texts: Could you tell me what the difference between these words is?

texts:
I have three sentences as below.

At present, the numbers of confirmed cases are very high.
At present, the volume of the confirmed cases is very high.
At preset, the quantity of the confirmed cases is very high.

Could you tell me the three bold words are used correctly? I mean I’d like to know what the difference among them is, and how to use the words correctly. Because they look very similar in context, often confusing me.

Thank you.


texts: Which one sounds better, gained or obtained in the given sentence?

texts:
The teacher's causal attribution for a child's behavior [ gained / obtained ] by filtering the child's behavior through his subjective perception of the child's characteristics may determine or influence his behavior toward the child, which, in turn, may affect the development of the child's behavior.

Which of the two is correct, gained or obtained?  Could you help me clarify it?  Thank you always.


texts:
You put your naughty child on time out at (in?) the end of the room for example, and then when the time of punishment is up you want them back with you. How do you address them and tell them to come and join you?

Are these two sentences: "come out of there", or simply "come out there"

correct or incorrect
natural or awkward

What do you personally say at home (of course if you use this kind of parental discipline)?

PS:
By the way, is it at the end of the room, or in the end of the room?


texts: When can we omit the preposition "of" in such cases?

texts:
I'm struggling to understand when we can omit the preposition "of" in cases when we use determiners in English (distributives and quantifiers).

I mean we all know that both "half the students were absent" and "half of the students were absent" are correct as well as "all my friends are there" and "all of my friends are there".

I would like to know the rule - when can we or can't we omit the "of"?

Scrolling through various examples online I've noticed that even with "all" and "half" it doesn't always apply and sometimes we can use it with other determiners and other times - not:

Both of the cars were stolen. (can we omit "of"?)
Half of every apple on the table was bitten. (can we omit "of"?)
All of it was a lie. (can we omit "of"?)
Several of my books were printed in Canada. (can we omit "of"?)
Most of the people living in our town are teenagers. (can we omit "of"?)


texts: Question about meaning of the word "decaled" and " on-ramp"

texts:
An HOV lane is a special lane used only for carpools, buses, motorcycles, or decaled low-emission vehicles. You may use a carpool/HOV  lane or on-ramp if your vehicle carries the posted minimum number of people required for the carpool lane, or you drive a low-emission vehicle displaying a special DMV-issued decal. If you operate a low emission and/or hybrid vehicle, you may be exempt from all toll charges on high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes. Motorcycle riders may use designated carpool/HOV lanes, unless otherwise posted.

Does the word "decaled" here refer to having a logo on the wind shield?
And why the writer has put HOV ( high occupancy vehicle ) lane beside an on ramp?


texts: Is the word "persons" grammatically correct?

texts: When I read a book, 'persons' was used in the sentence; however, I have known it is incorrect grammatically. Is it acceptable?


texts: Does the adjunction of comparison of equality “as much as” make preposition-stranding impossible?

texts:
Is it possible to strand the preposition in this sentence: “she often thought about the solar system, to which she sometimes felt she belonged, as much as to her own city”? This is from a French text I am trying to translate and I would like to know if both versions are correct.
With preposition-stranding, it would be: “She often thought about the solar system, which she sometimes felt she belonged to, as much as to her own city.”
I have the impression (but I am not a native speaker) that the adjunction of the comparison of equality make the sentence syntactically awkward.


texts: How to avoid multiple "of-phrases" in one sentence?

texts:
I often find myself inclined to write something like the following:

  Let's think about this problem from the point of view of readability
  and self-obvious design.

Two *of*s, which come one after another, look bad and sometimes disrupt the flow of thought. And it may be even worse — I start trying to introduce even more nested attributes, recursively.

I tried rewriting the top sentence using the readability and self-obvious design as an attribute of point of view, but that's even worse in my opinion.

How can I avoid such repetitive pattern and still be able to express complex attributes of subjects?


texts: Facing difficulties while framing sentences

texts:
I do face difficulties while using following sentences. Could you please someone explain me the difference between these. Are these sentences give same meaning?

  What you have done if you were in my place.
  What have you done if were you in my place?


texts: Can we say [he done] this because he was threatened by the police officer?

texts:
He done this because he was threatened by the police officer.

I have seen somewhere in a text that an Asian author wrote his statement like above so, I am confused shall we use done like this or we are not recommended use such weird English structure?
And I thank you in the case that clearly explain for me the use of done on such a sentences.


texts:
I can't figure out the meaning of “has strong overtones with” in the paragraph below（it's in the last sentence，does that mean “imply” or something？（I am from china，and i hope i had made my question clear）

here is the paragraph：

  Shamanism is a potent source of fantasy and self-delusion. Alan
  Parker’s film The Wall(1982) emphasized the thin line between rock
  shamanism and Fascism. The concentration on image, might and moral
  certainty occurs in both genres. In 1976 David Bowie outraged the media
  and many of his fans by apparently greeting them with a Nazi salute when
  he arrived at Victoria railway station from the Continent. The press publicised his comment made to a Swedish reporter that ‘Britain could benefit
  from a Fascist leader’. Not surprisingly, Bowie later recanted, and explained
  his flirtation with Nazism as a by-product of physical and psychological
  exhaustion. However, the mythologizing aspects of Nazism, notably the
  passionate concern with regeneration and the search for new order, has
  strong overtones with the myths of finding spiritual wholeness and
  emotional integration through worshiping the Übermensch, the prototypal
  celebrity in Nietzsche’s philosophy.


texts:
I don't remember which tense included BE + V3. For example: It is done.
So which was it ?


texts: What is the meaning of "on the economy side from budget airlines"?

texts:
The airline is battling strong competition from Asian and Middle Eastern carriers, and on the economy side from budget airlines, which have grown in number in Asia.

Please tell me what "on the economy side from budget airlines" means.

Whole story:http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2013/07/10/2003566733


texts: push out your stomach and the opposite action

texts:
You say:

  His tummy pushed out when he was full.
  and
  He pushed out his stomach and it became like the stomach of a pregnant woman.

What if you do the opposite thing?
What verb do you use? As in:

  He thrust out his chest and [...] his stomach.

Can we also use this phrasal verb with an object, as in:

  That much food he had, pushed his tummy out.

If not, what verbs can you use instead?


texts: What's the accurate adjective used for someone who is wise, open-minded, respectful and civil?

texts:
In my native language (Persian/Farsi), there is a certain widly used adjective commonly referred to people who are somehow wise, respectful and civil. Lets say the adjective is X, then for instance:

  Those who throw out trash, sound their vehicle's horn very often,
  have medieval ideas about the rights and roles of women and ... are
  not X.

  On the other hand, those who have read a lot of books, settle their disagreement in private
  rather than yelling at each other in a public place, respect others
  opinion and treat them with respect and ... are X.

  Also talks such as "As long as people lack (noun of)X
  , nothing's gonna change in this country" are very common in my country.

It's worth mentioning that Google translates X to "Cultured" which is probably not very accurate.

Considering my explanations, is there any proper adjective which accurately means X in English?


texts: What's the original form for 'there's' in this sentenece?

texts:
Scout, you aren’t old enough to understand some things yet, but
  there’s been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending this man. (Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird)

Is ‘there’s’ the abbreviated form of ‘there is’ or ‘there has’?
If the former is right, for what meaning does the sentence use the passive form?
If the latter is right, is ‘there’ a dummy-adverb (I’ve not heard about it yet) and is its real adverb ‘around town’?


texts:
I know that the noun looks usually takes plural form, eg:

Her looks are deceptive.

But since looks is an uncountable noun, why does it take a plural verb? Shouldn't it be treated like the other uncountable nouns - love, happiness, news or beauty etc. and be treated as singular? Specially when we use beauty in a similar context, we say -

Her beauty is what makes her special.

but the moment we switch to looks, we say -

Her looks are what make her special.

Can anyone explain why this is so.


texts:
The patient is ready for the discharge.

Or

  The patient is ready to discharge.

If you could please explain why one is a better construct than the other.


texts:
I have been using the following phrase when requesting information through email.

Could you please ...?

For example, "could you please send me the required documents?".
As English is not my first language, I am not sure whether this sounds offensive to recipient.
What is an alternative to the phrase above?


texts: past simple or present perfect progressive with recently

texts:
I have been listening to it a lot recently and everytime I've thought: what a great album.

or

  I listened to it a lot recently and I thought: What a great album.

Which sentence is better? I think the first one is.


texts: Is there any difference between following the path to somewhere and follwing the path of somewhere/something?


texts: What does "a force of their own, agents of relief and consolation" mean in this context?

texts:
I would like to know what "a force of their own, agents of relief and consolation" means in the following sentences:

‘I’m a—’ My voice almost steady. ‘I’m a homosexual.’
The world did not tumble. Her face remained calm. The white winter
light still streamed into the room as if into a church, illuminating
the floor and us, my heart pumped blood around my body – accelerated,
but still – and a shiver ran through me, through my entire being, and
I felt like something dead and heavy inside had been expelled, as if
I’d been carrying a leaden ghost within me all that time. I felt
dizzy. I tried to say something else but there was nothing to say. She
took me into her arms, and I allowed her to – into her soft arms,
against her pullover, cushioned by the soft breasts beneath it.
‘It’s OK,’ she whispered. ‘I understand.’ She stroked my hair. ‘You’re
good. Don’t you worry. You’ll be fine. You’re good.’
Even if I had wanted to, I wouldn’t have been able to stop the tears.
They poured out all by themselves,
a force of their own, agents of relief and consolation, flooding my face, emptying my mind. And we sat like this, enveloped in one
another, in the bright light, for an immeasurable amount of time. When
I straightened myself, she left and returned moments later with a
tissue.

Tomasz Jedrowski, Swimming in the Dark, Chapter 7

In this novel which is set in the 1980's in Poland under the socialist regime, where homosexuality was socially unacceptable, the protagonist Ludwik left Poland in 1981 to live in the United States of America. And he remembers what it was like back then in Poland, where he decided to leave the country after trying hard to stay in the country. (The main reason that Ludwik decided to leave the country was the fact that his lover Janusz constantly tried to straddle between Ludwik and a girl named Hania, the daughter of some high Party officer.) But the Passport Bureau wouldn't give him the passport, blackmailing him with the fact that he was a homosexual. So Ludwik took another route, by visiting Hania's house and telling her about his situation and asking her for help so that he could get the passport. But Hania said she needed to know what it was that they were blackmailing Ludwik with, in order to know how to best approach the situation, so Ludwik came out for the first time in his life, confessing that he was a homosexual. To his confession, Hania said "You're good," and Ludwik started to cry.
In this part, I would like to know what "a force of their own" and "agents of relief and consolation" mean.
Does "force" mean "an army," meaning that the tears formed a group, perhaps...? Or does it mean "power"?
And by "agents," does it mean that the tears were the drives/motives that enabled relief and consolation...? (These are my wild guesses.)


texts:
I know it's possible to say 'we are in the same class together' but is it also possible to say 'we go to the same class together'? I've tried looking on here: https://www.englishforums.com/English/GoInToTheSameClass/bvhvkk/post.htm  but the answers were ambiguous and I'm looking for something more subtle.

  We are in the same class.
  We go to the same class.

Also, if the later is possible, do we say "go to the same class" or "go in the same class"?


texts: "Services marketing" vs "marketing services"

texts:
I surfed the internet and found both terms, but I couldn’t figure out which one is more suitable in the following context:

Consider that company A persuades company C to buy some product from company B.
Now, company A would invoice company B for its services.

How should it be written on the invoice: services marketing or marketing services?

I guess "marketing services", but I’m not hundred-percent sure, and wonder whether both terms can be used in this context.


texts:
(wait on someone)
Boy: Is it ready yet?
Mom: Not quite. Another few seconds.
Boy: I’ll get it.
Mom: No, it's not the doorbell, Jack. It's the bell of the microwave. It means our supper is ready.
Boy: Supper! you said we were going to have dinner.
Mom: Oh, supper means dinner. It's the same thing really. Now, you'll be the customer and I'll be the waiter. Please sit down, sir.
Boy: OK. Oh, thank you. Now, you're going to, how do you say it, Wait on me?
Mom: Yes, I'm going to wait on you. I'm going to serve you, and first of all, I'm going to serve you some soup.

What does "wait on you" mean in this dialogue?
"Serve food or drink to you"   or   "be a servant for you"?
Thank you


texts: If “I woke up at 10” is okay, what about “I slept at 10”?

texts:
When did you wake up?

  I woke up at 10.

But then if I say, “When did you sleep?”

  I slept at 10. – seems difficult to digest!

That's because sleep is a process that includes duration.

  I slept for 10 hours. – this way, it's digestible!

But when I mention the point of time, is it okay?

Strange thing is, if I'm describing my habit/routine, it's perfectly fine..

  I sleep at/by 10

I request not to take this question 'logically'. It's about English. Nobody is perfect in timing. Please don't argue that you cannot have 'perfect time' of sleeping because you don't know when you slept. I'm talking about the sentence structure and not precise timings.

By the way, “I slept at 10” is very common in India.


texts:
I'm reading the novel "The Circle" these days. However, there is a sentence making me curious.

"When she opened her eyes she saw a harbor seal, twenty feet in front of her, staring at her as would a calm dog whose yard she'd walked into."

I can't find verb after "as would...", also so far as I know after relative clause (whose), there should be subject and verb. However, in this sentence, there is only yard which is a noun functioning as the subject.  Is this sentence a kind of exception?


texts:
I wrote :

  For each rule, some refinements are made to the exData (according to / based on) its extraction command and subsequently the output structure is modified accordingly.

Which of according to and based on suits more to this sentence? are they always interchangeable?

Also did I use accordingly correctly?


texts:
The OALD just says that for instance is an idiomatic way of saying for example; it doesn't provide any information about in which context it should be used, or any other information.

Looking for sentences containing for instance or for example on the Corpus of Contemporary American English, I got 27988 sentences containing for instance against 88202 sentences containing for example.

Since the difference is big enough, I was wondering:

Is for instance used in specific context?
Is for instance considered too formal or old-style English?
As English learner, is there any reason I should choose for instance over for example?


texts: hadn't remembered buying / didn't remember having bought

texts:
(textbook example)

  A: Honey, which one is for John's birthday? there are two gifts here on the table.

  B: Both of them are for John.

  A: Then why didn't you put them in one box together?

  B: What happened was that I hadn't remembered buying his gift last week and bought another one this afternoon.

(my sentence)

  I didn't remember having bought his gift last week and bought another one this afternoon.

the first sentence is what was on my textbook, and the second one is what I made.

first one is where the verb "remember" is written in past tense, and second one is where the verb "buy" is in past tense, so I wondered if the second one I made mean the same thing as the first one.

Do they both mean the same and grammatically correct?

And there's no difference in terms of meaning?


texts:
Ok. so English is my 2nd language... I watch this episode of SNL. And people are cracking up.. But I can't get my head around why "Can a bitch get a donut?” is funny and who is Keven Roberts (Googling reveals he's a businessman).

The skit can be found at this link.

I've been googling long time to get any hints.. but no clue yet..
Please help?


texts: What preposition to use for a time period with “book” and “reserve”

texts:
I would like to know which of the following sentences sounds more natural to native speakers:

a) I will book a room from Monday to Wednesday.

or

b) I will book a room for Monday to Wednesday.

The first option (a) sounds to me like the speaker will continue to perform the action of booking throughout that period, because, in my understanding, the action the verb book describes has no duration in itself, and therefore, for it to last for a certain period, it has to be repeated. However, I think I see this usage quite often.
The second option (b) looks to me like a valid, shorter way of saying::

c) I will book a room for (a period from) Monday to Wednesday.

I has the same structure as I will book a table for 7 p.m. except the preposition for marks a period, rather than a point in time.
I would also like to know whether the preference is in any way affected if the verb is changed from book to reserve (d-e), or the object is changed to a conference room (f-g), which I suspect may be less strongly associated with the concept of duration, and therefore, might somehow make the first option less valid than a hotel room.

d) I will reserve a room from Monday to Wednesday.

e) I will reserve a room for Monday to Wednesday.

f) I will book a conference room from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

g) I will book a conference room for 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

In addition, for the same reason I find the first sentence (a) somewhat strange, I find the following sentence a bit strange, too.

h) I will book a table at 7 p.m.

It sounds to me like the speaker will perform the action of booking at that time. Does it sound natural?

[EDIT]
What if the last sentence (h) has another prepositional phrase like this?
(i) I will book a table for four (people) at 7 p.m.
I think I have seen this. Does it still sound awkward?


texts: "This is a good day" vs "It is a good day" vs "Today is a good day" vs "It is a good day today"

texts:
Are these sentences below interchangeable?

  This is a good day.
  It is a good day.
  Today is a good day.
  It is a good day today.

As far as I can remember all of them can be used.

If we can use them all interchangeably, can I also replace "day" with "week", "month" and "year" in all those sentences? Like "This is a good year.", "It is a good year.". "This year is a good year.", "It is a good year this year." etc.


texts:
To my understanding its correct to write date like March 28, 2018, for example:

On the afternoon of March 28, 2018 there was a visit to NASA.

Is it correct to write:

On the afternoon of Wednesday March 28, 2018 there was a visit to NASA.

What's the correct way to include the week day?


texts:
I heard people say:

  A: Hurry up!

  B: Hang on! Let me complete my work.

But many people in this context use:

  Hang on! Let me finish my work.

Are they interchangeable?

Thank you.


texts: When should I say I apologize and when should I say I am sorry?

texts:
Is it related with the size of the wrong I did it or with the respect of the person or something else?

I made some researches and I found that :

  An apology is a formal admission of a wrongdoing. It may or may not be heartfelt .
  "I am sorry" is usually seen as being a truer admission of regret.

But I did not understand a truer admission of regret?


texts:
I am again confused a little bit.

Here is some context and how I see it, so I'd be glad if you could clarify it:

1) "If a book is boring, many people prefer not to read it. If a book is also too long - the same thing happens."

My vision: If some unspecific book is boring, many people don't read it. If some unspecific book is not only boring but also long - the same thing happens. I think it is acceptable to say this as we talk generally however the version below might be more likely.

2) "If a book is boring many people prefer not to read it. If the book is also too long - the same thing happens."

My vision: here I add some more information about a general book introduced so "the book" is perfect.

The questions are:

Do I see it all correctly?
Are they both acceptable and correct?
Is the second version more likely?

Thanks.


texts:
I would just like to know if this is idiomatic?

If that machine were broken, that would have been beeping since I turned it on.


texts: What is the meaning of "get on" in this sentence?

texts:
Is this correct grammar?

  My teacher taught me what kind of work should be done if you want to get on in all aspects of your work.

What does get on mean here?


texts:
A dusty wind whips in the sweaty faces of the humans.
  A dusty wind whips in the sweaty faces of humans.

The first sentence uses two thes. Is the article the required in front of humans? Which is correct, 1. or 2.?


texts:
I read a CNN article and I found the following sentence:

  "From what I see, I don't believe any of the individuals that were killed" were shot law enforcement during the crossfire with the suspect, Trochesset said.

I think it should be shot by law enforcement. But it’s hard for me to believe CNN made a mistake like this.

Am I correct?


texts:
If meaning of "happen to" is by chance, how 'happen to" is different from 'end up" ? Can I replace "happen to" with "end up" in the following sentences:

  He happens to be very happy/ good
  She happens to be hungry.
  I happen to be a teacher.
  Tom happens to have a lot of money.
  I happened to meet Alex on the road.
  She happens to like her job.

My understanding is that the both phrase mean "by chance or accidently". So, I am often confused when I use the phrases as they are similar in meanings.

Although they are similar in meanings, there must be different usage of each 'end up' and 'happen to', that's what often makes me confused to use them.


texts: How to correctly refer to siblings who are twins?

texts:
In a sentence where I want to refer to a twin siblings where I am not one of the twins, how should I phrase it?

Example 1

  When you have  a  twin sisters, ...

This comes to my mind first but it also sounds like I am one of the twins.

Example 2

  When you have a pair of twin sisters, ...

This sounds weird but it seems to more accurately distinguish myself from the twins.

Which is the more appropriate one? Or am I just overthinking it?


texts:
Playing a computer game: Let's say you have just raided(attack) an enemy base, hitting a gold storage with gold in it, but the time ran out. Which reaction is correct:

  "Too bad I nearly take it down, its a shame coz it is filled with a good deal of resource.''

Or

  "Too bad I nearly took it down, its a shame coz it is filled with a good deal of resource."

Is it time ran out?(coz it is a past) or time runs out?

And is it take it down or took it down(coz it is also    taken from the past)


texts: 'A man told him how much he admired.' - Who admired whom?

texts:
I think the verb admire usually takes an object, like 'I admire him.'
But, in the sentence below, there seems no object of the admire. The audio sounds the same as the script to me. If it is a mistake, it's strange that the narrator didn't notice that the script is wrong.

You mustn't mind your Uncle Joss. Some people find him strange at first, but he is very respected here. Just yesterday he told me that a man stopped and told him how much he admired.
https://www.bbc.com/learningenglish/tigrinya/features/drama/jamaica-ep-02

Am I right? If so, is that an usual expression?
And, which is the correct meaning of the 'how much he admired'?

how much the man admired Joss
how much Joss was admired


texts:
My apologies, but I am not available for the whole week of June 26. Could you please give me some time-slots for the following week?

  My apologies, but I am not available for the whole week of June 26. Could you please propose some time-slots for the following week?

Could you please tell me which one between the above sentences is correct? Is my usage of the word 'time-slots' correct?


texts: What does "Pay attention and none of your lip" mean?

texts:
I'm new to this community. I really like Sting's musical "The Last Ship", especially because the lyrics are amazing. I have a few questions concerning the lyrics of the song "What Have We Got?" from that musical.

Q1 In "Pay attention and none of your lip" mean? (2nd line) , what does the second half mean?

Idea: Is it related to the expression "pay lip service to sth."?

Q2 In "Tell me, what have we got but the noise inside the hold?", what is the "hold"?

Idea: does it refer to the inside of the ship?

Q3 Is the expression "And woe betide you're late." a common short form of "And woe betide you if you're late"?


texts:
Which one of these phrases sound more correct and why? What is the rule about asking 2 questions in the same sentence in English?

  Could you please tell me when can I get my check from you?

  Could you please tell me when I can get my check from you?


texts:
In these contexts, I don't know how to ask a question to
emphasize a fact. What tense or modal verb should I use( instead of ---marks)?

1)He is the son of a millionaire. He doesn't have to work. Why -- he work?
   (I want to say there's no good reason for him to work)

2)I have studied English for years and I'm going to take the TOEFL test. I have no reason to be worried about the test. Why--- be worried about it?

3) My girlfriend has cheated on me several times. I'm going to break up with her. Why ---I trust her again?(I want to say it's absurd to trust her again. I have no good reason to trust her again)

Thanks


texts: Is it correct to say "I fell off my bike while riding with my friends"?

texts:
What I want to say is:

I fell off my bike.
I was riding a bike with my friends.

=> I fell off my bike while riding with my friends.
or
=> I fell while riding a bike with my friends.

Which one is correct?


texts: A platform of wild animals to be shown to the public

texts:
I was writing an essay, and when I finished it and read it, I thought that this sentence:

  Zoos have always been the platform of wild animals to be shown to the public.

Is not idiomatic at all. But I don’t know a better way to put it.

Any suggestions?


texts:
I am currently trying to find the right way to say in english that I have a degree in graphic design. In France, this two years degree happens after high school and is called BTS (Brevet de technicien supérieur > Advanced technician degree).
I need to be very brief, and "Diploma of Higher Education in graphic design" is too long.
I want to know which of these is more accurate :

Academic degree in graphic design
Associate degree in graphic design
College degree in graphic design
Degree in graphic design


texts: What is the difference in terms of pronunciation of /eɪl/ and /el/?

texts:
For example:
   hail vs. hell,
   tail vs. tell,
   fail vs. fell.


texts: What does "wrap" mean in this news headline?

texts:
U.S. Stocks Decline on Tepid Manufacturing Data: Markets Wrap

(from Bloomberg News (Source))

What does "wrap" mean?


texts:
One day, Sonny sees a bruise on Connie's face and she tells him that
  Carlo hit her after she asked him if he was having an affair.

if "he" means Sonny, why she diverting topic here ?

Source


texts: Can we use 'my mother and my father' instead of 'my father and mother'

texts:
What is the role of 'and' in 'I invited my mother and father'?

In this sentence why can't we use
'my mother and my father' instead of 'my father and mother' ?


texts: It won't hurt you doing Vs. It won't hurt for you to do

texts:
It won't hurt you doing it.

  It won't hurt for you to do it.

What's the nuance between those? Is it just a matter of formality?


texts:
I heard or read various expressions starting with 'Oh my' such as

Oh, my god!
Oh, my gosh!
Oh, my brother!
Oh, my dad!
Oh, my heart!
Oh, my word!
or simply 'Oh, my!'

From dictionary search, 'Oh my god' expresses surprise or asking for help. For example, 'Oh, my god' might mean I get so much surprised and I don't know what to do. Please, help me, god.
But then, when it goes to the expression of 'Oh, my word', I don't know how I can even interpret it. Do natives intend any specific meaning or attitude when they say those phrases? Or do the expressions have no meaning intended except the surprise and they say those by habit?


texts: What does this sentence mean? Is "result out of" an idiom?

texts:
I googled this words, but didn't find much.
I read this sentence from a news source:

  Fans will recall Mack's use of upward of 10 different starting lineups during the 2016-17 season.That resulted out of necessity and inconsistency – injuries and a six-game losing streak forced his hand in shuffling and reshuffling the starting lineup.

Is is "[resulted out of] necessity", which I would probably interpret as "result from necessity", or "result [out of necessity]"? Out of necessity means "because it is necessary", but what does resulted out of necessity mean?

This sentence reads confusing to me on several levels. It has been suggested that it could be interpreted as "That resulted out of necessity and resulted inconsistency..." However, result is an intransitive verb and can't take a direct object.


texts: The English equivalent of the proverb "They sowed 'if', but it didn't grow"

texts:
In my native language, we have a proverb that its word-by-word translation  is:

They sowed 'if' (as if it was seeds and they had sowed it in the ground), but it didn't grow.

It means, make sure that you've arranged and prepared everything to make something happen and don't wait and wish that everything would go well if something else happens. In other words, never say,"everything will be fine, just if something else happens".

Examples:

1.

A: Hey John, do you think you can pass the test?

B: Yea, I've read first three chapters. If just 70% of the questions are from these chapters, I'll be fine.

A: (They sowed if, but it didn't grow)

2.

A: I want my money back.

B: If I harverst good crops this year, I'll pay you.

A: (They sowed if, but it didn't grow). I want my money back right now.

What can I put within brackets?

Thanks


texts:
As soon as she was a queen, she went around the country.

Can I change this sentence into ''no sooner----than''?

For example,

  No sooner was she a queen than she went around the country.

I raise a doubt that the word ''was'' is a linking verb and we can use it for inversion as inversion can apply for ''auxiliary verb''.And the word ''she'' is a weaker proper noun for ''copula inversion''.


texts: Grammar of "nowhere is that more apparent"

texts:
I have a question about the word "that" in the following sentence:

nowhere is that more apparent than in unemployment figures in the United States and Japan.

This is originally from a New York Times article (to avoid the paywall, I use a short quote put on the other website):
https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/careers-finance/sns-nyt-japan-jobless-rate-low-in-crisis-20200622-u35yzfcxmfb4xanltojwaxn3ii-photogallery.html
The meaning of this sentence is not an issue. What I am a bit confused with the role of "that" in the sentence. I thought this "that" is an adverb to indicate "to that degree". However, in a discussion on a message board, other people pointed out that my interpretation would be incorrect because an adverb "that" won't work with a comparative "more". Rather, this sentence should be understood as anastrophe where "that" is the true subject of the sentence and the natural order of words is "that is more apparent nowhere than in".
I probably got it wrong but want to have native English speakers' opinions.


texts: (Taking / putting in) the time + infinitive or gerund verb

texts:
I am wondering which following sentences does not sound idiomatic? (To me they all mean the same thing. If there is any nuance, then please let me know.)

  1.a. Thank you for taking the time "helping me".
  1.b. Thank you for taking the time "to help me".
  2.a. Thank you for putting in the time "helping me."
  2.b. Thank you for putting in the time "to help me."

P.S. My old thread is unable to answer this question.


texts: Does it make sense to say "I wrote a long letter for him" instead of "I wrote a long letter to him"? "To" is the most common, I'm not sure if it's grammatically wrong to use "for" in this instance.


texts:
At first, Gryffindors passing the giant hourglasses that recorded the
  house points the next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could
  they suddenly have a hundred and fifty points fewer than
  yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Harry Potter, the
  famous Harry Potter, their hero of two Quidditch matches, had lost
  them all those points, him and a couple of other stupid first years.
  (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

The bold structure has an adjective (fewer) instead of past participle. But it seems highly resembling this: 22.(used with a past participle) have something done to suffer the effects of what somebody else does to you. She had her bag stolen. (Oxford Advanced). Are the two the same cases or not?


texts: What is difference in using do, would in interrogative sentences?

texts:
Consider the following sentence.

Meera asked her mother-in-law, “__ you like something to drink before
dinner?”

The four options are would, do, will and did. The correct answer is would.
I am confused between would and do. It appears to me that both are correct answers.
Why is it more appropriate to use would here?


texts: "industrialised countries" vs. "industrial countries"

texts:
I cannot see any difference between industrialised countries and industrial countries. Can you?

  You can easily make your living there because it is an industrial country.
  You can easily make your living there because it is an industrialised country.


texts: What is the meaning of "it" in "as luck would have it"?

texts:
What is the meaning of "it" in the following sentences?

  Our car broke down on the road, but as luck would have it,
  there was a garage nearby.
  I arrived a little late and, as luck would have it, the last
  ticket had just been sold.

(Source: Merriam-Webster dictionary)

Does sentence 1 mean "Our car broke down on the road, but that our car broke down on the road would have as luck, there was a garage nearby" ?

Does sentence 2 mean "I arrived a little late and, that I arrived a little late would have as luck, the last ticket had just been sold" ?

Does it in sentence 1 mean "Our car broke down on the road" ?

Does it in sentence 2 mean "I arrived a little late"?

Is "as luck would have it" the inversion of "it would have as luck" ?


texts: Meaning and connotation of "_______ your heart out"

texts:
What does _____  your heart out mean? Does it carry a positive connotation or a negative one?

For example:

  work your heart out.

Does this mean that you like working, so you should do it to your heart's content, or does it mean you do a lot of what you don't like to do (work)?

Any help would be appreciated.


texts: Question over 'Russia warned of 'consequences' if Navalny dies.'

texts:
I read BBC news today, and this title 'Russia warned of 'consequences' if Navalny dies.' made me confused.
The news says the U.S warned Russia of 'consequences' if Navalny dies. My question is why the title does not have 'is' (Russia is warned of 'consequences' if Navalny dies.) for the passive form. Then I searched some answers online, someone explains 'Russia warned of 'consequences' is not a completed sentence. Therefore, the title does not need to use 'is' for the passive form.
If anyone can confirm this explanation, and why this sentence is not a completed sentence.


texts:
Here's the situation: I was taking notes in my notebook on the new phrases I get to see in an English series when I noticed I accidentally skipped one of the episodes so in my notebook I had episode number 4 but it was actually episode number 5 which was assigned to 4. And now I'm writing 4 after 5 in my notebook. Here I wondered how to describe it in English the thing that happened in my notebook. I assigned the wrong numbers. Here my sentence by which I want to mean 4 is in the place of 5 and 5 is in the place of 4 so basically it's 1, 2, 3, 5, 4. My thought was

  Number 4 and 5 are swapped.

Does it make sense? Is it the right way to say this? I know it's a piece of cake for a native speaker but I can't be sure.


texts:
Is "proposes" used properly in the following? The following that-clause is not a suggestion.

In his book “Mother Tongue: The English Language”, Bill Bryson states that this richness of vocabulary gives English an advantage over many other languages. He proposes that a language with a wider vocabulary has more ways to express the same thought.


texts:
He gave too much gas and fell.

  He gave too much throttle and fell.

What sounds better out of the two? A person accelerated his motorbike too much and fell. Is there a better way to put it, more common and natural one?


texts: what is the meaning of this phrase?: "and acted upon in the spirit and not according to the letter."?

texts:
what is the meaning of these phrases?: "personal nobility of character" and "the actual philosophy"?

If he may venture his individual opinion, it is
that the perfect recipient of spiritual teaching is the earnest man who
has worked his way through all the orthodox creeds, and whose mind,
eager and receptive, is a blank surface ready to register a new
impression exactly as received. He becomes the true child and pupil of
other-world teaching, and all other types of Spiritualist appear to be
compromises.
This does not alter the fact that personal nobility of character may make
the honest compromiser a far higher type than the pure Spiritualist, but
it applies only to the actual philosophy. The field of Spiritualism is
infinitely broad, and on it every variety of Christian, as well as the
Moslem, the Hindu or the Parsee, can dwell in brotherhood. But a mere
acceptance of spirit return and communion is not enough. Many
savages have that. We need a moral code as well, and whether we regard
Christ as a benevolent teacher or as a divine ambassador, His actual
ethical teaching in one form or another, even if not coupled with His
name, is an essential thing for the upliftment of mankind. But always it
must be checked by reason, and acted upon in the spirit and not
according to the letter.


texts: "I understood no words he said" vs "I understood no word he said"

texts:
My main question is: Can the singular forms and plural forms be used interchangeably after the word "no"?

For example, are these sentences interchangeable?

  1) "I understood no words he said."

  2) "I understood no word he said."

Another example: Are these sentences interchangeable?

  3) "There are no black students in his school."

  4) "There is no black student in his school."


texts: How is come around different from just coming?

texts:
For these two expressions

Some of my friends will come at 6 in the evening.
Some of my friends will come around at 6 in the evening.

I would like to know if these two expression differ in meaning? Does adding around change the meaning?


texts:
The following is from Frankenstein. I'd like to know why "phsyical" is regarded as the highest sense of "metaphysical":

. . . my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or, in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world.


texts: The possessive pronoun in this sentence?

texts:
One sees something like that and the picture forms in one's / their / his / her mind?

Which of the above possessive pronouns are preferable/correct?


texts: I can play [definite article or no article] samulnori

texts:
(1.a) I can play the gayageum.
(1.b) I can play the samulnori.

I can tell that ‘play the gayageum,’ having a definite article, is proper from ‘play the violin’ in CGEL,p.408. But how about ‘samulnori’? Do I have to add the or not? From ‘Hilda can dance the waltz’ (CGEL,p.408) (for dance), and ‘play the violin’ (for playing the musical instrument), it perchance needs to take the, because ‘samulnori’ is a combination of playing musical instruments and dancing. But there's no way for me to know.

When the verb is changed form ‘play’ to ‘practice’, is that you replied is applied alike?

(2.a) I practice the gayageum.
(2.b) I practice the samulnori.


texts: Would a native speaker append “no” to a statement to turn it into a question?

texts:
Does appending no to a statement make it a question?

E.g., "You decided to wait for me elsewhere than we had agreed, no?"

Note: The title and part of the body, as well as the idea, are taken verbatim from this example question.


texts: Alternative words for disturbing in semi-formal register for emails

texts:
I asked a few questions and sent a few emails to a customer service and  I want to begin with a kind of apologizing to my last email I will send.
I do not think it should be too formal or too apologetic but as  showing a politeness, I would like to add it.
However, using the word disturbing sounds a bit too strong for me since I have not said any rude thing on my emails and I am their customer.
What should I say then?

I am sorry to disturb you but I need to add some information to the
last email I sent.
I am sorry to make you busy but I need to add...


texts:
Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole

  It was advised that ____ inside until the storm passed our area.

  1) we are staying

  2) we stay

  3) we may

  4) we stayed

I believe that the answer is 2. But, I also think 4 is equally correct because I know most subjunctive structures can be replaced by "should + infinitive" or ordinary present and past tenses. Am I right?


texts: Do you prefer to write a draft in your native language and translate it later or not?

texts:
I am writing my PhD in English. I normaly go through 3 writing processes: drafting, reworking and finalizing.

For today, I write in English from the beginning. Since my mental focus lies on narrative, structural and argumentative issues at the beginning my English is very bad at this point of time. Thus I spend a lot of time to correct and rearticulate it at the end. I wonder if it might be more efficient to start writing in my native language and just translate it at the end.

What is the most convenient/efficient point of time to use English when you write an English text?


texts: Phrase that means: "it's very [someone] style"?

texts:
Example sentence:

  She suggested we go to an underground rock bar. That __ her.

I few options I can think of: "... very becoming of her" and "... was very her."

Are these valid options? Or there's a better one?

(I'm looking for something colloquial.)


texts: Does "leaf-shushed world" mean a quiet world where only the sound of leaves can be heard?

texts:
Does "leaf-shushed world" means a peaceful world like when you are in the woods, and all you hear is the sound of fallen leaves under your feet when you step on them?

  Freddy wants a tree-house, and I always meant to build one in the copper beech. Nothing fancy – just a sort of tree-borne raft, like the one me and David Ockeridge built in his dad's orchard, when we were kids in Black Swan Green. In my daydream I'd tell Fred that the copper beech is guarding his prezzie, and I'd watch him run down, find the rope ladder, and climb up to a better, leaf-shushed world. The thought of another man building Freddy's tree-house in an ordinary green beech made me hurl my trowel through the shed window. Shark-fins of crashing glass followed the trowel.
  Excerpt from David Mitchell's The Massive Rat.


texts: Why are 'too less' and 'too fewer' wrong?

texts:
Please do NOT rephrase or rewrite   the troubling sentences below.

  ✘ 1. Why is it wrong to write: too fewer than everyone ?
  ✓ 2. But it's right to write: excessively fewer than everyone.

  ✘ 3. Why is it wrong to write: too less than everything ?
  ✓ 4. But it's right to write: excessively less than everything.

5. Why are 1 and 3 wrong, but 2 and 4 are right?

6. By replacing ONLY the bolded, without rewriting anything else,
how can 1 and 3 be corrected? In other words, what can replace too?

Footnote: My thought of writing 'too fewer than 'everyone' here, motivated the above.


texts:
"It's typical of men to annex a global trend and turn it into a male
  device to reject women to make themselves feel clever and us feel
  stupid." (Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones's Diary)

It seems like in ‘men to annex’ men takes the role of subject and ‘to annex’ predicate. What I want to know is whether these complements of below are all possible.

It’s typical of men annexing ~
it’s typical of that men annex ~


texts: How many complements are in "I blame him for the failure of the report"?

texts:
Complement means required by the head. How many internal complements are required in the below sentence?

  I blame him for the failure of the report.

and is it possible to say "I failed the report"?


texts: "there's no risk in X" vs "there's no risk of X" vs "there's no risk to X"?

texts:
I was correcting a question on another SE site and found the following sentence, which immediately stroke me as odd:

  There's no risk to use falda in singular, even if there are more than one person involved.

My correction was as follows1:

  There's no risk in using falda in singular, even if there is more than one person involved.

But then I started thinking it over and wasn't so sure about my correction anymore, so I looked up several alternatives and found the following patterns:

  With Birch in command, there's no risk of compromise, mercy or compassion. [Collins]

  There's no risk of Ebola spreading in Europe. [The Local]

  Australia: Heath Minister says there is “no risk in vaccinating children” [Before It's News]

  RFU says there is 'no risk' in giving head coach Stuart Lancaster a new six-year contract through to 2020. [The Telegraph]

  For example, the French Penal Code sets out a duty to rescue where there is no risk to an individual, in Section 63. [Wikipedia]

  Europe's regulators have confirmed that there is no risk to consumers from BPA-based food contact materials. [Bisphenol A]

So this is what I gather:

No risk of X: there's no risk X will happen
No risk in X: X doesn't entail any risk
No risk to X: there's no risk X will be damaged

Am I correct? Are there any other prepositions I can use after "there's no risk", or any situations where the expressions above mean something different?

1: FWIW, what the OP meant was that it is safe to use falda (skirt) in singular even when the speaker is talking about more than one person wearing a skirt because context generally disambiguates.


texts:
I’m going to see Batman in the theatre.

In the case that I’m going to see a specific movie, e.g. Batman, do I use definite or indefinite article in locative adjunct? (It’s not yet decided which theatre I would go to.)


texts:
In a comment on the Sustainable Living beta Stack Exchange site I wrote

  The interesting part is the different transport mechanisms involved
  when it's either too cold or too hot inside.

Later on I was wondering if the either/or-construct would be the right one here.

Would it be better to say
"The interesting part is the different transport mechanisms involved when it's too cold or too hot inside, respectively"?

Right, context.
It's about heat transfer, where the most relevant transport mechanism changes, depending on the heat going out (heat losses due to convection and conduction) or coming in (sun radiation).


texts:
It is from this article. Here is the context:

  Salke suggested. “We’re really excited about Lord of the Rings. Despite all the chatter about it, the deal just closed a month ago. We’ve been talking to writers. We have an estate that’s very active. I’ve spent three hours with Simon Tolkien.

I am aware that estate has quite a few meanings, but I have no idea what it means there.


texts: ending "why not ... " with a question mark or period

texts:
If you were writing EFL materials, would you end the following sentence with a question mark or a period?

  Why not search for a recipe online, buy some ingredients, and make a cake of your dreams?


texts:
Here are two sentences, I found confusing when solving grammar exercise in oxford Grammar.

a) I __do__ like that coat. It's really nice.
b) I __very__ like that coat. It's really nice.

According to book (a) is the correct one because "do" is putting emphasis on the "like" verb. However if anyone can guide me why I cannot use "very"? "Very" is a adverb and coming before verb seems Ok to me or may be anyone can tell the exact reason why is it not correct because it's also seems like putting emphasis on the sentence?


texts:
Well done you legend!

When I translate this phrase, it looks little exaggerated. What does exactly this phrase mean? Can I use this phrase in a serious content or can I only use it in just a casual friendly environment?


texts:
This sentence is from an article about "Earthquakes":

  The surface of the earth, about 100 kilometers thick, is made of large pieces. When they move against  each other, an earthquake happens.

What does "move against each other" mean?  Does it mean "move in the opposite direction and hit"?


texts: Question about "in the game" used in this sentence

texts:
What does 'in the game' mean in context?

"The forest was overflowing with life. It was abundant in the game sought by hunters, timber for the fire, and valuable herbs to process into medicine."


texts:
Who will help me against Allah if I drove them away?

This rhetorical question is a translation of an Arabic / Quranic text that performs denial where a prophet denies that his people will protect him from Allah in case he drives the believers away.

Do you find any denial function in the English rhetorical question?


texts: "Wage" vs "Wages". Another use of "wages"

texts:
Laura was complaining for a wage.
Laura was complaining for the wage.

Which one would be correct?


texts: "The professor does the attendance in his room" is grammatically correct?

texts:
I know that attendance for students means "being present in the class".

How can I say that the professor answers the doubts questions in his room, for example Mondays between 4 and 5 pm?

Could it be like this?

  The student attendance is Mondays between 4 and 5 pm in my room.


texts: Can I replace the relative adjective "where" with "that"?

texts:
—Can you believe I had to pay 30 dollars for a haircut?

—You should try the barber’s where I go. It’s only 15.

In the above sentence, can I replace "where" with "that" or omit it?

Can I say "You should try the barber’s that I go" or You should try the barber’s I go?

Thank you in advance!


texts: "around" as in "get your head around something"

texts:
The idiom get your head around something is probably a (dead) metaphor. If so, I'm wondering what the exact meaning of "around" is, literally. There are several senses of the preposition around. I am not sure which one is being referred to by this idiom.

Please go over the senses of around listed below:

http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/around

Sense 5 seems to be a candidate:

on the other side of something, or to the other side of it without going through it or over it

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: Informal way to say "I am answerable to ..."

texts:
What is another, more informal way to say I am answerable to [somebody] as in the sentence:

  I am answerable only to President.


texts:
1:
Active voice: You can all buy your ticket at this counter.
Passive voice(book answer): All your tickets can be bought at this counter by you.
Passive voice(my answer): Your tickets can be bought by all of you at this counter.
My confusion rises because of All uses in sentence. I think all in above mentioned sentence refer to people (all of people) who want to buy ticket. But if we see answer of book it seems book takes all for tickets (all ticket).
So what should be the correct answer?


texts: How to read such figures with % as "up (by) 120%" and "increased (by) 120%". Do they mean the same?

texts:
There are now 5.7 billion euros, in notes and coins, in circulation,
up 120% from December 31 2001,......

Following significant media coverage of the statistics, calls and
contacts logged on the following day – 6 April – were up by 120%
compared with the previous day.

Plastic bag regulation can have unintended consequences. Sales of
small trash can liners increased 120% after bag bans

Rough sleeping has increased by 120% in England but has fallen
in Scotland.

Such phrases describing growth rate as in the above examples are very common, but sometimes I'm confused about how to read them correctly.
My understanding is:

If our 2019 sales are up 120% (or has increased 120%) from year 2018, it means, for instance, US$ 100 million in 2018, and US$ 120 million in 2019

If our 2019 sales are up by 120% (or has increased by 120%) from year 2018, it means, for instance, US$ 100 million in 2018, and US$ 220 million in 2019

If the above understanding is correct, then how should I interpret "..... is up 20% from last year"? Is it different from "up 120% from last year"?
Or maybe those expressions include some ambiguities?


texts: What does "go jarringly with something" mean?

texts:
I'm having difficulty understanding this piece of Stephen King's "The Stand":

He was Bible-reading with her in the living room, but he looked
nervous and anxious to get away. Nick could guess why. Her fever had
given her a rosy, girlish glow that went jarringly with her
bereavement. Perhaps the minister had been afraid she was going to
make a pass at him. More likely, though, he had been anxious to
gather up his family and melt away over the fields.

The aforementioned woman is suffering a catching virus which only recently killed her husband. The roads of the town are blocked by military blockposts, people can try escaping via woods or fields.
As far as I understand "go with something" means to exist at the same time or in the same place as something; to be found together. But I'm not sure of the import of "went jarringly with". What does it mean?
And the dictionary says that make a pass at somebody means to try to start a sexual relationship with somebody. But I don't think it means this in the given text? How do you interpret this text in given context?


texts: round off a screw head = strip a screw head?

texts:
From Aviation SE:

  We need to replace the fuel tanks on a Cessna 150 and the screws holding the wing cover won't come out. They are just frozen in place. I think that the paint also may be working against us: Getting the paint out of the screw heads has been difficult. So far no screw heads have been rounded off.

Is a rounded off screw head the same as a stripped head, that is, a head with its notches disrupted due to excessive force applied by the instrument?


texts:
I went in, booted as I was. (Is this same as?: I went in though I was booted.)
I think booted as I was is a concessive clause.


texts: Should I add an article in the following sentence?

texts:
If I want to ask generally about differences of an organ, should I add an article before the name of the organ?

For example:

  What are the differences between large intestine and small intestine

I saw this question on Facebook and I am not sure if it's correct or not. If it's correct then I don't understand why there should not have an articles before the names of the organs. (a small intestine and a large intestine)


texts: "you are pushing me away" vs. "you push me away"

texts:
Again I am wondering which version is more suitable:

  "Do you love me?"

  "I don`t know."

Should the response be:

  "You do know that whenever you say that you don't know whether you love me or not, you are pushing me away.

or:

  You do know that whenever you say that you don't know whether you love me or not, you push me away.

(I would probably use "you are pushing me").


texts:
Sentence 1a: You can come and stay with us whenever you want.

Sentence 1b: You can come and stay with us no matter when you want.

Sentence 2a: You can ask for help whenever you need it.

Sentence 2b: You can ask for help no matter when you need it.

Does sentence 1a have the same meaning as sentence 1b?
Does sentence 2a have the same meaning as sentence 2b? In these situations, Do “whenever” and "no mater when" introduce concessive clauses?


texts: Even Now.... or Even Until Now... Placement Ambiguity

texts:
Sentence A : The boy's body has been devoured by disease

I want to place even now, and i have a few alternatives :

Even until now the boy's body has been devoured by disease

The boy's body has been devoured by disease even now.

Question : Now the question where should i place the "even now" so that it would sound more natural as a native speaker would do. Please correct me.


texts:
I heard these lines in the movie Minions. They go like

  Stuart: "Scarlet."

  Scarlet: "Don't you Scarlet me backstabbing little traitors."

The name Scarlet is used here as a verb. What do this mean and how in other ways can names be used as part of speech other than noun?


texts:
This is an excerpt using the expression 'if it were possible.' I would like to be able to use it in my composition in the future. But the rule that governs the use seems more than just a little complicated; it looks as though it is not a second conditional in its own sense.

Could or should you use it with a non-conditional main clause?
Should the main clause be in the past, as in the original, example sentence?
Would 'if it were possible' collocate better with the comparative?
Would 'if that were possible' be better, depending on the way sentence is structured?

  Blue just smiled back, Gavin got down, Mr. Tisdale and I and Miss Edna
  froze in our positions in the tableau, the full silence fell again,
  and Junie raised the little pistol and called them to their marks once
  more.

  Bang! And this time, if it were possible, Blue reached out to an even
  greater early lead. It was as if Gavin was so intimidated by what he
  knew was coming that he let himself be shamed all the more.

  Source: Everybody's All-American by Frank Deford.

I rendered my own sentence:

  [1] I started seeing the computer shutting down a few times a day. So
  I tried to fix it but I failed; it started acting up more crazily, if
  that were possible.


texts:
Sarah Bernhardt travelled with her artist-lover Georges Clairin and a professional aeronaut in an orange balloon called Doña Sol, after her current role at the Comédie-Française. At six thirty in the evening, an hour into their flight, the actress played mother, preparing tartines de foie gras. The aeronaut opened a bottle of champagne, firing the cork into the sky; Bernhardt drank from a silver goblet.

Source: Julian Barnes. Levels of Life. Vintage 2014, p. 4.

I would like to ask what the part "the actress played mother" exactly means. Is it possible to understand it in the effect that the actress played a housekeeper as the official translator into my native language interpret it? – Why is the indefinite arcticle before "mother" missing?


texts:
What's the name of the part between the fingertip and hyponychium?
I want to describe some kind of feeling there. I know I can say the phrase "This feeling is in between the fingertip and the hyponychium", but I'm looking for the term for this place. I googled for my question but I found nothing about it what I'm looking for.
In this illustration, the area I'm looking for is noted with the letter e (the photo was taken from this book, but this letter notes it for other purposes).


texts: how do i know when to use "in" and "on"?

texts:
i mean when i'm not talking about places or time like in these examples:
Using "on":

On that subject she was adamant.
His contemplative regard fell on Carmen
It's about time you spent some money on yourself.
Pressing on the scar, he winced.

Now with "in":

He was such a wonderful person in so many ways.
As it came to a stop the conductor called out in a loud voice.
He put a spoon in her hand.
Somehow it simply wasn't top priority in her life right now.
"It's okay," he said in a flippant tone.


texts: When does article "the" change meaning of an expression?

texts:
I want to find some examples when article "the" changes meaning of an expression, can you help me and give some examples?

E.g.

  I'm in the school.

Means I am in the building.

  I'm in school.

Means that I'm a student.

  In bed.

Refers to customary activities undertaken while someone is on the way to sleep.

  In the bed.

Less likely to denote customary activity associated with sleeping and more likely to denote other activities.

It's not a duplicate of this question because it's not about the usage of a/an,zero or the article, it is about how an article can change meaning of a certain expression.


texts: Meaning of "Hadn’t Mrs. Pritchard almost said as much before she had caught herself"

texts:
I paid no attention to these stories until one afternoon she said, “I once saw your parents in Nairobi at a Government House garden party. I can’t be
  sure, but I do believe you were with them. One doesn’t forget ginger hair, although I don’t recall you as being so thin. Of course I never for a moment
  believed the tales of your father being disowned and sent away by your grandfather. That was just malicious talk, I am sure.”

  I didn’t believe it was malicious talk. Hadn’t Mrs. Pritchard almost said as much before she had caught herself? What did that mean? Was the grandfather truly looking forward to my visiting, or was I being forced on
  him, the first step in the Pritchards’ desire to return to England? Would my coming truly make him better, or would this reminder of a son he had had to
  send away cause him more misery?

Can we write it like this:had Mrs.Prichard said all of the story that Miss Limplinger had said to be not caught by someone else?

I really get confused by its meaning...

Source:Listening for Lions by
Gloria Whelan


texts: What does it mean by "take something into the bargain" and the following sentence in this context?

texts:
The story of Rip Van Winkle may seem incredible to many, but nevertheless I give it my full belief, for I know the vicinity of our old Dutch settlements to have been very subject to marvellous events and appearances. Indeed, I have heard many stranger stories than this, in the villages along the Hudson; all of which were too well authenticated to admit of a doubt. I have even talked with Rip Van Winkle myself, who, when I last saw him, was a very venerable old man, and so perfectly rational and consistent on every other point, that I think no conscientious person could refuse to take this into the bargain; nay, I have seen a certificate on the subject taken before a country justice and signed with cross, in the justice’s own handwriting. The story, therefore, is beyond the possibility of doubt.

This is from the short story, Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving. Here, the narrator is trying to say what he previously told is absolutely true, there's no room for doubt. (though it's actually not. it's fiction.)

Now I get the overall point of the paragraph, but don't understand what the bolded parts mean exactly, especially the meaning of "take this into the bargain" and the whole of the following sentence.

I've looked up the meaning of "into the bargain" and still not sure if the definition fits here or if it has other meaning. As for the next sentence, I have no idea even about the structure. Is it "I have seen a certificate [on the subject (taken before a country justice and signed with cross)]"? What does "taken before a country justice" mean(I know the individual meaning of these words but can't make any sense all put together.)? Also, what's "cross" and "justice's own handwriting"?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
It's always hard to explain the difference between for and of in situations like this: the side mirror for this bus costs more than my car VS the side mirror of this bus costs more than my car.

I'd normally go for 'for' just because that's the nuance I would be going for when I need to say such a phrase, but it's really hard to describe the difference - can someone explain if there is a certain rule to this, or at least explain the exact difference in nuance in words?


texts:
I am not sure if I should use plural or singular. I have many responses. I have a sentence like:

  We summarise the responses data

vs.

  We summarise the response

Which one should I use?


texts: what is the meaning of "expressive" after noun in context?

texts:
I can't translate this sentence into my native language.

  The emperors and scholar-officials cannot be reached now, but they have left a wealth of evidence that they found their state sacrifices and music expressive.

Expressive is an adjective and it has been placed at the end of the sentence.


texts: What does 'marks' refer to in this context?

texts:
“What were you doing out of your dormitory at four in the morning?” said Bill, surveying his mother with amazement.

  Mrs. Weasley grinned, her eyes twinkling.

  “Your father and I had been for a nighttime stroll,” she said. “He got
  caught by Apollyon Pringle - he was the caretaker in those days - your
  father's still got the marks.”

I'm not sure what 'marks' refers to. Is it the marks for each house, the marks on his father's body or something else?

From Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.


texts: what does "wouldn't have known any better mean" mean in the following?

texts: The car I drove needed some work but I was afraid to take it to the mechanic. Because honestly, the mechanic could have shown me an electric can opener and said, "This is part of your car and it's broken -- pay me to fix it," and I wouldn't have known any better.


texts: Figuring out meaning of a sentence with ambiguous word

texts:
How to identify the intended meaning of a sentence when a word with different meanings is used in it.

For example, consider this sentence:

  "I was tremendously apprehensive"

If taken out of context, it seems hard to tell whether the person meant:

I was capable of understanding.
Or, I was anxious.

So, my question is: Is there a general strategy for dealing with such cases?  Or, is it impossible to tell the meaning without looking at the broader context?  And, if it is the case, are there any heuristics which can be applied in such situations?

Thank you!

For reference, the above sentence is taken from this article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/10/20/late-bloomers-malcolm-gladwell, where the meaning becomes clear when read in context.


texts: Placement of "here" with "Am I the only one...?"

texts:
Are these sentences correct?

  1) "Am I the only one who doesn't play video games here?"
  2) "Here, am I the only one who doesn't play video games?"

Can I say these two sentences to mean "Am I the only one here who doesn't play video games?" I'm asking this because especially the sentence number 1 sounds kind of wrong to me. It sounds as if I'm talking about playing video games at the place we're at while it's not what I mean.

Context: Let's say I'm in a friend group. Everybody's talking about video games and I want to ask if I'm the only one among us who doesn't play video games.


texts:
Is there any difference in meaning between a that-clause and a to-infinitive-clause? For example, can't the following sentence

  It is possible for strikes to happen at any time.

be rephrased with

  It is possible that strikes will happen at any time.

?

I've been thinking about this since I read "may, might and can" from Michael Swan's Practical English Usage.

  Can is not used in affirmative clauses to talk about the chances that something actually will happen or is happening(= 'It is possible that ...'). To express this meaning, we use may/might/could. We can use can to talk about a more general or theoretical kind of possibility(='It is possible to ...'). Compare:

  There may/might be a strike next week. (=It is possible that there will be...).

  Strikes can happen at any time. (=It is possible for strikes to happen...)

In the description above,
there seems to be the assumption that It is possible that ... expresses a possibility of a specific event, while It is possible to ... expresses a theoretical possibility. But I haven't read about such a difference in meaning between a that-clause and a to-infinitive-clause.


texts: What's the meaning of "bounced right back"?

texts:
This is a passage from a novel:

  "It's those C-sections," Georgie's mom would say. As if Georgie had chosen to have two C-sections, as if she'd order them off the menu out of sheer laziness "I had you girls the natural way, and my body bounced right back."

What does it mean when she said her body bounced right back? Does it mean she become slim again right away after giving birth?


texts:
Is the following sentence, which uses possessive pronoun  "its" without noun, correct?

  Affirming something's being white excludes denying it, because something's being white excludes its not being white.

This book, for example, uses the noun "material truth" after "its"

  Denying an idea is having another idea that excludes its material truth.

It would more helpful if anyone interpret with apt examples.

EDIT: The word "plural" has been changed "possessive". Apology for my mistake.


texts: Can we use present perfect tense for "love" or "like"?

texts:
Ok, "I like / love him a lot": we use simple present tense because it expresses a fact and a habit.

can we say "I have liked / loved him for 2 years": it expresses an action happened in the past and has been progressing continuously to the present time.

But I seldom hear anyone saying like that.

But it is common to say "I've been in love with him for 2 years".


texts: Please explain - "They find their parents and guardians in their very environment from whom they can know whatever they require"

texts:
"Young learners, no doubt, are very investigative by nature. Whenever they come across a new thing or they hear about it, a number of questions hit their curious and tender mind. They want to know appropriate answers to their questions. They find their parents and guardians in their very environment from whom they can know whatever they require. It is the due responsibility of parents and guardians to give them satisfactory answers…"

Can anyone explain me the meaning and grammar of the bold part? I can't figure it out.

My friend said that the sentence in bold is grammatically correct, but it's for informal use.


texts: "She hopes to earn her living as a ___ in an office"

texts:
I am rattled today when I tried to answer the following question:

  "Now that she is fully trained, she hopes to earn her living as a ................. in an office."

  Select one:
  A. typewriter
  B. secretary
  C. staff
  D. personnel

I think all of the above are correct. Can anyone help me? Please tell which one is correct and WHY other options would be incorrect.


texts:
The first few weeks or months I ___ that I was eating chocolate or
cakes, and them I woke up in the morning and my body was crying for
sugar.
a) was dreaming b) used to dreaming c) used to dream d) had dreamed

It is obviously, that b and d are wrong, but I see no difference between A and C. What are the difference between Past continuous and used to? I was told that C is the correct answer.


texts: What is the difference between 'all business requirements' and 'all the business requirements'?

texts:
How do we separate the following sentences in terms of meaning?

  We cater to all business requirements.

  We cater to all the business requirements.

IMO, 'all business' denotes each and every business while 'all the business' denotes all the activities of the business. Am I right? Please give better sentences in this context if any.


texts: Should I use 'of' or not? "Plays of Shakespeare" vs "Shakespeare's plays"

texts:
When should one use the following one over another?

The plays of Shakespeare will always be classics.

Shakespeare's plays will always be classics.


texts: I ate pizza yesterday vs I ate a pizza yesterday

texts:
What's the difference and which one is correct?:

  I ate pizza yesterday.

  I ate a pizza yesterday.


texts: tupperware means just for tupperware product or plastic container in general?

texts:
According to a dictionary Tupperware is a company name and refers to their products.

In the daily conversation the word is used also for other company's plastic container? Or just for their products?


texts: Can I change the order of the following words?

texts:
As for the following sentence:

  For me, to live life without achieving my dreams is much too high a price to pay for security.

I want to know if I can change the order of the words before price, for example, can I change the order of those words to much too a high price?


texts: "Charms of life" - is it correct English?

texts: I have a question, which for some of you may be really obvious, but I decided to ask, is the phrase 'Charms of life' 100% English correct? The context is - describing the good things that happens to us and something we like in life.


texts: tense question about 'Would it be okay if~' phrase

texts:
I found some sentences that used 'would it be okay if~?'phrase.
But some of them used past tense with above phrase, but others used present tense with that.

  Would it be possible if I talked to him before he left?
  Would it be possible if I talk to him before he leaves?

Is there any difference between these two sentences?


texts: what is the difference "might be able to" and "might have to"?

texts:
What is the difference "might be able to" and "might have to"?

Tell me about your problem. I might be able to help you.
I'm not free this evening, but I might be able to meet you tomorrow.
I don't know if I'll be free on Sunday. I might have to work.
I can come to the meeting, but I might have to leave before the end.

Please, explain to me.


texts: A word to say you have deep passion for an idea

texts:
What is the best word for saying that I have a deep passion about an idea, saying that I agree with it and connect to it?

For instance:

  I am very ___ with Eran's Idea.


texts: Using "had better" in information questions

texts:
For some reason, I can't find an information question with had better in any websites, no grammar rules covering this! It's all about yes/no questions. It got me thinking if there is something about using had better with a question word. For example does this question sound natural to a native speaker?

  What had you better do if you've lost your child in a mall?


texts:
Which of the following sentences is more natural and grammatically correct?

  Without their having been read, the books were returned to the library.
  Without having been read, the books were returned to the library.
  Without being read, the books were returned to the library.


texts: Andy murray "may "miss ATP Finals or Andy murray "might" miss ATP finals.which one is correct? And please explain when to use 'may' and 'might'.


texts: Where does "Can't see the wood for the trees" come from?

texts:
I looked online for the meaning of the expression "Can't see the wood for the trees"; see for example, this. It means getting so much involved in the details of something such that you can not see the whole picture/view of it.

I am wondering why? How does the connection between wood and tree imply this?

PS:
In a similar expression "can't see the forest for the tree" with the same meaning, it makes sense to say looking very closely to trees prevents somebody seeing the whole forest. In other words, looking closely to the trees is the reason ("for" word in the idiom) that somebody might not be able to see the whole forest. But I can not see such a connection between wood and tree in the expression "Can't see the wood for the trees"!


texts:
Schools use the feedback from Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint to make strategic decisions, drawing upon a pool of information
  and specialist reporting tools that are built into the tests.

Source: Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint

The sentence above can be broken down into:

1- Schools use the feedback from Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint to make strategic decisions.

2- Schools draw upon a pool of information and specialist reporting tools that are built into the tests.

Is the analysis correct?


texts: Is this sentence correct- I'll be coming later than him?

texts:
I used this sentence on one occasion, but after speaking it seemed like it's wrong.

Context: I and my friend are on a holiday and my friend will return before me. I told another friend of our's that

  I'll be coming later than him.

Is this a correct formation?


texts:
Would you please tell me if the following sentence is correct?

  I will come and meet you at the first chance.

I'm confused about that last part. I've seen the idiom "at the first chance" before, but I'm not sure if I've used it properly in the sentence. If this isn't correct, please explain why.

As for context, I would be sending this to a professor in an email.


texts:
Review: Nest Hub (2nd gen) sleep tracking ushers in a radically more pervasive Google Assistant

It's the review title of this media. Why is there an indefinite article 'a'? Because Google Assistant is a proper noun and it is not used as a common noun in the context I presume there should not be 'a'.


texts: Can I remove the "nonetheless" in this sentence?

texts:
When I search the term jamais vu, I got a quote:

  In psychology, jamais vu (/ˈʒɑːmeɪ ˈvuː/; from French, meaning "never seen") is the phenomenon of experiencing a situation that one recognizes in some fashion, but that nonetheless seems very unfamiliar.

I'd like to know whether I can remove the word nonetheless? What does it do in this sentence?


texts:
And business data decays a lot faster than consumer data: 30% a quarter in some sectors. That means your entire list dies every year.

What dose "30% a quarter" means here?


texts: "The victory, within four days, was just reward" - why not "was just a reward"?

texts:
Source

  The victory, within four days, was just reward for skipper Kohli's insistence on playing five bowlers. Kohli led the way with a superb 200.

We did not use was just a reward because was just reward has an idiomatic usage.What do you say?


texts: Is the construction "the names of them" used in the sense "their names" totally ungrammatical? Is it acceptable in dialects?


texts: Since I don't use my mobile phone much like others. I want to mention me as in one word "this kind of person" who don't care much about mobile phones or attending calls. I know the word Nomophobia means fear of being without phone. But I couldn't find any opposite word for the word Nomophobia.


texts:
Does "set at rest" mean "resolve,satisfy"?
If he had any doubts that raps were independent of
the medium they were (author and the medium) finally satisfied that raps are independent of the medium in that occasion? am i right?
The author has come to the
conclusion, as already stated, that up to a point they are under the
control of the medium, and that beyond that point they are not. He
cannot easily forget the distress and embarrassment of a great Northcountry
medium when in the author's presence loud raps, sounding like
the snapping of fingers, broke out round his head in the coffee-room of
a Doncaster hotel. If he had any doubts that raps were independent of
the medium they were finally set at rest upon that occasion.
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/set+at+rest


texts: What does "wet weather in my soul" mean?

texts:
A psychologist tells of how his 5-year-old daughter taught him something that made him change:

  "The notion of a Positive Psychology movement began at a moment in time a few months after I had been elected President of the American Psychological Association. It took place in my garden while I was weeding with my five-year old daughter, Nikki. I have to confess that even though I write books about children, I'm really not all that good with them. I am goal-oriented and time-urgent and when I'm weeding in the garden, I'm actually trying to get the weeding done. Nikki, however, was throwing weeds into the air and dancing around. I yelled at her. She walked away, came back, and said, "Daddy, I want to talk to you."

  "Yes, Nikki?"

  "Daddy, do you remember before my fifth birthday? From the time I was three to the time I was five, I was a whiner. I whined every day. When I turned five, I decided not to whine anymore. That was the hardest thing I've ever done. And if I can stop whining, you can stop being such a grouch."

  This was for me an epiphany, nothing less. I learned something about Nikki, something about raising kids, something about myself, and a great deal about my profession."

  "Raising children, I realized, is more than fixing what is wrong with them. It is about identifying and nurturing their strongest qualities, what they own and are best at, and helping them find niches in which they can best live out these positive qualities.

  As for my own life, Nikki hit the nail right on the head. I was a grouch. I had spent fifty years mostly enduring wet weather in my soul, and the last ten years being a nimbus cloud in a household of sunshine. Any good fortune I had was probably not due to my grouchiness, but in spite of it. In that moment, I resolved to change."

What do the boldface parts mean?


texts: How to understand the `drop` in the sentence?

texts:
From the documentation for subprocess

  It is a drop in replacement with better behavior in many situations.

I don't understand the drop meaning in the paragraph. who can explain it for me?


texts:
They weren’t being intentionally dishonest, just influenced by the conventional wisdom.
As a part of speech of "being" here.


texts:
Let's go back in time about one century to see how people were thinking about this problem then.

  Let's go about one century back in time to see how people were thinking about this problem then.

  Let's time-travel about one century back in history to see how people were thinking about this problem then.

Which way of saying the bold part is more idomatic? Or maybe there is better suggestions?


texts:
maintenance = [mass noun] 2. The provision of financial support for a person’s living expenses, or the support so provided

1. Would someone please confirm the right part of speech and definition of so? Is it an adverb and thus the following definition 4 thereunder?

  In the way described or demonstrated; thus

2. Is the bolded cause necessary? It seems just to repeat the first clause? If there's already provision of financial support, then necessarily the bolded is true?


texts:
I've tested it in Microsoft Bing Translator (pronounced it as /ˌkəʊ vid/, the result is unstable (sometimes it shows correctly and sometimes not. - How to use the Translator? - Type abc into the left textbox and the icon of a mic will show up; click the mic and speak). Here's How to Pronounce COVID. But I need phonetic symbles to be spelt out.

Bill Gates tweeted
COVID-19 has cost lives, sickened millions, and thrust the global economy into a devastating recession. But hope is on the horizon:


texts:
You should start the rehearsal from ten days ahead of the play.

  You should turn the indicators on from one mile ahead of the hospital.

Is the sentence pattern from ahead of valid in these sentences?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
Consider the diffrence between the two sentences below:

  Today's match has been cancelled. (Present Perfect)
  (Meaning: Today's match is cancelled due to any reason. This would be just an information.)

  Today's match has been cancelled by organiser. (Present Perfect but in passive)
  (Meaning: Today's match is cancelled by organiser. It is in passive voice.)

In the first example I understand that the match was cancelled and in the second example I understand that the match was cancelled by the organiser.

Please explain and clarify it for me if I understand it incorrectly.


texts: Can double "but"s be used in a sentence?

texts:
It's not literally double "but"s, but here's the sentence that I'm talking about:
The old system had its flaws, but nevertheless it was preferable to the new one.
I picked this up from oxford dictionary, by the way, and I'm entirely sure that "but" and "nevertheless" have the same meaning, don't they? (I've looked it up my thesaurus). Isn't it a bit redundant?


texts: What does it mean "Formal German representative"?

texts:
What does it mean
"Formal German representative" (of whatever company)?
If you see this title (in the head of the paper blank), what do you understand?

  1) It means: representative in German

  2) It means: representative of German


texts: 'We are having a party this evening' - Why do we use the present continuous?

texts:
I have a sentence:

  We are having a party this evening.

I don't know why we use present continuous. In grammar, we don't use having for possess.


texts:
Which adjective to use for a personification of living being (her/his or its)?

  Nature offers its/her lap to one who seeks it.
  Death completes its/his course, no one can stop it/him.

I was watching a grammar video, it said we use his/her for non living being when they are masculine or feminine. Is this correct? Can you explain this rule a little bit more with some better example?


texts: No article is used before a noun used in phrases as: to leave home, to send word, to caught fire, etc etc. Examples: He sent me word to see him. He left home. Here is my question: why not these phrases take articles like 1. He sent me a/the word to see him. 2. He left a/the home.


texts: What is the correct pronunciation of "don't you"?

texts:
I don't understand what's the standard pronunciation of words ending in t followed by you, including "don't you", "want you" etc. Even when hearing the same person talking for some time, their pronunciation seems to vary between:

don't you (t pronounced /t/)
don'you (silent t)
don'tch you (t becomes /tʃ/)

Why does each variation occur and which one would be the correct pronunciation?


texts: Can I replace the word of "whose" with "which"?

texts:
Sentence：Don’t use a word the meaning whose you don’t understand.

Q：
Can I replace the word of "whose" with "which" ?

Analyse as below：


texts: marketing campaigns aim at .. should it be 'aimed at' or 'that aim at'

texts:
Example (Putin is actually in serious trouble):

  Moscow has no doubt been very effective mounting guerrilla marketing campaigns aim at sowing doubt and confusion in the West. And they have been skilful in manipulating and surreptitiously influencing media narratives on issues like the Ukraine war and the downing of flight MH17.

Without that between campaigns and aim at, it's very difficult to keep up with the flow of the sentence when you read it fast because it's quite possible to read guerrilla marketing campaigns aim as one thing, one unit—a noun phrase, in other words—and then halfway through realize that something's up grammatically with what you just read. And then you'd have to step back to read it again and then mentally plug in a that to smooth out the grammar. Don't you think so? Do you think the sentence would sound better with that?


texts: The use of "for" in the sense of "in honor of"

texts:
The 17th entry for "for" in thefreedictionary:

  in honor of: to give a dinner for a person.

A little search in Google Books gave some examples:

  Mr. and Mrs. R. Hall McCormick and Miss Elizabeth McCormick will
  give a dinner for eighty, January 9, the night of the Artists' Fete for the benefit of the Chicago Lying-In Hospital and Dispensary.
  But he said to his father, "For years I have worked for you like a
  slave and have always obeyed you. But you have never even given me a
  little goat, so that I could give a dinner for my friends. This other
  son of yours wasted your money on prostitutes."
  During the fall he had called Kirk into his office and stated that the
  State Department had asked him to give a dinner for the Shah.
  If she had gone to Malaysia, when the prime minister came to town, she'd give a dinner for him. The ambassador would look up what they did last time and there was always a meal at Mrs. Graham's house.

I think the first example is different from the others in that "for eighty" modifies "a dinner". The dinner is intended for eighty people.

I'm not sure if the other three examples could reasonably be rephrased as "give a dinner to". I think the meaning would stay the same, but "give a dinner for" adds a connotation of "in honor of". Semantically, do those referents of "for" have to be present in the dinner?

And when could "for" be used in the sense of "in honor of"? The following examples are also taken from Google Books. Could they be substituted with "for him" without much change in meaning?

  It was a beautiful May morning, and Aleksi felt that the eiders made
  their low formation flights just centimeters above the water surface
  in honor of him.

  It is reported of Stilpo the philosopher, that he thought he saw
  Neptune in his sleep, and that he seemed very much displeased with
  him, because he had not (as was usual with his priests) sacrificed an
  ox in honor of him.

  A pervasive silence ruled that Monday after Mike's murder, with
  gathering groups hoping to hear more information. The Cadmus employees
  had a moment of silence in honor of him.


texts: What is the basic order of noun, verb, adjective, adverb etc? A very general format?

texts:
Sometimes, I wonder the structure of the sentences. We all know that changing the position of the words may change the entire meaning. It's very important in the language to learn this and stay clear from ambiguity.

For instance, read StoneyB's comment

  Have you looked up the words which confuse you in a dictionary?

To me, this first meant that the OP should look for the words that he finds confusing in a dictionary and not the words that he mentioned in his question.

If I were the commentator, I'd have written this -

  Have you looked up the confusing words in a dictionary?

Note to save this question from getting closed: I don't need a perfect structure that goes true in any circumstances. Instead, I need a very general approach of the order of the words in a sentence (something as in the answer of StoneyB). I had read it somewhere (something like subject noun, verb, adjective, object noun...or the likebut forgot to make a note of it).

This'll help me learn the structure.


texts:
1 How do you dare talk to him? (modal)
2 How do you dare to talk to him. (lexical)
The difference is clear. However, there are blended uses like
3 She dares not say a word.
4 I dare you kiss that girl.
As far as I know 3 and 4 are grammatically correct. Do you agree with it? What's the difference between
3 She dares not say a word. and She dare not say a word
4 I dare you kiss that girl. and I dare you to kiss that girl.


texts: How to distinguish "steal" from "steel"?

texts:
These two words have the same transcription [stiːl]. How to know which one of them had been told, considering the fact that both of them could be a noun or a verb?

For example:

  I want to steel it.

  I want to steal it.


texts: Should I put an article before "House E"?

texts: When you say "house 25", you don't add "the". Does the zero article apply to the use of the alphabet: house e?


texts: "returned as a different man" or " returned a different man"?

texts:
If he had fought in the First World War, he might have returned _____.

Is it correct to insert " as a different man" or " a different man"?
I suppose both are correct.  "as a different man" function as an adverb phrase for return; for "a different man," I think it is an adjunct for "he," to give more description of him.


texts:
“Jennifer, look. I feel so bad if Phoebe’s up here and you’re up into look at after her.”
  “We don’t mind, huh. We don’t mind at all.”
  “Thanks but she needs to be back at home with me, to where she belongs.”
  “I think that’s rather after Phoebe. Don’t you?”
  (The Archers, BBC radio 4, part of this is here)

It seems that ‘after’ denotes ‘dependent upon,’ I guess. But I can’t find it in dictionaries. Is it so? Or is there an omission after the phrase, e.g. ‘after Phoebe (has her time here)’?
(Jennifer: Phoebe's grandmother (Phoebe's mother's side), the other speaker is Phoebe's father))


texts: "This does not mean that the damages are negligible" – A question about clauses

texts:
Here is a sentence and I need help in identifying the clauses correctly.

"This does not mean that the damages are negligible."

Am I correct in assuming that this does not mean that is one clause and the damages are negligible another, the former being a subordinate clause and the latter a main clause?


texts: What does "to be a shell of something" mean?

texts:
This article of the NYT says:

  But when I returned to Sudan in June [ed. after weeks of protests in the capital city], Khartoum was a shell of the city I'd seen weeks earlier.

Even though I understand the meaning in this sentence, what is the general meaning/definition of this expression?


texts:
There are three things but they are all related to each other.

1)-Is every verb allowed to use as a gerund or infinitive? If a verb has the first form and participle form, it means it can be used as infinitive or gerund?

2|)-Secondly, Every verb doesn't allow to use gerund or infinitive after it. Which dictionary helps or explain either this verb allows the usage of infinitive or gerund?

3)- confusion raises more when you think of cantenative verb. Is every transitive verb a catenative verb? Is there any dictionary dictates the particular types of verb.

Regards;


texts:
Is this sentence "You can choose whichever of the two dates is more convenient for you" accord to rules of grammar? I think there are two predicates. Am I right?

Thank you very much!


texts:
Can I use "deterred" in this context?

Tori ran over to her grandfather, not deterred by the big beard he'd grown since she last saw him.


texts: What is the difference between: "He had to arrive..." "He had to have arrived..."

texts:
He had to arrive before we began yesterday.
He had to have arrived before we began yesterday.


texts:
How to correctly write "Solar and wind powered" in a sentence? Are hyphens required?

Possible options:

Solar and wind powered
Solar- and wind-powered
Solar and wind-powered
Solar and windpowered


texts: "his men have left IS alone and have moved to eliminate the middle ground"

texts:
He showed every sign of believing what he said. His position is that he is fighting terrorism that is inspired and funded by foreigners and driven by extremist religious ideology, and that the rest of the world needs to come round to his way of thinking. I asked about the allegation that his men have left IS alone and have moved to eliminate the middle ground by concentrating on the armed groups that are favoured by the west. I suggested he had done it to offer Syrians a false choice, between his regime and the jihadists. He denied it, unsurprisingly.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11410628/Jeremy-Bowen-My-day-with-the-dictator.html#disqus_thread

I would like to ask a native speaker how he/she understands the bold passage of the text. May be my hesitation regarding this part stems from the fact that my knowledge of the civil war in Syria is superficial so I interpret it that Assad's army stopped its military action against IS and turned its attention to the opposition which is considered as being "salonfähig" by the West. But not sure if this is a correct interrpretation.


texts: Is this a way how a native speaker would naturally express exaggeration?

texts:
You watch someone lift a 200kg weight. How would you say to someone else that he is strong?

  "He was so strong, that he could lift a 200 kg weight."

Using the structure so...that

or

  "He was hardly weak as he could lift a 200 kg weight."

Using the structure hardly...as

or

must surely (or other adverb) be/ needs to be ... as/because

There are so many ways to say it that, being not native, I can't decide which way to say it!