texts: "Creation and deletion of accounts are performed automatically" or ".. is performed automatically"?

texts:
Creation and deletion of Active Directory accounts are performed automatically during recruitment or dismissal of the employee, respectively.

I'm proofreading this text and I feel like there should be is there, but I can't explain why. We have a compound subject, "creation and deletion of accounts", and the parts of the compound subject are joined by and, so logically we should use are.

I'm not sure about this case. Should there be are or is?

Maybe I get this feeling because "and" here really means "or", because we have "or" in "recruitment or dismissal"?


texts: "Welcome to BioFarm, a leading Finnish innovative biotech company" - does "leading" combine well with "innovative"?

texts:
Let's say that we have a website with this sentence on its intro page:

  Welcome to BioFarm, a leading Finnish innovative biotech company

Does the word leading combine well with innovative, or is it better to use either leading or innovative?

I feel like the words somehow overlap in meaning. They both indicate that the company is "cool".

I would strike out "innovative" and maybe try to use this word (if requested by the customer) in some other way.

  Welcome to BioFarm, a leading Finnish biotech company (engaged in innovative research?)


texts: What is the meaning of Five Thousand and No/100 Dollars in a contract?

texts:
The following snippet is part of a business agreement. I don't understand the meaning of 'five thousand and no/100 dollars (5,000.00 USD)'.

  For A's responsibilities and services under this Agreement, Investor shall pay B a fee in the amount of Five Thousand and No/100 Dollars ($5,000.00 USD) (the "Fee") on the Effective Date.


texts: Difference between "They left him for dead." and "They left him for death."

texts:
As for me, "They left him for dead" seems to mean they thought he was dead and so  they left.

"They left him for death" seems to mean either "they left him because they were afraid of being killed" or "they left him for the purpose of death"

Am I right?
Is there anyone who can clarify these two sentences?


texts:
Could you tell me what the differences between "to carp" and "to nag" are?
I have searched on the internet but still I can't find it out. Perhaps you, native English speakers, can help me.


texts:
I have asked many questions regarding the usage of 'any'. Now I know in questions we use 'any' with plural nouns. Or we use indefinite article 'a/an'. But no grammar book says that 'any' with singular nouns is wrong. It says that it is relatively uncommon. Thus we prefer to say:

1- Do you have a book?

2- Do you have any books?

But can you explain a situation where I can use any with "singular nouns" in a question? Can I ever say "Do you have any pen?" In the grammar book "The Cambridge grammar of the English language" there are a few examples where 'any' is used with singular nouns in negative sentences. But in case of questions, I did not get any examples. I have attached images of the pages of the grammar book.


texts: The use of the basic form of a verb with "to" at the beggining of a sentence

texts:
Here is the sentence:

  To break it down, in any communication there is a sender and a receiver, a message, and interpretations of meaning on both ends.

I cannot get the grammar of it. Does it mean I am going to break it down?


texts: Terms to refer uniquely to each of the grandparents

texts:
In Swedish, there are different words to refer to grandparents which explain whether they are on your mother's side or your father's side. The words are (and literally translate to)

  Mormor - Mother's mother
  Morfar - Mother's father
  Farmor - Father's mother
  Farfar - Father's father

Google Translate just says "grandmother" and "grandfather" for each when translated in English. But that doesn't seem to keep the same intent of referring to the specific grandparent I am talking about.

How can I express these words similarly in English and have it sound right? I thought something like this:

  I visited my mother's mother today in hospital

But it doesn't sound natural to me.


texts: What does 'should' mean in this example?

texts:
Chain restaurants in Toronto should have calorie and sodium (salt)
counts on their menus, according to the city’s Medical Officer of
Health, Dr. David McKeown.
According to a news release from the
City of Toronto’s public health department, nearly half (46 per cent)
of adults in the city are overweight. Nearly one-quarter (24 per cent)
of adults in Toronto have high blood pressure.
McKeown wants that to change.
In the news release he said that, “diners
underestimate the calories and sodium in their restaurant meals.”
Having the calorie and sodium figures right on the menu will help
people make healthier choices when they order their food.
Many
restaurants make nutritional information available, but it’s on a
website or a brochure rather than right beside the food choices on the
menu. That means people would have to look it up or ask for it from
the server. When the information is listed right beside the menu
items, people are more likely to consider it and use it to make better
choices.
It also lets diners compare the menu items more easily.
Toronto Public Health will ask the Ministry of Health and Long-Term
Care to develop a law that requires chain restaurants to put the
calorie and salt counts on their menus. The change would apply to
restaurants that have 10 or more locations in Canada, or make more
than $10-million a year.
They will be presenting their
recommendations at a Board of Health meeting on April 29.
** (http://teachingkidsnews.com/)

Does the first line’s ‘should’ mean ‘should~in the future,’ corresponding to the last part: “will ask ... will be presenting”?


texts: Is there any difference in meaning between "I canoe" or "I go canoeing" when someone asks you if you play any sports?

texts:
Could you tell me if there is any difference in meaning between I canoe or I go canoeing when someone asks you if you play any sports? For example:

Person A: Do you play any sports?
Person B: I canoe/I go canoeing


texts:
Let's assume we have n methods of doing X,
When i ask "When to use which ?" i expect the answer to be something like : "Use A when ... , Use B when ..."

By asking this question I want to ask "When to use each method"

I am sure i heard this expression before but I'm not sure whether it is correct.


texts: Looking for a phrase meaning “making unnecessary distinctions”

texts:
I’m looking for a phrase I once read from a philosophical composition, which roughly means “drawing a line between things that shouldn’t be distinguished from each other.” What I can vaguely recall is that its literal form involves parting the hair of something, maybe a tail.

Any clue is appreciated!


texts: Which is correct, number or amount, in the following two sentences?

texts:
I have encountered the following two sentences. In the first sentence, the writer use the word ‘number’ and the word ‘amount’ in the second one.
Can I ask if both are correct? or which expression is correct?

In 2013, British ecologist Mark Browne/ launched a project to help reduce the number of microfibers released into the oceans.
Avoiding [personal care products that have microbeads in them] and [clothing that was made from synthetic fibers]// would reduce the amount of microplastics entering marine and coastal environments.


texts:
Both

  [with poss]

and

  [oft with poss]

are instructions in Collins Dictionary.

I can understand "oft" = "often", but what is "poss"? The dictionary doesn't give an answer, at least I didn't find out.

example: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/identity

and: https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&biw=683&bih=318&ei=kfLjWsz1OOvZjwSJwLaQBg&q=collins+oft+with+poss&oq=collins+oft+with+poss&gs_l=psy-ab.3.o..47839.47839.0.49013.1.1.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..1.0.0....0.xuaq9zkz14I


texts: In "All valid data bits", what does "valid" refer to?

texts:
Coding of NVB (Number of Valid Bits)
Length: 1 byte
The upper 4 bits are called “Byte count” and specify the integer part of the number of all valid data bits transmitted by the PCD (including SEL and NVB) divided by 8. Consequently, the minimum value of “Byte count” is 2 and the maximum value is 7.

What does the bold text mean?

Number of all the bits in a valid-data transmission?
Number of all the valid-bits in a data transmission?

I mean how can I understand what is the reference of valid (data or bits)?


texts: What does the highlighted part of the following text mean?

texts:
I may be able to find you guys a place. However, for 3 people would have to be a 2 bedroom. Do you have a good # to reach you by any chance?

This is part of an email I recieved today. When saying good# I do not get what it means.
Thank you in advance.


texts: word that encompasses all non physical things?

texts: Is there an encompassing word to describe non-physical systems or entities? Things like data, processes, religion, rules, laws, etc?


texts: 'A is not generally equal to B' or 'A is generally not equal to B'?

texts: Which one is more appropriate? Personally, I often take the second version. But once my supervisor changed my writing to the first version.


texts: Can you ever use “ever” with the past perfect?

texts:
It is ever right to say:

  Had you ever visited the USA?

Or is ever only used with the present perfect:

  Have you ever visited the USA?

If you can use ever with the past perfect as well, then what is the shade of meaning that using it confers here which omitting it would not?


texts: "had said" vs. "said" -- are these sometimes interchangeable?

texts:
Example with a context (British 'severed heads' jihadi jailed for 12 years):

  Imran Khawaja, 27, of Southall, west London, traveled to a training camp in Syria in January last year and joined Rayat al Tawheed, which became aligned with Islamic State, prosecutors had said.

Do you think it would really make a big difference in meaning here if we used said (simple past) instead of had said (past perfect)? I don't know, but I think the author could just as easily have used said in the simple past.


texts: Should + present infinitive or may + present infinitive? In case of expressing possibilities

texts:
Tom should know the address.
Tom may know the address.
In case of expressing possibilities can should and may be interchangeably used?
or
Is there any striking difference between them?


texts: the use of "it" as pronoun for a plural noun

texts:
It is important when using pronouns to give it the correct form.

I saw an English grammar post saying putting "it" in there is incorrect since it serves as singular pronoun. but I thought when it comes to picking a pronoun between "if" and "they" for plural nouns, it was a personal choice. And I've actually used "it" on many occasions as pronoun for a plural noun. is it true using "it" in this case is incorrect?


texts: Can I put two dependent sentences into one subordinating conjunction?

texts:
Can I put two sentences into one subordinating conjunction?

Example,

    (1) After I finished doing my homework and my mom came home, we went out for dinner.

    (2) After I finished doing my homework and after my mom came home, we went out for dinner.

I know the second one is grammatically correct, but is the first one also grammatically correct?


texts: How is double negation interpreted in English?

texts:
In my native language, double negations "cancel out". I have been trying to learn English using movies and such things, but double negation confuses me. I see instances when double negation cancels out, and some when they do not.

For example, "I haven't got no money" is interpreted as "I have no money." "There wasn't anyone who didn't enjoy the party" is interpreted as "Everyone enjoyed the party."

Is this context dependent? If so, how does one decide which interpretation is correct?


texts: Is saying "a 160 days' ride" acceptable?

texts:
From the movie Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

The audio version is here

  Look. It'll be a hard day, but I guarantee you that a 160 days' ride that way... there's nothing but salt.

Why does he say it like that? Is his grammar accurate? I thought that the only way to say something like that was either say a 160-day ride or 160 days' ride without the indefinite article.

On a regular basis, you can't really mix plural things with articles in English.


texts: 'A high pyramid' or 'a tall pyramid'—which is correct and why?

texts:
It seems the more I learn the language, the more complicate it becomes for my mind.
At school, our teacher taught us that 'tall' is used for people and 'high' for inanimate objects. Then, when I got my desktop PC already being an adult, I learned it's not quite true. One must say 'a high mountain,' but 'a tall tower.' So we probably use 'tall' for objects whose height is bigger than their width.
But, for example, I don't know if either the side or the diagonal of the base of a pyramid is larger than its height and I am too lazy to measure them. Or, worse, it can be an enormous cube, which, you know, is symmetrical. So 'a high pyramid' or 'a tall pyramid'; 'a tall cube' or 'a high cube'? Or is there a possibility of both adjectives being appropriate?
Thanks a lot!


texts: Present Indefinite or Present Perfect in conventional everyday talking

texts:
When I see someone of my family in the morning, how should I ask them?

Hullo, have you brushed your teeth?
Hullo, did you brush your teeth?

And what tense would fit better with an adjunct "already"?


texts: "I get five hundred words of copy from her": the meaning of "copy"

texts:
While reading Salinger's Zooey, I've become curious what sense of copy is implied in the following fragment:

I've  just  finished  decoding  a  long  letter  that  came from
Mother  this  morning... [...]
Dear Bessie. I get five hundred words of copy from her like clockwork every
three months on the subject of my poor old private phone and how
stupid it is to pay Good Money every month for something nobody's ever
even around to use any more.

Of the senses provided by Wiktionary, I dither between:

The text that is to be typeset
The output of copywriters, who are employed to write material which
encourages consumers to buy goods or services.
The text of newspaper articles.


texts: Is "I heard you had ..." a valid expression?

texts:
The full sentence I used was "I heard you had Diwali next week, will you celebrate?".

The auto-complete functionality of a Google search for "I heard you had" provides a lot of results, like "I heard you had a ruff day.". So my assumption is that in general, the construct "I heard you had ..." should be fine. Is that the case? In addition, is my first example sentence about Diwali grammatically correct?


texts: How can I know whether some random verb takes a verbal complement that’s an infinitive or a gerund — or either?

texts:
I’m studying for TOIEC, and I was just now working on some of the sample problems.

I find this next one very confusing:

  Our company policy requires employees ____ in accordance with federal safety reguations at all times.

  acting
  acted
  are acting
  to act

They say the right answer is #4, but I don't know why answer #1 is not acceptable.


texts:
In the website http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/thousand#thousand__2, I find that

When you are not giving an exact number, you can use the plural form "thousands" with the preposition "of":

Every day, thousands of tons of waste were sent to landfills.

The words hundred and million work in the same way."

Do "thousands of" and "millions of" mean the same?
I kind of think the number that "millions of" refers to is more than the number that "thousands of" refers to.


texts:
What does "There I was, hip by association" mean? And by the way, does "go some straight route" mean "create my career without his help" here?

  While going to college and thinking maybe I should go some straight route, I realized that after taking everything that ended in 101 or ology, there was nothing but music for me. So I left college, moved up to San Francisco, and started recording other people. I had no idea what I was doing. I got very lucky. I moved next door to a guy who was doing little 15-second spots for this new crazy cable channel. I did some of those - turns out it was MTV! There I was, hip by association. Ad agencies love cool. They tracked me down between who I was going to record next and writing music for commercials. It was very lucrative and a great business to get into. So pretty quickly I was able to turn my passion for music into a business.

(forbes.com)


texts: "What time...?" or "At what time...?" - what is more grammatically correct?

texts:
This question may sound silly, but it has been bugging me for years.

If I ask a question about a precise point in time, should I say "What time..." or "At what time..."?

For example,

  At what time does Billy arrive at the swimming pool?

or

  What time does Billy arrive at the swimming pool?


texts: Can an adverb phrase function as subject complement? My mother is now 'back' with us

texts:
My mother is now back with us.

Does "back" in the sentence function as an adverb? Can adverb phrase function as subject complement?


texts: Meaning of "clench" in "clenching the muscles in his forearms."

texts:
This is a passage from a novel:

  Neal had both hands on the counter, clenching the muscles in his forearms. Like he was retroactively bracing himself for bad news. His head was hanging down, and his hair fell away from his forehead.

From OALD, clench is defined as:

  when you clench your hands, teeth, etc., or when they clench, you press or squeeze them together tightly, usually showing that you are angry, determined or upset

From the definition, I understand what it means when you clench your teeth, but I don't understand what clenching mean in this passage when she said clenching the muscles in his forearms.


texts:
The difference between 'Don't do something' and 'Not do something'
For example, as following scene:

A: I want to buy toy?
B: Don't buy toy!

Could I just say not buy toy?
There are any difference between those two sentences? And can I use one replace the other?


texts: What does it mean (figuratively) "scale a gulf"?

texts:
Reading another story, I cannot decipher the meaning of the following phrase:

My hand and arm, reaching up to make sure that the graph was correctly
adjusted on my forehead over the pineal gland, seemed to scale a
gulf like that of some profound canyon. A carboy loomed like a giant
monument.

The protagonist describes his feeling when enduring the effect of a drug.
I tried to look up all meanings of "scale" but none seemed to fit in there.
Original text: http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/51/double-cosmos


texts:
Neither Mr Tan nor his wife has been informed about the accident by the police.

Is it possible to replace ‘has been informed’ with ‘is informed’? Will the sentence has a different meaning?


texts:
I have two sentences;

  I'd like to have a piano.

  I can't play the piano.

  We saw a giraffe at the zoo.

  The giraffe is my favourite animal.

Why don't we use 'the' in first sentence ? or
Why don't we use 'a' in second sentence ?

What is the meaning here ?


texts:
Are the following sentences interchangeable? If not, what is the difference?

After doing the laundry, John still has three items on his to-do list.

After doing the laundry, John has three more items on his to-do list.


texts: “Both you and he are very happy” or "Both you and him are very happy"？

texts:
It's a sentence on a test paper:

  Both you and he are very happy.

The sentence itself sounds awkward. Let's cast the awkwardness aside and look into the grammar. It's understandable that as part of the subject, "he" is the correct pronoun form. But I still wonder if "him" can be used anyway. We usually say "you and me" whatever the case, don't we?


texts: What's the difference between 'as a' or 'as the': "As the bundle developer, you are to do so-and-so"

texts:
While reading documentation I came across the following sentence:

  As the bundle developer, you then parse through that configuration and load correct services and parameters inside an "Extension" class.

Shouldn't this be As a or As the is also correct? When should I say As a and when As the?


texts:
Can I use the following construction :

  Users of Win System will get the update that it make the Web
  applications work faster.

Instead of the following phrase:

  Users of Win System will get the update to make the Web applications
  work faster.


texts: How could we understand or rephrase this sentence?

texts:
When reading a paper, I saw a sentence

Overall, these results suggest that firms do respond to increased
competition by making organizational and top management changes that
improve efficiency.

I am quite confused with the bold phrase. Does it mean that firms make organizational changes and top management change to respond to increased competition, and both organizational change and top management change help improve efficiency?


texts: What is the statement of "How do you spell 'red'"?

texts:
I think special questions can be transformed from statements.

For example, "What is his name" is transformed from "His name is ...".

As for the special question "How do you spell 'red'", what statement is it transformed from? Is it "I spell 'red'in(or by) "R-E-D""?


texts:
Is use of "to" in the following sentences correct grammatically and conceptually? If not, could you please suggest some words to replace "to"?

  Particular care has been devoted to construct a high quality mesh,
  especially at tip clearance zone.


texts: What do the word "takes to" mean in this context?

texts:
Here is the definition of tense from Simple English Wikipedia:

  Tense is the form of a verb that takes to show the time it happened.

What is the meaning of take to in this context?


texts: Is it possible to have two gerunds consequently?

texts:
Is it correct to say "more and more people are quitting buying CD's and DVD's because of the ..........."   ?
Please help me, I'm writing an essay and this doubt is making me go crazy.


texts:
"Why did God let Adam and Eve eat the apple of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Why cannot he prevented evil? (Quoted from an article.)

Those were the last questions he asked to his parents before they died.
Those were the last questions he asked to his parents before his parents died.
Those were the last questions I asked to my parents before they died.

• I know in the number 3 sentence, the pronoun"they" refers only to the "parents."

But if I read the number 1 it seems to me that the (he) is included in the (they) which leads to ambiguity. As to number 2, it looks like the sentence is committing a redudancy.The one who asked has not died.

So my question is, which one is correct, the number 2 or 1? And why?

P.S. Sorry if I'm just asking a simple question. I tried to goole it but didn't find a good answer.


texts: "The old jive broad split" meaning - Bill Withers Song (Ain't no Sunshine)

texts:
"The old jive broad split"

It's a part of what Bill Withers says at the beginning of "Ain't no sunshine".

It's a part of the story behind this song. But it lacks everything. I have absolutely no idea about its meaning or even its gramatical structure.


texts: What is the etymology of 'after' meaning to want something?

texts:
Where does this particular meaning of "after" come from? As in

  I'm after this product

  She was after the money

Is it a reduced form of a phrasal verb such as inquiring after? Chasing after?


texts: why is Grammarly showing passive voice misuse in the following sentence"All steps that decrease cost is accepted in the standard algorithm." and showing "All steps that decrease cost gets accepted in the standard algorithm." as correct.


texts: three-word compound adjective hyphenation

texts:
Which is correct

Robotic assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy; or
Robotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy.

Similarly also for,

Robotic assisted medial and lateral meniscus repair; or
Robotic-assisted medial and lateral meniscus repair.

Please explain


texts: she pulls up another twentythree references that she has encountered over the years. what's pull up?

texts:
For the student, every paper and book she has ever read on the French Revolution is instantly available in her e-memory. Besides the main text and four papers she is using in class, she pulls up another twentythree references that she has encountered over the years.

pull up has synonyms like: extract, pull out, pull, pull up, take out, draw out, rip out, tear out
What could mean in the example sentence?


texts: Charge straight _____ me ( towards , to , on etc )

texts:
What is the preposition to be used to correct the bold part of the sentence ?

The infuriated bird suddenly doubled back on its course and charged straight after me.

I googled for the word charge and found different preposition  used with it like charged straight into enemies, so I am not able to decide which preposition to use here.


texts: Is "I can want" proper english? Does it sound ok for natives?

texts:
For example, in sentences like "I can want whatever I want", or "I can want something now and still change my mind about it later".

Or are there better ways to say this? Google shows plenty of results but it still sounds wrong to me, somehow.


texts: When you buy a big good part at wholesale price

texts:
Imagine you buy 10,000 T-shirts wholesale. Then someone asks you how much did you pay for this good part? You would say:

  I purchased all this stuff at wholesale prices.
  I purchased all this stuff at a wholesale price.
  I purchased all this stuff at the wholesale price.

Which one of the above structures is more common / grammatically correct / natural?


texts: Shortening "who/which is" to an -ing form

texts:
The boy being small is the fastest. = The boy who is small is the fastest.

Another example:

The city being very beautiful is worth visiting.

instead of:

The the city which is very beautiful is worth visiting.

I couldn't find any sources explaining this (or, I couldn't find any sources which explain this?) or telling me why this is possible.

Can you tell if and when this is possible and, if so, what makes it correct?

I am not so sure about the first two examples being correct but I am fairly sure the third one ("I couldn't find any sources explaining this") is. Is this perhaps a gerund?


texts: I kind of lost in between as there are lots of commas

texts: Biopower is part related to what Foucault calls "a history of the present", grasping the present in its contingency, unsettling it from its prejudices and exploding their hold on reality, understanding how we have become what we are rather than importing our prejudices on to the past, in the guise of their being eternal truths apprehended by a supra-historical intellect


texts:
Consider this fictional situation which I made up to let you feel the sense:

  Brad and Brett was chatting about recent thefts where cheats were making hoax and decieved the victims. While Brett was talking about a particular case of this kind of theft, Brad remembered he himself was duped in a similar way and almost went to tell Brett but swallowed his word thinking Brett might use this fact against him later in future to mock him.

So what is the word for the italicized phrase? I thought about "choke". But something tells me it isn't.


texts:
I am reading a book SICP
it stats:

As a case in point, consider the problem of computing square roots. We can define the square-root function as

It will not help matters to rephrase this definition in pseudo-Lisp:

: (define (sqrt x)
:   (the y (and (>= y 0)
:               (= (square y) x))))

This only begs the question.

What does beg the question mean?


texts: Why don’t verbs following can take -ing?

texts:
Verbs following can don’t take -ing. We can say:

I can fly

but we don’t say:

I can flying

I’m not sure what the rule behind this is. I have a feeling it’s to do with auxiliary verbs and/or helping verbs. I have a faint recollection of auxiliary verbs being followed by straight verbs but I’m not sure if this rule has a name or not.
Ideas?


texts: What does this structure "bully somebody into something/into doing something" mean?

texts:
I found this structure "bully somebody into something/into doing something" Source

Ex: If you’re bullied into doing something illegal

The structure is strange to me, so it means someone forces you to do something right?


texts: Attributive nouns order Vs. Adjectives order

texts:
I would like to get the answer for this question from an English native speaker.

In my mother language, which is Aramaic, we always use the adjectives and the attributive nouns after the noun being modified. That is the contrary to the English language which pre-adjective and attributive nouns come before the modified noun.

The process in my head goes like as if I am counting down 5,4,3...etc instead of counting up. As a result it become harder but i digress.

Let’s move to my main point. My question regards the attributive noun. The drawing below illustrates the mechanism used to modified the noun by the attributive ones.

I want just to know which one is right. I know that adjectives have a specific order, what about the “attributive nouns”, do they:

1) modify the noun it follows ?
Or
2) modify the first noun?


texts: I think that I used "A few" too often in this text - is the another way to say the same thing?

texts:
I am describing a part of literature in introduction of my paper with the following way(I studied on effect of blade thickness in CFD methods):

  A few authors experimentally investigated the effect of blade
  thickness on the Wells turbine performance. They changed the blade
  thickness from hub to tip in their work.........((two authors investigated))

  Despite prior authors, a few authors also kept blade thickness
  constant from hub to tip in their experimental study. Takao et al.
  [13] .....((three authors investigated))

  As revealed above, in the past two decades, many investigations on
  blade thickness of the Wells turbine are performed by experimental
  studies. But there is a difficulty in the interpretation of
  experimental results because.......So, by using CFD methods, many
  efforts is performed in order to overcome ......[9, 16, 17]...((only
  two authors regarding the blade thickness investigated))

  As described above, a few authors investigated the effect of blade
  thickness on Wells turbine performance by using CFD methods.

I think that I used "A few" too much. I am grateful for suggested ways to make it clearer and better. Could you please suggest some words to replace "A few" and "Despite"?


texts: Can I say "I like you while you do me?" to say you like me too?

texts: can I replace like with do as one can replaces all(?) verbs with do to make them shorter?


texts:
I wrote in a forum:

  Does exists any other approaches?

Someone suggests me to write:

  Does there exist any other approaches?

I made some researches on the web and I found that the latter expression is the common, and maybe right, form.

I'm looking for a deep understanding of such expression.


texts: Which preposition is correct in "We can schedule a call (on/at) either of the following options"?

texts:
We can schedule a call on either of the following options
  We can schedule a call at either of the following options

How to write it correctly, do I need to use on either/at either?
Please help me to write a business email.


texts:
A wiki page says

  A prime meridian is the meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°.

which uses the phrase "is defined to be".

I found "is defined as" is more commonly used than "is defined to be" on ELL. Google Ngram might verify this.

Are these two phrases interchangeable? If no. When to use which? Could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.

Archived: there was a typo in my previous search on ELL. The Google Ngram has alway been the same.


texts: Meaning of "I bought some batteries, but they weren't included."

texts:
I bought some batteries, but they weren't included.
                                          -- Steven Wright

What does this quote mean?


texts:
This magic spell will birth a new world with many people.

Does this mean that the magic spell will create a new world and also create many people along the way, or does this mean that the magic spell and the people will create a new world? How do you say the former if it doesn't mean that?


texts: What's the meaning of "You get that much because that’s how much you get"?

texts:
I cannot understand the meaning of the phrase:

  You get that much because that’s how much you get

It means: you receive that much because you receive that much?!

Like: Why A? Because A.

The full text is here:

  The bishop and I were still meeting every Sunday. Robin had told him
  that I hadn’t bought my textbooks for the semester. “This is ridiculous,” he
  said. “Apply for the grant! You’re poor! That’s why these grants exist!” [...]He had printed out the application forms, which he
  gave to me. “Think about it. You need to learn to accept help, even from the
  Government.”
  I took the forms. Robin filled them out.
   THE FORMS SAT ON my desk for a week before Robin walked with me to the
  post office and watched me hand them to the postal worker.It didn’t take
  long, a week, maybe two [...]the mail
  came
  [...]I tore open the envelope and a check fell onto my bed. For four thousand
  dollars. I felt greedy, then afraid of my greed. There was a contact number.
  I dialed it.
  “There’s a problem,” I told the woman who answered. “The check is for
  four thousand dollars, but I only need fourteen hundred.”The line was silent.
  “Hello? Hello?”
  “Let me get this straight,” the woman said. “You’re saying the check is for
  too much money? What do you want me to do?”
  “If I send it back, could you send me another one? I only need fourteen
  hundred. For a root canal.”
  “Look, honey,” she said. “You get that much because that’s how much
  you get. Cash it or don’t, it’s up to you.” Educated, Tara Westover (2018)


texts: Which preposition is appropriate for plate?

texts:
He eats on plate .

  He eats from plate .

  He eats from the plate .

Case 1. There was some food on a plate before a person and the person ate some of it . What shall I say ? He ate on the plate or he ate from the plate ? Case 2. A person eats food only when it is served on plate . It's his habit. What shall I say ? He eats on plate or from plate?


texts: muslim have an early meal before they fast, and they eat the meal around 3 to 5 AM or before sunrise. do you know specific word of this "early meal"?


texts:
Sometimes I need to repeat myself "in other words" or "in another words"?

"It's ugly. In other / another words I would say it's not nice".


texts: Is "each of them have contribute to are as followed:" correct in this sentence?

texts:
Is the sentence in bold correct? This excerpt is from a manuscript I'm editing:

  Then there were a number of new researches published before the second edition of this book went to print, which are not mentioned individually in order not to make the list too long. Some additions and revisions have been made in the second edition, but we have tried not to make major changes to the book. The writers and chapters each of them have contribute to are as followed:

I think sentence construction used here is wrong because of following reasons:

"contribute" should be changed to "contributed".
There are two verbs without relative clause.


texts: How can I effectively express the idea of "spraying water around a certain area"?

texts:
Everything I tried didn't return enough results on Google that allows me to say it's widely used in English.

I tried:

  Spray the (area, space, place) with water.

  Sprinkle the (area, space, place) with water.

  Spray water around the (area, space, place).

  Sprinkle water around the (area, space, place).

But in fact, people reading this would have a cup of water and not a spray, so I don't know if any of the above examples convey what I'm trying to say.

Contextualizing the question: Imagine I have a cup of holy or consecrated water and I'm using it to cleanse the space I live of negative energy. I'm using my fingers to do this.


texts:
Why in this sentence "older " is the correct word?

He married the older sister and now they have two sets of twins.

He married the elder sister and now they have two sets of twins.


texts:
If i write:

  Different rules are enforced to extract potential roof planes from classified data set.

then I feel there are 2 verbs in this sentence. So I modified it as:

  Different rules are enforced in order to extract potential roof planes from classified data set.

As I am using a phrase in order to extract, I feel this can not be considered as a verb.

So, my question is which method is most suited?


texts: What is the difference between 'belong in' and 'belong to'?

texts: What is the difference between, "The book was very boring and it belonged in a dustbin" and "The uniform looks like it belonged to a museum collection".


texts:
the first time I noticed this phenomenon was a few years ago, in St.
  Peter’s Basilica in Rome – a crowd of people standing around
  Michelangelo’s Pietà, taking photos with their cameras and cell
  phones.

Source: American English File 2

Why did the author used "standing" instead of "were standing"?

Thank you.


texts: Is this acceptable? - "After selecting an element, a pop-up allows the user to ... "

texts:
I wrote this sentence:

  After selecting an element, a pop-up allows the user to create an anchor using the element's text, a text pattern, or specific attributes of the element such as id, class.

However I most see something like

  After selecting ...., the user creates ....

Does my sentence above is correct too?


texts: Difference between "was to . .." and "going to ..."

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

  Riya was to pick strawberries yesterday but the downpour made the field too muddy.
  (source: modified from example from BBC learn English)
  Riya was going to  pick strawberries yesterday but the downpour made the field too muddy.

I've learned tha 'was to' is used for past plan'. But 'was going to' is also about past plan. So which form is used for past plan.
So, what is the differences between the construction was/were to ...  and going to ... ?

Note: I asked a similar question about the difference between “was to...” and “was to have” here, but this question is about “was to” and “was going to.”


texts:
The movie Warrior has a scene where Tommy visits his father Paddy.

  Paddy: Here you go.

  Tommy: Coffee? You haven't seen a guy in 14 years and you're not gonna have a drink with him? Come on.

  Paddy: I told you, I'm off it, Tommy. I'm coming up on 1,000 days.

Apparently, I'm coming up on 1,000 days here means "I have been going for 1,000 days without alcohol." I feel like I have seen come up used this way before, but strangely I can't find a dictionary entry for this usage. I have checked come up in Merriam-Webster, The Free Dictionary, Wiktionary, and Macmillan, but this usage isn't included. What does come up mean here exactly and what might some other examples of this usage be?

Google bears out this usage, but there's no credible dictionary source that I am able to find.

Also, what are some other ways of saying "I am coming up on 1,000 days"?


texts:
When someone asks "How are you doing?". Is it:

I am doing bad.
I am doing badly.

Though I always hear the first one, I think the second is more correct because here, doing acts as a verb(present progressive) so we should use the adverb(badly) to modify it.
I would like to ask which one is correct and why?


texts:
I need to tell someone that if the guy I am referring to is still alive he would have created many miracles. Are the below two sentences grammatically correct in the before-mentioned context? If there are any differences , could someone explain me with the details.

If he did not die,he would have created many miracles.
If he was not dead,he would have created many miracles.


texts:
What does it even mean?

  They all called me "little dude" now—even the jocks. These big dudes I barely even knew before would knuckle-punch me in
  the hallways now.

Imaginary situation? Habits?
Here we have 'in the hallways now' as if it has already happened. It refers us to a repeated action, doesn't it?


texts: When a door is widely open, what words do we use?

texts: When a door is opened partly it seems correct to choose the word "ajar". If the door is widely open, which words are correct to use? For example, can "broad" be used?


texts:
What is the difference? Or is it grammatically wrong?

  all time

or

  all the time

And if you make such a proposal, it will be wrong?

The best artists of the time (When you add the article the list is reduced)


texts: Need clarity regarding Third-person-singular conjugation in a sentence

texts:
I am having troubles understanding whether I should add an "S" at the end of a verb or not.

The sentence is: "We are a human company that, through design and engineering, develop automation solutions..."

Should the verb Develop have an "S" added at the end? If the personal pronoun that acts upon the verb is a Third-person-singular, it should, otherwise it shouldn't. However I'm having trouble understanding if the personal pronoun acting upon the verb "develop" is We from "We are a human company" or the inferred it from "a company".

The company (it) > develops solutions...

We > develop solutions...

Which one would be the correct interpretation? Or maybe the sentence should be rewritten to avoid this?


texts: "Would have + past participle" construction can be used to express speculation about the past?

texts:
The following example is taken from source

  A：We saw a police helicopter overhead yesterday morning.

  B：Really? They would have been looking for those bank robbers.

The website says that it is an example of usage of would to express an assumption, presumption or expectation in the past.

As this post indicates, the example here does not mean a hypothetical scenario or a past future tense, but a speculation about a past event.

I'm wondering whether the post was correct in explaining such usage. Please share some wisdom!

Only a few grammar books say "would have + past participle" can be used in this way. The following are a couple of the sources I could find, but I don't know whether they are reliable to believe.

  Would + perfect.  This use of would signals what we expect somebody to
  do:

  John would have scheduled the meeting.

  In this case, it tells us that the speaker expected John to schedule the meeting. We do not know if John actually scheduled the meeting.

  -- McGraw-Hill's Essential ESL Grammar, for Intermediate & Advanced ESL Students (2008)

and

  One of the children offered to help. That would have been Julie. (assumption about the past.)

  -- Mastermind Use of English


texts: Difference between, your argument was clear from the beginning or start,

texts:
Your argument was clear to us from the start/beginning there's no need to labour the point.

Which one is better suited or how do we differentiate between the start and beginning?


texts: what does it mean "Make a "U" At the base of the stairs"

texts:
Which way's the VIP green room?
Make a "U" At the base of the stairs and then a left at the hallway.


texts:
Coming to improve my skills and acquire knowledge while meeting the organization’s goals.

Is it "the organization's goals" or just "organization's goals" without "the"?

Knowing that I mentioned the organization name before this sentence


texts:
But we awaited thee every morning, took from thee thine overflow and blessed thee for it.

Found this in Thomas Common's 1909 translation of Friedrich Nietzche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra and I was wondering what thee thine meant. Thee means "you (object)" and thine means "your", so we get took from you your overflow, which hardly makes any sense to me.


texts:
From NPR:

  Hundreds of thousands of residents of West Virginia are enduring day six without tap water and schools  in four counties of the state remain closed.

What's the meaning of day six above? The sixth day? For six days? Thanks.


texts: Can I use "be going to" in this sentence?

texts:
A: I'd love to watch the final, but I haven't got a ticket.

B: Well, I've got two free tickets to the match. I ____ give you one.

Should I use "will give" or "am going to give"?


texts: What kind of verb is do when people say "I do"?

texts:
I was reading The Wolf's Side of the Story. On the third paragraph, it says

  Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they do.

How is "they do" used in this sentence? Why wouldn't you use "they do know" to make the sentence clearer instead?


texts:
It is from this video. It is at 2 minute and 42 second. Here is the context:

  A few of his sources contained mentions of Arthur, and some others were realistic accounts of battles and places. But many featured mythical hero es fighting **
  ** with with the help of magic swords and sorcery.


texts: How to construct complex sentence (with reasons) using neither and nor.

texts:
I would like to write a complex sentence using neither and nor.

For example:

This method is neither fast, as it requires long times to give the result, nor simple as it requires three main challenges steps.

Is this a correct way to use neither and nor with a sentence includes reasons?


texts: How to improve reading/writing skills when spoken English is good?

texts:
My friend's spoken (speak/listen) English is very good, almost as a native English speaker.

However, she finds it very hard to read English (to the extent of taking 2-3 seconds to read simple words), as well as write it (having a hard time choosing the right vowel, even with everyday words).

What would be a good way to improve reading/writing skills?


texts: The meaning of "And rendeth by the board."

texts:
When we poor fenmen skate the ice Or shiver on the wold, We
hear the cry of a single tree That breaks her heart in the cold
-- That breaks her heart in the cold, good sirs,
And rendeth by the board. Which well must be as ye can see -- And who shall judge the Lord?

This poem is from "A Carole" by Rudyard Kipling.
I can't understand the meaning of "And rendeth by the board."
I am glad if somebody would kindly teach me.


texts: Forget x forgot and don't understand x didn't understand

texts:
I've read that is possible to say I forget or I don't understand (present tense) even if it seems past. For example:

  Q: What's the name of that new restaurant on the corner?
  A: I'm sorry. I forget.

The same with I don't understand. The person tells me something, but I can't get the meaning, so I say:

  I'm, sorry. I don't understand.

Why and when we can use the present tense with these verbs meaning the past?


texts:
I'm not a native English speaker, so I had trouble when translating the follow sentence in this article. So what does crop of mean in the following context ?

  There is no shortage of wearable gear out there, and really what I’m
  writing about here is the latest crop of smartwatches, most of which
  run on Android Wear.

This context is about wearable smart watches.


texts:
The thing with Justin, if I thought he was going to implement a ground game and go in there and take Conor McGregor down and put him against the cage and do what Khabib did or do what I intended to do if he was going to implement that game, I would say, ‘Justin is going to do really well against him,” Alvarez said.

What I have learnt is that we use if + were/was + would in second condition but this sentence has go instead of went  take instead of took and do instead of did why?


texts:
At some dramatic moment in the story, the terrible secret becomes known and a reputation is ruined.

Why not use At some dramatic moments here?


texts: What is the difference between "after" and "afterwards"?

texts: Sometimes I hear someone speaking "after" and sometimes "afterwards", what is the difference between these words?


texts: Usage of emancipation for purposes other than political or relating to a person

texts:
The dictionary says

  noun the fact or process of being set free from legal, social, or
  political restrictions; liberation. "the emancipation of feminist
  ideas" the freeing of someone from slavery. "the early struggle for
  emancipation from slavery"

My question is, is it appropriate to use the word in a context other than that, eg. Emancipation from fossil fuel?


texts: Error : Her services to the masses in general and women in particular will always be remembered

texts:
Her services to the masses in general and women in particular will always be remembered.

My book suggests to  add to the before women , Is it necessary ? I'm really confused because many times I have come across sentences in which clauses/prepositions/words such as to the etc have been used just one time before the former part of the sentence which is joined by and many times, just like above sentence, I am asked to use for both parts of sentences separately. Can any one drive it home to me when to to use it separately and when I can get away with just using it with former clause ?


texts:
”I bought a book yesterday.”
”A man knocked on my door yesterday.”
I have been taught that the rules of ”a” and ”an” are to introduce something to the reader or listener, or to refer to any non-particular member of a group.
Are the indefinite articles doing these two actions at the same time?
Or are there occassions when ”a” and ”an” only refer to any non-particular member of a group and does not introduce something and vice versa?


texts: Verb agreement: The behavior of X and Y "was" or "were" considered?

texts:
Which is correct of the following (or better to use):

  The behavior of X and Y was considered.

or

  The behavior of X and Y were considered.


texts:
Lets say you bought a new device and found out that it cant do one of the things you were hoping for. Which of the following can be said and which one is best.
 1. "I thought it does that."
 2. "I thought it did that."
 3. "I thought it would do that."
 4. "I thought it could do that."


texts:
Suppose a teacher wants to create study groups in his class and each group will consist of three or four people. I wonder what is the most idiomatic to say this. Can he say

  Let's form groups of three or four people?


texts: Is 'Thanks to' a Gallicism to be avoided?

texts:
I wrote the following sentence describing how a floating window is docked inside a parent window on a program's user interface

  It usually shares this space with ArcMap’s TOC thanks to a tab at its bottom (Figure 7).

Looking at it, I wonder whether this is not a gallicism after "grâce à" and what a native speaker would have said (through, by means of, via?). The French constantly try to avoid Anglicisms in their language. The English seem rarely to bother about avoiding Gallicisms. Perhaps Gallicisms are just Norman English and upper class? Is "thanks to" correct usage in the cited sentence?


texts:
Looking for a natural English phrasing, I am stuck at what I should put in the blank below. I'm pretty sure I heard the expression before but I can't seem to remember it, and I racked my brains hard enough to no avail.

  I'll take you up on your/that job offer if (-----------).

it's still on
it still holds
it still stands
it's still standing
it's still on the table

Or is it something else I do not know.


texts: I was wondering in what conditions is it considered as correct to use "to be shamed" ? What is the register of this verb ?


texts: Meaning of "whether loyalty in its application amounts to virtue depends on its extent and its object"

texts:
Would you help me interpret the sentence "Whether loyalty in its application amounts to virtue depends on its extent and its object"?

I guess it means that loyalty can be good or bad, dependent on its extent and object. For example, flattery and unconditional loyalty to the Nazis don't amount to virtue, while soldier's loyalty to his nation would amount to virtue.

Does the phrase 'in its application' mean 'how it works' in this sentence?


texts:
The majority of the work is done by me.
  The majority of the work has done by me.

In general conversation if I want to say someone that I did the major work in the project.

Which of the above sentence would be correct? and what is the difference in the meaning if I say "is done by me." or "has done by me."


texts:
A) He was arrested by police.
b) He had been arrested by police.

In newspaper reporter want to tell about past event that has already happened.

In above statements Reporter conveyed same meaning, that police have arrested criminal and he is still in there custody.

I am aware that above sentence are In past Tense i.e. former is in simple past and later is in Past perfect. And also in Passive voice

My question is that why reporter purposely used was and had been in sentence? instead of that he could have used Present perfect.
e.g he has been arrested by police.

Also Some times reporters does not use simple past before using past perfect.

e.g. He had been arrested by police when I was reached on the spot.


texts: Could I use "This fits" with this meaning?

texts:
I would like to know if I could use "This fits" with the meaning of "It wasn't the best option, but it's ok, it'll work"

Example:

Person 1:

  Hey! Is there an air conditioner here?

Person 2:

  No. But there's a fan.

Person 1:

  This fits!


texts: Meaning of: "to be a good male, it's better not to talk – silence is golden."

texts:
I was faced with a problem, while reading an article men talk just as much as women.
I can't totally understand what's this text talking about, especially its last part?

  However, researches had been skeptical of the common belief that women use three times as many words as men. This idea become popular after the publication of a book called The Female Brain (2006) whose author, Louann Brizendine, claimed that "a woman uses about 20,000 words per day, whereas a man uses 7,000."
  Professor Mehl accepts that many people will find the results difficult to believe. However, he thinks that this research is important because the stereotype, that women talk too much and men keep quiet, is bad not only for women but also for men. "It says that to be a good male, it's better not to talk - that silence is golden."

Be a good male? What does it mean?
"...it's better not to talk - that silence is golden."!

How does this section connect with the whole discussion which is limited to "male-vs-female, who's more talkative?" ?

He thinks this research is important, why? The answer is "The stereotype"? So why a "bad" stereotyoe? The worst part is here: "... not only for women also for men." Why? Where else does that happen?


texts: Is the verb *released* incorrectly used with the helping verb did?

texts:
Grammarly is correcting me:

  Actually, I did not released it in a new name because it was supposed for me to take over the maintenance.

It is saying I should use release instead of released. Does is Grammarly right?

  It appears that the verb released is incorrectly used with the helping verb did. Consider changing it to the base form to release.

  Do, does, or did can be used as a helping verb in certain constructions. They can add emphasis to the main verb, form a question, or express a negative (when used with not). The main verb in these constructions always uses the base form when combined with do, does, or did.


texts: When can 'will' be used instead of 'would'?

texts:
Why is 'would' used in the following sentences instead of 'will'?

  It would be mistake to beat a child.
  I wouldn't care to do her job.
  Would it be easy to teach a child?

Can we use 'will' in place of 'would' above? And in which meaning 'would' is used in those examples? In which situation we can replace 'will' and put 'would' instead?


texts:
I referred to many dictionaries and found that the verb suffer
is not followed by the preposition with

I have found the following sentences.

  1. I suffered from fever.

  2. One has to suffer for one's  sins.

  3. You have to  suffer in the end.

But I found a website which says suffer can be followed by the preposition with.

  I suffered with my wife  due to some financial problems.
  I suffer with gout.

Are the sentences  grammatically  correct  and acceptable to  native speakers?

I herewith attach the link for your kind perusal.


texts:
Can I use "go" to say:

  Please first select a default folder by going to Tools > Options > Home Folder


texts:
What do you call it in English?

How about this one?
http://netizen.or.id/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/20141105-132326_98.jpg

The Latin name of it is Oryza sativa.

Can we call both "rice"?


texts: I missed the flying f*** out of you. Meaning

texts: Please explain me why FF uses here as meaning of missing?


texts: How to use "until" grammatically correct

texts:
Which one is grammatically correct ?

  I waited there until he had come.
  I waited there until he came.

Or this case:

  I must try going to bed earlier  until I finished/finish/have finished the course. Which one is correct? Is there any rule?

What's the rule?


texts:
Something that might have been fixed, Talked out or around,
  But the whole school had turned out [A] To watch them settle
  it.

  -- Gregory Djanikian, The fight, writersalmanac.org

  Bob will be there? [B] That settles it. I'm not coming. --
  OALD

It seems [A] and [B] have the same syntactic constructions. Do they also have the same meanings of ‘settle it’?


texts: Simple chair anatomy? Do most people call it "the chair face"?

texts:
This question is about "Simple chair anatomy?"

Most people know what are "the legs or the back of the chair"

I found this picture on the internet

Look at the picture on the right. They call it "the face of the chair" which is the part of the chair that people sit on.

My question is that:

is "the face of the chair" a common term just like its counterparts "the legs or the back of the chair"?

Most people say "the legs or the back of the chair" but I haven't heard "the face of the chair"?

Could we say "Do not put your feet on the face of the chair"?


texts: Difference between 'star' and 'stellar'?

texts:
we have stellar winds, stellar kinematics, and stellar explosion. We have also star wars, star citizen, and star ship. Wikipedia also says that:

A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other

Is there any difference between 'star' and 'stellar' then? Is there any reason why George Lucas didn't use "Stellar Wars" instead? Can they always be used interchangeably?


texts: Difference between "one after another" and "one after the other"

texts:
So the deal is that I understand the difference between another and the other when they are alone: the other means the exact one while another isn't that specific.
BUT
is the difference the same when using the expressions "one after another" and "one after the other"?
They left one after another.
They left one after the other. (Or does this mean there were only two people?)


texts:
I feel confused when I have to choose between 'for' and 'to'.
For example, if I want to write that ocean garbage is an serious problem, which way should I write,

"ocean garbage is an serious problem for us."

or

"ocean garbage is an serious problem to us"?


texts: Why "which train goes to" not which train does go to

texts:
One day,  I was teaching this kid English.  We were talking about using "which" in different sentences.
Then It came to using which with Inanimate objects and while we were discussing about it,  he asked me why can't we can't form a question like this:

  "Which train does go to Boston

Not being able to answer the question, I just put it off which I didn't want to.

Now I feel bad  and don't want to leave any bad impression.
 I know this is how such questions are formed but I am not aware why we can not add auxiliary verb Does

So why we never ask such questions this way?


texts:
Wellesley College professor Elizabeth R. DeSombre argues that the best way to collectively change the behavior of large numbers of people is for the change to be structural.

Can I remove the word "for" in this sentence?
What does "for" mean in this sentence?


texts:
I shall  be  exchanging my house in 2 months, I have bought the plane ticket and planned the stay but  I am a bit worried because I have not  received any  further infos for a long time from the person I am exchanging with.

Can I use I have  not been receiving instead of received because it is ongoing situation and I'd like to emphasize the duration

I don't think so because if I use the progressive it means that before I received infos from the person very often which was not the case. Am I right?


texts:
The meaning of "semblance" is not clear to me.  "any semblance of a Department of Justice investigation" seems "any unexpected action of a DOJ investigation". Just a wild guess here.
Cambridge Dictionary defines "semblance" as "a situation or condition that is similar to what is wanted or expected, but is not exactly as hoped for". I don't know how to make it fit in the context below.

"With all due respect to the Attorney General, there hasn't been any semblance of a Department of Justice investigation............"

Source: Judy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis' statement on Barr's comment


texts: Determined/determining to make a good beginning, these new comers did all they could

texts:
I encountered an exercise on an app today, which asks me to choose a right word for the sentence:

  _____ to make a good beginning, these new-comers did all that they could to get themselves well-prepared.

A. To be determined

B. Determined

C. Being determined

D. Determining

I thought the answer was obviously B but the app says it's D. The given explanation says the active voice should be used here and hence the choice D. But I don't really trust that answer more than myself so I'd like a second opinion from a native speaker. Thanks in advance!


texts: Can 2000s also refer to century or millennium?

texts:
My basic understanding for 2000s is that it refers to the period from 2000 to 2009. However, Wikipedia says 2000s may refer to:

2000s (decade), the period from 2000 to 2009
The period from 2000 to 2099, almost synonymous with the 21st century
(2001–2100)
The period    from 2000 to 2999, almost synonymous with the 3rd
millennium    (2001–3000)

But it doesn't say in what circumstances 2000s refers to decade, century or millennium. In another word, it doesn't tell when it refers to decade instead of century or millennium.

Questions: Can 2000s truly refer to century or millennium? If yes, under what circumstances? Will its pronunciation differentiate its meanings?


texts: What do you call it when loads of amendments are put forward in order to obstruct a bill? Filibuster? Stonewall? I believe there's a special term for it.


texts:
I want to know "present-perfect" in the following sentence 1 grammartically

I'll lend you the book as soon as I have done with it.
I'll lend you the book as soon as I shall have done with it.

For meaning, we need future-perfect as like 2.

But to avoid two auxiliary verbs, we use (a). Am I Right ?


texts: Am I eliding correctly "haven't" etc? (AmE)

texts:
I am trying to learn American accent and I am practicing using this sentence:

  Hey, I haven't seen you in a while.
  Yeah, well, actually, today was the first day I worked out since a while.

What I tried to do is:

cancel the h and the t in **haven't*
today becomes t'day
was the becomes was a
first day becomes firs day
worked out becomes work dout

I uploaded my recording to these links:

http://www.filedropper.com/record0004

http://www.megafileupload.com/U1a/Record_0004.wav

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=63340961763448462845


texts: Singular instead of plural noun in context question?

texts:
Can you use singular (cottage) or (cottages) plural for these sentences and both sentences  mean the same thing?
Are both correct?
Ex1

•  A lot of people are going to their cottages this weekend.
•   A lot of people are going to their cottage this weekend.

Can you use singular (office) or (offices) plural and both sentences mean the same thing?
Ext2

•  Employees are sleeping in their office.
•   Employees are sleeping in their offices.


texts:
Is it correct to say

I miss doing this
I miss traveling a lot

OR

I miss to do this
I miss to travel?


texts:
I am watching news from nbr.com

I am confused about the usage of "hack into"

Nightly Business Report - 12m25s

According to the transcript at 12m25s, MATHISEN says:

  " ...do we know anything more about who really was behind that hack into the
  Bangladesh bank? "

1. Is the "Hack" a verb here?

Why is it not "...hacks into..."?

2. Is the "Hack" a noun here?

Why is "Hacking" not used as a noun?

Thanks.


texts: Is "If you haven't finished your MR..., please finish it..." correct?

texts:
Is the sentence below correct?

  If you haven't finished your MR (morning reading), please finish it
  during the lunch break.

I want to send this message to our study group to remind people finishing their MR, which is their daily assignment.

As for me, the sentence seems all right. But after I checked the grammar of The Zero conditional, it seems the sentence is not acceptable.

If the above sentence is wrong, can I change it to 'For those who haven't finished the MR, please finish it during the lunch break'?


texts:
Is there a word/phrase I can use for a day off taken between two holidays?

Suppose that Tuesday and Thursday are holiday; if I take a day off on Wednesday, in Italian I would call that day ponte (which literally means bridge). Is there an equivalent phrase I can use in English?

Notice that I could talk of ponte also when one of the two days is a day where normally people don't go to work, for example Saturday or Sunday. I would not talk of ponte for myself if Tuesday and Thursday are days I don't normally work (but most of the people work), and I take a day off on Wednesday.


texts: Is This a Compound Sentence with Two Independent Clauses?

texts:
A teacher and I have been discussing the structure of a particular sentence from the book A Sting in the Tale:

"Some I released within 1 kilometer of my house, and more often than not these bees would beat me back to the nest."

Is this a compound sentence composed of two independent clauses?
And if so, what is the subject of the first independent clause?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!


texts:
Does this sentence make sense? Is term 'provision of services' used correctly or should I use 'realization of services'?

'Versatile machinery guarantees provision of services to the most demanding customers, such as .....'

Thanks!


texts: What do these 'would's mean in these cases?

texts:
I recall certain moments, let us call them icebergs in paradise, when
  after having had my fill of her - after fabulous, insane exertions
  that left me limp and azure-barred – (1) I would gather her in my
  arms with, at last, a mute moan of human tenderness (her skin
  glistening in the neon light coming from the paved court through the
  slits in the blind, her soot-black lashes matted, her grave gray eyes
  more vacant than ever - for all the world a little patient still in
  the confusion of a drug after a major operation) – (2) and the
  tenderness would deepen to shame and despair, and (3) I would
  lull and rock my lone light Lolita in my marble arms, and moan in her
  warm hair, and caress her at random and mutely ask her blessing, and
  at the peak of this human agonized selfless tenderness (with my soul
  actually hanging around her naked body and ready to repent), all at
  once, (4) ironically, horribly, lust would swell again - and “oh,
  no,” Lolita would say with a sigh to heaven, and the next moment the
  tenderness and the azure – (5) all would be shattered.
  (Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov)

There are five woulds in the example. For me, it is very difficult to grasp what the modal verb would means in these contexts. Would you explain what would means in these five cases?


texts: throw up the red flag for someone -- meaning?

texts:
From the movie The Sacrament:

  — I'm trying to keep it together, so I can ask intelligent questions, but jet lag's kicked in and I am starting to melt. Jake, what do you think of all this so far? Give me your professional assessment.
  — I don't know. I mean, I'm naturally cynical, but... The fact that a bunch of drug addicts and alcoholics actually pulled this thing together is a little bit impressive. The fact that they sold all their worldly possessions to do it... I don't know, just throws up the red flag for me a little bit. I feel like, I mean, if this is like a place to come and get clean or do a little bit of thinking for a month, it's perfect. I think it is an actual sustainable lifestyle for, you know, 60-something elderly people.

What does he exactly mean by that expression?


texts: What's the diffence between [be verb] VS. [be to verb]?

texts:
1-a. All you need to do is say sorry first.

1-b. All you need to do is to say sorry first.

2-a. Their top priority is save life.

2-b. Their top priority is to save life.

Sometimes I see sentences like above. But I really don't get what's the difference in nuace with or without 'to'. I find some of the native speakers say not to use 'to' in a certain context (I don't remember well), but how should I tell when to use 'to' or not?


texts: What do you call a ship that's not in water and therefore cannot be mobilized? For example, if a ship is under repair at a port and is on land, what adjective do you use? I thought about landlocked, but I am not sure if it can be used this way. I usually see it used to describe countries without access to the sea, and while it may be used to describe ships, they probably refer to decommissioned ships.


texts: Word for someone who speaks less but has positive connotation

texts: I understand there are words like Taciturn that have same meaning but can be used to compliment someone. Taciturn seems to have negative connotation.


texts: Does Present Perfect suit unreal conditionals?

texts:
If you knew that, you’ve passed what used to be one of Google’s mind-scrambling job-interview questions. (the source)

I can't understand what conditional it is and wether it is a conditional at all. The first clause is in Past, but the second is in Present Perfect. And there is no "would" at all, but definitely it is an unreal conditional.


texts: Does the sentence "I like watching YouTube" sound natural?

texts:
I am aware that when you use watch with TV, it sounds pefectly natural, but I have never heard some say something like

  I like watching YouTube.

Is it at all natural?


texts: Past Continuous and past perfect continuous for native English speakers

texts:
According to Martin Hewing's Advanced English Grammar:

The difference between past continuous and past perfect continuous is as follows:

  When we met Simon and Pat, they had been riding.(=we met after they had finished)

  When we met Simon and Pat, they were riding.(=we met while they were riding)

If we keep in mind this difference, will native speakers consider sentences like:"Jane had been suffering from flu when she was interviewed," to mean that Jane had recovered before the interview?


texts:
I had left the train before my brother spoken.
  I had left the train before my brother spoke.
  I had left the train before my brother speak.

What is difference, can anyone explain?


texts: I don't know how to introduce myself in e-mails, am I Dr X's assistant or Dr. X assistant?


texts: Keeping my mouth shut, referring to avoiding weight gain

texts:
Today, in an informal context I was asked what was the best strategy to keep a good weight according to my experience. I said that keeping my mouth shut was quite a good strategy.

Can I use the word shut in this context, or close would have been a better word? Does shutting the mouth always imply shutting up?


texts: “The crowd is a monster.” Does monster work in the scentence? Monster is singular so I don’t know I’d it work. I’m doing a personal story for myself.


texts: Before going to sleep vs Before sleeping

texts:
Could you say both sentences are correct and usable? As I see from Ngram Viewer, going to sleep is rarer version.

Before going to sleep, I read for a few minutes.
Before sleeping, I read for a few minutes.


texts:
How would I want to see you!

Does this mean "Oh boy, do I want to see you!"?

Is it also possible to say...

  How beautiful would you be in this dress!

to mean "Oh, you would look so beautiful in this dress, so wear it!"


texts: What does "pie" mean in the following sentence?

texts:
I once saw a sentence:

  I will go to a restaurant for pie.

Native speakers didn't correct this sentence. I don't know why. I would say "I will go to a restaurant to eat a pie". But maybe that sentence was right. Could you please explain to me what that (first) sentence means?


texts:
P1: What is the Earth's highest mountain in the world?

  P2: Everest?

  P1: You are true! It's Mount Everest.

VS

  P1: What is the Earth's highest mountain in the world?

  P2: Everest?

  P1: You are right! It's Mount Everest.

Are both versions acceptable or not? Is one of these preferred? If yes, why?


texts: What does "meaner" mean in this paragraph?

texts:
I'm not native speaker and now I'm translating a book about women for a male client, named "The Manual: What Women Want and How to Give It to Them". But my client is very picky, so I must translate very correctly. I will give my translation to my client tomorrow, but meet a confusing paragraph. Here is paragraph:

I've searched for the meaning on Internet and found that "meaner" means "someone who isn't being nice to you, pest", but I don't know whether  it is correct in this paragraph. Can you explain it to me?


texts: Is this paraphrasing correct? "having broken down" --> "had broken down"

texts:
Over time, the temperatures would have stopped, solar
  radiation having broken down water molecules into ...

Universe: The Solar System, Roger Freedman, Robert Geller, William J. Kaufmann, 2010 Macmillan

Can I paraphrase the bolded absolute clause to this:

  the temperatures would have stopped, because solar radiation had broken down water molecules ...


texts: What's the (still negative) opposite of "arrogant"

texts:
The answer is not the word humble nor any derivation thereof. Arrogant being negative epithet has a positive counterpart of humble but I'm looking for the negative opposite, instead.

Arrogant conduct is assuming that ones success is the result of ones excellence and failing to consider that it might be subject to advantageous circumstances.

The opposite of that would be failing to see that any of the progress is due to ones skills nor competence. And that's a negative concept as well.

I can express it by overly humble or excessively timid/self-critical but I want a single word term for precisely that, rather than a description of the property. Insecure won't do because that's a different concept - I'm talking about someone who too often assumes that the success is due to fortunate circumstances.


texts: "the only thing you did today was breathe" vs. "the only thing you did today was TO breathe"

texts:
Sometimes it's okay if the only thing you did today was breathe.

In this sentence, should I use a bare infinitive, 'breathe', or 'to breathe'? I think I should use a bare infinitive, otherwise structure of the sentence is not correct.


texts: "both truth and beauty on my love depends" - why not "depend"? Is "depends" a plural verb (a Shakespearean website says so)?

texts:
Shakespeare's Sonnet no. 101:

  O truant Muse what shall be thy amends
  For thy neglect of truth in beauty dyed?
  Both truth and beauty on my love depends;
  So dost thou too, and therein dignified.

The linked website explains line 3 thus:

  depends is a plural verb. Both truth and beauty derive their being from the youth who is the archetype and ideal form of them both.

But how can it be 'plural' if it has the singular ending 's'?
I'm puzzled. I expected an explanation along the lines of "it was possible to use a singular verb with 'both' in the times of Shakespeare", or "the word 'both' could mean 'either of' in the times of Shakespeare". I did not expect to be told that "depends" is plural.

P.S. I'm not criticizing the Shakespeare's Sonnets website - it's one of my favorite websites, and it is nothing short of amazing, it opened Shakespeare to me.


texts: "Like an adagio dancer surprised while watering the cat's milk"

texts:
I am reading "Joy in the Morning" by P. G. Wodehouse. Around the begining of chapter 3 the following comparison is used:
"He spun round with a sort of guilty bound, like an adagio dancer surprised while watering the cat's milk."

It refers to a man suddenly being greeted from behind by a friend while in a jeweller's shop on supposedly delicate buisness.

I don't understand the comparison, which has even been cided, not only in the web, as a particulary witty one. "Adagio dancer" here seems to refer to a kind of acrobat that performs with a partner, one of the two being held in the air in various poses. I have no idea what milk has to do with it. I can't find an expression like "to water the cat's milk" because all I get on google are discussions on whether to give milk to cats. Can someone enlighten me and explain what the comparison means in literal detail? Thank you in advance.


texts:
Some countries have single-sex education models, while in others both single sex and mixed schools co-exist and it is up to the parents or the children to decide which model is preferable.

This is a sentence from a book. I would like to ask that why first 'single-sex' is used and then 'single sex'? Thank you!


texts:
I heard in some movies "I lost my glasses" (eyeglasses), but if I insert this word into search, this return some jars, bottles.

Is it wrong?

In a conversation I must use "eyeglasses", or "glasses" is enough?
There is a difference between American and British English?

"I want to buy glasses."

or

"I want to buy eyeglasses."


texts:
Mix three eggs with 2 cups of water into a bowl

  Mix three eggs up with 2 cups of water into a bowl

What is the right one and why? Is 'mix up' a phrasal verb, and if so, when and where is it used?


texts:
He collapsed and fell on the floor.

He collapsed and fell to the floor.

Are both possible? What is the difference?


texts:
I'm having a little bit of difficulties with the future in the past narrative.

  Zoe decided she would sell her downtown apartament, and with the money she would get and the cash she had been saving, she would buy herself a house in the suburbs.

Is everything in the sentence above correct? I feel like there might be too many "she"s and "would"s, but again, I have no idea how I could keep it clear without repeating these words.


texts:
Harry glanced down, and felt another dull blow to his stomach: Colin Creevey, though underage, must have sneaked back just as Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had done. He was tiny in death.

  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I don't quite get "He was tiny in death." Is it he was too small for death or something? Why is 'in' used?


texts: interrogative and affirmative sentence constructions

texts:
Say we have the following sentence :

  The further information I need is to know in which building is the
  class held.

Is it grammatically correct to place "is" where it's placed in the sentence, or should it be moved after the word "class", like this:

  ...in which building the class is held.

The sentence isn't interrogative, so my guess is the second variant is fine, but sometimes I become quite dubious(this time, for example).


texts: What does "Happiness, then, is its own kind of sacred canon" mean?

texts:
The important thing to understand is that when we are doing what we
really love doing, we are making the world around us a happier place
for everyone. For others as well as for ourselves. When we’re relaxed
and refreshed, we ourselves become more pleasant for others to be
around. As a result, our own happiness is a piece of happiness for
them, as well as for ourselves. Happiness, then, is its own kind of
sacred canon.


texts:
Each  of  these  offers  water-sports  of  all  kinds  as  well  as snorkelling and scuba diving around the numerous coral reefs that line Malaysia's shore.

I am so confused with the phrase  water-sports  of  all  kinds in this sentence. I found the usage "all kinds of Xs" most.

Does it say the different types of water sports or
suprising kinds of water sports?


texts: has been finished or are finished past perfect tense

texts:
I want to ask my niece whether her exams are over or not.

Should I say:

  Your exams have been finished or not

Or

  Your exams are finished or not

Past perfect is used to describe completed action in past which has impact on the present.


texts:
Her mother has _____ chance of recovery:
  a. little
  b. a little
  c. the little
  d. none?

I need an exact answer, I am unable to understand the usage of little and a little as explained on this and all other websites. This sentence could be both positive and negative in my opinion, but it appeared in an exam.


texts: "He was smiling while he listened to the story". Question about using progressive here

texts:
I'm trying to understand the grammar of this sentence. As far as I understand it, while in this situation is a temporal conjunction and denotes simultaneity.

Quirke's CGEL says this:

  While and the less frequent whilst require that their clause must
  be durative, but the matrix clause need not be:

  They arrived while I was sunbathing.

  He cut himself while shaving.

So why is 'he listened' not in progressive? Or is progressive not the requirement, and just a durative verb would do?

Am I right to understand "listened" as a temporal frame for "smiling", and that it denotes a complete event during which something was happening?

Huddleston's CGEL says:

  Perfective aspectuality does not exclude duration (perfectivity is not limited to achievements), but it does not express duration, hence does not focus it. The progressive, by contrast, does highlight the  duration . . . Where two situations are of the same duration and simultaneous, it is possible to use
  the progressive for either, both, or neither.

Are these two the same thing, then?

  He was smiling while he was listening to the story.

  He was smiling while he listened to the story

Is there's a noticeable difference between them?

If anyone could help me understand it and maybe point to the right pages in these books, I'd be very grateful.


texts: What is the meaning of "floating through"?

texts:
I couldn't understand what is the meaning of floating through in this sentence. Please someone explain to me the meaning.

Before it was the self-proclaimed largest bookstore on Earth or the Web’s dominant superstore, Amazon.com was an idea floating through the New York City offices of one of the most unusual firms on Wall Street: D. E. Shaw & Co.


texts: What makes -"I did not like those" an improper answer?

texts:
Here is the sentence I speak...

  She gave me chocolates, but I did not like those

Natives seem to prefer this with the objective case of 'they'...

  She gave me chocolates, but I did not like them

But all natives, do you agree on this?

  She gave me chocolates, but they those did not taste good


texts: There are _ beautiful flowers,wish I could have brought camera

texts:
There are ____ beautiful flowers. I wish I could have brought a camera.

Answer options given:

  many
  so
  such
  all

My approach:

b) to show extreme feelings or an opinion about something I have used "such" rather than "so" because "so" is used to show fact (usually with a result or consequence).

Source

I am confused between many, all and such.

Also any better way through which I can analyze the answer better?


texts: With "an" or without "an" before additional : an additional units

texts:
An additional 550 units are to be built in other settlements in the West Bank.
  Additional 550 units are to be built in other settlements in the West Bank.

Usually, an or a is definitely not required before plural noun. But it seems I should choose option (1) here. Why?


texts: While watching captain America in English, I heard Chris Evans saying " If that's what it takes " What exactly does the sentence mean ?


texts:
What does compromised mean in this sentence from Wiki

  The leaks threaten Scarpetta's position, especially after she is forced to admit that her office database has been compromised.

Compromise means someone accept others requirements which is not the optimal choice(or some similar meanings) but it doesn't fit here in my opinion.


texts:
In the middle of sentence, which one do we have to use, I or i?

  "You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need!" (King Lear, 2.4.291-305)

or

  "You heavens, give me that patience, patience i need!" (King Lear, 2.4.291-305)

Can you explain the correct usage with reasons?


texts: Is it proper to say "don't let the error messages clobber up the results"?

texts:
I think I heard expressions such as "so many error messages... clobbering up the results", meaning we might expect to see some results on a computer terminal (such as in a command prompt), but the error messages is messing up the results, making the results difficult to see among the large amount of error messages.

But I can't find such definition of "clobber up". Does it have a proper meaning of "messing up"?


texts:
I have a question about this sentence:

  Canada experienced the fastest growth in Internet usage.

From what I know about superlatives, the grammar structure is: S + be + the + adj. Therefore I am confused about the example. Is the sentence correct?


texts:
I've been here a few times already
  I've been here for a few times already

Are they interchangeable? When do you use which?


texts: "Epitome" or "Exemplar" or "Paragon" or "Textbook example" (Negative statements)

texts:
According to the similar thread on the forum and the following dictionary definitions all the listed items below mean the same to meand I cannot discern their distinctions!

  epitome:
  if you say that a person or thing is the epitome of something, you are emphasizing that they are the typical or best possible example of a particular type of person or thing.

  Exemplar:
  a perfect or typical example of something.

  Textbook example:
  a classic, perfect case/example.

  Paragon:
  Someone who is perfect or who is the best possible example of a particular quality.

Now, in order to specify their nuances I have made two (in order to avoid duplication) examples to realize how they differ in meaning and what is the possibly slight nuance between them:

  He is a / an ______________ of a stupid person.

a. epitome
b. exemplar
c. textbook example
d. paragon

Note: Here, I think substituting the adjective "stupid" with many other adjectives like "successful", "rude", "healthy" etc. would be natural and idiomatic. Also, I think we can utilize a noun like "gentleman" and that would work either with all these four choices. However, I have my doubts yet and really need native speakers' approval on my thoughts.

  What he did at the party last night was a/an _____________ of an insult.

a. epitome
b. exemplar
c. textbook example
d. paragon

Please let me know about them.


texts:
Is there a preposition that has to be used before "yesterday/tomorrow/today evening/morning/afternoon?

Example:

I met one of my friends yesterday evening.


texts: what's the structure of the following sentence?

texts:
Hair production is the result of the cells of the hair follicle depositing layer after layer of protein into this tubular space.

Can anyone help me parse the above sentence?

Is "depositing layer after layer of protein" used for hair follicle or cells?


texts:
The System must be secure:

  a. Data encryption.
  b. User Identification using SIM number and a password.
  c. User Authentication using verification code.

I think the sentence is not grammatically correct. I don't know how to connect "the system must be secure" with the listed items. I mean that the three situations a, b, and c should be grammatically connected to the main sentence.


texts:
'He spent some time at Thomas' Hospital with the idea of practising medicine, but the success of his first novel, Liza of Lambeth, published in 1897, won him over to letters.'
-W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM, "The Summing Up", VINTAGE CLASSICS

In the above the sentence, What does 'won him over to letters.' mean?


texts: Is there a difference of "face" "surface" and "side" for a cuboid?

texts: I'm writing about how to make a cuboid out of wood... is there a difference when I'm talking about the sides? Can "face" "surface" and "side" all mean the same thing? I know the other parts are edge and corner. If so, is it better to use the same word all the way through the instructions or change the word for variety?


texts:
Is it necessary to use a noun (home/house/place/restaurant) after the word "uncle's" in this sentence?

  Tomorrow, we shall dine at our uncle's.

Isn't it correct?


texts:
When speaking of the article of clothing called "shorts", I know that it is incorrect to construct a sentence like this:

  I wish to buy a shorts.

Instead, it should be constructed like this:

  I wish to buy a pair of shorts.

Is this the only correct construction, or is there another way to express this?


texts:
If I had gone to the party yesterday, I would be very tired today.
If I had gone to the party yesterday, I would have been very tired today.

Witch one is correct? 1 or 2?


texts: When your furniture are damaged at the time of replacement

texts:
How shall I describe this happening using the proper verb:

  When we were moving to the new house the workes who were carrying the furniture were really careless and they.................the dresser's side OR the dresser's side was................

Which one of the folloing verbs normally are used here and in this sense:

  a) grinded - was grounded
  b) scratched - was scratched

I need to know the better choice if these words don't sound idiomatic to you.


texts: “Posts by Category” or “Posts by Categories”?

texts:
Google search results:

"posts by categories" — 442 000
"posts by category"   — 2 820 000

Usually there are many posts and many categories, but many people do something like that: http://heteconomist.com/all-posts-by-category/  Is it correct?


texts: Stressed "would" vs. stressed "will": which explanation is more precise?

texts:
We can use would to express annoyance or irritation at things that are
  happening  now. There is usually a sense that this is typical, or not
  very surprising.

    You would say that!    ( it's typical of you, and it's annoying ).

    Wouldn't you just know it! ( I knew that would happen — and it's
    annoying ).

  --Page 78 (Macmillan - Inside Out English Grammar in Context Advanced)

However:

  Stressed will can be used to criticise people's typical behaviour.

    She WILL fall in love with the wrong people.

    Well, if you WILL keep telling people what you think of them ...

  Stressed would can also be used to criticise a single past action -
  the meaning  is 'that's typical of you'.

    You WOULD tell Mary about the party - I didn't want to invite her.

  -- 633.7, Michael Swan's, Practical English Usage.

I would think these two versions don't agree with each other. Which one is more precise and correct?

If PEU is right, the example in Macmillan would be "You WILL say that!"

Besides, is "Wouldn't you just know it!" a rhetorical question? How to parse it?


texts:
From VOA Special English:

  This week, Iranian and international negotiators agreed on first steps to limit Iran's nuclear program.

Should the word "Iranian" be added with a letter "s"(Iranians)? If it refers to the Iranian people, I think the plural form "Iranians" may be appropriate. So why does it use the singular form? Thanks.


texts: Why can we say "He was being rude to me", but can't say "He was behaving rude to me"?

texts:
Saw this info

  To be [linking verb]: to behave in a particular way

  He was just being rude.

  Don't be silly.

  You'd better be careful.

So, we can say "He was just being rude." but why can't we say "He was just behaving rude."

We can only say "He was just behaving rudely."

So, what is the main reason?


texts: I realised + Past tense or Present tense?

texts:
"On calculating my annual carbon footprint recently, I realized how inadequate those efforts are."

Source: https://commentwise.com/2019/12/06/will-the-rich-change-for-the-planet/

In the given sentence, present tense (those efforts are) has been used after past tense (I realized). Is this grammatically correct?

I think it should be:

  On calculating my annual carbon footprint recently, I realize how inadequate those efforts are. [if Present tense]
  On calculating my annual carbon footprint recently, I realized how inadequate those efforts were. [if past tense]
  On calculating my annual carbon footprint recently, I have realized how inadequate those efforts are/were. [if present perfect tense]


texts: What does 'turn to' mean in the end of the sentence?

texts:
What does 'turn to' mean in the end of sentence?

  She had lost the protection of Calvin's hand. Charles was nowhere, either to save or to turn to. She was alone in a fragment of nothingness.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle


texts:
Should I use 's after incoming flows in this sentence?

  it is responsible for incoming flows management

or

  it is responsible for incoming flows' management

I'm talking about data flows that enter a network. I'm talking about how these flows are managed by the network.


texts: Is it possible to say 'to fall against a wall'?

texts:
I have come across the following sentence in New Round-Up 3 2010 Pearson Education Limited:

  Well, he was riding his bike to school when a cat jumped out in front of him. He tried to stop but he fell against a wall.

Such usage of the verb 'fell' in the above phrase struck me as unusual to say the least.

Is it grammatically correct?

How common is such like usage in everyday life?


texts:
Can anybody explain the bold sentence in this context for me, please?

  The Fed is therefore trying to tamp down expectations concerning future interest-rate levels, by suggesting that changes in demography and productivity trends imply lower real rates in the future.

(MarketWatch: Biggest risk to economy: Fed-fueled bubbles could pop)


texts: Changing to indirect speech without affecting the meaning

texts:
I'm trying to convert these two sentences into indirect speech. I tried not to distort the meaning, but the results sound unnatural. Could anyone provide any better solutions?

  "Is that the doorbell?" Ron yelled to his wife.

  "I'm busy in the kitchen", came the response.

My version:

  Ron yelled to his wife if that was the doorbell.

  The response came saying that she was busy in the kitchen.


texts:
It's a son of my friend which is twenty years old.

In this sentence, which refers to which one, my friend or son? Is there any usual rule here?
On the other hand, how can I do if I want to use which to refer to the other one?


texts: This is essential to be accepted or to/for being accepted by others

texts:
can you please help me with this sentence. Which is correct? Or are they both? What is the difference?

  Many young people think that wearing trendy clothes is essential ...

  to be accepted by others.
  for/to being accepted by others.

I think the second one is correct, but maybe also number one is possible. I can't find an explanation why number 2 is better, it just sounds better.


texts: Some lyrics that need a little correction!

texts:
"throw it (food?) to the monsters for them to share"

I want it to mean that you throw food to some whatever monsters, so they could share it with each other. Is it possible to correct this sentence, so that "share" remains as the last word?

Could someone help me with this? I just want the sentence to make sense, I'm not here to spellcheck, this is not for a test, this is for myself who is more laid back about spelling.


texts: Why did the author for the same sentences chooe gerund one time and infinitive without to for the second one

texts:
When I saw the........  open for the.......... a couple of years ago, the band was totally new for me

I saw you in Berlin, opening for........

I wonder if both sentences have the same meaning? And why one is gerund and not the other. Both sentences have the same author . The first one is a narrative  introducing an interview of the band and the second one is from the interview, it is the beginning of the first question .


texts:
Source

  she has London banking connections, so their husbands will overhear
  and beg her to let them invest with Irving.

To whom word "their" refers to?


texts: She hears him WALK (why not 'walking' ? )

texts:
I thought that the only correct form for this sentence is 'she hears him walking'.
What grammatical rule is for such usage of verb? Does it mean that such variant is correct too: I saw him walk.


texts: Preposions following Ph.d: 'Ph.d in' or 'Ph.d on'

texts:
I'm confused using a preposition after the word PhD. Say,

  PhD on Archaeology  PhD in Archaeology

I have seen both "in" and "on" follwoing PhD Is there any difference?


texts: Is "What does it mean [quoted phrase]?" idiomatic?

texts:
When I ask a question about something said from somebody, I tend to write the question as "What does it mean [quoted phrase]?" probably because that is closer to the Italian way of asking it (Cosa significa […]? where cosa means what, and significa means "it means").

Is that idiomatic, or should I always use "What does [quoted phrase] mean?"