carter and sent to the BBC showed the fire that burned on the terrace area earlier on Friday morning had been put out and significantly less smoke was coming from the building."

I do not understand why no articles or an S at the end were used for the word "video". Isn't video a countable noun? Shouldn't it be:

"A video and pictures taken by ..."

or

"Videos and pictures taken by ..."

Is there a grammar rule that I do not understand?


texts:
Ok, in the dictionary

  stamp [transitive, intransitive] stamp (something) to put your foot
  down heavily and noisily on the ground

  I tried stamping my feet to keep warm.

  Sam stamped his foot in anger.

  He stamped the snow off his boots.

  The audience were stamping and cheering.

It seems like the verb "stamp" is used only with "foot".

Could we creatively use the structure with other objects such as a table, a chair, etc as in "please, do not stamp the chair / the table / the wood / the object"?

If not, how to express when a person put an object (a table, a chair, a bar of wood) down heavily and noisily on the ground?

Note: This action is similar to "stamp" but "stamp" can be used with "foot" only.


texts:
A day ago Mary returned from a business trip. Today she is going out
  with her friend Jane who wants to ask her about the period of time she
  was on a business trip. "How long had you been there?"

Is the Past Perfect grammatically correct here? It denotes the period of time before Mary came back home.


texts: "Latters" or "the latter" or "latter" when referring to plural?

texts:
Which of the following are correct ways to refer to the last noun in plural and why:

  As these pieces of code mutate their objects, the latter are not safe to pass around.

Or

  As these pieces of code mutate their objects, the latters are not safe to pass around.

Or

  As these pieces of code mutate their objects, latters are not safe to pass around.

The "latter(s)" is meant to refer to the objects in the plural.


texts:
Low interest rates reflect low cost of borrowing at the economy.

Or

  Low interest rates reflect low cost of borrowing in the economy.

Which one is better? Or do they convey different meanings?

I believe the 2nd one is better. However, I saw the first sentence in one of the Google results.


texts: Can I quantify the word "proof", so is it possible to write the phrase many proofs and if yes in which situation is this more appropriate than writing much proof?


texts:
If we describe some specific order of events after "should have" ("you should have done something, and then something), what form of the second verb should be used?
For example, "You should have talked to me first, and then spend all our savings on this stupid motorbike."
Spend? Have spent?


texts: What does "free somebody for something" mean?

texts: I get confused when I read this sentence: "An increasingly efficient agricultural industry freed British workers for factory employment." Does the phrase "free...for..." exist? Does it mean "workers don't have to work in factories" or "workers are freed so that they can work in factories" here? I wonder how native English speakers interpret this sentence. Somebody please help me with this!


texts:
I am no longer try to convince people I am important while secretly
  fearing I am not.

What is the role of 'I am not' in this term? Why didn't used 'that's not' instead?


texts: Is "result in" a separable phrasal verb?

texts:
I know *result in" is not separable the way switch on (something), "put on" (some piece of clothes), to name just a few, are. However I wonder if I can compose a sentence using "result in" like the following?

  If human resources lack the skills and knowledge required for working in a varying environment, it could undoubtedly be said that any other endeavor and expense will not result but in a loss.

For me, the reason for separating result+in was only aesthetics. On grammatical integrity of my sentence, however, I am not sure.


texts:
I'm looking for a word which can fit the gap in the sentence:

"My french is a little bit ______ since I haven't used it in a while"

I came up with poor but hopefully there's a more appropriate word.


texts: I have trouble understanding the structure of this sentence

texts:
English is my second language, and I'm having trouble understanding the structure of the highlighted sentence down below.

"In his description of how he became a master riverboat pilot in Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain gave us a vision of learning that incorporates basic skills and the capacity to go beyond them. Twain learns how to navigate the river at young age, learning every shoal, snag, and sandbar, which are the basic skills. But no sooner has he memorized their locations and peculiarities than he has to modify or forget them, and learn other spots, for the river never stops changing its course. Twain must simultaneously remember the reality of what exists in the river and imagine how different forces and conditions are likely to change it. He can never know the river completely or certainly because knowledge about the river is always temporary."

I know that the sentence is inverted, but I don't understand the use of 'than'.


texts:
You will then see three doors, which can be easily opened, for the keys are in all the locks. On entering the first of the chambers, to which these doors lead, you will see a large chest, standing in the middle of the floor.

"On entering"? What does that mean?
"As soon as I entered the first of  chambers"?


texts: Can I say "Getting some rest after a long week of back-breaking work can replenish you with a new burst of energy."?

texts:
I was writing an essay on the importance of relaxing, and why it is more productive than working nonstop.

I wrote the following sentence:

  Getting some rest after a long week of back-breaking work can
  replenish you with a new burst of energy.

I sense that there is something weird with the way I used "burst". I've seen people using the expression "a burst of energy", but it just feels misplaced here.

Is there any better alternative for this word? Or, perhaps, a better way to communicate the message I tried to convey in that sentence?


texts:
There is in the website http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/as/warsofindependence/index.shtml this sentence

"It was a time of heroes and villains, of battles and castles, intrigue and cunning."

I had checked that the word "intrigue" has no usage as an adjective, while "cunning" is an adjective. Then why the author does not use "intriguing" (or any other adjectives) instead? I mean, the pattern of the sentence is putting two "comparable" words together, for example "heroes" to "villains" and "battles" to "castles". So from any angle should "intrigue" not be replaced by "intriguing"?

Or is there any further consideration concerning usage so that "intrigue" is written down?


texts:
Original sentence: "There was the last street I needed to walk before reaching the park."

Corrected sentence: "There was one last street I needed to walk down before reaching the park."

Question:  Why do you need the 'down' preposition?  If the reason is just to make it more clear wouldn't the sentence be fine without it?


texts:
… who with Mississippi's attorney general Mike Moore are suing Big Tobacco to reimburse the state for Medicaid funds used to treat people with smoking-related illnesses.

(Source)

We always say: s/he sued for cheating etc. we use for after suing word.
but above sentence to is used why?


texts: relation or relationship between two things

texts:
He philosophized that the ghee and the leaf are related.

If I change this sentence, which one is suitable, relation or relationship.

  He philosophized about  the relation between the ghee and the leaf.

  He philosophized about the relationship between the ghee and the leaf.


texts:
Are these words interchangable in a context like in the followings?

"The festival is to encompass everything from music, theatre, and ballet to literature, cinema, and the visual arts."

"The kingdom Plantae encompasses water-dwelling red and green algae as well as terrestrial plants."


texts:
Sam got into his car and took out a small bag of white powder from his pocket.

Sam got into his car and took out a small bag of white powder of his pocket.

Sam got into his car and took a small bag of white powder out of his pocket.

Sam got into his car and took a small bag of white powder from his pocket.

Are these all acceptable? Which one (if any) is your preferred?


texts: What does "recorder players are most comfortable in sharp keys" mean?

texts:
"Recorder players are most comfortable in sharp keys"

At first sight of the sentence I mistakenly thought "recorder player" was something like a recorder set, but I soon realized that might be a performer whose performances are recorded.(I am not quite confidence with my grammar and tenses here:))

But, still, I am a bit confused about the meaning of this sentence.

Does it mean "a player in recording will do his best in sharp keys" , or "for playing in sharp keys, recorder players are the most suitable among all kinds of players"? Which understanding is more reasonable?


texts: What does "I can see someone's take at least somewhat" mean?

texts:
So here is the context:
Three people are talking about a subject.
One of them say:

"These things happen. I can see Marie's point of view easily, having been around good universities for a lot of my life; I can see Helena' take at least somewhat."

What does it mean in this case please ?


texts: ''Can I take your umbrella I haven't brought mine with me.''true or wrong?

texts:
Can I take your umbrella I haven't brought mine with ... .

  1.me

  2.mine

  3.my

  4.myself

It is clear that 2 and 3 are false but I doubt between 1 and 4.I think I have heared the first one but the forth one seems OK.So what is the right answer?


texts: Do I need to include "for you" here, or is it implied?

texts:
By default, few game profiles are already installed to quickly get up and running.

Is this correct use? Or should I say "for you to quickly get up and running"?


texts:
I gave up with the crossword in the end. It was too difficult.

The reference is from Phrasal Verb Quiz #10 .

  Is "give up" a phrasal verb and "up" is a preposition?

Or

  Is "give up with" a phrasal verb and both "up" and "with" are prepositions?

My guess is that only the first is correct,

because give up can exist independently in a sentence without "with".

Is my understanding correct?

Or both the first and second are correct. Why?


texts:
I am (almost) sure, it would be correct to say this

  "I'll give him a wonderful name"

or

  "I'll give him  the famous name Macavity"

But what about these?

  "I'll give him (a? the?) wonderful name, Macavity"

  "I'll give him (a? the?) wonderful name, viz. Macavity"?


texts: ‘without effort’? sth can be done easily

texts:
I want to say something can be done very easily.
It is from the sentence:

  "These lemmas enable us to find the best polynomial approximation of some simply structured functions without effort"

I used the phrase "without effort'.

Is there any option? I am not sure it is the most appropriate one.


texts: expressing your attitude towards something

texts:
I have recently watched a movie which is really great and now I'm trying to express my attitude towards this movie. Here is what I want to say:

  I'm wondering how a movie can be so complicated and at the same time
  very interesting.

Is this sentence correct grammatically (or meaning) ? How do natives state this?


texts:
Is it grammatically okay to use a singular noun after "a list of"?
For example, which one is correct among the following sentences?

I have a list of item.
I have a list of items.

I thought the noun must be plural. Am I correct?


texts: would be nothing vs wouldn’t be anything

texts:
I wonder if you could explain me why the second version isn't used, only the first one.
Ngram
As I understand, there is no grammatical mistake in the second sentence, isn't it?

I’m sure there would be nothing interesting there.
I’m sure there wouldn’t be anything interesting there.


texts:
Sentence 1: We try to help whenever it is possible.

Sentence 2: We try to help whenever possible.

Sentence 3: I should like to be back here by 10.30 if it is possible.

Sentence 4: I should like to be back here by 10.30 if possible.

I am wondering why we could omit "it is" in the above situations.

Thank you very much!


texts: Is this correct? "I can't sing very much myself."

texts:
I'm a student learning English as a second language.
I wanted to say that I can't sing very well, and I wanted to emphasize this sentence.
So.. Is it OK to say that "I can't sing very much myself"?


texts: (The) Spring Festival is a national holiday in China

texts:
Spring festival lasts for 15 days, during the festival, most people have their days off.

So may I say 'Spring Festival is a national holiday in China'? Thank you!


texts: What is the difference between some and an indefinite article

texts:
Is there any difference in meaning between the sentences in the following pairs?:

There is a person in the room.
There is some person/someone in the room.

What would you do if someone/some person tried to rob you?
What would you do if a person tried to rob you?

I know that “some” is used in different senses, one of which is that it is used to refer to a person or thing that is not known or identified. I also know that “a(n)” does not necessarily mean one in all the sentences where it is used, and that according to English grammar an indefinite article is used also to refer to a person or thing not already known to the speaker, listener, writer and/or reader.

I think I've read somewhere in an English grammar book that “some” is also an indefinite article. It can also be used with singular countable nouns (as in “there is some person in the room”), which implies that the identity of the person is unknown to the speaker. On the other hand, this is not necessarily the case when “a” or “an” is used. “There is a person in the room” implies that the identity of the person may be known to the speaker and unknown to the listener or unknown to both or either the speaker and/or the listener. I want someone to shed some light on this.


texts: Why do we pluralize "congratulations" when we say it?

texts:
I just thought about this today. Normally when something good happened to some friend we would say "congratulations" to them but we make it plural, instead of "congratulation". I wonder what is the underlying (grammatical) reason for doing this?
And this got me wondering if there are any other similar situations where when we say a word we would have to pluralize it.


texts:
Which one is correct?
I also checked the National Library which any official translation will record in it.
or
I also checked the National Library which any official translation will be recorded in it.


texts: Can I connect two parts of a sentence with 'regarding' in this case?

texts:
I always struggle to write long sentences and connect the parts correctly. Does 'regarding' work here and is there a way to make it sound more like something a native speaker would write?

I also can't gather the discipline to try to create a plan and work through it regarding how to move on from this situation.


texts: Using 'present tense' after someone has died

texts:
One of the good actors in Bollywood, Sadashiv Amarapurkar died recently (RIP).

I was reading the news and came across this paragraph on Times Of India

  Sadashiv Amrapurkar is married to his high school sweetheart, Sunanda Karmarkar. Be it in school or college, Sadashiv was always interested in acting.

I wonder using a present verb there or that's okay? Do we use the present tense verb to describe some dead person's relation? To me, Sadashiv Amrapurkar was married... seems preferable.


texts: What is the meaning of the simile “quick as silk”?

texts:
It seems that the Internet is unhelpful at all. The original quote, where this simile appears, is:

  “Once upon a time,” began Frank switching, quick as silk, to a
  sonorous story-telling voice...

The full story may be checked on Google Books, from page 419 of Mammoth Deception (2013) by Aleta Whitaker.


texts: take a rest many times or rest many times

texts:
Suppose that yesterday, I had been walking from noon to 4pm. I took a rest at these times: 12:45pm, 1:20pm, 2pm, 2:25pm, and so on. I have written down two similar sentences below.

(1) During my four-hour walk, I took a rest many times.

(2) During my four-hour walk, I rested many times.

Which one is correct?


texts: When would you vs when you would in a sentence

texts:
Which is correct:

Please let me know when WILL YOU go.
Please let me know when YOU WILL go.

Also:

I don't know when would he arrive.
I don't know when he would arrive.

Please explain why. Thanks! :)


texts: How are 'explanatory'and 'explanative, ' increase' and 'increasing' different

texts: 'Explanative' and 'explanatory' are both adjectives, and 'increase' and 'increasing' are both nouns. Are the meanings of the words in each pair the same? If the meanings aren't the same, and the words in each pair aren't interchangeable, could you please give me the reason why not?


texts: Difference between "seeks to promote" and "promote"

texts:
What is the difference between the sentence "UN seeks to promote international peace" and "UN promotes international peace"?

I think that in the first sentence, it's stated more like an objective of UN. In the second sentence, it's more like what UN actually does.

Is my inference correct?


texts: The second verb of subject should be express according to number or not?

texts:
He is a man who has a bad heart.

or

  He is a man who have a bad heart.

Which one is correct?

I tried to search "He is a man who have" and "He is a man who has" on Google but I got quite the same number of matched result, so, I'm not sure which one should be correct.


texts: meaning of the phrase "be right for the wrong reason"?

texts:
I have come across it in a Crash Course Astronomy. The context is at around 3:34. Here is the sentence:

  Zwicky was right for the wrong reason.

Could you please rephrase the sentence basing on the context for me?


texts:
Recently, I came across a very interesting expression (I shall consider it as an expression) - Had it been.

Ex: Two boys were caught robbing

Had it been two girls, no one would have paid attention.

Can such an expression be used with other verbs such as:

Ex: Two boys were caught robbing

Had it robbed a bank, no one would have cared.


texts: such like doing? and the use of the word "earn"

texts:
A may mean an event, or an event's profit such like earn 10 dollars in one gambling game.

Is there any problem in using earning?

like is an prep and after the present participle?

And in a gambling game, earn is not a good word to use here?


texts: looking for a different verb for "provides"

texts:
I am looking for a different verb, bolded, (or a different way of description) for the following sentence -

  "In summary, this work provides a detailed description of the enzyme catalyic mechanism, which provides an important insight into the molecular basis of XYZ disease."

Any help?


texts: People wait patiently in the queues or people waiting patiently in the queues

texts:
During demonetization in India, I see a lot of "people are waiting patiently in the queues all over India at ATMs, banks, etc." and the English news channel is showing this news in their headlines as "People wait patiently in the queues." This is the context.

My questions are as follows

I know that news headlines are in present simple for immediacy and progressive for changing events. In this case, it should be "People waiting patiently in the queues." Why is present simple "People wait patiently in the queues" used here?
For news headlines, do the two sentences "People wait patiently in the queues" and "people waiting patiently in the queues" carry the same meaning?


texts: The moment this happens/that (soon) happens– grammaticality

texts:
The moment I met her, I fell in love.
This sentence conveys the meaning that the speaker met a woman and immediately fell in love and looks to be grammatically correct to my eyes.
Now if we changed that sentence to The moment I met her, I soon fell in love., the meaning changes. It now means the speaker met this woman, and not immediately, but soon after, fell in love with her. The sentence sounds weirder than the first one, less idiomatic, but is this second sentence necessarily grammatically incorrect?
We say "the moment x happened/happens, y happened/happens." , but if we said the moment x happened, y soon happened, does the  insertion of soon render the sentence grammatically incorrect?


texts: What does dropping "paint off the roof" mean?

texts:
I was watching this David letterman episode where he interviews charlie sheen and charlie says ... David no one has a job like you, nobody can be like you I am just dropping paint off the roof.

I am paraphrasing but here's the video around 1:30


texts: How do you pronounce "Anti" in American english?

texts:
Sometimes, I hear it like (Antai) where the part (ai) is pronounced like the (uy) as in (Guy).

Other times, I hear it like (Anee) where the (t) sound is deleted. And the part (ee) is pronounced like the (e) as in (me).

I believe that the two pronunciations are correct because I heard them a lot so why are there two different pronunciations? Are those American and British accents? Are those two different American dialects?


texts: Slang question, what does mean by "horse"?

texts:
I've been just happened to have been listening Britney Spears's Oops! I did it again, and what does the mars lander says "Oh there horse" at 0:20?

From the start

  The navigator : First, the Mars lander, report the status, please.

  Mars lander : Mars lander here. Gravity device status is effective. Watch the status 90%.

  The navigator : Any sign of habitation?

  Mars lander : Not so much is there. Oh, there horse.

What does he mean by that expression?

Thank you.


texts: Is there a more restrictive criterion to distinguish a preposition from an adverb

texts:
The definition normally given for adverb is similar to the following one:

  a word or phrase that modifies or qualifies an adjective, verb, or other adverb or a word-group

Preposition is normally described using the following words:

  a word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element in the clause

The NOAD, for which twice is only an adverb, uses the following examples for twice:

  She had been married twice.
  The tablets should be taken twice a day.
  I'm twice your age.
  an engine twice as big as the original

The same dictionary reports the following examples of prepositions:

  the man on the platform
  she arrived after dinner
  What did you do it for

Looking at the examples, "she arrived after dinner" seems similar to "I am twice your age"; using the definition of preposition, I could say that twice express a relation between I and your age, in the same way after expresses a relation between she and dinner.
The man on the platform seem similar to the man twice your age; if on is a preposition on the first phrase, twice should be a preposition in the second one.

Giving the definitions for preposition, and adverb, it seems I could use classify a word as adverb, or preposition.

Are there more restrictive criteria, to distinguish a preposition from an adverb? Is the relation between two words used to be define preposition restricted to a specific set of relations? For example, on in the man on the platform is a preposition because the relation between man and platform is a specific one.


texts:
Example: He has better dance moves than I/me.

This I/me stuff is sometimes pretty confusing... :(

I think I would say "I" because you could say "He has better dance moves than I have".

But I'm not sure about it...


texts: How to use "had" correctly in a past perfect paragraph?

texts:
Consider the following paragraph:

My account was suspended after I used what I believe was an expired
confirmation code for changing my payment details. I had not received
a confirmation email immediately after switching to Payoneer from
PayPal on the website. When it arrived 2-3 hours later, I had clicked
on the link in it and had entered the confirmation code but was told
that the confirmation code was incorrect. I had tried a couple of
times more thinking maybe I had done something wrong the first time
around but the error message persisted. Immediately after that, an
email had arrived saying that my account was going to be suspended for
security reasons.

The first sentence of the paragraph describes what happened to my account (it was suspended), and the rest of the paragraph details what led to the suspension. So, if the first sentence is in simple past tense, then the rest of the paragraph has to be in past perfect tense. Have I used "had" and "was" correctly here? If not, could you please point out the mistakes?


texts:
Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of
  the corridor where they slammed into a door - and it was locked. "This
  is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done
  for! This is the end!" They could hear footsteps, Filch running as
  fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts. "Oh, move over," Hermione
  snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered,
  'Alohomora!" The lock clicked and the door swung open -- they piled
  through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it,
  listening.
      "Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."
      "Say 'please."'
      "Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?"
      "Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.
      "All right -please."
      "NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves
  whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.
      "He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay -- get off, Neville!" For Neville had been tugging on the
  sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "What?"
  (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

It seems that for may mean #15 below since the sentence has perfect tense, but I also suspect #16 might be the meaning. What is the for for?

  [Oxford]

    15: used to show a length of time I'm going away for a few
    days.That's all the news there is for now. 16: used to show that
    something is arranged or intended to happen at a particular time
    an appointment for May 12We're invited for 7.30.


texts:
The last two lines from the chorus of Sia's song Big Girls Cry:

Big girls cry when their hearts are breaking
Big girls cry when their heart is breaking

How is the shift from plural to singular justified? What is the difference between the two sentences? What is the artist trying to convey with the shift?


texts: What do you call a small gap that allows you to see through something?

texts:
Is there a word for it? I am thinking of things like a keyhole or a small gap in a bush. I am not sure if there's a name for it, but it would really help me out if you could find a word for it.

For example:

  The hunter who hid himself in a small bush saw through a ___ a deer
  sleeping near a tree.


texts:
How do I teach my students the difference between ‘after’ and ‘next’?

The real using of each of them.

after
1. in the time following (an event or another period of time).

next
1. (of a time) coming immediately after the time of writing or speaking.

For example,

  After Monday I'm going back to school.
  Next Monday I'm going back to school.

And

  I'm going back to school after.
  I'm going back to school next.

If all four sentences are correct, does this mean next and after are interchangeable? What exceptions are there?


texts:
Link 1
Link 2
I entered "resetted" and for the spell check, I searched and got the first link. I thought it is correct because (I thought all words are not included in a spell checker)1 and after that, I visited the second link.

Which link is correct?
Which one should one trust?
Is reference1 correct?


texts:
1.

    ...from my very first day

2.

    ...at the very first stage

3.

    ...from the very first touches

4.

    The very first canon of nursing

Are they adverbs?

What is the meaning of VERY in phrases such as...the VERY first [noun]...?

For what purpose are they placed before adjectives?


texts: Two Completed actions / Stated in one sentence – Simple Past

texts:
Are my below examples are giving idea of two completed actions / stated in one sentences?
I just want to know are my below sentence construction are correct? And can we use Past perfect for first completed action?

e.g.

a) I went to hotel (Being in hotel) where I saw that superstar.

b) I went to office (Being in office / was in office) at that time something happened at home.

c) When she called me at home at that time I Went to Market (Being in market / was in office)

d) She changed that paper (Completed action of Changing) before principal arrived at classroom.

e) Did she call me when I was not here?

f) 5 friends went to picnic when that accident happened with them.

Are my examples are giving two completed actions / stated in one sentences?
I just want to know are my above sentence construction are correct? And can we use Past perfect in above sentence?


texts:
Is there any difference between the following two

I would hate for anyone to hack into my emails.
I would hate anyone to hack into my emails.

I don't even know if the second is possible. I'm modeling it after 'I would like you to hack into my e-mail.'


texts: Idioms for making the impossible possible by trying hard

texts: Are there any idioms in English to say that even the impossible can be possible if one tries hard? More precisely, in Russian there is an idiom «Зайца можно научить курить», which means if you want and try hard, you will even be able to teach a rabbit to smoke.


texts:
North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency also confirmed the
  visit, saying Kim was "accorded cordial hospitality with utmost
  sincerity to him in token of warm comradely friendship and friendly
  feelings during his China visit."

I don't understand this sentence.


texts:
Can you please tell me if I've used the subjunctive correctly in this sentence?

Sara and Seema's insistence that the book feature as its cover a controversial photograph caused a lot of disagreement among publishing executives.


texts: What are the combinations of ch, sh, th, wh, ph called in the professional literature jargon?

texts: What are the combinations of the consonants ch, sh, th, wh, ph called in the professional literature jargon? (I'm asking about the consonants that are represented by two letters).


texts: Is it " a fun place to be" or "a fun place to be at"?

texts: I use "to be" but the more I think abt it the more I think "to be at" should be the one that makes the most sense since we say "we are at a place".


texts: Is 'He got a shot' the same as 'He got a bullet'?

texts: Is it possible for the first expression to convey the meaning of the second in English, like 'He got a bullet in his body '?


texts: Is there a word or phrase to describe children becoming better versions of their parents?

texts:
Is there a word in any language that describes the thought of a child becoming better than their parents in what they do. For example a child who is eventually going to take over the family business and when they do, do it, they do it better than their parents did.

Thanks so much for anyone who can help me out with this.


texts: does "a halfly laced up shoe" sound English enough?

texts: Can't find it in google, but there must be something English speakers use to describe a shoe one started to lace up and left unfinished?


texts: Is it correct to say "I Could have called you and informed you?" or "I Could have called you and could have informed you"?

texts:
Is it correct to say

  I could have called you and informed you

or

  I could have called you and could have informed you


texts:
I want to make sure how to use perfect tenses (past and present) with have for possession:

Suppose I bought a car a few month ago and I sold it today. Can I say:

  I have had a red car for a few month, but I sold it today.

Now, suppose I bought a car many years ago and sold it a few years ago. Can I say:

  When I had had a red car, I went out every weekend.

Am I saying it right?


texts:
She is very smart. She is just out of my reality.

In the above example, what does "out of my reality" mean? Does it mean that she is too smart to be in a real word of this person? I tried searching the meaning of this expression, but it didn't seem to be an idiom.


texts: "...to understand what he did / had done."

texts:
The context is that a mathematician solves a great problem and publishes his proof.

  He was known as a great mathematician and everyone wanted to understand what he had done.

Everything is clear here. He did something before people wanted to understand it. But can we make the sentence a bit simpler?

  ...and everyone wanted to understand what he did.

Does it mean the same thing, or it is ambiguous now? I see it ambiguous in the sense that suppose he published his proof, and nobody knew what he was doing after that. Maybe he worked as a teacher, maybe he did some other research. So everybody wanted to understand what he did (at the moment).


texts: "The something who/that/which" or "something who/that/which"?

texts:
Which one is correct:

  The person who won the match was amazing/Jami
  Person who won the match was amazing/Jami

Do I need to use the before person?


texts: What does "to feel oneself welling up" and "to get some tissues close by" mean?

texts:
Here is the text that confused me:

  There’s nothing wrong with crying! If you feel yourself welling up and you’re in a quiet and private place, go for it! You’ll feel so much better. Just make sure you’ve got some tissues close by!

What does “to feel oneself welling up”
and “to get some tissues close by” mean?


texts: Transitive Verbs without Passive Structures (voice)

texts:
I got a letter yesterday.

Get is a transitive verb. But if we want to transform the sentence into  passive?

  The letter was...received yesterday.
  Get has no passive voice  (LDOCE).Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
  Get 1.receive, [T not in passive ],to be given or receive something.

Though there is a past participle (got,gotten),it doesn't necessarily mean that we can form passive voice (according to the dictionary ).

Are there other transitive verbs, which don't have passive voice? Is there a special term for them (to read more)?


texts: Regarding a gown: Pull up, pick up, lift up, hike up, hitch up, hold up?

texts:
If someone is walking up the stairs in a long, fluffy ball gown, and thus has to hold it in order to climb up the stairs, what sounds natural:

  She had to pick her gown up to climb up the stairs.

  She had to lift her gown up to climb up the stairs.

  She had to pull her gown  up to climb up the stairs.

  She had to hike her gown up to climb up the stairs.

  She had to hitch her gown up to climb up the stairs.

  She had to hold her gown up to climb up the stairs.

Are all of these equally likely? What do you think?


texts: "It was an admission that all might not be right between them." What does this sentence mean?

texts:
I am reading "Ender's Game", and I can't figure out what it means when I come across this sentence.

Here is the context:

  “Here, snag my hand!” Alai called.

  Ender held out his hand. Alai took the shock of impact and helped Ender make a  fairly gentle landing against the wall.

  “That’s good,” Ender said. “We ought to practice that kind of thing.”

  “That’s what I thought, only everybody’s turning to butter out there,” Alai said. “What happens if we get out there together? We should be able to shove each other in opposite directions.”

  “Yeah.”

  “OK?”

  It was an admission that all might not be right between them. Is it OK for us to do something together? Ender’s answer was to take Alai by the wrist and get ready to push off.”

I think "all might not be right" could be a idiom, but find nothing when I google "all might not be right".

Or, "all might not be right" is a specific use of "all not" phrase?
It is "all something might not be right between them. And that something is left out?
And I can replace "all something might not be right" with "something might not all be right" without changing the meaning of the sentence?


texts: What do you call works in a flat after it has been built?

texts: What do you call works in a flat after it has been built, that include making walls between the rooms, floor covers (parquetry, laminate, linoleum), ceiling, electrical wiring, sewerage, installing sanitary appliances (w.c. pan, washbowl, bath tub, shower cabin) and finishing (plastering, surfacing, wallpapers etc)?


texts:
https://m.9gag.com/gag/aGeAxDw
In this video
the girl says I think I can smell the spiritual

As far as I know articles can not be used with adjectives . No?


texts: Is "Jack was wearing a hat that it was too big for him" any different from "Jack was wearing a hat that was too big for him"?

texts: Do they mean the same, different, or is the first sentence wrong?


texts: Does the phrase "more obvious" mean "just barely noticeable among many" in certain contexts?

texts:
Let me add some context here:

In Frank Herbert’s Dune, there is this sentence:

  “I know the Dark Things and the ways of the Great Mother,” Jessica
  said. She read the more obvious signs in Mapes’ actions and
  appearance, the petit betrayals.

If the betrayals are petit, they are not immediately noticeable to normal folks, and only noticeable to Jessica because of her special training regarding such stuff (don’t worry, this is not even a spoiler). What am I missing?


texts: Are we to use any with plurals or singulars?

texts:
Does he have any cars that are black in color?

Does he have any car that is black in color?

Are both the sentences grammatically correct?
Are there any differences in their meaning?


texts:
Whose car got stolen?

  The person living next door's car got stolen.
  I don't know what his name is.

Is using the apostrophe the way I've used in the above example grammatically correct?
Could you give me 2-3 more examples where the apostrophe is used the same way as I used it?


texts: What is the function of "look" in this sentence?

texts: I'm really confused. "Her new haircut makes her look younger." Is look in this example some kind of a linking verb? If not, what type of word is it? If so, how come it doesn't take "looks" form?


texts:
Well, she was that frightened, she'd always been such a gatless girl,
  that she didn't so much as know how to spin, and what was she to do
  tomorrow with no one to come nigh her to help her? She sat down on a
  stool in the kitchen, and law! how she did cry!

This content is from "Tom Tit Tot" in English fairy tales.

I know the meaning of "law" as "canon" but I think the meaning is unnatural in this context. What is the meaning of " law" in this case?


texts: “Would have + past participle” in The Scarlet Letter

texts:
From The Scarlet Letter:

  Amongst any other population, or at a later period in the history of New England, the grim  rigidity that petrified the bearded physiognomies of these good people would have augured  some awful business in hand.

Would you possibly throw a light on the reason why there has been used would have past participle?

Eventually, do the following A and B mean the same thing?

A.The grim rigidity that petrified the bearded physiognomies of these good people would have augured some awful business in hand if it had appeared/occurred amongst any other population, or at a later period in the history of New England.

B. In other words, if the people were anyone other than the early Puritans of Boston, then their grim, rigid demeanor would indicate that something extraordinarily serious and awful was about to happen, like the public execution of a criminal. However (as is explained in the next few sentences), the early Puritans of Boston commonly took on the same grim demeanor when attending to small matters as well as large matters, including whipping a misbehaving child or escorting a drunk Indian out of town.


texts:
Most people would say that they jumped off the swing
 but why not jumped from the swing?


texts:
The following context is given:

  When Jerry Wagner and Kevin Moonan came out of the bar they were
  perfect setups.

What does the phrase I emphasized mean?


texts: The most exciting project this/that year was

texts:
Suppose we have a list of paragraphs, each describing a company's achievements in a particular year, and in one of these we find:

  2009: The most exciting project this year was the construction of a new refinery.

wouldn't this jar with the use of the past tense? Shouldn't we use that:

  2009: The most exciting project that year was the construction of a new refinery.

Or are both allowable?

P.S.

What if we substitute is for was:

  2009: The most exciting project this year is the construction of a new refinery.

Would that flip the situation, with this becoming the norm and that an error?


texts: What's the meaning of "More than 53 percent of those in their 30s followed suit" in this article?

texts:
The number of working women who got married posted 5.6 million as of
  this year, the report showed. About 45 percent of them stopped working
  due to the burdens of juggling work, child care and house affairs.
  More than 53 percent of those in their 30s followed suit.

link: http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3012496

I know the meaning of the phrase "follow suit" is to follow in the same pattern.
Still, I'm not sure about the meaning or intention of the last sentence in the article above?

The author wanted to emphasize that compared to the rate of general population of working women, 45 percent, women working in their 30s showed higher quit rate(53%)?


texts: "specifically true in this situation to the (possible) exclusion of other situations" - Clarification?

texts:
Please, take a look at this answer from English.SE. I am interested in understanding the precise meaning behind the ninth paragraph:

  What the form BE+V-ing really does is to indicate that the action or state referred to by the verb in question is presented by the person speaking as actualized (that's the mental operation marked by the suffix -ing) and that this actualization is intimately linked to the situation under consideration (which is the core value of the verb BE). In other words : the action/state is specifically true in this situation to the (possible) exclusion of other situations.

Can anyone explain in in simpler terms? The wording seems too complex for me to comprehend. I am not interested in hearing why this answerer's view is wrong or right: I am merely interested in knowing what the paragraph means exactly.


texts: "All doors will not open" and "the front two doors will not open"

texts:
I know "All doors will not open" means "not all doors will open", but I need to be very very alert to recognise this, otherwise I'll just think "all doors will remain closed".

Today in the London underground, I heard the announcement "The front two doors will not open"... and it actually means "both will remain closed".

My question is, does this "partial negation" construction "All ... do not ..." only apply when a sentence begins with "all","every"?

Edit: What about "Both front two door will not open"?


texts: What are Expressions in English Grammar?

texts: Moreover what are Idiomatic Expressions and what are Colloquial Expressions?


texts:
I realise the first concatenation of the 's and it's example.
Second one which says double p or double l.So I couldn't understand that.Please help me to describe that with some example.

1, The plural of letters of the alphabet is formed by adding 's.

t - t's
d - d's
p - p's
l - l's

2, but the plural of 'p' (page); 'l' (line), 'n' (noun), 'v' (Verb) and Ms (Manuscript) is formed by doubling these letters:

p - pp(pages)
l - ll(lines)


texts:
I want to ask someone that why he didn't tell me something in the past and I want to say the sentence as below:

  if you knew that yesterday why you didn't tell me yesterday?

as I know this is not based on if condition formats and maybe I should have say:

  if you knew that yesterday why you wouldn't tell me yesterday.

I am curious to know which sentence is correct if any of them is correct.


texts: usage of "and" in stead of "comma" in a sentence

texts:
1.They did not add these extra hours and minutes and seconds.

  2.They did not add these extra hours, minutes, and seconds.

Are there any difference in these two sentences when using "and" instead of comma in a list?


texts:
While I was reading a book, the following sentence caught my eye.

  Sincerity and courtesy are of desirable character traits.

I saw this kind of sentence before, but never fully understood why the preposition 'of' is used. If I remove the preposition 'of', the sentence become..

  Sincerity and courtesy are desirable character traits.

To me, both sentences convey the same meaning. I have also seen sentences like..

  The man is of great importance.

So do we really need a preposition in these scenarios? If yes, then why and how to use the preposition 'of' properly with 'is/are'?


texts: Is "endless" an equivalence of "never-ending"?

texts:
I observe the following definitions in Dictionary.com:

  endless

  adjective

  having or seeming to have no end, limit, or conclusion; boundless; infinite; interminable; incessant: an endless series of complaints;
  Time is endless.
  made continuous, as by joining the two ends of a single length: an endless chain or belt.

And

  never-ending

  adjective

  having or likely to have no end: never-ending worry.

Both definitions seem quite equivalent to me. Is there any circumstance when one should be used instead of the other?

To give a practical example: are these equivalent?

  Thank you for your endless efforts on creating good content!

  Thank you for your never-ending efforts on creating good content!


texts: Is there any difference between meanings of "fortress" and "stronghold"?

texts:
Is fortress higher/larger/moderner than stronghold?  For example in history?

I found there is a same meaning of the two words.

Here in this game, fortress seems to be higher than stronghold in hierarchy.


texts:
Neither Italy nor France got to the quarter finals last year.

How should one correctly express the above sentence by including just another subject? Is it:

Neither Italy neither Germany nor France got to the quarter finals last year.

or

Neither Italy nor Germany nor France got to the quarter finals last year.


texts: "With the" Does one pronounce both "th" sounds?

texts: Take the random sentence "Start with the basics." Would you pronounce both "th" sounds separately or link them essentially saying "withe". Being a non native speaker I find pronouncing both difficult without disrupting the "flow of speech" which is often stated as being very important when speaking english.


texts: Fear of talking with native English speakers - how to overcome it

texts:
I'm Japanese and I can speak English decently well. When I talk with non native speakers, my grammar is 95% accurate I would say, but when it comes to talking with the native speakers, I don't know why but I feel more afraid and worried about making mistakes even though I know they won't care about it. And I tend to not be able to speak as fluently/smoothly when talking with them.

Is there anyone that has the same problems as me?


texts: Can "that is " be used to explain multiple things

texts:
I recently wrote the following sentence in my paper, I don't know if the that is
is correctly used. In other words, Can that is be used to explain multiple things.

  Along the similar classifications as [1-2], we mainly cover the consensus filtering approaches in four groups, that is, consensus on estimate, consensus on measurement, consensus on information and H consensus.


texts: for/on 6 days in/throughout December - all possible?

texts:
This event will be held for 6 days in December.

This event will be held for 6 days throughout December.

This event will be held on 6 days in December.

This event will be held on 6 days throughout December.


texts: What can I call this type of member registration form?

texts:
Volunteers can request to take part in our program, and I'd like to design a form to record volunteer's registration like so:

John  | age 34 | male   | Program A
Alice | age 22 | female | Program B

Now how can I use a word to identify this form ?

I think up some words which doesn't look so well:

Program Registration (problem: register a program itself ? or people registered to program ?)
Volunteer Registration (problem: register for what ? I have another form named "Volunteer Registration" which records new volunteers registered to my group, so I don't want these 2 forms using the same name)

  ==UPDATED==

  A volunteer must join a volunteer team, and team leader (a senior volunteer) is responsible to look for volunteering projects and lead his team members to contribute their service. so there're two types of registration forms

  1: volunteers register to a team

  2: volunteers register to a project

  I want to identify each form and don't let people confused

Any suggestions are appreciated!


texts: Do we have to use the article "the" in the following example: Coordinator in (the) Director's Office, Department of Legal Affairs?


texts: Pronunciation difference between "I walk to" and "I walked to"?

texts:
In order to understand what I listen, I'm trying to catch differences between "I walk to" and "I walked to" but I can't catch any difference.
How can I distinguish that sounds?


texts:
Sample Casebook #2 (2nd Edition) : Garratt v. Dailey, 279 P.2d 1091 | H2O

The cause is remanded for clarification, with instructions to make definite findings on the issue of whether Brian Dailey knew with substantial certainty that the plaintiff would attempt to sit down where the chair which he moved had been, and to change the judgment if the findings warrant it.
Costs on this appeal will abide the ultimate decision of the superior court. If a judgment is entered for the plaintiff, Ruth Garratt, appellant here, she shall be entitled to her costs on this appeal. If, however, the judgment of dismissal remains unchanged, the respondent will be entitled to recover his costs on this appeal.

I know "abide" can stand alone as verb, but this is a different case because "abide"  here has direct object. Why not "abide by" here?


texts:
firstly example: She asked if the final was hard

What does if mean in this sentence ? And how this sentence meanening question ?


texts:
I have never come across "such that" before I started reading a mathematical journal from my country that is published in English. I keep seeing phrases like this :

  Let a, b, c, d be real numbers such that a+b+c+d=4

I have a hunch that the correct sentence is

  Let a, b, c, d be real numbers so that a+b+c+d=4

but I am not sure. Could you enlighten me, please?


texts: Collocations of the word "near" with temporal and spatial nouns

texts:
a. The near future
b. The near house

Would you tell me which one is right?
As far as I know, instead of b, we must say: the close by/nearby house
Am I right?


texts: What is the meaning of "Ask whose invitation I've got"?

texts:
Here Brendan calls Laura for Halloween invitation.

  Laura: Who is this? Or I'll hang up.

  Brendan: You don't know me. I'll save you some time.

  Laura: I know everyone, and I have all the time in the world.

  Brendan: Folly of youth. Ask whose invitation I've got.

  Laura: What you said...

  Brendan: Emily Kostich.

This lines are from Brick (2005) mystery movie.

Is he saying: "he got invitation & asking her"?


texts: adverbial phrase ambiguity/ with her in a blue dress

texts:
Which of these sentences work if Jane was the one wearing the blue dress?

a.  I went to the party with Jane in a blue dress.
a1. I went to the party with her in a blue dress.

b.  I went to the party with Jane, in a blue dress.
b1, I went to the party with her, in a blue dress.

Are they both ambiguous?
I have a feeling that (b) and (b1) are ambiguous, but (a) and (a1) mean I was wearing the blue dress.


texts: What part of speech is the word "Blessed" in this sentence?

texts:
This is a well known sentence:

  Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked

Is the word "Blessed" an adjective or past-participle verb? Or something else?


texts: Small question about commas in a specific case

texts:
Based on the following phrase:

  Comparing to the state of the art that uses, in general, more than
  one variable to perform...

Is this correct to put the "in general" between commas?


texts: "work that identify" or "work that identifies"

texts:
Implicitly by work I mean plural (several studies). So how should I treat the verb that comes after it?

  Similar to previous work that identifies

Or,

  Similar to previous work that identify


texts: Tips for easy-to-read unabridged English fiction for language learners?

texts:
I am looking for English fiction (novels, short stories, novellas) that are easy to read for English learners. I am especially looking for fiction that has roughly the same level as Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring and George Orwell's Animal Farm. The people that I have in mind found many of the stories in Fifty Great Short Stories (Bantam Classics, edited by Milton Crane) too difficult. (Unfortunately, I don't know what CEFR level this corresponds to. This is not for people who are attending school.)

I am not looking for simplified texts.


texts: "Could you already speak Spanish when you (have arrived/arrived)?"

texts:
I found this in Oxford's "New English File Upper-Intermediate".

It's stated that the correct answer is "arrived", but I can't get my head around why it's so.


texts: Words to describe the sounds created when having sex

texts:
This is so embarrassing to ask you about sound which is related to having sex.

Is there any sound related to breath? I think "panting" is quite far from implying sex.

I found some words like; boom, bang, smash, thump but I want to find something related to sound.

If I can't find the alternative things, I may use some words like "ah", "mm" ..... so weird.

  You wouldn't dare to say like that, if you know I'm tired of listening your panting every night.

This is what I made, but it doesn't make sense.


texts:
What is use Diffrence between below two conditional Sentence.

Had I been present at the Creation, I would have given some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe.

And

If i had present at the creation, i would have given som useful hints for the better ordering of the Universe.

When to start conditional sentence useing if and Had.


texts:
In some games there are statistic about how many times user have done something. Examples:

Cookie Clicker:

Cookies baked
Cookies forfeited by ascending
Legacy started
Building owned
Cookie clicks
Reindeer found

NGU idle:

Total Rebirths
Total Boss Defeated
Highest Damage Dealt in 1 Hit

It is like passive voice without "to be".
I am confused with "cookie clicks" and "total rebirths". As "clicks" & "rebirths" are not verbs.

Edit: I am looking for a term that describe how to create above elements from the lists. If it does not have a term, are there some rules?


texts: When can I omit the article 'a' and 'an'?

texts:
Currently, I encountered some weird sentences. They are:
"She went off on some errand."(from Collins)
 "We watched him plough on, northwards at incredible speed, until he vanished from sight."(from Good English 10-Frankenstein)
 "Obtain considerable proficiency."(from my teacher)
I am really confused with this and wondering how do you native speakers think about that.


texts: General term for all types of means to aid the disabled independent of the kind of disability

texts:
I'm looking for a general term describing all kinds of equipment and other means of improving the life quality of a physically and/or mentally challenged individual. Let's say that a crude'ish definition might be something as follows.

  Something needed to compensate for disabilities so that the subject can live self-reliantly and function socially.

For instance a visual aid would be a pair of medical glasses but also, much more specialized, Brail typewriter. It could be an app on a phone suggesting by color the amount of food for a person with ADHD, other neuro-psychiatric disease or arrested development. It could be a talking clock stating the time of day and suggesting type of meal for patients with dementia or post-stroke cases. Voice control for computer (typing in text and operating the cursor) for a person with weak or unsteady arms and/or hands.

A counter-example for something that isn't such an aid is Siri, augmented reality, a car's GPS navigator or a stroller. Those are aiding but not due to a disability but rather convenience. (Of course, many ideas thought of with the disabled in focus has later on become a common man's best friend.)


texts:
I have always thought that a semicolon should separate two independent sentences in a long combined sentence. But when reading this week's The Economist, the usage of semicolon in the sentence below in bold beats me. It appears that this semicolon interrupts the sentence "and for whom he had no interest in keeping it for an exclusive club". Is it OK in this case?

what I think more appropriate is as follows: He was determined to discern what a national theatre should be; and for whom he had no interest in keeping it for an exclusive club.

  The NT was founded in 1963 under Laurence Olivier. When Sir Nicholas took over the organisation, which comprises three auditoriums of differing sizes, it had a reputation for unadventurous repertoire, pricey tickets and an ageing and conservative audience. Public funding accounted for 40% of its annual income of £37m ($47.8m). He was determined to discern what a national theatre should be and for whom; he had no interest in keeping it for an exclusive club. Among other considerations—balancing old plays and new, serious and irreverent, plays that look out as well as in—he wanted to expand audiences and give everyone a “really good time”.
  [source:http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21721622-nicholas-hytners-captivating-memoir-his-years-theatres-artistic-director-how]


texts: Why is the letter W called 'double U' rather than 'double V'?

texts:
Why is the letter W called double 'U' rather than double 'V'?

If we look well at this letter it looks as a combination of two (=double) V letters, so why is it referred as double 'U' rather than double 'V' - as it is in fact?


texts: Need to know the correct one: 'before' vs 'in front of'

texts:
Which one of these is correct - "It happened right before me", "It happened in front of me"?

Meaning wise, it seems the second one is correct, the first one seems more 'dialectized' English, taken from grammar constructs of other languages by non-native English speakers.

Is my analogy correct, or is this usage of "before" a part of native English?


texts:
Do you think he will come?

or

  Do you think  he would come?

Which is the correct form? If both are correct, What is the difference in their meaning? I have seen similar questions, but the are not in interrogative form. As I am a new learner, I just wanted to learn clearly in various forms


texts: if he is singular then why do we use were in some sentences?

texts:
I am learning English.

I read the rule that we use was with singulars but in some sentences were is used instead of was.

For example:

  1) Would that he were mine.
    2) He was very good batsman.

Now in one sentence we are using were with he and in second sentence we are using was with he. Why?


texts: I finally watched the video YouTube HAS / HAD been recommending for weeks

texts:
I don't think this sentence is correct. Am I right?

  I finally watched the video YouTube has been recommending for weeks.

Shouldn't the past perfect continuous be used there instead of the present perfect continuous?


texts: Usage of "Besides that" vs "Except for the fact that"

texts:
The following is a practice question for the SAT:

  Fill in the blank to create a correct sentence:

  "_____ you are missing three pages of work, your portfolio appears to be of extremely high caliber".

  A. Except for the fact that

  B. Besides that

I think choice B is right because this is a SAT question that is written to emulate the style of SAT test makers who like to make concise sentences the answer choices. However, the actual answer is A. Why is this a better choice?


texts: Is there a grammar rule telling when to drop or not to drop a definite article before names?

texts:
Is there any rule in English regulating when I can omit the definite article before names?

Here is the list of banks of Taiwan taken from Wikipedia (no need to read through it, just go ahead and scroll to the bottom):

  Chunghwa Post

  Bank of Taiwan

  Land Bank of Taiwan

  Taiwan Cooperative Bank

  First Commercial Bank

  Hua Nan Commercial Bank

  Chang Hwa Bank

  Citibank Taiwan

  Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank

  Taipei Fubon Bank

  Taipei Star Bank

  Cathay United Bank

  Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China

  Bank of Kaohsiung

  Mega International Commercial Bank

  O-Bank

  Taiwan Business Bank

  Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan

  Taichung Bank

  King's Town Bank

  Hwatai Bank

  Taiwan Shin Kong Commercial Bank

  Sunny Bank

  Bank of Panshin

  COTA Commercial Bank

  Union Bank of Taiwan

  Far Eastern international Bank

  Yuanta Bank

  Bank SinoPac

  E.SUN Commercial Bank

  KGI Bank

  Taishin International Bank

  Jih Sun International Commercial Bank

  EnTie Commercial Bank

  CTBC Bank - China Trust

As it can be seen, none of these names contain definite article "the". However, if you go to the respective wiki page of each bank, you will see that almost all of those pages start with the article 'the' placed right before the bank's name. Later in the text, however, the article is sometimes omitted.

So, is there any rule in English telling me whether I should say:

  Jack usually transfers his money to Chang Hwa Bank.

or

  Jack usually transfers his money to the Chang Hwa Bank.

?


texts:
I was wondering what is the grammar rule to include a question as a part of a sentence? Here are some examples:

Example 1:

  Can you tell what am I missing?  vs. Can you tell me what I am missing?

Example 2:

  Tell me what am I missing? vs. Tell me what I am missing?

Example 3:

  Do you know why he did this? vs. Do you know why did he this?

Example 4:

  I don't know why he did this. vs. I don't know why did he this.


texts: What is the difference between "dodge" and "shun"?

texts:
For example:

He keeps shunning (or dodging) me, because he owes me some money.

Which one is correct? If both, which one is more appropriate?
The dictionary I checked wasn't too helpful:

Shun:  avoid somebody/something
Dodge: to avoid doing something, especially in a dishonest way


texts: Singular versus plural verb with ratios: 1 in 8 adults have/has X

texts:
Should I use a singular or plural verb form after a ratio?
*About 1 in 4 adults drink/drinks more alcohol than is recommended for good health.
*About 1 in 8 adults have/has an alcohol use disorder.
I have not been able to find a clear answer in any grammar style guides. I have found examples of both singular and plural verbs used on different websites (e.g., CDC, Johns Hopkins, NAMI).


texts: Help to understand "cost 60,000 auto jobs" and "hit the estimated 200,000 U.S. jobs" in this paragraph

texts:
Soon after taking office, President Donald Trump called for a rollback,
  urging "common sense changes" if the mileage requirements threatened
  auto industry jobs.

  However, his administration's report on Thursday projects that
  relaxing mileage standards would cost 60,000 auto jobs by 2030. Those
  losses would hit the estimated 200,000 U.S. jobs that deal with making
  vehicles more fuel efficient, said Simon Mui of the Natural Resources
  Defense Council.

  A Transportation Department spokesperson called the estimate of job
  losses "rough approximations."

As I understand, cost 60,000 auto jobs here means "loss 60,000 auto jobs", and "Those losses" refers to "60,000 auto jobs", and hit the estimated 200,000 U.S. jobs means those losses will impact on the estimated 200,000 U.S. jobs.

Am I getting it right?

The full source.


texts: Preposition with 'common': 'to', 'with' or 'between'?

texts:
Say, an element 'a' occurs in two sets: X={'a','b'} and Y= {'a','c'}.

So, what preposition should be used in the blank of the following sentence:

'a' is common element ___ sets X and Y.

It's 'to', 'with' or 'between' ?


texts:
There is none who can help you in this crucial moment of your career.

Is there anything wrong with this sentence?
My book says we should use that instead of who to improve the sentence and the rule given is 'After the words all, same, any, none, nothing, only and as, we should use that'.

But I think the sentence is fine as it is. Please clarify.


texts:
I heard this exchange from a TV show:

  Woman A: You are a smart, beautiful woman. You don't have to settle.

  Woman B: I'm not settling.

The context is that Woman A is trying to persuade B not to date a famous guy anymore, because that guy has already married and has not made any promise to marry her.

I looked up dictionaries, but it seems that none of definitions could fit for the context.

So, what does settle mean here?

Thanks!


texts:
I know that 'flirt' usually means, but I think here that word has a different meaning. I guess the sentences below seem to mean that the blue-jay tried to see where the acorn was disappearing.
Here is the example, which is from a novel 'Baker's blue-jay yarn' by Mark Twain.

So he flew off and fetched another acorn and dropped it in, and tried to flirt his eye to the hole quick enough to see what become of it, but he was too late.


texts: "Best return on your money" vs "Best return for your money"

texts:
I am confused which preposition is correct in the statement:

  Best return on your money.

or

  Best return for your money.

?

Which do you think is correct? Please explain.


texts: What does this sentence mean? What is the subject, predicate and object of this sentence?

texts:
“The neutral and respectful consideration to which Phillips was
  entitled was compromised here,”

source
I also not too clearly understand the "to which" in this sentence.


texts:
Does the abbreviation pronounce as a whole phrase? For example:

etc - et cetera;
i.e. - id est;
e.g. - exemplī grātiā.


texts:
Can we use "surround" when the person being surrounded is in a corner? I always thought "surrounded" implied that there are people on all sides, but I am not sure if that's the case, because there's no word we could use otherwise in the situation where the person is not completely surrounded.

For example:

  John stood in the corner with his back against the wall and some men
  surrounded him.


texts: relative clauses with "I believe", "I think"

texts:
1) That is something    I believe/think    called "PJP".
 2) That is the man who  I believe/think    called "Peter".
 3) That is the man who  I believe/think is called "Peter".
 4) That is the man whom I believe/think    called "Peter".
 5) That is the man whom I believe/think is called "Peter".

I'm pretty sure that the first one is correct but the others are confusing me. Which one is correct and why?


texts: An expression for comparing things accurately in English

texts:
I am looking for an idiomatic expression to describe the comparison of things which is so true and vivid.
For example:

  A: "Mainland China and Taiwan are like brothers fighting each other for who should be the legal owner of the family house: Taiwan is small and weak, so he just has a bedroom, while PRC have the rest of the house. "

  B: You are right, that's___(a very ? metaphor/analogy/simile ?)

Mainland China and Taiwan are not real 'brothers', it's just a comparison, and B want to describe A's comparison as true and vivid, what's the idiomatic expression for that? B strongly agrees with A's analogy and thinks it's just the analogy he wants for that situation.


texts: What does "much to the displeasure of" mean?

texts:
But he stayed put, and so did Biron, much to the displeasure of the crowd.

Did he and Biron stay put because of the crowd's displeasure or the crowd was displeasured by Biron and him to stay put?

After pushing into the Nashville zone early, the Rangers retreated, much to the displeasure of the fans.

Did the Rangers retreat because of the fans' displeasure or the fans were displeasured by Rangers' retreat?

The Real president sacked Ancelotti last summer, much to the displeasure of many of the senior players in the squad.

Did the Real president sacked Ancelotti due to displeasure of many of the senior players or many of the senior players were displeasured by the Real president's sacking of Ancelotti?

Source: https://ludwig.guru/s/much+to+the+displeasure


texts: Is "I never heard that before. It's pretty corny." an oxymoron or what?

texts:
Today  I was watching a movie -  Hacksaw Ridge in which the lead actor flirts with the actress.

The conversation was like this:

He: Ever since you stuck me with that needle, my heart's been beating real fast. Every time I think about you it beats faster still.

Then the actress replies - I never heard that before. It's pretty corny.

The dictionary meaning of word corny is  something which is trite, banal, common. The actress first said that she had never heard that before means that was something new for her but then why did she call it corny? Aren't  both sentences opposite of each other?


texts: Differences between pronouncing the 'G' and 'J' in US/British English

texts:
I'm currently pronouncing:

g as /dgi/
j as /djay/

I'm not sure if this is the American or Britisch way to pronounce it.

If it depends on the choice of words, I was just singing the alphabet.
Question: I was wondering what is the correct way of pronouncing these letters in American English and British English?

EDIT: I don't need to know the difference in a context of a sentence or a word. Just the difference while singing the alphabet in American English and British English.


texts:
Is this a right way to say that something is not happening because of these reasons? Also, how to say if there are more than two reasons when talking (not writing)?

"Thousands of software bugs are not fixed. And this is because either we can't prove them as bugs because we don't know how to reproduce the issue again because it happened only once and we didn't collect much information when that happened or because someone thought it was bug only to find later that it was only some configurational issue"

I find it as very long sentence with lot/lots of because/becauses.


texts: Are the meanings of "free" and "FREE" the same in "Totally FREE service"?

texts:
Capitalization of the word FREE is widespread in the Internet.

image courtesy of

According to my understanding of netiquette, capitalization stands for SHOUTING. There are other uses of capitalization, like in legal documents or for book titles, but I think they aren't very relevant.

OTOH, this very word is capitalized much more often than others. I can't recall other words were capitalized, even in similar contexts, like this:

  Our service is your BEST friend;
  Our dictionary is the LARGEST in the world;
  Subscribe to receive our INTERESTING news feed;

Being in I.T., I often receive requests to capitalize free across an entire Web site I'm responsible for. There's also a programmer's anecdote that there's a new grammar rule requiring the word FREE to be always capitalized.

Surprisingly, dictionaries don't cover this aspect.

In the context of Internet usage,
Are the meanings of free and FREE the same? If so, is it grammatical to capitalize FREE?


texts:
I often use this:

  I like him/her

But sometimes, I hear people say:

  I liked him/her

But the person referred to is not dead/deceased, so why use the past tense?


texts:
I'm a computer programmer trying to be perfect in my function and data type names. I have a function called "LookupAccountName" and want to create a name for the data structure with results of that function. So I came up with something like "LookupedAccount"

This sounds ugly to me. Google also doesn't find too much occurrences of this word, which is a sign that native language speakers don't use it.

What options do I have for naming something that was created as a result of a lookup? Is it "lookuped" or "looked up" or is there something else I'm missing?


texts: What is wrong with the sentence ''Only you and him can do this work fast."?

texts:
I came across it through a study note provided in a reference book but couldn't find what makes this sentence wrong as the answers were not provided in the book.
I am more interested to know about the concept behind the sentence correction.


texts: "I might seem strong, but in actuality I am anything but." -- Complete or incomplete?

texts:
Is the sentence complete or should it be completed, for example, as follows;

  I might seem strong, but in actuality I am anything but strong.

If the original is complete, please provide any reference that I can confirm from.

P.S. The added strong seems redundant though, I could use that instead. Right?


texts:
I was wondering which choice below sounds idiomatic here.

He's in a different class from .......... at the school.

a. the rest
b. the others
I am quite sure we can say:

There are twenty students in our class. are from America, some from Japan, and the rest/others are from China.

Nevertheless, I ran into a similar thread in another forum which perhaps a native had said:

The rest of us includes you yourself with other people.
You can stay here while the rest of us leave.
The others are only other people and does not include you yourself.
Let's go the park. The others can stay at home.

Unfortunately, it has added to my a
I think they mean the same thing and both work here properly.


texts: What is the English word or phrase used to describe an action

texts: What is the English word or phrase used to describe  who unfairly (tries to) claim, grab or receive rewards/benefits of work or efforts of others?.


texts: Is "alarmed by the clock" a parenthesis or participle clause in this sentence?

texts:
Tony nervously watched the woman, alarmed by the clock.

In this sentence, is alarmed by the clock a parenthesis or a participle clause modifying object Tony?


texts: Can "each" be substituted by "either" in a construction like "There were two girls, either with a flower"?

texts:
Can "each" be substituted by "either" in a construction like

  There were two girls, either with a flower?

And if so, is it clear that totally there are two flowers?

Is it crucial that the sentence is affirmative? Will

"There were two girls, neither had a flower"

sound better?


texts: How to describe experience that is not gained through an employment?

texts: I have developed Android Apps for over 5 years now, though the first professional experience I gained is for the past few months only. Is there any word to describe the experience gained through personal projects?


texts: How can i use word "outclued" in English language?

texts:
In an attempt to name a company I have chosen "outclued"  as the best name to go , inspired by the words "outsmart"/"outwit" (which has positive approach).

But the selected name "outclued" doesn't have any dictionary meaning.With my limited English knowledge i doubt whether the word has any meaning like clueless in English .

  Do outclued can in any form inferred as clueless ?

It would be helpful if any examples are quoted on the same

Any help , thanks

Note :

Question was asked to move to ell from english.stackexchange by users and question is deleted from english.stackexchange (was unaware of ell until a user pointed out)


texts: Can "restrain" be used in a technical document?

texts:
I am trying to describe that a certain washer prevents or reduces the possibility of a bolt coming off.  In other words, I am trying to describe that the bolt usually stops a bolt from coming off, but may sometimes fail to do so.  That is, I don't want to vow that that washer always stops a bolt from coming off. If possible, I don't want to use the conjunction "or".  Could you advise me on my examples below:

  This washer restrains a bolt from coming off.
  This washer makes it unlikely that a bolt comes off.


texts: "I to have been" instead of "I would have been"?

texts:
In Breaking Bad Extras an actor talks about a scene in which he would wish to be part of:

  ..for some reason that episode is just lodged in my mind and I to have been a fly on the wall or a roach in the corner ... I feel I would have been pretty fascinating.

this moment on YouTube

Could someone explain this usage?
Is it equal to "I would have been a fly"?
What kind of a stylistic flair does it add?


texts: What does it mean by 'community ownership' in this context?

texts:
Over the years, CBR became a popular strategy in low and mid income countries and programmes were mainly focused on physiotherapy, assistive devices, and medical or surgical interventions. Over the years, many different models of CBR emerged due to different context and socio economic realities. Like disability sector, CBR also started evolving and along with the growth in number of CBR programmes, there were changes in the way CBR was conceptualized. Besides the World Health Organization (WHO), other UN agencies, especially the ILO, UNESCO, UNICEF got involved and CBR started to become a multisectoral strategy – beyond only health intervention.

  In 2003, during an international consultation while reviewing 25 years of CBR practice at Helsinki, there was an unanimous voice that as CBR is more relevant to the low and mid income countries, CBR programmes need to focus on:

  •  reducing poverty, given that poverty is a key determinant and outcome of disability;

  •  ensuring greater community involvement and ownership;

  •  developing and strengthening of multisectoral collaboration and

  •  involving disabled people’s organizations in CBR.

Sorry I don't know the exact source of this text, but it's an extract of a paper about community development and the disabled, especially about CBR(Community based Rehabilitation).

I understand what 'community involvement' is, but what does it mean by 'community ownership' here?
Usually ownership is used when there's a specific individual, I mean, as in someone's ownership. But I don't get it if it's community's ownership.. I have no idea what it means here. Can anyone help me with this?


texts: be expressed "a different way" or "in a different way"

texts:
Following is excerpted from the book "The Language of Food" by Dan Jurafsky(page 7).

  Status used to be expressed a different way.

I am getting confused with this sentence.

As far as know, an object(a different way) can not follow a passive form expression(to be expressed). Meaningwise, "a different way" supposed to be "in a different way," a prepositional phrase.

So, "in" is omitted in this sentence? If so, is it because of the reason the previous post explained?(Link: Can the preposition “in” be omitted , in sentence, “you expect to rule the city the way you rule other city.”)


texts: The meaning of "a knife and a main chance"?

texts:
What would be the meaning of the following sentence:

  He's a man with a knife and a main chance.

Could it be something like "He had both means and a motive?"

I encountered it watching crime series on TV (and no, I did not misheard it, as I checked subtitles). The house of a man who recently bought it burns down in an apparent arson. Two police officers have following dialog:

  A: Chris thinks arson.

  B: An insurance job?

  A: Had you heard Dennis Costello recently bought the place?

  B: No. I hadn't heard that. But then again, he's not short of a few bob. He's a man with a knife and a main chance.

  A: Still trying to figure out what the main chance is here.


texts: Why is it "you look beautiful" and not "you look beautifully"?

texts:
You look beautiful

"Beautiful" is an adjective here. We often use "adverbs" to modify "verbs". Here the verb is "look" and instead of an adverb, we have an adjective "beautiful". Shouldn't it be:

You look beautifully

?
Two other examples are:

I work hard (instead of hardly)
He looks handsome (not handsomely)

Do the adjectives work as adverbs here or it is another grammatical construction that I don't know?


texts: What do "nailer" and "hanger" mean in these lines?

texts:
A dialogue from the movie Body of Lies

  Ferris: When they find him, they are gonna torture him and they are gonna kill him.

  Ed: You gotta decide which side of the cross you're on. I need nailers, not hangers.

A descriptive context of this dialogue can be found in this review. Is "on which side of the cross" idiomatic? I also can't find any source on "nailers" and "hangers". Does "hangers" refer to "hangmen"? Is this a biblical reference?


texts: Is there a word which means “something that masquerades as truth but isn’t it”

texts: Would it be a hunch or a notion. Maybe a belief? It’s misconstured as proof but isn’t because it doesn’t possess the requirements to be proof


texts: "I saw him [while] 'cross'/'crossing' the road"

texts:
I saw him cross the road.
I saw him crossing the road.
I saw him while cross the road.
I saw him while crossing the road.

What is the difference in meaning between 1 and 2? Can we add while before cross and crossing like in 3 and 4? If so, what does while add to the meaning of 1 and 2? If nothing, can we infer that 1 and 2 are elliptical forms of 3 and 4?


texts: Similar phrases to a "situation close to life"?

texts:
In Czech, when we talk about a scene in a book/movie that reminds us of our own lives, we say it is very "from life" (ze života).

What are the ways to express such feeling in English?


texts:
Can you say "trader TO decorated wooden crockery"?

Or "of"? Or better "dealer of"


texts:
Which one of the following two sentences is more accurate in regard to the prepositions usage "to vs for".

I want to register to the meeting.
I want to register for the meeting.

If both are correct (Till today, Google found 84,700,000 results for "register to", and 118,000,000 results for "register for"), then what is the difference in meaning?


texts: What is the difference between "in such a manner as to" and "so as to"?

texts:
Are these two terms interchangeable? For example, can "in such a manner as to" in the following sentence I found on a US university's website be replaced with "so as to" ? :

  No person may park or operate a motor vehicle on the campus in such a
  manner as to cause damage to any university property.


texts:
One of my Japanese students said the following today when we were practicing for an MBA interview.

"I want to founding my own venture in the future"

I corrected it automatically to "I want to find my own venture...". Also, I felt that "launch" or "start" would be better than the verb "to find" since he was talking about his long-term goal.

When I said this to my student, they said that there is a verb "to found". But I think we can't say "I want to founding my business/venture/etc", no?

At least I've never heard this kind of sentence so I'm confused about what the student means ...

Can someone please enlighten me? Is the student wrong or am I just not getting something?


texts:
We all know that simple present tense is used to show habitual action.

  I play tennis. (current habitual action)

  She does not play tennis. (current habitual action)

  She always forgets her purse. (current habitual action)

My question is that:

Is the structure "should do something" JUST advice form of "simple present tense"?

  I should play tennis. (it is advice that "playing tennis" should be my current habitual action, ie, I should play tennis as a habit)

  She should not play tennis. (it is advice that "not playing tennis" should be her current habitual action, ie, she should never play tennis)

  She should not forget her purse. (it is advice that "not forgetting her purse" should be her current habitual action, ie she should never forget her purse)

All the above advice is general. However, we got specific advice as well.

Ex: Mary should inform me after Tom calls her tomorrow at 3 pm.

But we normally don't use simple present tense for specific action. We either use simple past or simple future for it.

So, we don't say: Mary informs me after Tom calls her tomorrow at 3 pm.

But we say: Mary will inform me after Tom calls her tomorrow at 3 pm.

So, the belief that the structure "should do something" is JUST advice form of "simple present tense" is simply wrong?


texts:
It is a question about "as adjective as adjective" construction.

I wrote a sentence:

  The book was as sad as happy.

My friend, looking at the sentence, said that it should be

  The book was as sad as it was happy.

I was like, OK, then what about this?

  The book was sad as much as happy.

He said it's OK.

I don't see the logic behind it. Is there a grammar rule about it?


texts: What alternatives could better be used instead of "since five years ago"?

texts:
*We have planned our summers here since five years ago³.

³ since five years ago — (1) An expression of duration is not used for a past event. If a past event is relevant to something happening in the present, then the present perfect is used. (2) It sounds very awkward to use "since" and "ago" in this prepositional phrase.  Simpler is better (e.g., for five years  or since 2015).

source

I think for five years, while being grammatically sound, would not be a good alternative, because the user meant to mention the start time of the event and not the duration. Assuming that intent of the person, what better alternative would you suggest him to use instead, if any?


texts:
There's a phrase in Thai, ตกใจหมดเลย [tòk-tɕɑi-mòt-lɤːi], which means "to be frightened", as if someone suddenly broke a glass on a floor behind your back.

Literally, it can be translated "dropped-heart-depleted-completely" (don't try Google Translate; it's wrong).

Surprisingly enough, I understood it intuitively because there's a Russian idiom "душа ушла в пятки" ("soul went to {one's} heels").
Both Thai and Russian idioms hold a certain amount of humorous context.

I was trying to translate it to English, but only found "frightened to death" which does not look humorous at all. Is there a better phrase to denote being frightened, with considerations above?


texts: Difference between "what we call" and "what we called"

texts:
That's what we called the star jump.
That's what we call the star jump.

How could I understand these two sentences and tell the difference between them? To my understanding, the second one is general speaking, so it can be rewritten as 'That's what we call the star jump in general.', but what does the first one mean?
Is it:

(passive structure) That's what is called the star jump.
(general speaking in past tense) That's what we used to call the star jump.


texts: Words order in the question about time duration

texts:
There is a mathematical model that can give a forecast for some duration (hours, days, years). But the forecast will not be equally accurate for different periods of time. How should I ask for what period of time the forecast is most accurate?

What is duration, the model can give most accurate forecast.
For what duration....
What is duration for....

Which of the above is correct? Where can I read about this rule?


texts:
...he could have dwelt for a long time yet in that soft, well-upholstered hell, if this had not happened, this moment of complete hopelessness and despair and the tense moment when he had bent over the flowing water, ready to commit suicide.
  — source

I am wondering what the adverb yet could meant, or would you learn me the construction of such a usage of yet in grammar?


texts: Where should I put comma in the following row of adjectives?

texts:
This is the original text:

  purple metallic, glass bong

Grammarly says that you should put a comma where you could also add "and." According to this, the text above should be:

  purple, metallic glass bong (purple and metallic glass bong)

Am I right or wrong?


texts: What does "to be counted outside the 'three plus one' cap" mean?

texts:
Japan has made these moves far easier for players from the ASEAN region by a ‘visa exemption’ that allows nationals from most of the zone to be counted outside the ‘three plus one’ cap that otherwise applies, and that’s seen several others enjoy brief, if unsuccessful, stints across the top three flights of the country. (Source)

I don't really get the meaning of the sentence above, especially the part "to be counted outside the ‘three plus one’ cap that otherwise applies, and that’s seen several others enjoy brief, if unsuccessful, stints across the top three flights of the country"

I'd really appreciate it if you help me understand it. And it would be helpful if you paraphrase it in the simplest way.


texts:
Sit yourself down

Sit down

Eventually, I am wondering if you as a native speaker feel any difference between those or not.

Many thanks


texts: 'as much hot as' or 'much as hot as' or 'as much as hot'?

texts:
I am wondering about the use of as...as when I put adverb and adjective together. My aim is to write that in the past , weather was so hot and so it is now with similar extent of the past.

  It's as much hot as before.

  It's hot as much as before.

  It's much as hot as before.

which is right in grammar?


texts:
Today I saw this phrase "until later" and am almost confused now.

A person says "I'm supposed to start on a new department, but not until later today"

In this context, "not until later date" indicates "after date" I think.

Then I'm wondering. How do you make a choice among later, until later and not until later?

ex:I want to buy this but (later/until later/not until later)

I can't tell which sound natural and which sound weird.


texts:
What's the difference between “to fiddle” and “to tinker” in general and colloquial use?

I found a comparison, but it's computer generated, I'm sure that live person could add a lot to it.

In particular, let's consider the following case. How do you name a video, in which you try one of existing game engines by making a “doodle” game in it. “Fiddling with XXX Engine” or “Tinkering with XXX Engine”? Or is there a better choice?