texts: What is the underlying meaning of this sentence?

texts:
I came across the sentence below. I am confused about the meaning the author tries to express, especially about the nuiance attached to the bolded pronoun 'that'. This list is the possibilities that I could think of.

All: All the prospective spouses are not good enough. Thus, so many look right past all of them.
Some: Some of the prospective spouses are good enough but some are not. And they look right past prospective spouses who are not good enough.

So many put off marriage and look right past great prospective spouses that simply are “not good enough.”


texts: Rephrasing the following sentences correctly

texts:
I have the following sentences to be rephrased according to the word in brackets (by the way, I consider them to be related by the same thematics - comparisons so that they are involved in the same post):

  That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. (NEVER)
  Sam makes the same amount of money as Joe. (MUCH)
  I run faster than Laura. (DOESN'T)
  This book is much more interesting than that one. (LESS)

Please, take a look at the following I've put down:

  I've never heard sillier thing!
  Sam makes as much money as Joe does.
  Laura doesn't run faster than me.
  That book is far less interesting than this one.

Although I've written the above, I can't still make out if they are completely correct. They seem to be well-written for me but still.

Maybe the following would sound better or both variants are possible:

  I've never heard such a silly thing!
  Sam makes as much money as Joe.
  Laura doesn't run as fast as me/Laura doesn't run as fast as I do.
  That book is much less interesting than this one.


texts: Is it "x degrees North of the equator" or "X degrees north of the equator"?

texts:
On many places it is explained quite well: You use a capital letter for wind directions when that indicates a specific place.

  Eg. "I live in the North"

But a small letter, when it goes together with a specific place.

  Eg. "I live in the northern province"..

But what about "It has a latitude of X degrees n/North of the equator"?


texts: "He admitted that had he but taken my advice..."

texts:
Is the word but in the sentence below necessary here? Or is it just an intensifier?
What is the difference between them in terms of meaning?

He admitted that had he but taken my advice, he would have saved
himself money.( original)
He admitted that had he  taken my advice, he would have saved
himself money. ( I omitted the word 'but')


texts: implication of "no matter how much one does something"

texts:
Is there a contradiction in the following? Does "no matter how much he talks" imply he talks a lot?

He doesn't talk much. No matter how much he talks, no one believes him.

He doesn't talk much, because no matter how much he talks, no one believes him.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: Is this ellipsis acceptable? -- "A can be specified by X, and B by Y."

texts:
The price anchor can be specified by a text pattern of price and currency (e.g. \$NN.NN), and the shipping information can be specified by the "Ship" or "Get it by" keywords and a date pattern such as "Get it by Month day" or "Ships within N days".

The ellipsis occurs after shipping information


texts: made up of "development" or "developments"?

texts:
Much of the outer portion of this area is made up of low-rise residential development.

I think here "development" is used to describe a group of new buildings that have all been planned and built together on the same piece of land. According to the dictionary, it is a countable noun when it is used as the meaning. So Should the "development" in the sentence be corrected as "developments". Why? Why not? Thanks！


texts: Can I use "to drip" instead of "that dripped"?

texts:
A water clock had a container.

  The container was filled with water that dripped through the hole.

In the second sentence, can I use "to drip" instead of "that dripped"?

  The container was filled with water to drip through the hole.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is it better to say "This feature allows you to..." or "This feature lets you..."?

texts:
In the context of a web application, is it better to say:

"This feature allows you to (do something/action)."

or

"This feature lets you (do something/action)."?


texts: What is more appropriate here - since or from?

texts:
Which one is correct here?

I am not working in this problem from yesterday onwards.
I am not working in this problem since yesterday onwards.


texts:
Is it okay to use "a lot of" with countable nouns or is it still better to use "many" instead?

For example, how much is "He had many wives" better than "He had a lot of wives"?


texts:
0.9 meters
1.0 meters
1.1 meters

I thought if we want to use the plural, the number of the noun should be 2 or more than 2.

So Why should*"0.9 meters" and "1.0 meters"*  use "meters " not "meter"?


texts: Why does "if it weren't for XXX" mean "if XXX didn't exist"?

texts:
How has "if it weren't for" got the meaning of

  use this when you would do something different if a particular situation did not exist now

(the definition of "if it weren't for" in LDOCE) ?

EDIT 18 NOV

If we take "it" as "the situation" and "for" as "because of" as suggested by athlonusm, "if it weren't for XXX" will mean "if the reason for it isn't XXX even though I know it is in reality". Then for example

  If it weren't for music, world would be a dull place.

will mean

  If the reason for it isn't music even though I know it is in reality, world would be a dull place.

It sounds illogical, doesn't it?

Since the answers posted so far are explaining mainly what the subjunctive mood is, I have to emphasize that I know the basic meaning and usage of subjunctive "were".

I wanted to show using the above example about music that its current meaning is beyond its literal meaning. I suppose that there is a historic reason for it to have the current meaning. I want to know that.


texts: What is the understood subject of the subordinate clause "to address the issue this fall" in these sentences?

texts:
What is the understood subject of the subordinate clauses in bold below?

The White House framed the announcement from the world’s two largest  polluters ahead of a landmark U.N. conference to address the issue this fall.

The White House framed the announcement from the world’s two largest polluters as move to position the countries in the fight against climate change ahead of a landmark U.N. conference to address the issue this fall.

In other words, in each of these sentences, who or what would "address the issue this fall"?
How can we figure this out?  And is there a difference between the two examples?


texts:
The captain put his arms around the girl’s
  shoulders. They talked about their wedding,
  three months ahead. He had not, after all,
  ever broken their engagement.

Dose it mean: They talked about their wedding that happened three mounths ago


texts: What is the answer of this question "If it's OK by you, I _____________ early today." and why?

texts:
If it's ok by you , I_____________early today

  a. leave

  b. will leave

  c. am leaving

  d. will be leave

If I were to answer I would pick "will leave" but I'm confused because I feel that it can be "am leaving" as well.


texts:
When to use the former and when to use the latter?

Example sentence:

  She wanted a little sister to style her hair and dress her (up) in clothes.

A native English speaker told me I should use "up" but Google told me there are more results without the "up".


texts: Question in the past perfect and answer using "would"

texts:
I have this question from the university that I am applying to:

  Why have you chosen this type of mobility?

my answer is:

  I would prefer to study a degree seeking mobility rather than exchange
  mobility because I would have enough ....

is it correct to use would even when the question is past perfect?

For those who have asked what is "mobility"

There are two types of mobility which are exchange and degree seeking.
The exchange means that the university where I will study my master's degree, will send a student to the university where I am currently studying for my bachelor's degree.

The degree seeking means that I will pay the fees of the master. And no student will go back to my current university.

These are eurabean types


texts: How to say '1/4 hour' and '3/4 hour' in English

texts:
I have heard '1/2 hour' spoken as 'a half hour' and '1 hour' spoken as 'one hour', but I don't know how to say '1/4 hour' or '3/4 hour'?. So can any one tell me how to say these?

Note: I am not looking for '15 minutes' or '45 minutes'.


texts: My limited Google-fu shows both appear to be in use. Google Ngram is very puzzling, as it shows the two terms switched popularity positions. What are the differences between these two terms?


texts:
I have seen clear used as a noun in a number of different sports.

  The Gladiators excelled on clears all afternoon, particularly buckling down any time the Seahawks made their way into the circle. (hockey)

  North Carolina’s 9-0 run in the second half was assisted in part by a 10-man ride that seemed to cause problems for the Great Danes, who failed on four of eight clears in the third quarter. (lacrosse)

  On defense Akers retreated time and again to make crucial clears. (soccer)

YouTube explanations confused me with seemingly conflicted information. Dictionaries seem to be lagging behind. Some dictionaries don't even list clear as a noun. Merriam Webster has an entry:

  a high arcing shot over an opponent's head in badminton

This definition is clear but doesn't seem applicable in some other sports. What does clear mean in the context(s) of sports?


texts: Can we omit "that" after "definite" as in "It is definite he will go today"?

texts: After "certain", we can omit "that." For example, we can say "It's certain he will go today." Do you think we can omit "that" after "definite" too? On dictionaries, there is no example of omiting "that" after "definite". So I had to ask you. For example, can we say, "It is definite he will go today" instead of "It is definite that he will go today"?


texts: Meaning of "exclusive+ to, of, in" in the given scenarios

texts:
Both of these albums are EXCLUSIVE to this Pledge.
They rapidly became exclusive of others. Any such prices are exclusive of tax.
We are always exclusive in quality.


texts: questions: possible ways of asking what something does

texts:
What does your program?
  What does your program do?
  What your program does?
  What is it that your program does?
  Your program does what?

Can anyone help me understand how these questions differ in meaning and whether they're correct, less/ more informal, and when they can be used? Am I missing another way of asking what something does? Thank you in advance.


texts: The usage of “If I was going to eat” and “If I am going to eat”

texts:
The meaning of “if I will go” is very clearly explained by John Lawler here, better than I could ever find in any grammar book.

Both deontic and epistemic sense leave no doubt about their meaning.

Clearly, a future tense construction made with modal verb “will” cannot be used in English following if, for if it used would mean anything else, except future.

I wonder what would be the meaning of another variant to construct the future tense (e.g.) “going to” if it follows “if”:
If I'm gonna eat somebody It might as well be you !

What would be the diffrence betwen : "If I was going to eat” and "If I am going to eat”?


texts: Is “how the end result turns out” redundant?

texts:
Is “how the end result turns out” wrong?

I’m talking about venting my feelings on the art I am currently doing. I would like to construct a sentence which is like depending my fortune on the outcome of it. Now, I wonder if “end result” makes “turns out” redundant. Here is my full sentence:

  “How the end result turns out will tell what I truly feel.”


texts:
I saw a sentence from the English learning website that show an example " You stay away from those boys down the block, hear? They'll get you in trouble. "
I don't know how to understand "down the block", why can't say "You stay away from those boys who live in that block." ?

Thanks,
Weng


texts:
Suppose I am reading a book and a friend calls me and asks what I am doing.
Can I answer:"I am reading a book" even though I have stopped reading for the moment to answer the phone,
or should I say: "I was reading a book"?


texts: Can we use the phrase "get pleasure" without using "out of" or "from" along with it?

texts:
Let's say somebody asked, "How was the movie?", after I went to the movies. Can I say to him, "It was nice. I got pleasure", or do I have to say, "I got pleasure out of it/from it" instead of just saying "I got pleasure." I mean, I wonder if we can generally say just "get pleasure" instead of "get pleasure out of/from something." I needed to ask this question because I couldn't find a usage of "get pleasure" without "out of/from" in any dictionaries.

Another example: Can I say, "I get a lot of pleasure playing video games with him" instead of "I get a lot of pleasure out of/from playing video games with him"?


texts: What would be the proper way to address this situation?

texts:
The fact is that the price for that item is still $7.99. I saw the price in the past and the price didn't change.

A. I saw that the price for that item was $7.99.

B. I saw that the price for that item is $7.99.

What would be the correct way to say this?


texts: is "in order to" a prepositional phrase?

texts: is "In order to" a prepositional sentence starter? I use IEW writing curriculum, which requires one in my reports, but my teacher(aka my mother; I'm homeschooled) isn't sure.


texts: In a list of elements spanning two or more pages, how can I indicate a continuation of the same list?

texts:
A list I am writing spans over two pages and I want to rewrite the title of the list on the second page to indicate that it is the second part of the list. In French we usually write "suite" to indicate that it's the same list. For example:

  Programming languages

  C
  C++
  Java
  Python

  --------------- Next page --------------

  Programming languages (suite)

  Bash
  Pascal
  Perl
  R
  Mathematica
  …

Is "(suite)" used in this context in English, or is there a better option?


texts: What is this infinitive describing "to have +third form of verb"

texts:
What is this non finite describing "to have third form of verb "
 e.g,to have been,to have crossed etc.Is this showing any completeness of a work or something else.

Edit is valid to above context


texts: Is the sentence correct "There were some women who look pretty."?

texts:
My brother uses sentences like that a lot:

  There were some women who look pretty.

By that he means:

  There were some pretty women.

I feel like native English speakers don't use the word "Who" like that. From my study, I think this is the correct way to use a conjunction word:

  The women who were there look pretty.

I think my brother is influenced by our mother tongue language (Arabic) because in Arabic, the word "Who" is used like what he said and that sounds too normal and understandable.

He disagrees with me and he thinks that he listened to sentences like that from native speakers and that's why he uses the word "Who" in that way. He says it's like the following sentence:

  Those are the ones who look pretty.


texts: How should I order the sentence with "noun clause" and "wh clause"?

texts:
I hope that all of you have a nice day.
When the subject is a bit long, we can use "it" as the representative of the "that-noun clause".
What if the object or subject complement is also long?
For example;

I consider that it's not normal that I'm always criticized even for my
little mistakes that don't affect anyone.

This is my original sentence.
I'd like to add new information to it because there is one more situation.

1-) I consider that it's not normal where you are never criticized for
your serious mistakes that I'm always criticized even for my little
mistakes that don't affect anyone.
2-) I consider that it's not normal that I'm always criticized even
for my little mistakes that don't affect anyone where you are never
criticized for your serious mistakes.
3-) I consider that that I'm always criticized even for my little
mistakes that don't affect anyone is not normal where you are never
criticized for your serious mistakes.

Question 1: Which one is better, or all of them can be used?
Question 2: In the third version, there are two "that" as you can see, and one of them is for "consider", the other one is for the sentence "I'm always...".
Should I use both of them or remove one of them?
Thank you.


texts:
My friend asked me to send her a picture. Later on she texted me that I didn't send it. So I replied:

  I sent it from my dad's number.

So is the use of "number" natural" here or should be something like:

I sent it from my dad's phone.

P.S. I whatsapped it to my friend,so does "number" sound natural?


texts: Adding prepositional phrases to ask questions

texts:
I have this problem. If I want to practice asking questions to each word in a sentence, then I will have the same structure in each question, like in these:

  I was waiting for my sister.

Who was waiting for their sister? Who was I waiting for? Whose sister was I waiting for?

So, if my initial sentence is "I bought a book about animals.", I can ask "What did you buy? Who bought the book?"

Can we ask "What did you buy a/the book about?" My concern is the sentence structure. Is it possible? And, yes, I know we can ask "What was the book about?", but I don't want to add/change verbs.

In sentences like "I heard a song about love. I read an article about lions." my question would be the same. So is it somehow related to transitive verbs?


texts: "'Module is opened" or "Module is open"?

texts: Which sentence is correct: 'Module is opened" or "Module is open"? I use this phrase a lot at work and would like to be correct.


texts:
I've found online translators like Microsoft Bing Translator could be used in place of typing. Just read your text to the translator in Standard English and it would type it out for you.
I read the following to the translator. It recognized me most of the time. But I don't know how to pronounce FAQs. The best I could do is "FAQ" by reading the letters of the word one by one. But I don't know how to pronounce FAQs which the translator recognizes.
How to pronounce FAQs that the computer translator recognizes?

NEJM:   Now available, that COVID-19 vaccine resource center includes important articles, related resources and answers to (FAQs) to provide practical guidance for your practice and (patients).


texts:
– And it was this man right here's trailer that you were in.

–  Yes.

–  And so that, of all places, you knew was important that you make sure that these Manitowoc officers not be alone.

I would like to ask what the phrase "of all places" means in the context. I am not sure whether it has the idiomatic meaning or it means just that the police officers were not permitted to be alone in all the places in the property of the given man.


texts: Using the verb "prefer" for specific and general preferences (with/without time frame)

texts:
In the following scenario,  both of the sentences in each pair mean exactly the same to me. If they don't, please let me know why?

  A) Good restaurant.
  B) Yea, but they don't offer a good variety of drinks along with food. They only have two options.
  Well; which one is your choice? Orange juice or apple juice?
  A) ....

1.1. I prefer orange juice.
1.2. I'd prefer orange juice.

2.1. I always prefer orange juice.
2.2. I'd always prefer orange juice.

3.1. I prefer orange juice now.
3.2. I'd prefer orange juice now.


texts:
I came across this sentence when reading a blog:

  "My aspiration is to have a fulfilling life where, when i am 60 years old, i can look back and feel happy about the richness of it all."

It seems to me where is used as a relative pronoun in the sentence, and probably due to my poor Googling skills, I couldn't find any detailed explanations on the usage of where as a relative pronoun. Could anyone give me some examples?


texts:
In Fight Club (1999), Tyler motivates fight club:

Tyler: Goddamn it, an entire generation pumping gas. Waiting tables.
Slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and
clothes. Working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need.

What does "Slaves with white collars" mean?
This didn't helped me.


texts:
What's the difference between those sentences below?

You had me mad.

You made me mad.


texts:
Do these sound fine instead of "It's five minutes to/before ten":

  There are five minutes left before ten.

  We/I have ten minutes before ten.

And if someone asks:

  How many minutes are left before ten?


texts: How to define this situation in English?

texts:
Actually I don't have words to explain my matter but I'll try to make myself understood. If I want to order somebody to put/remove/take some thing out of desk or from cupboard how should I say. Is it correct way to say so:

  Pick X-object out of desk of cupboard

  Bring that object down from cupboard's top


texts:
However, taking that as understood, let us ask how a word can have
  a meaning. Some words can be defined in terms of other words: "square"
  for example means "four-sided equilateral equiangular plañe figure."
  And most of the terms in that definition can also be defined. But
  definitions can't be the basis of meaning for all words, or we'd go
  fore ver in a circle. Eventually we must get to some words which have
  meaning directly.

[Thomas Nagel, What does it all mean, p.39]

I don;t know the meaning of "taking that as understood". Could you help me please?


texts: When protesters pitch tents in front of a government building and refuse to go making some political demands, what do you call it? I consider two options: 'a tent sit-in' and 'a tent picket' (I want to mention tents).


texts: Simple present, present perfect or simple past?

texts:
Question 1.

  A: How long have you lived there?

  B: I have lived there all my life.

For B, why we can't use "live" instead of Present Perfect "have lived"?
Present simple suggests that person B has live there all his life and will probably live there the rest of his life.

Question 2.

  A: Have you ever studied any other languages?

  B: Yes, I learnt German for two years when I was at school.

For B, why can't we use "have learnt" instead of Simple Past "learnt"?


texts:
I don't quite understand this phrase

  The Rib trailing off the back of the Naga

Does it mean "The Rib trailing behind the back of the Naga"?


texts:
My friend recently recieved an email about a warning of an attachment might contain virus because of being an executable file. The email is like this;

  xxx@gmail.com is sent an email contains "Executable Files".

Does this mean, the original email was sent from my email or Am I the receiver? Thanks in advance.


texts:
A sentence like

  ... results in lower evaluation measures

seems OK to me, but Google didn't find even a single result for "in lower evaluation measures". Is there any problem with the construction? What else can be used?
Assume that we are evaluating something by one method of evaluation that the reader knows we are using, so I prefer to say evaluation measures instead of just measures to convey that the measures obtained by that evaluation method are lowered, other evaluation methods may have different results.


texts: "over" in "California's paralysis over the death penalty system"

texts:
A question about the usage of "over" here:

  A Los Angeles federal judge added to California's paralysis over the death penalty system this summer, declaring the law unconstitutional because of delays that leave condemned murderers awaiting execution for 25 to 30 years.

A paralysis is not really a "discussion", "argument", or "fight", words that are traditionally used with "over".

Could it be that the writer is using some unusual meaning of "paralysis"?


texts: What does the verb "heighten" mean here? Is it related to speed or intensity, or something else?

texts: Regardless of where you come from, there are ‘native-like’ ways of speaking. These are distinct from ‘foreign’ ways of speaking. You cannot speak English in the way you speak your native tongue. Similarly, when we’re doing public speaking, we moderate the way we speak so that people can understand what we’re saying. We slow down, we are mindful of our breathing and we speak out more consciously. The pauses between clauses – whether punctuated or not – are heightened for speed of delivery.


texts:
See this saying:

  I was so poor. I ran around without any shoes on. (googling it returns
  9 results)

  I was so poor. I ran around with no shoes on. (googling it returns
  4900 results)

Similarly,

  I have no friends

  I don't have any friends

  I have no money

  I don't have any money

Is there any meaning difference between "ran around without any shoes on" &  "ran around with no shoes on"?


texts:
"I haven't completed any official course, but I did read a number of books on the subject."

Is this sentence grammatically correct?


texts:
Which one is more correct:

  1) She said that she has seen a tiger.
  2) She said that she had seen a tiger.


texts:
From the Merriam-Webster dictionary

Definition of linguistics: the study of human speech including the units, nature, structure, and modification of language

From the Cambridge Dictionary

grammar: (the study or use of) the rules about how words change their form and combine with other words to make sentences

According to those meanings above, English grammar is part of linguistics.  Is my understanding  correct?


texts:
When I say "ourselves", am I talking about us together, separate or it actually depends on the context?

Example:

In the context of a project that involves many people I am talking with a colleague about the work that has to be done. But I am not sure whether we should meet to work together or work independently.

The I ask this person:

  Should we work by ourselves?

This person understands that I was meaning "only the two of us without more people from the team". But I meant "each of us separately".

Is it ambiguous or one is the typical interpretation?

(I saw many questions about "ourselves", but none asking this particular thing, sorry if it's a dup.)


texts: What does it mean by "I'm in good shape."?

texts: I'm still not sure the meaning of "I'm in good shape."  My understanding is that I'm well physically.  Can I use this sentence, talking about someone older?  The sentence is like, "She is over 85 now, but she is still in good shape." What I mean is that she is very healthy and can do everything herself without any support.


texts: What does "I would not have thought so" mean in this context?

texts:
The following dialogue is part of episode 4 of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

  John Herschel: Father, do you believe in ghosts?

  William Herschel: Why, yes, my son!

  John Herschel: You, you do? I would not have thought so

  William Herschel: Oh, no, not in the human kind of ghost. No not at all. But look up, my boy, and see a sky full of them.

  John Herschel: The stars, father? I do not follow.

  William Herschel: Every star is a sun as big, as bright as our own. Just imagine how far away from us you'd have to move the Sun to make it appear as small and faint as a star. The light from the stars travels very fast, faster than anything but not infinitely fast. It takes time for their light to reach us. For the nearest ones, it takes years. For others, centuries. Some stars are so far away, it takes eons for their light to get to Earth. By the time the light from some stars gets here, they are already dead. For those stars, we see only their ghosts. We see their light, but their bodies perished long, long ago.John, I have seen further back in time than any man before me-- millions of years into the past.

My suspicion is that it's a short version of "without you saying this, I would not have thought so". That is, if you didn't tell me this, this idea would have never crossed my mind.
Is that correct?


texts: Pronouns: when to use possessive vs reflexive

texts:
I'm studying English grammar in depth (I have just basics now) and I'm asking myself when to use possessive pronouns (like mine, yours etc.) and when reflexive (like myself, yourself, himself etc.)

When use it and how to use it?


texts: How should I use "as" in "From as a capable and brave soldier as you are, I didn't expect ... "

texts:
A-" No captain, I cannot leave the front. I stay and defend my country"
  B-"Well done lieutenant! From as a capable and brave soldier as you are, I didn't expect otherwise"

A retired lieutenant wants to get to military action  because of duty and emergency he feels. His commander likes this and says he did not expect otherwise from a brave and responsible person like him. Did I use "as" correctly to convey this sense?


texts: Is "the sound of a good many voices" correct in this sentence and why?

texts:
From Alice in Wonderland:

She waited for some time without hearing anything more: at last came a rumbling of little cartwheels, and the sound of a good many voices all talking together: she made out the words: 'Where's the other ladder?

Why did the writer add an article with the plural noun voices?


texts:
I browsed in a drug store and found some medical products had "Made in USA" on their labels, and some others had "Made in the USA".

If both are correct and they mean the same thing, which one do you prefer?


texts: What's the meaning of “we'll all be speaking Japanese”?

texts:
Layton gave Nimitz an idea to meet code-breaker Rocherfort:

  Nimitz: He told me he's absolutely certain the Japs are gonna hit
  Midway and I need to know whether or not I can believe him.

  Rochefort: Well, if you don't believe him, we'll all be speaking
  Japanese. Or, most likely, we'll be dead.

How can American speaks Japanese?

I find this line in Midway 2019


texts:
If someone said,

  “I have taken drugs regularly every day since 2014.”

Does drugs, in this context, mean illegal substances: heroine, opium, marijuana; or the ones, legal, are used in healing and treatment?


texts: What’s the difference between these two “she saw”, “she has seen”?

texts:
I want to ask you what is the difference between these two sentences:

  She has seen the real meaning in these messages

  She saw the real meaning in these messages

And to know if both of them are grammatically correct. I know that saw is standalone word and seen is used alongside has, had, have etc. But what’s the difference between these two?


texts: The subject of the verb "make" in this sentence

texts:
I encountered a sentence in The New York Times:

  This is an engrossing story, which Wood tells with a mastery of detail and a modern plainness of expression that makes a refreshing contrast with the 18th-century locutions of his subjects.

Isn't the subject of the verb "make" a mastery of detail and a modern plainness of expression? Shouldn't the verb "make" take the third-person plural conjugation and thus be "make" instead of "makes"? Had I read it elsewhere, I'd be certain it was a mistake, but it's The NYT and it's Richard Brookhiser.

Also the title of the article In ‘Friends Divided,’ John Adams and Thomas Jefferson Beg to Differ reads strange. I thought one person could beg to differ with someone else. I understand the author tries to say Adams and Jefferson beg to differ with each other, but is this usage, where the subject of beg to differ is multiple parties, common and natural?

Google search results of we beg to differ and they beg to differ all appear to point to an implied "with you" or "with the mainstream opinion" or "with the said opinion," instead of "with each other" as is used in the article title in question. Are there instances where "beg to differ" is used to mean "we disagree with each other"?


texts: In what contexts one says "but rather" instead of "but" alone?

texts:
I am not sure of the use of "but rather". For example, in this sentence

The trigonometric functions are important in calculus, not so much because of ..., but rather because of the properties they possess as functions.

If I am to write such a sentence, I think I may not say "rather" after "but". I would simply say "but because of the properties ....".

When to most appropriately say "but rather" is thus my question.


texts: What to use here in this context. Who/whom

texts:
What to use here?

Who or whom?

I know who is used when you can replace it with he/she

And whom is when him/her

But what about this context?

Me: I wish I had a girlfriend like her

My friend: You will

Me: Who/whom

Since there is no she or her is mentioned I'm confused about what to use here


texts: How do you use the expression "to blow a fuse"?

texts:
How do you use the expression "to blow a fuse" in the literal sense in sentences?
For example: To make sure the fuses don't blow, or "go off", or what?
Did a fuse "blow"?


texts: Is there any such thing as "for suppose"?

texts:
I have heard a few people using for suppose to give an example or any hypothetical scenario like:

  For suppose we start early tomorrow we'll reach home before noon.

I have a strong feeling that's not correct and could simply be replaced with just Suppose, For example or even if.


texts:
Which of the following is correct ?

  Who were these buildings designed by?

Or

  Who was these buildings designed by?

Does were/was refer to "these buildings" or "who"?


texts:
Christianity in the east is more radical than the west, although it's minority there.

What's the meaning of radical here?

Radical means a fundamental change but I see no change here. It's a general statement.  Is radical wrongly used in this context?


texts: What is the part of speech of the word " fancy" in the following content?

texts:
Recently,i saw a sort of propoganda/advertisement about body-building on a random chap's instagram.

1.OP:"Fancy losing inches off your waist?Flattening your tummy?Fancy winning a waist trainer that will do all that for FREE??! Simply like this post and FOLLOW blablablablabla

What part of speech does the "fancy" function as in the sentence above?It's an adjective or what?


texts: Is the usage of 'per' in the following sentence correct?

texts:
Per research collected by Northern Illinois University, lifelong bilingualism can deter the effects of natural aging. (source)

I read this in a blog and was confused by the usage of "per" in this sentence. I looked it up in the dictionary and only found that "as per" means "in accordance with". I think the author here is trying to use "per" to mean "according to", but is that correct? I've never seen anything like this before.


texts: The difference betwwen enforcement and execution

texts: Can anyone help to clariffy the difference betwwen enforcement and execution?


texts: What does "take the points raised" mean?

texts:
Sorry I lost the context of the phrase, but as far as I remember when I looked up the phrase on Google I felt it didn't matter. I felt it had one meaning. At any rate, could you tell me whatever meaning you know, or where I could look into it.

The phrase is:
"take the points raised". Is it an idiom?

P.S: I've just found the post. Two guys discussing a grammar question. Now one of them wrote the following as a reply quoting from the other guy:

  So - and please help me understand this
  - to take the points raised: "...not impossible, in my opinion, but 'Have you ever been there?' is more natural in the situations I can
  think of"

  Why? I tried to explain why it was both 'natural', and
  correct grammar in terms of the sentence provided.


texts:
Everyone knows people with all kinds of 'beauty handicaps' who nonetheless have easy, loving relationships.

The sentence is from an article. Can I rephrase the sentence like the following?

  People with 'beauty handicaps' still enjoy their easy, loving relationships.

I'd like to know whether it is correct or not.


texts: The plan that I want to give [to] you. Direct, Indirect object in attributive clause

texts:
I don't know the grammar rule I must apply in the following sentences. Do I need to add to?

Here is the book that I want to give [to] you.
Here is the plan that I want to give [to] you.
Here is the plan that I want to introduce [to] you.

  The plan that I want to give you has already worked out for me.

Someone might think that the idea if the plan is to give listener away in exchange for something.


texts:
We typically say:

  The roof of the cave is 100m tall.

But I just saw in Cambridge Dictionary:

  The roof of the cave is 100m up.

Explain me the usage.

Thank you.

  NOTE: I have been taught up as an adjective is used to talk about increase in price, level, amount etc.


texts: Meaning of "lacking responsibility" in this sentence

texts:
Wonder what the last part of the sentence mean here?

  He tried to give the impression that the Paralympic athlete was self-centred, contemptuous of his girlfriend and lacking responsibility.

Source: BBC

It seems the last part of the sentence is unclear. It is not clear what it is referring to, Is it?

It is telling about what the prosecutor made of the athlete. The athlete was self-centred, scornful of lacking responsibility in who? In his girlfriend? In himself?

If the answer is "of his girlfriend", could it have been written like:

  He tried to give the impression that the Paralympic athlete was not taking responsibility and he was self-centred, and contemptuous of his girlfriend.


texts:
I found specially in spoken english speaker omits Is and are.
Is there any specific grammar rule for this?
E.g.

Are you ok? And   You ok?

You are always busy. And You always busy.

You are writing this since 2 yrs.   And  You writing this since 2 yrs.


texts: what is the meaning of pride and ego in this sentence?

texts:
Is there someone who can help me to understand this sentence? What do ego and pride mean? I know what do they mean separately but I don't understand them in this sentence:

  A man who has gone from tobacco farming to lavender farming knows about things like pride and ego.


texts: What is the difference between 'could not achieve much' and 'could not have achieved much'?

texts:
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/tinderbox-in-in-the-himalayas/article8548784.ece

Please look at the following

  The decision to deploy a few Air Force helicopters could not have
  achieved much, since a couple of thousand hectares had to be
  covered. Fortunately, incidents of fresh fires now seem to be on the
  decline.

Please tell me what is the difference between

a) The decision to deploy a few Air Force helicopters could not have achieved much .

b) The decision to deploy a few Air Force helicopters could not achieve much.

Here b) is used in the sense of the ability in the past.

When do I use a) and b) ? Please tell me the difference, if minor, between them.


texts:
Is this an improper use of "look like"? I am not sure, but I think you usually use a "noun", but in the following case I am not sure if the use of a phrase is correct.

For example:

  Your hair looks like you dumped gel and didn't even bother spreading
  it out.

I am not sure if I am imagining thing, but it sounds odd, but at the same time there's the expression "You look like you could use some help."


texts: Man and woman running; caption "This could be us, but I hate running and you don't exist"

texts:
On a picture of a man and woman running side by side:

  This could be us, but I hate running and you don't exist.

Can't understand the meaning when translated into Russian language. Please explain how a native English speaker, you understand the phrase.


texts:
The following sentence is a news report of the Hill.

Greene is facing blowback from Democrats off the heels of a Washington Post report that she harassed Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday and shouted at her as the two left the floor.

I know what 'on the heels of' means but can't find the meaning of 'off ...' in dictionaries. I think 'on ...' makes sense too in the sentence but it doesn't seem to be a typo.
Because 'on ...' means following right after may I guess that 'off ...' is following a little behind?


texts: is the train moving now? or it is going to go?

texts:
I read the following in a book:

  Excuse me, Is this train going to Granada?

Is the train moving now? or Is it waiting passengers and it is going to go?


texts: Is the sentence "This is the place where I recommend to you" incorrect?

texts:
A person says that the sentence "this is the place where I recommend to you" isn't correct but "this is the place which I recommend to you" is correct.

Is this right?


texts:
I am going to make up a sentence and then revise it.

(1) Mary and I are going to meet John in the school where Mike used to work.

If I remove "where" from the sentence, do I need to add "in" at the end of the sentence as shown below?

(2) Mary and I are going to meet John in the school Mike used to work in.


texts:
闺蜜 in Chinese means two girls have very good relationship, and much closer than normal good friends but they are not lesbians.

闺: boudoir

蜜: connotes honey;

闺蜜 could be short for 闺中密友, which literally means the intimate friend in a woman’s bedroom or private sitting room.

The best I can get are  terms like besties, intimate relationship. Besties seems like best friends, which can be used for both men and women. Well, 闺蜜 is women only. Intimate relationship seems to connote a romantic relationship like lesbians.

Any other
suggestions?


texts:
What is the meaning of still used in the following sentence

The revised draft merely says students may change one or more of their three languages in Grade 6 or 7, “so long as they still demonstrate proficiency in three languages (one language at the literature level) in their modular Board examinations some time during secondary school”.

I think without still it conveys the same meaning.


texts:
If I can say this:

  Will you be doing it any longer?

What if I will say:

  Will you be doing it longer?

am I obliged to use "any" or it can exist without it? Would the sense change?


texts: The difference between "do I sound like I am doing something," and "does it sound like I am doing something."

texts:
I was watching Die Hard. John McClane had rushed to the roof of a building, and he was trying to talk to the police to ask for help by using some kind of radio signal, but his act was misunderstood to be a prank. He was angry and shouted at the policewoman on the radio. Here is what he said to the policewoman:

  "Do I sound like I am ordering a pizza?"

I am wondering why it was not,

  Does it sound like I am ordering a pizza

Do the two sentences make any difference in meaning?


texts: When does the letter "e" get to have a long sound before a consonant?

texts:
When does the letter 'e' have a long sound before a consonant?  For example:

senior
venal
menial
-melia
penal
Venus
Pelias

And in the case of Pelias, why can 'e' have both a short sound and a long sound?


texts:
Layton: I have to warn you, sir, codebreakers are a rare breed.
  Rochefort's way of doing things is especially...particular.

  Nimitz: I don't care if he consults coffee grounds while doing the
  boogie-woogie as long as the intel is good.

I know the character is being sarcastic here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ753d9zMt4

What does it mean "he consults coffee grounds while doing the boogie-woogie"?

I find this line in movie Midway 2019.


texts:
This pain that has troubled me on a Sunday evening...

Why "a" instead of "on Sunday evening"?

What's the difference?
It's like not every Sunday evening but every other week or so?

it's present perfect...so from the past until now, on Sunday morning on a regular basis? –


texts:
▪Do these sentences have the same meaning?

He claims he was allowed to mingle with other guests with no social distancing enforced.

He claims he was allowed to mingle with other guests with no enforced social distancing.

He claims he was allowed to mingle with other guests with no social distancing being enforced.


texts: How do i know if the word is stressed in English?

texts:
Yesterday I had a lesson about stressed words.

My question is how do i know if the word is stressed or not without listening to the pronunciation?

Examples

  He wants a job that lets them travel. How do i know the words that are stressed?
  An accountant is someone who is good at numbers. How do i know the words that are stressed?

I am looking forward to the answer and I appreciate your effort and time


texts:
So I looked up the meaning of to convene in the online Cambridge Dictionary.

  to bring together a group of people for a meeting, or to meet for a
  meeting

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/de/worterbuch/englisch/convene

Are those sentences correct?

The cult members convened for their monthly conference.

An US jury is convened by the responsible attorney


texts:
Bad guy: Nobody can save you.
Good guy: Yes, there is. Alex, he'll come and/to save us.
Could anyone please explain to me what the difference is between using and and to in this context, if there is any? Thank you.


texts: Do you save a file in or on the desktop?

texts:
In this context, the word "desktop" refers not to the computer as a whole, but rather the user's home screen which Windows calls the desktop where one saves files that are regularly used or shortcuts to files and programs.

Which one would you say is, or feels, correct?

  The file is in the desktop.

  The file is on the desktop.


texts: Difference between 'find out', 'discover', 'realize' and etc

texts:
For me all the verbs bellow mean the same thing. My dictionaries, confirm this fact. But I guess something is wrong with this belief of mine and their usages are different. I would be thankful if you could explain me how the following verbs semantically differ from one another?

1) To understand something
2) To find something out
3) To discover something
4) To realize something
5) To perceive something

P.S. I guess giving some specific examples with different senses in which only one or all the possible choices from among my suggested verbs can be used, would be very effective for me to discover the exact usage of each verb.


texts: What is the function of "careful" in the "You be careful!" command

texts:
If I were to write, "You be careful!", you is the subject, but is the verb...what is careful?
I know it's an imperative, but is it an adjective?
Thanks!


texts: Which one is correct - "gained through doing" or "gained by doing"?

texts:
I want to mention in my resume that I have enough knowledge in flood frequency analysis :

  Sound knowledge of flood frequency analysis which I gained through/by doing Masters' thesis in this field.

Should I use through or by?
Is my sentence grammatically correct?


texts:
What does 'get knocked about' mean? I referred to some dictionaries, but I couldn't find any definition that fits the context.

We all have set patterns in life. We like to label ourselves as this
or that and are quite proud of our opinions and beliefs. We all like
to read a particular newspaper, watch the same sorts of TV programmes
or movies, go to the same sort of shops every time, eat the sort of
food that suits us, and wear the same type of clothes. And all this is
fine. But if we cut ourselves off from all other possibilities, we
become boring, rigid, hardened―and thus likely to get knocked
about a bit.

The Rules of Life: A personal code for living a better, happier, more ...


texts:
I'm working on a game to learn English, and grappling with the best way to organize the course. It would be great to hear from people what they've liked when using other apps.

I guess there are a few approaches:

by difficulty level
split grammar up by level. eg start with "simple past" and move to causative or passive until later. same for all other grammar types
by grammar grouping
eg verbs / noun forms / modals / pronouns ... and the various sub-types of each.
modals of advice/requests/ability would be a subtopic of "modals" etc.
by random grouping
group topics together that fit well together, to make lessons with more flow and variety. eg put conditionals and comparatives together, so you can teach something like "If you pick the largest one..."

I built a site for learning Japanese (JGram.org) and the grammar there is much  smaller chunks. For example this list of "level 2" items:
http://jgram.org/pages/viewList.php?lv=2

has patterns like "despite / just / it seems / because / without / it's decided " ...
These are more like useful one-off sentence patterns, not quite idioms or phrases, but I'm wondering if there's any way to organize those types of items at a higher level?

If there's a better forum for this type of question, I'd love to know, otherwise any comments appreciated!


texts: Does "withhold doing" mean the same as "withhold from doing"?

texts:
"The company withhold producing this cell phone."

  or

  "The company withhold from producing this cell phone."?

Should the verb withhold always come with "from"?


texts: Is this sentence in an online dictionary correct, "They ain't got nothing to say"?

texts:
When I typed ain't meaning in the search bar at Google, a result from the New Oxford American Dictionary appeared with the following example:

  They ain't got nothing to say.

I have my doubts as to whether the use of the word nothing is correct or not.

Af far as my knowledge concerns, the sentence should be something like this: They ain't got anything / something to say.

Am I right? The word nothing is negative, and the word ain't is negative, too. We should not use two negatives, at least in this example, can we?

When they say: They ain't got nothing to say, it sounds like they have something to say!!


texts: What is the difference between "guess an answer", "guess at an answer" and "guess an answer right"?

texts:
Tell me please the difference between the following sentences.

  I guessed one answer in the exam.

  I guessed one answer right in the exam.

  I guessed at one answer in the exam.

Can the first sentence mean the same as the second one? If not, then what is the difference between the first and the third sentence?


texts:
So while looking up the definition of both the words modality and modal, I came across the phrase "the harmony had a touch of modality".

I've thought it through but I'm still unsure what that even means exactly.

Does it mean the harmony is paper-thin and exists only in nominal form, rather than a true solid harmony? Or does it mean the harmony only exists out of necessity?


texts: "She scored high marks in all her subjects"

texts:
I wonder why we should use the preposition in instead of at here

  She scored high marks in all her subjects.


texts: Are phrasal verbs almost always too informal to use in an academic writing?

texts:
I was reading an article on how to prove my writing and came across these example sentences given which sparked this question in my mind.

The blog says that

  "use the word acquire instead of the word get in formal writings."

  She acquired English very quickly.  She got English very quickly.

Actually I had heard that phrasal verbs sound informal but I didn't know the word get could sound informal too.So does it mean using phrasal verbs almost always sound informal?
Could there some phrasal verbs that do not have exactly one-word synonym

And how about these sentences

She obtained English very quickly?

She picked up English very quickly? ( Is it too informal for an academic writing)

Thank you


texts: Do well to do something/ do well by doing something

texts:
To keep your car in a good condition, you would do well __________it regularly.

1) to maintain  2) by maintaining

This question showed up on a Taiwanese senior English exam. Their answer shows that 1) is right and 2) is wrong. I don't see how 2) is wrong. If you know what is going on, please explain. Thank you.


texts: In which tense is more common to use in this context?

texts:
I have a two tenses / ways to express my situation but I'm not sure what's more natural.

I rushed / was rushing to the class,  and when I arrived I found that nobody is there.

  "I rushed to the class for nothing…  nobody is here". (Past simple tense)

  "I was rushing to the class for nothing…  nobody is here". (Past continous)


texts: What's the most neutral future tense in English?

texts:
Without the sense of "Willingness" or "Intend" or whatnot, what form has the most neutral future meaning in a daily conversation?

Someone told me that the "Be going to" would be the one, but he was not a very reliable guy, so I couldn't trust what he had to say 100% sure. Furthermore, I usually watch some TV series which has been translated in English from the original source, my language; And those things make me think that the one is nothing but "Subject'll be -ing". I've seen so many times that the casual future tenses have been translated into this one.

So, what do you think? Thanks.


texts: offered no explanation vs didn't offer an explanation

texts:
I was reading news on internet and stumbled upon phrase "offered no explanation". In that moment I thought about another grammar construction "didn't offer an explanation" which is having the same sense for me. I wonder is there any reason for people in America to choose such grammatical construction? Could the author use "didn't offer an explanation" without any loose of sense. The text is (full text here):

James’ investigators are working with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which has been conducting a criminal investigation into Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, for two years. James and District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. are both Democrats.
James’ office offered no explanation for what prompted the change in its approach to the investigation or why it chose to announce it publicly. CNN was first to report the development.


texts: Can I use article 'the' with a plural noun?

texts:
according to this article (Use 15), it's against the rule to use an article 'the' before a plural countable noun (e.g. pictures, flowers, horses etc.)

sentence:
I've just sent you the pictures

In case if I can use it sometimes, please describe me the cases when I can use article 'the' with plural countable noun

Thank you in advance


texts: "See you next week" vs. "I'll see you next week" vs. "I'll be seeing you next week"

texts:
Is there a difference in meaning and use between these sentences?

  See you next week.
  I'll see you next week.
  I'll be seeing you next week.

When I say good-bye to a friend, I tend to say (1). I guess (1) is probably the short version of (2) and so they probably mean the same thing. (Please correct me if I am wrong). I have heard (3) as well, but I'm not sure whether it has a special meaning attached to it.


texts:
What's the word for people who pretend and are disguised as a fictional character? For example, there are people who disguise themselves as Spider Man or Han Solo, what do we call these people? I am looking for the noun.

For example:

  The kid saw a Han Solo ____ at the new Star Wars theme park in Disney
  world.


texts: Is there an adjective that means "fly, floats and travels in the air"?

texts:
I am thinking about how the seeds of plants often floats and travel by air, and I am pretty sure there's an adjective just for that, but I don't remember it. Dandelion seeds is an example of a thing that flies, floats and travels in the air.

For example:

  Dandelion seeds are ___.


texts: "Frustrates the life out of me":what does it mean?

texts:
I came across this phrase that I don't understand.  What does it mean?

  frustrates the life out of me

I want to know how to use it too.


texts: Is it proper to use "broke" in "Broke his feelings"?

texts:
My colleague broke his feelings. (English Syntax and Argumentation,
  Bas Aarts)

Aarts says this sentence is abnormal, because of the selectional restrictions: ‘feelings’ is abstract and not proper for the object of ‘broke.’ I can understand what he is saying. But is the case so strange enough to be selected by Aarts? We can say ‘The death of his wife broke him completely.’ Then why can’t we say like the example?


texts:
The original sentence is:

When we came to the chasm, we saw that the only way across was an old rope bridge.

Can I say the following instead?

When we came to the chasm, we saw an old bridge that was the only way across.


texts: "His amazing achievement all bottles down to the support and guidance"--what's the meaning of 'bottle down'?

texts:
This sentence confused me (source):

  Hussain spoke to Al Arabiya after his victory, saying that his amazing achievement all bottles down to the support and guidance that he’s received from his teachers and family.

I was wondering what is the meaning of bottles down.


texts: Why is "Reports" in the sentence below without the article "The"?

texts:
Why is "Reports" in sentence below without "The"?

  Reports are coming in that a train has crashed near Birmingham.

This sentence is copied from the book How English Works by Michael Swam and Catherine Walter.

Why my question? Because I think that the plural "Reports" is a group of reports that have something together. It is new about "a train has crashed near Birmingham". For example, "The apples are red." Why not "Apples are red". I think because it is a group of red apples, not mix red, green, blue, etc.


texts: Meaning of "folksy side of the spectrum"

texts:
He unlocked the door, stepped inside, hit the light. The decor ran to the folksy side of the spectrum. Two badly done iconic Western scenes. A cowboy on a bucking bronco. Group of ranch hands huddled around a campfire.

Something like "Cowboy-ish shades of color"?
Source: Novel, Pines, Blake Crouch.


texts: it's not as bad as all that -- "all that"?

texts:
An excerpt from the movie The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953):
The guy who saw the monster is trying to convince a professor of paleontology that what he saw was real but the professor doesn't believe him.

— I don't know if this will be of any help, but you remember, doctor a few years ago, an expedition unearthed a herd of mastodons in the Siberian tundra. Dead thousands of years, yet their fur was still intact, the meat still edible.
— That's quite right, my dear Lee. But they weren't alive. That's the important difference. They weren't alive.
— I'm sorry, professor, but in all honesty, I can't support your story.
— I guess I'll go back to the hospital. Maybe I should ask for a transfer to the psychopathic ward.
— Nonsense. It's not as bad as all that, my boy.
— Thanks for listening, doctor.

I'm not sure how to properly understand the phrase all that. What does it refer back to?


texts: Is there a name for the usage of the present simple tense in situations like "I think" or "I declare" etc?

texts:
I vaguely remember there was an explanation but I do not know how to find it. Basically, why do we say:
"I think", "I declare", "I expect", "I win" in situations where were clearly do not refer to a habit or general truths, etc.?
THanks a lot


texts:
There are plenty of reasons to be entirely uninterested in the arrival of Hush. First, it’s yet another tale of home invasion, a subgenre overly populated with substandard variations on the same damn story. Second, it’s from the Blumhouse stable, a production company that’s been spreading itself far too thin of late with pointless remakes (Martyrs) and dreary sequels (Sinister 2) threatening a once-strong brand name. Third, its rather unheralded premiere on Netflix suggests something of a stinker.

  (Source: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/apr/14/hush-review-nifty-home-invasion-thriller-mike-flanagan-kate-siegel-john-gallagher-jr)

What do you think is meant by the bold passage providing the third reason why the reviewed movie could be viewed as the trash. The one and only explanation resides in my opinion in the fact that the movie was put on the programme of Netflix (everything what appears on Netflix is of a low artistic level) which I find given the fact what kind of production this television offers at least odd.  So how do you interpret the bold passage?


texts: "Working as a teacher is my dream." or "To work as a teacher is my dream."

texts:
Working as a teacher is my dream.
  To work as a teacher is my dream.

What's the difference between these sentences?
I've heard that infinitives is more appropriate than gerunds for expressing the future situation.

Thank you for helping.


texts:
I'm reading this article of Scientific American.

Here is some of sentence.

  In 2017 they published a study with a number of theoretical
  calculations that suggested a magnetar would first produce a
  superluminous supernova—and then, years if not decades later,
  produce a number of FRBs (although exactly how remains a mystery).

I can't understand what years if not decades later means really.

Does it mean a magnetar produce a number of FRBs after few years?

Thank you in advance.


texts: People who share the same native language are language mates?

texts: Can I call a person who speaks the same language as mine, a language mate? Considering that's our mother tongue and we're from different countries. For example, I'm Brazilian and the other person is Portuguese and we both speak Portuguese.


texts: "Misuse that has been going on that long" - or "a misuse"?

texts:
From an article by McWhorter: "The Grumpy Grammarian: Surely, Actually the Scolds Have Lost Their Minds"

Complaints about literally long predate Biden, of course. An early rendition came from the satirist and journalist Ambrose Bierce, who declared in 1909 that “to affirm the truth of the exaggeration is intolerable.” But “wrong” uses of literally go back to Dryden, Austen, and Thackeray.
“Misuse” that has been going on that long would seem to suggest that literally’s meaning has, well, changed.

Since misuse is postmodified by "that has been going on that long", would it be okay to use an indefinite article before it?

A “misuse” that has been going on that long would seem to suggest that literally’s meaning has, well, changed.

Why did the author of the article use no article before "misuse"?


texts: What is the difference between "he helped me out" and "he helped"?

texts: What is the difference between he helped me out and he helped? In what context can we use them?


texts: In what ways can this song phrase be grammatically parsed? (From "Close to the Edge" by Yes)

texts:
In the song, Close to the Edge by Yes (click link to see lyrics), there is a line that I don't understand how to parse grammatically to make sense of it:

"And assessing points to nowhere, leading every single one"

I'm not looking for an interpretation, but rather, the ways in which it could be grammatically parsed, even if such a parsing may be abstract or senseless.

For example, in the classic sentence, "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously" there is no sensible interpretation, but we can ascribe a grammatical parsing "Pronoun pronoun noun verb adverb" and we can get a sense that ideas, which are both colorless and green, sleep in a furious way.

There are probably a few ways that the above phrase from the Yes song can be parsed, but it's probably limited to a small handful.  It might require some back reference to a prior line, especially the first line.  Again, the full lyrics can be found here.

In other words, what are the possible/probable syntax trees related to this phrase?   (But I need a beginner's explanation.)  I'm just totally lost on it, and that prevents me from even getting to "step 2" of considering any kind of interpretation, which is beyond the scope of this question.


texts: "that I continue to learn and grow", does this expression sound natural?

texts:
One of my friends was asked the next-5-year-play in a job interview. He answered this way

  I don’t know exactly, but the most important thing is that I continue to learn and grow
  in my career.

Does this answer sound natural? Would it convey some kind of determination or plan?


texts:
What is grapevine communication?  I don't know whether it has positive or negative connotations. Can anyone tell me the details of it?

Thanks in advance


texts: What is the verb for causing people to stay away from an area?

texts:
In a text about the effects of holding sports events, there is a topic called "Making people flee". I want to know if there is a verb that can be used specifically instead of "making ... flee".
As an explanation, it is maintained about the issue that holding a sports event such as the Olympics in a city causes non-sports tourists to avoid coming around. As a matter of fact, escape is not intended in its exact sense of the word. Rather, I want a transitive verb that means driving someone away from a place, here sports event place.


texts:
From: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/96270/48426

  I got jumped with a couple of my friends one night.
  ...
  The next night, when we went to the house of the guys who had jumped us, the cops showed up just as we did, and one of the officers beat me senseless with his flashlight.

What is meant by "got jumped" and "had jumped"?


texts: Should I change the position of these clauses to make the sentence fluent

texts:
I wrote this sentence in an article (scientific)

  In order to force the students to rely on their phonics knowledge, instead of depending on their memory, to do the tests, the teacher can add some unfamiliar words, which are not usually shown on the textbooks, to the list.

Is it considered a long sentence for a scientific article? Or for a native speaker, Or in any aspect you may consider.

If you feel the question is for proofreading my main question is below:

I feel there is a gap between "add some .." and "to the list".
To resolve it, could I say

  ... the teacher can add some unfamiliar words to the list, which are not usually shown on the textbooks.

Or maybe better

  ... the teacher can add to the list some unfamiliar words, which are not usually shown on the textbooks.


texts: What does this sentence mean? "there are few who would not..."

texts:
This is a sentence taken from a textbook on translation:

  (Original sentence) Aside from abnormally lazy people, there would be very few who would not want to earn more than the minimum.

The standard translation for this (translated back to
English by myself) is

  (Standard translation) Aside from abnormally lazy people, there would be very few who would want to earn barely more than the minimum.

Edit: An answer says this standard answer is hard to understand. I am not sure why it is hard to understand. Even harder than the original? The standard answer is given in my native language, and means exactly as written above. Anyway, please note that, in my native language the standard answer implies that "most people want to earn a lot of than the minimum", in case anyone else finds it hard to understand.

Questions:
I think the original sentence could be ambigious because I can interpret it in two ways:

  Aside from abnormally lazy people, there would be very few who would not want to earn (a lot) more than the minimum = most people want to earn a lot more than the minimum.

or

  Aside from abnormally lazy people, there would be very few who would not want to earn (barely) more than the minimum = most people want to earn barely more than the minimum. (although this doesn't make much sense in the context)

Is the original sentence correct? Does it make sense? Does it sound natural to native speakers
What does the original sentence mean? Does it mean the same as the standard answer?

Edit: I've found the source of this sentence: The Sane Society by Fromm and Anderson. I guess this answers my first question automatically. Now, given this context, what would the original sentence mean, if explained in a less twisty way?


texts: Grammatically they said ”It will very enjoy” is correct but A friend said it's kinda strange. ”It will be enjoying” maybe a good grammar?


texts: Wh-question as part of a complex conjunctionless sentence

texts:
Is this sentence a wh question?

Why haven't you got a suntan, you've been to the seaside?


texts: "To request a phone to be unlocked" vs "To request unlocking"

texts:
I work for a mobile phone carrier in the US, and as many of you know in the US after you sign up with a phone company there's a period of time you have to wait for until you're eligible to have your phone unlocked by the company. Normally, when someone shows up at my store asking whether they can unlock their phones or not and I see that they haven't been with their phones for more than a year (a year is the minimum required for you to do that) I tell them that in order to request a phone to be unlocked you have to have been with the company for at least a year, but I was wondering whether I could say "in order to request unlocking you have to have been with the same device for at least a year."

Can I say to request unlocking instead of to request it to be unlocked?


texts:
Are there any phrases or idiomatic ways of replacing it strikes as a rather odd in the context of the following sentence

It however strikes the examiner as a rather odd that the candidate did not include a proper analysis on the issue


texts:
My sentence is,

"I thought it were your friends (that) you went out with."

I used the be-verb were in this sentence because it refers to your friends.

Am I right?


texts: Does 'Any number can be used' use the pattern SUBJ + vt + noun + dependent clause?

texts:
In Guide to Patterns and Usage in English by A. S. Hornby, it is said that VP 21 is

  Subject + Transitive Verb + noun/pronoun + dependent clause/question (see image)

If so, can we say that the sentence

  Any number can be used.

has been written in VP 21 (Verb Pattern 21)? I'd like to know the verb pattern used in the sentence mentioned above. There are 25 verb patterns in the book.
I'm confused with the verb pattern of the example sentence in my post. Please help me with this.


texts: Does the word 'railing' bring into mind a posession fence, or something much lower?

texts:
While apparently it can be used in that manner, I fear that it is much more common to describe things like railings along stairs. The fact that the subject is a posession fence has already been established.
In general, I need a word for a fence with vertical bars, something that literaly and figuratively would invoke the feeling of 'looking through bars'. If the first thought about 'railing' is that of a waist-high obstacle, the effect would be completely opposite to what I had in mind and thus the distinction is very important to me. Also, 'railing' already happens to rhyme with what I wrote.


texts: What is the difference between "cog" and "gear"?

texts:
After playing Skyrim, while watching Game of Thrones, I realized that I do not understand the difference (if any) between "cog" and "gear".

A summary search on the Internet leads me to believe that they are the same thing, but I cannot be sure.

I have in mind two possibilities:

"cog" and "gear" are true synonyms, they are interchangeable;
a "gear" is a kind of a "cog"; with other words, all "gears" are "cogs", but not all "cogs" are "gears".


texts:
i am learning this course, which says

  By the end of this exercise, you'll be writing two queries
  back-to-back in a single script. You got this!

at the end of this exercise, I got following 2 pieces of sql code in one page.

piece_1

SELECT country_code, size,
  CASE WHEN size > 50000000
            THEN 'large'
       WHEN size > 1000000
            THEN 'medium'
       ELSE 'small' END
       AS popsize_group
INTO pop_plus
FROM populations
WHERE year = 2015;

piece_2

Select name, continent, geosize_group, popsize_group
-- 1. From countries_plus (alias as c)
From countries_plus as c
  -- 2. Join to  pop_plus (alias as p)
  inner Join pop_plus as p
    -- 3. Match on country code
    on c.code = p.country_code
-- 4. Order the table
order by geosize_group;

piece_2 is based on piece_1.

does "back-to-back" here mean piece_2 based on piece_1? or something else?


texts:
"Robots are growing in complexity as their use in industry is becoming more widespread. Robots are mainly used in working with automatic machines and equipments. Car production is the primary example of
  large and complex robots."

According to these sentences, what does the primary example mean?

Is it "chief example" or "the first example"?


texts:
Here are the usages of the present continuous.
And here is the sentence:

Dan is sleeping in the living room while we redecorate his bedroom.

It is clear that it is a temporary situation that he is sleeping in the living room. But the action of redecoration is temporary too, why it is not used in the present continuous either?
I asked a native speaker who failed to give a decent explanation and we ended up thinking that it might have something to do with "while", any ideas?


texts: Meaning of a "having come to be required"

texts:
What does the following mean?

  "having come to be required".

It is meaning of statutory?


texts:
what does "atmospheric navigation" refers to?

So, too, this seer, in reply to a query regarding what was then termed
"atmospheric navigation," felt "deeply impressed" that "the necessary
mechanism—to transcend the adverse currents of air, so that we may
sail as easily and safely and pleasantly as birds—is dependent on a new
motive power. This power will come. It will not only move the
locomotive on the rail, and the carriage on the country road, but the
aerial cars also, which will move through the sky from country to
country."

Source: The History of Spiritualism by Arthur Conan Doyle.


texts: How to write our home address in formal forms

texts:
If I write the address as below:

No 21, 15 Alpha St, Babol, Mazandaran, Iran what does it mean?

  There are multiple Alpha Streets and I am living in the 15th brunch.( I think this is correct)

or

  There is a single street having the name "15 Alpha".

Question:

If (1) is true, what should write if there is only a single street having the name "15 Alpha" and I live in.

Additional Info:

"21" is the house number.

"15 Alpha" is an important date in Iran History which is considered for the name of a street.


texts: Can I omit "of them" in the following sentence?

texts:
People filled the place, all (of them) chattering and blathering at a
  volume that made my bones vibrate.

Can I? Why or why not?


texts: Any difference in meaning? "Until what time" and "How late"

texts:
To me, "until what time" and "how late" seem to have the same exact meaning and can be used interchangeably.  For example, the following pairs of sentences illustrate some usages that seem the same to me:

a1) Until what time were you at work last night?
a2) How late were you at work last night?
b1) Until what time did you stay at work last night?
b2) How late did you stay at work last night?
c1) Until what time did you work last night?
c2) How late did you work last night?
d1) Until what time can I call you?
d2) How late can I call you?

Am I correct that these phrases are exactly the same?  If not, why?


texts:
I wonder if the usage of '' in such a way '' correct in sentence below.

'' He was founded in such a way that his arm has been broken by his freind ''.

I mean ; Does this sentence above maean ''he was founded with arm which was broken by his friend''. If it is wrong , What should i use to give this meaning ?


texts:
In our English exam, we have a question called "error correction" where we get a paragraph that has a grammatical error on each line. We're required to point out the error and then substitute it for the correct word.

Here's the line:

  The smallest things could make him really upset or give him the intense reaction.

(It's about a king who can't control his emotions.)

Everyone in our class wrote that "the" is the incorrect word, with "an" being the right word in its place. However, our English teacher says that the incorrect word is "or". I didn't stick around to ask her what she thought the right word to substitute it was.

I would truly appreciate it if you validated our answers and explained why it would be so.


texts: "Gorillas have often been portrayed as a fearful animal"

texts:
Is the following sentence natural?

  Gorillas have often been portrayed as a fearful animal, but in truth these shy apes rarely fight over sex, food, or territory.

The subject Gorillas is plural, but a fearful animal is singular.


texts: Is there a way to not use bilingual dictionaries when I try to think in English? For the physical objects of the world (such as a rafter, a scraper, a condenser, etc.) I can use visual dictionaries. But what about abstract ideas (such as 'ambiguous', 'malice', 'deduce', etc.)?


texts: The usage of where in "let the ship go ashore where she fancied"

texts:
Let the ship go ashore where she fancied.

I am confused about  "where" usage in this sentence. I think the use "where" is not concerned with the second clause (she fancied). Please help me with this usage.


texts: Can we use a definite article when someone we are talking to doesn't know of the topic yet?

texts:
As for my question about the difference between

I like a movie, Pulp Fiction.

I like the movie, Pulp Fiction.

A commenter answered: I would say the only difference in usage is that you would use the first sentence when talking to someone if you didn't know whether they'd heard of Pulp Fiction. You would use the second sentence if you know they've heard of the movie.

In short, the commenter says the usage of 'the' is associated with the listeners' knowledge of the topic. However, when I think of the movie title, The English Patient, it's not associated with the listeners' knowledge of the topic; the audience has never heard of the specific patient.

I can't say 'I bought the book' unless the person I'm talking to knows of the book already, right? But the filmmakers use The English Patient even though the audience doesn't know of the patient yet. Can we use 'the' even though the people we are talking to don't know about the topic? What are the rules?


texts: Past event or future event: "to get COVID-19"

texts:
The author here appears to have writen "who had got COVID-19" simply as "to get COVID-19".  The first people had got the disease long ago while the structure of "to get COVID-19" gives me the sense of a future event. This inconsistency in my feelings leads to this thread.
Does the phrase "to get COVID-19" give you a feeling of a future event too? Would "to have got COVID-19" be a bit better?

In her job as a physician at the Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts, Sondra Crosby treated some of the first people in her region to get COVID-19. So when she began feeling sick in April, Crosby wasn’t surprised to learn that she, too, had been infected. At first, her symptoms felt like those of a bad cold, but by the next day, she was too sick to get out of bed. She struggled to eat and depended on her husband to bring her sports drinks and fever-reducing medicine. Then she lost track of time completely.
Source: Nature    Dec.2, 2020
Could COVID delirium bring on dementia?


texts: Is this combination "which nor" correct?

texts:
I found the following in a poem by Matthew Prior (1664-1721):

  In every act and turn of life he feels
  Public calamities, or household ills :
  The due reward to just desert refus'd :
  The trust betray'd, the nuptial bed abus'd :
  The judge corrupt, the long depending cause,
  And doubtful issue of misconstrued laws,
  The crafty turns of a dishonest state,
  And violent will of the wrong-doing great:
  The venom'd tongue injurious to his fame,
  Which nor can wisdom shun, nor fair advice reclaim.

I wrote the following sentence:

  You have confidence which nor can even the Devil shake.

Does this mean "You have confidence which even the Devil cannot shake, either."?

I wrote this sentence; no citation.


texts: How do I refer to literature in a plural sense?

texts:
I know this is similar to another question, but I cannot work from its answer to whether my own sentence is valid.

Is the following sentence correct?

  As this tool is used in many well-cited literature, it is...


texts:
Is there any difference between:

Could you spell it out for me

vs

Could you spell it out to me


texts:
Teachers accordingly made students’ need, not textual and historical accuracy, their supreme interest, chopping dangerous texts into short phrases, and using these to impart lessons extemporaneously on a variety of subjects, from syntax to science.

From this long sentence, I’m not sure especially of the object. Is “their supreme interest” the object? But it doesn’t make sense when combining “made student’s need”. How should I understand this sentence clearly?

Here is my division of this sentence.

Teachers accordingly made students’ need, (not textual and historical accuracy,) their supreme interest, (chopping dangerous texts into short phrases, and using these to impart lessons extemporaneously on a variety of subjects, from syntax to science.)

Thanks for helping me analyze it!


texts: Are "shellfish" and "seafood" merely synonymous, or actually the same?

texts:
In English, when I think of shellfish, I think of shrimps, lobsters, crabs, mussels, oysters etc., which are all "seafood" and have shells.

But there are other kinds of "seafood" such as squids and octopus that don't seem to be shellfish.

So does "seafood" refer to both or just one of the two categories of food above (or some others I haven't alluded to)? Ditto for "shellfish?"


texts:
Why is 'to' sometimes dropped in these kinds of sentences?

  What you want to do is make a plan

There's no 'to' between 'is' and 'make'.

  The next thing you want to do is to stay in the present moment.

There is 'to' between 'is' and 'stay'.

Similar example

  The first thing you need to do is to trim vegetables.

  The first thing you need to do is trim vegetables


texts: Here it goes in context: "The projections for the long run deficits and debt have already been revised downward. Go us!"


texts: A cow is an animal vs The cow is an animal—which is correct and why?

texts:
After more than ten years of learning English, I still have a few problems with articles.
Which of the following two sentences is correct and why?

  A cow is an animal.

or

  The cow is an animal.


texts:
Can you please answer me the below question.

  earth is revolving around sun, which is not getting tired.

in the above sentence, is ‘which’ refers to ‘earth’ or ‘Sun’

Please give some explanation also.


texts: is there any difference between "feel bad for sb" and "feel sorry for sb"?

texts: I often met both structure "feel bad for somebody" and "feel sorry for somebody" in English, but it's hard for me to make a distinction. They are the same and can be used interchangeably in any situation, right? If there are any difference between them, please give a some examples.


texts:
In "History of Western Philosophy" Bertrand Russell wrote

  "The Arabs, although
  they conquered a great part of the world in the name of a new
  religion, were not a very religious race; the motive of their
  conquests was plunder and wealth rather than religion. It was only in
  virtue of their lack of fanaticism that a handful of warriors were
  able to govern, without much difficulty, vast populations of higher
  civilization and alien religion."

Probably because there are no strict parallelisms between the English and the Italian language, I'm having some doubts about the correct interpretation of this piece.

In fact I'm not able to understand whether Bertrand Russell uses "a handful of warriors" to refer to "The Arabs" as a whole, almost as if it were a "kind" of synonymous used to not repeat the same word two times, or not.

Strictly speaking, I am aware that in the above piece "The Arabs" and "a handful of warriors" are not exactly the same thing, but at the same time I'm under the impression that if Bertrand Russell had written the second sentence in this way

  It was only in virtue of their lack of fanaticism that the Arabs were
  able to govern, without much difficulty, vast populations of higher
  civilization and alien religion.

the meaning and interpretation of the entire piece would not have changed.

Can anybody explain how that piece should be interpreted in reference to the correlation between "The Arab" and "a handful of warriors"?


texts:
Because data's harder to get a grip on than logos, it can be tough to "shape" your database in a way that gets your message in front of the people it's most suited to. So here's a 12-item checklist of questions to ask yourself based on Marketscan's latest report on campaign data, from which most of the figures cited below are drawn.

What does "get a grip " mean here?
Does it mean that understanding data is harder than understanding logos?


texts: Why 'the' is required in these sentences?

texts:
I was doing 'Articles' quiz at the following website: http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/multi/article1.htm

My questions are the following.

   1. Don't drink the water out of that tap. It's orange!

Why the is required here? How come water can be specific? The tap is specific, but not water. Please explain.

   2. Have you seen soap? - No, it should be on the sink.

Here, in my opinion we should prefix the with soap. How come it can be generic? It looks to me as if they are looking for a specific soap.

   3. I am worried about the health of my grandfather. He goes to the doctor every week.

Why the health? Health in my opinion is generic.  How health can be specific here? Is he talking about specific health? How a specific health can exist?

   4. I cannot believe the luck he had winning all that money.

Why the is prefixed with luck? Luck is generic, it cannot be specific. Luck is good only. It cannot be classified into winning luck or marriage luck, etc.

   5. Many people think that beer they brew in Germany is the best in the world.

In my opinion, the should be prefixed with beer. We are taking about that beer, which means a specific beer. Please explain?


texts:
example: The airplane took off for Tokyo.

Is ‘took off’ a phrasal verb, and ‘for Tokyo’ an adjunct for the verb?


texts: What does "Human eyes glare at each other, yours and theirs, desperate and resentful down on the pond bottom" mean?

texts:
The following sentence is from an article in The Independent:

  Human eyes glare at each other, yours and theirs, desperate and resentful down on the pond bottom.

This is my effort:

  Human eyes glare at each other. Their eyes stare at your eyes and your eyes stare at their eyes. These people are feeling desperate and resentful on the bottom.

Is my interpretation correct?


texts:
Does it mean 'during the selling process' or 'in the industry?'

Exotic pets pose a risk to human health and safety, particularly
because some infectious diseases they carry are transmittable to
humans. Ecological risks are also significant. Species loss due to the
exotic pet trade can be so dramatic that experts have coined the term
“empty forest syndrome” to describe some of these exporting zones. In
importing regions, too, exotic pets can escape or be illegally
released into non-native environments, where they may become invasive.
The most famous case of this is the breeding population of Burmese
pythons now established in the Florida Everglades. But the traded
animals themselves arguably bear the risks of the exotic pet trade
most profoundly. Pre-purchase mortality rates within the trade
are as high as 70 percent for reptiles and some birds, or 80 percent
for wild-caught marine fish, with similar mortality rates persisting
within the first year after purchase. Experts argue it is difficult if
not impossible to provide adequate care for exotic pets.

Humans and Animals: A Geography of Coexistence: A Geography of Coexistence


texts:
i want to ask my fellow passenger if my destination will come then please wake me up. Let me know if below sentences are correct.

  Let me know when my stop is come ( if bus has reached stop) Or   Let me know when my stop will come ( if bus is about to reached the stop) Or   Let me know when my stop has come.( if bus has already reached my stop) Or   Let me know when my stop come ( Simple tense)


texts: I have some questions about a certification

texts:
I recieved a document following :

  This is to certify that the name TING CHOE born on 15 December 2000 a citizen of KOREA, SOUTH DOES NOT APPEAR in this Bureau's Hold Departure, Blacklist, Watch list and/or Intelligence Derogatory Records as of 28 February 2017.
  This certification is issued upon request of the subject for VIMS Application purposes.

Who is the subject in the last sentence? Is it me or the officer?
What's the meaning of VIMS?


texts: Is it deliver or have delivered by tonight?

texts:
Can you deliver it by tonight?

Or

Can you have delivered it by tonight?

What sounds more natural? Which of the two sentences is incorrect?


texts:
These 2 words have the same translation in my native language, and I don't get the difference in these contexts. For example, should I say:

  Amanda leant her elbows on her thighs, leaning her hands on her head.

  Amanda supported her elbows on her thighs, supporting her hands on her head.

(I want to say that she put her elbows on her thighs, and put her hands below her head)

-

  Some students don't lean their notebooks on their desk, and therefore they have a sloppy handwriting.

  Some students don't support their notebooks on their desk, and therefore they have a sloppy handwriting.

(I want to say that they don't put their notebooks on their desk, so they don't have a good handwriting)


texts: Can "just" be used as a predicative adjective?

texts:
When "just" is an adjective, I have always seen it used as an attributive one (ie, before a noun). Examples:

a just society
a just claim to the land
a just punishment

It seems to me that, whenever someone wants to express the same meaning in a predicate, the synonym "fair" is used instead of "just":

the society is fair
the claim to the land is fair
the punishment is fair

Is that right or could I use "just" in the previous 3 examples?


texts: Does this sentence make sense: "So many women have never received economic degrees as today"?

texts:
Before doing the below exercise, I and my friend have been taught about inversion, like these examples:

  Example 1 : I have never seen such a beautiful rose. (standard word order)
  Example 2 : Never have I seen such a beautiful rose. (inversion)

  Source: http://www.learn-english-today.com/lessons/lesson_contents/verbs/inversion.html

We understand that the two example sentences basically mean the same thing, and in example 2 inversion is used to add more emphasis.

However, we have confusion about this exercise from our exercise book (we notice the exercise is adapted from the book "English Grammar Practice for TOELF", page 281, question 14 here)

  These questions are incomplete sentences. Beneath each sentence you will see four words or phrases, marked A, B, C or D. You are to choose one word or phrase that best completes the sentences.

  In that small country, ____ received economic degrees as today.
  A. never have so many women
  B. so many women have never
  C. never so  many women have
  D. never so have many women

Our book's answer key is (A), but my friend thinks (B) is also a valid answer in this case according to the above example sentences. For me, I don't quite agree with her. I guess (B) doesn't make any sense there, but I just don't know how to explain it to my friend.

Could you please advise whether my guess is correct or not in this case?


texts: The structure of a sentence in "A Living and a Dead Faith" by William Cowper

texts:
From "A Living and a Dead Faith" by William Cowper (part of the "Olney Hymns"):

  With golden bells, the priestly vest,
  And rich pomegranates border'd round,
  The need of holiness expressed,
  And called for fruit as well as sound.

There are no finite verbs in the sentence. I presume that there is an omission of the verb is before "expressed":

  With golden bells, the priestly vest,
  And rich pomegranates border'd round,
  The need of holiness is expressed,
  And called for fruit as well as sound.

But then I cannot account for "called". I cannot imagine the verb is before "called". If I put is before "called", I get

  The need of holiness is called for fruit as well as sound.

This does not seem to work.

So we seemingly have the non-finite verb "called" unattached to any finite verb.

Is this an example of poetic license, with a non-finite verb "hanging in the air" ungrammatically? Or am I missing something?

I understand the general meaning of the stanza, but the parts of the sentence do not seem to dovetail together.


texts: Which is the gerund and participle here?

texts:
Having forgotten him, he went away.

Is 'having' gerund or participle?

Is 'forgotten' gerund or participle?

And why?


texts:
I just read that the characters of [insert random show name] would be coming to our city.
I just read that the characters of [insert random show name] will be coming to our city.

Are both the above sentences grammatically correct?
Would it be wrong to have the tenses in harmony when constructing sentences like these?

The notice board on the gate of the manor read that the house had a dog that we should beware of.
The notice board on the gate of the manor read that the house has a dog that we should beware.

Are both the above sentences grammatically correct?
Would it be wrong to have the tenses in harmony when constructing sentences like these?


texts:
"It may fairly be said, therefore, that any {social arrangement} that remains vitally social, or vitally shared, is educative to those who participate in it."  (Source: Democracy and Education by John Dewey)

What does the phrase social arrangement generally mean? Could you help me clarify it?


texts: What is the meaning of the girl's words here?

texts:
Three Teenage girls, Lynda, Laurie & Annie, walking & talking to each other about the college:

Lynda: Anyway, today in class, in French class, Mr. Leclerc was
totally flirting with me.

Annie: (Laughs)

Laurie: God, here we go!
Lynda: We were conjugating the verb "to want."
Laurie: Because he so wants you!
Laurie: Je veuxl Je veuxl

I bolded the sentence where I got confused in understanding it.
Is she saying to want has so many meanings to it or anything else?


texts: Sir Alex Ferguson advice OR Sir Alex Ferguson's advice

texts:
I came across this title on a sports website

  Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should follow Sir Alex Ferguson advice over Real Madrid and Paul Pogba

and was wondering why there was no possessive.

  Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should follow Sir Alex Ferguson's advice over Real Madrid and Paul Pogba

I understand it's a news title and authors tend to ignore grammar in headers for the sake of conciseness. Here, it doesn't seem like the author pursued briefness, though. If that were the case, they would omit full names of the people who are well-known in the football world.

  Solskjaer should follow Ferguson's advice over Real Madrid and Pogba

  Solskjaer should follow Ferguson advice over Real Madrid and Pogba

Apparently, it's not about brevity. We are talking about 2 characters.

Is there any rule why the possessive Ferguson's advice wasn't used?


texts: Using non-completed sentences with gerunds

texts:
These lines are from an American sitcom. I come across "non completed sentences" a lot. I suppose this is how Americans speak informally.

  A: His pants were too tight.

  B: Yeah, yeah.

  B: Hey, you know what else is too tight? Us working a case
  together. (B's old partner just came back to work a case together.)

  C: I heard you scream out "I love this!" (B is being rebuked by his
  captain because B was beating another police officer,who was a dirt
  cop, while screaming "I love this!")

  B: Yes.

  B: "This" being justice.


texts: Is this use of "oppose" to express a contrast correct?

texts:
I believe that movies have caused or created a false perception about a certain group of people. Instead, I believe that this group of people is exactly the opposite of how movies show them to be.  I want to express this in words, in a way something like this:

  As opposed to what movies have shown them to be, this group of people is very helpful and considerate.

Is the expression in bold correct? Is there a more natural way of saying it?


texts:
A quote from The Guardian:

  For it is mercilessly clear that when Porter died last year at the
  age of 55, he was at the height of his powers.

Should the definite article always be used when a single cardinal number is used in the expression "at the/an age of.." ? Or "AN" is also acceptable if the sentence does not refer to a definite person, like, say "students tend to graduate at an age of 22"?

I find numerous examples of "at an age of" and it's hard to sense the pattern of usage.


texts: Do two verbs mean there are two clauses in a sentence?

texts:
I'd like to ask whether the direct object in this sentence is a non-finite clause and thus the sentence is not a simple sentence?

  Gatsby doesn't want to have any trouble with anybody.

I'd analyze it like this:

Gatsby (subject)
doesn't want (predicator)
to have any trouble with anybody (direct object)

Is that to have any trouble with anybody a non-finite clause or just a verb phrase?


texts: Is this sentence correct to give approximate time for meeting?

texts:
Actually I have to give an approximate time for the meeting.

"We can make it from 8.30 am – 9.30 am"

Is this sentence correct?


texts:
When I asked my theacher to explain the usage of those , he said that we can use these propositions just before where, which. Like expressed here:

  The boat which the oil was transported in

can be

  The boat in which the oil was transported

And I understand this part. But I came across a sentences today which is:

  the hideous way in which she treated her maid after she discovered her ring was missing

And I can't approach this sentence same way above or can I?

There are a lot of sentences like this that the above technique doesnt work or I cannot get it worked. Thanks in advence.


texts: What is the difference between absorbance and absorption in the context of wavelength?

texts:
I'm writing a paper that discusses wavelength. Which is correct: maximum absorbance or maximum absorption?

I guess both absorbance and absorption are used in the context of wavelength but which to use depends on what is meant.  Am I correct?  If correct, what is the difference between these two terms?

Thank you in advance!!


texts: When do I use "was" and when do I use "were"

texts:
Do I use was or were in this sentence?

  Bonnie, along with her associates, was invited to the gathering.