texts: A word to indicate a decrease in performance

texts:
There is a word which means "decrease in performance", usually used in negative context. Here are some examples:

"The city's power station usually gives a steady voltage of 220V, but at 9PM, when the TV series ends and everyone turns on a teapot, the voltage may ... even to 215V".

"This algorithm solves a random instance of a problem in several seconds, but there are some specific instances on which its running time ... up to a minute".

"During the rush-hour the capacity of major streets ... significantly".

For Russian speakers: the exact Russian analog is "проседать", but I can't find a desired translation anywhere.

UPD: I've got one exact word on a tip of my tongue. Here are some words which may fit the gaps but are not what I need: sink, drop, sag, plummet, decrease.

Probably "degrade" is the best match I could think of.


texts: “Could you” question vs “Would you” question

texts: I read in a book that in a situation where you are asked to join a club activity so politely that you cannot turn it down, “Could you join us?” is more polite than “Would you join us?”. Why is that? I’ve never thought which is more polite.


texts: The license is due annual maintenance..? Expecting, owing, deserving?

texts:
So I have received an email saying

  The licence is due annual maintenance...

I checked my dictionaries and there is only "due for" or "due in/at/on" or "due to do sth" when something is expected.
I did find one extry that says "due sth" but it speaks about owing, deserving something. Longman etc. do not mention that.

Is the sentence correct like that and if so, what usage of "due" is that? I ask as like I said, dictionaries I tried do not mention "due sth", there is always preposition in between.


texts:
I am working on some grammar exercise.

  They don't get on well. They are always arguing.

According to answer key, 'are always arguing' is correct. Can you help why the correct answer is not 'always argue', but 'are always arguing'.


texts:
Among the steps that the agency has already taken, the FDA established the Therapeutic Biologics and Biosimilars Staff (TBBS) under the Office of New Drugs (OND) in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) to support consistent review and policy development efforts for biosimilar and interchangeable product development and approval. TBBS coordinates with other offices and divisions in CDER through an integrated matrix to manage the development and approval of biosimilar and interchangeable products. FDA

Hi, I searched for "an integrated matrix" but I have no idea what it means.

Longman says

  2 a situation from which a person or society can grow and develop
   

  3 a living part in which something is formed or develops, such as the substance from which your fingernails grow Longman

But still, I am not sure what it means exactly.


texts: I should choose "installed' or "was installed"

texts:
I don't know I should choose which of two this options.

  We are assuming at this point that you have MAMP(or some environment equivalent) and composer installed/was installed
  at this point.


texts: Should I say "brings", "takes", "follows", or "leads" "us to a contradiction"?

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

  You might feel that it is impossible for resistance to be strictly equal to
  zero: maybe it _______ to some contradiction with Ohm's law.

How to say that something could involve a contradiction? What verb-phrase should go into the verb slot after "maybe it":

brings us  | takes us

or perhaps:

follows | leads


texts: Can I say "I just wanted to help out him with his tail wagging at me when we first met."?

texts:
Let's say, one day I found an abandoned dog in the park.
At first, I didn't mean to bring him home, just tried to pass by.
However he wagged his tail at me innocently.
Then, I picked him up and went home together after all.

After a while, one of my friends asked me like
"What made you take the dog home?"

In this situation, I can answer like this?
"There's no special reason.
I just wanted to help out him with his tail wagging at me when we first met."

I want to include the expression "wagging his tail".


texts: Is 'do' needed in this sentence? and is comma needed?

texts:
Seeing the amount of these sheets accompanying each medication, I have realised how much paper (do) we waste on a daily basis?

Seeing the amount of these sheets accompanying each medication I have realised how much paper (do) we waste on a daily basis?


texts:
Is it possible or even acceptable to use the present perfect with today (in those cases when today refers to the present age)? Even native speakers seem to disagree!!
For instance; today, companies have thrived on foreign investment.

Thank you!


texts:
Can we use nationality to talk about things? That's OK according to Random House Dictionary:

  the relationship of property, holdings, etc., to a particular nation, or to one or more of its members: the nationality of a ship

But Collins COBUILD English Usage warns against it:

  Be Careful!
  Don't use 'nationality' to talk about things. Don't say, for example, that something 'has Swedish nationality'. You say that it comes from Sweden or was made in Sweden.
  The best vanilla comes from Mexico.
  All of the trucks that Ford sold in Europe were made in Britain.

How about places? Is it correct to say:

  Q: What nationality is the church in your neighborhood?
  A: It's a Chinese church.

If not, what's the right question whose answer would be:

  It's a Chinese church.


texts: Expressing of two parallels events using past tense and direct speech

texts:
I have a question about advanced grammar, after my great previous experience here. Simply saying, I want to express that a guy is desperate, feeling under pressure and bad that someone is accusing him for something he did not do. Also, someone else is dragging him away while his voice is slowly disappearing due to increasing distance.

Can I write it as follows?

  He started to yell like in a last moment of hope, "My king! It is not
  true! I am not a man of your enemy. I did not come to kill you nor start a
  war! You must believe me, I am not an assassin. These guys behind you
  are dangerous, not me..." His voice was becoming father and farther
  until disappeared completely.


texts:
Which sentence is natural in English?

In a casual talk, quick responses are prefered to polished words.
In a casual talk, it prefers a quick response to polished words.

I notice that 1) has alliteration ("prefered to polished words") and so it might sound better than 2). I am not sure.


texts: What's the difference between "5 parts to the examination" and "5 parts of the examination"?

texts:
I came across a sentence，

  There are five parts to the examination.

I at first didn't take much notice of the preposition "of". But now I wonder if "five parts to the examination" is different from "five parts of the examination". Do they have totally different meanings?


texts: Usage of the indefinite article in "different choice of a nail would result in"

texts:
I am choosing (say) a nail of one or another type.
Should I say

"a different choice of a nail would result in ..."; or
"a different choice of nail would result in ..."?


texts: How to answer a question begins with "has"?

texts:
Q: Has your daughter come back from Australia?

  A: Yes. She ____ there for three years.

  A. has stayed

  B. stays

  C. stayed

  D. had stayed

I think the answer is D because "staying there" happened in past before "coming back" (past of the past).

But the "standard" given answer is C. Why?


texts:
Is this a valid construction? Example:

  How far did you make it to my apartment?

I ask because I only got 1 result on Google.

Update:

I also tried this: "How far to * did you make it." But got 0 results.


texts:
How to say correctly: it was too expensive for the (average|common) person?

There are 11M results in google with "average person" and 0.5M results with "common person". So it seems like these 2 usages are valid. Is it true? Or depend on somewhat context?


texts: First VS first time VS the first time VS at first VS for the first time

texts:
First when I saw you, I was afraid to talk to you.
When I first saw you, I was afraid to talk to you.
When I saw you first, I was afraid to talk you.
First time when I saw you, I was afraid to talk to you.
When I saw you first time, I was afraid to talk to you.
The first time when I saw you, I was afraid to talk to you.
The first time I saw you, I was afraid to talk to you.
When I saw you the first time, I was afraid to talk to you.
At first when I saw you, I was afraid to talk to you.
When I saw you at first, I was afraid to talk to you.
For the first time when I saw you, I was afraid to talk to you.
For the first time I saw you, I was afraid to talk to you.
When I saw you for the first time, I was afraid to talk to you.

Which ones are correct?


texts: Can't understand grammatical role of a particular clause from a sentence from Shardik by Richard Adams

texts:
Along the foot of a tilted, red rock a porcupine came nosing and
  grubbing. It broke open a tiny shelter of sticks and some meagre,
  round-eared little creature, all eyes and bony limbs, fled across the
  stones.

I can't understand a grammatical role of all eyes and bony limbs. It seems to be a description of those little creatures, but I feel that in this case there should be a participle or a verb: something like round-eared little creature, all are eyes and bony limbs emphasising that these body parts seem to be only ones they consist of (I think it is what the author meant); or some preposition tying the description to little creatures: little creatures with eyes and bony limbs ....


texts:
Is it necessary to have agent while constructing Perfect tense?. I mean some activities are spontaneous like Fallen, grow up, increased, expired etc.

Tree has been fallen.
Water level has been increased.
My account has been expired.

Some more examples

Villages around the area have been cut off from the outside world, Visave said.
Nearly 50 villages in the district have been cut-off from the tehsil headquarters and two bridges remained submerged as heavy rain continued to lash Thane on Wednesday.


texts: "How was class?" vs. "How was the class?"

texts: I've noticed that English native speakers sometimes omit the definite article before the word class when they ask how it was, even though it's clear what class they are talking about. So, let's say a friend of mine knows that yesterday I had math class and he wants to know how it was. Would there be any difference in meaning betwee the question how was class? and how was the class?


texts:
So far, I learned that we can use the superlatives and comparatives such as:

Bigger/biggest & smaller/smallest
Larger/largest &  smaller/smallest
Higher/highest &  lower/lowest

and

More/most & Less/least

when we compare numbers/quantities/amounts of things. (numerical data types)

Example:

  The number of people in New York is bigger/larger/higher than in London.

(number of . . . = numerical data)

  New York has more people than London.

(people = numerical data) and

  China has the biggest/largest/highest number of people.

(number of . . . = numerical data)

  China has the most people.

(people = numerical data)

What if I want to compare some things else? Such as:

percentages (of some things) — is it considered numerical?
horizontal sizes (lengths/areas) — non-numerical data types, measured by eyes
vertical sizes (heights) — none-numerical data types, measured by eyes

What comparative adjectives would we use when comparing those things?

For example, we can use "tall" for comparing heights, but not for lengths.

We use "large" for comparing sizes, but aren't heights and lengths also considered sizes?

If yes, can't we use "large" when comparing them? That is, numerical case and non-numerical case

Since we can use "the largest number/value of some things", can we use "the largest number/value of heights/lengths/areas"?

Note: sizes in this case includes both of those indicated by sight without measuring tools (none-numerical data type, measured by eyes) and indicated by measurements (numerical)

Thank you very much


texts:
I wrote the following as an example:

  There are Christian men who pretend to be virtuous while at the same
  time committing sins like adultery like it was nothing. I say
  "Blasphemy!" However blasphemous it is, non-Christian men do so too,
  so this is a criticism we can raise against all men and not just
  Christian men.

I am wondering if it's better to keep the exclamation mark inside the parenthesis, or put it outside. I seems more natural, but I said it's better to keep it inside.


texts: Simple Future: "I will go to the United States" or "I will go the United States"

texts:
I read about simple future in this link and it says simple future form is:

  Subject + will + infinitive without to

So, which one is correct in the simple future form:

I will go to the United States
I will go the United States

It feels like the second one makes no sense to me, but according to the formula, it seems if we want to use simple future, we should use the second one, right?


texts:
I saw this picture on the Net...

What does "The computers are down" mean? Thanks.


texts:
Consider a conversation:

  A: Where do you live?

  B: I live in Madrid, Spain.

A native English speaker told me the following rules.

If B's answer is in the form of writing, everything is OK. Although, it might be grammatically incorrect for speaking as it is not easy to express a grammatical comma in speaking. Therefor, it's better to say this in speaking.

  B: I live in Madrid in Spain.

Is it true? I've gone through a few associated topics in English Grammar Today, e.g.
Geographical places, People and places and
Place names. However, I haven't find a rule to referring to places for this context yet.

Could some give me a link to a widely recognized reference, like English Grammar Today on Cambridge Dictionary


texts:
In Italian, there are two phrases you say to the people for which you feel something: ti voglio bene and ti amo. The first is less strong, and it is not something that you would say to your lover; you could say it to a friend, your parents, your sons, or a sibling, but saying ti voglio bene to a lover would not be something well seen. (That would mean getting an answer like "You don't love me anymore?")

When translating those sentences with Google Translate, I get "I love you" in both the cases. So, what does "I love you" mean?


texts: A mix of nouns and adjectives joined by a coordinating conjunction

texts:
Is it grammatical to coordinate adjectives and nouns as follows?

  Steve is a helpful classmate, a good friend, and wise when you turn to
  him.

I have not come across sentences like that, at least in school; maybe I should say I do not remember seeing a construction like the one below whereby you have a mix of nouns and adjectives joined by a coordinating conjunction such as "and", "or", or "but".

  Noun1 is a noun2, a noun3 and adj1.

  Steve is a helpful office mate, a good friend, and wise when you turn to him.

Source: made it up


texts: what does "You had much better dance" mean?

texts: “Come, Darcy,” said he, “I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance.”


texts: What is/are the possible (adverbial) conjunction(s) for the target participle expression?

texts:
Is the italicized part a participle? And what is its corresponding conjunction?

I feel like the participle here serves to add background or supplementary information to the subject in the main clauses. But I am sure which subordinator or preposition can be used to turn it back to an adverbial clause.

First introduced in the 1940 Disney movie Pinocchio, the song tells us, "If your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme."


texts: Walk beside the trees or under the trees

texts: Which sentence is correct? I am walking beside the trees or I am walking under the tree?


texts: Meaning of "To meet a beautiful woman is one thing, but to meet your best friend in the most beautiful of women is something entirely apart."

texts:
To meet a beautiful woman is one thing, but to meet your best friend in the most beautiful of women is something entirely apart.

I don't really get why this is considered so romantic. I feel like I am missing an important point here because English is not my first language.


texts: How to reject an apology in a reasoning manner?

texts:
I can simply say

  "Your apology is not accepted."

when I reject

  "I'm sorry."

coming from someone who is truly sorry, but their actions weren't right at the time of conflict.

What I want to do is rejecting their apology by asking them a reasoning question, so they can understand that their apology is not in the right place, at the right time.

Thus, I want to say as I'm in a very critical situation

  "How would your apology benefit me?"

or

  "How do you expect your apology to benefit me?"

Do they sound clear? And are they understandable? Since I have translated them from my native language, I want to be sure if they are okay and acceptable in English.

I have emphasized the word I doubt the most.


texts: Words of the Yiddish origin in the English language to be taken note of and remembered for better interaction

texts:
On the dailywritingtips.com site, I came across the page related to the adoption of the Yiddish words in the English language -- in American English mostly, I assume.

Since the meanings of all those words are explained quite clearly, I need neither examples of their usage nor situations where they may be used. The link to the web page is attached just so that those who might feel like answering could see what exactly I'm asking about.

My questions are these:

Are some words of the Yiddish origin really commonly used in colloquial speech in (some parts of) the USA?

With regard to your personal experience and the place of residence, what several words of the said origin are, in your opinion, worth being taken note of and remembered as  widely (relatively) used in informal interaction, in books, movies, radio shows, etc?

Footnote: This is the edited version of the question which was put on hold some time ago. Before that, it had gotten one good answer and a couple of very helpful comments. I'd very much like to have some more, so any help will be highly appreciated.


texts: "We can't do this any more than we can do that" - meaning?

texts:
It is generally the case that there is no "natural" connection between a linguistic form and its meaning. The connection is quite arbitrary. We can't just look at the Arabic word vJ^ and, from its shape, for example, determine that it has a natural and obvious meaning any more than we can with its English translation form dog.

It would be appreciated, if someone please analyse or throw a light on the bold part, so that I could get it better?

Excerpt From: George Yule. “The Study Of Language.


texts: Uncountability of "plot, setting and star"

texts:
Excerpted from The New Yorker:

  “It was a dark and stormy night,” begins Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 novel “Paul Clifford,” which goes on to invoke torrential rain, gusting wind, guttering lamplight, and rattling rooftops: weather as plot, setting, star, and supporting cast of what is, by broad consensus, the worst sentence in the history of English literature.

In my knowledge plot, setting and star are all countable nouns, so they should each add an a prior or a s after, but clearly they don't in this paragraph, so what happened?


texts: Many words have the silent 'e' on the end. How can I tell whether I should pronounce the 'e' or not? Is there a rule for this?


texts: Em Dashes as seperation of a preposition phrase

texts:
Can em dashes be used to separate prepositional phrases? So that phrase is only used as to modify the noun directly before it, and to the rest of the sentence is non-existent.

Examples:

  Truth is I — at my position in time — strive to succeed. [Em dashes are used to make clear that I strive, my position in time has nothing to do with me striving.]
  The pencil has yellow scrapes — which were made by Billy who has a multitude of diseases — which are concerning. [Em dashes are used to make clear that the scrapes are concerning. Not in any way is this sentence saying Billy's diseases concerning.]
  The alien looking man — with a red lizard that seems as if it might run—ran quickly. [Em dashes are used to make clear that the man ran, not the lizard (even those the lizard looks like it might run)]

Do the em dashes do what I say they do in the sentences? If yes, then the answer to this question would be yes.  Otherwise the answer would be no.

Thank you.


texts: Kourtney Kardashian said "there's people that are dying Kim" in one of the KUWTK episodes- why did she use there is instead of there are?


texts: "Black and white dogs": ambiguity with coordinate adjectives

texts:
A black and a white dog means "two dogs".
A black and white dog means "one dog".

Then what about black and white dogs?

Does this mean two things?  "Dogs, each of black and white color" and "dogs of black and dogs of white"?


texts: Do I use "the present perfect" or "the past simple" when seeing someone the first time after not seeing them for a while?

texts:
Let's say I haven't seen my friend for quite some time. And I am out for a walk. I am going down the street and run into my friend. Do I have to use the present perfect or past simple in this context? For example:

  I haven't seen you in ages. Where have you been?

  I didn't see you in ages. Where were you?

Logically, I guess, it would correct to use the past simple, because I have met my friend and the fact that I haven't seen him for some time is in the past so the past simple is the tense to go. But, I don't know why the use of it doesn't sound quite right. What do you have to say about it. Which set of sentences sounds the most natural?


texts: Difference between "had" and "was having"

texts:
What is the difference between these two sentences, and when should I use them while talking?

  He had same problem like my father.

and

  He was having same problem like my father.

Please explain.


texts:
Which one of these examples is correct?

Types of metal
Types of metals

Do they have different meanings?


texts:
His eyes were sharp and piercing, save during those intervals of torpor to which I have alluded.

What is the meaning of the second part of the sentence?


texts:
This machine broke down big chunks of woods into smaller chunks.
This machine broke up big chunks of woods into smaller chunks.

Are both equivalent, what difference does it make if you use up instead of down?


texts: Meaning of "knocking him off of his crutches"?

texts:
I have trouble with meaning of below text.

  He lost his temper and punched the manager, knocking him off of his crutches.

The bottleneck is the bold text. Is it a kind of Idiom ? Thanks


texts: The next time when you [will]..., Main Clause

texts:
Can we you use an Attributive Clause with Future Tense inside an Adverbial Clause of Time?

What is the difference in the meanings if one exists?

  The next time when you meet him, he will...

  The next time when you will meet him, he will...

Thanks in advance


texts:
There is a part in this excerpt that I don't understand though I know every single word.

  To have shaken what remained of his Church of England faith would have gratified her much; but the idea of his abandoning his preferment in the church had never once presented itself to her mind. How could he indeed, when he had no income from any other source?

Can someone please paraphrase it for me in modern plain language? Also, in this line,

  She had aided her father in his indifference to his professional duties, counseling him that his livings were as much his individual property as the estates of his elder brother were the property of that worthy peer.

what does "worthy peer" mean?

This is the link from Barron's NEW SAT, 28th edition, thanks.


texts: Can I use a person's name instead of the pronoun "you"?

texts:
When talking to someone, can I use their name in place of "you"? Is this only used when talking a certain way (e.g. to children)? Or is this not done in English at all?

Example:

  Ann is talking to Bob.
  Ann says "I cooked lasagna today"
  Bob replies:
  "I really want to try your cooking!"
  Ann says: "I never knew Bob liked lasagna"

If it makes a difference, please consider both the case where other people are also part of the conversation, and the case where Ann and Bob are talking alone.


texts: How is this containing 'all the while' a fused sentence?

texts:
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/fusedsentence.htm alleges that the following is a fused sentence:

Driving home from school, Brett vowed to protect the fragile ecosystem ♦ all the while the tires of his Cadillac Escalade flattened the toads hopping on the wet streets.
The first main clause is 'Brett vowed to protect the fragile ecosystem,' and the second is 'the tires of his Cadillac Escalade flattened the toads hopping on the wet streets'. Notice that the two clauses run together with no punctuation.

One proposition from that website is to use a semicolon at the location of the square. But why not just a comma? Wiktionary states that 'all the while' is a conjunction. What are the true issues here?


texts:
1) I don't know how good this product is.

2) I don't know how good this product may be.

I did find a question in this type, and they considered number 2 to be correct. I don't know why. Even I haven't found anything in relation to this on Internet.

Could anyone clear me?  Which one is correct, or both? If both, then what's the difference?


texts: Meaning of "erstwhile" & "gone in the first cull of hereditary peers"

texts:
He didn't believe her. The last thing his erstwhile brother-in-law had
  ever felt was affection for the man they'd all called 'Jemima's
  unsuitable husband'. It was a matter of some satisfaction that
  Peregrine had gone in the first cull of hereditary peers.

Source - Gagged & Bound

Author - Natasha Cooper

My question -

What is the meaning of "erstwhile" (marked in bold) here?
What is the meaning of "gone in the first cull of hereditary peers" (marked in bold)?


texts:
I'm currently watching the TV show "Breaking Bad" and I dont understand what seems to be slang.

Context: some characters (who are drug users) are listening to music on a brand new sound system. They are enjoying it, especially the light effects. One of the character stands that he could watch it all day, and another answers

  "Totally makes me wanna crank old Sabbath and blaze one".

I understand that "blaze one" means smoking marijuana, but I dont understand the beginning. To me it could either be a reference to Black Sabbath (metal music band) but they are listening to rap-music, or it could be a jewish reference but I dont think any hint indicates that the talking character is Jewish (I may have missed the reference though).

The episode I refer to is 4.2, "Snub 38" (timemark around 7:50) if it helps.


texts:
This city has experienced a decrease of
  1% per year in the visibility, a meteorological parameter partly
  affected by atmospheric pollution.

I would like to include the parenthetical clause to introduce the concept of 'visibility', as it is just a minor point, I don't want to start another sentence for it. However, by doing so, the trend description reads a little bit odd to me. Is it grammatical?


texts:
Consider:

  Some men like doing housework.

Vs.

  We interviewed ten men. Some of the men liked doing housework.

Can one say "some men" in the second sentence?

Can I conclude when the noun x is definite we can't use "some x"? I think it's the case for other articles like "all" and "most", right? For example

  We interviewed ten men. Most of the men (not most men) liked doing housework.

We also can't say "some the men" can we?


texts:
My question is if subject for "say" is "him" or "we" ?

We want him to come and to say something interesting about the goverment.
We want him to come and say something interesting about the goverment.


texts: When is "the" pronounced "dhee" / "dh" / "dhaa"?

texts: Is it "dhee", "dh" or "dhaa"? I have heard people pronounce it in these three ways. Are all of them correct or does it depend on context?


texts: ''so vs so that '' (in result meaning, not the one future intended meaning)

texts:
Question 1:

  2b) Bill worked hard so that  he was promoted

İn this sentence, "he was promoted" is the result. İt definitely happened (no doubt)

But when it comes to this sentence:

  1b) Bill worked hard so that he would be promoted.

it is an intended future purpose.

It makes me feel that, it is an intended future purpose but we are not sure if the promotion occured or not.

Am I right? or İs it certain that the promotion occured as in the sentence 2b too?

Question 2:

My confusion is about conjuction type of "so" which refers to result of main clause

  Bill worked hard so he was promoted .

("Bill was promoted" is the result of "Bill worked hard")

I have usually seen this type as "so" alone in the sentence without "that"

Can I make this sentence with "so that" in the same meaning with the sentence in which "so" is used alone. (that is, the result meaning, not the future purpose meaning)?

  Bill worked hard so (that) he was promoted.

İs "that" optional in result meaning of "so"?


texts:
What is the grammatical structure and meaning of the bolded sentence:

  “Critical thinking” was the watchword for what the better teachers supposedly taught in the better schools. So ran one account. According to another, ...


texts:
When I think of dogs I have an image of them being fast animals, running and jumping, chasing a ball or another dog.

So, I am surprised that dog slow means very slow.

What is the etymology of this expression?

Usage in the wild (1 2):

  Keep in mind that StackTrace is dog slow - so use it sparingly.

  Why is android's String.format dog slow?


texts:
You can't smoke (here / in  here).
What's the need of adding in before here here.
Can't only here suffice.


texts:
Confused between
1) How are your Studies going ?
2) How is your Study going ?


texts:
I am a graduate program in Vietnam, English is a second language.

I have some feeling and the servey about the current work.

Advantage: using the computer more than 8 hours per day, and the information sources used mostly documents written in English.

Weaknesses: Poor communication environment and practice, limiting the skills of listening, speaking and writing.

How now I can combine programming with learning English for Effective?
Sincere thanks!


texts: How to address multiple peoples in email?

texts:
Which is the correct way to address multiple recipients in email? I am not the manager of recipents but the receipents are combination of either both being managers (not necessarily my manager of my department) or one is manager and another is peer.

  Hi John and Mary,

  Email messages goes here

or

  Hi John/Mary,

  Email message goes here

Are both mentions appropritate in all situations? Can this offend anyone (especially the manager cader?). Doe it sound any bossy? I am asking this particular question that one of the managers gave feedback that my emails sound bossy since I did not get exact information of the instance I am self analysing my recent communications and I recently emailed using "and" instead of "/". My objective was only to be clear that I am expecting attention of both, not only one.


texts:
A thing that really confuses me is the difference between those 4 verbs.
Ok, some cases are really well known and defined (i.e. "I speak English", "How do you say that word?") but others are confusing.
Let me do some examples:

(Interrupting someone) May I X something?
(When you don't want to be interrupted) Let me X !
I X the truth
What I was X is...
I want to X you a thing

Can you choose the correct verb/s for each sentence and explain me some rule?
Also some example would be very appreciate!


texts: Collocation I wanna know if these are English collocations.Is this usage correct?

texts:
I wd like to know if the following collocations exist in English language. The non native speakers often use the phrases
1.give answer for ( to answer)
2.give respect for (to respect)

Please clarify


texts: Is there an idiom or proverb that implies simplicity is good? I was trying to find some idioms or proverbs that implied simplicity is good, and I was looking for some idioms or proverbs that implied that simplicity in general is good, and not simplicity in a particular case. I find it surprising that I ended up empty-ended after some research.


texts: Past perfect continuous for a non continuous action

texts:
http://www.eltbase.com/get_quiz.php?id=22

Level 3 - Narrative tenses quiz : a creepy story

  So who...or what...______________ around upstairs?

The options are: 1) had walked 2) walked 3) had been walking 4) was walking

The answer is had been walking  but not had walked why? It was not a continuous activity is it to show the surprise and the fear they have now  because it was not Sarah's mother who walked .


texts: how far does it take, or how long does it take?

texts:
I was doing an English test, and it appeared the question below. The question was stated exactly the way it is presented and there is no context, just the question:

Complete with the correct form:
How ___ does it take from your house to work?
A) Far
B) Long
C) Often
D) Many

I am in doubt between how far and how long. Without a context it is complicated to answer. I would like to know from you guys, what do you think or what expression is more used?


texts:
I am wondering which phrase sounds more acceptable unconsciously?

her curly new Tina Turner bob
her new curly Tina Turner bob

I personally think 2 sounds better than 1 even though lots of grammar/syntax books say that curly should come before new.

What do you think?


texts: What does " toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest" mean?

texts:
At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.
  (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

The highlighted part seems to say there are the grounds between the flat lawn and the forbidden forest, and the lawn is on the opposite side of to the forbidden forest. Is this the right understanding?


texts: I googled, but no related results showed up. I remembered people described that they found a bypass way to resolve a problem, but I forgot the exact expression. Thank you for any input.


texts: Lotus is a/the national flower of India?

texts:
Lotus is a/the national flower of India.

Before "national flower", which article should I use?


texts: When someone's spirit / soul / morale damages, harms , hurts as a result of a catastrophe

texts:
Let's suppose all four members (parents and a son and a daughter) of a family are travelling by their to another city and in that journey a car accident takes place and subsequently three members pass away and just the family daughter survives. Which one of the following sentences do not sound natural in English to describe the feelings of the girl after the accident:

  -1- Her spirits have really been damaged by this incident.

  -2- Her soul has really been damaged by this incident.

  -3- Her morale has really been damaged by this incident.

  -4- Her spirits have really been harmed by this incident.

  -5- Her soul has really been harmed by this incident.

  -6- Her morale has really been harmed by this incident.

  -7- Her spirits have really been hurt by this incident.

  -8- Her soul has really been hurt by this incident.

  -9- Her morale has really been hurt by this incident.

The sentences above are just the various translations of the one single and the only possible way of saying the same thing in our language, and this is a type of question that google and google Ngram cannot help me. Because I am looking for a /some perhaps fixed combinations between the names (Morale / spirit / soul) and the verbs (harm / hurt and damage).

I was wondering if you could help me to find out if there is any combination in the listed sentences above that does not sound idiomatic or even natural to a native ear.


texts:
Here is a situation.

Your phone rings and you answer the phone. And middle of the talk, you realize you don't have much time left. So you feel like needing to come down to the point. So you ask your friend on the phone by using one of these expressions:
"Why did you call me?" or
"Why have you called me?".

Which question sentence is more proper and why? One is simple past tense and the other is present perfect tense.


texts: Replace 'if' with 'should' in sentences with 'can'

texts:
I know I can replace 'if' with 'should' in a condition for tone or style. What if the sentence has 'can', does it become 'could'?

E.g. original sentence

  If you can read this, bring me coffee.

Is it correct to say

  Could you read this, bring me coffee.

Or is it my only option to say

  Should you be able to read this, bring me coffee.

Are there other ways to express the same thing (with 'should')?


texts: What is the difference between "job" and "job opportunity"?

texts:
Currently, I am looking for a job. Or am I looking for a job opportunity? Or is the hiring company having a job opportunity for people like me?

Can I use "I am looking for a job/job opportunity" interchangeably, or is there a difference?


texts: meaning of the adverb "questionably" in context

texts:
The sentence with the adverb is from Crash Course Anatomy & Phisiology. It is at around 21 second. Here is the context:

  In fact, Beaumond performed so many surgeries on the injury  over the next several months, that he decided, somewhat questionably, to just keep St. Martin's stomach wound open.

Does that mean that the surgeon's decision not to stich the wound kind of immoral?


texts: "For + him/her/them + was + to+infinitive" vs " was + for him/her/them to + infinitive"

texts:
The following sentence is from a book. [1]

  Her dying wish was for him to hike the Ap. trail.

Why didn't the author write it as:

  Her dying wish for him was to hike the Ap. trail.

Is there any difference between the two sentences above?

[1] D.Miller AWOL on the AT


texts: An "s" at the end of "toward", "inward", "forward", "backward", "outward", "upward", "downward"

texts:
I hunger to know whether it's true that an "s" at the end of such adverb as "inward", "forward", "backward", "outward", "upward", "downward", and "toward" (as a preposition only) is a choice of British English only?

I was analyzing these words and noticed that without the "s" at the end the word is used as an adjective in Br.E, except for "toward" that seems to be archaic as adjective.

I was going forward (Am.E)
I was going forwards (Br.E)

But

It was a forward attack (Both Am.E and Br.E since forwards is incorrect as an adjective)

Are my presumed assumptions correct?


texts: What is the Subject in the following sentence?

texts:
This is an excerpt from a dialogue with a psychologist Elizabeth Brondolo, PhD in APA(Link is here; https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/stress-health):

"And I also really love working with the students, being able to generate new hypotheses and testing them out in the field."

What is the Subject of "being able to" and "testing them out" in this sentence?

Is the Subject "I" or "students"? How can you tell?


texts:
To see if Golly Gollan had put a new gag into his triumph of foolery — Gollan who had been rescued from a life on the road by a
  daring manager, and had been given his chance and had taken it.

Does it mean Golly Gollan was going to die and his manager had rescued him? Or he had a life passing on the road?


texts: Using I am all ears in a professional Email?

texts:
Before I ask the questions , here is a bit of context:

I am planning to email few of our customers asking for their feedback. This is what I plan to write

  If you have any feature suggestion then let me know, I am all ears.

So my question is .. . does it comes across as too casual? Is this suited for a professional email?

Thanks in advance for all the answers!!


texts: Confusion regarding a participle phrase (probably)

texts:
So, I was scrolling through my facebook news feed when I came across a status someone had put up that read "I get road rage walking behind people." .

Now, the "walking behind people" part modifies the "I" if i'm not wrong.
So, wouldn't there be a comma following the word rage?


texts: Grammatically correct: 'are you hurt' and 'do you hurt'

texts: "Are you hurt?" is grammatically correct.  However, is it correct to ask someone in pain "Do you hurt?"?


texts:
Can present continuos tense take stative verb?

Such as i am thinking about him now.

I am loving the food now.
Please give the answer


texts: A lot of difference between two meanings of one word

texts:
I was learning the meaning of "dense".  There was many meanings such as "stupid" and "thick".  Everytime this happens, I get confused.  Is there any reason for this?  I mean, How are "stupid" and "thick" related to each other ?

How is this possible that 'dense' is equal to 'thick' , 'dense' is equal to 'stupid', but 'thick' is far away from 'stupid'?

Note: This situation happens a lot for me.  Sometimes I think that maybe what I imagine from a word in my mind, is far different from what an English person might think of it.  Is this true ?


texts: Are ‘Being happy’ and ‘happiness’ interchangeable?

texts:
To study, a certain degree of happiness is needed.
To study, a certain degree of being happy is needed.

Are they interchangeable?


texts:
But where the path we walk'd began
           To slant the fifth autumnal slope,
           As we descended following Hope,
   There sat the Shadow fear'd of man...

(https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45335/in-memoriam-a-h-h-obiit-mdcccxxxiii-22)

What does the fragment in bold mean? Is the Shadow afraid of man? Or does the Shadow frighten a man?

What is this grammatical construction?


texts: usage of left in "There was nothing left of the ghee"

texts:
There was nothing left of the ghee he had bought.

What does left do in this sentence? Is it an adjective or a noun?


texts: What grammar constructions are used in "Do you want me to speak French?"

texts:
(Personal Background: I am a native speaker of English. As I have been learning French these past three months, I have been learning a lot about English grammar!)

In French, there is no grammar construction that matches the grammar construction used in the English sentence "Do you want me to speak French?". (But there is a French sentence that matches "Do you want to speak French?"). In order to say this sentence in French, you have to say "Do you want that I speak French?" (Note: That sentence, "Do you want that I speak French?", sounds very strange to my native ears. I say this because I don't want to give an incorrect idea to any English learners on this site.).

I am curious to know the grammar constructions used in this sentence. For example, what kind of word, grammatically, is "me" in this sentence? Is this sentence grammatically the same as "Do you want an apple?", or is the noun phrase "an apple" different than "me to speak French" (it certainly does seem different! "me to speak French" certainly doesn't sound like a noun!). If it is different, then what construction is being used?


texts:
Let's say I bought a phone that costs 100 dollars, and I paid 150 dollars, but the shop assistant didn't give me the change. Is it natural to say the following?

  I am sorry, but could you pay me back the fifty dollar change.


texts: Usage of "need", for mandatory situation

texts:
I am not a native English speaker. I had a sentence to translate into English. The sentence was about renting. The person the mail is sent to didn't pay his rent and he has until 27/06/2016 to pay it.

The sentence is:

  "You need to pay the 3 months' rent (3000 USD) of the house that you are allowed to stay until 27/06/2016."

He is allowed to stay in the house until 27th of August, else he should move out.

My question is whether the usage of "need" is okay for that situation, or should I use different word instead?


texts: "chew on the ball" and "chew the ball" - are they different?

texts:
I read a sentence: The dog chewed on the ball.

Is this sentence different from “The dog chewed the ball.”?

If they are different, what is the difference?


texts: What does "well" mean, in the phrase "well before"

texts:
The book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by By Michael Lewis" says

  But the idea for the book came well before I had good reason to
  write it – before I had a story to fall in love with.

What does well mean here? Does that mean "already", "exactly" or some other meaning?


texts:
In the beginning, I thought that the rush hour happens only once per day, so I thought it should be "I go to work during the rush hour". However, I figure out that not every city in the world is like my hometown, and rush hour can actually happen multiple times a day in a few cities. Therefore, it should be "I go home every day during rush hour".

Google suggests that both are used, what I miss here?


texts: What is the difference between an idiom and a turn of phrase?

texts: For example, I've found the phrase "to jump out of your skin" described as a turn of phrase. But why it is not an idiom? How do we tell the difference?


texts: Can "could" be used in the past tense sentences without past verb clauses?

texts:
He used a microphone, so everyone could hear his voice.

This is an example sentence of "voice" in my dictionary.

I've heard that "could" is not the past tense of "can", so in the past tense, the single clause, "be able to" has to be used instead of "could". (from an English lecture on YouTube)

Then if the sentence is only "Everyone could hear his voice." without the "He used ~" clause in spite of the past tense, is it wrong expression? Is it correct to use "be able to" as below?

  Everyone was able to hear his voice.


texts: Why do they say 'Why would I do that' instead of "'Why would I have done that?"

texts:
It is often said when someone accuses you of doing something that you haven't done

For example:

James: You stole my bank card!

Ruth: No, I didn't. Why would I do that? (it won't work for me
because I dont know what your pin code is)

It asks for the hypothetical reasons for doing something
- that what could've led him to do that

Furthermore, by saying this, the person is making a statement that it is so unlikely of him to do that

But what I don't understand is why do people say "Why would I do that" instead of "Why would I have done that?". (as the action was done in the past)


texts: What is correct? Or/For or something else?

texts:
What is the correct way to write this sentence:

  A: Highest number of goals scored in a single game of 90 minutes: 12

  B: Highest number of goals scored in a single game for 90 minutes: 12

  C: Highest number of goals scored in a single game __ 90 minutes: 12


texts: Help me to understand this usage of periods in quotations and with incomplete sentences

texts:
Help me to understand this quote:

  "You should never read just for 'enjoyment.' Read to make yourself smarter! Less judgmental. More apt to understand your friends’ insane behavior, or better yet, your own. Pick “hard books.” Ones you have to concentrate on while reading. And for god’s sake, don’t let me ever hear you say, “I can’t read fiction. I only have time for the truth.” Fiction is the truth, fool! Ever hear of “literature”? That means fiction, too, stupid". — John Waters, Role Models.

In this "quotation", "More apt to understand your friends’ insane behavior, or better yet, your own" ends with a period, but it doesn't look like a complete sentence. Is it? Why does it end with a period?

What about the punctuation in the quotations, is that normal?


texts: Is that correct to say 'with no music on'?

texts:
As written in the title, is that correct to say:

'Can you dance with no music on?' or should I better say 'when the music is not playing'.

I am not sure if it's grammatically correct to say 'with no music on'. What I wanted to say is 'Can you e.g imagine the music is playing and dance?' (And don't care about the music).

Thanks for help.


texts: Is it right to say 'You don't ever learn to fly if you won't try'

texts:
Is it right to say in poem

  'You don't ever learn to fly if you won't try'

Is it right to use 'don't ever' here or is the construction wrong?


texts:
I and my friend came out from our class and were going to powder our noses. After reaching near to bathrooms, we found that doors of all bathrooms were closed, meaning that some students had already entered the bathrooms. My friend asked to me to describe this situation in English language. 'All bathrooms are packed', I said to him, adding that you might also say all toilets are being used.
Was I right in describing the above mentioned situation? How will a native English speaker describe this situation?


texts: prepositional phrase application, having two meaning

texts:
“There’s literally tons of carbon here,” she said, looking around the
  bog, which covers several acres off a muddy oil-company road amid the
  vast flatness of northern Alberta.

I think this sentence could be two meaning grammatically like:

and, i don't know which picture should be a right meaning semantically.


texts: Drill a hole {in/into/in to/to} the ground

texts:
Can you tell me which one is correct?

  these shafts are made by drilling a hole in to the ground....

or,

  in the ground
  into the ground
  to the ground

which one?


texts:
I am currently developing an application that includes a tree view. If some of the tree view items have no label, I give the user a feedback about this; something like "item without label found". I have found "unlabeled" and "labelless" as alternatives to "without label". However, especially "Labelless item found" sounds a bit funny to me.

Does "Unlabeled item found" or "Labelless item found" sound correct to a native speaker? Is "labelless" some kind of neologism (in such contexts)? I could find it only in the Wiktionary.


texts:
A: I know this is weird to because I just shot you but it feels like
  we are back in sync now.

  B: Yes, I mean as in sync as I have ever been with someone who just shot me.

That marked phrase seemed interesting to me. Until then I knew we could only put an adjective or an adverb between "as...as".

Is that sentence below okay? I just made it up.

  A: I am in big trouble. (A lied to his parents and he is afraid that
  they will find the truth.)

  B: No, your are just as in trouble as someone who has lied to
  his parents.


texts:
can you help me with these sentenses please:

"He has done very well overnight." - Does it mean that the night has just finished and he did very well overnight?
"I have done two long days at work" - Does it mean that i have just finished work and i did two days there
It has been very hot today - Does it mean that the day has just finished and it was very hot, or the day hasn't finished yet, or it is very hot during the whole day and it is still hot

My current understanding is that i can use present perfect this way:
 1. I have been on a holiday in the last year - I was in a holiday in September
 2 I have been on a holiday for two weeks - I am still on a holiday
 3 I have been on a holiday for two weeks and i look fantastic. - I have just returned

Can i say "i have been better lately" does it meen that i have been doing better lately in comparison with " I have been better"?


texts:
"In such cases, attending to the modes of moral reasoning that we characteristically accept can usefully expand the set of moral information from which we start, suggesting ways to structure the competing considerations."

(source: Moral Reasoning By Henry S. Richardson)

What is the phrase "suggesting ways to structure the competing considerations" modifying?

Is it modifying the set of moral information?
Is it connected to the phrase we start? (i.g. we start from moral information suggesting ways to~)


texts: Pronunciation of "what" with an / h / sound

texts:
In old american documentaries I noticed that they would pronounce the word what with an / h / sound.

But these days it is not pronounced with the / h / sound.

I wonder if anybody would explain.

Thanks in advance.


texts:
Tell me please what word is correct to use in the following sentence.

  Just press the handlebar to adjust the seat for you/yourself.


texts: A friend of mine gifted a sticker on which, "occasion genius" is written. I wonder what does that mean. I am not a native speaker, and I have really struggled to try to figure that out.


texts:
I'm translating an English travel guide of Edinburgh and having some questions over a sentence.
Here's the context: "A few steps downhill, at #188 (on the right), is the Police Information Center. This place provides a pleasant police presence (say that three times) and a little local law-and-order history to boot."
My questions is, does "a pleasant police presence" here mean "adequate police personnel"?


texts:
What's the natural way to express that you are not sure if your opposite opinion/conclusion is 100% correct, and politely ask if you misunderstand something.

Does "Do I misunderstand something?" sound natural?

For example:

Alice: "1+1=2"

Bob: "I think it should be 1+1=3, according to ....., do I misunderstand something?"


texts:
Which word would be more colloquial  in the following sentence:

  He is too ... for a job in which tough decisions were made.

The word sensitive can mean "easily offended, upset or damaged". Can we say that the words overlap in the sense emotional so the both can be used.


texts: What's the meaning and structure of this sentense "who should he see waiting but the captain and factor"?

texts:
One morning, early, Mr Fitzwarren had just come to his counting-house
  and seated himself at the desk, to count over the cash, and settle the
  business for the day, when somebody came tap, tap, at the door. 'Who's
  there?' said Mr Fitzwarren. 'A friend,' answered the other; 'I come to
  bring you good news of your ship Unicorn.' The merchant, bustling up
  in such a hurry that he forgot his gout, opened the door, and who
  should he see waiting but the captain and factor, with a cabinet of
  jewels and a bill of lading

This is from a English fairly tale. Could you teach me the meaning and structure of "who should he see waiting but the captain and factor"?


texts: “in the meanwhile” vs. “in the meantime”

texts:
I found that "in the meanwhile" is correct, although it is strange for native!

This expression can be used instead of "in the meantime"?
If the "in the meanwhile/ meantime" use in the initial of a sentence, the punctuation of "," should be used immediately after that? what about in the middle of a sentence?
What formal expression can be used instead of them?


texts:
I have no difficulty understanding the word elicit. The Oxford Learner's Dictionary defines it as "to get information or a reaction from somebody, often with difficulty" but I still don't get what the writer means in this particular sentence. Can anybody explain it for me, please?

  Whatever the pivotal moment may have been, it has occurred. That leaves the rest of the world with a challenge – how to deal with the United States in this new role of potential trade antagonist? It’s clearly a preoccupation of world leaders as they gather for the G20 summit in Hamburg this week. The occasion has elicited four distinct approaches that countries are trying: [...]

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/phillevy/2017/07/07/the-four-rs-of-taming-trump-on-trade/#57bf97b91f69


texts: "The best part of it" vs "Its best part"

texts:
Let's makeup a movie named "XYZ". Let's say a friend of mine said, "I watched a movie named "XYZ" last night. It was really good. Did you watch it before?". I answered, "Yes, I did"; and he asked, "What do you think about it?". As an answer to this question, can I say these interchangeably? Would they have the same exact meaning?

"I think it is a good movie. John's death was its best part."
"I think it is a good movie. John's death was the best part of it."

What I mean is that the death of the character named John was the best part of the movie.


texts: "Right" Answers in the IELTS Reading Section

texts:
Friends,
My concerns are about the suggested answers of the Reading section in the Official IELTS 14 Practice book. I'm providing the context, question(s) in concern and it's official answer.

the official answer to "What do visitors need to show when parking?" is "permits";
is "pre-arranged permits" also ?

the official answer to "Where can the nursery pick-up point be found?" is "Concorde Building";
is "outside Concorde Building" also ?

the official answer to "What are Sure Start Maternity Payments?" is "grants";
is "individual grants" also ?
I would like to know the logic behind the suggested answers as well as the system evaluators would use to assess alternative answers like I've suggested.


texts: What's the proper way to ask if you're expected to go to a meeting?

texts:
I received an e-mail in which I was CC'd by my boss. In it is a timetable of meetings and shoots. I'm the junior of a 4-man team so I don't really expect to be part of these meetings but since I received the e-mail, I want to make sure.

What is the proper way to ask if I'm invited to be part of the meeting/s?

Hi boss, regarding the timetable, am I expected to go to all the meetings? Or go to X meeting on (date)?
Hi boss, I read your e-mail and saw the timetable of the meetings next week. Am I invited to go?

I will be asking him via text message so I'm thinking of a casual but a respectable way to do so.


texts:
One can say only God knows in reference to some mystery only an omniscient being would know, or for those who prefer their oaths minced, heaven knows or goodness knows or lord knows.

The inverted form God only knows is also very common. But if read in usual English word order, it means something different, that God knows to the exclusion of anything else— God "only knows," and doesn't see, hear, act, etc.

Why and how then do we say God only knows? Is it a mangled quotation, a holdover from archaic English, or something else?


texts:
His uncle had always insisted the chosen successor be solidly grounded in the Amish church.

How could the writer put be without preceding with verbs such as see, hear, watch, etc.
Why he used "be" rather than "to be"?


texts:
How to say "electricity is on" in English? For example, if there's a blackout, and I'm telling a person that we'll talk when the power is on; mind you, I'm not telling that person that we'll talk when the power is back on, but when the power is active/there. How would I say that?
Let's take another example. Suppose my friend lives in an area where power outages/load shedding is common. I want to inquire whether the power is active/on right now in their area or is it cut off. How would I say that? Is the power ____ in your area right now? –


texts: Is "I too am okay" grammatically correct?

texts:
Today I heard someone saying "I too am okay", after that guy asked "how are you" and other person replied "I'm okay, how about you?"

This was the first time that I heard this and wondering whether this is a correct sentence or not.


texts:
(A) Trent thought it quite satisfying to live in his parents’ house.

  (B) Regina is starting feeling even more pressure to retain her looks.

  (C) He regarded the elderly as a strange tribe which he would never join it.

  (D) Regina and Trent were able to see the elderly also enjoys life with passion.

  (E) They hope this documentary will help young people to have a more positive view of growing older.

  (F) Regina was sent to a tiny flat in a retirement complex, where she gradually adapted to living alone.

I took an English exam today and the question seems very wrong.

The question is asking me to choose the answer choice which chose all the grammatically incorrect sentences.

I know that (C) and (D) are incorrect, but I don't think (B) is correct.

I know both "to feel" and "feeling" is possible after the verb "to start" but this sentence just seems very wrong.

Can someone verify if (B) is a correct sentence and the grammatical reason why?

The official answer says only (C), (D) are incorrect.


texts: Which punctuation is correct for "therefore"?

texts:
Regarding the sentences below, which punctuation is correct for "therefore"?
1- "A" is correct; therefore, "B" is incorrect.
2- "A" is correct and, therefore, "B" is incorrect.
In a paper, I found that the above punctuation was used for "therefore".
I WANT TO KNOW WHETHER WE CAN USE THE BELOW PUNCTUATION FOR "THEREFORE" OR NOT.
"A" is correct, therefore, "B" is incorrect.
"A" is correct and; therefore, "B" is incorrect.


texts: Why these two sentences can connect without conjunction?

texts:
I saw a sentence in an essay:

Health inequalities, for example, are central to the campaigning work of a number of organisations who lobby for an individual system of care that is divorced from psychiatric frameworks, the project ‘Bare Bars’ campaigns against carceral injustices, while the importance of media representation fuels the work of Trans Media Watch, which collaborates with cultural industries to bring about more positive representations of trans* people across the UK media.

I don't know why it can use a comma before "the project ‘Bare Bars’ campaigns against carceral injustices" to connect the two sub-sentences without any conjunction?
I have read Two sentences without conjunction?, but it seems that my case is not the same as the case asked in that post.


texts:
Canned baked beans are used as a convenience food. They may be eaten hot or cold straight from the can as they are fully cooked.

What does as mean here? Does it simply means because? ,to rephrase it;

  They may be eaten hot or cold straight from the can because they are already fully cooked.


texts: Menacing or teasing people or... - What is such a person called in English?

texts:
Please have a look on the following video and let me know what do you call such a person in everyday speech and which verb can be used to describe his actions:

https://youtu.be/AsTo14yf8BQ

Based on my dictionary definitions, he can be called a "menace" and what he does is "menacing to the people"! But the problem is that the translation of these words from English to my language reveals that they are used for some more sereous meanings while what I'm looking for shold be a multilateral concept which can imply both humor sense and sereous aspect as well!
I was wondering if English everyday speech encompass such words (noun & verb)!
I would appreciate it if you provide me with some separated words to describe the funny and serious aproaches independently (if exist).


texts: "No point (in) doing something"- can "doing something" be "to do something?

texts: I know "No point (in) doing something" is correct, but I also see a lot of people using - no point "to do" something, so is it a situation that it is actually wrong but just people got used to use it? So can I say both are OK in real conversation?


texts: Referring to an older adult as "grandpa"

texts:
I'm aware that calling an older adult "grandpa" is extremely rude , but if I had a friendly neighbor in their 80's who I really enjoy being around , would it be okay if I referred to them as "grandpa" like saying for example :
"we have this very nice grandpa who lives next door"
or it would be better to say "a grandfatherly neighbor" ?


texts: which form of verb is used with majority

texts:
The majority ________ that the country can progress under able leadership.

Either believe or believes should be used.
As far as I know majority goes with both singular and plural verbs, but the above question was asked in my exam and I had to choose only one option, and no further context was provided.
There is an example sentence in OALD 'The majority was/were in favor of banning smoking'


texts: Is there a standard dictionary to use for vocabulary?

texts:
I have come across many kinds of English dictionaries like Oxford, Cambridge, Collins and other similar ones which are commonly used. Suppose I wanted to look for a word, apparently each of them gives me a somewhat similar and different definition of word meaning which is parsed in a different way.

So, I was wondering whether there is a standard dictionary. Which one should I go with and how do I need to start if I would really like to know what a 'word' means and not just cram to remember its definition?


texts: What does “finish” mean and what does “things” refer in “most people can’t just 'finish' things with this software”?

texts:
An excerpt from "When M.I.T. Artist Shouts, His 'Painting' listens," an interview with Professor John Maeda conducted by Claudia Dreifus. (NYT)
Q. When you are creating your own computer art pieces, do you ever use prepackaged drawing programs? .
A. Oh, yes, all the time. There are all kinds of fine touches that prepackaged software makes easy. I could invent my own finishing system, but this is faster. Of course, the basic ideas, I create. The problem is that most people can’t just “finish” things with this software: They have to use it to start them, also. For much of recent history, people have created with brush, ink, paper—the materials of art. Now that they have begun creating with software and computers, the styles that emerge are homogeneous because the software is universal. Without being able to know how to program, you can’t break out of the technology—just like if you don’t know how to use brush and ink, you’re limited.
With a quotation mark, I think "finish" is not used in its literal meaning, which doesn't make much sense in this context because I don't find anything that's not "finished." In addition, what is the "things" in reference to?


texts: usage and meaning of 'until' in a sentence

texts:
.>Today  of  course,  we  have  electric  clocks  that  keep  giving  the  right  time  until  they  are unplugged or  the electricity  goes  off.

In this sentence, I'm confused with the usage of "until" .
Does this sentence mean

  electric  clocks will keep  giving  the  right  time  when they  are unplugged or  the electricity  goes  off. [Or]

  electric clocks stop giving the right time when they are unplugged or the electricity goes off.


texts:
The May 27 event, organized by the UK Beijing Association, the UK Society of Chinese Lawyers, and the Roundtable of Southern California Chinese-American Organizations, featured keynote speakers — including Zhu — who encouraged people to take positive action against racism and discrimination, such as reporting incidents to authorities and taking legal recourse.

I am doubt whether this sentence is complete. The subject is "the May 27 event", and it is "organized by the UK Beijing Association, the UK Society of Chinese Lawyers, and the Roundtable of Southern California Chinese-American Organizations" which is non-finite verb, I guessed "featured keynote speakers" is the predicate. But my intuition told me that it needed add something at the end of the sentence.


texts:
I am translating a legal text. I want to say the land mentioned earlier in the text belongs to Mr. X. I want to use possession for ownership here. Can I write?

  One quarter of the whole property mentioned earlier is under possession of Mr. X.


texts: What does until after mean? For example: "The pub opens until after 6 p.m." does it mean the pub opens as the clock strikes 6 p.m. or maybe It opens after 6 p.m.? If it means that it begins to work at 6, then what is the role of "after" there and the other way around?


texts: usage of above or top to mention parts of body

texts:
Which one is correct in American English? What is the best way to say that?

1) Please scratch the upper of my knee.
2) Please scratch above my knee.


texts: The word 'toggle' itslef means switching between two states. But is it proper to use explicitly like 'toggle ON' or 'toggle OFF' ? How the usage for that word should happen?


texts:
We can't see anything until you get the camera array fixed.

from vi.glosbe.com

I looked up the word in the dictionary and its definition is:

  a large group of things or people, esp. when shown or positioned in an
  attractive way

From the Cambridge dictionary.

But it doesn't seem to fit here in the context.


texts: "This made tears creep to/from her eyes"

texts:
I have been reading a novel for the past few days. I read something that did not sound good to me. I read this sentence in the novel:

  This made tears creep to her eyes.

But I did not understand why the writer used the preposition to here. As per my opinion the writer could have used the preposition from instead of to:

  This made tears creep from her eyes.

Does this sentence make sense using from?


texts: Can we use the modal verb 'Can' to suggest a future action?

texts:
For example-
You can Spend your vacation in Dubai.
You could Spend your vacation in Dubai.
Are there any difference between the two examples?


texts: Confused about the construction of the sentence

texts:
I have been trying to understand the actual construction of these type of sentences, but there still is a confusion to my understanding. I have seen many answers to questions regarding this type of sentence, but I'm still stuck.

[1]I bought a pen, looking good.

[2]I bought a pen looking good.

In [1] there is a comma but in [2] there isn't any comma. Is there any major difference between [1]and [2]?I think the sentence is a shortened form of :

I bought a pen that was looking good.

But what about [2]? Is it shortened?

[3]I saw him running.

Is [3] shortened form of :

I saw him who was running.
I thought of this because I am confused about why suddenly a participle form comes after a noun or pronoun.

In [3] 'saw' is a verb of perception. What if it is a different type of verb.

Are those sentences a shortened form of another sentence? Why did the participle come suddenly?

Please give me a proper explanation.


texts: Is this sentence missing a relative pronoun?

texts:
At later lessons we would be given a printed slip of paper entitled “Search the Scriptures,“ which was sent to the school by whatever national authority supervised the teaching of religion. (source)

This sentence strikes me as ungrammatical and missing the relative pronoun "which/that" that should follow "national authority". Shouldn't it be like this?

  At later lessons we would be given a printed slip of paper entitled “Search the Scriptures,“ which was sent to the school by whatever national authority that supervised the teaching of religion.


texts:
What's the difference between the following sentences?

1 "All I want is peace and quiet"

2 "I only want peace and quiet"


texts:
I am not too sure about some particular sentence:

  link
  (move mouse over the blue question mark)
  Choose the ID that matches the office you want to visit. This information is reported by the doctor directly and updated as reported for each plan.

What could be the meaning of "updated as reported"?


texts:
What does put up mean?

  A lady was in so much pain so someone "put up a medication pump in her".

What does put up mean here?

  Next, a nurse came up to me and said "I'm just going to put this IV drip up."

What does put up mean there?

Thanks


texts: what is the right sentence to input on the letter

texts:
Help me to construct a question?

Is my sentence right if a say, "Imposing of penalty is applicable?"

I was the one asking, if I said that? Am I right or wrong?

If I'm wrong, Could you help me how can I ask properly regarding imposing of penalty?

Thank you


texts: "Wow, what a car!" - Is it okay if I say 'Wow, what the car!"

texts:
I have been struggling with articles for quite a long time. Most of the times, I understand but then the more I understand them, the more it's getting perplexed!

For this particular question, I'm keeping in mind that the definite article 'the' is used for the one and only, a unique thing. Known to both - the listener and the speaker. If I say there was a table, it means there was some table but then if you and me are standing in a hall and we see a table, I won't use an indefinite article. There, it's Do you see the table? Quite clear.

Let's extend this further...

You and me are standing on a footpath. And we see a sexy Bentley...

  "Wow, what a car!" is generally what we hear. But...

why not the? I'm talking about that Bentley only --that particular car, in front of us (like the table).

And to argue, I'm not talking about the same model by German Volkswagen AG (or else 'a car' is justified!) because it has a beautiful sticker of Spiderman on it. Volkswagen does not make it that way!

Same case with...

  "What the beautiful pair of legs!" - She's right in front of me!   "What the movie it is! Awesome!" - Telling someone in the interval.

Though I'm asking this question, What a beautiful... and What a movie... seems correct.

Ah, I am trying to come up with What the [countable noun]... examples but finding it difficult. Is it that weird?


texts: An article with an adjective modifying a name

texts:
If I want to describe someone with an adjective do I need an article?

1 He is angry Steve. or He is an angry Steve. or He is the angry
Steve.
2 He is angry Steve now. or He is an angry Steve now. or He is the
angry Steve now.
3 I am hungry Maria. or I am a hungry Maria. or I am the hungry Maria.
4 I am hungry Maria now. or I am a hungry Maria now. or I am the
hungry Maria now.


texts:
My baby was born with fair skin but has become darker now.

  My baby was born with dark skin but has become lighter now.

What is the antonym for darker skin? Is it lighter?


texts: Many people ask with supplication about which generation is happier?


texts: "I am almost finished" vs "I almost have finished"

texts:
help me please.

Are these sentences both correct?

I have almost finished the book.
I am almost finished the book.

What the difference?

Can I also say "I almost finish the book"?


texts:
I have read some excerpts of the book but to tell the truth I am not interested in reading it whole.

I have read some excerpts of the book but to tell the truth I am not interested in reading the whole of it.

Are both sentences grammatically OK and synonymous? Namely I have in mind the use of the word "whole".


texts: Difference in meaning between "use", "employ" and "utilize"

texts:
I am confused with the words "use", "employ" and "utilize".

What is the difference in their meanings, and where they are supposed to be used?
There is another topic with the same question, but it is poorly explained.

Could it be used in the title of articles as in the examples below?

  Utilizing the advantages of Google mail.

  Employing external phone numbers in corporate phone system.


texts: I need help with "be involved" in and "involve in"

texts:
I don't understand the difference between "be involved in" and "involve in" in the following sentences:

  (1). My former teacher was involved in biology and related research for ten years.
  (2). My former teacher involved in biology and related research for ten years.


texts:
It was in this video. It is at 8 minute and 13 second. Here it goes:

  But could we consider the combination of all these unnoticed factors to be compromising Jerry's free will.

Would not it be grammatical to say "...the combination of all these factors is
compromising Jerry's free will"? And How is called this grammar structure?


texts: What means this sentence and what meand "through" word in this sentence?

texts:
What means this sentence and what means "through" word in this sentence? Why "are" is using in this sentence?
The Sentence: "Only once enough are through to wound him." (It's from starcraft 2 game :)).
I understand firs part "Only once enough" but don't understand "are through".
If it is possible try to explain it to me please.


texts:
Commenting a statement, I want to convey the idea that besides the fact that this statement has the virtue of making us laugh, it is also instructive for such and such reason. Can I use any of the following sentences?
"John said this and that, which, besides being a good laugh, also showed this"
"John said this and that, which, besides providing a good laugh, also showed this"
"John said this and that, which, besides offering a good laugh, also showed this"
"John said this and that, which, besides giving us a good laugh, also showed this"


texts:
I searched the online dictionaries but I cannot find the meaning of:

  but only because

So, Could you please explain it to me?

The text is here:

  The first time I saw King’s College, Cambridge, I didn’t think I was
  dreaming, but only because my imagination had never produced anything
  so grand.


texts:
On the internet I came across this sentence:

  That’s a DOPE bike!

According to Oxford Dictionaries it has a positive meaning when used as an adjective.

Black slang: very good.

I’m not sure whether I’ve got the correct meaning, which is why I nicely ask that you help me understand if there is a positive or a negative meaning.


texts: The best English term for a made up, catchy code-name

texts: What is the best English term for a made up, catchy code-name (typically, created spontaneously during a brainstorm meeting) for some new concept or prototype?


texts: "I’ve made my mind up" or "I've made up my mind"

texts:
I'm a little confused about which is correct:

  I’ve made my mind up.

or

  I’ve made up my mind.


texts: Contrasting preposition ‘with' and 'without'

texts:
Is this sentence below correct?

  I can complete the job with the help of computer but fail without.

My question here is the use of "without" without any additional word.

updated:

I need to keep the pair of "with" and "without" in the sentence to highlight what happen if we have it (use it) and what happen if we don't have it (use it).


texts: Meaning of "saga" in a Queens of Stone Age song

texts:
I am having trouble to understand the meaning of the word "saga" in the following excerpt of a Queens of Stone Age lyrics:

  How we feeling out there? How's your drive time commute?
      I need a saga, what's the saga?
      It's songs for the deaf, you can't even hear it

  ("You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire"
       - written by Josh Homme and Mario Lalli)

These are actually the words of a fictional radio host introducing the song, and "songs for the deaf" is the name of the album.

"Saga", in that context, doesn't seem to match any of the following meanings in The Free Dictionary:

  1a. A prose narrative usually written in Iceland between 1120 and 1400,
            dealing with the families that first settled Iceland and their
            descendants, with the histories of the kings of Norway, and with the
            myths and legends of early Germanic gods and heroes.

  1b. A modern prose narrative that resembles a saga.

  A long detailed report: recounted the saga of their family problems.

Neither it matches the definitions in Urban dictionary, supposing it is a slang.

I can only interpret that the radio host wants to listen to something epic.


texts:
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) movie, Hagrid is pelting stones on the surface of the river, and says about Malfoy:

Hagrid: He said Buckbeak was a deadly and dangerous creature...who
would kill you as soon as look at you.
Hermoine: And then?
Hagrid: And then he asked for the worst, did old Lucius.

What does "did" refer to?


texts: "He is just not that into me": lacking predicate?

texts:
He is just not that into me.

I don't know what meaning of this sentence. As I see, this is a wrong sentence due to lacking predicate?


texts:
It is me who am to blame.
It is I who am to blame.

Which one is correct here?
I am bewildered about these two sentences.


texts:
Example:

  The digital camcorder is not your father's 8mm movie camera. Fifty years ago, family events and
  vacations were recorded on narrow silent film that faded with the years and grew jerkier each
  time it was fed through the home projector. Today, the family video camera comes within a hairbreadth of producing movies-videos that are technically as good as you see in the theaters or on
  a TV set. For all the similarities between digital video and still cameras, they are, for the time
  being, different animals. Because the subjects in videos are constantly moving, the eye doesn't
  notice if the image is not as sharp as a good photo. But the two animals are evolving into a new
  creature-one joins the different circuitry and mechanisms needed to shoot both stills and motion.

I don't know how I should understand that.


texts: What does the phrase 'have the greater knowledge' mean?

texts:
In the following sentence, does the phrase 'have the greater knowledge' mean 'understand well'?

  "We all know that books burn, yet we have the greater knowledge that books cannot be killed by fire. People die, but books never die. No man and no force can put thought in a concentration camp forever. No man and no force can take from the world the books that embody man's eternal fight against tyranny of every kind."

  - Franklin D. Roosevelt

  (goodreads.com)


texts: Somone 'has been friends' with someone -what is this structure?

texts:
From some Indian Daily -

  Sania has been friends with Tia since childhood.

Why plural friends? and why with? We can be friendly with someone, not friend.

Based on that, is this correct?

  Jack is friend with me?

Also, plural friends should be this way -

  Sania and Tia have been friends since their childhood or   Sania has been a friend of Tia since childhood.


texts: What does "I know who I want to take me home." mean in "Closing Time" song?

texts:
I heard a English song named Closing Time and there is a line in the lyrics:

  I know who I want to take me home.

What is the meaning of this? It seems should be like these:

  I know who I want to take home.

or

  I know who want to take me home.


texts:
Is this a tub, a box, a bottle? Or is there a better word for it?

Unfortunately, the product page at tesco.com doesn't say what the tablets come in - only that frying information isn't applicable... ;-)


texts: significance of "for they had + third form of verb"

texts: I want to know the meaning of the phrase "for they had". While watching movies, I have come across the sentence. It was like " for they had created a world with no chaos........ What does this "for they had" mean ?


texts: How to understand this sentence if it contains "nor" without "either"?

texts:
Unprotected passwords weren’t compromised nor were payment cards as
  the latter weren’t stored on the affected system.


texts: Is "and" necessary in "he is always helpful, kind"

texts:
He is always helpful, kind towards his colleagues.
  He is always helpful and kind towards his colleagues.

Are both sentences correct?


texts: How to use 'explain and suggest' in passive form?

texts:
Would anyone please tell me which of the following two expressions is correct?

  A. The problem was explained to the children.
  B. The children were explained the problem.

or

  A. A meeting place was suggested to us.
  B. We were suggested a meeting place.

Waiting for your kind reply .
Thank you very much .


texts:
The \ a decision to change the government has been taken.

1) which article should I use?

Earlier this year, with the help of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, we reached a decision to expand our study and start putting rubbish back into particular areas of the harbour.

2) The above sentence is copied from an IELTS book.  I wonder why "a decision" is written instead of "the decision" as it is specific ("expanding our study and start putting rubbish back into particular areas of the harbour.")

We use the whenever the noun is specific, even if it is first time mentioned, don't we? For example: "a decision about my live" is general, the decision in this case can be anything so we use "a". My example confusing me because it is a specific action and a specific decision, there is only one probability which is putting the rubbish over there. I still don't know how this decision in this context can be considered general.


texts: "Alice could hear him sighing as if his heart would break" -- what does "would" mean here?

texts:
Here is a chunk from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:

  They had not gone far before they saw the Mock Turtle in the distance, sitting sad and lonely on a little ledge of rock, and, as they came nearer, Alice could hear him sighing as if his heart would break.

I wonder what would means here. Is it the same as were willing? I know that will and would can be used in if-clauses (there is a question on ELU), but does as if obey the same rules?


texts:
Generally we use "hads* with he , she , and it.

So which one is correct to say ?

Does this phone has / have xyz function ?

Does his father has / have a car ?


texts: How do you reword this sentence into a shorter one

texts:
They need to develop the country into a secular and prosperous country
  for other countries to adopt as a model.

I am not sure why, but the sentence sounds weird and ungrammatical. Is it grammatical? Is it idiomatic? Is this what we call a dangling phrase? I am unsure if this can be considered as an error in an essay. Is it bad style? If so, why?


texts:
I came across a quote from Abraham Lincoln:

  The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion.

I am more familiar with the phrase “rise to the occasion”, so my questions are, why Lincoln uses “with” in this sentence? What's the difference between “rise to the occasion” and “rise with the occasion”?

Is “rise with the occasion” emphasizing “to react at the same rate of the progress” more than using “to”?


texts: the usage of 'very' in negative sentence

texts:
Can we use 'very' in 'negative' sentences?

  I can't go out as it is very cold.

Please answer me whether I can write the above sentence or not.


texts: A little is getting through all the same - I can't understand this

texts:
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/east-ukraine-city-dying-under-siege-180159011.html

  With gas reserves all but exhausted, even those willing to brave a drive out of the city for supplies struggle to refill their cars.
  A little is getting through all the same, mainly from Russia. Pro-rebel online television station Luhansk-24 on Sunday carried a report about a consignment of medicinal supplies reaching the city from the southern Russian city of Saratov.

A little is getting through. Alright. I understand that it means not a lot of food supplies reaching the city. But how is all the same connected to that statement?


texts: Is it idiomatic to say "The sentence is stating a fact"?

texts:
The sun rises in the east, everyone knows it.

When I say the sentence "The sun rises in the east", I am stating a fact.

Is it idiomatic to say,

  The sentence is stating a fact.

Although, it is actually me stating a fact through that sentence.


texts: “I'm writing my CV now.” versus “I write my CV.”

texts:
I'm currently sitting at my desk and want to write on a social network that I'm writing my CV.

How must I write this message?

  I'm writing my CV now.

or

  I write my CV.


texts:
Imagine you want to invite your friend to your home because you are having a birthday party. Since your friend live far away, you think you should offer him to stay with you for the night.

How would you say that in different ways in an invitation mail? I especially look for something idiomatic  but without too formal or informal..

For example :

  We would be more than happy to put you up for the night?

How about ?

  We would be more than happy to have you for the night.

  After the party, you can stay with us overnight.

  After the party, you can sleep at our home overnight.


texts: 'At a glance, at a touch' - Is it weird if I use this expression?

texts:
I've seen that 'at a glance' is a quite widely used in many texts. However, it refers to eye or optical something whatsoever. - Sorry, I'm not a native speaker ;(. I'd like to apply it to touch sensation.
Just like "at a glance", which means "If you see something in a very short time", I'd like to use "at a touch" to express "If you touch something in a very short time, you can feel something something something."
I googled "at a touch" to find out if it reflects my idea, but it seems it is uncommon to use it. Finally I got into this site, then I clicked previous question "What does 'touch' mean in “It opened at a touch”?" to check if my idea is ok to go, but context there seems little bit different from my intention.
Example: "At a glance, you can feel exotic color, at a touch, you feel extreme comfort."
Does it sound so weird to native english users?


texts: What is correct, "in the British Islands" or "on the British Islands"? Is there a general rule?


texts:
From the movie The Sacrament:

  Well, it's officially 5:00. So much for the greatest night's sleep of our lives. Tried to go to sleep about an hour ago. Whatever they're doing in the pavilion seems to have stopped, so it's finally quiet. Ugh. Neither of us could sleep. It's a weird night. Looks like it's finally getting to us. Well, I'm actually really scared. It's the most scared I've been in a long time. Ready to go home.

There are two problems I have in this excerpt. First of all, what does it's finally getting to us mean exactly? Is he talking about the weird night that's finally getting to them, like, it's starting to give them a hard time?

And my second question is about the grammar of the second sentence in a bold font. What he's saying there means it's the instance where he has been scared the most in his life and that he hasn't been so scared in a long time? Is that a correct understanding?


texts: "Be + to infinitive" VS "Be + root verb"

texts:
Your task [ is to / is ] remove all the dirt.

  All I want to do [ is to / is ] thank you.

Between "is to" and just "is", what is more common, and what's the difference in their meaning or usage.


texts: What is the gramatically correct way to say "It can lead to  does "

texts:
I know "lead to" (or "result in") can be used in such ways like

  How severe maternal inflammation can lead to autism-like behavior
  Stress, anxiety, depression can lead to heart disease
  Can Secondhand Smoke Lead To Weight Gain?

(all from Google News headlines)

But if I want to say something like:

  due to the inflammation, a baby can develop1 an autism-like behavior

with "lead to", what is the grammatically correct way?  Can I say:

  Inflammation can lead the baby developing an autism-like behavior

1 Not even sure if this is a correct verb to use with "behavior" in terms of collocation


texts: What order should I use for "To my parents, my brother and my sister" in the dedication in my thesis?

texts:
I want to include a dedication in my thesis.

I wrote
To my parents, my brother and my sister.

First of all, is this right?
Second, what is the "ranking"?
Should brother be first or sister?


texts: is 'the same to ' better than 'the same for '

texts:
Which sentence is better? are they same?

  All people are the same to them
  All people are the same for them


texts: What does "parted in curtains" mean here?

texts:
A sliver of a man could be seen looking out at them, a man with long black hair parted in curtains around a sallow face and black eyes
—Harry Potter

It feels like it's a depiction of his hair rather than actual curtains. But what does it mean? Is it a a usual idiom to describe hair or some rhetorical trick by Rowling?


texts: What do you call an area of the sea that sinks many ships? I am pretty sure there was a word for it. When there are treacherous rocks that sink wooden ships, there was a word pirates used to refer to it, but I don't recall what it was.


texts: Listing differnet kinds of an uncoutable noun. Are they countable or uncountable?

texts:
How do you I refer to different kind of an uncountable noun? For example, this is a part of my writing:

  Using oil (coconut oil, olive oil) to moisturize your skin after bath. Those oil...

I want to explicitly refer to two kinds of oil to avoid other oil like engine oil mistakenly. Does those suit here? Are they countable? I think it's yes (look, I use they and them to refer to them in this sentence and the previous one). However, isn't that after using those, we should use the plural form of the noun? In that case, oils, not oil, should be use, right? And in that case, is oil a countable noun now?


texts: Maybe it is an interference from my native tongue, but why is it correct to say “It is the locations that make this tournament special”. Since there is the pronoun “it” for singular, and “they” for plural, why don’t we use “they” with a plural noun?


texts: "type of determiner" vs. "type of determiners"

texts:
From Cambridge Dictionary

  "A/an" and "the" are articles. They are a type of determiner and they go before a noun.

"A", "an", and "the" are three determiners, while the tutorial uses the singular form of "determiner", why is that?

One of the possible reasons might be that they are one type. In contrast, in this situation I should use the plural form of it, as there are three types.

  Articles, Demonstratives, and Possessives are three types of determiners.

Is my understanding right?


texts:
Yet the zone is poorly understood — physically, biogeochemically and ecologically. Even the number of organisms that live there remains a mystery, let alone their diversity and function.

  …

  Here, we outline the steps needed to ensure that enough is known about this complex global ecosystem to inform decisions about the impacts of climate change and potential future exploitation. We call on the international marine research community to focus its attention on the twilight zone during the upcoming United Nations Decade of the Ocean, which runs from 2021 to 2030. In the spirit of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, we should seize the opportunity to establish a global policy that will protect this vast ecosystem for present and future generations.

  Carbon pump

  At present, we know just enough about the twilight zone to recognize its importance in maintaining a healthy ocean.

Does we know about the twilight zone enough or not? I’m confused

article link: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00915-7


texts:
I have met the following expression:

  It is best not to do something.

The issue is I thought that with the superlative form of an adverb we should use the article "the" ("the most" or "the best", e.g.).

Could anybody explain why we can omit "the" here?


texts:
Using Google Translate, I have this translation from Russian to English:

  каковы спортивные новости?

  what are the sports news?

I know, that the word "news" is uncountable, so it is singular. Also I know, that uncountable nouns can be countable in different meanings. Are there a mistake in "Google Translate"'s variant? Or I just don't understand the rule quite well?


texts:
I am going to enter into a partnership with an American company and want to know how much capital they have and what would be the assets and capabilities they intend to bring into the market in my question. How should I ask them idiomatically about the amount they would tend to provide us as a partner in our project?

  How much can you invest in this project?
  How much capital can you invest in this project?

I think, while the verb "invest" encapsulates the "capital" in it, using capital would be optional here, (although using that collocation can make my sentence sound more scientific and financial.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.


texts:
Suppose you're having a conversation with someone, and you're intrigued as to which college they go to. So, you ask them that, and they say X. At this point, if you wished to express how surprised you are, which one of the two would you use:

  I didn't know/I had no idea you went to X.

Or, would you use:

  I didn't know/I had no idea you go to X.

I suppose both are grammatically correct.
What's the difference in their meaning?

In similar cases, and this one, is it better to keep the tenses in harmony?


texts: Does this shade have a particular name? Or is it just called a solar shade ?


texts: What will you call this part in a monitor stand?

texts:
I am going to talk a topic about monitor stand in English with native English speakers, I will specifically talk about this part:

What is the best word I can use for the part that will definitely let a native English speaker know what I am talking about?

feet, legs? or?


texts: Past simple vs present perfect vs past continouos

texts:
Can You tell me please, if explanations/questions for those sentences are correct?

Present simple: I break my legs. => (explanation) I do it all the time, from time to time, it's my habit or sth what occurs from time to time.
Present Continouos: I am breaking a leg. => (explanation) Now as we are speaking, I'm trying so hard to do it.
Past simple 1: I broke a leg. => (explanation - question?)  Is my leg now broken, or is it already healed and healthy, or we don't know that? Is it correct to use past simple without a time reference from the past?
Past simple 2: I broke a leg two years ago. => (explanation - question?)  Is my leg now broken, or is it already healed and healthy, or we don't know that?
Past simple 3: I broke a leg yesterday. => (explanation - question?)  Is my leg now broken(it must be!), or is it already healed and healthy, or we don't know that?
Present Perfect: I have broken a leg. => (explanation)  My leg is broken right as we are speaking. I did it some time ago (we don't know when exactly)
Past Continuous: I was breaking my leg. => (explanation)  I was in the act of doing it.

Regards!


texts:
I've looked up the word clumsy in oxford dictionary. It says:

  (of people and animals) moving or doing things in a very awkward way.

Afterwards, I've looked up the word awkward and seen an example:

  He tried to dance, but he was too clumsy and awkward.

At first I thought clumsy and awkward were synonyms, but now I'm quite confused when seeing they stand together. Is it unnecessary to use both of them at the same time? What is the difference between them? Thank you!