texts:
Teachers take an active role in developing and deepening students’ comprehension by asking questions that cause them to read the text again, resulting in multiple readings of the same text.  In other words, these textbased questions provide students with a purpose for rereading, which is critical for understanding complex texts.

What does "which" stand for in this context?

1.rereading

2 . refer to all the sencence preceding "which"
 (the fact that these textbased questions provide students with a purpose for rereading

Which is more persuasive 1 or 2? Or other possible one?


texts: “We have sold nearly everything he owns to make the down payment!”

texts:
I have been reading The Bridge Across Forever. I read a sentence which is a little bit odd in my view, but I think some experts can help me understand it:

  We have sold nearly everything he owns to make the down payment!

But I think it should have been:

We have sold nearly everything he owned to make the down payment!

The property she is talking about is property that was sold.

And “he” had that property so it should have been “he owned”.

Your feedback on this would be appreciated.


texts: Is sky a countable noun or an uncountable noun?

texts:
Is "sky" a countable noun or an uncountable noun?
We can count the sky as it is only one, but it's that people refer to as it being uncountable.


texts:
September 3 was the day which I was born.
  September 3 was the day which I was born on.
  September 3 was the day on which I was born.

Are all of these correct?

Do we have to  use the preposition "on"?


texts:
Part can be used both as a countable noun and as an uncountable noun. In both of its meanings it refers to a piece of something or some and not full part of sth. So if I say

  The fire destroyed part of the building.
  The fire destroyed a part of the building

What is the difference between these two sentences?

Thanks in advance..........


texts: Is there any difference between 'let me go' and 'let go of me'?

texts:
Is there any difference(or nuance) between 'let me go' and 'let go of me'?

In addition, in this sentence 'let go of me' I don't know what function 'of' has?

Rather, in sense of our languge 'let go me' is more natural. Why is this sentence wrong? ('of' and 'as' are the most difficult words to study english in our nation. T.T)


texts:
The modifications made by them in the draft were so drastic that the entire emphasis ______ shifted.

I'm not able to make out which one, out of had and had been, I should use in this sentence. I understand that been is used in passive voice but what difference does it make here ?


texts: Meaning of "short of" within "He doesn't trust the president to respect the results of any election short of an overwhelming defeat"

texts:
If I understood the meaning of "short of" correctly, this sentence :

  "He doesn't trust the president to respect the results of any election short of an overwhelming defeat"

would mean :

  "He doesn't trust the president to respect the results of any election whose result will be anything less than overwhelming defeat"

But this statement sounds rather strange, doesn't ?


texts:
I have 3 figures from left to right.

The value of some parameter is 401, 301, 201 in the three figures.

I want to express the fact that the 401 corresponds to the left-most one, 301 to the middle one, 201 to the right-most one.

Is the following sentence ok?

'The lattice size N is 401, 301, 201 in the three figures successively'.

Or is there any better way?


texts: what does it mean by "I would have you memorized by now"

texts:
The question's about lyrics in "Still Fallin" sung by Hunter Hayes.

The first line of the song is

  You'd think for all the days I've known you (that) I would have you memorized by now.

The reason why I put parentheses on 'that' is although the lyrics says it has 'that' in it, I don't find it grammatically correct. Am I right? or wrong?

Plus, I've been wondering what does it mean by

  I would have you memorized by now.

Does it have the same meaning as "I would have memorized every details about you."?


texts: ". . . , mostly for fear of what might be revealed if such direct dialog were allowed."

texts:
I ran across this sentence while googling; is it meaningful and grammatical?

. . . , mostly for fear of what might be revealed if such direct dialog were allowed.

update
I have particular difficulty understanding this part:

mostly for fear of what

There appears to be no subject (noun).


texts:
What is the difference between saying:

  "as clearly stated in the agreement..."
  "as is clearly stated in the agreement.."


texts: A comparison between two similar verbs "swarm" and "rush into"

texts:
Using each bold verb, how do the following sentences differ in meaning:

- A large group of protesters swarmed the national parliament’s building.
- A large group of protesters rushed into the national parliament’s building.

I think:
1) The second sentence implies that the protesters have entered the building already.
2) The first sentence has an implication of harshness, while the second one implies that people went there because of an interest.
Do you confirm my understandings?
Can you add something to these points which you guess I have to know about these two similar verbs?


texts: Is there any difference in meaning between "run around the house" and "run about the house"?

texts:
Is there any difference in meaning between run around the house and run about the house? For example:

The children ran around the house the whole day.
The children ran about the house the whole day.


texts: What is "to like to be held and not to be handled" if it concerns pets?

texts:
How should I understand the last sentence?

  Rabbits generally eat pellets and plenty of green vegetables; they will also eat hay. They like to be held but shouldn’t be handled too much the first few days after purchasing, in order to adjust.


texts: Terms for manner in which the liquid is consumed from a bottle

texts:
There is liquid(water/milk/flavoured soda/fruit juice) in a bottle and I want to drink it.

I can consume it in such a manner that my mouth touches the mouth of the bottle, as "I drank the juice by putting the bottle to my mouth."

OR

Without touching the mouth of the bottle, is it dribbling? as "I dribbled the juice out of/from the bottle."

Google says:(of a liquid) fall slowly in drops or a thin stream.

EDIT: (20 Dec 2016, 10:33 AM IST) why I am asking this question:

In a British comedy (My Family) in one of the episodes there is a scene where the brother (Nick) has drank some milk from the bottle in the fridge, the sister (Jenny) unaware of this drinks it too, later on when she realises that the brother drank it before her and that he is stupid, she asks him something like (I don't remember the exact words) "did you ---- or did you ----?" and in this line I heard the word dribble.

May be she asked exactly what the word dribble means and that is "did the brother dribble some milk from his mouth back into the bottle?", because pouring liquid into the mouth from a distance is not common in U.K.

I am from India and pouring water from a distance into your mouth is very common and I don't think there is one word for this but the the group of words used to describe it literally translated are "drank it from above", here above is used as the glass of water is above/over your mouth.


texts: What's the difference is meaning between "Democrat vs Democratic"?

texts:
I watched a video of Mr. Trump saying:

  It's not the Democratic party. It's the Democrat party.

I don't get the sarcasm because I don't know the difference between them.

What I understand is:

Democrat is a person and many persons are called Democrats (plural).
Democratic is an adjective.


texts: A friend messaged me with "I'm going offline for a while". I want to know what for a while means, in terms of time of course. I know it probably depends on the context too.


texts: "I have found it working". Is this sentence correct grammatically?

texts:
I have confusion with a sentence and I would like to know if this sentence is correct or not:

I have found it working.


texts: convince sb of sth/ covince sb as to sth

texts:
In "Jurassic Park 2," John Hammond said "It was difficult to convince them as to what they were going to see."

Is it grammatically possible or usual to substitute "as to" for "of"? I've consulted my dictionary for it and not found such an expression.

Thank you.


texts: Is the error in B: "the number of pearls" or D: "none of them were missing"?

texts:
Directions (Q.1): Read each sentence to find out whether there is any error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The letter of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (E). Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any.

  The merchant counted (A)/ the number of pearls (B)/ to make sure that (C)/ none of them were missing. (D)/ No error (E)

I am very confused because of two answers on internet.

(B) The 'number of' is redundant it should be 'The merchant counted the pearls'.
(D) 'were' replaced with 'was' as the following Indefinite Pronoun generally takes Singular Verb.

Help me which of these should be the answer.


texts: The meaning of "of course," "sure" when you thank someone

texts: Sometimes I thank a person from USA and he responds, "Sure," "of course." I don't know what their meaning in this context, so could anyone give me their meaning?


texts: Is the use of an article (the) appropriate here?

texts:
In general, a singular common noun is always preceded by an article - a, an, or the.

Applying the same rule in the following sentence, we get

1) He is good at the word prediction.

I precede word with the since word is singular common noun. However, I am not referring to a specific word, like in sentence

2) He is good at the hidden word prediction.

Hence, I feel in sentence 1, preceding word with the doesn't sound proper, and I expect sentence 1 to be in the following form.

3) He is good at word prediction.

But, with sentence 3, I break the rule by not preceding a singular common noun --word-- with an article.

Please elaborate if 1 or 3 is correct (or both)? Why?

Thanks.


texts: Difference between "both ways" and "in both ways"

texts:
What is the difference between the two sentences given below?

  You cannot have it both ways.
  You cannot have it in both ways.


texts: What is the meaning of the sentence in bold?

texts:
Q:Presumably /the state’s needs /you /are /most familiar /with /is Silicon Valley, where /you /would reside. How much / of your inspiration / for this proposal / was /about (that
area being its own state)?

A: I’ve always had a real interest in California, and I’ve always had an interest in how to improve the state. I live in the Silicon Valley, but I have business interests all over the world. So I do visit all different parts of California, so I’m interested in the whole, not necessarily any individual part. I love the energy and technology that comes out of the Silicon Valley, but I believe that when these six Californias come together, that we will all be surprised at how much innovation and spirit comes out of all six of these states.


texts: Is "Understanding of Each Other" correct?

texts:
The word "understanding" is a noun and also an adjective. The verb "understand" is non-dynamic. "Each other" is a pronoun that deals with reciprocal action.

In standard British English, can this motto be  grammatically correct?

  Understanding of Each Other.

Users of standard American English may also post an answer.


texts:
Which of the following sentence is correct?

  As mentioned in the Chapter 7,

or

  As mentioned in Chapter 7

I do not think "the" is necessary as it clearly mentions about chapter number.


texts: What is the meaning of "alone of"? Is it a stock phrase?

texts:
What is the meaning of "alone" here, used with the preposition "of"?

  Alone of prejudices, anti-Zionism is sacrosanct.

The link to the article this sentence is taken from:
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/corbyn-may-say-hes-not-anti-semitic-but-associating-with-the-people-he-does-is-its-own-crime-10487318.html


texts: Places I never knew existed vs places I never knew they existed

texts:
They are some places I never knew existed but they do and even look nice
They are some places I never knew they existed but do and even look nice
They are some places I never knew existed but do and even look nice

Which sentence sounds more natural? Never know what to choose...

Thanks, in advance


texts: Are the following four sentences the same in meaning?

texts:
Neither you nor he is right.
Not either you or he is right.
Either you or he is not right.
Both you and he are not right.


texts: Is it correct  to say, "Please, tell me the picture where you can see Big Ben?". There's an exercise in which you have to look at the pictures and say the letter of the picture to your classmate. what about "...tell me the letter of the picture in which...?"


texts:
Task on translating:

  Although she turned away, he had seen she had burst into tears.

Is there too much redundancy here ("had seen","had burst")?

Is it better to say:

  She turned away, no sooner he had seen than she burst into tears (it's slightly awkward because of the unlogical succession of actions in "no sooner" construction. How could it be rewritten with this construction?).

or

  She turned away but not before he saw she had burst into tears.


texts: A word meaning "you do what you have to do"?

texts: Does anyone know such a word? (Not something like 'to adhere to', 'to live up to' or 'to accomplish'.) It has to be a word that can be used on its own.


texts: What is the difference between the phrases "as far as I know" and "for all I know"?

texts:
Is there any difference in the sentences with those phrases below.

  There could be billions of the planets like the Earth for all I know.

  There could be billions of the planets like the Earth as far as I know.

I have checked a few dictionaries, but still cannot see the difference.


texts: What does trying to remember a moment when I’d felt more uncomfortably American. mean?

texts:
Context : Young woman (American) is (reluctantly because she didn't want to have tea but didn't want to be rude) having tea with an old woman (Irish). the old woman asked her if she would pour them tea.
Book setting : Ireland.

“Will you pour?” she asked primly.
“Yes. Yes, I’d be glad to,” I
stammered, trying to remember a moment when I’d felt more
uncomfortably American. I mentally scrambled for the etiquette, trying
to remember what came first.

What does this trying to remember a moment when I’d felt more uncomfortably American. mean? Is she trying to remember the time when she felt more uncomfortable being American that this time she has to pour tea?
What the wind knows, Amy Harmon.


texts: Is there an antonym to simulated? For example: This event wasn't simulated in a computer, it happened for real in the real world. I am looking for a verb that means the opposite of simulated, but I don't think it exists. Is there a phrasal verb perhaps? Is there any other more succinct way to express this? I am looking for a technical term to use in an essay.


texts: "Those whose that is x" vs "Those whose that are x"?

texts:
I'm formulating a sentence and as a Swede (non-native English speaker), I couldn't quite figure this one out. I don't know the appropriate linguistic terms for these words, sorry about that. Feel free to edit and add correct terms.

This is the sentence:

  Generally speaking, this concerns tasks whose outputs are more tasks.

My questions is: Should I instead write the following?

  Generally speaking, this concerns tasks whose output is more tasks.

Of course, I could work around the problem with something like tasks that are outputting more tasks, but it felt like an interesting question to ask!


texts: "Pass", "Pas through" and "Move through"

texts:
Please imagine a bully boy in a school stands intentionally in front of another student and doesn't let him get out of the door or pass a way. Which one of the following sentences would work in both "door" and "path" ways:

  He stood in my way and didn’t let me pass.
  He stood in my way and didn’t let me pass through.
  He stood in my way and didn’t let me move through.

If no one of the bold verbs above works naturally, then please let me know what shall i use instead?

P.S. in my language there is just one single verb which can be used for both situations.


texts:
Which one sounds best: "other than" or "except"?

1) I can’t think anyone other than you to send my first script.

2) I can’t think anyone except you to send my first script.


texts:
What does this sentence even mean? I think this is an idiom, right? Does this mean:
I will improve and won't repeat the mistakes I made the previous year.
OR
reason for doing something nice
https://www.macmillanthesaurus.com/excuse
excuse noun
a reason for doing something that you want to do
https://www.macmillanthesaurus.com/topics/reasons-and-excuses
Is this so? The phrase 'new year' refers to 'your determination' here, right?
This is a quotation on the arrival of New Year.


texts:
In programming some components have a set list of items while others have a fixed list of items. Are both usages correct and outside of programming is there a difference between them?

How different are they from the "a list of items"?


texts: What's the difference between: "I'm having a headache" and "I have a headache"?

texts:
Is there any difference between the following sentences?

1 I'm having a headache.

2 I have a headache.


texts: Which one is the grammatically correct sentence? Why the other alternatives are wrong?

texts:
A. The matter was informed to the police.
B. The matter has been informed of the police.
C. The police was informed of the matter.
D. The police were informed of the matter.

The police refers to a group and requires a plural verb, so option 'D' should be the correct answer out of option 'C and D'. But, I don't understand what's wrong with option 'A and B'. Is there anything to do with the prepositions after the verb inform? Should it be 'informed of or informed to'?


texts: "haven't gone to a restaurant"—is "gone" used correctly?

texts:
I am wondering if the following is grammatical and idiomatic.

  I really love the restaurant but haven't gone in a while.

Is the word 'gone' used correctly here?


texts:
Sweater probably means a mini jacket ,one that covers the TOP half of your body.
Jacket is prob okay one that you use in cold environments and is casual wear
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloak
Cloak means like a bigger jacket like one in a Harry Potter movie
I think you classify them in terms of size then


texts: No difference in meaning between "do calculations" and "make calculations"

texts: Do "do calculations" and " make calculations' mean the same thing?


texts:
As Spanish native speaker, I cannot find the context or usage of word "gratis" in English Language, as example:

  All apples are gratis.

I know (maybe I'm wrong) that it would be better to use:

  All apples are free.

Is there any difference in how these words are used?

Please provide examples.


texts: If you are writing a long passage in past perfect, is it acceptable to only use it at the beginning and end?

texts:
Let's say that you're writing a long passage in past perfect, like a flashback or a memory. Is it considered acceptable to only use past perfect for the sentences at the beginning and end of the passage and then switch to past simple for the rest?

I ask because it gets tedious to both read and write so many "had"s...


texts: Can fluent English speakers distinguish between “steel”, “still”, and “steal”?

texts:
Can fluent English speakers understand this sentence the first time they hear it?

  What? They still steal steel?

Can they hear a difference between the pronunciation of the words still, steal, and steel?


texts: jewel-toned shirts or jewel-tone shirts?

texts:
"Before Rand could apologize or engage further, Tanner and Betsy arrived together, looking like a Vogue spread - crisp slacks and jewel-toned shirts"... p.429 Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

I have always seen the latter version of this adjective, but in the book that I am reading it is written with a -d at the end (jewel-toned). Furthermore, I have encountered a few other adjectives in the same book that the author has chosen to spell in a similar way. Does the -d make a difference? Is it dialect?


texts:
"Less than a month ago, a 15-year-old student opened fire at a high school in Kentucky, leaving two students dead and 18 injured. Other incidents have been grave, but on a smaller scale."

I would like to know if "have been grave" could be replaced by "were grave". Why is the present perfect used? Because the incidents have occurred over the past few weeks, which is recent time?


texts: I don't understand why past simple in one case and present perfect in the other

texts:
Following sentences,

  Sorry for the late reply, I was away for the weekend, I saw you had
  already placed another order so I owe you the extra 7€ you spent
  for the shipping, let me know if you want a refund

and

  The Flesh of the city LP is £11, plus £1 extra (as you have paid
  postage on the others too)

both were said by the natives.

Why the first sentence is in simple past and the second is in present perfect? For me both are similar cases. The only difference that can explain present perfect is that the postage is on a new "future order" in the second case, whereas in the first one it is not on a new order. That is the only difference I see.


texts: Is this grammatically correct: finding the subject

texts:
It's hard for a non-native English speaker to figure out what is the subject in the following sentence. Is "a different approach" is the subject of the whether phrase? Then, it should have been "whether a different approach to delivering the needed capabilities is in order?"? Considering the context, it seems "the needed capabilities" should be the subject.

Because we have already spent the money to deliver a “legacy” system, we assume that we have to keep spending money on its continued existence. But why? Shouldn’t we be deciding whether the incremental spending is worthwhile in itself, or whether a different approach to delivering the needed capabilities are in order? Even if we are just “fixing” or “maintaining” the system?


texts: What is the meaning of " better utilise data for.."?

texts:
From this article

  Together, we’ll be looking to build on early successes with our digital-first approach to campaigns including ‘Holly’s Must Haves’ and to better utilise data for ‘always on’ cross-channel campaigns.

I don't understand the meaning of the bold part. What's the meaning of to better utilise data for..?


texts:
Young women wear their hats poised fashionably low over their foreheads.

What does the word poised mean in the above sentence?

Could someone please explain the grammatical structure of the sentence?


texts:
Some of the examples:

Flow of Control between Layers
Layered Architecture: Schematic
Introduction to Aspect Oriented Programming(AOP)
POJO-based Programming Model

I can't decide whether to use capitalised form in titles and whether it is subjective or there are strict rules on this matter.

Did I capitalise correctly? Can I use abbreviations inside if I introduced them before?(4) What about dash in (4)? The word after dash should be capitalised?


texts:
One hour in the week was set aside by him for the reception of whomsoever chose to visit him.
One hour in the week was set aside by him for the reception of whosoever chose to visit him.

What is the correct fit among the two here?
For me, any confusion between whomever and whoever boils down to a choice between him and he. Going by the same logic, it is "he chose to visit him" and not "him chose to visit him". So I thought it should be "whosoever" instead of "whomsoever".
But according to my book "whomsoever" is correct.
Please clarify the difference.


texts:
I confuse about object of phrasal verbs.

For example, She gave away all her money.

“all her money”  is an object of  verb “ gave” or  an object of adverb “ away”?

And “all her money” is direct or indirect object?
Thanks a lot!


texts:
Dumbledore kept that sister of his quiet for a long time.

  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I could not find it a phrase in dictionaries. Is it an common idiom? I only found "on the quiet" in dictionaries. I think both phrases mean the same thing.


texts: How to express many pairs of parents in English?

texts:
There is no word parents found in oxford dictionary, but "parent" Source

  parent: a person’s father or mother

Then how to express many pairs of parents in English?

Can we say 2 or 3 pairs of parents?

Googling "pairs of parents" return about 300K results


texts:
What is the difference between following sentences:

She will reach there by Monday next.
She will have reached there by Monday next.


texts:
rub [transitive, intransitive] to press two surfaces against each other
and move them backwards and forwards; to be pressed together and move
in this way
rub something She rubbed her hands in delight.
In some cultures, people traditionally greet each other by rubbing
noses.
rub something together She rubbed her hands together in effort to
warm them.
He made a fire by rubbing sticks together.
rub together It sounded like two pieces of wood rubbing together.

Some people wash clothes by hand as shown in the picture.
Can we say "I rub clothes with washing powder to wash them"?


texts: The right way to express continuing process in passive form

texts: Which sentence is correct if my intention is to express the continuing process : English is studied by me for several years or English has been studying by me for several years.


texts: Being chosen, however, is probably not enough, passive voice?

texts:
May this get discerned passive voice?

  Being chosen, however, is probably not enough.

Being, a participle verb, that goes to a gerund noun phrase Being chosen (and this may customarily seem [a thing done], an object)?

And in Being chosen, however, is probably not enough, what may customarily go as a thing done, an object, gets placed in a subject place in passive voice? So Being chosen gets discerned a subject of is and probably not enough, an object of is (in passive voice)? I may not get how to discern however, (maybe a "parenthetical"?), and in probably not enough, I think someone did text that there seemed a "fused determiner" here?


texts: What is the term used when an object stops smoothly when scroll finished? For example when you rotate the days of calendar in smartphone its stops somewhere or when you play roulette when you rotate it and then stops somewhere. What is the term in general and also in developing world ?


texts:
I've found out that there is a phrase

  feel like verb-ing

and that is used to describe a wish for or inclination to something, like

  I feel like drinking tea

But I've also heard this example:

  If I have short vacation, by the time I feel like relaxing, I have to go back home.

It seems that in this case this phrase is suppose to mean

  I begin to relax

Am I correct or I misunderstand?

Thank you in advance.


texts:
In the context of data that needs to be filled in in a computer program:
When a data field must be filled in, what is the best way to phrase this (specifically, in the pop-up window warning the users they forgot to fill it in)?

The name cannot be empty.
The name must not be empty.
The name should not be empty.
The name is mandatory.
The name is required.
The name must be filled in.
(Anything else?)

Assume adult users.

They all seem equally valid to me...


texts: Importance and usage of being in relative clause

texts:
An underflow is the result of larger negative exponents not being
  available to represent the number.

What's the importance of usage of being here? Why is it used like that? What if I drop it from the sentence? Does meaning of the sentence change?


texts: What are in-between foreground and middle ground and middle ground and background?

texts:
We have three terms for determining different level of depth in a movie shot and they are foreground, middle ground and background, but are there more words? How do you for example identify different depths within each of them, because, although very rare, we may sometimes see more level of depths than three, and sometimes in the middle ground alone we may see 2-3 levels of depths. I am sorry if I misused the term depth, but I guess most people will understand what I meant.

For example:

  In the foreground of the middle ground, we see a similar element that
  is seen in the foreground of the background.


texts: What do kids call their living great-grandparents?

texts: How do kids address or refer to their great-grandparents, if they are still alive? (equivalent to "dad", "mom", "grandpa", "grandma") "Great-grandpa" sounds rather lame.


texts:
I was practicing the Cambridge Michigan Grammar test when I came across the following question

  _________, I still was able to get to the top of the mountain.

  Even though unfit
  Unfit as I am
  While ever out of condition
  Much as I am unfit

I chose option 1 but it turned out that the correct answer was 2. Why cannot option 1 be correct?
I would like to know what grammar point is involved.


texts:
The WordWeb dictionary defines Winch as:

  Lifting device consisting of a horizontal cylinder turned by a crank
  on which a cable or rope winds

From the description I decipher that the rope winds on the crank but actually the rope winds on the cylinder, am I right or the WordWeb's sentence is correct ?

Please add/remove relevant/irrelevant tags.


texts:
From Oxford dictionary:

drool: Drop saliva uncontrollably from the mouth.
slobber: Have saliva dripping copiously from the mouth.
dribble: Allow saliva to run from the mouth.
slaver: Let saliva run from the mouth.

They seem interchangeable to me, can anyone provide a context in which one of them is more suitable?

After looking up other references in internet:

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130315194748AAQST3F
http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/slaver-slobber-drool.2108951/

It drool looks like a term generally used to refer to human actions where saliva is spat uncontrollably (usually baby, during deep sleeping,...) or as an automatic reaction
on sight or aroma of food, etc. And slobber is used more often refering to animals. Dribble and slaver seem to be less commonly used.

Can anyone clarify what context they should be used, and which one is more common?

Thank you.


texts: Asking a question without implying a desired change

texts:
I ask something like

  It doesn't make sense to have X. What's the point of it?

And people will understand it as an implicit request like

  X is bad and should be removed.

No one can hear your tone of voice online. How do I rephrase questions like this to make them more "innocent"?


texts:
If you say "something is about to happen" or "something is going to happen", you mean that "it will happen very soon" :

  The man is about to die.

  The man is going to die.

What is the difference between the two sentences, both in structure and in meaning?


texts: Only one of my parents ... [Does it exclude all the members of the family except him/her?]

texts:
The following is an item in a questionnaire.

  Only one of my parents has spent at least 12 years between the ages of
  0 and 18 in one or more of the countries in the list below, and he/she
  has always used English with me at home.

I wondered if some respondents might read the sentence as '(no other members of my family but) only one of my parents has ....'

I would like to include both:

I meet the criteria. And only one of my parents meet them. and
I don't meet the criteria. And only one of my parents meet them.

Therefore, I was thinking of putting it, to call the respondents' attention only on their parents here, as:

  Between my parents, only one of them has ...

In fact, I designed the questionnaire as the following to see respondents' nativity of the English language:

  Which of the following describes your background? (Please click all
  that apply)

  I have spent at least 12 years between the ages of 0 and 18 in one or more of the countries in the Country List below.
  Only one of my parents has spent at least 12 years between the ages of 0 and 18 in one or more of the countries in the Country List
  below, and he/she has always used English with me at home.
  Both of my parents have spent at least 12 years between the ages of 0 and 18 in one or more of the countries in the Country List below,
  and at least one of them has always used English with me at home.
  None of the above

I wondered if a respondent's case was where 'I spent so many years in the countries, and between my parents, only one of them spent so many years in the countries and has always used English with me at home,' he/she might only click (1) but not (1) and (2). (Because he/she thinks (2) means '(no other members of my family but) only one of my parents has ....')


texts: 'found' in 'car found in river' vs 'car been found in river'?

texts:
What's difference of the 'found' between 'car found in river' vs 'car been found in river'?

Are they all verb? and what's difference?

as I checked in Collins Dictionary, 'found' seems didn't have adjective part of speech. so, what's the 'found' in 'car found in river' represented?

thanks.


texts: Is it idiomatic to say "number of employee turnovers"? Or should it be "rate of employee turnover"?

texts:
The regional unemployment rate ignores the relative number of job vacancies and employee turnovers.

Google returns 450K results for "number of employee turnover" and 230K results for "rate of employee turnover".

According to Collins dictionary, the turnover of people in an organization or place is the rate at which people leave and are replaced.

I am not sure what is the best way to write that X ignores employee turnover. Does it make sense to say ignores the relative number of employee turnovers (given that turnover means a rate)?


texts:
A: Had the flowers been watered when Sheila arrived at the garden?
B: No, they were still being watered.

Am I right that it should be "in the garden" as we say

John is in the garden.

Source: [The ILI English Series, Intermediate 2 Workbook, Page 45][1]


texts:
You bought your child a chocolate bar and you ripped its cover/packet open but still left some packet/cover on the chocolate.
You wanted your child to hold the chocolate by holding the cover/packet part, not the chocolate itself part because germs from his/her fingers may be in contact with the chocolate.
Is it correct to say to a child "hold the chocolate by its cover/packet, not by the chocolate itself so you won't spread germs on it"?


texts: Should two nouns always be separated by a comma?

texts:
Alex's son, John is sleeping
  Alex's son John is sleeping

I know when you list a set of items, we have to separate it by commas. But do I need a comma, in the above example? When I read it, I pause after "son", so should it require a comma? But I feel a comma is not required in this context.


texts:
What is the meaning of the sentence "from my god it will depart " mean ?

I found this in a song of Nightwish "Sleeping sun" and I cannot understand it at all. I think it poetic but unfortunately my English literature and understanding of it is poor ...


texts: A word request - something over burned and its outside becomes black

texts: As the title says, I am looking for (a) word(s) expressing something(say a piece of bread slice) is a bit over burned and its outside becomes dark. After looking up dictionaries, I find a few: scorch, char, singe. I am wondering which one(s) are commonly used by native speakers?


texts: "There has not been a day when I didn't/don't think about you.". I am confused what should I use ' didn't or don't'?

texts:
I am confused whether I should use "didn't" or "don't" in the following sentence.

There has not been a day when I didn't/don't think about you.


texts: “The announcement will come as (a) little surprise.” – Is using the indefinite article here a mistake?

texts:
An exercise from Hewings’s “Advanced grammar in use”, Unit 52.

  Complete the sentences with

  (a) few,
  (a) little,
  the few,
  the little,
  what few of what little,

  giving alternatives where possible.

  The announcement will come as (_______________) surprise.

  Answer: little

Is it incorrect to write:

“The announcement will come as a little surprise.”

After all, “surprise” is both countable and uncountable noun. What difference in meaning might there be between these two sentences?


texts: The meaning or the usage of The phrase " I'm beginning to think ( that) ... "

texts:
When a native American English speaker says the following phrase

  I'm beginning to think ( that ) ...

I still don't really know if they always used it in the same way regardless of whatever kind of context it's  used in. But I'll provide you with the context in which it's been used in (Just in case it has more than one possible use or meaning).

It's been used in in the beginning of the 1st ep of a Japanese anime series that some of you have probably heard of and watched, called "Ouran HighSchool Host club"

I think the context begins from "1:17m" to "1:57m".


texts: Why omissions of prepositions are done in English?

texts:
I am listening (to) the music.

  To revenge (for) a murdered brother.

  (As) A system-level simulator based on the realistic modeling of fiber optic communication systems, it possesses a powerful new simulation environment and a truly hierarchical definition of components and systems.

Some people just omit them. Why?


texts:
I was watching tv, one scene is that when someone make a phone call and look for Mr. Lee, he says”this is dr. Anderson, Mr. Lee in, please.”

So my question is that “Mr.lee in, please.” is a common way to express when you want to speak to someone on the phone or it has to be in certain situation you will say so?? Thanks for answering.


texts: Using "may" or "can" with more than one verb

texts:
I have a sentence as below:

Sentence 1:His bad behavior may expose our secret, may destroy our relationship, may affect me emotionally.

Question 1 : In sentence 1 can I keep the first "may" and remove the second and third one?

Sentence 2: His bad behaviors affect me and affect the other people.

Question 2 : In sentence 2 if I remove the second "affect", would the sentence still be correct?


texts: How to not repeat "example" in this sentence

texts:
For example, in the previous example, an HTML element containing ``Search Results" can be used as an anchor.

How to say it so that "example" doesn't repeat?


texts:
What is the correct date formate in England?
If I want to write someone's birthday date what is the correct way to do it?
"Born May 5, 2000 at 05:00", or "Born 5th May, 2000 at 05:00", or "Born fifth May, 2000 at 05:00", or none of this is correct?


texts: "Misunderstood of" Is "of" the right preposition?

texts:
I find a line from a book very strange.

  Arnold Bennett, reviewing it in The New Age (24 October 1908), observed, presciently:

  the book is fairly certain to be misunderstood of the people . . . The author may call his chief characters the Rat, the Mole, the Toad, — they are human beings, and they are meant to be nothing but human beings...

This extract is from Peter Hunt's introduction to Kenneth Grahame's classic The Wind in the Willows. The passage at issue was written by Arnold Bennett. I thought of is the wrong preposition. If the people here refers to the audience of the book, the public, shouldn't it be misunderstood by the people? Is this a wrong or archaic usage?


texts: Is there any difference between the words 'impressionable' and 'suggestible'? Are they neutral or slightly disapproving? There are so many words in English with a similar meaning, for example: 'susceptible', 'gullible', 'credulous', 'naive'... (all of these seem to be unfavorable, am I right?), and I was wondering if some of these are interchangeable.


texts:
I meet the word "narrative" in this passage. After look up in the dictionary, I still not sure what is the definion of it in this context.

  Many of our stories are about feeling trapped, right? We feel
  imprisoned by our families, our jobs, our relationships, our pasts.
  Sometimes, we even imprison ourselves with a narrative of
  self-flagellation -- I know you guys all know these stories. The
  "everyone's life is better than mine" story, courtesy of social media.
  The "I'm an impostor" story, the "I'm unlovable" story, the "nothing
  will ever work out for me" story. The "when I say, 'Hey, Siri, ' and
  she doesn't answer, that means she hates me" story. I see you, see,
  I'm not the only one. The woman who wrote me that letter, she also
  feels trapped. If she stays with her husband, she'll never trust him
  again, but if she leaves, her children will suffer.

Source : https://www.ted.com/talks/lori_gottlieb_how_changing_your_story_can_change_your_life/transcript#t-325647 (05:06)


texts: Can "in" come before "where" in this sentence?

texts:
Are these two sentences correct?

  Poverty abounds in where she comes from.

  Poverty abounds where she comes from.


texts: A person whom you consider to be your potential companion?

texts:
Suppose someone wants to go on a difficult military/research mission and he needs three people to accompany him. He looks at a list of possible candidates and marks two of them as [possible/presumable/likely what?]. {one word or idiom would be best}

I was thinking of the word "candidate" that I already used but neither Cambridge Dictionary nor Merriam-Webster has the definition that I need for this word.

I was thinking of the words "partner" and "companion" but you are not sure if they are going to accompany you or they are your final choice.

The thing is you mark them as likely to go and likely to be finally chosen by you but the choice is yours and theirs together. A person who remains to be determined by you and also yet remains unasked.

I tried to look for "potential companion" and "potential partner" as one word or idiom but all I found was "catch" - {informal} a person who is considered to be very suitable for a relationship but that is only related to a relationship.

I'm looking for a word like "catch" (noun) but in regard to a military/research mission and it shouldn't refer to a relationship.

Thanks to SteveES and Peter I've managed to find more words "preferences" and "potentials". However, I am unsure whether I can use them in such context.


texts: Is my sentence correct with the order of the words, and does it miss any other word to make it clear?

texts:
Please tell me if it is correct and if there are alternatives. I'm not sure about the order of the words, or if "with" is needed, especially in this part : "the heart devoured from within".

  Love is a battle they just can't win, the heart devoured from within.


texts:
Does the noun uncovery (noun of to uncover) exist?

I have seen this quite often in publications of nuclear reactor safety analyses.

For example: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0143817484900349

  Assessment of the uncertainties associated with the core uncovery time in TMI-type accidents

I cannot find the word in http://www.merriam-webster.com Or do you have to use the gerund uncovering?

Matthias


texts:
Is this grammatically correct sentence? I cannot seem to understand the grammar behind the structure of this sentence
So if we change "would" to "why", it seems incorrect to me to say

"why he is the voice of reason?"

It seems more natural to say

"why is he the voice of reason?"

so if I apply the same pattern to "would", it makes more sense to me to say

"Would be he the voice of reason?"


texts:
I am currently working on a presentation, which is about a diagnosis of a type of disease. However, I am not sure about the word that put in front of "x-rays". Is there a better phrase which has the similar meaning to "doing x-rays"? Does "Conducting x-rays" work? This is a kinda homework+synonym question, but I didn't find tag for homework.
Thanks for your help


texts: Should I include the second had in "Had he died like Nietzsche **had** declared?"

texts:
Even without a speck of cloud, I couldn’t spot God. Had he died like
  Nietzsche had said/declared?

(This is first-person narration past tense. And Nietzsche, a dead philosopher, said that statement centuries ago.)

Do I need the second had? Why or why not.


texts:
What sounds better here: 'she being....' or 'her being...', if both are not wrong?

She has a keen analytic mind and very good comprehension and communication skills. Her performance in examinations bears witness to the above, she being among the top five percent of her peer group.
She has a keen analytic mind and very good comprehension and communication skills. Her performance in examinations bears witness to the above, her being among the top five percent of her peer group


texts: "Spring is warm in France" vs. "France is warm in spring"

texts:
Which sentence sounds more natural (or is correct)?

Spring is warm in France.
France is warm in spring.


texts: A question about ‘After verb-ing, while …, main clause. ’？

texts:
Four days after setting out, while the Titanic was sailing across the icy waters of the North Atlantic, a huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout.

After verb-ing, subject do/did something. I know this knowledge. But in the sentence above, it is After verb-ing, while subject one was doing something, subject two did something.. It is subject one do the thing in After verb-ing, but subject one was in while clause.
So, is the sentence at the beginning right？


texts: Should "a" vs "an" be chosen based on an expanded abbreviation?

texts:
The indefinite article "an" is used when the following word starts with a vowel sound. For example one write "an adjective" but "a noun".

However, when an abbreviation is used, should this be based on the expanded meaning, or on the letters of the abbreviation.

Specifically, one writes "a noun phrase". However, here on ell.se, the abbreviation "NP" for 'noun phrase" is commonly used. If this were pronounced by sounding out its letters, as "En-Pee" it would call for "an". If it were read as "noun phrase"  it would call for "a". Should one write "a NP" or "an NP" here on ELL?

I incline to "a NP" and i used that in an answer just a few minutes ago, but I am not at all sure.


texts: Use of "What" and third person singular form of verb

texts:
People know what they do; frequently they know why they do what they do; but what they don't know is what what they do does.

Quite unusually, in this sentence "what" occurs twice  and third person verb form "does" appears after the verb "do." Can you please help to understand what kind of sentence is it?


texts:
Is it right to say "You will start all again"?
I know that 'You will start all over again' is right and I think I can also say 'You will start it all again'.
But can I say 'You will start all again'?


texts:
I'm not sure I'm ready to get back on/in the field.

And field here means the speaker's line of work.
What preposition do we use here in or on?
Are they interchangeable?


texts:
Which of the following is correct?

  I made a challenge to myself
  I made a challenge for myself
  I made myself a challenge


texts: In English, proper nouns are always capitalized. Since there is only one sky I would expect it to be a proper noun and capitalized. But it seems it is treated as a common noun and not capitalized. Why is this the case?


texts: How and when can we use the word "diminish"?

texts:
Please help me to use diminish word properly. For example, consider the way I have used this word in the sentences below. How wrong or right they are? Should I have used a synonym instead?

Our sugar storage has diminished.
Our hope has diminished.
Please diminish its consistency/your voice(volume).
The flooding has diminished in our area.

(Is it OK if, from time to time, I send this kind of questions here?)


texts:
Please look at these sentences :

Rahim is being admitted into that coaching center we wanted to.
Rahim is getting admitted into that coaching center we wanted to.

Actually I am confused about the using of present continuous here. I meant that Rahim's admission process is happening in front of me. Some people suggested me not to use continuous form because they said I can only know if he is admitted or not after the process is over. Can I say "Rahim is applying for an admission to that coaching center we wanted to" instead of those sentences? Or what can I say that would sound natural?

If he want to get admitted to that coaching center in future, then can I say these :

Rahim is going to be admitted into that coaching center we wanted to.
Rahim will be admitted into that coaching center we wanted to.


texts: Is there a single word for "But anyway"?

texts: I would love to know if we have a single word that can be used in general speaking and writing in place of "But anyway".


texts: How pseudoantonyms or false antonyms in the English language can be identify?

texts: Pseudoantonyms give the misleading impression that they have opposite meanings because of the prefixes. Are not these misleading for the non native English speakers and learners? How can we identify them? When to use and how to use>


texts:
Don't lean against automatic door

  Don't hold the door open

I usually see this kind of prohibition on the train. What makes me confused is why the first sentence doesn't use the and the second sentence does? I mean both of the sentences refer to the same door in the train.


texts: When the speaker's voice keeps connection and disconnecting on a phone call

texts:
I was wondering whether the bold phrase below sounds idiomatic in English. If not, please let me know whether there is any fixed phrase / expression to substitute for the that:

A) Do you hear me?
B) Yes
A) But this is a bad connection I think. You keep connection and disconnecting! Let me hang up and call you back.
B) Okay


texts: Is "some other thing" as correct English as "something else"? If so, is there a difference between them?

texts:
I've just realized that I often say some other thing, instead of something else.
The latter seems the correct one, but I'd like to confirm this.
Furthermore, if the former was correct too, I'd be curious to know if there's a clear difference between the two, beside the way they are spelled. For instance, with reference to the sentence
"If this goes wrong, then you'll have to try some other thing" vs "If this goes wrong, then you'll have to try something else"

is one "more correct" than the other?
does some other imply/require an inherent difference between the current alternative and the other alternative(s), whereas else doesn't imply that?


texts: what is the meaning of 'to be charged' in this sentence?

texts: Within the possible sacrifices, there is the financial sacrifice, which is translated by the price to be charged or actually paid by the buyer.


texts: Zero article after the phrase "speaking of"

texts:
Tell me please why the speaker left out an article after the phrase speaking of in the following sentence. It is from Crash Course Big Hisory. It is at 2 minute and 32 second.

  Some questions can only be explored by zooming out. That is what Big History does. Speaking of (the) zoomed out, this is Earthrise one of the most famous photographs of all time.

Why did the speake not use the before zoomed out or not say speaking of zooming out?


texts:
In my studies I came across "concept" & "conceptually related".
I want to find out the meaning of "concept" and its use.

Cambridge Dictionary shows this example:
The whole concept of democracy, she claimed, was utterly foreign to the present government.

Now, I am asking for an equivalent to "foreign" to express that this concept was utterly strange, or unknown to them. Is there a common British used equivalent to "foreign" ?


texts: what does "He as good as called" mean in the sentence ‘He as good as called me a slob!’ ‘Well, if the cap fits


texts: what does "having their attention increasingly fought for in repeat attempts" mean here?

texts:
When it comes to marketing, nothing beats good old-fashioned get-in-you-hands, print. At least, nothing beats print when two things are happening. The first is that your audience is having their attention increasingly fought for in repeat attempts across multiple platforms. The second is that an older demographic still responds favorably to print; a younger demographic responds well to visually stimulating content, especially in print.

I know the meaning of all the word in this sentence but a whole  sentence is  ambiguous for me.


texts:
When "Have and Make" are used as Causatives, I get confused because they seem the same in some sentences. Are there any difference between them in these sentences:

The teacher has the students do the essay

The teacher makes the students do the essay

I made him cry

I had him cry.


texts:
According to the chart above, I want to give it a description and wonder weather I should use percentage OR percentages in the following sentence.

  The bar graph shows 7 different reasons that adults choose to study, measured in percentage/percentages.

And what are the difference?


texts:
I just messaged a friend the sentence:

  If you fought yourself, who would win?

But it sounds awkward to me.

This sounds more correct to me:

  If you were to fight yourself, who would win?

Grammatically, which is correct?


texts: difference between present perfect continuous and simple with negative sentences

texts:
I have not met her very often lately   I have not been meeting her very often lately.
Is the only difference between these 2 sentences the continuity of the action
the first means a recently finished action and the second an ongoing action


texts: Difference between “is” and “it is” in a sentence

texts:
What is the difference between “is” and “it is” in a sentence?

Please make sure that the password is at least 8 characters long.
Please make sure that the password it is at least 8 characters long.

A boarding pass is required.
A boarding pass it is required.

Is raining today.
It is raining today.

The food is good.
The food it is good.

Is great.
It is great.

Thank you!


texts:
What's your favorite actor?

Is such a formulation ("what", not "who") acceptable in AmE? Some source
says that it is acceptable and even fine.

Update. Some examples:
1) what's your favourite actor?

2) what's your favourite composer?

3) what's your favorite singer?

Update 2. More examples:

1) what's your favorite president?

2) what's your favorite historical figure?

I've added the two examples just to show that such usage is not a single phenomenon.


texts: **wall stud** is more commonly used both in US and UK, so where is the word studwork being used?

texts:
This post use studwork to refer to stud

  Resilient channel is a thin metal channel that is intelligently designed to substantially improve the sound insulation of drywall, sheetrock, plasterboard walls and ceilings. The channel effectively isolates drywall from the framing studwork, which results in the weakening of sound waves substantially.

while wiki uses wall stud, and this post uses stud and  wall stud.

obviously, wall stud is more commonly used both in US and UK, so where is the word studwork being used?

consider following image (img_2)

the vertical post pointed out by red arrow is a stud, the vertical post pointed out by blue arrow is another stud, the whole thing is A studwork, right?

the following is archived, only for the comments history

Are there 4 studs in the following image (img_1)?


texts:
When scanning in one position for longer time period a slight movement
  can occur in the scanner position due to changes in temperature.

Am I missing a comma in this sentence?


texts: Difference between Simple Past and Past Perfect

texts:
What is the difference in meaning between the two examples below?

When she returned home from office, she was shocked to see that her husband and daughter were missing. (Simple Past)

When she returned home from office, she was shocked to see that her husband and daughter had been missing. (Past Perfect)

FIRST QUESTION: For me example #1 gives only idea of Status of her missing husband and daughter and example #2 gives idea of completed action/situation of missing husband and daughter before she reached home. Is this right?
SECOND QUESTION: Is example #2 past perfect or past perfect continuous?


texts: Why do we have to use an article in this sentence before gerund?

texts:
Why in the second sentence we must use article:

  I am angry abut making environment dirty by some people.
  I am angry about the governing my country by the king.


texts: What's the best option? Characters in the comic series, Characters of the comic series, or character from the comic series? Read more and answer me:

texts:
I'm Brazilian and the author of the comic series Albert & Einstein e Sua Turma and Nina e Zoca (in English, Albert & Einstein and Their Gang and Nina and Zoca).
In Portuguese, I use in my YouTube description videos:

personagens das séries de histórias em quadrinhos (no Brasil) ou
bandas desenhadas (em Portugal e em Angola) Albert & Einstein e Sua
Turma e Nina e Zoca.

And, in Spanish, I use:

personajes de las
series de historietas Albert & Einstein y su pandilla y Nina y
Zoca.

But, in English, I don't know at the moment if is the best option is:

characters in the comic series Albert & Einstein and Their Gang and
Nina and Zoca

characters of the comic series Albert & Einstein and Their Gang and
Nina and Zoca

or:

characters from the comic series Albert & Einstein and Their Gang
and Nina and Zoca

According Google search, all the three options are good and right. Also have the option

Albert & Einstein and Their Gang and Nina and Zoca comic series characters

but I prefer start with characters, put in the middle the comic series, and conclude with the series names (I think that becomes much more strong, harmonic, and expressive after all.


texts:
I want a synonym for "nobody's perfect" in a more idiomatic way. Maybe some rare old phrase to mean that every side has good and bad.

I'm talking about a meaning that will convey that in every faction, religion, group or whatever there are both bad and good people. Not that a person has good and bad within him.


texts:
He didn't want to eat his dinner.

I was angry with him and went to take a shower.

When I took a shower, my son went to me and said.

  "I have finished my plate."

  "I have finished my dinner."

Do they sound natural to a native speaker?


texts: What does it precisely mean that the suffix -ship "denotes a state of being"?

texts:
Over two decades, she enjoyed a memorable and mystifying acquaintanceship with Ramirez.

Does it precisely mean that the suffix -ship "denotes a state of being"?

After having read that definition, I conclude that fellowship is the state of being fellow, but, I wonder, is not "fellow" already a state of being? How can a person be a fellow without having that state?

And, in the sentence above (The New York Times), why does the journalist use "acquaintanceship" rather than "acquaintance"—perhaps the fact that the state perdured "over two decades"?  What does -ship add to "acquaintance"?


texts: "Substitute" or "Replace" - Put something newer / better in place of something old / in poor condition

texts:
According to the dictionary definition, the word "replace" can mean: "put something newer or in better condition in place of something old or in poor condition.

Almost no dictionary has mentioned that the verb "substitute" can be used in this sense too; but sometimes I have heard some people (perhaps non-natives) used it instead of "replace" in this sense.

I was wondering if we can use them interchangeably this this sense or not? Please kindly clarify it.

For more explanations, I have made an example. Please consider it and let me know if they can be used interchangeably or not:

I'm sorry Simon! I know that you loved the vase I broke, but:

  1- I promise to replace it.
  2- I promise to substitute it.

Connotation: I promise to buy an exactly the same vase and put it instead of your broken vase

Please kindly enlighten me.


texts:
I was writing a question on Security.SE and couldn't figure out which pronoun was actually correct in the sentence:

  This [process] always ends with/in a phone call.

The intended meaning is that because of certain policies, the end result of a process is a phone call (to me).

Which preposition is correct here, and why? If they are interchangeable, why?

PS - I'm asking on ELL.SE because I would like to know how to explain this to my French ELL students in the future. Prepositions are notoriously difficult to explain...


texts: use of "rather" in the beginning of a sentence

texts:
what does "rather" mean here?

It is part of their job to identify new security phenomena and define
strategies to cope with them. Therefore they are often trained and,
thus, predisposed to looking for security questions.

Rather these
questions are important as an indication that the collapse of an
institutionalized understanding of the security environment generates
a complex game of producing new, legitimate security knowledge.

sorry i don't know how this works but i tried my best to show rather is in the beginning of second paragraph.


texts: How many apostrophes are allowed in a sentence?

texts:
I can think of this sentence -

  (Don't touch that) That is my brother's company's CEO's son's dog's toy. - I can still come up with many more apostrophes! ;)

Is there any rule that talks about the number of apostrophe to be used in a sentence? This sentence is hypothetical but does such sentence with many apostrophes exist? Is there any context where more than two or three apostrophes cannot be avoided?

If there is no rule -

The sentence is understandable the way I wrote. But then, if there's no rule, how do I say the above sentence without apostrophe, how do I say? I am afraid, you have to include many of them! Or else, you'll have to break the sentence. :)


texts: Is "by being pressed" in the following is correct ? "Clay is deformed by being pressed "

texts: Although I think "Clay is deformed when pressed " is better than  "Clay is deformed by being pressed", I would like to know whether the latter is grammatically correct and sounds natural.


texts: How can one wish someone a "good night" when they sleep during the day?

texts: Bob worked all night: he'll sleep from 9 am to 6 pm. What expression can one employ to wish him a "good night" right before he goes to sleep?


texts:
What is the difference between symbol and sign?

In the following text which one is correct?

  dollar symbol or dollar sign


texts:
Somebody please explain this sentence to me. I found this while reading about Pollution and the Environment

  Important definitions   People are more worried about the environment (= the air, water, and land around us) as a result of the harmful (= dangerous/damaging) effects of human activity. Some of these activities cause pollution (= dirty air, land and water) and some are destroying the environment (= damaging it so badly that soon parts will not exist).
  Here are some of the problems: the ozone layer; global warming; acid rain.


texts:
I know that word could. but I don't know properly which situation I need to Use word Would

can you give some examples?


texts:
ok,

  In dialects with yod dropping, /juː/ is pronounced the same as /uː/
  after coronal consonants (/t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /θ/, and /l/) in
  the same syllable, so that dew /djuː/ is pronounced the same as do
  /duː/. In dialects with yod coalescence, /tj/, /dj/, /sj/ and /zj/ are
  pronounced /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /ʃ/ and /ʒ/, so that the first syllable in
  Tuesday is pronounced the same as choose Wikipedia.

So, introduce yourself /ˌɪn.trəˈduːs jɔːˈself/ will become /ˌɪn.trəˈduːʃɔːˈself/ right?

I got 1 example see this video at 1:15

I ask this question to make sure that what I thought is right!


texts: Understanding the notion of "indifferent health"

texts:
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, provides these definitions for the word "indifferent":

adj. Having no particular interest or concern; apathetic: indifferent to the sufferings of others.
adj. Having no marked feeling for or against: She remained indifferent toward their proposal.
adj. Not mattering one way or the other: It's indifferent to me which outfit you choose.
adj. Characterized by a lack of partiality; unbiased: an indifferent judge.
adj. Being neither too much nor too little; moderate.
adj. Being neither good nor bad; mediocre: an indifferent performance. See Synonyms at average.
adj. Being neither right nor wrong.
adj. Not active or involved; neutral: an indifferent chemical in a reaction.

After having read the above definitions I was unable to understand the notion/concept/meaning of "indifferent health" to which Cardinal Keith O’Brien refers in this statement:

Approaching the age of 75 and at times in indifferent health, I tendered my resignation as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh to Pope Benedict XVI some months ago. (LINK)

Can anybody explain?


texts: What's the meaning of "ported" in this sentence?

texts:
I found the word "ported" in a sentence describing a motorcycle, but I don't understand what it means:

  A beautiful machine, it was ported and polished, with high-compression pistons and rings, a welded crank, and a racing clutch.


texts:
Is my use of the superlative in the following sentence correct?

  People in Germany don't care whether there are Jews, Muslims, Christians, followers of other religions or atheists in a store. They buy the stuff they need where it is cheapest, at least in the majority of cases.

My gut feeling tells me it is correct, but I'm not sure.


texts: at risk or in risk ?What's the difference?Thanks

texts:
The disease was spreading, and the town's children were _____ risk.

A. in    B. at

Could you tell me the difference between "in risk"  and "at risk".

Thanks.


texts:
They were unsure about the utility of the vaccine given its expected duration.

Does the part "given its expected duration" modify vaccine or is it another kind of grammar structure?


texts:
Imagine you are deep inside a very sophisticated math question and just when you are finding the solution your friend comes to you and brings up a very irrelevant matter! You want to show your disapproval and your displeasure. Does the self-made sentence bellow work here? If not, I was wondering if you could let me know an alternative for that:

  Tom: - What the hell you're doin' Andy?

  Andy: - What's wrong man?

  Tom: - Nothing! You just brought up this matter very untimely.

I googled the word "untimely", but it seems there is something wrong with it while in my dictionary it is the best choice for such a situation. (This is a Farsi-English Dictionary.)


texts: What does "hit someone on the roll" here mean?

texts:
Two possessions later, and still trailing by 1, the Bucks set up in the same alignment, only this time Donte DiVincenzo had the ball. Antetokounmpo delivered another screen, and DiVincenzo dropped a soft floater through the net. The next time down the floor, the Bucks went back to Middleton, with Antetokounmpo once again setting the pick. Middleton hit Antetokounmpo on the roll.

Does the last sentence mean Middleton passed to Antetokounmpo to score?


texts: Can we say "I'll be there one hour later" instead of "I'll be there in an hour"?

texts:
I understan "I'll be there in an hour." is a correct sentence, but if I make the sentence to "I'll be there one hour later." is that correct? and same meaning?
if not, why is it incorrect?
i'm wondering if i can use "five minutes later or one hour later" instead of in five minutes or in an hour" when i make future sentences.
like I'll be back in an hour, I'll come back in five minutes.


texts: what's the meaning of "tasking statement"? in intelligence settings

texts:
what's the meaning of "tasking statement"

  All intelligence studies start with some form of problem solving. In government intelligence groups, the problem may come in the form of a tasking statement.


texts: Is "tripe" also used as a single-word exclamation?

texts:
I'd like to know whether a construction with "Tripe!" as for example in

  "He is very active on StackExchange!" "Tripe! He doesn't even know about the existence of StackExchange!"

is possible and common. So far I've only seen "tripe" in exclamations with other words ("This is utter tripe!" etc.)

The dictionaries I've consulted haven't answered that for me, and search engines ignore the exclamation mark, which makes it hard to find any examples.

EDIT: I've added a wrong statement before the "Tripe!" to make it clearer.


texts: Do I need "the" in "the Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman"?

texts:
On July 1, 2010 the media broadcasted that the Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman had finally refused the million dollar prize.

Do you need the here? On one hand, it is an exact person. On the other, it is a person's name, which doesn't require an article, and I know that I also don't need it when say "I read Perelman's proof," despite the fact that it is an exact proof.


texts:
I have a question about the phrase "unless otherwise noted":

  The game starts at 7:00pm unless otherwise noted.

Is the part "unless otherwise noted" missing an "it is" between "unless" and "otherwise noted":

  The game starts at 7:00pm unless it is otherwise noted.

Or, is "unless otherwise noted" a set phrase and I should stop losing sleep over it?


texts:
For example I want to discuss one movie called "A" (it's just an example name) with my friend. Do I need to use the definite article before its name. Example:

  I want to talk about the "A" with you (Let's talk about the "A"). Did you like it?

or

  I want to talk about "A" with you (Let's talk about "A"). Did you like it?


texts:
I sometimes get confused about the which of these statements.

I saw you entering Daniel's room in the morning.
I saw you enter Daniel's room in the morning.

Do the above sentences have the same meanings or are different?


texts: The meaning of the verbs 'take out' and 'file' in past simple tense (applying for a right context)?

texts:
The company took out/filed a patent on a genetically engineered
tomato.

The sentence are confused for me because of the highlighted verbs. There are their definitions (borrowed from the Cambrige Dictionary), related to the context:

to take sth out: to arrange to get something from a company, bank,
etc.

As for me, the above proclamation may be then interpreted either as "the company sent all required documents to a suitable authority with intent to be awarded the patent in the future" or as it has received the patent already.

to file: to officially record something, especially in a law court.

It seems the meaning that the company has already received the patent is the most appropriate.
So how does these verbs shold be understood? Has the company got the patent on the genetically engineered tomato when a paper issues an article titled so or has it mere a patent pending?


texts:
I came across this sentence:

  If he resigned it would be tantamount to admitting that he was guilty.

I am wondering whether he resigned or not. Would it be possbile to phrase like this

  If he resign it will be tantamount to admitting that he was guilty.


texts: How to idiomatically tell someone to become more humble?

texts:
Suppose someone is too full of himself because he thinks he is so good, if I wanted to advise him to act more humbly, what should I say? I'm familiar with turn your nose up at someone or something, and I'm not sure the opposite, lower your nose or turn your nose down, would be correct English, as in:

  Hey! I've had it with you! You need to lower your nose a bit.


texts:
I came across this sentence on an ESL teaching website while preparing for my English Corner:

  "What holidays have disappeared in your country?"

Shouldn't it be "disappeared from"? I was quite certain that "from" was the correct preposition in this case, but it seems that Google doesn't support me on this. I'm a little confused now...


texts: Usage of the article with a repeated subject

texts:
A boy ran, a boy skipped.

Is such a sentence correct? I don't know much about usage of the article with repeated subjects. The boy described in the sentence has not appeared in the story before.


texts: Is "to worry about their children being led astray" correct?

texts:
Parents always worry about their children being led astray by unsuitable friends.

Is this sentence grammatically correct? What is the grammar of "their children being led astray"?


texts: What does "for as " mean separately in "for as you are as handsome as any of them"?

texts:
“I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley may like you the best of the party.” ( Pride and Prejudice)

I don't understand why "for" and "as" are used together, what do they mean respectively?
It sounds like "for" means "because" though.


texts: Where do I place "forever" in this sentence? "I relieve you of this burden."

texts:
"I forever relieve you of this burden."
"I relieve you forever of this burden."
"I relieve you of this burden forever."

Maybe you think you have a better place for "forever" in this sentence?


texts:
I'm reading a WHO guidance, and I am not sure what it means:

  6.3.4.1 General considerations 20

  Comparative safety data should normally be collected pre-authorization. The extent of collection 21 depends on the type and severity of safety issues known for the reference product. The SBP study 22 population should be followed to provide information on safety events of interest according to the 23 experiences with the reference mAb. Care should be given to compare the nature, severity and 24 frequency of the adverse events between the mAb SBP and the reference product in clinical trials 25 that enrolled a sufficient number of patients treated for an acceptable period of time. Clinical 26 safety issues should be captured throughout clinical development during initial PK and/or PD 27 evaluations and also in the primary clinical study establishing comparability.WHO Guideline

Here, what does "should be collected pre-authorization" mean?

Please help me.


texts:
Do I have to say full sentence after  throwback or is it ok to just say throw back to noun?
For example, between 'Throwback to when I was a high schooler' and 'Throwback to highschool', which is correct? Or are they both wrong?


texts:
I do not understand the meaning of "in, " in the following text:

  Scammers will place a call to an older person and when the mark picks
  up, they will say something along the lines of: “Hi Grandma, do you
  know who this is?” When the unsuspecting grandparent guesses the name
  of the grandchild the scammer most sounds like, the scammer has
  established a fake identity without having done a lick of background
  research. Once “in,” the fake grandchild will usually ask for money to
  solve some unexpected financial problem (overdue rent, payment for car
  repairs, etc.),

Any advice would be appreciated.


texts:
I have been struggling to understand the usage of 'out of' vs 'from' vs 'with'. I'm used to use 'from' or 'with' frequently.I often find some sentences which I think should be replaced with'from' or 'with'. While surfing through the dictionaries. I have found the following sources which describe'out of':

Source: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/out

Indicating the source or derivation of something; from:

  ‘a bench fashioned out of a fallen tree trunk’

  I get a lot of enjoyment out of teaching.

  Confidence enables you to win, and by winning you get enjoyment out of the game.’

  Birds make nests out of branches or twigs.
  (Can't I use 'with/from' instead of 'out of')

Source:http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/out

COME FROM SOMETHING used to say where something comes from or is taken from

  A lot of good music came out of the hippy culture in the 1960s.

  The money is automatically taken out of your bank account every year.

Can I use 'from' instead of 'out of'? 'From' also refers to the source that something comes from or obtained from.Right ? Why to use 'out of' instead of 'from' ?

Again,

What is the use of out of in the sentence "Someone had torn several pages out of her diary."
Can't I say "from her diary"?


texts:
Your capacity for empathy, gratitude, and generosity can be cultivated
  by engaging in simple social behaviors whenever the opportunity
  presents itself: a team meeting, a client pitch or negotiation, a
  360-degree feedback session.

I searched the online dictionaries, and client means:

someone who pays for services or advice from a professional person or organization.
someone who buys something from a seller SYN CUSTOMER.

And for pitch(BUSINESS DEALS):

to try to persuade someone to do business with you, buy something etc
pitch for business/contracts/custom etc

But I can't understand  meaning of the phrase "a client pitch" exactly.

So, Could you explain it to me? Is a session? Or, is a kind of presentation?


texts:
What is the best

If it is still not raining in the next few days,I'll go to the swimming pool

If it is not going to rain in the next few days,I'll go to the swimming pool


texts:
I put the same question up on EL&U a few other forums, but I don't get it well yet.
So I'm putting it up again with some touches.

I really want to know the meanings of the verb 'see' and 'hear' in the progressive
except for the cases (and there will be more cases with changing their meanings)-

      a) hallucination:
          : I'm seeing stars.
      b) meeting someone:
          : I'm seeing the doctor in the afternoon.
      c) listening to people giving their opinions:
         What are you hearing from people there?

Now here are the examples I've collected until now.

  1.a. I can't believe what I'm hearing here!
  1.b. I can't believe what I (can) hear here!

: I found 1.a. when I was watching an America drama.
  'hear' doesn't go with the progressive in the meaning of sounds coming through the ear, AFAIK.
  I still feel 1.b. is more natural and I can't seem to find the difference between 1.a. and 1.b.
  Is there any good reason for the hearing in 1.a?

  2.a. I've been seeing the dark entity that haunts your house and your land.
  2.b. I've seen the dark entity that haunts your house and your land.

: 2.a is a line from an America horror movie, and the female main actor did see
  the ghost hanged from a tree just one time. 2.b. is more natural to me and I don't know why 2.a was said.

  3.a. Can you see what I'm seeing?
  3.b. Can you see what I see?

: It might have been 'do you see...?', but I'm not sure. I heard 3.a when I was playing a computer game.
  Isn't it good enough to say 3.b.?

  4.a. Why am I seeing this?
  4.b. Why do I see this?

: 4.a is a message box popping up in Windows to ask if you want it to remember passwords.
  4.b sounds better to me. Is there any reason for 4.a.?

  5.a. What are we supposed to be seeing here?
  5.b. What are we supposed to see here?

: Here's the context. There is a man in the living room with his friends,
  and he shows them a video. But they don't seem to understand what the video is,
  and one of them says, "What are we supposed to be seeing here?"
  What is the effect of saying 5.a. instead of 5.b.?
Is there any reason for the above uses of the progressive? any effect?

I was reading a grammar and found this explanation, which I'm not clear on:

  ... it's difficult to catch oneself in the middle of a single act of seeing or hearing.
  (though for a scientist not impossible) To see or to hear is to receive a sensory impression.
  The reception of the impression is an involuntary act:
  we cannot normally prevent the completion of it.
  Thus, as we commonly say in English, you see - or you don't see. (fine so far...)
  Yet sometimes it's possible for us to perceive the reception of a visual image in an unfinished state.
  Wearing the wrong spectacles or having dined not wisely but too well, I might be seeing double.
  Such occurrences of see in IU (single act / uncompleted) may be rare, but they help to explain
  why see is normally found only in the completed aspect.
  Yet in SU (series of acts / uncompleted) see would occur as frequently as any other verb,
  since we have no difficulty in imagining an uncompleted series of the acts of perception;
  e.g. “I'm seeing too many pictures,” said Sue at the exhibition. “I can't look at any more.”
  (I'm completely lost here...)

Could you elaborate on this and tell me your opinions?


texts: Difference between transitive and intransitive verb?

texts:
Please tell me if the verbs in the following sentences are transitive or intransitive? please give reason.

caterpillar changes into butterfly.
he got angry with his friends.
they were told to keep quiet.
I am talking with my friend.

secondly, please guide me: Can direct object come after a preposition as well or it has to be right after the verb as one word.
thanks


texts:
All guilty pleas and violation of probation matters [...] must be continued until after April 13, 2020, [...]

Does this mean everything continues up to April 13th then stops or stops now and will restart April 13th?


texts: Two concerns on highlighted part of the following text

texts:
Lindsey Aloia (Rollins College) and Denise Solomon (The Pennsylvania State University) published their findings in the journal Human Communication Research. Aloia and Solomon studied 50 romantically involved couples and found that the more intense the conflict interaction was rated between the couples the stronger the physiological stress response to the conflict. This relationship, however, was weakened for individuals who reported a higher level of childhood exposure to verbal aggression. For the experiment the couples provided saliva samples to determine their baseline cortisol levels. They were then interviewed separately about the most stressful areas of conflict in their relationship and filled out a questionnaire that asked about their childhood experiences with verbal aggression. Following the interview, partners were asked to sit together and discuss an area of conflict alone for 10 minutes. The sessions were videotaped. After the discussion the couples were separated again and provided two additional saliva samples over a period of 20 minutes after the conflict. Trained judges then watched video recordings of the couples and rated the intensity of the conflict communication of each couple. Finally, cortisol levels were calculated to evaluate experiences of stress using the collected saliva samples.
Previous research has examined the experience of conflict within a multitude of relationships. These studies make it clear that conflict can produce a number of negative outcomes. For example, exposure to conflict has been linked to depression, distress, and anxiety; feelings of hurt and anger; relationship dissatisfaction; and subsequent physical violence. Recent efforts point to the role of physiological processes in understanding the variation in individuals' experiences of interpersonal conflict. Considering the physiological implications for stress and viewing interpersonal conflict interactions as potential stressors highlights how experiences of conflict are shaped by both the demands of the interaction and people's adaptive capacity to handle that stressor.

Could you simplify this part saying ** ... and viewing interpersonal conflict interactions as potential stressors** , in simple English. Please do not ammit some words, because I have to translate the original text in Farsi, later.

Could you simplify demands of interaction in simple English.


texts: Singular pronoun "it" working as a plural one

texts:
Why in time expressions the singular pronoun "it" is able to replace "they"?:

  It is twenty to five in the  afternoon.

This rule also is used in quantity of people or things:

  John: How many people could you see?
  Anne: There was about twenty of them.

Why does this happen?


texts: Is the possessive gerund preferred in "with Windows 7's being installed"?

texts:
I have to work on my laptop with Windows 7's being installed.

Can the possessive gerund be used in this way? In case this phrase doesn't make sense: I'm trying to say that on my laptop Windows 7 is installed.


texts:
In episode 9 of The Wonder Years, it's Christmas time. The children are sulking because their father didn't want to buy them a color TV. It has not been a good day for the family. Only Norma is not boring (or seems so). In some point, the narrator says:

  NARRATOR: That night, all the seams were showing. Only Mom [Norma] was in there
  pitching like a lone fireman at a five-alarm blaze.

  NORMA: Eggnog, anyone? Lydia Herschmuller just called. To remind us
  about the carolling party tonight. I told her we’d be there with bells
  on!

I guess the narrator wanted to show that Norma was being resilient and was trying to cheer them up. But I couldn't find a appropriate synonymous for "pitching" in the sentence above. Could someone help me? Thanks in advance!


texts: Using "the" in this sentence: "I won the first place at the tournament"

texts:
Here is the sentence where I am confused as to whether I should put the or not:

  "I won first place at the tournament"

OR

  "I won the first place at the tournament"

Which one is correct according to American/United States English?

Here's a Google NGram regarding usage - http://bit.ly/20LmDri


texts: Asking questions with "where in something"

texts:
I wrote:

  Where in Islam is nationalism condemned?

Then I changed it to :

  Where in Islam is it said that nationalism is condemned?

I want to ask about an Islamic source that condemn "Nationalism". How can I say it with "where"?


texts:
Children are exempt from the charges.
Children are exempted from the charges.

From these two sentences, the former is an example Longman dictionary provides for the word "exempt". My question is that whether the latter, which replaces the adjective exempt with the verb exempted, would be grammatically acceptable as well? And if it would, does that replacement induce any discrepancy in terms of meaning or connotation?


texts:
I couldn't tell if he was annoyed or tired.
I couldn't have told if he was annoyed or tired.

What is the difference between these two?

Let me guess, that the sentences are not conditional, for I can substitute if with whether.
The first sentence expresses that I coundn't tell it for some period of time. For example, during our time in college, I did not have the ability to distinguish whether he was annoyed or tired.
The second sentence tells us about one particular time, for example, when he got home two days ago, I coundn't tell if he was annoyed or tired.


texts:
If two paths are of the same length, they are equally long. But then, if they're of the same distance, they are equally... distant?

It doesn't sound at all right and I strongly suspect that it's just not a case when a switcharoo between nouns allows for the equivalent on the related adjectives. In my ears, the second version sounds like they are equally distant from each other, without the actual requirement of being equally long. Then again, that statement makes no sense because two objects are always equally distant from each other (physical ones, at least).

Which is it?


texts:
What is the difference between the trick to infinitive and the trick to gerund?
Yes, the former to is infinitive marker while the latter preposition.
I mean the semantic difference.

What's the trick to getting this chair to fold up?
On page 21, some tricks to speed up your beauty routine.
TRICK meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary


texts: Is this construction  grammatically permissible?

texts:
I'll go you three dollars that the horse is going to win the race.

I made this sentence myself.
My gut is telling me there's no problem in grammar and in this case "go" can be meant for "bet" or "wager".
If my sentence doesn't sound natural or isn't grammatically correct, could you tell me the reason why?


texts: I (liked / would like / would have liked) to laugh, but I didn’t dare

texts:
What is the semantic difference between the following examples:

1.  I liked to laugh, but I didn't dare.
2. I would like to laugh, but I didn't dare.
3. I would have liked to laugh, but I didn't dare.

Here's an example; two friends find each other after 15 years and 'A' begins to relate a story to 'B':

Person A) Do you remember that day in the high school when we were playing the final football match in the yard; I passed to that bully guy Andrei who was playing in your team?  The goalkeeper wasn't in the goal and the goal was empty, but Andrei couldn't score the goal (and person 'A' laughs.)
Person B) laughs, then says:
1. Yea, heh, you see, I liked to laugh, but I didn't dare.
2. Yea, heh, you see, I would like to laugh, but I didn't dare.
3. Yea, heh, you see, I would have liked to laugh, but I didn't dare.


texts: How to ask for email response in very kind way

texts:
I am writing an email to my work team. I am sharing with them a new suggestion. I would like to have their opinion on this new idea. Therefore, I would like to write a nice sentence asking for their response.

Here is my try

I would be very happy to hear from you about this point.


texts:
Actually I want to narrate my friend about what Jhon said to me.

Timing: Jhon and I talked yesterday, and know I am explaining this to my friend.

What I have to say to my friend "What did he say is" OR "What did he say was"


texts:
For a grammatically correct construction, is the use of the article "a" unnecessary in the following clause, between "in" and "coastal", and of the "an" before "estuarine"?

  Oil spill simulations and susceptibility in coastal and estuarine
  areas.


texts: Word for "money contributed monthly by a group of people so that each month one collects the total sum"

texts: I don't know if this culture exists in English speaking countries, but in my country a group of people would contribute a set sum of money every month so that each one of the group receives the total sum of the group's contributions. This is some kind of a lending system to which people resort so they can use the money collected to get married or buy a car or similar things. Is there a word for this?


texts:
I hear word "creepy" a lot in many situations but is it always including a scared feeling?

For example when people are watching horror movies, or dolls which seems scary, people say creepy!

I think it's like eerie, Feeling scared because maybe ghost or mystery things happen.

But when people saw stalker, or acting weird, or weird cartoon but not like scary like spooky way, I hear they say "creepy".

In my language in this situation we use words maybe like "yuck!" "Gross"  in english. We feel unpleasant and nausea, making us feel sick about the stalker, weird people, cartoons but not including scary feeling.

But when in english people say "creepy" about stalker, weird people, cartoons, does it include a scary feeling? Or is it more just like "yuck! Makes me feel sick!" nuance?


texts:
As part of his academic activities, he conducted research focused on
  the design, implementation and operation of novel algorithms using
  artificial intelligence. Within the framework of his research he
  developed two solutions and presented result in his two scientific
  publications.

Is it correct to use ‘As part of' in this way?


texts: Is it correct to write "is not focus on"?

texts:
I've read the sentence:

  The board of my company is not focus on employees

and I am wondering if it is correct.

I'd rather write "is not focused on" or "is not focusing on".

I do not find any case where "is not focus" is correct.


texts: Is it common to omit "it's" in spoken American?

texts:
From a tutorial

  it's just time to move on

It sounds like "it's" is completely omitted. Is it common in spoken American?


texts: I am struggling to understand perfect tenses. Please help me understand those sentences

texts:
I wanted to say this:

  When I listen to a song that I have been listening to in the past I usually remember what I have been doing while I have been listening to it before.

Is that sentence correct? Have I made any mistakes with the perfect tenses?

And also:

  I couldn't open the door because I brought the wrong key.

or is that:

  I couldn't open the door because I have brought the wrong key.

I just get confused with the perfect tenses. I am waiting for you answers.


texts: What is the meaning of "it's just that" in this video?

texts:
https://youtu.be/T_MUer2ojV4

At 02:41
She says

  It's just that I'm an artist
  this is not what I'm supposed to be doing

What does that mean?


texts: Wondering if the two sentences I made are correct grammatically

texts:
I'll make it office around 11:30 .
( this is a promice meaning that I will arrive / I will show up around 11:30 in/at the office. )

..............

He wouldn't have jumped down your throat if you had not made it office late.

I am sure they seem wordy. But I need to know if my perception of the similar text have been read today is correct or not.


texts: Vocabulary in Context for the word frivolous

texts:
In the following article published in 1997, the author considers the possible ramifications of a future where human cloning is a reality.

Excerpt from passage from Princeton Review SAT Practice

  There are other possibilities we could spin out. Suppose a couple wants a 'designer child" a clone of Cindy Crawford and Elizabeth Taylor-because they want a daughter who will grow up to be as attractive as those women. Indeed, suppose someone wants a clone, never mind of whom, simply to enjoy the notoriety of having one. We cannot rule out such cases as impossible. Some people produce children for all sorts of ***frivolous*** or contemptible reasons. But we remember that cloning is not as easy as going to a video store. given the physical and emotional burdens that cloning would involve, it is likely that such cases would be extremely rare.

Frivolous most nearly means

A. extravagant

B. Infamous

C. shameful

D. trivial

E. unique

I see how E and A can be wrong. The correct answer is D. I can't choose between B,C, and D.
Why is D. correct?


texts:
If you don't tell the truth, you will be beaten.

If this sentence is to be changed by using 'either … or', which one is correct?

  Either tell the truth or you will be beaten.
  Either you tell the truth or you will be beaten.


texts: What do you call a chain of still images

texts:
According to this Wikipedia entry, a video is the display of moving visual media.
If so, then what do you call a chain of still images that when you press the 'play' button, it plays automatically (like a video)? My reasoning is that those picture are not moving, just switching image to image.


texts: Which article is it correct to use before a noun that is modified by "called"?

texts:
Do I have to use a or the in the following sentences?

  Kate is from a/the big city called New-York.

  The man is holding a/the thing called a table.


texts:
I know some phrases can make up compound adjectives. But how can I tell if it is an adjective or not?
Examples:

  I threw away the worn-out socks. (compound adjective)
  I put the socks worn out on the table. (participle phrase)
  These socks are worn out. (here, I have no idea...)
  Something worn out deserve to be thrown away. (not sure...)

  Doctors have evaluated the health of a given at-risk population. (compound adjective)
  Police took away the children at risk. (preposition phrase)
  These people are at risk.  We should help anybody at risk. (Here, I have no idea...)


texts: When should we use present perfect tense

texts:
I am a English Learner. I am very bad regarding tense. Somewhere in the youtube  in the comment section I got a comment about a topic How many match box have you used? . As per my knowledge the question asked depend upon Present perfect tense.

As per the definition  of Present perfect tense , present perfect tense use when the activity which occur in the past but the the timeline is unknown.

So my question is that can we represent the above question in simple past tense? Is it necessary that always ask question in present perfect tense?


texts:
about
  coat

So, "-əʊ" (The Diphthong) sounds like "-oʊ" in American English,

yet "-ə" sounds very far from "ɔː" or "ɒ"

"-əʊ" has nothing to do with schwa?


texts: Can the structure "somebody doing" replace a clause?

texts:
Consider the situation. A soldier returns home safe and sound from war. And his mother says

  It is such a blessing for him to come back safe!

It is grammatically correct to change this to

  Him coming back safe is such a blessing!

update: I apologize if I gave a bad example to describe the question. An answer pointed out that this is more of a matter of meaning than of grammar. However, that is not what I had intended to ask. Hopefully this new example will sound better.

  It is unacceptable for this information to be leaked.

It is grammatical to change it to

  This information getting leaked is unacceptable.


texts:
Which one of those is correct grammatically? I

  We evaluate 1000 student result

Or

  We evaluate 1000 student results

Or

  We evaluate 1000 students' results


texts: Which sentence is more appropriate to express my idea?

texts:
If I want to express that I practiced my spoken English every day last summer, which of the following sentences is more appropriate?

  I practiced my spoken English throughout last summer.
  I was practicing my spoken English throughout last summer.
  I had been practicing my spoken English throughout last summer.

I though the 3rd one is probably the most proper one, but I'm not 100% sure.


texts:
We can say "They are Americans" but "They are English people".

Can we say "They are Englishes"?


texts:
For the way in which he spoke to me the last time, I will not listen to him anymore.

Is this idiomatic? Or should I formulate it as "By the way in which..." or rather simply "The way in which..."