texts:
Which one of the following sentence is correct ?

How long does it take you to get to your college in the morning ?
How long does it take you to get to your college in the mornings ?

As getting to the college is a recurring and everday event, should i use 'morning' or 'mornings'.

And would your answer be applicable to evening and night as well ?


texts: Is the phrase "to not" correct in English?

texts:
There is something that I often I meet in English.  It is the use of "to not", and I'm not sure about its correctness since I'm not a native English  speaker. For example:

  I brought it to you in order to not give it to her.

  He came from this way in order to not see you.

Is it correct to speak like that in English?


texts:
I know that appealing means attractive. But are there any other differences between these?  I mean, for example, is this sentence right?

  She is appealing.

What's the difference between the above sentence with this one ?

  She is attractive.

Where is it better to use "appealing" and where is it better and more normal to use "attractive"?


texts:
Reading this article, there is a headline saying,

“I really want there to be a good two-party system," said Copan, a former senior officer with the American Gas Association. His vote for Biden for president was his first for a Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976 but probably won't be his last. “I think there’s a lot of people like me out there."

The ranks of Republican crossovers may be smaller than he would expect. Only 8% of Republicans voted Democratic in November’s presidential race, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of the electorate nationwide.

Would the bold part mean the number of Republicans who secretly betray their own party and are supporting Biden?
Thank you in advance(m_m).


texts: To transmit an information without waiting of receiving it

texts: On network technology a system can start sending data without having received the totality of the message. What is the word to say it in English? In French there is an expression transmettre à la volée but I don't think it should be literally translated...


texts: What is the name of this part of banana under the peel (picture attached)

texts: After peeling a banana almost always there are long and removable fibers(?) on the banana (marked by red arrows). What are they called?


texts: Is there any rule for the article in the sentence like this?

texts:
There are examples for the article.

In the beginning, There is a light.
At night, I used to sleep late.

Why is the article used sentence 1(in the beginning)?
Why isn't the article used sentence 2 (at night)?
Is there any rule for the article I don't know?
Please, tell me.


texts:
The sentence:

  Cue incredible amounts of kobold ree.

I understand word by word, but I can't understand a whole thing. It's easy for incredeble amouts of kobold, but "Cue" and "ree" make this hard to understand for me.

For some context, the kobold found his former dear pets been transmuted into something ugly.

And whole story.


texts: continue doing something IN the usual schedule

texts:
I came up with the following sentence:

  It sometimes happens that I forget about weekends and holiday and
   continue working in the usual schedule but on my own projects.

Does it sound natural? I'm not sure about the preposition in.


texts: "He alleges another £1m had gone on material purchases based on projections of Arcadia orders he was told were coming down the line."

texts:
He alleges another £1m had gone on material purchases based on projections of Arcadia orders he was told were coming down the line.

This sentence look like a simple sentence. But here uses, more than one finite verb without adding any linkers. How is this sentence made?


texts: Is correct and natural to say "bring forward by two days" meaning to make something happen two days earlier than was planned?

texts:
Is correct and natural to say bring forward by two days meaning to make something happen two days earlier than was planned? Is natural to use the peposition by there. For example:

Let's bring the meeting forward by two days. I don't want to hold it on December 18. December 20 would work better.


texts: Which one of the sentences is grammatically correct?

texts:
Which one of the following sentences is correct, and why?
“I would rather you take care of the children.”
“I would rather have you take care of the children.”


texts: can you say " he will be joining the company in the position of"?

texts: Can you say "he will be joining the company in the position of.."? If not, what is better?


texts: What is the meaning of poem 'The Road Not Taken'

texts:
What is meaning off below lines. I am not able to understand it. Can anyone please explain me.

  Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

  I took the one less traveled by,

  And that has made all the difference.


texts: "Said by he who..." vs "said by him who..."

texts:
What the non-cooperatives were told was 'Ok it's been nice knowing you...' said by he who was/is in charge. (sentence copied from this link)

I was just wondering why it's "by he who", not "by him who"?

Generally if we remove the clause the sentence will be - * "...." said by him*

And the clause is modifying the pronoun, adding some extra information to him.

What is the grammatical explanation?


texts:
Below are four different situations describing people's obsessions

A friend who loves everything and anything to do with cats. She has five cats at home, and there's more cat food in the house than "human" food.
Another girl friend has a weakness for white-haired men, she finds them irresistible, they don't have to be old-looking, but they must have a mop of white hair or as the Italians say, "salt and pepper hair", but with more salt than pepper.
A male friend only dates women who are petite, and extremely slim; not anorexic but women whose dress sizes are 38 in Italy. I think in the UK that would be equivalent to a size 8.
Another male friend who is mad about skiing, will happily drive for two or three hours until he reaches those snow-capped mountains, and ski uninterrupted from 10.00 in the morning until 04.00pm (when dusk falls).

Now, I could say that they are all obsessed, but that term, more often than not, carries a negative connotation and I don't want to express disapproval.

I could say love but that word is overused, and I want something a little more original.

Is there a positive word and/or unusual expression that fits all four scenarios?

It can be slang, American, British, or Australian English,  I don't mind. The more original and good-humoured, the better.


texts: Changing two verbs from active to passive in one sentence

texts:
Could you please change this sentence into passive voice?

  The pitcher plant traps and digests small animals.

Being confused because of two verbs in active voice


texts:
But apparently she was just one of the many.

  But apparently she was just one of many.

Are there any differences between these two expressions?


texts: Is the sentence 'She threw a stone toward me' grammatically correct?

texts:
I know that the sentence 'She threw a stone to me' is grammatically correct, but would the sentence 'She threw a stone toward me' be correct?

Thank you for your help!


texts: Is there a word for "armed with nuclear weapon"

texts:
I was thinking that the adjective "nuclear" meant "armed with nuclear weapon", but while it's true, we can't distinguish it from "powered with nuclear fuel", which is what a nuclear submarine is, so is there an adjective specifically for this?

Let's take the following example to make the problem more apparent:

  The nuclear submarine was armed with nukes, so it was also a ___
  submarine.


texts: In these examples one has bare infinitive and the other has to-infinitive what is the difference?

texts:
In an examination it is more important to answer accurately than to finish quickly.

  I am socially and politically conscious and wish to do more than serve myself


texts:
She finds things she should study for herself.

While I was writing the above sentence, I thought the meaning of the sentence was ambiguous.

I want to write "She finds for herself what she should study" not "study for herself"

I mean 'she finds them for herself..'
However, I think the first sentence could mean 'She finds them, which she should study for herself', and this is not what I mean.

How should I write the sentence correctly?


texts: Can "any number of things" mean "many things"?

texts:
In House of Cards, Donald has finalized a congress bill and is showing it to Frank Underwood, who thinks the bill is so bad and needs to be modified:

  Frank: Tax increases, ban on vouchers, federal oversight, How do you expect me to get that through a committee?

  Donald: When Linda told me to write it, she promised ..

  Frank: I'm sure she said any number of things. Forget what they promised you, Donald. They want your name because it carries weight.

Can any number possibly mean many?


texts: "Thank you for the invitation / suggestion" is a correct in this context?

texts: My friend asked me today: "What fruit would you like to eat?" and I pondered which phrase will be correct in such situation. "I don't think I want a fruit now, but thank you for the suggestion / invitation". Is these words (suggestion / invitation) are correct in this context?


texts: How can I express the actions that a whistle blower does? I suspect it's whistle blow at first. But after some investigating, it seems wrong. I want to use it in a sentence like Several people {whistle blowed?} the dirty secrets behind him.


texts: Does `Do I Know him` in the US sound like `Do I Know herm`?

texts:
Does Do I Know him in the US sound like Do I Know herm?

Google translation speak like Do I Know him,and the link of
Google Translate

It's the last word so it's not connected speech.it confuse me when speaking him   and herm?


texts: meaning, differences, and usage of "yank up", "pull up" and "hoick"

texts:
I need to translate a German sentence to English: "Instinktiv riss er den Eimer hoch, um seinen Kopf zu schützen." ("He instinctively ??? the bucket to protect his head.").

"hochreissen" (also: "hochreißen" with "sz", 3rd Pers. Sg. Impf: "er riss/riß hoch") means to perform a sudden movement upwards. In the context of the newspaper article, from which my example is taken, the guy was working in his garden when somebody threw stones at him. Before he consciously realised what was happening, he had already lifted the bucket he was holding up in front of his head.

The movement is best characterised as:

upwards (not necessarily all the way from the ground but definitely from below its eventual position)
unconscious (you didn't intend to do it, it was instinct)
sudden and abrupt (it interrupts idleness or another activity)
fast and unaimed (performed "before you realise what you're doing")
the upward movement covers a considerable distance (e.g. rather 50cm than 5cm)
very often but not necessarily: a protective movement (e.g.: something is hurled at you and you want to protect your eyes)

The most recent dictionary I checked (online) suggested "yank up". Further research, however, revealed that it is rather a slang term with very little connection to the kind of movement I mean to express.

An older printed dictionary suggested simply "pull up". From my feeling I'd say that this lacks the momentum of "unintentional" and "instinctively" but I may very well be wrong.

The same dictionary also listed "hoick" (spelling variant "hoik") which is completely unknown to me and scanning the net I found no references which would fit my example.

What word would a native speaker use to describe such a movement?


texts: Choice between Seem to be vs seem to have

texts:
I sent an email to my colleague to complete some tasks .I get the reply from him that the task is completed already. How do I convey him the message that the task is still not complete with a bit of skepticism since I am also not fully sure about the status of task. Which sentence is more suitable for these kind of situations?.

Task does not seem to be completed.
Task does not seem to have completed.
Task seems to be not completed.
Task seems to have not completed.

Please also explain, Which sentence is more appropriate in what context?


texts:
When talking about someone from India, rather than a Native American, is it normal to use "Indian" as a noun?

For example, "The shop-keeper was an Indian."

The person using this word is probably learning American English.


texts:
1.There is no goods at supermarket that is not cheap.

  2.There is no goods at supermarket that are not cheap.

  3.There are no goods at supermarket that are not cheap.

Which sentence is grammatical?

My choice is #No.2 as I think the word "goods" need plural verb.


texts: What's the difference between these variations?

texts:
He objected to me marrying his daughter.
He objected to my marrying his daughter.
He objected to my marrying of his daughter.


texts: Can explain why there is had in the sentence

texts:
I had always dreamed of going and I know how fortunate I am to have had the opportunity to do so.
Can u pls explain why there is''had'' in the sentence?


texts: vocabulary: proper title for the head of a department

texts:
Is it correct to refer to the head of the personnel department in a company as its president?

If not, what should the position be called?


texts: Adding too much information makes your main point less standing out, what is a good phrase for that?

texts:
I'm a Ph.D student, my adviser always asks me to add more things to my paper. So yesterday, when I argued with him, I was saying "You know, I just think adding too much information can actually make our main point fading out". My adviser said, "what do you mean it is fading out? Do you mean it is too divergent?"

In fact, all I want to say is "Adding too much information makes your main point less standing out", what is the good phrase for that?

Also, is it a correct grammar --- "make it less standing out"?

Thank you!


texts: Is "How much more miserable should he be?" grammatical?

texts:
I know it is safe to say

  "How miserable should he be?"

but I wonder I can add much/more/e.t.c in the sentece to
emphasize the level of misery.

Such as

  how much miserable should he be?

or

  how much more miserable should he be?

Thank you!


texts:
I've seen some people use "the" with "quadrotor" whereas other group of people drop the usage of "the". My question is that when should we use "the" with quadrotor? For example, should we add "the" in the following sentence?

  Quadrotor is getting more popular in both military and civilian missions.


texts: "What would she have said?" Tense question

texts:
I've been reading Pride and Prejudice and stumbled on this line:

  What would  she have said? How would she have behaved?" were questions with  which she amused herself.

I can't wrap my head around the structure of these questions. What do they mean? Is there any reason why it's "she have" instead of "she has"? Are they in present perfect tense? They look like conditionals (would have), but I'm not sure.

Also, is the sentence "If he had chosen differently, how would he have turned out?" make sense if I want to ask a speculative question about a choice made in the past?

Thanks.


texts:
Is the use of "for long" to mean "for a long time " restricted to only negative sentences and questions ?
Example
He couldn't tolerate it for long.
Did he tolerate it for long ?
Can I say he tolerated it for long?


texts: "What do ...have not to worry about?" vs. "...have to not worry about?"

texts:
Is it correct to ask:

  What do people living in intelligent homes have not to worry about?

or:

  What do people living in intelligent homes not have to worry about?


texts: 'from A to B to C' or 'from A to B and from B to C'? How do I describe such a trend?

texts:
If I want to describe a trend, for example, a gas has a density of 1, its liquid form has a density of 2, and its solid form's density is 3, which expression will be better

  the density increases from the gas form to the liquid form to the solid form

or

  the density increases from the gas form to the liquid form and from the liquid form to the solid form

By the way, are there any better ways to describe this trend? For example, is

  the density is the lowest of the gas form and the highest of the solid form

correct?
Does it look better or worse than the two above? How do native English speakers describe such a trend?


texts:
What do you call the little rings that hold the cord in a fishing rod?

I did some research and the rings don't seem to have a name, but I doubt we call them rings. Is there any word that may refer to them?


texts: I took the wrong article and changed the meaning. Is it wrong?

texts:
If I say ‘’Those are the pencils which I use to write in English’’ you know that I only use these pencils so the definite article excludes the existence of other things in this category.

If I say ‘’Those are pencils which I use to write in English’’ you know that I use many different pencils to write in English, not only those.

If we follow this logic, then if I say ‘’My neighbor has the ability to repair cars’’ then it means that he has just one ability because the use of THE restricts and limits the possible variants to just one.

But it’s literally impossible to find someone who has only one ability. We all can breathe and most of us can write or whatever.
Please, guys, explain what's wrong with my brain. I try to figure this stuff out like half a year but I just don’t get it. I can’t find the right patterns. Every book says that the use of the is appropriate when there is only one entity satisfying the description. Then gives easy examples like ''Could you do something about the hum?''


texts:
Does "buy" sound a bit unnatural in the following sentences:

  I'll buy all the cupcakes on the top shelf.

  I'll buy that chocolate one.

And

  I'll buy that red one. (Backpack)

Is it unnatural to use "buy" with a specific group of things? (I mean is it more common to use "I'd like", "I'll get", "I want"?)


texts: Does the phrase of "I love when" is considered normal in English?

texts:
When I want to show my love to something that is done by someone, can I say

  "I love when you wear belt / when you sing / when you talk
  quietly."

Does I have to add some word (maybe pronoun like "you" in this case) after "I love" and before "when"?


texts:
Context:

  "He's always been very polite and very quiet, though I didn't know him well. He always wore a tie, would walk to work. Nothing about him was particularly outstanding," she said on the apartment landing. She declined to give her last name.

What is "apartment landing"?


texts:
I faced that in the following:

  We were working together, we were exploring the concept of a dream
  within a dream. I kept pushing things. I wanted to go deeper and
  deeper, I wanted to go… further. I just didn’t understand the concept
  that hours could turn into years down there. That we could get trapped
  so deep that when we wound up on the shore of our own subconscious we
  lost sight of what was real. We created, we built the world for
  ourselves. We did that for years. We built our own world.

What could it mean?


texts: why is it wrong to say the children go to school on foot

texts:
I am visiting a small village in China.
There is a kindergarten near the small village.
Every morning, the children in the village walk to the kindergarten.
I don't get it why my professor says it is definitely wrong to say this,

  the children go to school on foot.


texts: The meaning of "choice Anglo-Saxon" & "to-do"

texts:
The following is a quote from the 2018 television show "The ABC Murders".

A sergeant was describing an altercation involving a set of dentures:

  Yes, sir, the miscreant being one Herbert "Humpy" Morris, who requested that a passing lady give him a smile to which she responded with some choice Anglo-Saxon, whereupon Morris threw his dentures at her. The lady stamped on them and it all to-do.

I have two questions:

I know Anglo-Saxon means ture-born british ppl, but the meaning of choice Anglo-Saxon?
What's the meaning of all to-do?


texts: Can "at least by" be used to mean "latest by"?

texts:
Can you use "at least by" to mean "latest by"?

  Could you return the book at least by February 1?
  Could you return the book latest by February 1?

Do these two mean the same thing? Does either one have correct syntax?


texts: Questions about writing formal letters and writing specific dates

texts:
i don't know if these kinds of questions are appropriate to ask in this particular forum but i will take my chances.

I was writing a formal letter for an IELTS task, and I was wondering whether this usage of dates is correct.

"I stayed from Friday the 16th to Sunday 18th in room 215 of the Lilo hotel".

Is it OK to write dates this way?

I was trying to switch the order and see which one sounded more natural and this was the result, but since I am not a native I am not 100% sure.

Thanks in advance,


texts: Is it correct to say "are you logged in" or "have you logged in"?

texts:
Which is the correct way of asking the question
"Are you logged in"?
Or
"Have you logged in"?


texts: Does this mixture make any sense - "one part irony to one part convention"?

texts:
Could you explaine 'one part irony to one part convention' more fully since I don't understand even an official russian book translation ('ирония пополам с условностями') of this.

My question is not about a mixture. It is about notions espesialy 'convention' what does it mean here exactly. How these notions can exist together or to be mixed. Does it make any sense? Is there another definition of this mixture, a term of personality trait or feature of soul?

  He declined to fritter his negative but comfortable English soul— one part irony to one part convention —on incense and papal infallibility.

THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN
by John Fowles


texts:
Let's say my friend and I are going through a stack of books,
He says

  This book looks interesting, I am going to buy it.

I want to ask if the book below that one looks good as well, Can I say

  What about the book below?

Is below as an adverb correct here?


texts: "Already" with Present Perfect Continuos

texts:
Would it be correct to say about my exploring something for a certain period of time in this manner or I'd better say it without "already" (only with Perfect Tense, not Perfect Progressive):

  I've already been studying humankind for 30 years.


texts:
In Pulp Fiction (1994), Pumpkin says to Honey Bunny about difficulties in robbing liquor stores
which owned by foreigners:

Pumpkin: We keep on, one of these g**k fuckers gonna make us kill him.
Honey Bunny: I'm not gonna kill anybody.
Pumpkin: I don't want to either. But they'll probably put us in a
situation  where it's us or them.

What does "us or them" mean?
I know the meaning of "us and them" (or) "them and us".


texts: What's exactly meant here by "smiled deprecatingly"?

texts:
In "The Blue Scarab" in Dr. Thorndyke's Case-Book by R. Austin Freeman, Mr. Blowgrave, whose deed-box was stolen, was talking to Dr. Thorndyke:

He took from his pocket and handed to Thorndyke an ordinary envelope addressed in typewritten characters, and sealed with a large, elliptical seal, the face of which was covered with minute hieroglyphics.

"This," said Thorndyke, "I take to be an impression of the scarab; and an excellent impression it is."
"Yes," replied Mr. Blowgrave, "I have no doubt that it is the scarab. It is about the same size."

Thorndyke looked quickly at our client with an expression of surprise. "But," he asked, "don't you recognise the hieroglyphics on it?"

Mr. Blowgrave smiled deprecatingly. "The fact is," said he, "I don't know anything about hieroglyphics, but I should say, as far as I can judge, these look the same. What do you think, Nellie?"

Does it mean "in embarrassed way" or "in a way that made him look fool"?


texts: Question about meaning of "it's nice" in this passage. Could you use the phrase in very similar situations, so that I can understand its meaning

texts:
So today we want to talk about the subject of first time driving tips. What is important to learn when we first start our driving? And I feel that the most important thing is speed control. We want to have the ability to accelerate and to brake in a nice, calm, smooth manner. So the first time we get in the car, we want to be able to get a feel for the accelerator. We want to realize that you don’t have to press too hard on that accelerator to get that car to start to accelerate. It’s a nice, smooth touch on the accelerator, and the same thing with the brake. We want to have a nice, easy touch on the brake so that we can stop the car and accelerate the car in a nice, smooth manner.
The other thing is our hand position when we’re driving. It’s nice, soft hands are very important in learning to drive. We don’t want a death grip on that wheel. We want nice, soft hands, like pretty much anything that you do in sports, your hands have to be nice and soft. If your hands are soft and you’re not real tense, you’ll find that you have the ability to steer a car much, much better.

When the coach here is saying it's nice, what does he mean by saying that? Might it be something else written wrongly in the transcript.  like its nice rather than it's nice ?


texts: What is the difference between "How to say..." and "How do I say..."?

texts:
I've heard from an English teacher, who's also a native speaker of English, that it is wrong English when we ask:
How to say "Paani" in English?
("Paani" is a word of Indian language.)
According to him, we should rather ask:
How do I say "paani" in English?
That kind of confused me. So, I want clarification on whether it is wrong or right and what the difference between the both phrases is.


texts:
I am not sure which of the following sentences sounds more natural/correct.

  Confusions of my head are driving me crazy

Or

  Confusions in my head are driving me crazy

Any help is appreciated.

EDIT: I am trying this as a sentence in a song lyric. I want to say that my head is filled with confusions and I am not sure what to do.


texts: I read this phrase "featured event" in the websites of some universities. I know the word "feature", but I cannot figure out the meaning of the juxtaposition. Could you please give me some synonyms for "featured event"?


texts: "With his closed eyes" vs "With his eyes closed"

texts:
Context: (Sherlock Holmes and the Duke's Son / Oxford University Press)

  He was a large man, tall, well-dressed, and important-looking, He came
  into the room, walked to one of the big chairs, and suddenly fell into
  it. He sat there, with his eyes closed, looking white and ill.

Can we say "with his closed eyes"? instead of that sentence.
And what's the difference between them?


texts:
Q1: Are these two phrases acceptable, if so, is there any, subtle or explicit, difference in meaning or emphasis between them?

  1) The readers of a magazine

  2) Readers of a magazine

In Swan's Practical English Usage, it is said that the is usually used in 'half-general' ideas when followed by a defining, limiting (restrictive) phrase, especially one with of e.g. the music of the 1960s.

I wonder if a magazine is specific enough for us to consider it a defining phrase i.e. it tells us that it's not just any readers who read any kind of book but just the readers who read the same magazine (but it doesn't matter which particular magazine it is)

Similar cases include:

  Tickets to a concert

  The tickets to a concert

(Not just tickets to any concert but the tickets that are for the same concert. The speaker just doesn't care which concert.)

Please note that here I mean to talk about the use of "the" with half-general ideas, i.e. to check whether a magazine is specific enough to make "the" needed.

Q2: If I first introduced this group of readers, with either 1) or 2), can I use the readers to refer to them afterwards?


texts: What does "it is the looming turnaround" mean?

texts:
Does the sentence mean that "the market is now interested in an imminent complete change in monetary policy elsewhere"

“The market seems bored with the Fed and, instead, it is the looming turnaround in monetary policy elsewhere that’s driving currencies — and pushing the dollar down,” said Steven Barrow, London-based currency and fixed-income analyst at Standard Bank, in a note."

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-janet-yellen-still-calling-the-tune-in-financial-markets-2017-07-10


texts: Can you use present perfect "have been here" if you are still here?

texts:
If I go to a bar and say:

  "I have been here many times"

is it correct?

I know we use 'have been' for past experience when we are no longer at that place now.


texts: What is the difference between "how much is it","how much does that cost" and "what is the cost of that item?"?

texts:
If I want to ask the value of an item could I use the sentences below?

  1 how much is it

  2 how much does that cost

  3 what is the cost of that item?

If not, then what is the difference between 1,2 and 3?


texts: the meaning of the phrase "on the property"

texts:
just don't quite understand "on the property" in"His hobby also led a Hawaii golf course to relocate an Army couple’s wedding to another site on the property for security purposes."

is "on the property" a set phrase? and what's the meaning?


texts: "I would have ... but" vs "I wanted to ... but."

texts:
Which construction is more natural? Example sentence:

  I wanted to/would have stopped her, but something else did.


texts: What is the difference between 'I will do it' vs 'Let me do it'?

texts:
I feel the following sentences sound similar meaning but still, we use them differently at a different situation. What is the reason for this?

Let me show you around the city vs I will show you around the city.

Let me clean the dishes vs  I will clean the dishes.

I will check it vs let me check it.


texts: Does “think much of” mean “remember” in this context?

texts:
I have this paragraph in my English textbook:

Loyalty is the third quality. Two friends must be loyal to each
other and they must know each other so well that there can be no
suspicions between them. We do not think much of people who readily
believe rumours and gossip about their friends. Those who are easily
influenced by rumours can never be good friends.Source: English 11, via Speaking English

Looking up the meaning in Longman dictionary, I found 2 meanings of “thinking much of people” which are confusing to me:

1. to remember something
Ex: I can’t think of the name of the hotel we stayed in.
2. to behave in a way that shows that you want to treat other people well:
Ex: He’s always thinking of other people. Source: Definition of “think” from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

Which one is more relevant to the phrase I have written? Can I re-write that phrase like this?

We do not remember people who readily believe rumours and gossip about their friends.


texts:
Which of the following is a grammatically CORRECT sentence?
A) You had better told her everything, or else you will lose a friend.
B) You had better told her everything, or else you would lose a friend.
C) You had better tell her everything, or else you will lose a friend.
D) You better had tell her everything, or else you will lose a friend.
E) You better had tell her everything, or else you would lose a friend.
So, the answer here is (C). I don't understand why WILL is right and WOULD is wrong. Explain please.
Also, why is HAD BETTER TOLD wrong?
Edit - Wow, the more I'm reading into it. The more everything sounds right. What the hell?


texts: What is the difference between shall and may

texts:
Me and my brother were talking about a girl

So he said I shall be perfect for her.

Does shall mean the same as may?


texts: Can I use "though" instead of "nevertheless"?

texts:
This is part of my book review of Jak létají?:

  The only bad thing is that sometimes there were sentences I couldn’t
  understand after reading them four times, so maybe I’ll get back to
  the book in a few years and see if I’ve had got further in my
  understanding of the world.

  Though, whether you’ll complain about the unbearable amount of
  information stuffed up into a single sentence or wheter you’ll wonder
  at the beauty of the elegant expression, I can recommend you the book
  Jak létají just for the amazing depictions of the laws of the universe
  in dialog with technology.

In the text, I use "though" to say "either way, here's what we can definitely agree upon". I think I've already seen "though" used in a similar meaning but some people corrected me when I tried to use it myself.

Is it OK to use "though" in the given context?

If anything else is wrong with the question, please edit it.


texts:
There are two sentences in my homework that I can't explain why they are ungrammatical. How to correct them?

1) The students heard the teacher's rumors about each other.

I guess there is something wrong about the word 'each other.' For me, this sentence is ambiguous too. But I'm not sure what exactly make this sentence ungrammatical.

2) John was preferred to have brought some snacks.

I have no idea for this sentence. Though I think the passive form of the verb "prefer" is not usually seen, it is grammatical.

Thanks for all your help.


texts: Usage of the indefinite article with nouns and numbers: "Can I have these boots in [a] size 6?"

texts: I am aware that when a noun followed by a number, the indefinite article is not used. For example: "Mike lives in room 65." But I have noticed that when talking about the size of something "a" is used. For example: "Can I have these boots in a size 6?" Why is "a" used there?


texts:
What is the difference in meaning between the following two sentences?

(1) I am completely honest with you right now.
(2) I am being completely honest with you right now.


texts: What's the difference between 'on' and 'about"?

texts:
I know the idea that 'on' is more accurate than 'about' but I don't know where to use them yet or if I use them interchangeably.
These are examples I made up:

a film ___ the WW2.
what did you like ___ the game?
he always talk ___ money.
her lesson was ___ Spanish literature.


texts: What's the meaning of " He is about as can-do a professional as you will find"

texts:
I'm not sure about the meaning of this sentence:

  He is about as can-do a professional as you will find.

I know it's a comparative sentence. But does it mean something like "he is the most can-do person we can find on Earth"?


texts: What's the meaning of "Run away now, there's a good girl"?

texts:
It's a sample sentence in Google Dictionary:

  run along

  phrasal verb of run

  1.informal

  go away (used typically to address a child).

  "run along now, there's a good girl"

  synonyms:    go away, be off (with you), shoo; More

(https://www.google.com/search?q=run+along&oq=run+along&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59j0l4.2010j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)

Do it mean "If you go away now, you are (still) a good girl"?

Or "You'd better hit the road now, especially when/because there's a good girl (somewhere else) waiting for you"?


texts: Is "The method is to view ... and then exploit ..." correct?

texts:
I am unsure of if it is correct to write "The method is to view ... and then exploit ...".

The problem is it seems to me that I should write instead "The methods are to view ... and then to exploit ...", but this sentence sounds more weird to me than the first sentence.


texts:
The "S" in "ScU" is [es], while the "S" in "Sub" is [s]. Therefore, I'm not sure whether it is an alliteration.
ScU is Sichuan University.
I'm considering "ScU Sub" as a submarine's name.


texts: Different solutions of citing preference between activities

texts:
I am sure that all the following sentences mean the same and can be used interchangeably:

  a) - I prefer having a dog to a cat.

  b) - I'd prefer having a dog to a cat.

  c) - I prefer to have a dog rather than a cat.

  d) - I'd prefer to have a dog rather than a cat.

  e) - I’d rather have a dog than a cat.

If you agree with me, then I would really appreciate it if somebody could tell me why #1 and #4 among the examples bellow that have used exactly the same structure, have awkward implications:

  1 - I prefer being at home right now to here.   ===> (Why does this sentence sound too awkward to the Americans?)

  2 - I prefer to be at home right now rather than here.

  3 - I’d prefer to be at home right now rather than here.

  4 - I’d rather be at home right now than here.   ===> (Why does this sentence sound too awkward to an American?)

Added: Perhaps I should think twice about what @FumbleFingers had said in the link bellow:
A comparison between the structures "would rather" and "would prefer"
Comment #3 (specially about the structure " 'd rather "!)


texts: Knowing that " in favour/favor of" is standard usage in the sense 2 according to Longman Dictionaries Online, I noticed also people use "in favor for." Therefore, I was wondering if the latter usage is acceptable in any way?


texts:
The expression:

  1) It's Regionals and we want those stands packed!

  2) I want the stands packed with every man that remotely resembles my father

links to the expressions: #1 | #2

Question:

  What does the expression 'stands packed' mean?

There is no word about it


texts: Singular Verb or Plural Verb with "most"?

texts: I was reading about "most", "most of ", and all examples that I read they were in plural. For example: "Most companies offer...",  Most of my classmates study..." and I note that all those examples are in plural.     But I have an exercise that say : "Today, most oil paint (is/are) produced in factories. I don´t know which one I have to use, because I did not find an example with a singular noun, but I know that the verb and the subject has to be in the same number.


texts: The ultimate rule of taking the right article

texts:
A while ago I read a grammar book where I was said to use a definite article every time a noun is followed by a qualifying clause with OF or another preposition.

1.1 The first person to run the mile in under four minutes was Roger Bannister

It is said in the predicate who the person is so asking 'Which first person to run the mile in under four minutes?' would be incoherent.

1.2 The father of one of my students rang me last night

Again. We have a qualifying clause with OF. It wouldn't make any sense to ask 'Which father of one of your students' so we take THE.

1.3 That guy married the daughter of his bank manager

The same. Of course, It could be that the manager has two daughters or the other is already married or too young to marry or you don't know that there are two or it simply doesn't matter. The main thing is that the manager is the father of the woman the guy married. And it singled out by 'Of his bank manager', which is the reason why we take THE instead of A.

1.4 Cars are a major source of pollution in cities.

Why does it have an indefinite article? It's not just a source but the source of pollution. So it kind of shrinks the possible variants and we should take THE.

The same applies to the following case:

1.5 'I want to show you a photo of Jane and me.'

Why do we have an indefinite article here? It's a defined photo. Not just some random picture of strangers. A listener knows what the photo is about. But the sentence took an indefinite article instead and I wonder why. Of course, there could be lots of photos of Jane and Me in the album but as shown in 1.3 But it simply doesn't matter and our focus is that the noun 'photo' is defined by a qualifying clause.

I'm now trying to figure out some patterns and here's what I think:

2.1 I don’t like the sound of that school food…

Delete the last part of the sentence and it doesn’t make any sense. So we take THE.

2.2 Dudley gasped and fell off his chair with a crash that shook the whole kitchen.

It still makes sense even after omitting everything after 'crash' so we take an indefinite article.

Am I wrong and there is no such thing as patterns in this topic?
Could anyone write down some thoughts about it? Thanks


texts: What's the meaning of "in the instance case"?

texts:
I've come across this phrase in legal documents. I've searched Google but couldn't find a definition. Google even treats it as a misspelling and says:  Did you mean: "in the instant case"

Some sample sentences:

In the instance case, the defendant did not give a formal notice of its election to rebuild the house destroyed.
In the instance case, therefore, the High Court had followed the
correct procedure.

Can you please tell the meaning of it?


texts:
The following lines are written in this blog:

  The Ritz hotel in Paris, where Princess Diana spent her last meal and evening with Dodi Al Fayed before their fatal car crash in August 1997, was the scene of a dramatic blaze this morning.

I know that we can write 'spend an evening', but can we write 'spend a meal with someone'? If yes, then which type of construction is this?

To my mind, the correct sentence is:

  The Ritz hotel in Paris, where Princess Diana had her last meal and spent an evening with Dodi Al Fayed...


texts: Is the exclamation "like seriously" proper?

texts:
Often times I've heard some people expressing their surprise state with 'like serious'. Is it appropriate?

  Roy: My dad bought me a Ford Expedition for my lectures.
  Smith: Like seriously?


texts: Is "wish/if only + I/we + would " possible?

texts:
https://taylorenglish.wordpress.com/2014/03/29/wish-if-only-form-function-and-meaning-present-and-past-usage/ From this site,  I have read that the first person singular or plural pronoun
cannot follow wish/if only and directly preceed would +
infinitive. So it is not possible to say :

I wish I/we would go to the cinema this weekend.

Here, the correct form is:

I wish I/we could go to the cinema this weekend.

My question is : why is it not possible?  what's the problem with "would" ?


texts: Are "can" and "could" interchangeable in a sentence

texts:
He is so hungry that he could eat a horse.
  He is so hungry that he can eat a horse.

I want to know if I can interchange the idiom "could eat a horse" to "can eat a horse".


texts:
I wanted to known, what are the options I have to define the concurrent events in the past.
For this purpose let's consider a context, A person first came down by the stairs and then talked to me. And the whole incident took place some days ago.
Now from the bellow lines what are the right and define reason for those which are the wrong:

  a.1) He came down by the stairs and talked to me.
  a.2) He had come down by the stairs and talked to me.
  a.3) He has come down by the stairs and talked to me.

Another thing is the past perfect:

  b.1) The train had left before I reached the station.
  b.2) The train left before I reached the station.

If I am not wrong then (b.1) is right and (b.2) is wrong. But by that logic (a.1) also represents the sequential events in past but it is right where (b.2) is wrong.


texts:
"I saw him playing cards."

When this line is transformed,which of two following is correct and why?

"I saw his playing cards".

"I saw his playing of cards."


texts: Possession or adjective: "Google's products" vs. "Google products"

texts:
My major responsibility is tuning search results on for several of Google's products.

Is the above sentence correct or should I use Google instead of Google's?


texts: "Get used to cold weather" or "get used to the cold weather"?

texts:
Could you tell me if have to use the before cold weather. For example:

I'm sure you will get used to (the) cold weather in this country.


texts:
“Good of you to see me.” (The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith)

When I saw the sentence, I guessed that somewhere in dictionaries might be written that ‘of’ denotes ‘in respect that’; ‘in respect to’; ‘considering.’ Because I thought that the sentence would mean that ‘I think it’s good in respect that you've come to see me.’ This can be possible, I thought, considering this: “of: used to give your opinion of somebody's behaviour; It was kind of you to offer. (OALD, of #12)” But RHD might not nod approval. For it says ‘of’ denotes ‘doer’ (RHD, of #14), not ‘in respect of’ (RHD, of #15). Is there no room at all to read as I first mentioned?


texts: Is it correct 'Claire is the wife of John'

texts:
The sentence 'Claire is John's wife' could it be changed either in:

Claire is the wife of John
or
Claire is wife of John
?

If you answer  could you please also tell me why that is so, or quote some grammar reference? I would appreciate that very much as I think my students will ask me this difficult question and will want to know the details.


texts: "She approved my having been called" is this grammatically correct?

texts:
She approved my having been called

my or me?

is it the gerund or the participle?


texts: The difference between "everyone" & "everybody" in this context

texts:
I met everyone.
I met everybody.

Could you please, paraphrase each sentence, so that I could get the difference and right use of the words.


texts:
It's a quote from the drama Manifest, the father here was trying to hide something from his daughter, Olive to keep her safe, but Olive had already known the truth through her brother Cal.

  FATHER：Olive, how did you...

  DAUGHTER: Cal told me. A long time ago.

  FATHER：And here you are, living.

  DAUGHTER: He said it was like trying to keep a secret from himself. And he couldn't do it.

What's the meaning of this phrase: And here you are, living? I googled it and came up with a quote from a poem which confused me.


texts:
I believe that I can pronounce the words 'call' and 'balloon'

"a" in call sounds like "o". To me, there is no difference between "a" in balloon and "u" in lunch. How can we distinguish between them?


texts: Teenagers make up the majority of the population

texts:
According to a dictionary 'make up something' means to combine together to form something larger. Have I used 'make up' correctly in the following sentences?

In Yemen people who are 60 plus make up the smallest percentage of the population in both years.

Even though in Yemen kids and teenagers make up the majority of the population in 2000, at 50.1%, in 2050 the percentage will go down to 37%.


texts:
I can't clearly understand why

1) My wife will be angry unless I get home by 7 o’clock. - is not correct while

2) My wife will be angry if I am not home by 7 o’clock. - is correct.

Any guiding line?


texts: "If you would look it up, you'll find it is a noun." Is this a grammatical conditional construction?

texts:
My friend wrote something, and there's a line in that something that reads:

  If you would look it up, you'll find it is a noun.

She was talking about what some word means. Anyway, that's irrelevant here.

Is that line grammatically correct?

Shouldn't it be

  If you would look it up, you'd find that it's a noun.

or

  If you looked it up, you'd find that it's a noun.


texts: Why doesn't "With a blaze that dies down" work in this sentence?

texts:
______down, she bricks up the firebox as well, sealing the remaining heat inside.  (A question from an ACT English test)

"Once the blaze dies" is the correct one to fill in the blank, which I can understand grammatically, but I still think the other option, With a blaze that dies, could also be fine. What's the nuance that makes the difference between these two options?
Edit
I want to know why "with a blaze that dies down" is not idiomatic? I think it is correct in terms of both syntax and semantics.
Or simply I should learn it by merely memorizing such non-idiomatic error because that's how English speakers are used to say.


texts: Using preposition "on " with the words(forbid/forbidden)

texts:
In the following contexts, and regarding the words (forbid/forbidden) I get confused alot.Actually I looked the words up in the dictionary and I couldn't find any thing about using these words with the preposition "on". So are the the following sentences applicable using "on" or should I stick with "for".
1- I forbid smoking on/for you.
2- Smoking is forbidden on/for me.
3- It is forbidden on/for you to smoke here.
Note : I know there are different forms to make sentences using these words, but I'm just interested in the mentioned context above.


texts: For example, can you rewrite the sentence "I respect my boss." as "I respect to my boss."?


texts: Recently I saw a clip advertising a Canadian library by all sorts of fun actions they do instead of offering people books to read: from shoelace-tying workshops to seminars where people are taught "how to public speak". And in another context (a few years ago), I heard a native speaker (from California) saying something about someone starting to "problem solve" (not my mistake -- she said it several times and used it as a verb). Is this correct? Or is it bad English? Or an emerging trend? Or both? Not like Yoda speak sound it does? Hmmm ...?


texts:
Neither he nor his friends were/was present at the party?

Which would come here?


texts: "How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?"

texts:
Is the following sentence grammatically correct? (I found this sentence on a friend's wall on Facebook)

  How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?

or it should be

  How many psychologists are needed to change a light bulb?


texts:
My question is :The officer said to the peon ,"Let the boy come in".

Its indirect speech: Option 1-The officer ordered the peon to let the boy come in.
                                   or
                   Option 2-The officer ordered the peon to let the boy came in.

if option 1 then why the form of come does not change.


texts: why is the plural form of sheep is not sheeps?

texts:
The plural of goat is goats. Even uncountable nouns can have plural forms, e.g. waters (the meaning is slightly different). Some words have two plural forms, like cactuses or cacti. Again, some words have altogether a different form, like bevy.
Dynamism and flexibility are unique characteristics of the English language. But, 'sheeps' and 'deers' are not used. I fail to understand the logic behind that.
I would like to delve a little deeper into the etymology of these words. So, why is 'sheeps,' or 'deers' not approved as the plural forms? Why are they exceptional?


texts:
Once I read a textbook on Business English.

It says that if you make a long-distance call to a hotel the receptionist might say, "What was your name?"

It also says that was is used for showing the long distance between you and her.

But I have never seen such usage since then. Is it a correct usage?


texts: Does **to minimize** indicates a new aims that does not covered by previous work?

texts:
This sentence is relative to my previous question. It is very important to understand it. However, I feel that the new sentence may do not mean to introduce a new idea.

  Our modelling strategy is related to the work of Kim et al. (2013) and their idea of using mixtures of D-vines but tackles the problem of constructing a vine model from a different perspective. While their study is concerned with the use of mixtures of D-vines (yielding multivariate models of even higher flexibility), we construct C- and D-vines with mixture pair-copulas to minimize the possibility of misspecifying a vine model."

My question is: does use to minimize means that the new idea is aim to do something that may be not introduced in the last method?

In other words,

The authors mentioned that their work is related to the work of Kim. However, their model tackles the problem in a different way. And the aim of their idea is to reduce the mistake. My question is:

Does use ** we construct C- and D-vines with a mixture


texts: What is the expression you use to describe that the person not just talks and gives promises, but makes actions too?

texts:
In Russian we have a phrase, mostly used in memes, like “like a Leo Tolstoy you speak, but in fact you’re just a d**k” (meaning that you only talk beautifully but when it comes to actions you do nothing or don’t keep the promises.
I need to translate a phrase  “Like a Leo Tolstoy we speak, and in actions we’re Leo Tolstoy”, but used in English-speaking culture (or something stylistically close to it). Is there anything similar to it that sounds naturally?


texts: Should you use "the" when writing uncountable nationality adjectives?

texts:
Example sentence:

  (The) Japanese have been doing business with (the) Chinese for a very long time.

(Maybe using "the" is a bit offensive?)


texts:
Hey are the prepositions in the sentences below correct?

  The food on this plate looks amazing!

  Melt some butter in the pan and then put the eggs.

  Put the spaghetti in the bowl and then pour some tomato sauce over them.


texts: Past particle vs being past participle in passive sentence

texts:
What is the part of of speech of "done" in the sentence below. I think it was "are being done" but we've just contracted it. I want to know why and how I can make such sentences.

  "Robots will be doing many of the jobs currently done by humans."


texts: Grammatical explanation of a sentence that begins with "there"

texts:
There was a loss of 36 billon.

I don't know how to explain the grammatical concept of this sentence. Can you kindly explain me? Please tell me the sentence pattern of this also.


texts: "ate" vs "eat" - Which is correct in terms of grammar?

texts:
If you're asking someone a question like,

  Did you ate?

or

  Did you eat?

I always have a problem with this word usage. When I want to ask someone if they ate or they didn't.


texts:
Is this some kind of special usage of the verb "make"?

Make him do your homework.

also this one:

The teacher makes the things hardly understandable.

Is there any grammatical logic in these usages of the verb?


texts: I don't understand the "...been one to..." expression in this sentence

texts:
I went to see the definition of the word "grudge" and came across this example from Google:

  I've never been one to hold a grudge.

I rarely seen this "been one to" expression and would be much appreciated if someone could give me more examples of it in different contexts so I can comprehend how to use it.


texts:
I always get confused using the 'to' after a verb.
For example:
I want to go there vs I want ice-cream.
I need to do calculation vs I need calculating all this.
She loves dogs vs She loves to wear fancy dresses.
Is there any specific rule when we use 'to' after a verb or when not?


texts: Distinguishing future from present in mixed conditionals when there's no

texts:
I'm trying to get through mixed conditionals, and I have problems distinguishing Present from Future.

Here are examples:

Past/Present: If he had worked harder last year, he would be vice president now. (Past Perfect / would + infinitive)
Past/Future: If she hadn't had a panic attack yesterday, she would be going on vacation tomorrow. (Past Perfect / would + be + verb + ing + tomorrow)
Present/Future: If I were braver, I would tell her what I think. (Subjunctive / Future Simple)

Here is the task I got:

  If they had really tried, they would be the winners.

There are the answers I should pick from:

  They didn't try, and they're not going to win. (Future)
  They didn't try, and they're not the winners. (Present)

For me, they both look similar, but the correct answer is the latter and I can't explain it.

So let's go through examples above:

Past/Present: Would be indicates Present because there is a “now” adverb.
Past/Future: Would be + verb + ing indicates Future because there is a “tomorrow”.
Present/Future: Would indicates future, because... eh... you can't make Present/Present mixed conditionals?

Let's apply it to the task:

  If they had really tried, they would be the winners.

There's no adverb, it could mean that:

they could be winners when the competition ends if they had tried in the past (competition is not ended yet, but we're already sure they won't win);
they could be winners now if they had tried in the past (competition ended already).

I can't say exactly which one is correct since nothing specifies the time, but I feel that “would” should indicate Future if nothing specifies the time.

What should I do if I see “would” without an adverb that specifies the time? It could be both Present and Future, and I can't spot a difference except that if you have the first part in Present form, the second part can't be Present.


texts:
Aren't "any" and "either" both correct in no.89?

We looked at two hotels on the internet and ……… of them would be great for a holiday.
(a) all   (b) every   (c) either   (d) any

and in no.144 is it none or neither and why?

I searched and searched but ……of the shops sold that particular brand of clothing.
(a) neither (b) all  (c) none  (d) some


texts: "behind the red tape" Vs "behind red tape"?

texts:
What is the difference between the two:

  I'm stuck behind red tape.
  I'm stuck behind the red tape.

Why the definite article is wrong there? I am saying that because google shows it.

"stuck behind red tape" : 1700 results.
"stuck behind the red tape": 9 results

Context: Consider you want to obtain a licence, but it's a lengthy process. Then, you would say to your friend that the process is very slow and your are behind red tape.


texts:
What is the passive voice of "I like to sing my baby sister to sleep.

A. She likes to be sung to sleep.

B. She likes to be sung to be slept.

According to me it is A but i am not sure as English is not my native language and i also  know that sometimes it sounds weird if an active voice is made into a passive one. But this afternoon a friend of mine asked me about it and I couldn't answer. So that is why I want to know which one is correct.


texts: What should be the correct preposition in this sentence? In, To, or Of?

texts: "There are some disadvantages in/of/to using the Internet"


texts: What is the difference between scissors and shears?

texts: I never saw this word "shears", but I found it on the internet and I went to search the meaning of that. Well, if scissors and shears have the same meaning. Let me know how to use each one.


texts: What does it mean by "it is not like she'd Fedex a 6-carat diamond"?

texts:
What does "it is not like she'd Fedex a 6-carat diamond" mean in the following context?

  Two young ladies chat and one feels like she
  would be proposed by her boy friend. She knew that her boy friend had
  a lunch with his family secretly and his mom flew in from the remote
  area. That is why she feels like she would be proposed by his
  boyfriend. Then, her friend also tries to cheer her up, saying that
  why else would she(his mom) have flown in from the remote area?, and
  "It is not like she would FedEx a 6-carat diamond".


texts:
Suppose you are talking to one of the government officials. You ask them: "why the project X is not done yet?" He wants to explain and bring some excuses. He tends to tell you that there have been some issues that you are not aware of them; which one of the following sentences sounds more natural to you:

  unfortunately, there have been lots of limitations in this respect.
  unfortunately, there have been lots of restrictions in this respect.
  unfortunately, there have been lots of constraints in this respect.

Here you can see why dictionary definitions are not clear and most of the times helpful:
Limitation, Restriction, Constraint

Meanwhile, please let me know a bit more about these words. How they differ in meaning and how shall I know when one can use each one?

The only thing that I know, is that "limitation" talks about general inability whereas "restriction" tends to talk more about something forced by regulations or government or etc. But I have no idea about "constraint".


texts: Why can't the author put the comma here?

texts:
I read the sentence like:

  In the interest of society they had better not have been born.

In the sentence above, I think we should put a comma after the word 'society' to divide adverb phrase and the main phrase.
What do you think?


texts:
Wilbur should leave his little brother alone and pick on someone his own size.

I couldn't understand  structure of the phrase '' pick on someone your own size'' .I thought there should be a preposition like ''in''or ''with'' between ''someone'' and ''your own size'' like ;

    Wilbur should leave his little brother alone and pick on someone in your own size.


texts: Keep vs retain vs maintain for product features

texts:
I want to describe a new product which is an improved version of an existing one. The new product has all the features from the existing product, and adds a few new features.

I am looking for a nice way to phrase the above, specifically the verb which is used to say that the new products has all the features from the previous one:

Product X keeps all the features from product Y, and adds ...
Product X retains all the features from product Y, and adds ...
Product X maintains all the features from product Y, and adds ...
... other?


texts:
IS there any difference between copy and photocopy of original document?

I need to make 1 original copy and 3 photocopies but I don't know is there any difference between them. Could you explain me?


texts: is this sentence correct with the present perfect?

texts:
I'm taking a practice test of the present perfect, I'm confuse with this tense.

It started to snow last night and it still _____.

I just want to know it the answer I gave it, I was correct this was my answer

It started to snow last night and it still hasn't stopped.


texts:
He will come tomorrow.
  He is coming tomorrow.
  He comes tomorrow.
  He will be coming tomorrow.

Which one is correct ?


texts: The implication of double negation in "you’re not listening to a word I’m not saying"

texts:
So I'm facing the said sentence in the following quote:

  Dear cat, your ears are flipped inside out, so I know you’re not
  listening to a word I’m not saying.

So I'm wondering whether the double negation is implying litotes or intensification here. I believe it would be the latter, but I'm not so sure due to the complex usage of double negation in English.

The quote comes from the book "99 Cents For Some Nonsense", also appearing in the book "How to Argue With a Cat", both of which written by professional native writers. A (yet another native) translator is mentioned for the first book, but the source and target languages aren't so clear.


texts: a word/phrase to refer to the behavior of hurting innocent people

texts:
Sarah tends to yelled at people who won't hurt her. Her boss criticized her in the morning for her failure on a contract and she felt upset. When she came home, she yelled at her husband to get some kind of emotional balance/recover.
Is there a word/phrase to refer to this kind of behavior?


texts:
Should I say that the (a) main target of a project is children or that (b) the main targets are children?

Thank you in advance!


texts: A story about Webster and one word for people who carry on false information

texts:
My friend told me a story about Webster, which had been told to him by another friend of him.
The story goes on like:

  Noah Webster was a famous scholar and writer, and had many haters, as great men generally have.

  One day, he went to a dinner-party. He met one of his rivals there, who wanted to show off his knowledge. The conversation was like:

  Rival : Do you know that sugar is the only word in the English language which begins with su but has a sound of shu.
  Webster: Are you sure?

Well the answer was quite witty, but I smell a rat.

Do rivals really meet at dinners?
What kind of rival he was when he didn't know about sure?

My questions are:

Has anybody heard this story before?
If not, then what is the word for people who carry on wrong information. I don't want a word for people who generate false information (I guess that would be a liar), but instead, a word for people who unknowingly carry on the given false information (like my friend).


texts: Can a word "Cap" be used in other context than financial?

texts:
There is this word cap. As I understand it it's a synonym for an upper limit of sth.
But is it proper to use it in other context than financial? I checked a several online dictionaries, and they have similar definition:

cap  - to put an upper limit on the amount of money that can be spent or charged in connection with a particular activity

So can I say for example products cap is equal to 100 to describe an upper limit of products?
The question might sound weird, but the context is that I'm a software developer and there is discussion should a variable in the code be named products_limit or products_cap because it's simply shorter.


texts:
I have heard the phrase I'm stitching my way back in multiple times, I did some research but couldn't find any entries.
What does this phrase mean?


texts: Instruction while drinking milk - Don't spill the milk; what about solid food?

texts:
I instruct my daughter when she's drinking milk

  Take care; don't spill it.

How do we do the same for food i.e. solid food?

  Take care; don't _______ it.

To my mind comes the only option - drop. But I also feel that 'dropping' suits more when the bowl is broken. Say - She dropped the bowl and broke it.

The problem further grows when we have 'specific' food

For french fries...

  Take care; don't _____ the fries

For steak...

  Take care; don't _____ the steak

For popcorn...

  Take care; don't _____ popcorn

For burger...

  Take care; don't _____ burger (I mean some pieces or inner content of it...maybe, some onion or sauce or anything that is 'inside' it).

Do we have different words for different 'shapes' of food? Say little pieces (popcorn), steak (one large piece), fries (long pieces)...and so on?

I'd like to have more options, if any.

spill is also used for solid food. For instance, spill the beans. But I feel it's especially for liquid.

The beauty is in my mother tongue, we have a common term used for everything!


texts: Negated would vs could vs did - which to use?

texts:
I am watching a movie with my friend and we see a scene in which a person drops a catch. Now if I wan to ask about that person, would it be okay to ask in this way?

  Who is that guy who wouldn't/didn't/couldn't catch that ball?

And can we use wouldn't, couldn't and didn't interchangeably here?


texts: I will have been staying there for good after I passed the exam.(future perfect continuous)

texts:
Let's say you were asked what are your plans in the future. Then you answered, to live in the U.S.A for the rest of your life after you passed an exam. You say:

  1)I will have been staying in the USA for good, after I passed the exam.

Will have been staying-future perfect progressive(active voice)
For good-duration
After+past simple verb(start of the period)

  COMPARED TO:
  2)We will be staying in the hotel for a week tomorrow.(passive voice)

In a non-native english speaking country, I am accustomed to say and hear just the #2, and hadn't known there's an active form of it. After some readings, I am asking, by the way I summarized and structured it, DO I NOW UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE THING?


texts: Has the word "phenomena" become a singular noun: even on mainstream media it is often used as if it is

texts:
This text was written by coffee1054 in this question:

  The phenomena of superconductivity was discovered in 1911.

Is the sentence above acceptable, or should it be changed to "phenomenon"?  I rarely hear the singular form these days.


texts: third person singular verbs in questions

texts:
I have a general question about third person singular verbs in indirect questions (questions in the sentence without '?'). Should I use 's' or 'es' or not. For example

We explain how he finds the book and then we try the scenario.
I will tell you when he arrives and then we will go to the station.
He will tell us where he goes and then we can follow him


texts: Choice of the word indicating a job title

texts:
I am translating text in a blank form which will be sent by my organization to another organization. In this blank form I have to write a general word indicating a job position of an employee, i.e. a person who will fill out this form on behalf of his or her organization. I wrote the words 'Full Name' of a receiver or an employee. And I also need a word signifying a job title of a receiver.

Which word is the most suitable for such a form? I am hesitating between 'job title', 'job position',  'position' and 'post'. Which word is the clearest and does not give rise to questions?


texts:
They are not legs! Nor are they stands! They are available separately (at least in India). What are they?

Objects in question are circled. What should I call them if I want to order or ask at the shop for?

  Do you have _______ of a chair?


texts: There is a resort review site called "Eliza was here". Could it just as well be called "Eliza has been here" without change in meaning?


texts:
"They committed acts of genocide against them."

"They commited the acts of genocide against them."

I think the second one is correct. We know what kind of acts they committed: "of genocide"


texts: Some people pronounce it with a [t] sound, so it is like [ˈɒf.tən]. Others omit the [t]. Which is more correct, or does it depend on the dialect or the speaker etc? Thanks.


texts: How to understand "They were starving him" in this context?

texts:
“I don’t blame you, dear,” she assured Harry, tipping eight or nine
  sausages onto his plate.

  “Arthur and I have been worried about you, too.

  Just last night we were saying we’d come and get you ourselves if you
  hadn’t written back to Ron by Friday.

  But really”, “flying an illegal car halfway across the country —
  anyone could have seen you —”

  She flicked her wand casually at the dishes in the sink, which began to clean themselves, clinking gently in the background.

  “It was cloudy, Mum!” said Fred.

  “You keep your mouth closed while you’re eating!” Mrs. Weasley
  snapped.

  “They were starving him, Mum!” said George.

  “And you!” said Mrs. Weasley, but it was with a slightly softened
  expression that she started cutting Harry bread and buttering it for
  him.

As I understand, Fred said "It was cloudy", he means the weather is cloudy so no one could see them from the ground. But I don't quite get "They were starving him" by George. What does "they" refer to? It sounds like a joke, which I fail to understand.

-- From Harry Potter.


texts:
I prefer dogs better than cats

  I like dogs better than cats.

Are any of the above sentences correct?


texts: "the tangent line to a circle" vs. "the line tangent to a circle"

texts:
Consider:

  the tangent line to a circle

  the nearest house to the state-house

  a cheap compatible battery with my aging APC UPS

Do the following examples have the same syntactic structure and sound equally idiomatic? Which one would be preferred?

  the line tangent to a circle

  the house nearest to the state-house

  a cheap battery compatible with my aging APC UPS


texts:
Straitford's briefs don't sound like the usual Washington back-and forthing, whereby agencies avoid dramatic declarations on the chance they might be wrong.

I understand the meaning of the sentence, but its attributive clause "whereby agencies avoid dramatic declarations on the chance they might be wrong" is so hard.
How to analyze its structure?
I know "Whereby agencies avoid dramatic declarations on the chance they might be wrong" is a (non-defining) relative clause. But the "they might be wrong" is a relative clause to modify "on the chance"? How to understand the relationship among dramatic declarations on the chance and they might be wrong?


texts:
Is there a difference between these words? For instance:

  Downing Street demanded a replacement, insisting that the Prime
  Minister would only be interviewed by a man

and

  No one can demand a dialogue and insist only on being heard, as is
  happening today.

Can we replace demand with insist and vice versa with the same meaning here? BTW, as I've noticed insist's usually used with "on"... insist on, but demand isn't. Is it correct?

Could we ever use demand on? For instance,

  Downing Street demanded on a replacement, insisting that the Prime
  Minister would only be interviewed by a man

or

  No one can demand on a dialogue and insist only on being heard, as is
  happening today.


texts:
When I looked for the meaning of "take a chance", it seems like
it involves risks.

Macmillan says:

  to do something even though it involves risk

So I think it's similar to take a risk.

Then how about "get/have a chance" and "grab/seize a chance"?

Do they also involves the nuance of risks?


texts: What's the difference between pliable, flexible, and bendy?

texts:
What's the difference between flexible, pliable, and bendy?

Oxford definitions for pliable, flexible, and bendy:

  pliable: easily bent; flexible

  flexible: capable of bending easily without breaking

  bendy: (informal) capable of bending; soft and flexible.


texts: What does "roots" mean in "... which contained the legislation's philosophical roots"?

texts:
I am reading a book and it says

  The new Unemployment Insurance Act, 1971, differed little from the White Paper, which contained the legislation's philosophical roots.
   Source: Pal, Leslie A. 1988. State, Class and Bureaucracy: Canadian Unemployment Insurance and Public Policy (p42).

What does "roots" mean here?

Does it mean "ideology", "tenets", or "values"? In that case, is the following the right interpretation?

  The white paper laid out the core philosophical tenets that led to the new act.

It seems to serve no real purpose in the sentence except to really be just annoying and cryptic. Why not use a clear word like the ones above if that is what the author means (rhetorical question).

"Root" means "the origin or source of something" (Cambridge).

"A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision." - Wikipedia


texts:
It is argued whether it is better for students to travel abroad for a year before going to university.  This essay completely agrees on this idea for (the \ no article) benefits it brings to the youth.

I think "benefits" is specific because it means "the benefits of traveling abroad for students".  However, I am still talking generally about these benefits as I did not mention any specific benefits.  How to judge this?


texts: Why is E the correct answer to a practice test on an article titled 'Quake rocks Southern Phillippines'?

texts:
I read a pdf file and try to answer it. At the end of the article there are answers of the questions. I have question, (I feel something strange, the answer at end of file, not match with my answer). So I need your suggestion.

This is the article:

The options:

My guess, is "D". Since there is no sentence describe that mindano is in southern of Philipines.

But the answer typed at the file is E. The title of the article typed "Quake Rocks Southern Philippines"


texts: It’s in front of the house and in the middle of sidewalk.


texts: Understanding My beauty was never in danger

texts:
The passage's from The Ferryman (play). What is the meaning of "My beauty was never in danger" in the passage, Also

is "Dunn's Ground" is a farming slang or something?

  MICHAEL. Here, Aunt Cait. Declan nearly got dragged through the bailer.
  DECLAN: I did not.

  MICHAEL: We’re on Dunn’s Ground, bailing up, it’s all going fine when the
  fecker stalls. This one, sticks his bake in the hot end, he’s poking round
  and then he says, ‘Switch her on.’

  DIARMAID. Eeejit…

  DECLAN. Bull. My bake –

  MICHAEL. Listen now…

  DECLAN. My beauty was never in danger. Never in danger.

  MICHAEL. Then JJ fires whole thing up – (Makes noise of harvester.) and

  Declan sticks his head up with this look on his face like –


texts: What do you call a bunch of papers stapled together in the corner?

texts: My teacher keeps handing out these papers with information, calling them booklets, except it's not a booklet as it doesn't have a cover, just a single staple in the corner of a bunch of printed papers. I know there's a word for it other than booklet, but I can't place it. Any ideas?


texts: How to move the relative clause in this sentence

texts:
I wrote:

  As can be observed from Figure 3, there exist sufficient white pixels on the edges of the pallet car, that reside on a straight line.

Should I use "that reside on a straight line" close to "sufficient white pixels"? If yes, how can I do this?


texts: What is the name of the steel guard in this image?

texts:
What is the name of the steel guard marked by cross in the below image?

What is the name of the thing that this bike is locked to?


texts: "I'm running late for 5 minutes." Or "I'm running late."

texts:
When using the idiomatic phrase "running late", can you add time afterwards? e.g. "I'm runnng late for 5min."

Or is it fixed as just "running late."?


texts: What’s the difference between cinema and theatre?

texts: Initially, I thought the cinema and theatre was the same thing but I looked up multiple websites but gave different answers. I hope all of you can provide me with the correct differences.


texts: "Or rather" vs "in fact" in this context

texts:
The dictator has fled the country, or rather you can say we have scared him away.

           And

  The dictator has fled the country, or in fact you can say we have scared him away.

Are they both valid?

Can I use or rather and in fact here to make a little correction of what I previously said?

How would a native speaker say this?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
So, I want to make an environment movement and I see "Go Green" is hyped and suitable for the movement. But what I want to know is, is it should be "(my company's name) Go Green" or "(my company's name) Goes Green"?
Besides, I wonder, does "Go Green" is a single term for something or is it a just a sentence? I've seen some example of companies using Go Green, but my colleagues say it should be Goes Green.


texts: It would (will?) pay you to read about ionisation energies if you really want to understand this

texts:
From Chemguide:

  It would pay you to read about ionisation energies if you really want to understand this.

Shouldn't it be will, this being the so-called First Conditional?


texts: "Number two" or "Number 2" in this context?

texts:
In the context of defecating, is it "Number two", or "Number 2"?

I assume "No. 2" would be too technical-looking for this context. Urban Dictionary has entries for both "Number two" and "Number 2".


texts: a+noun+ of OR the+noun+of (Which article to use)

texts:
I have asked this type of question many a time but nobody seems to have a good explanation "why" exactly. I wanna know the conditions when one uses the definite or the indefinite article in these constructions,
When should I use a+noun+of  and when  the+noun+of?
1a) Preparations are underway at the airport for a resumption of flights from May 20.
or
1b) Preparations are underway at the airport for the resumption of flights from May 20.
2a) I have been under the threat of death for over a year.
or
2b) I have been under a threat of death for over a year.
3a) Does the stranger pose a threat of death to you?
or
3b) Does the stranger pose the threat of death to you?


texts:
A woman's mind

Does the indefinite article here refer to the noun 'woman' or 'mind'?


texts: Is the phrase push or pull through, interchangeable regarding the words push and pull? Is one word more grammatically correct than the other?


texts:
Singapore is strategically situated off the southern tip of the Malay peninsular, neighboring to Indonesia and
  Malaysia with close proximity to major international shipping routes, and geographically located ca. 1° north of the equator with
  a tropical climate.

Can I use 'strategically situated' in this way? I am not really sure, because the location of Singapore is not a result of choice. 'Strategically ' sounds to me that it is a rational choice.


texts:
Here are two examples:

  By the time I got to the station, the train had left.

and

  The train left five minutes before I got to the station.

I don't understand why past simple is used in the second sentence. The train had left before they got to the station, so I would think past perfect suits better.


texts:
The 13th entry of "to" in OALD：

  used to show a quantity or rate

    There are 2.54 centimetres to an inch.

    This car does 30 miles to the gallon.

I'm wondering why the second example is used with the, not a.


texts: A question about 'must have been someone'

texts:
I am recently struggling with the grammar MUST HAVE BEEN.

My question is can i say

"It must have been someone stealing/ stole / who stole my wallet "

I think who stole is right, but might also be stealing, because one sentence can not have two verbs ? so the second one has to be turned into ING form.

can anyone tell me which on is correct and the grammar behind this ?

Much appreciated !


texts: What message does "should you decide to accept" really convey?

texts:
In 'Mission Impossible' movies a recurring phrase is

  ... your mission, should you decide to accept it, is ...

Which of the below alternatives best catches the true meaning of the sentence?

... your mission, if you should decide to accept it, is ...
... your mission, if you decide to accept it, is ...
... your mission, if you were to decide to accept it, is ...
... your mission, if you were to accept it, is ...
... your mission, if you accept it, is ...

The question whether should can be replaced by if was already asked here and one answerer said that if is weaker because should implies an underlying duty or moral obligation. Another answerer thought should is more formal.

I think if is the most neutral (and least colorful) way of anouncing the mission whereas  should expresses at least some doubt on the part of the person that makes the proposition.

Who can shed a light on this?

These wikipedia articles English_subjunctive#Inversion_in_condition_clauses and English_conditional_sentences#Inversion_in_condition_clauses nicely explain why this "should you" approach exists and that my first alternative sentence is the correct one, but of course do not address my suspicion about should expressing doubt.


texts: retain/sustain, are they interchangeable in the give sentences?

texts:
I can't retain my attention when I read novels.

I can't sustain my attention when I read novels.

I looked up both words' meanings and, in this case, both should mean the same thing, that's what I think. But, do they mean the same thing here, and are interchangeable?


texts: Does changing preposition change the meaning of this phrase?

texts:
I've seen both. But does changing the prepositions here change the meaning as well?

  'someone/thing in relation to' and  'someone/thing in relation with'?


texts: How to correctly punctuate this sentence?

texts:
I'm a little hung up on where to put the commas and if they are necessary.

  I’m in love with a lot of things, but if I had to pick one, it would
  be chicken, for my love for it trumps all.

I feel like it has too many commas but I don't know which ones belong.


texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct?

  It did not come out of nowhere, Michael.

As I know, we can't use two negatives in the same sentence. Can I use this sentence at IELTS Writing Task 2, where I'm not as restricted as at Writing Task 1?

Thank you in advance.


texts: "Ask Jim if he's staying tonight" or "Ask Jim if he stays tonight"

texts:
I know we can use present simple when talking about the future, especially after subordinate clauses.

On the other hand, I also know that we can use present progressive to talk about future events, especially wen we want to describe what we plan to do in the future.

With this regard, would you tell me what's the difference between these two sentences?

  Ask Jim if he's staying tonight.
  Ask Jim if he stays tonight.


texts: A proverb to imply the message that: "To all mothers their children seem to be the most beautiful"

texts:
As we all well aware about mothers emotions toward their children since birthgiving up to the end! Usually, all mothers think deep down inside that their children are the most beautiful and no other child is so beautiful in their eyes as their own.

In my language metaphorically, people have a proverb which says:

  The cockroach tells its child, how beautiful and white are your legs! :) [Meaning that even to the eyes of a beetle mother, her children are the most beautiful]

It is often said sarcastically when a mother is making good remarks about her child or when someone is saying some good words about a person who is in favor with them.
Please note that such a saying should be usually said in a humorous tone; otherwise if it said directly can seem offensive and maybe quite annoying.

Here is my founded expression which I have my doubts whetehr it is a commonly said one in English or not!

  No mother thinks their children ugly.

I would be appreciative if you let me know what does a native normally say in such a situation?


texts: Which One Of the Following Force or Forces?

texts:
Recently I have been given an exam. There was a multiple choice question(technical engineering question). There were four options and out of four only one was correct.

Each option had the particular force of fluid mechanics written.

Question was like

  Which one of the following force will dominate

Now my question is:

Is the above sentence correct and meaningful according to standard written English? Or should it rather be

  Which of the following forces will dominate.

For clear understanding of whole question I am attaching full Picture of official question.


texts: "lay back person" or "laid back person"?

texts:
Mark is a laid back person.

and

  Mark is a lay back person.

i mean them to describe someone who is not proactive and who doesn't care enough, in a critical sense.

I googled both terms and the numbers of result of are both large. So, conventionally, are both terms acceptable in most contexts? Or do they basically mean different things in itself?

By the way, when I say a "large" number of results, I'm talking about millions of hits for lay back person.


texts: like/love + to infinitive for habits and choices - shades in meaning

texts:
I have come across the following sentence (no context, the rubric of the task is to fill in the gaps with the words in capital letters, making all the necessary changes) in Macmillan Exam Skills for Russia by Malcolm Mann and Steve Taylore-Knowles, 2007:

  My grandad loves to .... and we often go out on his boat. SAIL

If not for the particle 'to' before the ellipsis, my choice would be 'sailing' because according to Michael Swan in his Practical English Usage (Fully Revised) Third Edition OUP, 2005

  to talk about enjoying activities in general, we can use ‘like… ing’ (especially in British English)'.

Why would authors give so little context and provide our students with such an ambiguous example?

Furthermore, the part of the rule that one 'can use ‘like + infinitive’ to talk about choices and habits' hasn't been covered/discussed anywhere in the coursebook.

What would your choice be if not for the particle 'to'? I'm mostly interested in British English native speakers' answers.


texts: I been patiently waiting ! Where is have?

texts:
Explain me please, why there is no auxiliary verb "have" in this sentence :

  I been patiently waiting

?


texts: What's meant here by "close to the nerves"?

texts:
In "The Dagger with Wings" by G. K. Chesterton, Dr. Boyne was talking to Father Brown after the priest said he  suspected the murderer was Impersonating the murdered man.

  Boyne said: "There is something very queer and close to the nerves, I think, about notions affecting identity. I don’t know whether it would be more weird to get a guess like that swiftly or slowly. I wonder when you suspected and when you were sure."

What's meant here by close to the nerves? Does it mean causing tension?


texts: Can we change "of" by "has" in every sentence?

texts:
The pain is of a degree that calls for morphine.

Can we change be + of with has?

  The pain has a degree that calls for morphine.

I know we can not do that in every sentence with of ... then, what is the rule here that allows us to make this change in some sentences ? thanks


texts: How to differentiate the opposite meanings of 'sanction'?

texts:
“If you want to know the law and nothing else, you must look at it as a bad
man, who cares only for the material consequences, of which such knowledge enables
him to predict not as a good one, who finds his reasons for conduct, whether
inside the law or outside of it, in the vaguer sanctions of conscience.” “The Path
of the Law,” 10 Harv. L. Rev. at 459.

Source: pp 126 footnote, Thinking like a Lawyer, Frederick Schauer
How can I determine the correct meaning of 'sanction', out of these two opposites? Please explain the steps or thought processes, for want of doing so by myself in the future?

Definition 1. A threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule:
Definition 2. Official permission or approval for an action:


texts: What is the difference in meaning between 'concentrate ' and 'focus'?

texts: Is there any difference? Any situations in which one work but not the other?


texts: Is there any English phrase that includes "past mistakes" and eleborates them in a single sentence?

texts:
I did not want to make past mistakes, which was to...
  I did not want to make past mistakes as to...

I just want to make a sentence that says that somebody did not want to repeat past mistakes and that explains what those mistakes are.

None of those above phrases really seems to appear on COCA. I am also considering anything in a similar/appropriate fashion.


texts:
How formal is it to say, e.g.,:

  You could do a lot with this item, like writing, drawing and all that.

This may be an abbreviation of "and all that jazz", which means "and all that stuff; and all that nonsense". Is it so (and so it is only for informal usage, since a word from the idiom is omitted), or can it be correct grammatically all by itself?

One person from YouTube constantly uses this and I feel like I'd heard this phrase being used before too.

Edit (after 3 comments): All I mean is the level of formality. It of course may not exactly be acceptable in a very formal context, but do people often use it in everyday speech? Have you even heard it being used? How often do you encounter it?

I imagine that no one really uses a lot of idioms in formal speech and I think you would still bring me alternatives if I instead asked if 'and all that jazz' is acceptable in formal usage, but the idiom, as the dictionary I've linked to shows, is actually correct, and I mean 'formal' when I say 'available in a dictionary' or 'grammatical', in which case I would consider 'and all that jazz' formal. I think 'and all that' is different because I can't immediately find it on google, but I'm not yet sure. Is it as formal as 'and all that jazz'?

Anyway, Google Ngram Viewer says it is actually used in books, so I'm not sure if it's really that extremely informal.


texts: What is an appropriate sentence for this problem?

texts:
There are two boxes A and B. The size of A is twice that B. I will allocate(divide) six  apples to(into) the boxes. Four apples are allocated to A and Two apples to B. What is an appropriate phrase?

"The apples are allocated to the boxes based on their size"
Or " The apples are allocated to the boxes in proportion to their size"?
Or ...


texts: The word "value" in moral and social values

texts:
The meaning of the word value in the third sense says:

That which is valued or highly esteemed, such as one's morals, morality, or belief system.

Does the word value in moral values relates to this particular sense?
Do moral values mean things that one values in matters of what is right and what is wrong?
What about values such as, social values, political values, etc.?


texts:
We took skiing vacation .
We saw a skiing monkey.

In the above  2 sentences the word "SkIING" confuse me. Plz help me in the first sentence is the word playing the role of gerund or participle?


texts: "He may often be seen in the Temple" -- how do I interpret "may often"?

texts:
Here is a sentence from a video game:

  All know the emperor to be a good and holy man, for he may often be seen in the Temple of the One, making his devotions to the Nine Divines and the Communion of Saints.

I would understand it if it used can often, but may often doesn't currently make much sense to me.

I know that may can signify either permission or possibility, and I guess here it means the latter. Can would mean that the emperor visits the temple often, and may, as far as I understand, adds the author's uncertainty, or ignorance, to the meaning of can (the author doesn't know exactly whether the emperor visits the temple often, but thinks he definitely does once in a while).

Having written all that, I would like to ask: does may often mean that the author thinks the emperor definitely visits the temple, but doesn't know how often he does so?

Also, couldn't this may (compared to can) imply some disrespect for the emperor in terms of his godliness?


texts: What does it mean when someone say "I prefer to use the old Saxon word wo-wo-word"?

texts:
Earlier today I asked a question on Stack Exchange Economics asking about the benefits of a certain scheme.

A user replied as follows

  Instead of the word "benefit" I prefer to use the old Saxon word "bebebebebebebebebebenefit". Some people say using the shorter word has bebebebebebebebebebenefits, but I don't see any.

These are not English words and I am aware of that. What does the speaker imply by saying I prefer to use the old Saxon word extended-word ?

I tried to read what those words could mean:

Saxon, according to Wikipedia

  Anglo-Saxon is the earliest historical form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages

Assuming it is an informal expression, I tried finding any phrases like I prefer to use the old Saxon word but couldn't find any.


texts: biggest significance vs. most significance?

texts:
Which of these is correct in this context:

  What do you see as having the (biggest significance OR most significance) in the field of economics?


texts: I have a bug eating plant vs I have a plant eating bugs

texts:
Is it OK to reduce the relative clause below:

  I have a plant which eats bugs.

into:

  I have a plant eating bugs.

If so, I suppose it is still more natural to say:

  I have a bug eating plant.

If so, then what are the occasions where one would prefer a reduced relative clause in active voice?


texts: Using the word "hole" in formal contexts

texts:
(a) There were holes in  Shakespeare's erudition.

In contexts like the above, well-educated Italians, as far as I know, wouldn't use the word "holes" because it seems a bit informal.

A more appropriate Italian word would be lacune, which, according to the dictionary I use, is translated with "gap" (also cf. English lacune, lacuna,  lacunes,  and lacunae).

In English it appears that a more formal version of the above sentence is:

  (b) There were gaps in  Shakespeare's erudition.

So, is (b) more formal than (a)? Or, is there a more appropriate word to use in the place of "holes" to have a more formal sentence? Or, lastly, is this not a real problem that it make sense to think about?


texts: What tense to use when the sentence applies to both past and present?

texts:
Which sentence is correct?

  She didn't show up in the day before yesterday and today.
  She doesn't show up in the day before yesterday and today.

What tense should be used in this case? If it's "yesterday and today", I can use "she hasn't shown up from yesterday". I use "the day before yesterday and today" to make the time more distinct, and for that implying that yesterday she did show up.

I am aware that none of the example may not make sense. If so, do you have any better choice?


texts: What does it mean by "got off easy" in this context?

texts:
"We live just on the other side of the village there. You?"

  "Had to get up at two. . . Still. . .not complaining. . .Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons-and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy. . . ."

  Harry potter and the Goblet of Fire

I googled "get off easy" and found out that this idiom means "to get a small punishment". But I think this definition doesn't make any sense here...

What's the meaning of the sentence including "got off easy"?


texts: Google already helped with giving BFDE's meaning as Board of Forensic Document Examiners. But, I am reading a CV in which it reads D-BFDE. What does this stand for?


texts:
‘I hardly minded the pain,’ he says. ‘We have all had, saving you
  sir, as much if not worse from our fathers.’

  ‘True,’ he says. ‘My father beat me as if I were a sheet of metal.’

  ‘It was that he laid my flesh bare. And the women looking on. Dame
  Alice. The young girls. I thought one of them might speak up for me,
  but when they saw me unbreached, I only disgusted them. It made them
  laugh. While the fellow was whipping me, they were laughing.’

  — Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

What is the meaning of "unbreached"? In the dictionary it says "not breached; intact", but I can't work it out in the sentence.


texts: Sentence structure when the verb and its preposition are separated by a long clause

texts:
For example:

  I have notified my colleague, who has been working on this field for
  many years, of the issue.

The way it sounds to me is; as the clause ("who has been...") gets longer, it gets more difficult to follow the prepositional clause ("of the issue"). What is a better way to write this sentence?


texts:
[Hogwarts students were]pulling into platform nine and three-quarters
  at King’s Cross Station.  It took quite a while for them all to get
  off the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier,
  letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn’t
  attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once
  and alarming the Muggles. (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

Is all a pronoun, indicating the students, or an intensifier for bursting out and alarming?