texts: 'the aftermath of German reunification'?

texts:
I googled 'the aftermath of German reunification' but few results came out.
Yes, 'aftermath' means 'the consequences or aftereffects of a significantly unpleasant event,' but is it always used that way?
I mean, is 'aftermath' only used when referring to the consequences brought about by a negative event?
For example, does 'the aftermath of German reunification' sound unnatural?


texts:
Why brief as a verb means to give information thoroughly and even as a noun it means a legal document, given to a barrister, containing all the information about a case but as an adjective it means containing few words?

There's a document called brief, given to a barrister, which is not at all brief. It's concise and detailed. Then why do they call it a brief?

Even as a verb it means to give an information thoroughly, then how brief as an adjective means short?

If I'm asked in exam to answer a question in brief. Which perspective am I going to use? Brief as an answer solely or brief according to that particular topic which is asked? Now the size of a brief answer can be subjective. To me, a brief answer can be a paragraph. To the other person, it could be one or two more paragraphs but with accordance to the topic, it will always be objective (depend on individual topic).


texts: Can I turn this active sentence to passive?

texts:
Can I turn this active sentence to passive: "I have a cow"

If not then, what is the explanation of it?


texts: Past Simple with Present Continuous in one sentence

texts:
I've got a question related to tenses.
I am watching a sad movie that is making me cry and my friend is sending me a text message making me smile. I want to tell him about it so is this sentence okay?

  I'm watching a movie that's making me cry and your message made me smile.

Should I write I have been watching or get rid of Past Simple?


texts:
Can “attributive clause” and “noun clause” be exchanged, excluding appositive clause?

For example:

  Remind the clients what maintenance advice they should follow.(object clause)
  Remind the clients the maintenance advice that they should follow.
  I wonder where she comes from. (object clause)
  I wonder the place that she comes from.
  Whoever says that is a liar.(subject clause)
  Anyone who says that is a liar.
  That is what he meant.(predicative clause)
  That is the meaning that he meant.

Thank you very much!


texts:
Can the causative verb "help" be used in a passive sentence? For example, does the sentence

  I was helped by him to carry the boxes.

make sense to you, native speakers?


texts: The most used + Noun VS Noun + is used the most

texts:
Are both of the following sentences grammatical and interchangeable?

  'The' is the most used word.

  Word 'the' is used the most.


texts: What is it called when we 'indirectly' tell something to someone?

texts:
Is it sarcasm? Witty? Clever? I'm not sure.

At times, I see the message being conveyed indirectly. It's difficult to label it as 'insulting' and that's why, I'm not sure what we call that.

Examples:

If a premises has CCTV installed, a board reads:

Witty/sarcastic way -

  "Smile, you are on camera."

What they actually mean -

  This place is under video surveillance, don't do anything bad.

In an open eatery...

  "If you are reading this, it means you are literate. Throw waste plates in a dustbin."

What they actually mean -

  Don't litter. Mannered people don't do that!

These are just examples. I want to learn what this method is called? What type of conversation that is? Sarcastic, insulting, humorous, witty, disdainful?

I'm not looking strictly for a 'word'. Anything else (i.e. phrase or idiom) will do.


texts:
The following is a part of CNN Student News dated on Oct 18, 2016;

"Hundreds of US troops are involved, though the Pentagon says they're not on the front line. And the forces that are can call in air support when they meet with tough resistance from the terrorist."

In the part of 'that are can call', why are there 2 verbs? Is it correct?

Thanks for your help in advance.


texts:
Suppose I have a set of numbers. Then, suppose further that I take a sample of this set. Which of my sentences is correct? and why?

Let (0,2) be a sample from a set S of discrete numbers

or

Let (0,2) be a sample from set S of discrete numbers


texts:
1) What are you doing here?
2) What are you doing over here?

When I bump into a friend, are the two questions above all correct? If so, does "over" here imply that friend comes from another place to here?


texts: Is it positive or negative to say "good for you!"

texts: I've recently noticed that Simon (member of American Got Talent Jury) regularly uses to say "good for you" to candidates that told their story and background prior to their audition. Actually it sounds that he is interested in the story and happy for the candidate. However, translating it into my native language this phrase is more negatively inked (like "Good for you, but I don't really care, now please go ahead").


texts: What does "at the head of" mean in this sentence?

texts:
I read a sentence in a chapter in my book which was:

  But now - now I march at the head of my retainers to Lucknow to try and drive you from the country.

I don't know what "at the head of" means here.


texts: "driving" or "while driving" in context?

texts:
Could you tell me if I have to include while in the following context. If I do, would you explain why?

Yesterday I was given a ticket for talking on the phone (while) driving, so tomorrow I'm going to court to pay it.


texts:
Although he's got a good job now, he yet complains.

Does the sentence sound natural? When "yet" is used as an adverb, can "although" and "yet" appear in the same sentence?


texts: Does this sentence "We could not conceive.." describe the past or the present?

texts:
I'd like to ask if this sentence describes something that happened in the past or something of the present or future.

"We could not conceive that he might soon be dead."

Does it mean 'we' were not able to conceive his death or we are not likely to be able to conceive that?

The sentence is an example sentence from Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary in the entry for 'conceive'.
There is no context attached to it at all.

As I am a non-native English speaker, understanding the meaning of this sentence is tricky.
It is because the modal verb could can be used for two different ways: the first use is for describing something you were not able to do in the past as in I couldn't hear you because there was a lot of noise on the street, and the second use is for a guess or an assumption about the present or future as in I don't think she could afford it. She has recently lost her job.

Thank you for your help. Any explanation will be appreciated.


texts: What does "in turn of the centrury country" mean?

texts:
I have come across it in this video. It is right at 3 minutes. Here it goes:

  In turn of the century India and Africa, man eating animals were basically par for the course.


texts: What's the grammar of "live happily ever laughter"?

texts:
resources: "Love Needs Laughts" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qfum5vc4Ew

around 5:07 / 5:29

tips: this video has subtitles.


texts: "the word on the question" or "the word of the question"?

texts:
For, example, let's consider I am a questioner at a certain blog.
I am wondering which preposition I should use when I ask a kind of question below.
I would like to make a questions (to potential readers), like, "Choose the inappropriate synonym or antonym that does NOT match with the word on the question or of the question" (The word on the question or of the question is described before the sentence above.)
I am personally guessing of would be correct. Am I right about this?
And then also, is there any case in which we could use the preposition on? If there were, kindly advise me.


texts:
When a few people or groups of people give each other something they do not have at first to utilize, which word would be correct to use?

For example, my friends and I have a dictionary while we need more sheets of papers or books. We give them our dictionary and we get allowed to use their books we need. Since we do not take  the books or give the dictionary permanently, I doubt that the word exchange is correct. On the other hand, the word share connotes a situation that both groups use the same thing at the same time. Is there a word for the scenario?


texts: use of singular/plural verb in case of linked subjects

texts:
Look at this example below

  In the game of life, it is the confidence and positive attitude that
  help/helps children sail through with ease.

I know that in case of inseparable or interlinked multiple subjects we use a singular verb, like

Bread and butter is the minimum requirement of every human to survive.

Is it the case of the example that is given? Or should we treat confidence and positive attitude as two different subjects?

I think explanation given here is different. In my question there is a possibility that confidence and positive attitude are inseparable entities hence they can't be treated as different subjects from the contextual meaning viewpoint. Correct me if my understanding is wrong.


texts:
I am too confused to answer the question:

  Why was the boy making a wooden bowl?

Shall I write:

  The boy was making a wooden bowl so that he could give it to his parents when they become old / when they would become old.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Does "Remember when I said I'd killed you last? ...I lied" make any sense?

texts:
resource: https://generalsrotr.fandom.com/wiki/Manticore/Quotes
"Remember when I said I'd killed you last? ...I lied."
I think "I had killed you last" is neither meaningful nor grammatical.
According to https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088944/quotes/?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu,

Sully: Here, have some beers in Val Verde, Matrix. It'll give everyone a little more time with your daughter.
[Henriques laughs]
John Matrix: You're a funny guy Sully, I like you. That's why I'm going to kill you last.

John Matrix: [holds the hotel key he stole from Sully that Cooke is staying at] Because I already know. Remember, Sully, when I promised to kill you last?
Sully: That's right, Matrix! You did!
John Matrix: I lied.
[Matrix releases Sully, who falls to his demise]

So the sentence should be "Remember when I said I would kill you last? … I lied."
Am I right?


texts:
Consider:

  It is requested that a vote be taken.

  It is high time you went to bed.

These two sentences express the subjunctive mood. Why do they differ in their form? The first has the infinitive and second one the preterite. Is there some logic behind this different formation of the subjunctive?


texts: One day, he will get my revenge from you

texts:
Imagine a father who is dying under the torture of a malicious man who is killing the father for some reasons (money issues, etc.) The father at his last moments says:

  One day my son will grow up and get my revenge from you.

Does the sentence above sound natural to you? I doubt if the bold part which is a direct translation from my mother language is said in English in the way I translated. Because "growing up" is a process and won't happen in a day.


texts: The use of and alternative verbs for " to clock"

texts:
The word " to clock" is used in a sense of "to measure or record the time or speed that someone or something is travelling at". However, I would like to use it in a more casual context as in the following if possible or how can I say it with different verbs?

  A: How long did your journey take?

Should I say ?

  B : I "clocked the time/it". It took about half  an hour.

or

  B : I forgot to look at the clock so I did not "clock it" but it was about half an hour.

Another scenario

  A: How long did it take you to read and understand a research paper?

  B: I "clocked the time/it". I took about half  an hour.

What I mean is here that I looked at the clock when the process started and I looked the clock again when the process finished. However I did not measure time in a scientific way using millisecond unit like in a spring.


texts: Is the sentence structure in the sentence "Would you be so kind as to [verb] ...?" correct?

texts:
So, would a sentence like "would you be so kind as to help me out with this project" be correct?

Are there any similar request type sentences with the phrase "would you be so kind ..." with possibly different continuations?

(I'm always looking to improve on my English; so, I'd greatly appreciate it if you would point out any grammatical mistakes I've made in describing my question)


texts: "People decrease" or "The number of people decrease"?

texts:
I'm writing a formal technical report. I'm bit confused about how to use "decrease".

The report discusses the shift in the number of people heading home in the evening.

I'd like to say "the number of people who go their home slowly decrease(s?) after 6 pm".

Which is the correct expression?

  The number of people who go their home slowly decrease after 6 pm

  People who go their home slowly decrease after 6 pm

I'm also worried about the relatively long subject in this sentence.  Is "The number of people who go their home" too long for a subject? My teacher says shorter subjects are better in English writing.

Thank you and please help.


texts: Which sentence is correct? (the, or no the)

texts:
Which sentence is grammatically correct of the two below? Or are both ok?

  This one is a classic course provided by us, with Ashtanga yoga as focal exercise.
  This one is a classic course provided by us, with Ashtanga yoga as the focal exercise.


texts: How to understand the meaning of ‘down a drain’？

texts:
On his way to the sweet shop, he dropped his fifty pence and it bounced along the pavement and then disappeared down a drain.

Can I delete down a drain, and what is the difference between them？
Can I use in a drain to replace the down a drain？


texts:
The only sad thing for me is that every time I watch this film I am reminded that their likes will not be seen again.

I am a little bit puzzled by "their likes" in the above sentence. I presume that the author wants to say he is reminded that movies of the same quality as the mentioned one will not be seen again. But why the possesive pronoun "their"? I would await "its like" which is related to the referred movie.


texts: US term for potential increase in earnings from employer?

texts: What term(s) do Americans use when an employee might get more money from their employer, usually happening on a yearly basis?  Perhaps Wage review?  Salary review?  Or even a more generic Annual review?  However, the latter doesn't emphasize money so I'd rather have term(s) that do.


texts: What are other wordings for pushing the following pedals?

texts:
What verbs to use with clutch/brake/accelerator? I need verbs that mean pushing the pedal.
Do you say "push the brake/accelerator in"?
Do you say "hit/slam on the clutch/accelerator"?
Do you say "put the clutch/accelerator on"?
Thank you.


texts:
I find this sentence from a book odd:

  Their flimsy settlements consequently were soon abandoned, and their discovery was forgotten, except in Scandinavian saga and song.

According to both the Macmillan Dictionary and Cambridge English Dictionary, the word saga is a count noun. I know song can be a mass noun to refer to the idea or activity of singing. So isn't the sentence ungrammatical as written? Shouldn't it be edited to:

  Their flimsy settlements consequently were soon abandoned, and their discovery was forgotten, except in Scandinavian sagas and song.


texts:
Attitude - a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior.
Settle here means:
a) adopt a more steady style of life
b) accept to
Wich one should I choose?


texts: Verb matching with a subject that is essentially plural, but is actually singular.

texts:
I was looking over my writing and it came to me, it referring to the question. This was the sentence, I was looking at.

  In particular, his mother’s French, with his father’s Russian
  aristocratic background was central.

Here, the subject is 'his mother's French background', however, essentially the subject is 'his mother's French and his father's Russian aristocratic background(s)' (also, I am confused about whether to use plural for this or not, but not my central point, so moving on).
Thus, should the verb 'was', in this case, be plural or singular?

Many thanks, Nahyun.


texts:
His cloak was wet due to the heavy rainfall
  His cloak was wet due to the heavy rains
  His cloak was wet due the heavy rain.

Which out of the three sound more appropriate? Is the use of the article 'the' required?


texts: Ranking vs Rank which one is correct in the sentence

texts:
Please help which one is grammatically correct... There is no context just wondering...

1) I want to compare your course rank versus others rank.

2) I want to compare your course rank versus others ranking.

3) I want to compare your course ranking versus others ranking.


texts: 2 hundred sixty thousand VS 2 hundred sixty thousands

texts:
In the past three weeks alone, the number of people displaced inside Ukraine itself has doubled to at least 260,000, according to the UN's Vincent Cochetel in Geneva.

Is this "two hundred sixty thousand" or "two hundred sixty thousands"?


texts: What is the meaning of this sentence about competition?

texts:
This is Carnegie's defense of competition:

  It is best for the race, because it insures the survival of the fittest in every department.

Which one is the meaning of the part that I've emboldened?

1) it insures, in every aspect, the survival of the fittest

2) it insures the survival of the individuals who are in every aspect the fittest

I've assumed that 'department' means a specified aspect or quality here.


texts:
Is there a phrase for making a specific expression towards someone? How can I say something like:

  Jonas made his sexy face towards the cashier?

  Jonas threw his sexy face at  her?

  Jonas gave her a sexy face?


texts: How to dissect/parse '{verb} as {personal pronoun} may/might'?

texts:
... I just came across the following examples in *Destination C1 & C2 (*MacMillan publication):

    1) Try as he might, he couldn't [endure]  the pain.
    2) However hard he (might have) tried, he couldn't [endure] the pain.
    3) Much as he tried, he couldn't [endure]  the pain.

  [Source:] The short answer is no, these forms are not limited to the verb try ...
  These structures are nuanced alternatives to saying "no matter ..." or "regardless of ...".

I already understand and so ask NOT about the meaning of this idiom, below which I want to burrow. Instead, I ask about the different, confusing syntax of this idiom; ordinarily, an adverb dependent clause retains this construct: {subordinate conjunction} + {subject} + {verb}. Yet how does 1 still mean the same as 2 and 3? Please elucidate and expain 1's strange syntax?


texts: "Pride oneself in" vs "Pride oneself on"

texts:
She prides herself in/on her ability to spot a shoplifter.

  I pride myself in/on my ability to find compromises.

Is there any difference between two phrasal verbs "Pride oneself in" and "Pride oneself on" ?


texts:
The context is you're inside a room and want to throw a pen outside the room through an open window. Now, the pen is outside. Do the sentences below have the same meaning?

Throw the pen out the window.
Throw the pen through the window.
Throw the pen out of the room through the window.

I've mostly heard Number 1 but if it's "out the window" then the original location of the pen is inside the window (the window was melted with the pen when making it) hence you throw it out the window.


texts:
25 apples on the table.

Don't we put "are" between the 2 words. Or what is grammatical issue in here?


texts: (The?) Lions in the zoo are very aggressive

texts:
We use a plural count noun with no article if we mean all or any of
  that thing. For example:

    Lions are very aggressive.

    I don't like lions.

  We only use the with general plural nouns when we are referring to
  a specific set within a general class of people or things. For example:

    Books are so important in my life. (I mean all books in general.)

    The books were all over the floor. (I mean specific books that you and I know.)

Let's say you and I are living in New York. There is only one zoo in NY. You and I know about that zoo but we have never been there.

Should I say

  Lions in the zoo are very aggressive. (Lions that are in the zoo are very aggressive)

or

  The lions in the zoo are very aggressive. (The lions that are in the zoo are very aggressive)

Similarly, should I say

  Students in Accounting class are smart.

or

  The students in Accounting class are smart.


texts: I’m struggling to decompose the meaning of long, long sentences that usually found in articles, newspapers etc. While going through a sentence, I merely remember what was at beginning of the sentence. Please help me. Besides reading more and more English articles what else should I do to improve my ability?


texts: Respitory vs Depot vs Deposotory vs Warehouse vs Storehouse

texts:
When I look them up on dictionaries, I find a genereal definition for these words like "it is a place where something is put so that is can be kept safe". So it is pretty hard to distinquish where or how to use them?

I guess these words suggest places used for similar purposes but there are unique collacations with these words that we cannot use one instead of another.

For example I heard museums use the word respotory for the place where  they keep the artefacts that they don't exibit currently.But I am not 100% sure.

And I also saw another example of usage on Cambridge Dictionaries Online that "a nuclear waste repository"

An the word depot is used like a terminal where buses that are not on service at night are kept .

I would like to know especially their collacations and which words are prefered in these situations?

1.For example when you go a clothing store and when you could not find the exact size of a pair of shoes you look for among the exhibited ones inside the store, you would want to ask to a sales assistants to make sure if these sizes  all was sold out and when you say

"Do you have that size of shoes"

And  the sales assistant could asnwer like

" I am not sure.Let me check the .............."

So which word to use  appropiate here. This scenerio can apply similar retailer shops like bookshop

2.I would like to know where  production factories is kept their raw , semifinished and finished products?


texts:
In this sentence "curbing out" reads strange. I can't find much on Google. It doesn't appear to have any meaning beyond "curbing", "inhibiting", and I am not sure the tag-along preposition "out" adds anything semantically. Is "curb out" idiomatic at all? Is it an Australian English phrasal verb?

  This Antipodean phenomenon has a strong presence in workers’ rights and political debate, especially when it comes to curbing out cigarette smoking. (source)


texts: "5 years experience in" or "5 year experience in" or "5 years of experience in"?

texts:
Not sure which one is the right one?

-I have 5 years experience in playing chess.

-I have 5 year experience in playing chess.

-I have 5 years of experience in playing chess.

It seems that the 2nd and the 3rd is ok, but I am not so sure


texts:
I am not a member of that club, as many think, nor even nearly related to it.

How should I understand the phrase 'as many think'? It delivers the meaning that many people think that I belong to the club, or that I don't belong to it?


texts: Is there (and what if there is) a difference in saying nozzle and nuzzle?

texts: To my Russian ear, it appears that both nozzle and nuzzle sound the same. Is it true? If no, what is the difference?


texts: "direction" to describe quality of movie directing?

texts:
E.g., you can say:

  man, that flick's cinematography left much to be desired...

to express that the director of photography did a poor job.

What do you say when you want to talk about the director? I must say I haven't heard many (if any) people say "the direction of this movie was good."

Even though it can be used that way, it doesn't seem in wide use. Is there a better single word expression for this?

edit: What I'm looking for is not rephrasing, and not necessarily something you'll use in spoken, day-to-day english (although it can be) -- more like I'm looking for a term that can be even a bit technical (and used in written/technical/formal English), yet still pretty unambiguous. E.g. direction's meaning is pretty unclear, while cinematography's meaning is more obvious (albeit it can be bit ambiguous, too).


texts: Meaning of "match" in William Cowper's poem 'The Negro's Complaint'

texts:
From The Negro's Complaint by William Cowper:

  Is there, as ye sometimes tell us,
    Is there One who reigns on high?
  Has he bid you buy and sell us,
    Speaking from his throne, the sky?
  Ask him, if your knotted scourges,
    Matches, blood-extorting screws,
  Are the means that duty urges
    Agents of his will to use?

I looked in the Century Dictionary, in Wiktionary, and in Merriam-Webster, but there were no suitable definitions for the word. What could this "match" be, from a torture-and-punishment standpoint?


texts: What is the superlative form of 'focus'?

texts:
Oil palm plantation becomes the most focusing study in recent year.

the most focusing study or the most focused study?


texts: Meaning and usages of "short circuit" as a verb

texts:
What is the meaning of "short circuits" as a verb in the following sentence:

Technology short circuits this thinking by making the problems obsolete.

Is this use formal and where it can be used?
Note: This post is based on a specific context and is not a general answer.


texts: Which is correct? "You are exception/exceptional."

texts:
Me and my friend were wondering weather which sentence is right:

You are exception
You are exceptional

The meaning we are trying to portray is you are different.. so based in this meaning which sentence is right?


texts: Indefinite article with color: a brindled grey

texts:
Is there any explanation for using indefinite article before color or is it wrong? I've encountered several sentences:

  The general colour of the wild-cat is a brindled grey, with black
  stripes.
  His hair is a light blue.
  The new plaster is light blue.


texts: Relative clauses: extra information clauses

texts:
Hello.
I can't understand how some of the relative clauses work in English. I see no difference between the two given examples:

Barbara works for a company...
Colin told me about his new job...

a company/new job
What's the difference? Why can't we use that in the second sentence? I think they both give some extra information, not just the second one. But they say we can use which in the first one. If so, why don't they put a comma before it?
All the explanations I read on the topic are not clear and do not tell the difference.
There's another sentence that/which (???) I found on the web:

The iPad (which/that) connects to the iCloud was created by Apple.
The correct answer is: The iPad, which connects to the iCloud, was
created by Apple. (All iPads connect to the iCloud, so it's
unnecessary information.)

If we use that, does it mean there are other iPads that/which (???) were created by other companies (but we know that all iPads are made by Apple — there's only one iPad that/which (???) is created by Apple)?
This is so confusing. I also put that/which clauses in bold that I don't know the correct answer for (I hope some of them are interchangeable).
Please help!


texts:
Going through customs to leave a country can sometimes be very
  frustrating. First she was asked why she was not rolling her carryon.
  The handle got stuck when she got off the car so she had been forced
  to open the suitcase to maneuver the handle back to the suitcase.

Could somebody explain me why had been forced instead of was forced if this came after "getting stuck". I see no real reason except the completion of this action. But is it enough to justify the use of past perfect? I doubt so


texts: Why is it "wrinkled his nose in disgust AT the smell" instead of "in disgust OF the smell"?

texts:
I came across this sentence:

He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the smell.

I wonder why not:

He wrinkled his nose in disgust of the smell.

Does it make any difference why we don't use of?


texts: What is different between "I thought you would know" and "I thought you knew"

texts:
What is the difference between these two sentences?

  I thought you would know
  I thought you knew

These two sentences look the same to me. In which situations do you use each variant?


texts:
What is the difference between these two sentences?
are they substitutable in the context?

  How would you get so tan?

  How you get so tan?

Here is the context: (Friends season 10.03)

Ross: (looking at Monica's legs) WOW!

Chandler: Hey! Stop staring at my wife's legs! No no! Stop staring at your sister's legs!

Ross: I'm sorry, it's just... how would you get so tan?

Chandler: She went on one of those spray-on tan places.

Ross: Eh, you got a spray-on tan?


texts:
For much of the 1990s, the Czech political landscape was dominated by the Civic Democratic Party.

The most of the 1990s the Czech political landscape was dominated by the Civic Democratic Party.

I would like to ask whether two above sentences are grammatically correct (in terms of the time determination) and express the same thing.


texts: ''has something to do with'' + noun Vs ''has something to do with'' + complete sentence

texts:
I have a confusion about usage of ''has something to do with''  phrase.

When I use it just with a noun or a noun clause , I have no problem at using it correctly.

However, if I want to use a complete sentence (verb+subject) after it,  I have some problem about it.

eg;

  There is an economical problem. It has something to do with bad import-export  ratio.
  There is an economical problem. It has something to do with import rises. (import is the subject; rise the verb)

sentence 1 is correct in my opinion but I am not sure about sentence 2.

If it is incorrect, how can I make that sentence when I want to use
verb+subject after ''has something to do with'' phrase?


texts: "How does he get on at school?" instead of "How is getting on at school"?

texts: Is the sentence "How does he do at school?" and "How does he get on at school?" correct and can be used instead of "How is he doing and getting on at school?" if we are talking about it generally?


texts: How can that be correct: "Have you ever been fishing"?

texts:
In a british movie, two students in a boarding school are sitting in a classroom environment and are talking about their school and teacher.

Student A: I wish the teacher would let us go fishing. Have you ever been fishing?
Student B: Fishing is boring.

This usage caught my attention as it does not sound correct to me.

According to what we were taught at school, you can say "Have you ever gone fishing?" if you are asking about if someone has had any experience in terms of fishing activity, which is what the student A is definitely trying to find out in this dialogue.

Or you can say to someone who is currently fishing "Have you been fishing for 2 hours?", if you are asking about how long the fishing activity has been going on. But this time you CANT use "EVER" which refers to "EVER IN YOUR LIFE".

So, in the dialogue, Student A is trying to find out if student B has any experience in fishing and he is not asking about how long he has been fishing, because there is currently not a fishing activity that is going on. They are just sitting in a classroom and talking.

So, my question 1: Is "Have you ever been FISHING"? a correct usage when asking about someone's experience?

my question 2: Would it not have been better if he said: "Have you ever gone fishing"?

Thanks


texts:
I wonder the meaning of 'set up' in this sentence.

One chef said like below while he's making mac and cheese.

  Pour it into a hotel pan and let it set up.

And then he cover parchment and put some bowl on the parchment.

what's the meaning of set up? It means just waiting?


texts: Can "Virtually" and "practically" be adjectives?

texts:
According to the passage:

  "Deserts, arid areas with virtually no vegetation, cover more than one-third of the land of earth"

(there’s no verb between with virtually no vegetation)


texts: A single friendly word for something that is uninteresting and boring?

texts:
I'd like to describe something as uninteresting, dull, boring, but in a friendly manner that doesn't make anyone feel put off or feel sad.

I could perhaps write "not super interesting". That would make the point, I think, without using any negative words.

But I'm looking for a single word. Is there no single friendly and respectful word for something that is uninteresting plus perhaps a bit boring / dull?


texts: What does "sustain" mean in this context?

texts:
This is the context:

  think that emotion is very important in our attribution of
  consciousness to other people and to animals. Computers can compute very complicated things but this
  ability is not consciousness. Instead, it is the emotional connection to someone (or animal) that gives us the intuition that it is
  conscious. This is an interesting psychological question: What makes us feel that something is conscious
  besides ourselves? The answer will include psychology. And whether that psychology can sustain a science,
  I’m very skeptical. The example of the computer or robot fooling me by looking emotional or not fooling
  me by having true emotion just isn’t compelling to me. That’s why I never got quite caught up in this
  issue.

  source: The enigma of human consciousness.New York Academy of Sciences.

What is the meaning of "sustain a science"? Does it mean "stay scientific?"

Additionally, in this context, does compelling mean convincing or captivating? I think is convincing but I want to be sure.


texts:
Which means you're technically an adult, don't you think it's time
  you move on from primitive constructs such as popularity?

I saw this line in a tv-series. I thought this construction "it's time + you + do" is grammatically wrong.

I suppose this version is the correct one:

  "...it's time for you to move on from primitive constructs such
  as popularity?


texts:
I have been writing 6 letters since morning.
  I have written 6 letters since morning.

Actually I thought that first sentence is correct but how second sentence is correct and first sentence is wrong


texts: Is it always necessary to use definite article before superlative?

texts:
Normally we use definite article when we want to talk about something known or specific, but I noticed that always people used to put a definite article before superlatives even when they are talking about something generally.

For example:

  "The best quality of gold can be found in the most of the
  countries".

and I'm wondering what's wrong for example with:

  Best quality of gold can be found in most of countries

?

Is it always necessary to use definite article before superlatives? No exceptions? If there are examples for not using definite articles when using superlatives I'd like to know about them.

For example, can I say I am happiest. He is fastest. She is friendliest. without using definite article?


texts: Would you please explain SEEM+HAVE+P.P.?

texts:
...But since she went to university we seem to have drifted apart.

Would anybody please kindly explain the following?

Seem "to have drifted" apart.


texts: use ...ing as noun or use a regular noun?

texts:
Which one of the following is correct or more natural?

  One of my greatest strengths is critically analyzing.

or

  One of my greatest strengths is critical analysis.


texts: Explanation of "separation training educator"

texts:
This sentence is from a pedagogy text.

This writing audit investigates the academic methodology, aptitude, and inspiration factors that impact or are affected by separation training educators.

Could you please explain what separation training educator means?


texts: "Next day we went to the station" or "the next day"?

texts:
Searching for "next day we went", I find the majority of results to include the before "next day". But there are instances without the:

  Next day we went to the station to book our tickets for the train to Roma.

Are both options equally natural? Is there any difference in meaning?

  The next day we went to the station to book our tickets for the train to Roma.

I know that when we use "next day" with or without an article, the meaning might differ in some contexts:

  (today is February 3, 2015)
  "On February 1, he said the boots will be ready next day" ( = on February 4)
  "On February 1, he said the boots will be ready the next day ( = on February 2)

P.S. the above is probably an invalid example, here's one from a linguistic paper:

  In 2001, he said he’d come back Ø next year (= in 2016)
  In 2001, he said he’d come back the next year (= in 2002)

But this must be not applicable in clearly defined past contexts, as in the examples with "(∅/the) next day we went".


texts:
I was wondering it, let's fancy this situation: A singer is performing a song on a stage, and the stage is 3 meters higher than the audience (where people are on, seeing him perform the song), the singer is pulled down by a fan who was watching him. So, how could I differ: being pulled from the stage where he was performing the song and being pulled from the audience by a fan? If I said: He was pulled from the audience - Someone could possible understand that he was performing on the audience and someone pulled him down from there. But I actually implied to say that He was pulled down from the audience (Someone who was in the audience pulled him down). So, given the information, how could I differ both?

  The singer was pulled from the audience - He was pulled by someone who
  was in the audience, but he wasn't in the audience, he was on the
  stage.

  The singer was pulled from the audience - He was on the audience,
  performing from there, and someone pulled him down from that place,
  i.e.: someone who wasn't on the audience, pulled him down from there
  (there = the audience)


texts: What does "they" in the phrase, "the best they can" point to?

texts:
This sentence is grabbed from a website:

  A teacher's primary goal is to teach students the best they can about the things that are in our textbooks and more important, how to show respect for one another.`

I am not sure that they in this phrase: the best they can is appointed to whom. I think it is related to "teachers" which came in the singular form at the beginning. (which is wrong and should be plural)

And if it is related to students, the auxiliary can in the following needs a verb?


texts: Is saying 'Hope you a nice day' (as in I hope you a nice day) in casual speech considered wrong? What are the possible alternatives?


texts: "khaki shorts zipper" vs. "khaki shorts' zipper"

texts:
Since you should say "jeans pocket," should you say "khakis shorts zipper"? Or "Khakis shorts' zipper"?
Example sentence:

He unzipped his khaki shorts(') zipper.


texts:
I live in Russia, but I applied for a job in Germany. At the begining of a recruitment process, they sent me an email with the following content :

"Wait for an email from our vendor X with instructions for submitting your background check form (only live for Germany, UK, France)."

As I applied to Germany, but I don't live there - should I submit this form or not ?

I don't really understand "live for" used in this context


texts:
"Did you really blow up your Aunt, Harry?" said Hermione in a very serious voice.

  " I didn't meant to," said Harry, while Ron roared with laughter. "I just-lost control."

  "It's not funny, Ron," said Hermione, sharply. "Honestly, I'm amazed Harry wasn't expelled."

  "So am I," admitted Harry. "Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be arrested." He looked at Ron. "Your dad doesn't know why Fudge let me off, does he?"

  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I don't understand how "forget expelled" is used here.

If the writer dropped the subject "I"(Harry), then the verb has to be "(I) Forgot", not "forget". But it still doesn't seem right. Doesn't it have to be "Forgot (about) expulsion" or "Forgot about being expelled" or something like that..

Or is it an imperative? Then how come "forget" is followed by "expelled"?
I don't know what it means here.


texts: Is it required to capitalize the initials of a phrase that is used as an alternative to 'the Earth', 'the Moon', etc?

texts: I'd like to know if it is correct to refer to the Earth as the green planet, or it should be written as The Green Planet?


texts: The use of the relative pronoun "whose" in a sentence

texts:
How is "whose" used as relative pronoun and is it possible to use it when we're specifying things?

I built up a sentence with "whose":

  I have a book whose story is about chaina town.


texts:
Doing some grammar exercises I faced the following grammatically correct options. I want to understand the difference in meaning

  I haven't been back to London since I've lived in Italy

  I haven't eaten really good pasta since I lived in Italy_

and the last one which is grammatically correct, but like the book says "tells that it's difficult to find good pasta in Italy, which is not true"

  I haven't eaten really good pasta since I've lived in Italy

What is the semantic difference between the first two sentences? Does the first one suggest that the teller still lives in Italy whereas the second suggests that the teller doesn't live in Italy anymore?


texts:
I have read the following sentence on a review site and it said:

"The box looked like someone had played football with it".

Can I change the sentence into:

"The box looked like someone had been playing football with it"?, since playing football is an activity with a duration?

Or is duration not important and is the focus on the result?


texts: What is the structure of this sentence containing "that"

texts:
The use of biometric indicia for identification purposes requires that a particular biometric factor be unique for each individual, that it be readily measured, and that it be invariant over time.

Could you say simpler examples which I can use such structure within?


texts: Is it not uncommon to omit "have" or "has" of present perfect sentences in informal conversations?

texts:
When reading online articles, I often come across sentences like "I never seen . . .", which apparently looks either "have" or "'ve" is omitted after "I".
Here are some examples.

Yahoo News Krisztina Gayler, who recorded this footage,
described it as "unbelievable" to witness. "I never seen anything
like this in person," she wrote on Facebook.

The Guardian "Held the bible in his hand. I've been
preaching since I was a little boy. I never seen anyone hold a
bible like that," Sharpton quipped.

The New York Times "I been here all my life and I
never seen it so bad," Clarence Blunt, Ms. Blunt's father, said at
supper on Saturday night in Malta.

Is it common for native speakers to omit "have", "has", "'ve" or "'s" from present perfect sentences in informal conversations?


texts: Absence of inversion when adverbs of place and direction go in front position

texts:
Adverbs of place and direction usually go in end position. However, they can be put in front position to emphasize location (and in this case, inversion is frequently used):

“Next to the bookshelf was a fireplace” (not “Next to the bookshelf a fireplace was”)

Of course, inversion is not used when a pronoun is a subject. Nevertheless, there are other exceptions:

“Through the waves the boy swam powerfully”

“Outside the church the choir sang”

“In the garden John built a play house for the children” (not "in the garden built John...")

Hewings’s grammar provides the following explanation (which I find hard to comprehend):
“…we don’t usually put the subject after the verb when we talk about actions: if one of these intransitive verbs is followed by and adverb of manner; with other intransitive verbs; of with transitive verbs…” (Unit 76).

Is there a simpler explanation than that (such that a person with no linguistic background could understand)?


texts:
Here's a quote from a book:

In multithreaded programs there is often a division of labor between [zero article] threads. In one common pattern, some threads are producers and some are consumers.

In brief, it's discussing computer programs, which are based on multiple threads of execution.
I wonder why there was used the zero article in front of the word "threads" in the phrase "between threads", while it's obvious that any program can "divide a labor" only between the threads it consists of. That is the threads are quite specific. But by using the zero article the author meant unspecific threads, didn't he/she? How can that be explained?


texts: What do you call a "mock interview" with your own self?

texts: Is it just a mock interview? Usually, a mock interview is done with 2 persons at least, but what if you do a mock interview with yourself? Is there a word for it? I am thinking there's no word for it, but maybe there's a way to say this in an eloquent way of which I am not aware.


texts: How can i use both of them correctly ("there + a place" in a sentence)

texts:
I know that " There Refers to a Place ". However, i'm a little bit confused. I know it's wrong but I'm trying to use both words "there" and "a specific place" in a sentence and the examples below make sense to me. Could someone clear up this situation for me?

Each team has to be maximum 11 players = There cannot be more than 11 player of a team.

A-There cannot be more than 11 players of a team.

B-There cannot be more than 11 players in a team.

Just a native speaker say to me that it's impossible. Because i can't stop myself from thinking about it. :)


texts: A comparison between "over" and "during" and "throughout"

texts:
I would appreciate it if someone could let me know the semantic nuance between the following self-made sentences:

  It was a hard time. During this time, we dealt with many hurdles.

For me, it means is some points while we were dealing with the problems.

  It was a hard time. throughout this time, we dealt with many hurdles.

For me it means the whole time while we were dealing with the issues.

  It was a hard time. Over this time, we dealt with many hurdles.

How one can explain it in a way that I could differentiate this preposition from the other two? It sounds something between the above mentioned prepositions.

P.S. I've already read all the related threads.


texts: Change the voice of "The rose smells sweet"

texts:
I am a student in 10th class, and I am stuck on a homework problem.

  Change the voice:

"The rose smells sweet."

I thought a lot but I couldn't get an answer. I think that the voice of this sentence cannot be changed, but I am not sure and I thought that it would be better if I ask here first.


texts:
I need to know if all the following sentences which mean the same for me, sound natural to the natives or some of them have some preferences:

  What made you choose this university?
  What led you to choose this university?
  What prompted you to choose this university?
  What caused you to choose this university?


texts:
A student asked the teacher.
"How can adjective be a object of preposition? Such as 'for sure', 'in general'."
The three teachers' answers to this are as follows.
teacher A: "You can understand it as form 'being' omitted, such as 'for (being) sure'."
teacher B: "You can understand it as form 'thing' omitted, such as 'for sure (thing)'."
teacher C: "It's just idiom. Suck it up."
Which answer do you think makes sense?


texts: Is this the correct way of expressing something is on its way? "It's soon to be here"

texts:
"It's soon to be here"
Is this the correct way of expression that something is on its way ?


texts:
Which one is correct?

  No one made me feel excited as much as you did

  No one made me feel as excited as you did


texts:
If I am talking about my undergraduate studies, which of the following two is correct?

  I have taken calculus in my undergraduate studies.
  I took calculus in my undergraduate studies.


texts:
I think I may be allergic to shopping malls. I am not sure if my condition ___ officially by medical science but I am sure there are others who suffer as I do. All I have to do is walk inside one of these awful places and within minutes the artificial "day light" from a thousand "soft" lights begins to give me a headache.

The foregoing quote is taken from a student-book for EL. The task is to put the word “record” in a grammatically correct form. So, is it alright to fill in “is recorded” instead of “has been recorded” as it is in the keys?


texts: Which one of "holding" and "carrying" is more appropriate here?

texts:
A figure holding/carrying a sword stepped out of the mist.

If the man or what he is, is holding the sword with one hand, which one is more appropriate here?


texts: how to express this position in English: "to put your feet up"?

texts:
Look at these pictures

and

People often put one of their lower legs and rest it on the thigh of the other leg.

Sometimes, that action is just his habit, but it could be that he want to relax when he does like that.

  put one's feet up

  phrase of foot INFORMAL

  take a rest, especially when reclining with one's feet raised and
  supported.

am not sure "put your feet up" is a good one to use in this case?

Note: I found this in the dictionary

  cross–legged /ˈkrɑːsˌlɛgəd/  adjective Learner's definition of
  CROSS–LEGGED : having the legs crossed

  She curled up into a cross-legged position.

  — cross–legged adverb

  She sat cross-legged.

  The kids sat on the floor cross-legged. [=with their legs crossed and
  their knees spread wide apart]


texts: Would you give me examples in which “not altogether” means “not at all” other than “I’m not altogether happy”?

texts:
When reading a passage, I found that I didn’t understand the word “altogether” well, so looked it up in the OALD and the Genius English-Japanese Dictionary.
One  example in the OALD was “I’m not altogether happy (= I’m very unhappy) about the decision”. This confused me because I’ve heard that “not always/necessarily/completely/everything etc.” doesn’t mean “never/not at all”.
On the other hand, one example in the Genius was “That is not altogether bad (=That is fairly good)”. This is usual to me, so I searched for questions about this and found similar one in this site.
In a comment, “not altogether happy” was one example that doesn’t imply partially because the speaker is deliberately understating.
So I think “not altogether happy” is a fixed expression in a sense.
I’d like to know other examples in which “not altogether” means “not at all”.


texts: What is the different between change and to change?

texts:
I have just question about what is the difference between change and change to?

In this comic there are two sentences:

Who wants change?
Who wants to change?

I'm not sure what the difference between them. Please let me know more English and rephrase this.


texts:
What Lemon tastes like? salty? or lemoney?

Edit:

Thanks for the answers guys, I know sour is one of the basic tastes but I thought gooseberry tastes sour. If Lemon tastes sour then what does gooseberry taste like?

In our native language Telugu, both has different tastes and meanings.


texts: (Should/If) any consent of the employer (be/is) required, you should take it

texts:
Which one is correct ?

Should/if any consent of the employer is required, you should take it.

or

Should/if any consent of the employer be required, you should take it.

Thanks.


texts: Use of abbreviations in travel descriptions

texts:
How would you construct the following sentence? I wanted to express that these cards are rarely accepted and typically at shops and services for tourists. Is it clear? If it is not how would you rephrase it?

"Amex and diners are accepted rarely, especially at taxi, hotels or frequent tourist places."


texts:
Would you like to meet with me when I arrive?
  Would you like to meet with me when I arrived?

I'd like to know if the second verb should be in the past or present tense.
Thanks.


texts: Why is there no article in the sentence "Then came number"?

texts:
Source: from the TTC video course High School Algebra I with Monica Neagoy

Listen: short audio clip

Transcript:

  So, that's numeration. Language pushed forward the evolution of numbers. But in these first two phases which are very old, what's very important to realize is that the numbers were not independent of the objects counted. So, when there were five objects, for example, there was no concept of the number five. They were just the five objects—five sheep, five people, five whatever. Then came number. The concept of number was a big step forward. It's not clear from history because we don't have enough information and research has not been able to determine when number first came into being—the concept of number. But it was clearly present in many of the great civilizations.

As you can see, there is no article, neither definite nor indefinite, in front of the word number in those two cases that I highlighted for you. How do you think that can be explained? I'm not asking you to explain this from a grammatical perspective per se, but rather from the perspective of why in this case it feels, to you as native speakers, like the right choice of words.


texts: What do you think about the grammar of this quote ...?

texts:
"It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success"

..'
According to me it should be "it took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight successful person" or it should be "it took me 17 years and 114 days to get an overnight success"
'
for instance we cannot say "to become painting

".., we should rather use "to become a painter"..


texts: Does the expression "were crazy for" make any sense in this text?

texts: Yesterday we was to my niece's wedding party and all the girls were crazy for one of the waiters. And I myself have to agree that he was a very good looking guy.


texts:
What does pulled at mean here?

  Meg pulled at him. ‘Mrs Whatsit said for us to go on into the
  town.’

  another piece:

  ‘Come on.’ Meg pulled at them. How many times was it she had urged
  them on? ‘Let’s go find father. He’ll be able to explain it all to
  us.’

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle


texts: Is the sentence 'What I need is to do/doing the things I like.' grammatically correct?

texts:
There is a task in Oxford English Grammar (Basic) by Michael Swan and Catherine Walter that goes as follows: Write a sentence beginning 'What I need is...' Which made me think of which is more preferable - 'the infinitive' or the '-ing form' after the main clause and why?

I am also interested in what this structure is properly called.

Any reference sources are highly appreciated.


texts: Why is it wrong to say "an ancient Athenian neighborhood settled on the fourth century BC."

texts:
While diging the foundation, builders discovered the remains of an ancient Athenian neighborhood ____ the fourth century BC.  ( An ACT exam question)

why can't I insert "settled on" as an post-modifer to the sentence? I don't think there is any syntactical errors.


texts: Is it correct to say "Gathering all together, I'd like to say ..."

texts:
Let's say I wrote a lot of things that describes my point of view about something and now I want to summarize and I'd like to know if it's ok to say:
Gathering all together, I'd like to say...


texts: "$25 more than" vs "$25 more than what"?

texts:
"But that e-mail - the one he'd overlooked - said his clients were supposed to be paid $425 million - $25 million more than he'd written in the contract."

I think the last part of the sentence "$25 million more than he'd written in the contract" has a grammar error. I think it should be "$25 million more than what/the money/the amount/ the number (etc.) he'd written in the contract."

Am I right?


texts: What's the meaning of "with a quarter in the frame"?

texts:
When it comes to picture or camera, what's the meaning of with a quarter in the frame?

For example, picture with a quarter in the frame.

The original video clip is Here at 0:32

Sorry for that I couldn't transcript the diologs because the contents is quite naughty.


texts:
According to Cambridge Dictionary, "obstruct" means

to block a road, passage, entrance, etc. so that nothing can go along it, or to prevent something from happening correctly by putting difficulties in its way

In the post meaning of "in the privacy of", I said

I guess the use of metaphor is the block that stands in my way to understand the meaning of the whole sentence ...

Could I have said it this way?

I guess the use of metaphor is obstructing my understanding of the sentence.

I tried all 4 verb tenses with Ngram Viewer but none returns any results.

Is it clear and natural to say "xxx is obstructing my understanding"?


texts:
What do you call the hair or body hair you trim off your body? When you get your hair cut, remainders are left on the floor until it is swept off. What do you call them?

For example:

  The boy swept off the ___ that was left below the man whose hair was
  getting cut.


texts: Can we use "re-re[verb]" or re-re-[verb] etc, (like the French "re")?

texts:
In French we can use the prefix re- to mean again (prendre = to take, reprendre = to take back/again). It's sometimes a real verb (like reprendre), but it's not standard or semi-standard when we use it with certain verbs. But still we do and it.

So instead of saying "j'ai encore cassé ce vase" (formal), I could say "j'ai recassé ce vase" (informal), which means "I broke this vase again".

I could even say "j'ai re-re-recassé ce vase" if it's the forth time I've broken it. It's only used in spoken French, (often to be funny).

Is there a comparable way in English to say "again for the n-th time"?

Note: I understand not every verb starting with re means ... again, far from it.


texts:
The two men leave the room. When they are/have gone, Lisa comes out of the closet where she's been hiding.
Would both "are" and "have" be fine here?


texts: What do you call a process in which both sides are affected?

texts:
Food production affects climate change and climate change affects food production.

So, climate change is a ___ process?

I am writing a summary, so I should paraphrase this sentence like

  Regarding the application of resources he concretizes that climate change is a ___ process.


texts:
Do the following sentences sound natural?

But I didn’t know that then, although I learned it later.

I tried doing the accounts, but although I knew some maths I found it very difficult.

I kind of think sentence 1 is not natural because "but" is at the beginning of the sentence and there is also "although". What is your opinion?


texts:
What are the parts of speech for the bold words in the following four sentences and why:

The after effects of the drug are bad.

He told us all about the battle.

He kept the fast for a week.

Sit down and rest a while.

My answers to three of the questions are as follows:
For 2 - about is a adjective
For 3 - fast is adverb
For 4 - while is adverb


texts:
what's the meaning of "within a year of one another"

I would like to focus here on two of these maps, published within a year of one another


texts:
In a blog, I read the following line:

  In its report, the Board has also asked the Special Investigation Team to investigate whether someone with access to either "insulin or hypoglycemic agent" was present near the Leela Palace hotel, where Sunanda died, on January 17, 2014.

To my mind, there is no need to put 'access to' here as the sentence looks ok without putting it:

  In its report, the Board has also asked the Special Investigation Team to investigate whether someone with either "insulin or hypoglycemic agent" was present near the Leela Palace hotel, where Sunanda died, on January 17, 2014.

Is 'access to' redundant here? If no, then what does it signify in the sentence?


texts: How many “as”es are required in “as X as Y”?

texts:
I used the following expression:

  As far I can see, I’m godlike.

A colleague of mine opposed that statement, not on semantic grounds (he does know I'm godlike, although he'd never admit that), but rather due to grammatical inconsistency with his experience. He proposes that the only correct way to express that form is with an extra as, like so:

  As far as I can see, I’m godlike.

Is he correct? (Please keep in mind that I’m godlike, hence unlikely to err.)


texts: Is it necessary for "which" to indicate the word before it?

texts:
1) Puche restored IGF-I circulating levels, which normally decline
  in serum with age, in aging rats.

  2) Puche restored IGF-I circulating levels in aging rats, which
  normally decline in serum with age.

In most cases, "which" is used to indicate the word closely before it like "soldiers opened fire on a car which failed to stop at an army checkpoint". But as for the two sentences above, I am not sure which one is correct?


texts: What is the term for the child of my aunt or uncle?

texts:
How do you call your aunt's or uncle's daughter and son respectively in English?
 Are they just called 'cousin'? or do you call them 'sister' or 'brother'?
 (Not about how I call them to their face but just the phrase they are called in general in this relationship.)

ex> She is my ______ (my aunt's/uncle's daughter).


texts:
There is no friend not invited to my party.

In this sentence, the writer uses "reduced negative passive relative clause". But it is too complicated for me to understand. Is this sentence"grammatically correct"?


texts: "…so beautiful that make(s) your teeth hurt": is there a heavy sarcasm or extreme envy in the expression (in a context)?

texts:
Here goes a passage from a short story read out loud online (0:24):

The fountains thick with black swans imported from Siberia, and if it is a fine day and a weekend, there will be wedding parties, almost entirely Asian. The grooms wear smart gray pinstripe suits and the women are in beaded gowns so beautiful they make your teeth hurt just to look at them.

Why does the "so beautiful they make your teeth hurt" phrase in the given context course a burst of laughter from the listeners: by the heavy sarcasm towards the identical outfit of the newlyweds or by the extreme envy the author feels looking at the brides? My guess is—the former, but I may be wrong, not having found the meaning of the phrase, which to a native English speaker might mean something else.


texts: Error spotting : All my hope were duped and I was plunged in deep sorrow

texts:
All my hope were duped and I was plunged in deep sorrow.

I have two questions regarding the above sentence.

First : Hope is a uncountable noun so is using were correct with it or it should be was instead of were ?

Second : Which is the correct construction between All my hope and My all hope. I think former one is a correct / better construction, Am I right ?


texts: What is the meaning of the word turnover?

texts: There is a word turnover which is frequently used in business language What is the exact meaning of it?


texts: Which of the following sentences are correct?

texts:
(A) Without correct mistakes, we could not improve.
  (B) Without having our mistakes corrected, we can not improve.

Also:

  (C) Without had wings, birds could not fly.
  (D) Without wings, birds could not fly.


texts:
Can you suggest some ways of saying "I admire that guy"?

First of all, is the sentence below correct?

  I admire someone

Secondly, how can I change it to avoid always using the same sentence?


texts: Should I use an apostrophe for the possessive of "robot"?

texts:
I would like to know the correct usage when referring to the personal experience that belongs to a robot, is it:

Manifestation of robot's personal experience
Manifestation of robot personal experience
?

From a simple Google search, the word robot's experience seems to be used frequently.
And also robot experience sounds a bit weird to me.

From this website, it is mentioned that apostrophe s is used to show that something belongs to someone or something. But I don't understand why the sentence "Britain’s coastline is very beautiful"
is acceptable, but "the door’s handle" is not.

Can anyone give clear explanation about this?


texts: "You could being controlled without your knowledge" is a well-formed sentence?

texts:
While answering a question on ux.stackexchange I find myself in the need of expressing something like this, but I'm not sure if this is even a well-formed sentence because it sounds so wrong in my head:

  You could just being  rickRolled without even liking the song!

I want to illustrate the precise situation when the rickRolling is happening, so in that instant "you could just being RickRolled".

Is it alright to say it like that or what's the correct form to express the same?


texts:
Example with a context:

  "We, the Moldovans, have always been at a junction between different interests and have always suffered from this. It's our fate," he said with a resigned air.

I know what resigned means—it is when you unwillingly accept something you're not really happy about. The only thing that I have a problem with is how should I understand an air in this context?


texts:
He doesn't have breakfast every day.
He doesn't have breakfast at all.
He sometimes eats breakfast, and he sometimes doesn't eat breakfast.

Does #1 mean #2 or #3?


texts: "a suitable man for" or "a man suitable for"

texts:
He is a suitable man for any post.
  He is a man suitable for any post.

Which of the following sentences is correct? What is the difference in meaning between these?


texts: Should I use "certain" or "certainly" in the sentence below?

texts: We are encouraged to associate "certainly" sumptuous brands with a higher status.


texts: "All that was left was a triangular piece of metal"

texts:
All that was left was a triangular piece of metal.

Why is it possible to have two verbs here? Is one “was” a verbal?
Is there two clauses here?


texts:
It was a very grey day; a most opaque sky, “onding on snaw,” canopied
  all; thence flakes felt it intervals, which settled on the hard path
  and on the hoary lea without melting. (Jane Eyre)

‘Onding' has the meaning ‘the act of continued outpouring or falling; a continuing torrent, as of rain. (dictionary.com). Then, it seems very similar to the Chinese phrase “雪上加霜”(frost on snow) that means ‘what is worse or to make matters worse.’ Is it a possible match? If yes, what else expressions are possible with the meaning?


texts:
I have happened upon this use of a in a video on english grammar. It is at around 7 minute and 35 second. Here it goes:

  Fine wines, and a knowledge thereof, are luxury few can afford.

I am aware that when a mass nount used with an adjective then an article is needed, but there a mass noun is alone. Tell me please why the teacher decided to use a before the word. Does a mean a little there?


texts:
The things as they are expected to help us,
As sentence above, I heard that 'as clause' is a adverbal clause, but I want to
know that what someone said is right, that is, This adverbal clause
modifies the things, doesn't it? Is it right?, and the things are equal to 'they'


texts: Definite or indefinite article with "generic reader"

texts:
Let's imagine we are talking about readers in general. Some like "intellectual" books, some like detective novels:

  The intellectual perusing “Foucault's Pendulum” and the simpleton absorbed in a pulp detective novel – both would be surprised to know how similar they are.

Would the use of the be similar in meaning to the use of a:

  An intellectual perusing “Foucault's Pendulum” and a simpleton absorbed in a pulp detective novel – both would be surprised to know how similar they are.

We are not talking about any specific persons.

Would the version with a be more 'harsh' towards these readers, and the version with the more 'lenient'? The matter is, the text as a whole says that a reader's motives are often selfish, that he often seeks to see his own reflection in the work of fiction, and hence intellectuals and the simple folk are kind of on the same footing.


texts: Is there an idiom used by military people to say encourage people?

texts: Is there an idiom that military people use to encourage people before a mission. Something that means something like "Let's do this!" Is there any such idiom? It can be a sort of slang that's widely used too.


texts: How do we use 'pretty much" in this sentence?

texts:
You would succeed in pretty much everything.

I wonder what is the part of speech of 'pretty much', which part does it modify? 'succeed' or 'everything'?
In my point of view, it modifies 'everything', however, after checking the meaning of 'pretty much' and it seems it is an adverb. So I'm quite confused about the use of pretty much here in the sentence.


texts: What are some polite ways to address a group in a forum post?

texts:
I'm a member in many forums (part of them are professional groups with doctors). For example, when I want to post on Facebook I don't know what is the polite way to address a lot of people, although I know how to address one person (Dear Sir or Dear Miss). What would be an appropriate way to start my post? Hey there? Hello? Dear Sirs?

I'm not English native speaker and I'd like to get the knowledge about that. Thank you.


texts: What's the meaning of "Dad had damned near taken someone’s head off"?

texts:
I checked the idiom "take someone's head off" in three online dictionaries: TFD, Phrases.net, and Wiktionary and it means:
"to scold or berate someone severely."

But I still don't understand the meaning of the phrase. So, could you please tell me what the meaning of

  Dad had damned near taken someone’s head off

The full text:

  In October Dad won a contract to build industrial granaries in Malad City,
  the dusty farm town on the other side of Buck’s Peak. It was a big job for a
  small outfit—the crew was just Dad, Shawn, Luke, and Audrey’s husband,
  Benjamin—but Shawn was a good foreman, and with him in charge Dad
  had acquired a reputation for fast, reliable work.
  Shawn wouldn’t let Dad take shortcuts. Half the time I passed the shop,
  I’d hear the two of them shouting at each other, Dad saying Shawn was
  wasting time, Shawn screaming that Dad had damned near taken
  someone’s head off.

Educated by Tara Westover


texts:
I often hear people in their conversation when a person
is checking if the other understands what he mean, he raises
a question with only 1 word "Understand?"

But sometimes, I also hear people in similar situation, but the question is replaced by "Understood?"

What is the difference between the two?
Which one is more correct?
Is that kind of question informal?
Is that kind of question only be used for very informal situation, such as, talking to a kid?


texts: What is the name that can be given to the people who are exposed to factory noise?

texts: What is the name that can be given to the people who are exposed to factory noise or occupational noise?


texts:
The outline was then drawn in green and the centre point plotted in the centre of the circle as a red dot.

Is it necessary to add 'was' before 'plotted' to present a passive voice? I sometimes see some sentences like this one, which does not have 'be/was/were/is/are' before the verb of the past perfect tense.


texts:
Which one is right and why?

  Have you seen her today

Or

  Did you see her today

I think the latter, because the day isn't over yet.


texts: "He needn't say" / "He doesn't need to say"

texts:
When I studied English at school (in Italy, more than 35 years ago), we were taught a rule according to which one should say, e. g., "He needn't (need not) say", but NOT "He doesn't need to say".

If I'm not mistaken, it was explained to us that the rule holds good with the following limitations:

1) only in the negative form: thus, "He needn't say", but "He needs to say", and "Does he need to say?";

2) only in the present tense: thus, "He needn't say", but "He didn't (won't, wouldn't, etc.) need to say";

3) only when an infinitive follows: thus, "He needn't see a doctor", but "He doesn't need a doctor".

But, if I google "doesn't need to", I find 125,000,000 occurrences.

I was wondering: does the rule hold good more for British than for American English?

Also, perhaps it isn't an absolute rule, and both constructions ("He needn't say" and "He doesn't need to say") are possible.

Is the rule at least a good description of the circumstances when we CAN (but needn't necessarily) use this construction?

Thank you very much, for this and the other answers.


texts: Present Perfect Tense vs. Present Perfect Continuous Tense

texts:
I have a doubt about using Present Perfect Tense and Present Perfect Continuous Tense in the below example,

  Catherine works in a bank. She _______ in a bank for five years.

I think the correct answer will be having the Present Perfect Tense. (May be I'm wrong)

  "She has worked in a bank for five years"

But I have a doubt that, is it ok to use Present Perfect Continuous Tense since the action (work) is not stopped yet and still continuing (she is still working in the bank).

  "She has been working in a bank for five years"

However it looks odd to me that if the sentence is like "She has been working", then the end of the sentence should be like this "since 2012",

Right?

I'm totally confused about it. I may be missing a very basic rule.

So please help me. Thanks in advance.


texts: SAT Writing question about diction: "ranging" vs. "that range"

texts:
Which one is correct?

  The smell can elicit reactions ranging from deep appreciation to intense disgust.
  The smell can elicit reactions that range from deep appreciation to intense disgust.

In my opinion, I believe that first one is correct. But, according to the book's answer, second one is correct. Can you explain to me why the second one is correct?

The book I am talking about is SAT writing book of ERICA MELTZER (I can't exactly remember exact edition and name of the this book, but I am sure about exactness of the question and answer.)


texts: Shy X short of - can be used without stating the amount by something is short?

texts:
I have seen sentences like:

  They scored just shy of 100 points.

Can "short of" be used in the same way?

  They scored just short of 100 points.

I know I could say "they scored just a few points short of 100.


texts:
what is the meaning of "measure the universe" at this paragraph?

  A wise man recognizes that God may be approached from
  innumerable angles. The minds of men and the spirit of the times vary
  in their reaction to the great central cause, and one can only insist upon
  a broad charity both in oneself and in others. It was in this that Irving
  seems to have been wanting. It was always by the standard of that
  which was a sect among sects that he would measure the universe.
  There were times when he was vaguely conscious of this, and it may be
  that those wrestlings with Apollyon, of which he complains, even as
  Bunyan and the Puritans of old used to comes plain, had a strange
  explanation. Apollyon was really the Spirit of Truth, and the inward
  struggle was not between Faith and Sin, but was really between the
  darkness of inherited dogma, and the light of inherent and instinctive
  reason, God-given, and rising for ever in revolt against the absurdities
  of man.


texts:
Asked if he didn't think Assad had motivation to carry out such an attack, Kmoníček  said he sees lots of motivation on the part of others. That's about as close as a diplomat of an EU/Nato country can get to saying that Assad might have been framed by a rogue group that wanted  to reverse Trump's policy of tolerance toward the Syrian leader.

Source: http://www.fsfinalword.com/?page=archive&show=1&day=2017-04-10

I am not able to fully understand the passage in bold. I pressume that the author tells that Kmoníček's speculations are on the edge of diplomatic good manners but I am not able to understand the very phrase.


texts: Is there a word for losing something in order to gain some other thing?

texts:
For example I want increase the speed of a memory system in a computer but this will cost more money or decreasing the capacity will also gain more speed.

So I have to lose capacity and money in order to gain speed.
More general example, when losing one quality in return gaining other quality in more technical perspective usage.

So I'm wondering if there is a word out there for this?


texts: Order of placing clauses in a two-clause sentence

texts:
Which of the following is correct:

  If you so desire, you may download the content.
  You may download the content, if you so desire.

Apparently, they appear to be all same but, on critically examining the sentences, I find an issue with the first sentence. The issue is: the first clause in the sentence refers to a desire by using the words If you so desire, though the desire has not been expressed by then; the desire has been expressed in the subsequent clause; so, going logically, it is the second clause - that is, you may download the content - which should come first and, it is only after the desire expressed in second clause has been mentioned, the first clause - that is, If you so desire - should come.

The second sentence follows this order, so it is only the second sentence which appears correct to me. Am I correct?


texts: Can I use "afford" as a meaning of job ability?

texts:
I have a job interview next week and I am writing a script because I am not a native speaker of English.
And now, I'd like to ask if I can use the word afford as in the following.

  I afford to perform this job with my both abilities


texts:
A scene from the movie Pandorum (2009).
The Link to the audio file: http://tindeck.com/listen/guan (here's the YouTube version with a time mark set to take you right to when the scene begins)

Two guys wake up from hypersleep and find themselves on a spaceship floating in space. They don't remember anything from the past and must figure out what to do. One of them crawls into a vent shaft while the other guy communicates with him via something like an advanced version of a walkie-talkie. A few minutes further into the scene, that guy falls out of an overhead compartment, gets up, realizes that it was an overhead compartment he fell out of and says this, "make that an overhead compartment."

I asked an English native speaker and he said this, "he thinks he's in a locker on the floor but when he falls he realizes he was in an overhead compartment. Saying "make that a ____" is a common thing for jokes in movies like that. That's as much as I've got so far, but I'd like to know more about this turn of phrase.


texts:
If I want to say that I was able to accomplish something, when should I say "I made it", and when should I say "I've made it"? What's the difference between the two forms?

Please give me a long answer to help me understand this correctly.


texts:
I wrote:

  The user even can specify multiple labels and variables, and store the content of each of them under a separate XML node.

Suppose a user can enter a command like:

Label1 = Variable1; Label2 = Variable2; ....

First, I want to know for such usage, several is better or multiple? What is the difference?

Second, should I say Multiple Labels and Variables, or Multiple Label and Variables, or Multiple Label and Variable Pairs?

Third, should I say The user even can specify or The user can even specify?

I know adverbs are usually placed after auxiliary verbs and before the main verb, and some can be placed in other places. But how much that is serious? Do you always prefer to hear an adverb between the auxiliary and main verb?


texts:
I wouldn't let them do it, not if they don't pay you

are the meaning the same in above sentence with or without 'not'?

My first understand to this sentence is that the whole sentence should be***'I wouldn't let them do it and I would not let them do it if they don't pay you.'***

My second understanding is 'not if' here means 'unless', but I didn't find any definition of 'not if'.


texts:
In the movie Zodiac (2007), after Dave Toschi gets to the crime scene in which a taxi driver was killed in his cab, he was informed by a local cop that

  Neighborhood's pretty high-end for this, so I already set up transpo for the cab.

What does 'set up transpo' mean and how is it realted to the neighborhood being high-end?


texts:
Since these words are usually not stressed, people tend to speak fast and low and connected, I tried several times but still not sure about how to produce them.

Should "in it" be pronounced /ɪ.nɪt/ or /ɪn.nɪt/? I am sure they do put /n/ and /ɪ/ together.

And "on it" is /ɒ.nɪt/ or /ɒn.nɪt/?


texts: Which sentence is correct to use with "rather"?

texts:
I have read that 'rather a/an+adjective+noun' can be used with the meaning "moderately" or "more than average". Now I'm confused if I'm correct or not when writing the following sentences:

  1.It's a rather boring movie, I don't recommend it.

  2.It's rather a boring movie, I don't recommend it.

Which one is correct to use? Or both of them are correct?

Could we use 'rather' without using "a/an" in the sentences ?


texts: Which is correct, "Streets have no name" or "Streets have no names"?  I thought an "S" was needed but when I googled the two, the singular has a lot more hits.


texts:
Medications are not always effective, so I'm trying to write that "their effects are not mandatory or obligatory, " but I'm not sure if either of these terms are right.

For example: Aspirin effect on headache is not obligatory. There are several ways to rewrite this, but I'm strictly interested in the potentially more appropriate word...


texts: The meaning of the sentence: "I am positive"

texts: Does the sentence: "I am positive." mean "I am sure 100 percent"?


texts:
What do we call a gait in which a person drags his feet?

Something like wobble or stagger. The person in question walks straight; its just that he's too lazy or tired to lift his feet.


texts:
I have a question regarding the usage of the. Should I use the in the following sentence?

Suppose I am a sports teacher in my school. I enter a class in my school and want to know if the students in the class would like to play soccer today. So, should I use the in the following sentence?

Here's the context:

Hi everyone, Today we will play soccer. (The)students who want to play join me at the school ground.

I know it is better to use those or "anyone who wants to... instead of (The)students. But I want to know whether I should use the or not. I am sorry because I think I am unable to provide a better context than this. I Hope you get what I want to know.

Thanks in advance.


texts:
From the movie Misery:

  — You're being taken seriously.
  — I'm delighted the critics are liking it.

Is the use of like correct in its continuous form?
I know that state verbs are not normally used on continuous tenses, but is this exception correct here?


texts:
Which is the correct way to tell where I'm working?

  I'm working in XYZ company.
  I'm working for XYZ company.
  I'm working at XYZ company.

Or is there any difference in the meaning?


texts: bracket, but as a verb in the social sciences

texts:
For the second time in a year, I've run across the use of the word "bracket" as a verb in the social sciences, to refer (I infer) to a rhetorical maneuver.  I have no idea what is meant by it, and the dictionaries I've checked haven't helped; this may be too recent or too field-specific a usage.

Examples:

This from a PowerPoint I found on the internet:

  Preparing for button-pushing (bracket your values)

It's one of several bullet items on the list, and no useful context.

This is from an academic paper (Warren and Cottone, 2015, Detrimental association: An epistemological connection of dysfunction within and across paradigms, Journal of Mental Health Counseling) in the field of counseling, which can be considered a sub-branch of clinical psychology or of psychiatry:

  DAs occur when individuals or systems create associations between psychological (internal) and sociological (bracketed external) variables that lead to poor mental health and well-being. These connections stem from the unintended, yet natural, matching or pairing of internal (self) and bracketed external ([environment]) variables found to encompass an individual or system. Thoughts, behaviors, self, and communication are types of internal variables. They emerge from innate disposition and are deeply ingrained in the individual or system. On the other hand, bracketed external variables, such as environment, power, or absolute truths, are contextually perceived; in other words, they constitute a construction of thoughts and experiences based on the external world.

  [...]

  At the philosophical level, all DAs are reduced to a single pair of distinct variables. True DAs comprise an internal variable and a bracketed external variable. Regardless of associations found at the practical or theoretical levels, all DAs appear to converge within the self (internal) and the [environment] (bracketed external).

  [...]

  While the psychological and systemic relational paradigms offer tradi- tional theories regularly considered in practice, there is continued momentum toward implementation of theories embedded in social constructivism. The social constructivism paradigm asserts that individuals, families, and society construct understanding of experience through a consensualizing process (Cottone, 2012). This process or understanding of shared experience occurs through the language used to create narratives of situations and life (Gergen, 2009). Society and subsets of society, such as the individual and religion, create knowledge and construct “bracketed absolute truths” (Cottone, 2012). Shared consensual knowledge or bracketed absolute truths remain relatively constant until they are challenged by a competing framework and a new understand- ing of experience emerges (Gergen, 2009). “Absolute truths” are specific to situations that occur in life and often evolve over time. These consensualities compel individuals to behave in ways that members of their community find acceptable. When consensualities from one facet of life are generalized to other facets, conflict typically arises (Gergen, 2009). And when consensualities conflict, DAs are common. The link between a bracketed absolute truth from one aspect of life and an individual’s behavior will require severing or modification through other relational connections, such as counseling, when competing consensualities arise.

  [...]

  In social constructivism, there is an intimate association between language, relationships, and experiences. Several notable counseling theories, such as solution-focused therapy (Berg, 1993, de Shazer, 1985) and narrative therapy (White, 2007; White & Epston, 1990), fall within this paradigm and are useful in negotiating DAs between opposing sets of absolute bracketed truths.

I don't even know if these are the same usage.

What does this sense of "to bracket" mean?

And from what field or source does it originate?  Is this just an emergent usage, or is there an authoritative coinage as a term-of-art asserted somewhere?


texts: In what context would native English speakers say "happen with" as opposed to "happen to"?

texts:
Let's say I have given up my job and started drinking out of a sudden? Would be natural to say happen with? For example:

  You quit your job, started drinking. Whatever happended with you?

In what context native English speakers would never say happen to?


texts: what does “accepting back up nominations” mean?

texts: the process is closed but in red letters it states that they are accepting back up nominations. It is regarding one position that was opened but now it is closed, it is hard to me to understand what they mean by saying this ?


texts: To a group of people: "I want all of your phone numbers." Is this sentence correct?

texts: If I'm talking to a group of people and I want the phone number of each person, how would I phrase that? Is "I want all of your phone numbers" correct?


texts:
But, uh, Ross is a great guy. I was roommates with him in college.

That's from Friends episode [S06E21]. Shouldn't it be

we were roommates with him

Which sounds more natural?


texts: Difference between Simple Present Passive and Simple Past Passive Voice

texts:
In below sentence it is understood that Actions of Cleaning and arresting are already happened.

If I want to report below activities to someone else should I use simple present passive or Simple past passive?

___(Cleaned/Arrested)___8:00am(Present)__________________10:00am(Future)

Simple Present Passive
Car is Cleaned by Jhon.
Jhon is arrested by Police.

and

Simple Past Passive
Car was cleaned by John.
John was arrested by Police.


texts:
In Prison, Hydell(prisoner) ready to hurt Emilie Warnock(interrogator)
but Alex(prisoner) came and stopped him. Before this incident, Hydell
released all the prisoners(including Alex). So Alex said this words to Hydell
while stopping Hydell:

  In less than an hour, all these people, including young Emilie Warnock
  here, will be the only thing keeping us alive. You don't mess with
  your poker chips.


texts:
I heard this sentence in a movie:

  "Who is that "you" in reference to exactly?"

and since I don't usually limit myself by a fixed number of sentence structures, I used it in this way:

  "Who that "you" has reference to exactly?"

I Wonder if my own sentence is correct/well-understood as well? (I feel the second one is only a bit more formal sounding, but not wrong.)


texts: How to refer to *one side* of headphones?

texts:
How to refer to one side of headphones?
The word "headphones" is in only plural form, referring to two main components (speakers?) that are put in two ears.

Now my question is how to refer to each side of the headphones separately? (It is relevant for example in case that one of the sides doesn't work anymore.)

I know that I can say simply and generally "one side" doesn't work, but in my native language I can say "headphone" in singular form, then I'm looking for the accurate term for each one of them as a singular)

In addition, there is "headphones" that come/s just for one side only (see second picture), normally for people / host in TV shows, or security-men / policemen.


texts: What is the difference between putting single and double quotation marks?

texts:
Is there any difference in putting single and double quotation marks to a word in a sentence?

Say - 'design' and "design"

  It is the 'design' that should appeal the viewer  It is the "design" that should appeal the viewer


texts:
So alongside my house they are building a building so they had to do some excavation and left a deep (hole?).
Im not sure if hole is the correct term and right now they are people there so i wasn’t sure if saying “oh look there’s people in the hole” is correct


texts:
Is the use of “in a condition in which “ instead of “with” in first sentence below correct ?

  The dog was found with leg broken.

Can i say ;

  The dog was found in a condition in which its leg was broken


texts: Is "After the Japanese student graduate from ...." grammatical?

texts:
I wonder if this sentence is correct, and is there a better alternative for this sentence. The sentence is:

  After the Japanese student graduate from the secondary school, he will have learnt 2000 Kanjis."


texts: What is the difference between " required" and " need" ? And which is the right place/situation to use this?

texts:
Usually when I talk and write a mail I am doubtful to use " required" or " need" for the situation. please help me clear understanding of the place and situation to use it properly.
Thanks in advance.


texts: "Tom wants (wanted) you to pick him up" - which tense to use?

texts:
If my brother calls me and says "Tell mom to pick me up."
Do i tell my mom

which of the one below?

I know that wants is present tense and wanted is past tense. So should i use the second one?

  Tom wants you to pick him up
  Tom wanted you to pick him up


texts: Is the "P" always silent in words that start with "ps"?

texts:
Is it true to say that in English always when word starts with  "P+S", the the letter p is dropped out of pronunciation and become silent?
I know about some words which behave like that, such as psychology and psychiatry. But I'm not sure if there are no exceptions, or maybe these words that I mentioned are exception.


texts:
As you are well aware, when someone has a nice physique, we can say:

He/she is in good shape.

But in case someone is "out of shape", I know that native speakers normally would say:

He/she is out of shape.

The question is that whether we can refer to such a person as follows:

He/she is in bad shape. can we say:

Does it sound idiomatic to you? If no, please kindly explain that to me.


texts: I don't understand the structure in this Steve Jobs sentence "Our hardware team got to cranking out a new Mac"?

texts:
Steve Jobs said "Our hardware team got to cranking out a new Mac with Intel processors every month".

See his video

I think he wanted to say "....had to crank out..."

  have to (modal verb) (also have got to) used to show that you must do something. E.g: Sorry, I've got to go.

but why not "got to crank out " but "got to cranking out" ?

"have to doing something" is not right?


texts:
How do we use the idiom "come down on"?

Looked up a dictionary and found the following:

  come down on (someone or something)

  To scold or reprimand one harshly. It was a mistake, so don't come down on him too hard, OK?
  To establish one's opinion or view as being in support of a particular side of an issue. And where do you come down on this issue,
  sir? I think the jury is going to come down on the side of the
  plaintiff.
  To actively oppose someone or something or attempt to prevent or abolish something. This issue is unjust, and as your mayor I promise
  to come down on it.

The issue is that I am wondering if we can say come down on something on someone or come down on someone on something

  He came down on me on the argument I made against her.

There's no usage rule, so I thought this made sense, but I am not sure. What do you think?


texts: Is the "doubly remote" conditional construction optional?

texts:
BACKGROUND
In the 2002 reference grammar by Huddleston and Pullum (et al.), The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CGEL), Anita Mittwoch and Rodney Huddleston and Peter Collins talk about "the doubly remote conditional construction" on page 754:

The doubly remote conditional construction
[48 ]

i. If you had told me you were busy I would have come tomorrow. <-- [past-future]

ii. If you had come tomorrow you would have seen the carnival. <-- [future-future]

iii. If your father had been alive today he would have been distraught to see his business disintegrating like this. <-- [present-present]

(I've marked some verbal clusters in bold to indicate the doubly remote construction. I've also added the brackets to indicate the respective temporal situation of the protasis and apodosis as describe in CGEL. Note that in [i ] the verb cluster "had told" is not a doubly remote construction but a past remote construction where the past tense of "had" expresses modal remoteness and the perfect construction temporal meaning.)
The authors go on to say:

Where the time is future the doubly remote construction indicates not only that P and Q are false, but also that the possibility of the future situation being actualised has already been foreclosed by a past event. In [i-ii ], for example, it might be that I or you have come today, with the assumption that that precludes our coming again tomorrow.

QUESTION
In [i ] and [ii ], let's assume that I and you have come today, respectively, and therefore that I and you cannot come again tomorrow, which is exactly the same situation as describe as an example in CGEL. In this situation, is it possible not to use the doubly remote constructions as follows?

[i' ] If you had told me you were busy I would come tomorrow.

[ii' ] If you came tomorrow you would see the carnival.


texts: A question about using definite article with ordinal numbers: "content with third place" or "content with the third place"?

texts:
I was reading the definition of the verb "content" came across with this example:

  "he had to be content with third place"

Shouldn't it be:

  "he had to be content with the third place"

I thought that ordinal numbers take definite articles in such sentences. Especially, in this case the ranking is known to readers. Also, I found this related question on EL&U regarding the ordinals used in dates.


texts: how to describe the three stages of before making policy, policy draft release and policy implementation?

texts:
I want to classify the process of creating a policy into three stages:

Step 1:  public begins to talk about an agenda, which attracts the government's attention.

Step 2:  the government releases a policy draft.

Step 3:  the policy comes into force.

I want to describe the process by three words. How about "pre-release" stage, "peri-release" stage, "post-release" stage?


texts:
The adjective oblivious is used with preposition of/to, but in the following sentence I don't understand its usage.

Oblivious that an unconscious patient was still lying alone on a bed, staff of a State-run community healthcare centre in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district allegedly shut its gates and left as their duty hours were over.

Also can still be used for past reference as used above?


texts: Can a "poem" mean something else than its usual meaning? (A sentence from H.P. Lovecraft's work)

texts:
The story is about a marble villa, which is in the following sentence referred to as a poem:

Lone and shaken mourned the humble courts and the lower walls, for
upon the sumptuous greater peristyle had fallen squarely the heavy
overhanging bough of the strange new tree, reducing the stately poem
in marble with odd completeness to a mound of unsightly ruins.

What does it mean? Should it perhaps imply that it was just so artistic, delicate, a piece of art (such as a poem)?