texts:
Examples:

  Order Chinese.
  Do you eat Chinese?

Does the word Chinese when used in the context of ordering food mean Chinese food?


texts:
His skin color turns slight pinkish.
His skin color turns slightly pinkish.
His skin color turns light pinkish.
His skin color turns a little pinkish.
His skin color turns little pinkish.

Which one of these is correct?


texts:
In the sentence:

'He sat FACING THE WALL', is 'facing the wall' a present participle phrase? It is stated in numerous grammar articles from reliable sites that participle phrases must always act as adjectives, adding description to the sentence. For examples, 'Facing the wall, he thought about what he has done wrong.' Here it is used as an adjectival phrase to describe what the person was doing.

However, I believe 'facing the wall' in my example would clearly make more sense if you think of it as an adverbial phrase that modifies the past tense of 'sit'. If so, can it be counted as an exception? Or perhaps it's not a participle phrase but something else entirely. Please elaborate on your answer so that it can be as helpful as possible for future reference. It would be greatly appreciated if you can provide links/citations  in your answer.

Many thanks in advance.


texts: Demonstrative pronouns with abstract nouns

texts:
What's the difference between

Grown-ups can't make drama. If they do "this", they will be like a child

And

Grown-ups can't make drama. If they do "that", they'll be like a child

How can I use these pronouns to replace the abstract nouns?


texts: Can you analyse this long weird structure please?

texts:
A lot of people who have up until now been spending money having a good time now need to be more careful with their money.

Can you break these long sentence to its components and analyse the semantic and syntax of it please?


texts: Why "was" not "were" in "Nearly £20 was taken from my bank account"

texts:
I've always said "$100 were taken" not "$100 was taken" because I thought $100 is plural. Could you explain why "was" not "were"? Any other helpful notes about the issue would be appreciated.

  Nearly £20 was taken from my bank account


texts:
I was wondering if you could help me with this info.

I'm not sure which one is correct between these two. Or if they are both correct, and how can I explain the difference.

They are getting married/ They are going to get married.

Thank you very much.


texts: Northern Europe equals Nordic countries, what about other position?

texts:
I just learned the word nordic from the Economist and am wondering what about other positions?

Could someone help me?

I can't find those words.

I googled it and could only find words like Eastern, Western, Southern Europe, which I already knew.

Is there a one word substitution for each of these words like Nordic to Northern Europe?
Thank you!


texts: You already have stopped smoking by now(phrase)

texts:
Let's say you have a friend who can't stop smoking cigarette, and you don't believe him saying that he is concern about his health. And you say:

  "If you were really concern about your health, basically, you already have stopped smoking by now."

I think this is ungrammatical, is there any correct phrase to express what I am trying to say?


texts: Is it correct to ask "How does that has anything to do with me?"

texts:
I am having a doubt about whether these questions are correctly phrased or not:

  How does that has anything to do with me?
  How does that had anything to do with me?
  What does that has anything to do with me?

Did I phrase it correctly?


texts:
I wrote the sentence

  Looking to develop your skills?

Can I change this sentence into the below?

  Looking for develping your skills?

or

  Looking for development of your skills?


texts:
I was reading How to Solve It by George Polya when the sentence bellow confused me:

  It may happen that a student hits upon an exceptionally bright idea
  and jumping all preparations blurts out with the solution.

I don't understand the function of the three words in bold, and it seems that that three words just mess up the whole sentence.

I thought I am missing something.


texts: Difference Between Was taken Place & Took Place

texts:
When to use Was Taken and Took Place in Sentence? Are both the versions correct?

a) The Accident was taken place in our neighborhood.

b) The Accident took place in our neighborhood.

for me,

1) Both the sentences gives same information about past accident.

2) Sentence a) is Passive voice and sentence b) is Active voice.

3) To take is an intransitive verb which need subject to do it. Accident can not be taken place by its own some one has to do accident hence for me sentence b) is incorrect.

4) But Sentence b) can also be ordinary version of sentence. Which gives Idea about past accident without any details like who did it, how it happened etc.

Please help,

Additional explanation for bounty

Can we use Taken Place as an Past Participle in my above given example?.
e.g.

Accident (which) was taken place in our neighborhood. In which 3 people were killed.

Through Passive voice we can define subject. In my example Accident is subject and I am defining it by giving additional information of like when it taken place, How many people were killed, accident occurred in past. ....etc.


texts:
I get stuck with this word combination and can't understand the meaning of the word associate in this context:

  The BBC SO is the associate orchestra of the Barbican Centre in London, where it gives an annual season of concerts.


texts: What is the connotation of "up" in phrases like "eat up" and "wait up"?

texts: What do you feel "up" in "eat up" and "wait up" indicates? Does it sound like "be quick" (eat up) or "I'll be quick" (wait up)?


texts:
Should "the" be written before the word "invoice" in the following sentence?

  "I have attached the translation and invoice."


texts: The definite article before titles (tsar)

texts: In my History book, wherever there is written about the monarch of Russia 'Tsar Nicholas II', they write 'the Tsar'. Why is 'the' used before a person's name? And even if it is, then why isn't the 'T' capital?


texts:
I can sing along to a love songs and not be singing them to him.

If separated into two sentences, how is the second one like?
I cannot be singing them to him?

Instead of using "be singing" can this go like this too - and not sing them to him?


texts: I would like to know if I should use "ran" or "run"

texts: I would like to post in my students play yard, "Only go down the slides, they were not designed to be run/ran up and if this action continues they will break".


texts:
When I see some complicated examples including this structure , I have difficulty to understand them.

How can use which and who after the prepositions?

Could you give me some examples in order to figure out the essence of the structure?


texts: Could have already been vs. could have been... already

texts:
Let's say you have watched a footage about aliens. It was compelling, but you don't believe that it was a real video of aliens, and you say:

  Nah, if that is true, it could have already been on the news.

Or

  Nah, if that is true, it could have been on the news already.

Are they both correct as for the placement of adverbs.


texts: Asking about a trip: simple past or present perfect?

texts:
Imagine the situation that someone just came back from a trip and you want to ask him about it. What would you say?

  Did you have a good time?

  Have you had a good time?


texts:
For this sentence "I know about what we need."

I don't understand why we use "what" we need.

What is the function of  "what" ?

Is it a pronoun?

Can we use "that" instead of "what"?

Could you please explain it to me?

And could you give me some examples about using clause after preposition?


texts: Conjugating the present simple with negation

texts:
Suppose I am in a meeting now and I am a crew leader for a civil crew. My crew goes to the site at 6 am from the office, and they come to the room directly at 5 pm after finishing the job. They do not come to the office. In the meeting, which sentence should I use?

  Our crew  go to site at 6 am  and they not come office after finishing the job

or

  Our crew go to site at 6 o clock and they do not come Office after finishing the job


texts:
Is "(be) sorry to the people" natural in English? Google shows that more natural form is "say sorry to x". For "be sorry to x", I am not sure whether it is sufficiently natural in English.

To Oxfam supporters, friends and volunteers, we are so sorry for the appalling behaviour that happened in our name. More than anything, we are sorry to the people of Haiti and other places where the conduct of Oxfam staff has been so reprehensible.

Source: Bath Chronicle (UK)


texts: What are the synonymous words of material(as a person with a specified quality or suitability)

texts: I always have this awkward moment, I saw one example sentence on online dictionary and I forgot the word, the sentence was about: I'm not the good material for that. Thus I'm asking is there anything word means the same as Material in this context?


texts: "within 1 to 2 weeks" vs "in 1 or 2 weeks"

texts:
1.These symptoms  resolve  completely within  1  to  2  weeks.

  2.These symptoms  resolve  completely  in  1  or  2  weeks.

I wanted to know whether the duration phrase "within 1 to 2 weeks" and " in 1 or 2 weeks" are the same.


texts:
Can I say:

  I shall do it

meaning that I am 100% it will happen?

Then, if yes, we have such a scene. I am football player and I am in front of my trainer. He is saying "You shall win!" meaning that he is 100% sure I will win. Can I say:

  Shall I win?

meaning that is it really 100% that I will win?

If yes, we have a problem because

Shall I win

has two variants of understanding:

  Shall I win = Should I win

  Shall I win = Is it really 100% that I will win?

Am I right and what do yuo think about it?


texts: Is it a "visit by someone" or "from someone" when they visit?

texts:
Which preposition should I use?

My college friends visited me at my new apartment and we took some pictures of the place. I wanted to create an album in Facebook but I don't know which one is the correct title to use.

  A visit by my college friends
  A visit from my college friends


texts:
Which sentence is correct? The book suggests that "C" is the correct answer, but somehow I feel all three sentences are correct too. Any help?

a)The firefighters save the people from the fire.
b)The firefighters save people from the fire.
c)The firefighters save people from fire.


texts:
What would be a good word to fit in this sentence:

  I have this idea that I've been [...] for some time now.

Somehow, "thinking about" doesn't seem like a good choice here. I'm looking for a word that would mean something like "processing in my mind".


texts: Fill the gap: "I wish I ... get up early every morning!"

texts:
Can anyone help me fill the gap in this sentence:

  I wish I ... get up early every morning!

Is this:

A) didn't have to
B) must not
C) hadn't
D) wouldn't have to

I'm not native so I have no idea to solve this problem. I already have tried by translate to my native language so I think this is B. But that's all I can do.
I'm waiting for rigorous explanation.


texts:
I don't understand the use of "from" here.  In the past, she prosecuted crimes like theft and assault, which is easy to understand. But the structure of the sentence seems to mean "prosecuted...from the claims of sweeping fraud", which is not understandable to me.
What does "from" mean here?  It appears to have some sense of "just like" - But I am simply guessing, not sure of it.

Jenna Ellis broke into the legal profession in 2012 as a deputy district attorney in Weld County, Colo., a largely rural area that would soon make headlines for a failed attempt to secede from the rest of the state because some residents resented the growing dominance of more liberal communities to the south like Denver. Ms. Ellis prosecuted crimes like theft and assault, felonies of a different magnitude from the claims of sweeping fraud and criminal conspiracy she makes today as a top lawyer to President Trump.

Source: NYTimes


texts: Difficult to watch vs difficult in watching

texts:
I know Argentina is a great team but I am sure even Argentina fans found it difficult to watch their defenders defend yesterday.

Vs

  I know Argentina is a great team but I am sure even Argentina fans found it difficult in watching their defenders defend yesterday.

Is difficult + gerund form correct? Or should difficult always be followed by infinitives?


texts:
What are the differences between “Do you think you could” and “Could you”?

Is there a difference in the tone? What is the difference in their meanings?


texts: The Eisenberger team found that emotional pain activates the opposing reactions of these areas activate in exactly the same way.


texts: Are there omissions of and or to, or are they bare infinitivals?

texts:
"I'll run go get a taxi" (about.com)

This construction is called as serial verb one by about.com and Prof. John Lawler. While it is as catenative verbs construction by wictionry.org and CGEL: “
catenative verbs are verbs which can be followed directly by another verb — variously in the to-infinitive, bare infinitive or present participle/gerund forms. (wictionary.org)”; “which take non-finite complements (CGEL,p.104)”.

There being two ways of seeing the construction, it’s not clear whether it can be understood as ‘I’ll run and go and get a taxi’ or ‘I’ll run (to) go (to) get a taxi’. I guess there isn’t that big difference between the two. For to-infinitvals can denote sequential or simultaneous occurrence of the actions or the result of previous action - or the effect of switching scenes: I run, click, going, click, getting a taxi.

What I wanted to know is which one –– omission of and (conjunction), or omission of to (subordinator) or bare infinitival –– you natives have in your mind when you say them.


texts: What's meant here by "have turned for consolation to it"?

texts:
In "The Chief Mourner of Marne" by G. K. Chesterton, Father Brown was talking to an old general about James Mair:

“First, it was stated that James Mair was engaged to be married, but somehow became unattached again after the death of Maurice Mair. Why should an honourable man break off his engagement merely because he was depressed by the death of a third party? He’s much more likely to have turned for consolation to it; but, anyhow, he was bound in decency to go through with it.”

It seems that the bolded "it" meant "completing the marriage"?
So does "have turned for consolation to it" mean "have put it off for consolation"? As I don't find the meanings of "turn to" any meaning similar to "put off"!


texts:
I automatically use the preposition on after the words focus or emphasis. However, I've recently come across several instances of them being followed by in, such as in the following examples:

  She graduated with a degree in studio art, with a focus in printmaking.

or

  He graduated with a degree in creative writing, with emphasis in fiction.

A quick Google search shows that this is common. I'm not entirely convinced however, and I can't seem to find anything to support the use of in in dictionaries or style guides. Any help?


texts: Does "duct open to the wall of the room" make sense?

texts:
Consider:

  The outside air is introduced into the house through the duct that connects the inside and outside of the house.

I rewrote this more specifically as follows:

  The duct is open/exposed to the inside and outside walls of the
  house.

I would like to know which of "open" and "exposed" makes sense or is better.


texts:
1/2 cup of spinach is "one-half cup" of spinach

1/3 is "one-third"

But what do you say for 3/4 and 3/5?


texts:
What's the difference between 'lead', 'cable' and 'wire'?

And which of these words is more commonly used for, say, household appliances or office equipment?


texts: What do we call the plastic that has bubbles on it?

texts:
As a child, I used to burst the bubbles on this thing:

What do we call this thing in English? And how can we express the action of bursting bubbles on it (I mean the verb or phrase that we can use with this thing)?


texts: Difference between travel and travelling

texts:
In the following two sentences which one is more appropriate

  The B109 funds are intended to offset the loss of wages due to TB, and to help with (both travelling and nutrition)

  The B109 funds are intended to offset the loss of wages due to TB, and to help with (both travel and nutrition)

Travel and traveling both are noun and refer to the activity of travelling so I don't see any deiiference


texts:
According to Cambridge dictionary, any can mean more than one:

  Any or every?

  We use any and every to talk about the total numbers of things in a group. Their meanings are not exactly the same:

  Any doctor can prescribe medicine. (or Every doctor can …)

  Every always refers to the total number of something. Any refers to one, several or all of a total number. We use every not any with singular countable nouns when we mean ‘each individual member of a group of something’.

Then, can I consider "take any book you want" means I can get more than one book?


texts: Do native speakers read "seemed to" omit the "ed"?

texts:
sound example

I have heard many times of the omitting of the "ed".
But someone suggested that it should never omit the ed.


texts: Adjective clauses, phrases and appositives

texts: I know we can reduce adjective clause to adjective phrase. We are able to make appositives when it is possible. Although I have learnt some materials about it, I haven't seen examples with "where" and "when" yet. I mean, is it possible to find appositives or adjective phrases with "where" or "when"? As far as I suppose, adjective clauses with them are some kind of "special" clauses.


texts:
You're pulling the varnish right off the walnut.

I guess right off means from. Is it right? Or what does that mean, please?

You're pulling the varnish from the walnut?


texts:
She looked the epitome of elegance and good taste.

I saw this single sentence in a dictionary and feel a confusion over the meaning of the verb "look" here. It would help me to guess the meaning if I could see it in a context but like this, it makes me wonder if it means "She seemed like the epitome of..." or "She looked at -another person who was- the epitome of..."
I feel for it to convey the second meaning it should come with the preposition "at" after it but I'm not sure if this is mandatory. So I'm confused,...


texts: Is it correct to use “polymerase chain reaction” without "the" definite article?

texts:
After all, numerous kinds reactions are known and PCR is just one of them.
For example, we say: “the Arbuzov reaction”, “the reaction between baking soda and vinegar” etc. Moreover, scholarly articles frequently use “the polymerase chain reaction”:

https://scholar.google.com.ua/scholar?q=the+polymerase+chain+reaction&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart.

However, there are many instances when “polymerase chain reaction” is used without article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymerase_chain_reaction

https://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/polymerase-chain-reaction-pcr-110/

Is the latter usage idiomatic? Can "PCR" be treated as a name for some reason? Is there any difference between the two usages?


texts: What is the difference in would have vs would have had

texts:
I knew i would have to do this

I would have had a good time if you came in the party

Both the sentences above sound correct
But i want some more examples


texts: "Why learn English", "Why to learn English", "Why learning English"?

texts:
If I am writing an essay to explain why we should learn English, which of the following sentences is the best to be used as a title?

1. Why learn English

2. Why to learn English

3. Why learning English


texts: Does"cookie-cut" has other meaning except the one related to cookie and pastry?

texts:
What does cookie-cut mean here? What is he trying to say?

  I think you can either look for forms, you can do specific reading
     for them, or the forms can be demanded by what you want to say. And
     when the material in poetry seems under almost unbearable pressure
     you wonder whether the form hasn’t cookie-cut what the poet
     wanted to say. But you chose the couplet, didn’t you, and some of
     your freest passages are in couplets.

From "Robert Lowell, The Art of Poetry No. 3"


texts:
Here are two questions from Quora:

  1) How fast does an airliner reach an altitude of 500m after it starts to take off?

  2) What is the average time for an airplane to reach the altitude of 30,000 feet?

What is the correct usage? Is there any difference? Why not use “zero article”?


texts:
The man regarding whom we didn't know how many times he had been divorced left the room.

Is the above sentence grammatical?
We didn't know how many times one of the men present had been divorced. That man left the room. The man regarding whom we didn't know how many times he had been divorced left the room.


texts:
Suppose a city is building 5G infrastructure, something like base station. There are three manufacturers selling those devices. The mayor of the city has not decided to choose which manufacturer.

Mark, the CEO of one of the manufacturers is trying to make friends with the mayor.

Obviously, making friends is not the actual aim of Mark and is just the means of selling devices to the city, which is Mark's true purpose.

Is there any adjectives (phrases) to describe Mark? To achieve the goal, he is willing to use anything, even friendship.


texts:
I convinced him that it was a good book so he would buy it. When he did, I borrowed it from him and read it.

  a. So you made him buy the book so you could read it?

  b. So you had him buy the book so you could read it?

  c. So you got him to buy the book so you could read it?

Which of the sentences (a), (b) and (c) could be used in this context?

I am simply convincing someone to buy a book, which he might or might not need.

Many thanks


texts:
I'm looking for a cap of which color is pink.

Someone told me that it is an ungrammatical sentence because after "of which" we always use "the".

So,

  I'm looking for a cap of which the color is pink.

would be right.

Is that true? Are there any examples about don't use "the" after "of which"?


texts:
Can the preposition 'about' be used before numbers like one or two?

Example 1:

  It employs about one contractual workers in the business.

Can the preposition 'about' be used before a range of numbers like one to two?

Example 2:

  It employs about one to two contractual workers in the business.


texts: How to specify that "all dates" are included in a mentioned period of time?

texts:
When I'd like to specify dates to do some task, how can I express that the last date should be included in the provided period?

For example:

  From 5th to 7th March

Meaning March 5th, March 6th and March 7th.


texts: Every half + time noun - no indefinite particle?

texts:
In most contexts, 'half' is followed by an article or pronoun when used as a predeterminer. However, the inclusion of 'a' or 'an' in the structure "every half ..." is considered grammatically incorrect. To clarify, we would naturally say:

It reappears every half second.

as opposed to 'every half a second'.

Why is this the case? Why is the indefinite article not required in the noun phrase above?

The same goes for other noun of duration such as hour and minute (although we are more likely to say every 30 minutes and every 30 seconds respectively.)

If possible, please provide a link to go with your answer.
Many thanks in advance.


texts:
The bus driver looks back and sees/to see two men fight at the back of the bus. The bus driver pulls to a stop and goes to pull them apart. As the men have calmed, the bus driver goes back behind the wheel and drives on. But seconds later he hears something. He looks back and sees/to see the two men are fighting again.

When is it okay to use to see?


texts:
This is going to be a two-part question.

1.It's been a long time since I've seen him.

It's been a long time since I last saw him. (or ..since the last time I saw him)

Do the above sentences mean the same thing?

It'd been a long time since I last saw him.

It'd been a long time since I'd last seen him.

Do both the sentences, again, mean the same thing?

When we're using the past perfect, do we keep the entire thing in harmony, or could move the next tense to the simple past? Like, "I hadn't seen him since we were in school together.", or should it "I hadn't seen him since we'd been in school."


texts: want to learn new vocabularies which mean "the famous product of a region"

texts:
Given that there are three big cities A, B, and C in Country Z.
People in city A raise some special crops for the making breads, "Golden crown". "Golden crown" are well-known in this city only, no one can find these breads in cities B and C.
Given that situation, I want to learn some new vocabularies that have same meaning as "the famous product of a region".
Is it speciality?


texts: What is difference between Put the glasses on the table and Put the glasses out on the table?


texts: I have read a sentence in a newspaper "A coyote management program in place and have done extensive outreach.”

texts:
I have read a sentence in a newspaper.

  The city manager tells Eyewitness News that they have a coyote
  management program in place and have done extensive outreach.

But if I edit out the full grammatical sentence:

  The city manager tells Eyewitness News that they have a coyote
  management program in place and have done to be extensive to
  outreach it.

Does it still work?


texts:
Context from an article: "People here are really fat. It's because parents here give mobile phones to young kids. I think ..

  If they did not do it, kids would be of normal weight
  If they had not done it, kids would be of normal weight
  If they had not done it, kids would have been of normal weight

I can't decide which of the above is/are right continuation(s).


texts: How to politely ask someone to repeat what they said after they've already repeated it once?

texts:
If you do not clearly hear what another person said, you can say "Excuse me" or "Pardon me" to ask them to repeat it politely.

But if you still don't get it, what should you say to ask them to repeat it again? Will a native speaker consider it rude?


texts: 'Sometimes' & 'However' at the beginning or in the middle of sentences

texts:
Which one would you prefer and when?

  You can go there sometimes and try out few things.

  Sometimes, you can go there and try out few things.

Similarly, I'm having trouble understanding the usage place of 'however'. Almost always (if not always), I see it being used in the middle but in my Math textbooks, I see sentence begun with 'however' many a times.


texts: Can you please help me understand the phrase "her way out of a paper bag"?

texts:
Happy New Year!
I am learning English watching shows. One of them is Fear the Walking Dead.
Here is a quote from subtitles of first session part one, a scene where Maddy is talking to Artie somewhere at begining:

  Travis stayed, so Stacy's gonne take his classes. Ah, well, Stacy
  can't teach her way out of a paper bag.

I do not clearly understand second sentence. What is "her way out of a paper bag"? Could you please rephrase in more simple way?


texts:
How beautiful a street is in winter! It is at once revealed and obscured. Here vaguely one can trace symmetrical straight avenues of doors and windows; here under the lamps are floating islands of pale light through which pass quickly bright men and women, who, for all their poverty and shabbiness, wear a certain look of unreality, an air of triumph, as if they had given life the slip, so that life, deceived of her prey, blunders on without them.

What is the meaning of “deceived of her prey”? Is it the same as “deceived by her prey”?
I can’t find the usage of “deceived of” in dictionary.


texts:
I can't understand why it's present continuous in this sentence:

  I never call my friends if I'm driving a car

Why we can't just say - if I drive a car? what's the difference?


texts:
I can't remember ( who, whom ) it was.

This is a very common doubt. After searching for long I have understood that in the most simplest way when we can replace the word with 'him' we use 'whom'. When we can replace with 'he' we use 'who'. Using that concept I can write it

I can't remember him. It was him. ---> we will use 'whom'. Is this thought process grammatically correct?


texts: "As follows": Is "follow" here a verb or something else?

texts:
I failed to understand the grammatical structure in this pattern.

  The result is shown as follows:

  [Result]

Is follow here a verb or something else? I don't know whether as do(es) is grammatically valid or not.


texts:
Is it correct to put the adverbial phrase of place at the beginning of a sentence? For example:

In the center of the city there is a street where there are a lot of shops.


texts: "I start making breakfast at 7" vs "I make breakfast at 7"

texts:
Tell me please if there is any difference between the following sentences.

  Usually I start making breakfast at 7 o'clock.

  Usually I make breakfast at 7 o'clock.

For that matter, is there any difference between

  I finished making breakfast at 8

and

  I made breakfast at 8?

If there aren't and differences, then which ones are more common?


texts: Is "felt in the way" an idiomatic expression or it has a literal meaning?

texts:
The part that is highlighted is actually hard to understand and it is not something I could find in a dictionary. Can you help me paraphrasing that, please? And provide some similar example. Thank you.

...I didn’t know which was worse—the idea of my father’s remarrying for love or of his actively seeking out a stranger for companionship. My parents had had an arranged marriage, but there was a touch of romance about it, too, my father seeing my mother for the first time at a wedding and being so attracted that he had asked, the following week, for her hand. They had always been affectionate with each other, but it wasn’t until her illness that he seemed fully, recklessly, to fall in love with her, so that I was witness to a courtship that ought to have faded before I was born. He doted on her then, arriving home at our Bombay flat with flowers, lingering in bed with her in the mornings, going in late to work, wanting to be alone with her to the point where I, a teen-ager, felt in the way. “I thought,” he continued, “since your bedroom is a good size, of putting the girls together there. Would you mind terribly staying in the guest room when you visit, Kaushik? Most of your things are with you now anyway. It is just a matter of where to sleep.


texts: formal way to expressing check out some place

texts:
I am applying for a travel visa to Japan. I needed to fill out a form as the schedule of stay. On a specific date, I am supposed to say which tourist attractions and what sightseeing I will be doing when I stay there.

I thought I would use the word "check out" as in I would check out some places or tourist attractions. But the word is rather informal. Can you guys suggest some other more formal words?

Also how should I talk about my schedule colloquially outside of "I will check out xxx place"?

Thanks


texts:
If I'm not wrong, the sentence

"I want to help you with XYZ."

means, you have a problem XYZ and I am willing to help you solve that problem of yours. Right?

Now, when I have certain expertise and I want to help you solve your problem using my expertise, how do I put the whole thing in a sentence properly?

"I want to help you with my expertise." doesn't sound right.


texts:
As we know, comparatives compare two things. So, for example, we say that one thing is larger or more temperate than another thing.
Now, let us consider the following examples.

A. The African elephant has bigger ears than the Indian elephant.
B. The African elephant has more big ears than the Indian elephant.

If A is "standard" English, why isn't B acceptable English? Is there a grammatical rule that impedes the more big comparative in B?
If this rule exists, why doesn't that apply to "He is more temperate than Carlo, and he chooses words carefully."—which is "standard" and acceptable English?


texts: does it make sense to ask: Who did you make cry?

texts:
I want to ask the following

  Who is the person that you made cry?

It sounds a bit awkward to ask like this

  Who did you make cry?

Would it be correct?


texts: A word or phrase that describes I'm going with a girl for a serious relationship

texts:
I'm seeking a word or phrase which implies in the last few days I have a girl, but she's not a friend and she's not a girlfriend yet, we go together in order to see the possibility of being together in a relationship.

In my language, we say something that its translation is: "We are going out together in the last couple of days".

What is the parallel word/s or phrase in English?


texts:
But the boy was trying to fight off the dementors, even though Harry could see their cold, draining power starting to affect him. The crowd was jeering, some of them on their feet, as the woman swept out of the dungeon, and the boy continued to struggle.

  “I'm your son!” he screamed up at Crouch. “I'm your son!”

  “You are no son of mine!” bellowed Mr. Crouch, his eyes bulging
  suddenly. “I have no son!”

  The wispy witch beside him gave a great gasp and slumped in her seat.
  She had fainted. Crouch appeared not to have noticed.

  “Take them away!” Crouch roared at the dementors, spit flying from his
  mouth. “Take them away, and may they rot there!”

What does "may they rot there" mean? Is it let them rot in the prison Azkaban?

-- From Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire


texts: Question about a substitution for the word "whose" in this context

texts:
I wonder why the writer did not use the word "his" instead of "whose"  in the context below.

  Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Ma said that Taiwan would suffer economically if it did not sign the agreement with its biggest export destination, China. "I tell you once again, with a responsible attitude, that this is completely for the sake of Taiwan's economic future," said Ma, under whose rule since 2008 Taiwan has signed a series of landmark trade and economic agreements with China. (Source)


texts: "I do not have any time to lose" vs "I do not have time to lose"

texts:
I saw these two sentences reading books or articles.
Is there a difference of meaning between them?
Thanks.


texts: what does mean by "getting kicked in the head"?

texts:
the context as blow:

  Since my mom taught there, I would no longer have to ride the bus with a bunch of rowdy boys and worry about stuff like getting kicked in the head. No kidding ----they actually accidentally kicked m in the head on day!

if this phrase "getting kicked in the head" can understand by literally, I get it, I thought it as a idiom before. besides, this sentence, "they actually accidentally kicked m in the head on day"! I can't follow it. in my opinion,in a normally condition, how could other people kick the author's head?


texts: A word for a study done by both experiment and simulation

texts: I want to know there is a word that describes an investigation that is done by experiment and simulation simultaneously. Is something like an experiment-simulation study correct and natural?


texts:
Will you turn on the radio, please?
Would you turn on the radio, please?
May you turn on the radio, please?

What are the differences between all these way of asking a request?


texts: what does "in that" mean in this sentence?

texts:
This experiment was critical in that the researchers synthesized ideas
  proposed by prior studies that had suggested evidence for a strength
  model of willpower.

Quote from "Early experimental evidence" in Ego_depletion of Wikipedia.

I feel quite confused about the meaning of this sentence. I hope to get some detailed explanations. Thanks!


texts: How to say that someone 'established' a job in company

texts:
I would like to say that someone's achievement is that he was the first person who was hired as a [role] - for example: Marketing Specialist - the first Marketing Specialist in the company ever.

It should mean that he had to establish the responsibilities for the role, set up new processes throughout the company and convince his colleagues that the role has a value for the company.

I would like to say it more simply than I described above.


texts:
I saw him smiling.

Here the participle smiling acts as an adjective, right? I think something is omitted in the sentence. The complete sentence is:

  I saw him who was smiling.

Is my concept correct?


texts:
I would appreciate it if you could let me know what phrase can ne used in the following blanks:

  1- Everybody is ................. their own actions. So you cannot blame others for what you did in the past.

a. in charge of
b. responsible for

  2- Please assume that you enter a department in an organization and need to know who is the manager or who is the responsible person in that section? What would you ask?

a. Who is in charge here?
b. Who is in charge of here?
c. Who is responsible here?
d. Who is responsible for here?

To me, they both mean the same thing in the second example, but I don't know what for the first sentence, I cannot for "in charge of"! I think for #1, the choice "b" and for the case #2, both of the options "a" and "c" work properly.

I have already read the similar thread.

Some useful links with similar topics:

https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/135186
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/to-be-in-charge-and-be-responsible.2598001/
https://www.italki.com/question/324140
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.englishforums.com/English/ChargeResponsible/nxnnj/amp.htm


texts: Are "used to" + {infinitive / gerund } equivalent?

texts:
In the phrase

  We’re all used to (some-special-word) to mean something different.

would it also be correct to switch the infinitive with the gerund form, resulting in:

  We’re all used to (some-special-word) meaning something different.


texts: What do we call the food seen in the picture? Is it bread, loaf, or dough?


texts:
Is any difference between words gossamer and web in their meaninig?

Which word better describes this image?


texts:
What's the idiomatic way of saying this? The issue with the sentence I am thinking about is that it's a case of wrong comparison. Look at the word after "than" and you will see that the things compared don't match, how can I rephrase this?

For example:

  You can write a better script than Game of Thrones Season 8.


texts: What does "to be presented with somebody in mind" mean?

texts:
Can anybody explain it for me, please? I used this link:
Dictionary.com

  Daily Table regularly carries staples like off-brand Cheerios for 63 cents, cans of tuna for 50 cents, and bananas at 29 cents a pound. Rauch, however, says customers can’t expect to get all of their staples at the store. You can’t find oils and spices, for example.
  Still, all of the options inside the store are informed by nutrition experts, Rauch says. Everything is presented with children and families in mind. And all of the products are priced low enough to accommodate recipients of food stamps.

  (Source)


texts:
One member of the parliament said that the fee will encourage people
  to use reusable cups. (Here)

Why is the future tense used in the object clause (instead of the future in the past form)?


texts:
I remember reading this many times, probably in novels, this form of asking someone to spar:

  ...to exchange some...

maybe something like, “Do want to exchange some blows?”

I'm not using it in a narrating form, like "disciples exchange some...” and wonder if there is something more appropriate.


texts:
The code review is a process of inspection of a software code in order to find flaws, errors, defects etc. During a code review an inspector writes remarks about what is wrong and should be fixed.

I need to write a list of tasks I did today. Would it be correct to name one of my tasks:

  Fixing code review remarks.

Actually I was fixing my code, not the remarks themselves.


texts:
I'm not exactly fluent in english, so I have a question about this sentence :

  Someone can give useful tips on how to improve one’s work.

Am I clear enough? Is the use of "one" OK in my sentence?

I thank you for your time and help, if you downvote me, please tell me why.


texts: How to distinguish country between the meanings of nation and countryside?

texts:
Which country do you come from?

What is the meaning? Which countryside do you come from? or Which nation do you come from?


texts: What's the phone used by police officers called?

texts:
On the internet, I found the terms "two-way radio" and just "radio", but the first sounds a bit too technical, and the second might be mistaken for the radio used to listen to music, mightn't it?

So, to make a couple of examples:

  The police officer took out his ... and called for backup.

  The police officer reported the scene on ...


texts:
Mum bought me a new swimming costume, an old-fashioned one in
  blue-and-white gingham with “support.” It was supposed to have a kind
  of 1950s look to it, the sort of thing Marilyn might have worn.

I can understand have a XXX look part but can't understand the to it part.

What's the function of to it and what does it refer to?

I searched some examples,

  At that moment, his face had an unexpectedly vulnerable look to it.

But I don't know if it is the same with my first sentence.


texts:
How can I write this sentence using other punctuations?
▪ Medically speaking, when a doctor vets you — or an animal — medical care is given.


texts: Are "could" and "would be able to" always interchangeable?

texts:
Example sentence:

  At first, I thought of writing a note. But then I figured that with a recording, you could/would be able to lie down and close your eyes.

Maybe I'm wrong but could sounds more "pushy" than would be able to. But again, maybe I'm wrong and they mean exactly the same?


texts:
Someone asked a guy about something and I think the answer would be true or false, or yes or no, but the guy said, "That's track."
What does it mean?


texts: About the sentence : She is circling a pen on a paper

texts:
I wrote this sentence:

  She is circling a pen on a paper.

I intend to mean:

  She is spinning a pen on a paper.

But using the dictionary, I can't find any definition that the verb 'circle' has a meaning of 'cause something to circle' in transitive form.

Can the verb in that sentence mean "to cause something to circle"?


texts: Using present perfect tense before "only when"

texts:
Is it grammatically wrong using present perfect tense before only when when it is placed in the middle of the sentence as follows:

  I  have bought my books only when I have been accepted to the college.


texts: Are these old-fashioned? 'drink of' and 'say of'

texts:
Once someone told me that "drink of the spring" sounded like 100 years ago and "drink from the spring" was better. The clause "drink of the spring" came from my dictionary but I found something seems to be the origin of it:

  “He who neglects to drink of the spring of experience is likely to die of thirst in the desert of ignorance.”― Li Bai (a Chinese poet who lived 701-762AD)

I don't know when this was translated but I can see the need for making it old-fashioned.

How about "say of"? I saw it in a translation by a native, the original is from a mid-19th century writing:

  People can say of me what they will. But the fact remains that no one knows what makes me tick like I do. -- Ryuichi Sakamoto, translated by Roger Pulvers

I also found "say of" used in Bible and in the American anthem, but is "say of" old-fashioned?

=addition=
Thanks for your help.:) I see that Oxford Learner's Dictionary has 'to say nothing of something' and 'no …/nothing to speak of' as idiom, so I got an impression that they are used only in negative form, but I also found 'speak of something' as idiom and I know 'Speaking of ~" is commonly used. So when it comes to 'say of' I assume it's not a matter of old-fashioned or up-to-date but it's a matter of preference or popularity..(?) oh, and it must be the matter of rhythm for an anthem.


texts:
"Well-dressed and travels a lot. Are you some kind of hot-shot business man or something?"

I see "hot-shot", "hotshot" an "hot shot" used. Are all of them correct?

Is "hot-shot" a natural adjective to put on a business man who is successful?

Would I sound jealous if I described someone as a "hot-shot business man"?


texts: Why is the verb singular in "What's in the bags?"

texts:
In a picture book, a boy carried two bags full of stuff he bought from a garage sale.  His mum asked,

  "What's in the bags?"

My question is why did they use "What's" instead of "What are"?  I think since it is apparent that there are quite a few items in the bag, "What are" should be the more appropriate expression.

I appreciate your answer.


texts: What do we call a person from a certain country?

texts:
Do we call a person from China "a Chinese"?

For example, can I say: I have a friend, he is a Chinese?


texts: Which one is correct? "to ask someone for a date" or "to ask someone on a date"?

texts:
It is not easy to decide for a non-native speaker, so I want to ask which one is the right one:

"To ask someone for a date" or "to ask someone on a date"?

Or are both of them correct?

Thanks


texts:
How can I tell someone to stay to the right? Or go to the right?

Should it be:

  Stay(go) as much as possible to the right/left.

  Stay(go) as far as possible to the right/left.

If none of the examples above are correct, could you please give me correct example or phrases that I can use?


texts:
I have a question

Which bus goes to the city? VS which bus does go to the city?

Which one is correct? I'm so confused


texts: What is the difference between "happy with something" and "happy about something"?

texts:
I saw these examples, but I still cannot figure out the difference. When should I use with and about with the word happy?

  happy with:
  Are you happy with this arrangement?

  happy about:
  I’m not very happy about the children being out so late.


texts:
It's hard to imagine now those big crowds lining up in the frigid cold eager for the change to work in a bustling factory for $5 a day.

I usually see line up used like this: somebody line somebody up,such as follows:

He lined us all up in the corridor.
The windows should be lined up with the door frame.

So I think, is it more appropriate to use the passive: to change lining up to lined up? Because those big crowds are lined up by somebody. Which is right? Thanks.


texts: What is the meaning of badge in this case?

texts:
What is the meaning of "badge" in this case? It is from the movie “Kill the Irishman”

  Danny Greene: Don't rock the boat, Joe. You got a nice car, a nice home. When it comes to pushing, I'm the wrong guy you want pushing back.

  Joe Manditski: Are you threatening me? 'Cause if there's a hint of that, badge or no badge, I will cut your heart out with a rusty butter knife and eat it while it's still beating.


texts:
At the restaurant where the food is served on time, the waiters work well together and hospitality increases, customers are pleased and the restaurant earns a good reputation. Conversely, at the restaurant where the food is not served on time, relationships therein are strained and arguments occur, customers become displeased with the service and it earns negative reviews.

I’m trying to learn the ‘rules’ for using commas. There are five commas in both these sentences. Please can you tell me why they have been used, if more could be added and if they could be replaced with another type of punctuation.

For example I know the first comma has been used because it comes after the introductory phrase.


texts:
Is there a topic covering the sentences' type? What about last one as well? As you see, "being" is used after preposition in lieu of am/is/are. How come?

Now, think about everything being recorded.
She was afraid of being late for Matins.
It was the idea of being deceived.
It has nothing to do with you being a woman.
No one knows how he escaped being dashed to pieces.


texts: What are the nuances in the meaning of the bolded sentence, if the word 'even' was moved?

texts:
I am translating the 2002 book, Phantom: Ein by Gen Urobuchi and co-written by the company REACTION from Japanese to English. I have already decided on which of the following two sentences I'm going to use for my translation, so this is not a question about translation. I'm asking more about the differences in the sentence nuance between the two variations of the bolded sentence in the provided context below.
Context: Two characters, Claudia and Scythe, are having a conversation about a third character. The following is the best English approximation I have made for the original text.

“……Isn’t your specialty brainwashing?” Claudia appears to interject with a polite murmur.

"Correct. It is perfect. Already my medical treatment by means of hypnotism and drugs should be complete. According to my knowledge and judgement for example, that as one’s identity is influenced by one’s memories it’s simply a matter of sealing up the latter. Him being able to speak his native language for instance, is because it’s what he may see and understand. Even so, he understands anything but not what is only about himself.

(1)His name, his family, his friends…… he is unable to remember even one of them.
(2)His name, his family, his friends…… he is unable to even remember one of them. He is in the ideal condition for training."

What is the difference in the nuances of the bolded sentence when the word 'even' is moved to make one sentence instead of the other?
Any help is appreciated!


texts:
From "A Florida Sunday." by Sidney Lanier:

High roofs of temples shafted tall with pines --
Green, grateful mangroves where the sand-beach shines --

I can't make sense of what exactly shafted tall means here.

  tr.v. shaft·ed, shaft·ing, shafts
  1. To equip with a shaft.
  2. Slang To treat in a harsh, unfair way: "He had been shafted by the press quite a bit" (Frank Deford).
  3. Slang To penetrate (someone) sexually.

Not only the use of the verb doesn't make sense, but the adverb tall doesn't make any sense either in this context unless I am missing something.


texts: Problem with the interrogative forms when HERE IS/ARE is positioned at the beginning

texts:
If a sentence is made with HERE IS/ARE at the start, what can be the possible interrogative form? For example:
Here is your pen.
Is here your pen?
Or any separate sentence:
Is here anyone to help me out in making database through MS Access?


texts: Which is proper, "3 thousand dead" or "3 thousands dead"?

texts: I wonder if 3-thousand dead can be rewritten as 3 thousands dead? Are both of them correct? What's the difference between them?


texts: Why this sentence uses "is" instead of "be"

texts:
Bias the valve so that the anode current is normally zero or small

Could I write this sentence as:

Bias the valve so that the anode current be normally zero or small


texts: The meaning of a line: you'd Chuck the whole sorry lot of them

texts:
It's the word from Insp. Japp in ABC Murder，when Hercule Poirot talked about the letters from abc.

  Now, if you were busy, you'd see these for what they are--nasty, cruel people, and some mad bloke playing a vicious game with you, and you'd Chuck the whole sorry lot of them.

What confused me was the meaning of this line: you'd Chuck the whole sorry lot of them


texts:
I have observed some sentences where past participle like "to be delivered" or "to be given" was used  after the verb "to be", however, today I have observed a sentence given below where sentence maker has not used past participle form of verb but used the normal word like "out" instead.

Rajnath gets stuck in lift, scales wall to be out.

Can anyone clarify, are these all (delivered, given, out) Adjectives? Meaning that it is mandatory to use an Adjective after "to be".

Thanks,

Charmi


texts:
does "a light was struck" mean "To create a flame (using a match, flint, etc.)"?

"something ignited preceding the..."?

Mr. Fay then asked that his coat
should be removed. We heard instantly a violent twitch, and here
occurred the most remarkable fact. A light was struck before the coat had
quite, left Mr. Fay's person, and it was seen quitting him, plucked off him
upwards. It flew up to the chandelier, where it hung for a moment and
then fell to the ground.


texts: present continuous or simple in this case

texts:
When you are writing or write the address, don't forget to add:attention to xxxxxx
I think continuous would be better but can I use present continuous for a very quick action (writing xxxxx).
I know that I can write :
When  writing the address, don't forget to add to xxxxxx


texts: Is it necessary to put a comma before 'so' here?

texts:
I've learned that commas must be put before and, but, so, ect. However, I came across this sentence in a reading test.

  Exercise causes blood vessels to open up so blood flows more easily.

Why is there no comma before so? Must I put it there?


texts: Which one is more idiomatic - "Occurs to me" or "Occurred to me"?

texts:
When you're trying to simplify a complex concept and say

  "Well, looking at this equation, the first thing that occurs to me/ comes to my mind is..."

or is it idiomatic and perfectly fine to say

  "Well, looking at this equation, the first thing that occurred to me/ came to my mind was..."

Which one is more idiomatic?


texts: What is the difference between "okay with" and "okay for"?

texts:
Which of the following is the correct sentence to ask a person if he is okay to help me? (The help here is, asking doubts in another language.)

I will be needing your help, if it is okay with you.

I will be needing your help, if it is okay for you.


texts:
I've come across the phrase in the second episode of the sixth season of the Walking Dead. Here is the context:

Eugene: It hams my biscuits is all.
And going by cubic feet, the biggest building in the expansion
and we're gonna waste it on a church.
Take out the benches, that could be a lab,
a machine shop, very least a sweet-ass game room.


texts: "after the Great War's rude interruption"

texts:
In 1927, after the Great War's rude interruption, Uhde resides in nearby Chantilly and tracks Séraphine down, buying her work and showering her with brushes and materials.

Source.

How do you understand the formulation

  In 1927, after the Great War's rude interruption. The end of World War I was after all in 1918.

So to use the word interruption seems to me odd. And moreover, I am puzzled by the adjective rude which indicates that the interruption of the war should be something bad or negative.


texts: "which" vs "that" and comma before "which"

texts:
I am extremely interested in obtaining such a position at your lab, where I can contribute to its research and development for new standards, and where I can gain extensive experience that is essential for a successful career.

  ..., where I can gain extensive experience which is essential for a successful career.

  ..., where I can gain extensive experience, which is essential for a successful career.

I suppose that is essential for a successful career is a nonrestrictive relative clause (?). If so, I think that which should be used, preceded by a comma.

My question: is the use of comma mandatory is this case?
I am asking because I think that there will be many too many commas in the sentence..


texts:
Sorry if it is confusing.

  What does a Starbuck serve?

or

  What do Starbucks serve?

The second one makes sense for me, since there are many Starbuck shops, but I'm still uncertain.

Which one should be grammatically correct?


texts: "Please continue" or "please complete your sentence"?

texts:
Today I went to a company and saw a man A entered a meeting room and interrupted a remote video meeting in the room. The remote meeting stopped suddenly and the man A (non-native English speaker) said that "please complete the sentence", and then the man C on the other side of the video resumed his talking.

In this context I thought the saying that "plase complete the sentence" is not native and seems Chinglish. Were I the man I would say "please continue". What would be polite and native in this case?


texts: An unlucky person whose fortune doesn't favor them

texts:
Please imagine a person who is usually unlucky! The peron faces another unlucky situation and wants to criticize it and make a pejorative remark about his luck and relate his belief about the lack of his chance since old times ago! We have a proverb here which figuratively says:

  Literal translation: My donkey didn't have any tail since it was a foal!
  Connotation: As far as I can remember, I've always been unlucky!

I have found the following saying which I have no any idea whether etymologically it has something to do with the concept in my question or not:

  I have no pretention to begin with!

I would appreciate it if you help me to find the closest proverb/expression/idiom to describe this concept in English.


texts: Why in the second sentence don't we use the definite article

texts:
Why do we put an article in

  We took photos of the red squirrels in St James Park.

and not

  There are dogs in the garden.

In the first sentence I understand the use of "the" it is not all red squirrels but the ones we can see in St James Park, the definite article is justified.

But in the second sentence it is the same for me: it is not all dogs but these that we can see in the garden and it is a specific garden the one I am talking about: so  logically we should add "the" before "dogs".


texts:
Watching all this, the sage thought to himself, "This jackal is a fool as it has become greedy by the smell of blood. If he comes between the fighting rams, it will get rammed and get hurt himself".

  No sooner had the sage thought of it, the jackal craving for more blood came nearer to the fighting rams, and got caught in the middle of their fight. - Fighting Goats and the Jackal

The story use past tense, So, should't the writer use was craving  or craved?


texts:
Reg: What's that you have got Meggie?
Reg: Show us.
Meggie: No, she's mine! I got her for my birthday!
Reg: We just want to have a look.

Reg used the present perfect have got in the first sentence; instead, Meggie used the past tense got.
If Meggie used have got, would the sentence be correct?


texts: The verb "comprise" Is there any "necessity" to be divided into transitive or intransitive?

texts:
Anytime I encounter this verb, "comprise", it makes me wonder why there are transitive ( mostly ) and intransitive ( often with the preposition, of ).

Especially considering the definition of 5 a of the transitive and the definition of the intransitive. ( As is shown below )

From Merrian U

Is there any instance when we should particularly use the intransitive ( and vise versa ).

Or to say in another words, is there any definite distinction between them?


texts: What is the purpose of using "don't" instead of "doesn't" in this phrase: "But she don't know you like I know you Slim"

texts:
I was listening to Eminem's song Stan. I noticed in one verse he says:

  But she don't know you like I know you Slim...

At first I didn't believe my ears, but when I read out the lyrics I got astonished. I further searched on Google and found on some other forums that this type of incorrect grammatical usage is either intentional (for some linguistic reasons) or the speaker is uneducated!

So my question is:

What is the purpose of this type of intentional misuse of grammar?
How does it appear to native English speakers?

Thank you.


texts: What does "have been through two or three jobs" mean?

texts:
I don't quite understand the implication of this sentence. Why won't they have to cope with more expensive borrowing? Does a finance director have to borrow money to be through a job?

"First, it creates complacency. A homeowner with a mortgage could easily be getting close to 40 without ever having seen a rate rise. A finance director could have been through two or three jobs without ever having to cope with more expensive borrowing."

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/3-reasons-why-the-bank-of-england-should-raise-interest-rates-for-the-first-time-in-a-decade-2017-07-04


texts: What is the dictionary definition and the part of speech of the word "rival" used in “rival T-shirts”?

texts:
I came across the phrase like "wear rival T-shirts". I'm not sure which is the matching definition of the word "rival" in dictionaries and what is its part of speech —— a noun?

The phrase is in this sentence:

  the Rubios wore rival T-shirts. “Mr. Right,” read his. “Mrs. Always Right,” declared hers.


texts: What's the meaning of "spoken language" here?

texts:
Ramón y Cajal’s meticulous studies yielded a veritable alphabet of neurons in the brain,he had to use his imagination to ... envisage the
    spoken language of
    his neurons in what he called ‘neuronal circuits.’

I know the meaning of spoken language in general but in this case it's somehow problematic. Also I recognize there must be a relationship between this "spoken language" and "alphabet" in the first line, but still I don't understand the meaning of the sentence.

So, could you please explain it to me?

The fuller text is here:

  Ramón y Cajal drew highly detailed sketches of these cells with their
  strange cobweb patterns that looked like bits of algae strung
  together. Although he did not actually coin any of the key terms that
  are still used today, he described the elements of the nervous system
  in the brain more precisely than anyone before him had. He drew and
  explained the neurons and the axons, which are the long fibers on both
  sides of the neurons. He described in detail the branched projections,
  known as dendrites, for the first time. He adopted the word ‘synapses’
  from his British friend and colleague Charles Scott Sherrington to
  describe the neural communication points at the ends of the dendrites.
  Ramón y Cajal’s meticulous studies yielded a veritable alphabet of
  neurons in the brain, but he had to use his imagination to generate
  the corresponding mental grammar, and even more to envisage the
  spoken language of his neurons in what he called ‘neuronal
  circuits.’

  Who Am I? And If So, How Many? by Richard David Precht
  .Translated by Shelley Frisch


texts:
I'm seeing the Coach Carter movie and there is a phrase that I didn't understand. Context:

Reporter is talking

  St.Francis High School basketball phenomen. Ty Crane, who they
  recruited just last year is widely held as the next LeBron James.

What does widely held mean here?


texts:
I was watching a former Watergate prosecutor interview on CNN and heard the following passage:

  one of the things that the House Judiciary Committee, the House
  Intelligence Committee absolutely has to do is really button down
  whatever versions of this memo exist, whatever notes exist, they have
  to get all of the witnesses to the conversation in and make sure that
  they actually button down that what is represented there is the
  conversation

You may hear this passage here.

I looked button down in dictionaries but it doesn't seem to be a firmly established idiom. I googled it and also without success. I wonder if this phrase is a real idiom or I just misheard.

My understanding is that it can mean to ascertain or to pin down, but I want to know for sure.


texts: What do you call the number assigned to official documents at the university?

texts:
I wonder what you call the number that's assigned to an official document when it's archived – more precisely I'm wondering about official documents at the university, like strategic plans, appointment procedures etc.
Reference number? Journal number? Registration number? Something else entirely? Also, how do you abbreviate it?
Thank you!


texts:
While discussing the benefits of fruits in a class, a Filipino teacher said:

"In general, fruits are very good for health. Some people would like to eat bananas & some would like to eat oranges."

I would say the Filipino teacher was wrong. But I am not so sure.

I think "would like" should be used in specific situations & "like" in general situations.

You often eat oranges. You like oranges the most. So you said "I like oranges" (I like it most of the time)

But in a specific situation:

For example, you are currently in your friend's home. Your friend brought a banana & an orange to you. And you said "I would like to eat bananas". You could also say this to your friend: "Generally, I like oranges, but now I would like to eat bananas"

So "would like" should be used in specific situations & "like" in general situations, right?


texts: A word to say many things should be done together

texts:
They can be displayed ...(together/ all in once ?).... for visual comparison

When you want to say something are displayed or processed or done together..


texts: How to paraphrase "But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice..."?

texts:
After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once in the
  hands of the people, a majority are permitted, and for a long period
  continue, to rule, is not because they are most likely to be in the
  right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because
  they are physically the strongest. But a government in which the
  majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as
  men understand it.

How to paraphrase the sentence:

"a government...cannot be based on justice", can I read it as "a government...is impossible to be built based on justice"?
How to understand "even as far as men understand it"? Does it mean "even to the limitation of men's understanding of the government" or "even according to the limitation that men can understand the government" or something else?


texts:
In the review of Stephen Kotkin’s Stalin: Paradoxes of Power, 1878-1928 the author gives some examples of a allegedly bad writing and poor style of the biography. Here is one example.

Lenin was “badmouthing the other Marxists in the Soviet”.

Source: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/06/02/kot2-j02.html

Can you tell me what's wrong with this sentence in terms of standard English?


texts: 'Where I should be' vs 'Where I am meant to be'

texts:
Is there a difference between these

  Where I should be.

and

  Where I am meant to be.

?

Context: When you are going to fill the autobiography section on SE, it says 'Location' and it's supposed to write USA or something like that and I wanted to write one of the 2 above.

Which is sounds better and why?


texts: changing a sentence into passive and reducing the relative clause

texts:
I wanted to reduce the relative clause of the following sentence or change that into passive structure but unfortunately I couldn't be able to.

  Integrated transport systems that take into consideration local factors are the answer.

However, there are some guesses, I cannot figure out if they are correct or not. But mostly I want to know why it made me confused. Because normally I don't have any problems with this kind of structure.

Here are my goes:

  (changing into passive)

  Local factors that are taken into consideration by integrated transport systems are the answer.

  (reduction clause)

  Taking local factors into consideration, integrated transport systems are the answer.


texts: Can I say "relieve the load on the servers"?

texts:
Suppose I have taken some measures thus the load borne by the server is reduced. Could I say that I have "relieved the load on the server"?

Oxford dictionary gives the usage of "relieve" that "Cause (pain, distress, or difficulty) to become less severe or serious", but I don't know whether this usage of "relieve" applies to "load".

Another usage of "relieve" given by the same page from oxford dictionary is that "(relieve someone of) Take (a burden) from someone", but what I want is to reduce the load on the server instead of removing the load from the server. Any suggestions will be appreciated.


texts:
The original sentence is

  The apple which is lying on the table is mine

Can I shorten it to be

  The apple lying on the table is mine

I saw a expression describing RELATIVE CLAUSE on the random website, and they were like

  if the relative pronoun is followed by a verb, the relative pronoun is a subject pronoun, subject pronoun must always be used

But I think it's not the same thing, right?

First one is relative clause in opposition to the abbreviated sentence using participle clause grammar, is it not?


texts: "costs of generating electricity" VS "costs of electric power generation"

texts:
to reduce the costs of generating electricity.
  to reduce the costs of electric power generation.
  to reduce the costs for electric power generation.

I have two questions:
 (1)is 2) equal in meaning to 1) and which is clearer and used more often.
 (2) which preposition should I opt for, for or of


texts: What does the phrase "laugh it up" mean?

texts:
I have come across it in the first episode of the sixth season of Friends. Here is the context:

  Rachel: Well, I guess we just find a divorce lawyer? (Looks at Ross.)

  Chandler: Well, I think, I think, Ross already has one. Now, this
  one’s free, right? Because you paid for the first two, so the third
  one’s free.

  Ross: Laugh it up, but the joke’s on you. Because we don’t need to get
  divorced, okay? We we’re just gonna get an annulment.

I couldn't find any dictionary that gave the definition of laught it up. Is this some kind of non-standard American phrase? Could you tell me what it means and what is the synonymous phrase of it?


texts: Understanding take an interest in collocation

texts:
I'm trying to understand the exact meaning and usage of take an interest in. There are several examples of the collocation in various dictionaries:

#1 #2

What is the most common circumstances in which we use the idiom in place of, say, just to be interested in. Examples from the dicitonaries:

  Do you take an interest in your children? You should take an interest in
  everything your child does.

Why don't we just say

  Are you interested in your children. You should be interested in
  everything your child does.

What is the differences?

Or this one:

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Pat, now taking an interest in the
  proceedings.

As far as I got, the meaning of take an interest here is that your interest is getting increased. But why don't we say

  now I'm becoming more interested in the proceedings

instead?


texts:
Can I always use "show" to say what people are feeling or are there exceptions?
For example, can I say:

He has shown no happiness?

OR

He has shown that he isn't happy?


texts:
This is a strophe from one song:

  "But the times were hard, Lord,
  the jobs were few
  all through Tecumseh valley
  but she asked around
  and a job she found
  tending bar at Gypsy Sally's"

Can I rewrite that this way:

"tending bar at Gypsy Sally's bar"


texts: Meaning of 'to (not) burn old women as witches'

texts:
In this sentence from Bertrand Russell,

  At one time—not so very long ago—it was considered monstrous wickedness to maintain that old women ought not to be burnt as witches.

which one is the bygone belief that Russell is expressing?

All old women must be burnt because they're witches.
Those old women who are witches must be burnt.

To me, the second sounds (slightly) more rational, while the structure of Russell's sentence suggests the first one.


texts:
What's the drink in

  Buy me a drink

?

Does it mean alcoholic-drink (beer, wine or cocktail) or it could be any drink including alcoholic drinks and soft drinks like orange juice? Is this culture/region specific?


texts: What's the difference between a trip and a journey?

texts:
I've found these definitions:
A trip - a small casual outing from a day to a few weeks.
A journey - a longer several months trip (in terms of time and/or distance), perhaps to multiple destinations, or with a greater sense of unknown. A journey may not be fully planned out ahead of time.

But for the journey I've also read that it doesn't matter how long it is, the emphasis is put on regularity.
I still don't understand the difference.


texts:
My English teachers said that changing the position of an infinitive may not change anything.

Example,

Some opportunities to get a better education exist.
Some opportunities exist to get a better education.

They said: "None of them is wrong grammatically and they go to the same meaning but their emphasises are slightly different." What do you think?


texts: which sentence is correct: "I am a student of X college", or "I am a student from X college"?

texts:
I am a student of X college.

or

I am a student from X college.


texts: "She'll be sleeping in my tower." Why the future continuous?

texts:
This dialogue is from a series called “A discovery of witches”.
The male protagonist, a vampire, is talking to her mom about the sleeping arrangements for his girlfriend, a witch, who is being pursued by dangerous people but has found safety in his boyfriend castle (of course he has a castle). Witches and vampires have never gotten along with each other, so his mother has a little bit of resentment towards this woman but she’s trying not to show it, for the sake of her son.
She says:

She needs some rest, it’s been a long journey. I’ll make up her room.

And his son replies:

No, I’ll do it. She’ll be sleeping in my tower.

Now, why does the vampire use the future continuous? Why not the future simple? Would it have a different meaning? Are they interchangeable? If so, why use one over the other?


texts:
I have a few sentences in the Present Simple with "today". I am going to give my understanding of them.

For example, Bob is a guitar teacher. He has a student - Bill. Meanwhile, they don't have a schedule of their lessons. They meet up off and on after having arranged every lesson on the phone. Would it be OK for Bill to say this?

Bill: "This is Bill. Do we have a lesson today?" (Meaning, are we going to have a lesson today?)
A similar scenario. Bill wants to enroll in guitar lessons. Today is going to be his first lesson. And he is asked by a friend of his

Friend: "What are you going to do today after school, Bill?"

Bill: "I have a guitar lesson today."

(Is that answer good? Or should it be "I am having a guitar lesson today?)

Another thing. Am I right to think that his friend may understand that Bill has a guitar lesson regularly on that day of the week? If today was a Sunday then it is possible to infer that Bill has a guitar lesson on Sundays?

It seems to me that "I have a guitar lesson today" may mean either a) it is a one-off lesson b) a regular lesson depending on context. Is my assumption correct?
A conference takes place today at 2 PM. Now it is 9 AM. The conference is a one-off occasion. Is it OK to say "Guys, don't forget we hold a conference today at 2 PM."?


texts:
Adverbs      to.        Adjectives

  quickly to quick

,

  well to good

My problem is:

  He has earned the  money over the years.

Can I say:

  The money is his over-the-years earning?

Thank you.


texts: Is there any difference in meaning between couple (say, couple of days) and a couple (say, a couple of days)?


texts:
Is it natural and correct to say "live better" in the sense of having a better life?

  Peaple often emigrate to live better.

I am trying to say is that people emigrate to seek a better life.


texts: What's the crappy town means? or I got it wrong?

texts:
I was watching a Youtube video. In the 2:20 minute, the author's friend calls him. he said:

  EvansMills is this crappy town next to me...

What does 'crappy town' mean? Or did I hear it wrong?


texts:
I was told that ‘the’ precedes ‘definite article’ as there is only one definite article in English language. For example, in a sentence it would be

  the use of the definite article

But what if I am tasked to pick one definite article from a text, for example

  please, select a definite article from the text – (definite article is not a concept?)

Also I saw a sentence by a native speaker who used ‘a’, please see below:

  In the form of a definite article

Is ‘the’ used to define the concept of the definite article or I am getting it completely wrong?


texts:
What's the difference between "opinion" and "input" (when it's used in the sense of "opinion")? Are there any subtle connotations that a non-native English speaker would not notice and, thus, make a mistake?
Webster does a good job explaining out the subtle hues in meaning between synonyms, but, sadly, for the group of synonyms of "opinion" it didn't include "input":

Is it like "input" is sort of more technical and more suitable for a discussion, in which more than two people involved? For example, if the text below implies a discussion done by a group of specialists in some area, then "input" would fit better than "opinion":

He would never interrupt me or change the topic of our discussion and would always wait for me first to address him directly before he could share his own input on the subject matter or provide his answer.

or not?


texts: How to say formally if something is "OK"

texts:
I want to say a sentence like:

  I don't know if you read my message or if it is OK to reply this message, but ...

What are alternative for "if it is OK" to mean almost the same?


texts:
I am wondering if there is an idiomatic expression that means the opposite of "an everyday day"
Can I say "a day of a lifetime"?


texts: "put one's attention on X" vs. "put one's attention to X"

texts:
I wonder which form(s) are correct amongst the following:

Someone put their attention on X.
Someone put their attention to X.

Example:

  As a result of the rapid advancement of neural-network-based architectures and availability of large-scale datasets for question answering, researchers put their attention to building automatic question-answering systems.


texts: "Why is this book still important" vs "Why this book is still important"

texts:
Which one of the following is the correct one grammatically?

  "Why is this book still important"
  "Why this book is still important"


texts: What is phonetic transcription of "uses"

texts:
I don't know exact pronunciation of these words. It's hard for me to hear what sound there is "e", "ə" or "ɪ". And on the end I suppose there is "s", possibly "z"?

verb "use" [juːz], third person form "uses" ?
noun "use" [juːs], plural "uses" ?

What are UK pronunciations?


texts: Does attorney means lawyer? and What does "You have the right to an attorney" mean?


texts:
A conversation between me and my friend:

Friend: I was sleeping when you called. And I do that everyday till 13:00.

Me: ok

~3 days later he replies to me at 10:00 already~

Now my question: Is it grammatically correct, if I say: “I thought you did sleeping everyday till 13:00!?” instead of “I thought you used to sleep till 13:00!?” / “I thought you slept till 13:00”

P.s Would be grateful if you correct any (english/grammatical etc.) mistake(s) in the question-text itself too! :)


texts: Is there any semantic difference between due/due to and because/because of?

texts:
So far, the question about the difference between the terms from the title was asked several times here and on ELU but I'm not asking about the grammatical difference my question is about semantics.

Please let me make it clearer:

In my language, there's a clear distinction between the terms so as to that they cannot semantically be used interchangeable as due to carries a positive connotation whereas because of carries a negative one. Due to is closer to owing to or thanks to. This said, in my language, you cannot say:

  I feel unhappy due to/owing to the fact that I broke my leg.

It is as if I were to say:

  I feel unhappy thanks to the fact that I broke my leg.

It is correct to say:

  I feel unhappy because I broke my leg.

Inverse, you cannot say:

  I'm glad because you came.

So you would correctly say:

  I'm glad due/owing/thanks to your coming.

Despite all the above, in my language, many well educated people journalists, TV show people, etc. make this mistake when using those terms. It is actually a common mistake.

I didn't see hitherto such a distinction in English which is why I wonder if there is one or, like in my language, people don't care too much about their use.


texts: the outside of the page -- what is it exactly?

texts:
Example with a context (YouTube link):

  I went back into the cafe and asked if I could look at the telephone book. I turned to L and ran my finger down the outside of the page. Soon I found the name I was looking for: "Las Cabanas".

How do you understand the phrase the outside of the page? I have a real hard time creating a mental picture of that.


texts: How to build a "conditional sentence" for the next purpose?

texts:
I want to ask my friend to call me when when he wakes up (or when he will wake up?) today. Now, my question is what kind of conditional sentence (zero, 1st, 2nd, 3rd) I have to use in such case, if any, or maybe it is not conditional at all when it starts with "when"?

  "When you wake-up, please call me"? (present simple)

or

  "When you will wake-up, please call me" (future simple)

or

  "When you are waking-up, please call me" (present continuous)


texts: Which is the correct way of writing this sentence?

texts:
Which one is correct, and why?

  The Tourism Authority of Thailand has asked if the cabinet will increase its marketing budget this year.

  The Tourism Authority of Thailand has asked that the cabinet increase its marketing budget this year.


texts:
The sentence "I haven't received xxx until now!" is a common construction I see in forums but although I understand those posters wanted to express their anxieties (based on the context in the posts) that xxx has not arrived even at the point of posting, I believe the construction actually means xxx has finally arrived at the point of posting...

How do you explain the true meaning of that construction or what do you think is a better way to express what those posters truly wanted to say (by including the time element "now")?


texts: Can 'even more' be used as a synonym for 'more importantly'?

texts:
Can the phrase 'even more' stand for 'more importantly'? For example, 'If you drive while drunk, you could lose your license, but even more importantly, you could kill someone.' Is it correct to use 'even more' instead of 'more importantly' in this sentence?
'If you drive while drunk, you could lose your license, but even more, you could kill someone.'


texts: A word to describe the second one in 2 things

texts: I'm looking for a word to describe the second one in 2 things (in a situation the the first one was mentioned previously)


texts:
Hello I always struggle with past perfect and present perfect and I was hoping if you could help me.

  Mel was begging A. to take her with him because her boyfriend Jeff was studying in Princeton and if all went well, she would like to surprise him.

  Mel was begging A. to take her with him because her boyfriend Jeff was studying in Princeton and if all went well, she would have liked to surprise him.


texts: what's the meaning of "It goes something like this"

texts:
I've come across with the phrase below:

  I often have a craving that goes something like this: “I want to eat
  tacos.”

I searched online dictionaries but I couldn't find any meaning for it.

So could you please tell me what the meaning of  "It goes something like this" is?

The full text is:

  Every behavior has a surface level craving and a deeper, underlying
  motive. I often have a craving that goes something like this: “I want
  to eat tacos.” If you were to ask me why I want to eat tacos, I
  wouldn’t say, “Because I need food to survive.” But the truth is,
  somewhere deep down, I am motivated to eat tacos because I have to eat
  to survive. The underlying motive is to obtain food and water even if
  my specific craving is for a taco.

Atomic habits by James Clear


texts: Which one of the following passive voice is correct?

texts:
"We saw you and him."
If I change the above sentence to passive voice, which one of the following would be correct ?

"He and you were seen by us."
"You and he were seen by us."


texts:
When the phone rang, the grey-haired man asked the girl, with quite some defference, if she would rather for any reason he didn't answer it.

I would like to ask why there is not used a verb in the phrase "if she would rather"? Is this standard usage? Can I rewrite it in this way: if it would be better/rather for her for any reason…?


texts: Meaning of "Not here—not there / Not risen—not writing letters" in Millay's poem "Love is not Blind"

texts:
I don't understand the bolded phrases in "Love is not blind" by Edna St. Vincent Millay:

  Love is not blind. I see with single eye
  Your ugliness and other women's grace.
  I know the imperfection of your face,
  The eyes too wide apart, the brow too high
  For beauty. Learned from earliest youth am I
  In loveliness, and cannot so erase
  Its letters from my mind, that I may trace
  You faultless, I must love until I die.
  More subtle is the sovereignty of love:
  So am I caught that when I say, "Not fair,"
  'Tis but as if I said, "Not here—not there
  Not risen--not writing letters." Well I know
  What is this beauty men are babbling of;
  I wonder only why they prize it so.

When she says "not fair" about her beloved ("he or she is not beautiful"), it is as if she said: "Not here--not there / Not risen—not writing letters". But what could this mean?

She "catches" herself at some observation, but I don't understand this.


texts: What are the differences between the usage of words that end with "ing" and those which do not?

texts:
To my knowledge, when native speakers are using gerunds as a noun, they would prefer words that end with "-ment" rather than those that end with "ing." Is it just a personal preference, or a grammatical phenomenon?

Specifically, can the suffix "-ing" add some subtle meanings to a word in English?

There are two different ways to change a verb into a noun. The first way is to suffix "-ment", while the second way is to suffix "-ing" and make it a gerund. As those two ways are both grammatically correct, what are the differences between the meanings of the words yielded by these two approaches?


texts: Is "it is that it had just been" grammatically correct?

texts:
I can't help feeling that there's something wrong with the following sentence:

  But can I say that it really belongs to me? Or is it that it had just been
  temporarily loaned to me?"

Is it grammatical? Is there a better way of paraphrasing the bold section?


texts:
While I was talking about the difference between two people or things, I tried to shorten the contrast by using not and don't and to this moment I don't know whether what I do is grammatically correct or not?

For example:

  Some people think taking part in those classes could be useful and some others don't.

  I like watching movie,whereas my sister doesn't.

  They are good at selling but another group not.

  some people can afford that house.others can't.


texts: Punctuation rules in a business letter addressed to several recipients

texts:
I usually use:

  Diana,

  Thank you for..

  Dan,

  I considered your..

I've seen in my incoming letters:

  Diana - thank you..

  Dan - I considered your..

So the questions is:
What is the right way to write a letter addressed to several recipients?


texts:
I keep keeping my head raised when I walk.
I find finding a chest of gold a lucky find.
I know knowing English helps in life.
I guess guessing right answers in a test won't help you much.
I think thinking about it is silly.

Are they verb+gerund or what? How come they are grammatical?


texts: Help to do something or help do something?

texts:
I wrote:

  I will help you to acquire Russian.

A native English speaker corrected me saying that 'to' is unnecessary here. Is it correct to say

  "I will help you acquire Russian"


texts:
I've worked in a market. Suddenly they stopped my work for verification purpose. They requested me to provide a student ID card. I've sent a scanned copy of my Student ID card for verification. One week has gone still now they have not sent any confirmation email. How do I politely and without any grammatical error ask them about my verification delay?

If I want to say something like this, is it correct?

  Hi Admin, Why are you pending my Student ID verification? Why do you
  taking so long to verify my ID?

Here which sentence is appropriate in this perspective.

Why do you take so long to verify my ID?
Why do you taking so long to verify my ID?
Why does it take so long to verify my ID?

You can suggest some additional formal and polite sentence.
Thank you.


texts: usage of unless when we need double negation in if-clause

texts:
Once I thought it was wrong to use not after unless, but then I found the following example on the internet:

  I cannot go to the cinema unless I don’t go to the restaurant.

And now I'm trying to understand more about the usage of unless (it beats me why I cannot use it properly).

I can make the following examples with if/only if/except if (which some believe it's ungrammatical) or otherwise/provided that/on condition that.... if one is possible; and if not, just rephrase it.

But I specifically want to know if I can use unless in a sentences like:

  I pronounce every word in British unless I don't know how it's pronounced. (Intended meaning: .... if I know how it's pronounced in British, if not I pronounce it in American)
  I wouldn't ask him to bring his car unless I knew you didn't bring yours. (Instead of: I wouldn't ask him to bring his car if I didn't know you didn't bring yours. Which I admit it's clunky).

It would be much appreciated if you demonstrate how it's properly used.

Note: my question is about the grammaticality not the naturalness of this usage.


texts: The difference between passive simple & passive perfect simple

texts:
I learn english and I have one question about passive voices. The next sentence is difficult for me:

"The decision is made".

I've search it in the context translations and have found various translations. Some of them are like "[somebody] has made the decision" (present perfect), but some of them are like "[somebody] generally makes the decision" (present simple). The first means that the act of making the decision is finished. But the second means that somebody sometimes makes the decision at all.

And I don't understant what is correct? Can I use "the decision is made" as "the decision has been made"? Or it'll be a mistake? Is it a universal form which anyone can understand like he wants to?


texts: What is the difference between 'located in' and 'located on'?

texts:
I am solving the TOEIC workbook, by the way, I faced conflict that doesn't match meaning I knew.

The problem is

  The newest branch of the library is located in/on Pine Street.

I think either 'in' or 'on' have the same meaning. But the commentary said that 'be located in' is mainly writing in front of building name and city name.

I don't know what is correct?


texts: What is another expression for enormous amount of hard-working practice?

texts:
What is another expression for enormous amount of hard-working practice, concisely in one or two words? This is for the situation for a mechanics trying to hone their skills.

The search engine these day are not so advance for finding synonymous expression, therefore I would rather to choose to ask here.


texts:
It seems that "make a visit" is not a common phrase, and I am not sure what is the difference between "make a visit to a friend" and "visit a friend".  The following sentence is copied from The Guardian:

  A huge 17.5m leisure trips are expected to take place on the roads
  between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, as drivers make visits to
  friends and family, although the absence of commuter and commercial
  traffic during this period means the roads will be relatively quiet.

Also Ngram suggests that the phrase "make a visit to" is used.


texts: What does the expression of 'mountain frowning on me' mean?

texts:
I have stumbled upon this expression twice now, once in Bram Stoker's Dracula in which he writes:

Then the mountains seemed to come nearer to us on each side and to frown down upon us.

and in The Hobbit which writes:

The river goes on and on and the mountain in the distance seems to frown down on him.

What is it about a mountain that makes it frown, and is there a symbolic meaning?


texts:
Suppose that I have a set (S). This set should contain numbers. These number should follow a specific bound. Then,

0 and 20 are the lower and upper bound of the set S, respectively.

or

0 and 20 are the lower and upper bounds of the set S, respectively.

Which one is correct?


texts: Meaning of "You're only as good as your word"

texts:
While I am watching Spider Man animation, there's a part I don't understand. Could you help me, please?

There are the lines and I don't exactly understand the bold parts.

  Power Man: I believe in two things, Spider-Man.

  You're only as good as your word, and second chances.

  And I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't offer the same to you.

Thank you.


texts:
Is "common place" a not valid saying in English? As an example: can't we say like "We will meet in a common place"?
Spell checkers always suggest to replace it with commonplace instead.
By using "common place" my intention was to mean "a single or general place". Is this commonplace give that meaning or what meaning does it give?
What is the problem here and can you suggest a word/phrase for it?


texts: Which pronoun shall be used for nothing in the sentence: it or they/them

texts:
I wonder which pronoun this sentence takes.

  Nothing belongs to you on the planet, but you can make use of it/them.


texts: meaning the adjective "messed up" in context

texts:
It is from Crash Course A&P. It is at 2 minute and 6 second. Here it goes:

  Specifically, they go around wearing parts of the organisms they have killed so others can see them. Sounds a little bit messed up, but we are talking life and death here.

I have checked what the adjective means, and have checked what the phrasal verb mess up means, but still have a hard time understanding what it means there.


texts: Usuing the term "half/full blood" in current English

texts:
Edited:

I need to know in a casual or formal occasion, would it be possible to introduce the type of a relation between your half-sister or half-brother an you as below:

  1- We are half-blooded.
  2- We are of half-blood.
  3- We are full-blooded.
  4- We are of full-blood.

If not, then, what is the natural way in current English to say something like that? I wonder if you help me with it.


texts:
Could you tell me if the use of the but not a affect the meaning of the following sentence in any way?

  Could you lay your phone aside and listen to me for a second.

  Could you lay your phone aside and listen to me for the second.

In my experience a is mostly used in similar contexts, but I have also seen the used similarly.


texts: Is have been enroled or have enroled correct?

texts:
Which one is correct?

I have enroled in this course.

I have been enroled in this course.

Thank you in advance.


texts: Is there a word to refer to people who likes gossip?

texts:
In Portuguese we have the word 'fofoqueira' to refer to a person who likes gossips and/or is constantly gossiping about other people.
Google suggest gossip girl but that does not sound right.
Is there a word in english for that kind of people?


texts: Is “if they could be” conditional? What does it mean?

texts:
What is the meaning of following sentence?

Is "if they could" a conditional ?

  It was about this time that Professor William Crookes conducted his
  inquiries into the medium's powers, and issued that whole-hearted
  report which is dealt with later when Crookes's early connexion with
  Spiritualism comes to be discussed. These careful observations show
  that the rappings constituted only a small part of Kate Fox's psychic
  powers, and that if they could be adequately explained by normal means
  they would still leave us amid mysteries. Thus Crookes recounts how,
  when the only people present besides himself and Miss Fox were his
  wife and a lady relative "I was holding the medium's two hands in one
  of mine, while her feet were resting on my feet. Paper was on the
  table before us, and my disengaged hand was holding a pencil.

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


texts:
Do you say certificate about or certificate of?

"Additional certificate about grading system."


texts: What does the word "should" mean in the sentence

texts:
For Mrs. Bennet, a woman's worth is determined not by what she is but by what her husband has, and it would be a great shame If any of her daughters should remain single.

Why the word "should" put in the sentence ? What's that means?


texts: What to use here from or since in this sentence?

texts:
During a conversation I said

  I've not slept for a long time

She replied

  From when you haven't slept

She should've said since. As from here sounds Kinda unidiomatic


texts: Why "the schoolboy" instead of "a schoolboy" in this sentence?

texts:
At the same time, however, Walser’s narrators—especially his schoolboys, and there is something of the schoolboy in all of his narrators—are possessed by a levity that borders on giddiness.
(Source).

Why is the used here instead of a? It sounds like its talking about a general schoolboy.


texts: Is there any difference in meaning between "take someone" and "take someone on" in the sense of fighting with the person?

texts:
Is there any difference in meaning between take someone and take someone on in the sense of fighting with the person? For example:

Usyk is an exceptional fighter. I'm not really sure if can really take/take on a much bigger opponent, like Joshua or Fury, though.


texts: "Know who is that person" vs "know who that person is"

texts:
Is it:

  I would like to know who is that person he is speaking to.

or:

  I would like to know who that person he is speaking to is.

I am confused as to which sentence structure is grammatically accurate. Or are both sentences correct?


texts:
"I ran for Congress, just once."

  -- Shirley Temple

What does "run for" mean? What does this quote mean?