texts: Possible meanings of "IN CASE OF FIRE, DO NOT USE ELEVATOR."

texts:
Background
Below are cited from pp. 14-15 of Introduction to Mathematical Thinking by Keith Devlin:

You often see the following notice posted in elevators:

IN CASE OF FIRE, DO NOT USE ELEVATOR.

Obviously this notice is intended to mean:

If there is a fire, do not use a elevator.

But the writer of the book insisted that if the notice is interpreted literally, there are more than 1 possible interpretations. He didn't write them out in the book.
My question
I could come up with the following interpretetions of the notice. Are each of my sentences legitimate literal interpretations? Is there other possible interpretation?

In a box of fire, do not use a elevator.
If you got dismissed, do not use a elevator.


texts:
I encountered the Key transformation test and I have a problem with the question below.

The Stall didn´t sell much jewellery because of its high prices.
Highly (3)
The jewellery on the stall was so ____________not much sold.

My – probably wrong – answer: The jewellery was so highly expensive that not much sold.


texts:
We know some verbs followed by gerunds.   When these verbs  used with noun like in my example , should we always use them with infinitives  ?

"Shop doesn't allow smoking." (Without noun )

"I allow you to smoke in my car."  (With noun)


texts: "I'll not" vs "I won't" - when is which preferred?

texts:
I know these two common contractions:

I'll enjoy it
I won't enjoy it

I wonder: can one use the first one with a negative?

I'll not enjoy it.

Is this correct?
If so, when/how would one use it? Would it differ from "I won't" semantically?


texts:
For the following sentence, is it correct to say "On the left and right side" or "left and right sides", given that it's about two separate sides? Also, would you say "slices 110 and 100" or leave it as it is, with "slice", as it's about more than one slice? For context, the text is for a figure caption for a neuroscience article.

  "On the left and right side, the coronal and sagittal cuts at slice 110 and 100 are plotted, respectively."


texts: Present simple used for future events - can we use future tenses instead?

texts:
I have found in grammar section of my book that present simple could be used for timetables and programmes (in the future).
Example:
"His train arrives at six o'clock next Tuesday".
Are such cases meant to be expressed only with present simple or is it valid to use standard future tense (future simple?) here?


texts: "lots of knowledge" "lots of techniques"

texts:
When I said "experts bring us lots of knowledge and techniques", a native speaker told me

  lots of knowledge is ok, but lots of techniques doesn't work, we have to use a countable noun

As per Cambridge Dictionary "knowledge" is [ S or U ], "technique" is also [ S or U ]

what is the correct usage?


texts:
Are there definitely wrong versions in the list below?

Which version (and why) is the best one?

_____, we were asked to take a placement test.

On arriving
Upon arriving
On arrival
Upon arrival
Having arrived
As soon as we arrived

My favourite one is the 5th one (having arrived), but I am not sure it is the right one.


texts: what kind of structure is this sentence: "Is he like Patrick to look at?"

texts:
This sentence is from a famous British film(Downton Abbey). There is a guy whose face was completely hurt in the war and being treated in a hospital. Almost all of the face is wrapped in bandages, and barely any part (only the eyes may be) can be seen.
And this guy with the unrecognizable face claims that he is Patrick, the heir of the family that runs that hospital. So the family gets shocked -because they have been looking for him and have never seen since his childhood years ago- and do not want to believe him.
So they discuss how can they make sure that this guy is really the Patrick. Some of them says "he may be Patrick, and some others say he must be a liar after the money. So they can't decide. During these discussions, one lady asks the people there?
"Is he like Patrick to look at?"
This structure sounded very different to me. What kind of structure is it? If I got it correctly, I think she means "Does he look like Patrick, when you look at his face?" or may be she means "Does he look at you like Patrick did -when he was a child?"
Can we use this structure for similar situations, when you cant make sure if a voice on the radio is of someone whom you can make sure? Eg "Is she like Madonna to listen to?"
Regards,


texts: "All of the above belong/s to the statement"

texts:
The words "all of the above" should be treated as singular or as plural in the following context?

  "all of the above belong/s to the statement"

context:
I wrote a question with 4 options:
All of the following people belong to the Greek medical period except for:
a) Hypocrites
b) Aristotle
c) Galenus
d) all of the above belong to the statement


texts:
I met a pretty girl on the street.
And I wonder who the pretty girl looks like. (father or mother?)
How can I ask a question to the pretty girl?

Who do you look like to be so pretty?
Who do you resemble to be so pretty?
Who do you look like so pretty?
You are so pretty. Who do you look like?

What is the right answer to the question above?


texts:
I'd like to know which of the following is natural English:

  Although Jimmy prefers to read in his leisure time, he does play occasional baseball games with us.
  Although Jimmy prefers to read in his leisure time, he does play an occasional baseball game with us.
  Although Jimmy prefers to read in his leisure time, he does play the occasional baseball game with us.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: Is the word margarine used in as the same sense every English speaking country

texts:
I'd like to ask if the word margarine is used in as the same sense as the following in English speaking countries like the USA , the UK, Canada etc. Are there any other words which can be used to define it?

  A butter substitute made from vegetable oils or animal fats.


texts: He might say that now, but he can soon change his mind

texts:
In OALD the entry for might, the second usage is as below:

2 used when showing that something is or was possible

He might say that now (= it is true that he does), but he can soon change his mind.

I have three questions. Please help me clarify.

I don't know whether this example describes his typical trait or a specific occasion where he will probably break his promise but usually he doesn't do it.

Since "might" implies possiblity, why does the note in the bracket say "it is true that he does."? I think it should be "it is likely that he does." instead.

Can I use "but he may/might soon change his mind." in place of "but he can soon change his mind." in this example?


texts:
The words "seemingly" and "apparently" have a similar meaning.

  Something looks a certain way, and it really is so.
  Something looks a certain way, and is probably so.
  Something looks a certain way, but really is different.

To distinguish these cases, German has the words anscheinend (2) and scheinbar (3). Is there a similarly clear distinction in English? I had expected that the words seemingly and apparently carry this distinction, but according to Wiktionary, they don't.

seemingly lists apparently as a synonym.
apparently lists seemingly as a synonym, and in combination with yet can be used to express (3) above.

Merriam-Webster is of no help either:

seemingly explains nothing and only refers to seem.
seem has some usage examples, but they don't answer my question.
apparently is defined as seems apparent, which confuses me even more since doubling the uncertainty makes this definition even more unreliable.
apparent has several meanings, one of which is obvious, the other is defined based on appearing.
appearing is, once again, defined based on seem.

All this goes against the concept of a multi-layer dictionary and is not helpful for getting a clear meaning of the words. When I browsed throught the words at the Merriam-Webster site, I got the impression that they didn't even try to define the words properly, and this confused me even more.

This leaves me with the following questions:

What is the difference between apparently and seemingly?
Is this difference understood by everyone, or just by linguists and maybe laywers?
Which English words are closest to the meanings (2) and (3) at the top of this question?


texts: Which meaning does verb 'roar' has in this sentence from W. Somerset Maugham novel?

texts:
"What does she do?" I asked.

  ...

  "She gives luncheon-parties. You've only got to roar a little, and
  she'll ask you."

If more context is required the novel is freely available on gutenberg

Does it mean figuratively to make a small bit of effort (noise) to make yourself noticed?


texts: Cover letter: work in/work for/work with/work at

texts:
I understand how these work:

I work in IT.
I work at Google.
I work for Google.
I work with computers.

But how about these? To tell someone if I get this job, I would gain experience.

  I will gain experience by working in your firm?
  I will gain experience by working at your firm?
  I will gain experience by working for your firm?
  I will gain experience by working with your firm?

I am not sure quite now. Which of the above are preferred? #4 is slightly less my preference because "with" gives me the implication that I am working in a joint partnership (business-business), although one can argue a worker works with employer.


texts: "than compared to" or "than that of" in comparative?

texts:
I got stuck by the following sentence, which can be found here:

  If we generate the column proportions, we can see that a higher fraction of plain text emails are spam(209/1195 = 17.5%) than compared to HTML emails (158/2726 = 5.8%).

I wonder if the complete sentence should be this:

If we generate the column proportions, we can see that text emails contain a higher fraction of spam(209/1195 = 17.5%) when (they are) compared to HTML emails (158/2726 = 5.8%)

The structure is obvious and the grammar is simple.

I don't understand why it should be expressed as "than compared to" since I thought this sentence would be correct and more comprehensible:

If we generate the column proportions, we can see that a higher fraction of plain text emails are spam(209/1195 = 17.5%) than that of HTML emails (158/2726 = 5.8%)


texts:
Some dictionaries and grammar books in my language give funny restrictions for "There is ~" structure.

A newer grammar book changed a little and now says it's ok to use "There is(are) ~" for proper nouns as long as it's a new theme. Before they said that only when put up several names in a row it's ok to use the structure for proper nouns or nouns led by 'the'.

Those books and dictionaries say "There is" is to bring up a new theme and so use of 'the' is limited to where grammatically needed case such as with a superlative adjective or followed by a modifier like a relative pronoun or an of-clause.

But I've learned here (and there) that it's not actually right.

I wonder why those books and dictionaries in my language are like that.

I wonder if it's ok to say "Is there Mr. Smith here today?"

[edit to add]
An example I found on Google is clearly not a new theme:

  e.g. There's the girl I was talking about.（The New Cambridge English Course 3 Teacher's Book, 1992）

[edit to add]
It's been a while, but now I think I can summarize it. When a thing or two you know come to your mind as relevant items to an idea, you can say "There's the ... and the ...", but when you ask a question, "Is there ...?" is an expression to ask if something ever exist or not, so it's not grammatical and sounds strange if it's used to ask if one of the staff is present today. (Nov. 27, 2016)


texts:
Is it grammatically correct to use 'carry out' in this context?

  I carry out the regeneration and production of machinery parts in the
  food sector.


texts: What does “ using a lower estimate” mean?

texts:
reading forbes 400 about airbnb founders. the context is the following:

  The airbnb founders’ net worths are down versus a year ago because Forbes is using a lower estimate of their ownership stakes.


texts: What's the difference between "onto" and "on"

texts:
Are they near synonyms? I always thought that they pretty much meant the same thing, meaning you could always replace "onto" with "on" without meaningfully changing the meaning of a sentence.

Consider these two sentences:

  I rested my head onto the tree.

  I rested my head on the tree.

It's pretty much the same, right?


texts:
XX's
  deep experience makes them a partner we know
  will benefit from the innovative services we
  provide for our clients

XX is a name of a company, and does it mean "XX's deep experience makes them a partner that we know that we will be able to improve innovative service we provide for our clients"?


texts:
Which sentence is correct
1) With North Korea and South Korea agreeing to resume the talks, chances of peace flourishing in the region have once again revived.

2)With North Korea and South Korea's agreeing to resume the talks, chances of peace flourishing in the region have once again revived.

=> Mind the only difference between the two is a little apostrophe after the word "korea"


texts: The eggs you bought are out of date / Eggs you bought are out of date

texts:
1) The eggs you bought are out of date.
  2) Eggs that you bought are out of date.

Can we tell that the second example implies that some eggs are still good to eat? And the first means all the eggs are out of date.

Does this pattern work every time we apply it?

  3) The money which he has is a byproduct of his business.
  4) Money which he has is a byproduct of his business.

If so, the fourth means some of the money might be made due to another form of income.


texts:
I have written the following construction 2 months ago.

  Our modification addresses the problem where objects that are attached
  to the dominant vertical object are described.

Now I am confused with the last two words and thinking that these 2 words can not be joined to get a single sentence. So, do you think that keeping these two words make sense and follow the grammatical rules?


texts:
I was taught that in English there is a rule that the subjunctive of verbs follows after verbs like suppose, assume, and so on. For examples,

Suppose n be a number.
Assume a fact be true.

But I have seen in (many) books and journals, this rule is (completely) ignored. People simply write as

Suppose n is a number.
Assume a fact is true.

I wonder if I am wrong and this rule does not exist or no longer exist.


texts: Why "Go get dressed" instead of "go dress"?

texts: Considering that 'to dress' is a verb, why is it preferable to say "Go get dressed" as opposed to the simple "Go dress"?


texts: "complete honesty" or "absolute honesty" in the mentioned context?

texts:
This is a relationship with ---- honesty.

the above sentences is intended to say that the relationship is completely/absolutely honest; there is nothing dishonest or insincere in that relationship. What is the most idiomatic way to fill the blank:

  complete honesty

or

  absolute honesty

or ...?


texts: Does the phrase 'die in surprise' exist?

texts:
In my country, when people surprised so much we speak:

I almost died in surprise.

When you get astonished so much, you feel a bit of pain in your heart. And you feel you might die from it.
But I don't get any google hit with the phrase 'die in surprise'.
I searched also 'die on surprise', 'die by surprise', and 'die from surprise'.
I don't get any google hit on the first page.
Do you use this expression? If not, what would be the closet thing to this phrase?


texts:
She didn't love him, however she had to put up with him till the kids ......... a bit more.

a. grew up
b. would grow up
I think grammatically "b" is the correct choice here, nonetheless, I have my doubts whether I am right of wrong!
I was wondering if you could give me a hand with this question.


texts:
I understand opposite means on the other side of something, so for example

  I'm sitting opposite my friend at the table.

In this example could I also say the following?

  I'm sitting in front of my friend

Would that be wrong?

So, in my example, could I say that if I say 'I'm sitting in front of my friend' it's OK, it's just not as specific 'opposite my friend'?

Thank you. I understand the difference in your example.
I just wanted to know if there is an object that separates us, in my example the table, would that be wrong if I use 'in front of'? Some English speakers told me that it's also ok.


texts: What does it mean the phrase in this song?

texts: What does it mean the phrase "phantom doors swing"in the song Switch Lanes by Tyga feat The Game?


texts:
What is the difference between :

Oh, that's very sad.
vs
Oh, that's very saddening.

and

I am sad to hear this.

vs

I am saddened to hear this.


texts:
If both sentences are true, how can we justify them? Can we use singular pronoun for referring to "everyone"?

  I bet everyone regardless of genders can find at least one item [they love].
  I bet everyone regardless of genders can find at least one item [he/she loves].


texts:
I'm confused on what will be the passive form of Do you want to play?

I think it will be Is hockey/football(or any other sport) intended to be played by you?


texts: Should "in" be used in this ex: I am interested in working abroad or I am interested working abroad. Or both are correct?


texts: What is a non-physical meaning of "total burn"?

texts:
I had seen the NIN video they had out then that looked like a total burn of a Joel-Peter Witkin photo.

What does total burn mean here?  It doesn't seem to have the physical meaning of burn.


texts:
If Sandy were giving a speech tomorrow, she would be very nervous.
Were Sandy giving a speech tomorrow, she would be very nervous.
Is this inversion correct?
Thank you so much in advance!


texts:
power /ˈpaʊə(r)/ (OALD) audio link
Do you pronounce power's vowels in order of (1) -> (2) -> (3) or other ways?


texts:
My I asked my friend:

  Did you hear 'xyz' song

He said:

  No, such things piss me off

I replied:

  But they/these get me high!

What should I reply, they or these?


texts: What is the role of 'level with' in this sentence?

texts:
"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking
  to watch.  Malfoy smiled nastily.  "I think I'll leave it
  somewhere for Longbottom to find - how about - up a tree?"  "Give
  it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and
  taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well. Hovering level
  with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it,
  Potter!"  Harry grabbed his broom.   (Harry Potter and the
  Sorcerer's Stone)

The highlighted part looks like a predicative complement. Is this right?


texts:
Is this sentence correct?

  Wherever I am at in my career I do big films.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Some searching-result pages give me the prompt of “filled to the brim” but I don't think they share the same meaning. This phrase also occasionally appears on article from The New Yorker so I think it's a fixed expression. Does it mean “be taken good use of” or something else? Thanks.


texts:
If I want to ask someone if their arm still hurting can I say:

  Is it still hurt?

I wrote the sentence above, but my friend said it should  be:

  Does it hurt?

I know that my friend is correct, but I want to know whether I really can't say "Is it hurt?" at all. Or I can say it but for different case.

Edit:

For example, my friend has injury in her ankle. What I am trying to ask is: at the moment, does she feel any pain because of her injury? Has her injury healed or it's still paining her.

And for this kind of situation, which question is more appropriate between the two?


texts: What does it mean "to be projected into your life" in this text?

texts: I am an easy going and laid back person, I love life and try to live to the fullest. One of my favorite activities is to smile and make people laugh, I feel there is so much negativity being projected into our lives that I want to bring happiness and light. There is so much that this life has to offer and I have chosen to be happy in it and be grateful for all the blessings that have been bestowed upon me. I lead my own experience and don't follow trends and/or people. I am an ambitious person and I believe I can have it all love, family, friendship and a career and I want someone who shares that same view and who encourages my success, as will I with them and not be intimidated by it.


texts:
Which of the following is grammatically correct:

"Other cell products may depend on concentrations of ... ?"

"Other cell products may depend on the concentrations of ... ?"

If both are, is there really a difference of emphasis? The kind of read the same, it seems.


texts:
Is there a polite and natural way to welcome the stranger you've already met today? A usual greeting seems inappropriate since you've already seen the person. Even if it was a brief encounter (in a pharmacy, in a grocery store, or somewhere at reception) and that person didn't remember you, is there a way to hint we've seen each other today?

Would 'again' be appropriate in this context?

  Hi, again.

  Hello, it's me again.

  Good/nice to see you again. (it doesn't imply this day, though)

What are other alternatives? How do you say it?


texts:
I was going through list of words that we can use to compare two things or ideas. One of the words is most important. I couldn’t find examples for this. Can someone give some examples of comparison using most important?
Edit: I wanted to clarify one thing here. I am not a native English speaker. I was going through the list for words to compare/contrast two things or ideas. To my understanding compare refers to finding similarities between two things. I didn’t get how can we say two things are similar using most important.
We can compare using both, similarly, as well. For example, They are both good athletes. Janet enjoys playing piano. Similarly, Lisa also studies piano. Lisa has three brothers. Janet has three brothers as well. Does most important fit in this list?


texts: Can you explain about the proper combination of verb with noun in this sentence?

texts:
Source

This was a statement I read in the Times of India newspaper about Purple Prince:

  He rocked a braggadocio guitar and spandex and eyeliner and a feminine ache and a chest full of hair and, high heels and a proud blackness and basically magic.

I think there's a misuse of a comma.

He rocked:
a guitar
a spandex
and an eyeliner

There may be a 'had' missing over there.He had:
a feminine ache and
a chest full of hair

Then 'high heels and a proud blackness and basically magic.'I could not get it right meaning.

Also are the articles missing with 'spandex' and 'eyeliner' , 'high heels' while they have been used repeatedly in 'a feminine' and 'a chest', 'a proud'.


texts: How to write name of a member along with name of its containing group?

texts:
Suppose we have three different groups: A, B and C. Now, my question would be how should we say A:

"group A" or "A group"

For making it more clear, consider a situation in which we would want recommend a group to an individual. Which one of the following sentences is grammatically correct?

You should use group A.
You should use A group.

UPDATE #1:
As @Victor Bazarov kindly has commented, in this case A and B could placeholders for longer phrases. For example:

You should consume tropical fruits group.
You should consume group tropical fruits.


texts: Can I use the word each twice in my sentence

texts:
I have a mixture of two subjects. I can call each of them as a mixture component. I would like to store each mixture component in its own matrix.

From my old question here, I may write my sentence as follows:

  The numbers, letters, and mixture components are each stored in a separate matrix.

This may make the reader think that I stored my mixture components in one matrix, which is incorrect. Therefore, I would like to clarify my sentence even further.

  The numbers, letters, and (each) mixture component are each stored in a separate matrix.

I just wonder if this correct? or I must not use each twice in my sentence.


texts: selling the basketball or sell the basketball

texts:
Last week, I went to a store to look for a basketball. I saw one in a glass case I liked. I talked to a salesclerk about it. He was not a native English speaker. I am going to write down our conversation below.

As I was pointing to the basketball, I asked the salesclerk, "Are you selling this basketball?

He replied, "We sell it."

I said, "I want it."

He said, "You want one."

In our conversation, I used the present continuous (selling) and he used the present simple (sell). I said: "... it" and he said: "... one".

Who was correct on the verb tense and the word choice highlighted in black?


texts: Use of present simple tense to refer to future events

texts:
I wonder if the last sentence is grammatically correct. Swan says "Present tenses are often used instead of will + infinitive to refer to the future in subordinate clauses" Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press, 2005, Page 568)
"

  I auto correct (in my head) my husband when he's talking, lol. He says "supposeably" instead of "supposedly" and it drives me up a wall! I do my best and I try to reread everything before posting just so there aren't any mistakes. My husband also uses bad grammar when talking with the children, but I auto correct out loud with that because I don't want my children using bad grammar. Especially since my son goes to Kindergarten next year.
  Source is here


texts: Is it ok to say "good morning" at anytime?

texts: A friend of mine told me that you can say "good morning" to a person at any time, if you are seeing him/her for the first time on that day. Is this true?


texts: Can one decide to distract oneself with or by something?

texts:
Is it correct to say

"The girl he'd been long in love didn't reciprocate so he decided to
distract himself with/by her friend and asked her out on a date"

?
or

"He decided to distract himself with/by a book as he was nervous"

?
Which is considered correct?


texts: Another way to say "We are not relations."

texts:
In the movie Forrest Gump, Lieutenant Dan was asking Gump and Bubba whether they are twin brothers, but Gump said:

  "No....we are not relations, Sir."

Is it also correct to say if I say this?

  We are not related to each other.

or does it have a different meaning?


texts: Looking for an expression or idiom for a weak person who can be easily bullied or intimidated

texts: In my native language we have this expression for a weak person - " a low fence " implying that anybody can jump over it. Is there a similar expression or idiom in meaning in English for this type of person ?


texts:
I am 27 years old
I get along with my 28 year old brother /  28 years old brother.

When should I use " year old" and "years old"?


texts: Is the term "antedate" always used to refer to "not actual" date of an event?

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

  Though my Twitter friend was wrong in this instance, well-researched efforts like his can turn up antedatings that we've missed.

Now, it implies that "antedatings" might be the true actual dates of the concerned events (or in this case "word's appearance" in the language). But here is how Merriam webster define the word:

  a date assigned to an event or document earlier than the actual date of the event or document

Now, taking it as a guide, it can be concluded that antedate is the date prior to that event's actual happening. But it seems to contradict what Kory thinks the word means( antedate being the true date). So I think the definition as per the dictionary is at fault( the "actual" sense). Am I right?


texts: Is it correct to say before he come or before he came

texts:
1/

Did he paint the wall before his friend came?
(OR)
Did he paint the wall before his friend come?

2/

Had he painted the wall before his friend came?
(OR)
Had he painted the wall before his friend come?


texts:
I several times, particularly,while reading novels, encountered the sentence ' we was ....' .But as per my knowledge is concerned were is appropriate verb instaed of was. Please explain it. Thank you

Usage examples:

From
The Life and Times of Ray Hicks: Keeper of the Jack Tales:

  We was hurryin' so as not to get caught in a blizzard storm. The northwest wind blowed over the mountain and was so strong ......The snow started a comin' down so fast, in short order we couldn't see where we was goin. ice was a freezin' on our faces. We turned to walk backwards, then forwards , ...

From Tom Sawyer, Detective
By Mark Twain:

  What we was after was a couple of noble big di'monds as big as hazel-nuts, which everybody was running to see. We was dressed up fine, and ...


texts:
catch [transitive] catch somebody/something to capture a person or an
  animal that tries or would try to escape

  The murderer was never caught.

  Our cat is hopeless at catching mice.

  How many fish did you catch?

  The police say they are doing all they can to catch the culprits.

  spring [intransitive] (of a person or an animal) to move suddenly and
  with one quick movement in a particular direction SYNONYM leap

  The cat crouched ready to spring.

  adv./prep. He turned off the alarm and sprang out of bed.

  She sprang back in alarm.

  Eric sprang forward and tackled the man to the ground.

  Everyone sprang to their feet (= stood up suddenly) when the principal
  walked in.

  She sprang from her chair and gave me a warm hug.

  The attacker sprang out at her from a doorway.

  (figurative) to spring to somebody's defence/assistance (= to quickly
  defend or help somebody)

  maul somebody (of an animal) to attack and injure somebody by tearing
  their body

In Vietnamese, we have a word "vồ" that combines 2 actions "spring & catch". Google Translate says "vồ"= maul (source). I am not sure "maul" is the right word.

In English, "spring" means to jump suddenly and doesn't carry the meaning "catching" while "catch" means to capture & doesn't carry the meaning "leap or spring".

So, What word expresses both actions "to spring & catch a prey"?


texts:
To my knowledge, 'late' can be placed in front of time period terms (day/week/month/year) to indicate the final part of a duration. However, there are a number of constructions (especially ones involving the present time period as opposed to past or future) that are open to my personal doubt, mostly due to the lack of search results for instances of their usage. Are the 'late-phrases' in the list below correct and natural English? If not, how can I reword them to express the same idea?

  There will be a movie in here late tomorrow.
  I will be starting university late this year.
  We will expect a sudden temperature drop late this month.
  He will arrive late today

Many thanks in advance.


texts:
Is there any rule or a governing principle telling when the preposition "in" must be used before a specified period of time?

  This semester, he has finally abandoned his habit of reading comic
  books in class.

or

  In this semester, he has finally abandoned his habit of reading comic
  books in class.


texts: Passive form of "change", which is right?

texts:
I have an exercise. I have to choose one of these phrases:

  Water can change into ice.
  Water can be changed into ice.

My question is which one is right?


texts: The distance in comparative constructions

texts:
Consider:

  Studies have shown those mothers who talk with their babies during pregnancy will make closer and warmer relationship with their babies during/in postpartum than others/those who don't.

Is a correct and natural place for "than others who don't"? I think the gap is too long, but don't know where else to put it.

By the way you may help me with the word choices shown with slashes.


texts: Why does the writer use "away from" in "hauling earth away from an excavation site" instead of just "from"?

texts:
Vehicles are hauling earth away from an excavation site.

Why does the writer use "away from"? Can I use "from" instead of "away from"?


texts:
June covered the blanket over the baby.

As in the picture, is the sentence acceptable?


texts: Could(parallelism) accuracy. Other helping verbs possible?(present tense)

texts:
As an ESL, one cannot be completely accurate in their ''parallelism'' sometimes. Like this one:

  "If I can't tolerate simple criticisms or much worse even, I still couldn't regard myself as a changed person then, I'm still the same person I was before, obviously. Tolerance could be the key, which could help me to reach my goal. And once I am finally at the top, it could be a rather less stressful place as mediocre individuals could already be weeded out.

The main modal verb is could, but sometimes it doesn't look correct(I think) particularly in the very last sentence. Is this correct to you?


texts: Negation in "John is NOT able to express his needs appropriately NOR to initiate communication", is it right?

texts:
John is not able to express his needs appropriately nor to initiate communication.

Is the grammar correct ?

My question is are the negative words used correctly. So is it possible to use two of them in the sentence? Is my use of the two negative words correct here, or does it cause a problem. If there is a problem, what can I do to correct it? Why would this solve the problem?


texts: Can anyone tell me the form of the verb in this sentence?

texts:
In the sentence: "A series of events happened, each caused by the previous one."

I want to know the form of the verb "caused"? (tense, voice, ...)


texts:
They are dancing in/on the glade.

Which preposition is correct?

Oxforddictionaries.com gives the following definition of the word:

  An open space in a wood or forest.

So glade is a space, not a surface free from trees, and they are dancing in this space, not on the surface. Is it correct?


texts: Is "accuse people to be racist" grammatical?

texts:
I am not sure if you can use the infinitive here.

I would rather say:

  Accuse people of being racist.

The other question is if you can say:

  Accuse people of being racists.

  Accuse people to be racists.

I sometimes use words like "racist" as noun instead of adjective. Are both ok?


texts: What is this grammatical structure called?

texts:
I noticed that there is sentence construct that starts with an adjective, something like this:

Ready to race, John started the car.
John, ready to race, started the car.

I looked at some resources here and noticed that it's neither a relative clause (which should have a relative pronoun) nor an adjective phrase.
What is that structure, if I'm correct that it's indeed grammatical, called?


texts: What does "what you would have answered were you asked the same question" mean?

texts:
I have a paragraph which is about how to talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere

  To avoid stalling in a conversation, it helps to ask open-ended questions and to make open-ended statements. Ideally, you will get a great answer in return, but you cannot expect it. You have to be prepared either way, and if you get a not so great answer, such as “I don’t know,” or even a one-word reply, you can clarify the question by telling what you would have answered were you asked the same question

I think it may be a conditional sentence, but I don't believe in my opinion because it is different from conditional sentences I often see. Can anyone explain it? Thank you!


texts:
I want to know. what type of sentences these are and why do use past participle in these sentences instead verb first form please explain little bit deeply. and in 2nd example I want to know. Is it passive sentence if this is passive then please convert into active.

1)In order to understand the logic AND operation see the fig16.8 in which a lamp is connected to a battery using two switches S1 and S2 connected in series considered as two inputs. there are four possible states of these switches.

2) which are given below


texts: What's the difference between stationary and still?

texts:
For instance:

The bus is still.
The bus is stationary.

When do we use each of them?

Also, why in the idiom "sit still", still looks like an adverb?
Is there an adverb that has the same meaning of "still" or
"stationary"?


texts:
Given the following sentences

He was not technically allowed to view the reports.
He was technically not allowed to view the reports.

which of the given sentence is correct and why?


texts:
Context:

  Here, because 'him' refers to another human suspect and 'you' to British Army Major Rachel Dalton (portrayed by Rhona Mitra), http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/downwind doesn't make sense and is out of context.


texts:
I came across this sentence while reading through a blog:

  There are two major features never change on both 2007 and 2010 map.

The author is comparing the features of two maps, one dates back to 2007 and the other dates back to 2010.

I was wondering why he didn't write:

  ......on both 2007 and 2010 maps. (the plural form of "map")

Is it a typo? or it is something I'm not aware of it?


texts:
Should I use the present perfect or the past perfect in the following context?

  Last year, a tragic bus accident happened in Kolkata. At least 60 people died in the accident. The bus driver was found responsible for the accident. It is not that accidents like that have not occurred before but the number of deaths has never risen so high.

Please note that since last year no accidents have occurred and have not taken as many as 60 lives.

Please someone who is a teacher or has good knowledge of the language please answer this.


texts:
I have a dilemma. I know how to use this, but I'm trying to explain it to someone and I can't find a logical explanation.

So here it is:

  Who called last night?
  Who did you call last night?

Why does the second sentence contain "did" when the first one doesn’t?


texts:
I'm reading Dracula's sequel, Dracula: The Un-dead. This sentence is taken from chapter 48.

  Thoughts of Dracula seeped into Mina's mind. God help her. What if it
  was he?

I'm not sure if it's a printing error or some old-English style of writing but according to me, the "he" in this sentence should be "him". Any idea?


texts:
The third stanza of the poem A Teacher for All Seasons by Joanna Fuchs is :

A teacher is like Fall,
With methods crisp and clear
Lessons of bright colors
And a happy atmosphere.

I can't properly understand the phrase crisp and clear. Is it an idiom?
Is it for crispy leaves that fall from trees and the weather that is clear?. (my guess)


texts: Why isn't there any complement for 'do'?

texts:
Malfoy now turned to Hagrid.
      "I'm not going in that forest, he said, and Harry was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.
      "Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh’ve got ter pay fer it."
      "But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was
  doing this, he'd ––“ (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

There is a ‘for’ complementizer in the case. But when considering ‘do’ is a transitive verb, there needs to be ‘what’ or ‘that’. What grammatical explanations are there?


texts: Is it better to use simple past or present perfect for a future event?

texts:
If any man hurts my daughter, I will hurt him as much as he has hurt her

Could it be past simple as at the time of writing the hurting if there was one,  it would  be finished and hopefully would not happen again . But what bother me is that all verbs in this sentence relate to present or future so may be present perfect is a better choice

  If any man hurts my daughter, I will hurt him as much as he hurt her


texts:
You have a secret which I, not curious about, have never paid any attention to.

This example should be like this in modern English.

  "You have a secret which I, not curious about it, have never paid any attention to."

Is this an archaic usage of the object relative pronoun?


texts: How to understand the preposition "of" in "Mary was born of an artist's family. "

texts:
Mary was born of an artist's family.

I think this sentence should be :

  Mary was born in an artist's family.

Why should it use "of"? If "of" is correct, what are the nuance between "of "and "in"?


texts:
I have a question about the usage of verb "frame" here:

  But that doesn't mean the fiery right-hander will be idle after setting the tone with 5-2/3 innings of stingy pitching in a 6-2 Giants victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, framing the upcoming National League West showdown in a most proper way.

According to dictionaries, the two senses that remotely fit the current example are 1) frame a plan (develop) or 2) frame a comment/question/answer (express it in some way).
But neither definition seems to fit the current example.  Could there be an error in the example?


texts: How can you explain the structure of sentences beginning with "or"?

texts:
Since most of you will ask for the source, I have uploaded an image containing the content itself. If needed, I can add the link to these texts also.

The sentences beginning with "or" confuse me a little. In the first context, does it mean, "he wanted to walk on streets at least until he could see his daughter"?

In the second context, if the first construction is talking about the possibility then the second should also. So, it should say Or a beetle may get picked up..". Doesn't the sentence sound strange with its current construction?


texts: "Do you like movies, do not you?" Correct?

texts:
In writing, contraction should be avoided, right?

However, I feel strange to see "do not you" instead of "don't you".

I wonder if native speakers use "do not you" in writing instead of using "don't you".

Thank you in advance!


texts: Reduction of Subject Regarding Present Participle

texts:
I have a question regarding Present Participle.

In the example below, I am wondering whether it is possible for the subject to be changed into an 'Empty Subject' it?

As I can see in the two listed uses of this website, the subjects for both clauses must be the same (and then one will be removed).

  Stopping only for gas, it took the truck driver nearly 12 hours to deliver the shipment of goods from Kansas City to Grand Rapids.

Sorry for the headline, I don't know how to make it clearer.


texts: Which meaning of 'vanity', in Ch 7, Line 32 of Jane Eyre?

texts:
[Source: Line 32, Ch 7, Jane Eyre]:
  Miss Temple seemed to remonstrate.
  "Madam," he pursued, "I have a Master to serve whose kingdom is not of this world: my mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh; to teach them to clothe themselves with shame-facedness and sobriety, not with braided hair and costly apparel; and each of the young persons before us has a string of hair twisted in plaits which vanity itself might have woven; these, I repeat, must be cut off; think of the time wasted, of----"

How do you determine/deduce the apt definition of vanity here? Please explain the steps, thought processes; I’d like to try to resolve this myself in the future? Which of the following?

  1. [mass noun] Excessive pride in or admiration of one’s own appearance or achievements:

This implies that narcissism wove those plaits, but reveals nothing about the worthiness of the plaits? .

  2.[mass noun] The quality of being worthless or futile

This implies that futility wove those plaits?

3. Also, what does kingdom refer to? The United Kingdom?


texts: What does 'scaffolding' mean in the following context?

texts:
On one occasion when he was walking in the streets of Paris, he saw —
  this was real -- a scaffolding. But when he got back home, he saw a
  miniature of the scaffolding six inches high, on his study table. This
  repetition of perception is sometimes called palinopsia.

https://www.ted.com/talks/oliver_sacks_what_hallucination_reveals_about_our_minds

Does it mean 'a temporary structure on the outside of a building' or 'scaffold', which means 'a raised platform on which criminals were hanged or had their heads cut off'?


texts:
What is the idiom in English which express "you only started to do things when it already happened, there was no preparation"?

For example, America only started to make more masks and ventilators when the number of coronavirus patients increased. They should have done that much earlier, probably 2 months ago.

This is translated from Vietnamese: "You only start to make stables, when you lost cows"


texts:
What to say when I want to tell someone to show one finger for number one? ' Put your one finger up' is correct or not?
https://www.dreamstime.com/flashcard-number-one-illustration-use-to-study-kid-image116667393


texts: "Pulled open the door" and "pushed shut the door."

texts:
Why is that "pulled open the door" is a common phrase but not "pushed shut the door?" (In other words, putting "shut" in front of the verb.)
Maybe I'm wrong but "pushed shut the door" sounds a little strange? Why is that?


texts: Is "Over how many days is your coughing problem now?" correctly phrased?

texts:
How do ask the duration in days of person's coughing in English?

Let's say you have a friend who have been constantly coughing for several days until now. You asked:

  Over how many days is/are your coughing problem now?

Is this the correct way of asking that?


texts: Grammar from Sherlock Holmes: Count Dracula and Ebenezer Scrooge come to mind

texts:
Here are two adjacent sentences from Sherlock Holmes

  Few fictional characters have taken on a life of their own outside the pages of their stories the way Sherlock Holmes has.

  Count Dracula and Ebenezer Scrooge come to mind, and each conforms ...

Can anyone explain the meaning of the first and the grammar in the second?

The first sentence

I would try to rephrase the first one in this way, please correct me, if I am wrong:

There are (almost) no characters that tried (?) to live lives (what "of their own" adds here? Is not it a tautology?). And then I cannot understand how fictional characters could live lives "outside the pages of their stories"?

The second sentence

In the second sentence:

  Count Dracula and Ebenezer Scrooge come to mind, and each conforms ...

the most difficult thing is subject - presumably it is "Count Dracula and Ebenezer Scrooge", but in which sense "count" is used here? Is it noun or verb? It ought to be a noun, but as far as understand, as a noun it requires the preposition "of" afterwards - as in "Hold your breath for a count of ten., He was charged with two counts of theft."


texts: Difference between “generate” and “create”

texts:
What is the difference between these two sentences:

The new development will generate 1,500 new jobs
The new development will create 1,500 new jobs


texts: Grammatical function of "all" within "All about economics."

texts:
Does all within:

  All about economics.

play the role of pronoun?


texts: Usage of plural nouns with and without 'the'

texts:
Can I use the plural nouns in the given sentences with and without the. What difference in meaning does the create in the sentences? And as an English speaker which one sounds best to your ears?

John, I have been to many countries in my life. I can tell you one thing that (the) people in America are politically very aware.
(The) students at this school are diligent, intelligent and smart.

As an ESL learner it confuses me a lot because I have seen sentences like these are used both with and without the. And I can't figure it out. Could anyone please explain?

My probelms begin when nouns with plural from come before prepositions like -(the) people in America, (the) teachers at this scool.


texts: What is the difference "each" or "each one" or "each of them"?

texts:
What is the difference "each" or "each one" or "each of them" or "each one of them"?

For example:

  "Cells can be classified into two main groups: prokaryotic and
  eukaryotic. Each (or each one) can be classified farther into
  sub-classifications.

As you can see I have 4 choices and I don't really know the differences between them:

1) Each can be classified farther into sub-classifications.

2) Each one can be classified farther into sub-classifications.

3) Each of them can be classified farther into sub-classifications.

4) Each one of them can be classified farther into sub-classifications.


texts:
I'd like to describe a situation in the past. Not sure which one below makes more sense.

  Everything looks okay to me. I don't think we had this issue in the past.
  Everything looks okay to me. I don't think we've had this issue in the past.


texts: Translating sentences in a correct manner (Past Perfect vs Past Simple)

texts:
I have two sentences I don't know which variants to chose.

  The storm died down, the sky cleared and the sun was shining again.
  Last summer I visited places where I spent my childhood. The trees my father planted when I was a child turned into big tall trees.

The key says:

  had died down, had cleared.
  had spent, had planted.

Why? I think in the first sentences Past Simple goes quite well with that picture. Succession of past actions and it's obvious enough to that each action took place before another one.
As for the second one, I just think I'm right. Childhood is a finished period of time (peculiar time).

Off topic: could I say "raved itself out"  (I found it in vocabulary) instead of "died down"; "became brighter" instead of "cleared"; "are now big tall tress" instead of "turned into..." or in this case I should use Past Simple because of sequence of tenses.


texts:
Manassas Ends Hope for a Short War (VOA Learning English)

What does ‘Ends’ mean? It seems not ‘Manassas Ends’ is a proper name. I guess it would rather be meaning: ‘the last part of Manassas.’ But not having the geographical, historical background or proper lexical meaning, I’m wondering which meaning is right.


texts: Could you simplify these two srntences in simple English, please?

texts:
To buy your first home, you likely will need a mortgage. In fact, before you even start looking at houses, you should look into your mortgage prospects.If you have good credit, a healthy income and money in the bank, you’ll be able to securemortgage preapproval quickly and proceed straight to the homebuying process. But if you have less-than-stellar credit, are self-employed or have little cash to bring to the table, you’ll want to start the process way before you look at houses – maybe more than a year before.“You have to get a copy of your credit report,” says Don Frommeyer, chief executive officer of the National Association of Mortgage Professionals and a mortgage broker in Indianapolis. “You have to know what’s in there.”The free credit report you can get annually, while it helps you identify problems, won’t show you the same credit score your mortgage officer will see. “The score is invariably higher than what you get when someone in the mortgage company runs it,” says Casey Fleming, author of “The Loan Guide: How to Get the Best Possible Mortgage” and a mortgage broker in the San Francisco Bay Area.
That makes meeting with a mortgage officer (or two or three) at the start of the process crucial. In competitive markets, agents won’t even show homes to buyers without mortgage preapproval.Be prepared to produce documents, and lots of them, starting with several years of tax returns and many months of bank statements. Lenders will want proof of your income, and they will want to know about all your debts. They also will want to know the source of any big deposits. If your parents give you money for a down payment, they will need to write a letter documenting that.

Could you please simplify the whole two highlighted sentences in simple English. Now that is really hard to understand.

The free credit report you can get annually, while it helps you identify problems, won’t show you the same credit score your mortgage officer will see.
The score is invariably higher than what you get when someone in the mortgage company runs it.


texts:
Does this sounds right? I’m taking about a book I like by an author I like!

  One of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors..

or

  One of my favorite books by one of my favorite author (this one sounds weird but idk)


texts: Is "to spite" or "spite" the same as "despite"?

texts: Ok so i said a joke to my friend saying "i hope she sends me pics just despite you", then he said "it's not, "just to despite you" you dumbass, it's spite, not despite, kill yourself", "you thought "to spite" was, "despite". I'm pretty sure they meant the same thing, but i just wanted to know if i'm wrong and why.


texts:
Can we use the word 'eldest' for a high status person? If we want to say that A has higher status compared with another man, can we say, "A has always been eldest of all (exalted)"? What about the word 'senior' in this case?
And, does the word 'senior' only denote experience and professional career?


texts: What did she "cut in" and what does "my cutting in" mean in this sentence?

texts:
This is really confusing, as I looked the whole chapter not finding anything she cut off or out or whatever，nor did she interrupt anyone. I could understand the whole passage except this "cutting in", that she redecorated her room and her dad feels proud. Could any one help me with this "cutting in" please?

Here is the sentence:

    ……I went to the DIY store and bought paint and new blinds, as well as
    a new bedside light and some shelves, which I assembled myself. It’s
    not that I’m good at that stuff; I guess I just wanted to see if I
    could do it.

    I set about redecorating, painting for an hour a night after I came
    home from work, and at the end of the week even Dad had to admit I’d
    done a really good job. He stared for a bit at my cutting in,
    fingered the blinds that I had put up myself, and put a hand on my
    shoulder. ‘This job has been the making of you, Lou.’

  Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

No special context here, all the passage.


texts: How would uneducated people say: "he has some good qualities"

texts:
I have this thought that uneducated people wouldn't use the word "quality" when describing people's personalities such as helpful, mean, grouchy and hardworking.

So how would uneducated people say:

  "he has some good qualities"

Or am I wrong?


texts:
A friend of mine, who is a native speaker of US English, used this expression while speaking:

  All the parents are busy right now. They are discussing a lot of stuff. They are clearly going to be a while.

What does this expression mean? Is this suggesting that they were going to be late or would take more time?


texts: "demands that he abandon" vs. "demands that he abandons"

texts:
On a site about movies, I read the following:

  While Nader defaults to self-righteousness after his wife demands that he abandon his Alzheimer’s-ridden father, Maadi shades the character’s stubbornness with layers of pained love that he’s never been taught how to express.

My question is about the first part of the sentence. why does it read "... he abandon.." instead of "he abandons"?

And I'm not sure about the meaning of "defaults to self-righteousness".


texts: Does the word "do" have a meaning of "study"?

texts:
I've already done the background on the woman.

It seems that the word do here has the same meaning with study or investigate. Is that right? Can you give me some more examples? Thanks a lot.


texts: Difference between ‘as little as’ and ‘as many as’

texts:
Some sentences:

  It takes as little as four seconds for a car thief to break into a car. (Or should it be as few as four seconds?  Because seconds is countable)
  You can fly to Paris for as little as 20 euros. (Or as few as 20 euros? Because euros is countable)
  He drinks as much as three bottles of milk a day. (Or as many as three bottles of milk? Because bottle is countable)
  The weather can change completely in as little as half an hour. (Or as few as a half an hour ... because hour is countable)
  I could be back in as little as five days. (Or as few days as ... because days is countable)

I don't know why in the above examples we used 'little/much' instead of 'few/many'?

Am I wrong?


texts: Delivered on today or delivered at today

texts:
Items has been delivered on today morning

Items has been delivered at today morning

Which is the correct sentence?


texts:
Example:

  This book is based on two ideas. One is that the magic we understand is safer and more powerful than the magic we don't. This is not a hands-on how-to book. Don't look for any instructions for taking a screwdriver to this part or the other. But perhaps your knowing more about what's going on inside all those stoic components makes them a little less formidable when something does go awry.

How do you exactly understand that? You can take something someplace, but how can you take it to something?


texts:
How is “mechanism” split (hyphenated) at the end of the line?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mechanism says mech·a·nism but

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mechanism?s=t says mech·an·ism.

Where can I split the word at the end of a line? Is the difference between the on-line sources about British versus American English (which one is which), or is one simply wrong, or what circumstances do I have to pay attention for to determine which one to choose? (If there is a third, better, free on-line resource, naming its url for future use is also welcome!)


texts: What's the difference between "of ~" and "for ~" in this sentence?

texts:
Prepositions are still very difficult for me.
Is there any difference between the two in meaning?

  Prices for gasoline have been fluctuating all month.
  Prices of gasoline have been fluctuating all month.

And what's the difference with "Gasoline prices"?

Thanks for your help in advance.


texts: Is it pronounced as 'an + to + nym' or 'auto + nym'? Is there any difference between how it is pronounced in different regions?


texts: How to use "next" - 'your next purchase' is ok, but 'next purchase' is not

texts:
According to my grammar books, it reads that you can say "Discount on your next purchase" but not "Discount on next purchase" because you have to put "your" or "the" before "next".

Could anyone can explain why?


texts: Cohesion in tenses in Relative and Main clauses

texts:
I have a chart which illustrates the unemployment rates of five different countries in 2005, and I need to write a report about this chart. Which one of the following sentences is the correct one ?

Poland was the one of those five countries which had the most colossal amount of youth unemployment.
Poland was the one of those five countries which has the most colossal amount of youth unemployment.

I could not decide which one of them is correct, but I think that the first one seems more senseful.


texts:
Sometimes, I am struggling with the useage of articles.

For example:

The word 'fool' can be used as verb.
The word 'fool' can be used as a verb.

Which one is correct?


texts:
if someone  ask your opinion just with your name, is it rude to answer “tell me”?
For example, during a meeting, your boss exposes an idea and just say, Mely?is it rude just answering tell me


texts: Question about meaning of "implication" in this context

texts:
This heartening account has its counterpart in numerous advanced clusters where the implications of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings are being brought to bear on the conditions of life in neighbourhoods and villages. In each, a people, increasingly aware of the Person of Bahá’u’lláh, is learning, through reflection on experience, consultation, and study, how to act on the truths enshrined in His Revelation, such that the widening circle of spiritual kindred is ever more closely bound together by ties of collective worship and service.

Does it mean understanding ? Does it mean result ?


texts:
Are there any differences between the following sentences:

I have read this book for two weeks
I have been reading this book for two weeks

It has rained for three days
It has been raining for three days


texts: What does this part "might equally well have done" mean?

texts:
What does the part "might equally well have done" mean?

  Several have defined man as an animal which laughs. They might equally well have defined him as an animal which is laughed at. Source

I can't find this in my dictionary.


texts: Whats meaning of `Trunk` in `Getting setup with Trunk`?

texts:
When I read this link: https://github.com/CocoaPods/Specs

There is a sentence:

  Getting setup with Trunk

I am not sure about the Trunk meaning here.

So, I query the dictionary, it may mean the tree's body, or some thing else.
But how about in this scenario?


texts: A (Director's name) movie - why not possessive?

texts:
I have just watched a movie and noticed, during the opening credits:

  A James Cameron movie

Why it is not "James Cameron's movie" when it actually is his film (in a sense that he directed it). Why his name is used as an adjective?


texts: Mr.Black went to town on business.  What is the sentence constituents of "on business"?


texts:
Can encounter be used by facing or finding a solution of a problem?

For instance, can I say: Speeding can be encountered by placing speed bumps.

Or would counteracted be rather correct?


texts: What does "academic" mean in "academic political philosophy"?

texts:
Some meanings provided for "academic" on Merriam-Webster are:

Of, relating to, or associated with an academy or school especially of higher learning
"the academic curriculum"
"academic courses"

THEORETICAL, SPECULATIVE
"a purely academic question"

Having no practical or useful significance

Each of these meanings of "academic" gives a different meaning to "academic political philosophy". Which one will be it? Please, help me out. Thank you in advance. :)


texts:
Cambridge grammar says:

  "They went to Florida for the winter." means "They went from the
  beginning to the end of the winter."

So, "for" here shows a reason why we went to Florida, right?

I am sure we can say "I lived in Florida for 2 years".

But I am not sure if people say "I went to Florida for 2 years"??? Does it mean I arrived in Florida & hung around there for 2 years???

But "I had been in Florida for 2 years" sounds ok.

So, What does "They went to Florida for the winter." mean?


texts: I've learned that 'do' has to stand with ordinary verbs, for example 'I don't love him'. Therefore, I feel confused when hearing people say 'don't be shy'. I wonder why 'to be' and 'do' can stand together.


texts: Meaning of "the bents were jealous else" in Browning's Childe Roland

texts:
From Browning's Childe Roland:

  If there push’d any ragged thistle-stalk
    Above its mates, the head was chopp’d; the bents
    Were jealous else. What made those holes and rents
  In the dock’s harsh swarth leaves, bruis’d as to baulk
  All hope of greenness? ’T is a brute must walk
    Pashing their life out, with a brute’s intents.

Per Wiktionary, the "bents" are

  Any of various stiff or reedy grasses.

But why were they "jealous"? I found several senses of the word, but I'm not sure. This is not helped by the fact that I'm not sure how to understand "else" here. I get something like:

  "The bents were also [protective of something]"

  "The bents were [enviously resentful of someone] otherwise"

This does not seem right.

Should the bents be jealous of something? All the high thistle-stalks have their heads chopped, so there's nothing to be jealous of.

Does the poet imply that it is the jealous bents that somehow led to the chopping of the thistle heads? That's odd.

P.S. I've just come across this explanation that explained nothing to me:


texts:
In the space sim Freelancer in one mission there's a line, "There's just too many of them. To all wings, protect the station at all costs."

The tricky part is that you are in a wing formation of 5 fighters and there are two such formations and also a freighter drifting by-side the station.

As far as I remember wing mostly means party member in a formation. And wings means wingmen. But I think that here wings may mean vessel.

In the army is it the same?


texts: "Your kindness has (and will continue to) made a difference."


texts: Do I need a comma before the verb in the following sentence?

texts:
The unusual depressive mood that Chisato had been experiencing
  lately(,) prevented her from going to school.

Do I need that comma? Why or why not? Or maybe it's optional?


texts: This is the girl TO whom I married or whom I married

texts:
I came across the both sentences:

  This is the girl whom I married.
  This is the girl to whom I married.

Which one is grammatical?
Please explain.

Thank you.


texts: How to write a conference title correctly

texts:
I am creating name tags (badges) for an international science conference. There will be discussions of science and technical questions. I don't understand how to properly write titles. If I translate literally from my native language, it would be

  Scientific-technical conference.

But I feel it is wrong.

Question: How is the title of a conference written correctly?


texts: Is there any difference in meaning between "play with someone", "play against someone" and "play someone"?

texts:
Could you tell me if there is any difference in meaning between play with someone, play against someone and play someone? For example:

I have a ping pong table. Do you want to play with me.
I have a ping pong table. Do you want to play against me.
I have a ping pong table. Do you want to play me.


texts: "The collection of books is very old"-is it correct?

texts:
"The collection of books is very old"
  "The collection of books are very old"

Which one is correct?


texts:
[1] ... Visit the Navy Yard, and behold a marine, such a man
  as an American government can make, or such as it can make a man with its black arts — a mere shadow and reminiscence of humanity,
  a man laid out alive and standing, and already, as one may say, buried
  under arms with funeral accompaniments, though it may be

  “Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, As his corse to the rampart
  we hurried; Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot O’er the grave
  where our hero we buried.”

  [2] The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as
  machines, with their bodies. They are the standing army, and the
  militia, jailers, constables, posse comitatus, etc. In most cases
  there is no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of the moral
  sense; but they put themselves on a level with wood and earth and
  stones; and wooden men can perhaps be manufactured that will serve the
  purpose as well.

The quote is from On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Thoreau, I have several questions:

In the first paragraph, if "Visit the Navy Yard..." is a imperative sentence, does "such a man as an American government can make" modify "a marine"? There're two "such ... as ..." but they are asymmetric, what's the structure and how to understand this paragraph?
Does "thus" in the second paragraph mean "therefore" or "in this way, in the way that"?

  In most cases there is no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of the moral sense; but they put themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones;

Does it mean "the state doesn't allow them to exert free exercise of ..." OR "they don't exert free exercise in the state"? How can I determine the subject in a general way?

What's the meaning of "but" here? Can I associate it with "no"?


texts:
Please imagine someone injects Botox to a part of his / her face. What is the most natural way in common English to say it? For me, all of the following examples work, but I have no idea which one works better:

  She's gotten Botox injections in her forehead.

  She's Botoxed her forehead.

  She's injected Botox in / to her forehead.

If none of them sound natural to you, then I would appreciate it if you could let me know the most natural way to say the same thing.


texts: Use of parallelism — when should "of" and "the" be omitted?

texts:
I want three notepads of the same size and of different colors.
I want three notepads of the same size and different colors.
I want three notepads of the same color and size.
I want three notepads of the same size and of the different colors.

Which one or ones are correct?


texts:
Which is correct of the following?

What is your hometown?
Where is your hometown?
What is the name of your hometown?

To me only no.3 sounds correct, just needs a second opinion. Thank you.


texts: Can you use "nothing more, nothing less than" when speaking of a person?

texts:
Example:

  A ugly rumor about him circulated in the city. The person who started
  it was nothing more, nothing less than his wife.

Can I use the phrase in this way? If not, what's a more adequate option?


texts:
What's the difference between the verbs "assent" and "consent"?
In this context, if we replace the verb "consent" with its synonym, "assent", would the result sound okay, awkward, or incorrect?

  Her father reluctantly consented to the marriage.


texts: If a project started in the past and is still going on and I have been involved in it from the beginning, could I say that I am proud to have been involved in it?


texts: The meaning of the phrasal verb "get on" in context

texts:
I have come across it in this video. It is at 6 minutes and 5 seconds.

  Still, there have been attempts to create circular and square smartphones, but as you can guess, they didn't get on.

Does the get on mean catch on in the sentence? I am a bit puzzled because I didn't find that definition of get on in dictionaries.


texts: Use of Uncountable or mass nouns in the plural form

texts:
Most grammar sources and Grammarly app say that uncountable nouns can not be used in plural form! However, what about the case when we talk about different types of uncountable noun?

For example, let us take water!
Water can be of many type sugary water, tap water, sludge water, desalinated water, RO water, tube-well water, coloured water and what not. Can't I then use waters in this context?

Let's take another example - Hunger!

Hunger can be of many types - hunger for food, hunger for success, spiritual hunger, hunger for money, hunger for fame and so on! Can't I use hungers then when referring to these many types of hungers?

This is true for most of the abstract/uncountable nouns!

I, particularly, was baffled when Grammarly labeled the following sentence of mine as grammatically wrong.
"It is highly difficult to achieve that stability and harmony which is needed for success in spiritual world without satiating our worldly desires, hungers". Grammarly wants to change hungers to hunger. While I mean various kinds of hunger as mentioned above.

Please have a look at the opinion of a linguist on Quora on this subject!
https://qr.ae/TWtuBd


texts:
So I have been confused with the use of the definite article when I write.

Here is an example from one of the English tests

  Some people believe that there should be fixed punishments for each type of crime. Others, however, argue that the circumstances of an individual crime, and the motivation for committing it, should always be taken into account when deciding on the punishments.

Let me explain why this is confusing me. First, I think the article should not be used because those circumstances and motivation are general. it refers to circumstances of every individual crime. Those circumstances were not mentioned before and not unique. They can be any circumstances. Also, motivation does not sound unique either as well as punishments.

Why do they have the article? shouldn't they just be used without 'the'?


texts: I'm not sure when to use "had+pp" or "the past tense"

texts:
I work from home about twice a week. Yesterday I physically went to work. However, I hadn't known that I was supposed to work from home until my senior told me. So, I asked my team manager if I could work from home tomorrow instead.
"I hadn't known that" or "I didn't know that".
I'm not sure which one of these is correct.


texts: How widely spread is the expression "make a parking lot of sth"?

texts:
In this Quora article, someone said the following.

...but I have no memory of it because of an abundance of ale. I think we also solved world poverty, and it somehow involved making a parking lot of most of the Middle-East and London.

I asked what it meant and this is the explanation I've got (a good one, I love the wording).

...everyone considers every rock most holy to their particular group. So if you just flatten out everything and make it as non-holy as possible – i.e. a parking lot – it’s not holy to anyone anymore, nobody has any reason to fight...

I'd like to start using that expression but I can't judge how widely spread it is or, at least, how easy to figure out the message would be. I had to ask, so it's not obvious. On the other hand, I might be too slow to get it, making me not representative for a general case.


texts: What is the difference in meaning between "I wish" and "I am wishing"?

texts:
As this article says wish can be used in informal speech in the continuous tense, which was done in the 15th episode of the 5th season of the TV show Friends. Here is the excerpt:

  Monica: (kneels with him) Chandler, umm, I want you to take just a minute and I want you to think about how ridiculous this sounds.

  Chandler: Yeah, I'm kinda wishing everyone wasn't here right now.

How would the meaning of the sentence change if Chandler said I wish instead of I am wishing?


texts: What personal pronoun should be used with the noun "sheep"?

texts:
I would like to know what personal pronoun would be correct to use instead of  the word "sheep" in a sentence?

  It is a sheep.

or

  She is a sheep.

I'll try to explain myself in a better way. I know that when we speak about an animal, in general, we use the pronoun "It" : it is a dog for ex. but I read some were that "sheep" is an exception and has to be referred to as a "she" . But I can't find any confirmation to that.


texts: What does "percentage of top nation" mean

texts:
I've seen somewhere on the Internet the expression population shown as percentage of top nation and I simply can't see what is mean by that.

I can make a few guesses but none of them seem to be confirmed by the map's contents.


texts: Is it okay to say "Why do I should prefer this university?"

texts: Someone who claims that his English is perfect has used this sentence a few minutes ago. "Why do I should prefer this university?" It doesn't seem correct to me. Is it okay to use DO with SHOULD like that? Thank you.


texts: "We have known each other for some years now" - so is it a long time or short time?

texts:
The definition of 'some' reads as on OALD page

  (#3) a large number or amount of something

But then the next entry says...

  (#4) a small amount or number of something

I wonder if someone says ...

  We have known each other for some years now

Or

  I met him some years back

What about that 'period' that 'some' mean? Long or short?


texts: Word request: Means that has physical form

texts:
Speaking in general terms, how would you call things (assets) that need to be bought or created in order to be able to complete a task (tools, materials, devices, etc.), when you want to ephasize that it has physical form, as opposed to things like knowledge, information, skills, etc.

What if I say something like:

  "material means" or "substantive instruments"?

Context example:

  “[my word] which are used to implement flood protection measures (barriers, etc.) are provided mainly by the maintenance or purchasing department.”


texts:
What does "ship" mean in football (soccer) context?
55 min: Leicester ship possession on the edge of their own box, Evans struggling to reach the ball. They’re fortunate that Mane dawdles with space ahead of him on the left, and that Thiago subsequently miscontrols.


texts: What does "Learning from the best" precisely mean here?

texts:
“You sound like a complete cynic.”

  Learning from the best did that to a person. My dad’s pretty standoffish.

source - One Week Girlfriend
I looked it up, and found out several songs.
Is it a commendatory term or a derogatory term here?


texts: The meaning of “the inconsistencies are generally consistent”

texts:
I was watching a TV program and I couldn’t quite get the meaning of a phrase.

  The doughnuts don’t look that great

  I know there are inconsistencies but the inconsistencies are generally
  consistent

What does that phrase mean?


texts: Is 'Reckon' Used Correctly in this Context?

texts:
Is 'Reckon' Used Correctly in this Context: "Everyone reckons him to be the killer"
and what does 'reckon' imply in that sentence?


texts: The use of has or have to answer question

texts:
Which one is correct out of the sentences below?

  Has your children been to the US ?

or

  Have your children been to the US?


texts: A term for only a pre-noun and a post-noun adjective

texts:
The red ball is expensive.
The ball is red.
The answer is absolutistic in its nature.
The absolutistic answer that he provided didn't quite fit the
given problem.

In the four examples above I can easily place adjectives "red" and "absolutistic" before the noun that they are modifying or right after the verb "is".
However, I can't do that with all adjectives:

The new law is in force as of today.
The in force law gives more freedom to people.
The Constitution is in effect now.
The in effect Constitution must be observed.

My question is: Is it just because these are two-word adjectives or there exist some one-word adjectives that don't boast the same freedom of placement as "red" and "absolutistic"?
Additional question: Is there any grammar term for such adjectives that don't have such freedom?
The Wikipedia page on adjective provides such terms as Prepositive adjectives and Postpositive adjectives, but doesn't seem to provide a term for adjectives that can be both.


texts:
I wanted to ask about "hate" and "love". "Like" can mean to "choose", according to Michael Swan's "Practical English Usage." For example, "When I pour tea I like to put the milk first." Which means "I choose."
Can "love" and "hate" be used in the same way?
1."I love to drink tea before work not during the break." = I choose.
And

"I hate to drink coffee before work when I am in a hurry." I mean I choose not to."


texts: Does “to turn oneself something” mean what I want it to mean to a native speaker?

texts:
Is this sentence correct English?

  You turn yourself listless.

Would you know what it means? Is this how you normally phrase this expression? Is the tense of the verb right? Is that a commonly understood adjective?

I’d basically like to know whether “to turn oneself ᴀᴅᴊᴇᴄᴛɪᴠᴇ” would mean anything to a native speaker of English, especially with regard to listlessness.


texts:
I am wondering how "More by your numbers than your light" relate to "That poorly satisfy our eyes" or "You common people of the skies". I am trying to understand this excerpt as a non-native and I am having trouble, because it would make more sense to say "You satisfy our eyes more by your number than your light", but the poorly act as a negation, so I find it perplexing a bit. Is it because it's not entirely a negative? And "You common people of the skies" seems to be a sentence on its own.

Excerpt from Sir Henry Wotton's “Elizabeth of Bohemia”:

  You meaner beauties of the night,

  That poorly satisfy our eyes

  More by your number than your light,

  You common people of the skies;

  What are you when the moon shall rise?


texts: "Peeing" versus "pissing" versus "taking a pee"

texts:
I am a doctor; my friend is a patient.

I caught my friend taking a piss. I forgot to give him a pee sample tube to check on his health via urinal test,  and I want to ask him:

  Perhaps you are taking a piss, eh?

What is a more natural and polite way to write that sentence a native English speaker would use in a situation like this?


texts:
Yesterday I had an exam and I didn't spend the last 25 minutes of exam time (I finished before the deadline). I thought how to say this in English. It should be something like

  I got ... time

or

  I got 25 minutes ...

I also appreciate if someone answer with idioms or slangs.


texts:
I was debating on a topic with my friend and she said maybe she  had strayed but I did not agree and said "no, you are on point" to mean "what you said was relevant."
Then when I decided to make sure I used "on point" properly, I learned that it is also used to mean "attractive"  for people as a slang. I was wondering if I  used it in the right place and  this slang meaning is widely known? Should I be careful about using it?


texts: Using "among others" for a list of workplaces

texts:
How is "among others" used properly? Is it used properly in this sentence?:

  I have among others worked in a bakery and a restaurant

I've looked at the definition of it. It says:

  used to indicate that there are several more people like the one or ones mentioned, but that you do not intend to mention them all

Does that mean I can't use it when it's not people I am talking about?


texts:
In my home language - Urdu, there is an idiom “Charaney key bandar ku baraney ki rassi”. This phrase is used to describe a situation where someone buys a monkey for one dollar, but he spends four dollars on a piece of rope to tie it.
 Basically, this is not a wise thing to do.

Could you please help me with an equivalent idiom in English?


texts: Plant's output amounted to 10 000 tonnes, which is (was) 20% higher y/y.

texts:
Suppose we have a news article describing a plant's performance in H1 2014, the period of time already finished by the moment the article goes into print. And we have to say that the plant's output of fertilizer totaled 10 000 tonnes over this period, marking a 20% y/y increase.

Would both the following formulations be OK grammatically:

  The plant's fertilizer output in H1 2014 amounted to 10 000 tonnes, which is 20% higher in year-on-year terms.

  The plant's fertilizer output in H1 2014 amounted to 10 000 tonnes, which was 20% higher in year-on-year terms.


texts:
I am very confused with usage of could and could have +p.p..
For example, do these sentences mean the same:

I couldn't come to college last week.
I couldn't have come to college last week.
I couldn't have come to college last week because I was working.

I know that could refers to ability to do something, while could have + p.p refers to some possibility in the past. However, in the examples above there is no difference because they bear the same meaning to me:

I was not able to come to college last week.
I was not able to come to college last week because I was working.

Another confusing examples would be:

This book could not be written without your help. (Here I'm speaking about the past, not about the future.)
This book could not have been written without your help.

Thank you very much!


texts:
The verb "taper" is defined in dictionaries as:

  To become gradually narrower or thinner toward one end.

So, this word is often used with the adverb "down".  I am searching for a word that means To become gradually wider or thicker toward one end. Is it possible to use the expression "taper up" for the meaning?


texts: What's the difference in using prepositions of place?

texts:
I've faced with two confusing examples in my English course:

  Notice at the restaurant: "Dogs must not be taken to the restaurant"

and

  Notice in a picture gallery: "Cameras, sticks and umbrellas must be
  left at the desk"

And I can't understand why they used two different prepositions of a place. In both examples, we speak about some kind of place, not some building so we should use 'at' preposition as in the first one.

Can you explain please the main reason?


texts: Meaning of " whose charges had outgrown her"

texts:
I was introduced to Miss Limplinger, a governess whose charges had
  outgrown her, and who was returning to England. Mrs. Pritchard had made
  arrangements for Miss Limplinger to share my stateroom on the voyage and
  to watch over me.

Dose it mean: Because of her responsibilities she seemed older than her real age?

Source: Listening for Lions by
Gloria Whelan


texts: Adjective to refer to someone who has high awareness of their environment

texts:
How would you qualify someone who notices a lot of things in their environment (e.g., small changes in people's appearance, object moved from one place to another...).

I would like to say

  You're _____________.

Would you say a good observer, observant? That just does not sound right to me.


texts: What is the reason for using "of" right after the verb "to be"?

texts:
I have read a sentence like this and I wonder why the writer used "of" right after the verb "to be" Is it okay to use be+of? And what did he mean by using like this?

  The concept is of multi-storey buildings in which food crops are grown in environmentally controlled conditions.


texts:
In my another post (Does bridge actually refer to the part on which pedestrians and vehicles pass through in everyday English?) I said

  Parts of bridge piers pointed out by red square are under the water, which we can't see directly in the image.

when describing this image

Actually, I am not sure whether I used the right preposition.

Take the bridge pier pointed out by red square as our running example, part of it is out of the water, how should I describe the other part? Should I use under the water or "in the water"?

I've searched a bit on ELL, none result.


texts:
I've seen many people saying ‘most of these + nouns’ but haven't seen one who says just ‘most of these’

For example, I've seen a sentence like ‘most of these products are...’ but never seen just ‘most of these are ...’

I wonder if I just can say ‘most of these are ...’


texts:
I just came back from school, and I was asked about my trip to school this morning (on our school bus)
My intention is to say that I didn't like it because I had to sit with a bully (named John). I don't want to give any further details like "I was sitting next to John and then he pinched me and kicked me" - this is NOT what I want to say. I just want to give a short reason why the road to school was a bad experience for me today.  Which should I choose?
I didn't like it because:

I was sitting next to John on the bus
I sat next to John on the bus

My questions:
a) Wouldn't number 2 imply I willingly came to his seat and took a
seat next to him?
b) Do you perceive "sat" (in this context) like a singular, momentary action that happened in a matter of seconds, as if I walked up to his seat and took a place next to him or more like an action that lasted for a while? (probably until we got to school)


texts:
From The Da Vinci Code:

  "All I am saying is that Mr. Sauniere dedicated his life to studying
  the history of the goddess, and nothing has done more to erase that
  history than the Catholic Church."

What's the meaning of the last part "nothing has done more to erase that history than the Catholic Church."? Is it grammatically right? For me, "and nobody has done more to erase that history than the Catholic Church" sounds fine.


texts:
I found both expressions.

There is a possibility that he will come.
There is the possibility that it was deliberate.

What's the difference?


texts:
Here is a Danish sentence that I'd like to translate to English:

Programmet vil kort, præcist og motiverende guide dig fra A til B.

A first attempt of translating it would be:

The program will shortly, precisely and motivationally lead you from A to B.

I am aware that the word shortly refers to time rather than length/size when used in this manner. So I'll rewrite that adverb to in short in this way:

The program will precisely, motivationally and in short lead you from A to B.

In this answer: short or shortly or in short the suggested solutions seem to be a bit different, though, and not perfectly matching my sentence here. (For instance, how would I use the word brief)?
My first question is: Is this a correct use of in short, as in the writing being kept short in size?
Secondly, the word motivationally seems off for me. I would rather write a word like motivatingly, but that word does not seem to exist in English.
My second question is therefore: Is the word motivationally used correctly here or should I replace it with another word/phrasing?


texts:
The present article is a brief report of observations and should not be taken as a comprehensive guideline for what conditions are deemed treatable by doctors and which are not.

Your thoughts on what and which in this sentence, please


texts: Can we use the adjective, "functional," to mean something has functions?

texts:
I looked up the meaning of functional in dictionaries, and it seems like there are no examples of it being used to mean that something has functions. Because of that, I needed to ask you if functional can be used to mean that something has functions.
For example, can I say,

The foreskin is a functional part of your body

or

The foreskin is functional

to mean that the foreskin has functions? I am a person against circumcision. I use the word functional to describe the foreskin. I wonder if it is correct to use that adjective that way.


texts:
Given sentence:

  You sleep more deeply.

  Question:

  You are ---- asleep.

  Possible Answers.

  1.You are **falling asleep.

  2.You are **more deeply asleep.

Which is better to get the same sense as the given sentence?

I prefer sentence 2.

My opinion is that "sleep" is the same in meaning as "are asleep."


texts: meaning of "There Must Be More to Life Than This"

texts: It's the name of a song and it's hard to understand. Please translate this to simple English.


texts: Which pronoun (its or their) should be used for a single animal?

texts:
An otter can close its ears and nose.
An otter can close their ears and nose.

What is the difference? I think they are same and what is the correct answer?


texts: Does "my + singular noun" imply my only something/someone unless it comes with any prior reference?

texts:
Example 1: My friend told me that ..........
"My friend" is a singular noun phrase, and its plural form is "My friends", right? If so, does this sentence "My friend told me that....." imply that "I have just one friend" unless it comes with any prior reference?
Example 2: I forgot my bag in my office.
In this example, "in my office" sounds just okay to me because many office workers, generally speaking, do their work in one dedicated or main office, but how about "my bag"? I feel that the sentence implies "I have just one bag, and forgot the bag in my office." unless the "my bag" is referred to in advance.
Example 3: I have a pain in my head (or my neck, my heart, my stomach etc.)
This looks OK to me because the human being have only one neck, heart, stomach etc. Likewise, "My head (my neck, my heart etc.) aches" is also okay to me. Compare with the next example.
Example 4: I have a pain in my eye (or my ear, my hand, my leg etc.)
This looks strange to me because in general healthy people are born with two eyes/ears/hands/legs. This sentence makes sense to me only for someone who lost one of his/her eyes (or his/her ears, his/her hands, his/her legs etc.), for example. Likewise, sentences like "My eye (or my ear, my hand etc.) aches" sounds illogical to me.
Considering cases like the above Examples 3 and Examples 4, I thought "My friend" in Example 1 and "my bag" in Example 2 suggest my only friend or my only bag.
What do you think?

POSTSCRIPT (Added on 25 July)
After my post above, I did further research on this question over the Internet. Let me add some of the information I found, for your reference.

in most dialects of English, "my" is a definite personal pronoun, so
you should use "my friend" whenever you would use "the friend", and "a
friend of mine" or "one of my friends" when you would say a friend.
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/34164/my-friend-vs-a-friend-of-mine

"I met my friend ..." means that you only have one friend, since we
don't need any more information to identify this person.
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/my-friend-a-friend-of-mine-formality.2238527/

"[The] construction with the possessive pronoun [e.g. a friend of mine] differs from the alternative of possessive determiner + noun
(e.g. my friend) mainly in that it is more indefinite. The sentences
in (30) below illustrates this point.
(30) a. You know John? A friend of his told me that the food served at that restaurant is awful.
(30) b. You know John? His friend told me that the food served at that restaurant is awful.
The construction with the possessive pronoun, in (30a), can be used if the speaker hasn't specified and doesn't need to specify the
identity of the friend. In contrast, the construction with the
possessive determiner, in (30b), implies that the speaker and listener
both know what friend is intended."
https://www.thoughtco.com/possessive-pronoun-1691649


texts:
Which of these examples is correct, and why?
(1) The first, second, and the third.
(2) The United States, European Union, and the United Kingdom.
OR
(1) The first, the second, and the third.
(2) The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.
I have read and heard all of these sentences before. Are they all correct?


texts:
A and B borrowed C's rafts long time ago, and now A asks B if B knew C well.

  B: I don't know a lot about him, but I know he build good houses and he also...

  A: Well, he sure made good rafts.

Does A mean he/she is not really sure about other things B mentioned, but he is at least sure about that C made good rafts?


texts:
a. This is a great technique to keep in mind when arguing with narcissistic people.

Is that sentence slightly ambiguous?

Is it a great technique per se which is to be used when you are arguing with narcissistic people? ( [a great technique] which is to be used...) Maybe it is also a great technique for arguing with other types of people.

Or is it a great technique only when arguing with narcissistic people?

Would a comma after 'a great technique' change anything?

  b. This is a great technique , to use when arguing with narcissistic people.

Many thanks.


texts:
does "central" is an adjective for country or not?
does "the central country head-quarters" means the central headquarters of america?

  There was discovered a peddler's tin box as well as the bones, and
  this box is now preserved at Lilydale, the central country
  head-quarters of the American Spiritualists, to which also the old
  Hydesville house has been transported.

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


texts:
I would  be pleased if someone could explain to me the participle in this sentence :

James has made a breakthrough in his math this year, doing excellent work in comparison with last year


texts: different ways of using "yet" seem a bit confusing to me

texts:
I always struggle with the following and am seeking some clarity -

Is there ANY difference or are they IDENTICAL in meaning

  I have yet to find that ...
  I have not yet found that ...
  I have not found that ...


texts: Grammatical construction vs. grammar construction

texts: Is it acceptable to use "grammar construction" instead of "grammatical construction" in the sense of "a group of words that form a constituent of a sentence and are considered as a single unit"?


texts:
Someone used "the rape in Nanking" rather than "the rape of Nanking", and I want to explain why it's the latter, but I don't fully understand the phrase myself!

What was the meaning of the word "rape" in the phrase "Rape of Nanking"?

Wiktionary gives several related meanings for the word, including seizing by force, or plundering destroying and despoiling, as well as forced sex. Which of these meanings was intended?


texts: What do you call a film shot that let us see the 3/4 of people's body on the foreground?

texts: Is there a name for it? Sometimes in films we see most of the body of the main characters talking except maybe the legs. I am wondering if there's a particular word to describe these movie "shots" if we can call them that.


texts:
What does "a passing similarity" mean, and what does "passing" mean?

For example,

  The current statistics on child abuse are terrifying in their implications, and the abuse cuts across every socioeconomic and racial group. Child abuse bears more than a passing similarity to radiation poisoning, because it silently works its effects on subsequent generations, but through the subtle but potent effect of disrupted attachment relationships and the epigenetic changes that have been discovered since this book was first published.

(from Creating Sanctuary, 2nd edition
 By Sandra L Bloom)


texts: Quick questions about pronouns in a sentence

texts:
I'm confused when it comes to writing the following:
"..., I bought from my one of the sweet sweet friends"
vs
"...., I bought from one of my sweet sweet friends"

Neither me or my partner is native in the English language. Could someone elaborate how I should think when it comes to using pronouns in this sort of context? And also are both the above sentences correct?


texts:
There is this news channel I am introducing in a scenario that I describe.

  In the first scenario, suppose that the news channel PBC advertises
  the p.

Is "the" required before "news channel PBC"?


texts: A lucrative partnership expression "fullfruit partnership"

texts: In an old movie there was a dinner party with a group of English executives. One of them mentioned the expression "fullfruit partnership". Is this a common expression in the business world or is it an old expression?


texts: "Stand to" or "stand"? As a meaning of tolerating

texts:
First of all, I'm really sorry for my bad English.
I was watching the use of 'stand' as a meaning of tolerating, bearing
So I made a sentence like this

• It is really hard to stand to not meet him.

I think, 'To not meet him' is incorrect maybe?
I cannot sure, maybe the whole structure is wrong too


texts: What the difference between “doorman” and “porter”

texts:
I was searching for hotel vocabulary, because I’m finishing my tourism course and I saw these two words. I thought  they were both the same meaning. Basically I understand for “doorman” and “porter”, the man who is in the front of the hotel and who can helps with the luggage.
I saw these two words like different types of hotel work. Isn’t it?


texts: Why is "give under the the weight" grammatically correct here?

texts:
Why is the following sentence grammatically correct?

We were afraid that the rickety bed would give under the the weight of ten people.

I think that it should be '.....give up under the weight.....'