texts:
I've read an article on something from my line of work and I would like to contact the journalist who wrote it and send him results of the research I've done which is closely related to what he wrote about.
I was thinking about sending him an email with the research but I'm not sure about the subject line.

  Can I write "Follow up on your article about x"?

Is this the right way to use "follow up" phrase?


texts: "Would" in a backshifted reported context

texts:
In one of many amusing anecdotes, Ostrovsky recounts how in 1989 a quintessential apparatchik, Viktor Chernomyrdin, quit his ministerial post to become chairman of a new state corporation, Gazprom. The prime minister at the time, Nikolai Ryzhkov, couldn’t comprehend why he’d do this: “You understand that you will lose everything – the dacha and the privileges?” The wily Chernomyrdin suspected that the new prizes would be denominated in dollars, billions of them.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/05/the-invention-of-russia-the-new-tsar-the-red-web-book-reviews

Does "he'd do" here mean "he would do"? Why the rule of backshift of tense in reported speech is not used here, i.e. why the part of sentence is not: "couldn’t comprehend why he had done this".


texts:
I see the phrase "live young" used when describing mammals. For example, in Wikipedia:

  Most mammals are viviparous, giving birth to live young.

What does the phrase "live young" signify here? I guess it might mean "a young [animal] that is alive", but if this is the case isn't it at best redundant?

I mean of course an animal gives birth to a live thing (people don't say "give birth to eggs" or "give birth to rocks", right?). And of course when it's born it's young by definition - one can't be old when they're just born. So what does "live young" signify here?


texts: Is it totally incorrect to use word "discriminatable"?


texts: What exactly does a web developer do? And are there any textbooks that describe it?

texts:
1) Which verbs can I use to describe correctly the web developer's activities?

I need to decribe activity when a web developer creates a site for some (small) company at first and then maintains its work and improves it regularly.  Are there any one verb or two verbs together or any word combinations?

Edit: So can I answer when somebody asks: 'What exactly do you do?'

  I am a web developer. I work for a small company. I code, develop and maintain their website.

2) Is there any good up-to-date vocabulary textbook for English learners in IT or any useful links about it?


texts:
Can someone explain to me the grammatical rule for these examples:

Does this belong to you? - correct
Is this belongs to you? - wrong

and

Does this mean I am right? - correct
Is it mean I am right? - wrong

Why can't I use Is it?


texts:
The word key is both an adjective and a noun meaning something is important. But which is the preferred one to use in terms of different territories? For example, should I say

  The hint is key.

or

  The hint is the key.

In the first sentence, key means critical, crucial. And in the second sentence, key means the deciding factor for solving a problem.

As an English learner, I'm more interested in AmE and BrE, while usages in other places are also helpful to me. So which one sounds better to the those native speakers? Or are they interchangeable if they both mean something crucially important?


texts:
Question: Identify the one bold word or phrase that must be changed in order for the sentence to be correct.

1.At 1939, television programs were being broadcast in the United States, and the World's Fair of that year featured demonstrations of this advance in technology.

A) at

B) programs

C) and

D) featured

Its correct answer is (A). Is my reason correct:

My reason: it must be used of the pronoun "in" instead of " at", because sentence tense is past(past continuous)

Scientists usually character the disease leukemia as an overabundance of white blood cells in the bloodstream.

A) character

B) as

C) overabundance

D) in the bloodstream

Its correct answer is (D). why?


texts:
When she entered her room she saw a snake crawling on the floor

When she entered her room she saw a snake crawling on the ground

Which one is correct?


texts: How to analyse/parse 'what there are/is [noun] to [verb]'?

texts:
Thanks to user oerkelens, I now understand the meaning of my quote, so ask NOT about it here. Yet this construct still mystifies and sounds wrong to me, so I'd like to decompose it further to naturalise it. Also, I only realised now that a worsening factor is 'there is'; I can endure the first three rewrites here:

  [a man's gotta do (something)) -> What [a man's gotta do]
  [(something) needs to be said] -> What [needs to be said]
  [(some) vegetables were left] -> What [vegetables were left]
  4. [there is evidence to believe (something)] -> What [there is evidence to believe]
  5. [there is a reason to do (something)] -> What [there is a reason to do]

Please explain and show all steps, thought processes behind the arrows in 4 and 5? How does the left-hand side become the right-hand side?


texts: Should there be a space between numeral and "pc" or "pcs"?

texts:
The terms "pc" and "pcs" are often used as short forms for "piece" and "pieces". However, it's not clear how the short forms should be used in conjunction with numerals.

Is it more appropriate or more correct to write "3pcs" (without space) or "3 pcs" (with space)?

Also, should it be "1 pc" or "1 pcs"? (with or without space; the question is about the singular form)

PS: It seems very difficult to search this on Google.


texts:
what is the meaning of "any scholar of the age" and "the shoemaker's bench"?
"any scholar of the age" does it mean any scholar in his age or an aged scholar?
and is "the shoemaker's bench" an address?

Dr. George Bush, Professor of Hebrew in the University of New York,
who was one of those present while the trance orations were being
taken down, writes:

I can solemnly affirm that I have heard Davis correctly quote the Hebrew
language in his lectures, and display a knowledge of geology which would
have been astonishing in a person of his age, even if he had devoted years
to the study. He has discussed, with the most signal ability, the
profoundest questions of historical and biblical archeology, of mythology,
of the origin and affinity of language, and the progress of civilization
among the different nations of the globe, which would do honour to any
scholar of the age, even if in reaching them he had the advantage of
access to all the libraries in Christendom. Indeed, if he had acquired all
the information he gives forth in these lectures, not in the two years since
he left the shoemaker's bench, but in his whole life, with the most
assiduous study, no prodigy of intellect of which the world has ever heard
would be for a moment compared with him, yet not a single volume or
page has he ever read.


texts: Is this correct sentence "Where have you been yesterday"?

texts:
I have got a question about Which of the following is correct sentence?

  Where have you been yesterday?
  Where did you be yesterday?

If you can please let me know if there are something wrong, which one is wrong and how to fix them?


texts:
I was watching The Santa Clarita Diet and in one episode, a girl named Abby promises to have breakfast with a boy named Eric. However, Abby later ditches Eric to do something else. Eric finds her later and says,

  You ditched me for breakfast.

I am confused by the use of the preposition for in this context. To me, the sentence means the girl ditched Eric just so that she could have breakfast, as in I exchange my life 'for' your happiness but Abby did not have breakfast, so why would Eric use for? Can someone elaborate?


texts: What is correct "by both voice or video chat" vs "with both voice or video chat"

texts:
I want to write about a website that we can talk at the same time with others by using voice or video chat because it is optional to use one of them, and I am not sure what can I use by or with in the sentence. for example.

  "It is the best website to find a lot of groups for practicing English speaking skills by / with using both voice or video chat."


texts:
While reading a text the following question occurred to me:

Do we sanctify God? Or do we speak of sanctity of God?

Actually I was reading a text in which I found the following:

  ...while praising You, o God, we sanctify You...

It doesn't sound to fit best, does it? I think it is God who sanctifies men and things. Thus, it may be:

  ...while praising You, o God, we speak of Your sanctity.


texts:
What is the difference between the two sentences:

  I broke up with her and she cried over me.

  I broke up with her and she
  cried all over me.

It's based in a song:

  Why does she sing her sad songs for me, I'm not the one
  To tenderly bring her soft sympathy, I've just begun
  To see my way clear and it's plain if I stop I will fall
  I can lay down a tear for her pain, just a tear and that's all
  What does she want me to do
  She says that she knows that moments are rare
  I suppose that it's true
  Then on she goes to say I don't care and she knows that I do
  Maybe she just has to sing for the sake of the song
  Who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong

  She'd like to think that I'm cruel but she knows that's a lie for I would be
  No more than a tool if I allowed her to cry all over me

But I don't know if this means that she would cry because of him or she cries to him, to persuade or use him like a consolation.


texts: Conditionals: continuous tense in if-clause

texts:
There are 5 types of conditionals, and I haven't found any with continuous tense in 'if' clause.

Suppose there is a long radio show. Eventually the presenter says something like 'the secret code is 555'. Listeners may call to the office, tell that '555' code and win some prize.

I can say something like:

If he listens to the show, he may win a prize.
If he had listened to the show, he could have won a prize.

But how should I say about the process (of listening) itself instead of the fact? I mean, the duration of the show may be an hour, but presenter tells the code on 5th (10th, 21st etc) minute. So, you should not listen whole show to win a prize - only 5 minutes (10, 21 ...) from the beginning is enough.
I believe the examples above imply that the person should listen the whole show.

Could you please suggest? Thanks.


texts: Can I use "Is it having been sent" for question? I know I can ask "is it sent", that's why, I thought that I can put "having been sent" instead of "sent". Is it correct?


texts:
I got confused on where should I put the word "indeed" in my sentence.

I have a sentence like:

  I think this apple is red, and if it indeed is, then we should eat it.

I feel really uncomfortable with "indeed" over there. But I don't want to delete it since I want to somehow point out "indeed"...

Any instructions? Thank you!


texts: Polite alternative for "Is there any reason why we still haven’t done this yet.?"

texts:
Is there any reason why we still haven’t done this yet.?

I feel it's not very polite to ask like this. I am not sure. Is there a more polite way of aking this?


texts: Is there a way to say "28 days" using the word "month"?

texts:
On October 20, he will have been dead for 28 days.

Can this be rewritten as:

  On October 20, he will have been dead for 2 days shy/short of a month.


texts: Questions with declarative forms have the same meaning as their interrogative counterparts or not?

texts:
“So you can do what with it?”
  (The Postmistress by Sarah Blake, p.118)

  And the focus of your research right now, Charles, is what?
  (Woman’s Hour, Mon, 28 Apr 14, 14'18")

Can above questions, not having subject-auxiliary inversion, be used as the same meaning as their normal syntactic forms: “So what can you do with it?”, “And what is the focus of your research right now, Charles?”

I find no differences between the two forms above, yet I’ve only read in CGEL that those types have some epistemic bias towards a positive or negative answer. Or they are used when what you heard is not clear or surprising (p,881;p.886). The questions above are or can be just simple, unbiased, questions or not?


texts: American English - what is the most precise term for that kind of division?

texts: Is it a dialect? Sub-dialect? Something else?


texts: Use of 'or' before last item in series of items

texts:
For a particular job, the mandatory educational requirement was:

  A degree with Zoology, Chemistry or Biochemistry as one of the subjects.

Does this sentence mean the requirement is "Zoology + Chemistry" or "Zoology + Biochemistry", or does it mean:
"Zoology or Chemistry or Biochemistry"?

I am from HR team of an organisation and I am looking at interpretation of the above statement. We in India have certain rules for recruitment in Government Organisations and the statement is as per rules book for recruitment for a particular position.


texts:
While making a prayer to Lord for oneself, does the following structure sound best?

  Lord, may I get success!

And how does the following differ from the one mentioned above?

  Lord, help me get success!


texts: What is the opposite term of 'Socialization'?

texts:
The wikipedia definition of the term 'socialization' is as follows :

  Lifelong process of inhereting and disseminating norms, customs and ideologies

I am looking for a term which will somewhat refer to 'reverse-socialization', or more like the undoing process of -the lifelong process of inhereting and disseminating norms, customs and ideologies- so to speak.

I thought about the term 'desocialization' at first; but later got dissapointed when I looked up its definition. It provides with a more passive sense in a rather specific context.

Terms like 'alienation' or 'isolation' do not quite seem to fit in also, as they seem to fail in generalizing the 'undoing process' and do not necessarily refer to a social context, I assume?


texts: What is the difference between the meaning of two statements?

texts:
I'm confused with passive future. What is the difference between the meaning of two following statements :

 She will go as soon as the stores will be opened.
 She will go as soon as the stores are opened.

does anyone could explain it?

Thank


texts: Noun 'stuff' and the preposition for the verb 'do' in the phrase

texts:
I have to express something and I'd like to use stuff noun. The problem is a proper use do verb when doing is related to something.

My phrase is Some privilege stuff should be done to it. I use it for my tutorial about server configuration. Maybe done with it?

The phrase should mean that some work must be done to make a certain directory on the disk accessible for some users or not.


texts: No student or no other students is as intelligent as my son

texts:
[no student or no other students] is as intelligent as my son.

Why do we use "no other students" in the above sentence?

We do say that "There is no student in the class." Here "no student" refers to all the students which are not in the class.

So in the above sentence "no student" does not refer to all the students?


texts:
The part down the center of her hair is a crooked lightning bolt of white scalp.

Source: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Cabmbridge Advanced Dictionary tells me that, "scalp" is the skin on the top of a person's head where hair usually grows.

But I don't think that Marla Singer was bald.


texts: What does he say ? Why there is a "Does"?

texts:
"What does he say ?"

My question seems not relevent to grammar, I am not sure, but I am in wonder.

In the question "What does he say ?" the word "does" seems redundant to me, as the question is fine without it. I cannot find a suitable translation for it when I translate the above question to my language.

I do not understand what is going in minds of native speakers when they say it. I wonder how they utter words have not specific meaning in their questions. ... maybe it has a meaning for them but what it is?


texts: a wide knowledge of English vs. an extensive knowledge of English?

texts:
Which one is better? Which one is more natural? I'm writing a lesson review for a teacher on Italki website. I wanted to express that I'm grateful for the lesson, in particular for new English phrases. Although I provided the topic at the very last moment, the teacher was able to extend my vocabulary during the lesson without prior preparation.

Related:


texts: "by majority vote" vs. "by majority votes"

texts:
It appears that the CORRECT English expression is "by majority vote", as in "decisions are taken/made by majority vote".

Since "vote" is a countable noun, why isn't there an "a" or "the" before "majority vote" or why isn't it "by majority votes" ?


texts: Which is correct in the following sentences, them or ones?

texts:
Which of the following sentences is correct?

I don't believe in UFOs, because I have never seen them.
I don't believe in UFOs, because I have never seen ones.


texts: SV agreement: does the second verb in the clause after "and", sharing the same subject as the verb in the first clause, use the same sing./plr. form?

texts:
The sentence is:

  "The machine's remote-control unit puts you in charge of starting and stopping your workout and ____ the speed and direction of the oncoming tennis balls."

The question is from a cloze test and it has 4 choices:

  let you adjust
  lets you adjust
  let you to adjust
  become more skilled

I'm choosing between 1 and 2. Now if I think grammatically I would choose 2, but somehow it doesn't seem to sound right for me. Is my intuition bad or is it really wrong?


texts: Why do people use so caused in these sentences? Are they redundant or necessary?

texts:
Saw these sentences in a booklet (large lift repairs & maintenance services)

  Sorry for the inconvenience so caused

  The problem between teens and parents is the lack of communication so caused?

Won't the meanings still be clear enough without so caused?


texts: Sentence choice: "The limit is the sky" or "The sky is the limit"

texts:
I want to use the sentence below. Are both correct? Or one is correct?

The limit is the sky

Or,

The sky is the limit


texts:
Okay, so it seems today's my day of banal questions. But, hey, everyone has one from time to time. My doubts occured when I wanted to translate a sentence to English.

She's usually very talkative when we travel to school.

Yet something rang a bell, and left me a little bit confused. I'm sure I've heard many sentences that utilize present continuous in such cases, making the sentence look like this:

She's usually very talkative when we're traveling to school.

Is it correct though? Or should I always stick to present simple when I'm talking about recurring situations and habits, which means that the following structures are incorrect?

I love it when she smiles when I'm kissing her.
When I'm drinking tea, I like to relax and let my thoughts flow.

Gah, it's embarrassing to pose such basic questions :<
Also, I would appreciate it if you could correct mistakes in my posts, should any appear.


texts:
In my other post ("Wild animals" or "The wild animals"?) I said

  ... where she uses the in her beginning, which seems to be incorrect. Because what the question mentions is not a specified group of wild animals, neither the beginning of Alice's answer.

where I used "specified". Actually I am not sure if I used the right word. Another option is specific.

Cambridge Dictionary gives this definition about specific.

  relating to one thing and not others; particular

specified is the past participle form and therefor probably able to used as adjective here.

Are specific and specified interchangeable in this case?


texts:
In dictionary,

  twin: one of two children born at the same time to the same mother

  Ex: She's expecting twins.

  The twins are now eight months old.

Ok, let say a woman has twins at her first birth (ie, there are only 2 children)

So, we say "I have 2 twins" or "I have twins"?

And , what if she has twins at her second birth.

Do we say "2 pairs of twins"?


texts: What does "won" mean in "the shot that won"?

texts:
Ralph and Gary are talking about the basketball game they saw on TV last night:

  Ralph: Did you watch the game last night?

  Gary: I sure did. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything!

  Ralph: I think it was one of the best games I’ve ever seen.

  Gary: Me, too. I thought both teams played super ball.

  Ralph: Too bad one had to lose.

  Gary: Yeah, they were evenly matched. It could have gone either way!

  Ralph: The shot that won in the last fifteen seconds was really something.

  Gary: I agree with you there.

Source: The ILI English Series, Intermediate 2, Student's book, Page 81


texts: usage of 'neither.. nor', 'not...or' and 'not.... nor'

texts:
Are these sentences grammatical?

  I neither usually wake up at 6 am, nor do I like to wake up at 5 am.
  We neither wear the same clothes, nor do we eat the same food.
  We don't wear the same clothes or eat the same food.
  We don't wear the same clothes nor do we eat the same food.


texts: “In the beginning of 20th century” or “at the beginning of 20th century“

texts:
Acupuncture appeared in the West in the beginning of 20th century.

Or

Acupuncture appeared in the West at the beginning of 20th century.

Which is correct?

To me, at the beginning sounds like in 1901, or in 1915.
In the beginning seems to have more range.
Correct me if I’m wrong.


texts: Is there always a way to find the meaning of a multi-word verb or an expression by its words?

texts:
I think that would be a good practice for English learners to put the correct meaning of words of a multi-word verb or an expression. and find the whole meaning. So, can we be sure about that, or we have to exclude some expressions or multi-word verbs?

This question came to my mind when I couldn't find the meaning of "on" in "Come on!".


texts: Is "just some small business" a common idiom for the following dialogue?

texts:
Speaker A: “You have something important to do?” I asked, hoping I
  wasn't prying too much.

  Speaker B: “Just some small business.”

If not what's a more common reply for Speaker B?


texts: Is it perfectly natural to end sentences with Prepositions?

texts: There are numerous myths relating to grammatical dos and don’ts, many of which were drummed into us at school. The one that stubbornly refuses to budge from my mind is the diktat "never begin a sentence with a conjunction such as and or but" and "never end a sentence with preposition such as about, with, on, etc." but I would like to hear from all if it is perfectly natural to end a sentence with preposition in modern English?


texts:
Books were stacked three deep on the mantelpiece, books with titles like Charm Your Own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking, and One Minute Feasts — It’s Magic! And unless Harry’s ears were deceiving him, the old radio next to the sink had just announced that coming up was “Witching Hour, with the popular singing sorceress, Celestina Warbeck.”

Does it mean the books were stacked up to three layers? Can you apply this usage in other numbers? like "two deep?


texts:
Regardless of their guilt or innocence, they did not get a fair trial.

I am not sure if this is OK in terms of grammar to rewrite the above sentence this way.

Regardless (of) they were guilty or innocent, they did not get a fair trial.

Is it possible that a full sentence comes after "regardless". And if so, is the preposition "of" needed?


texts: The meaning of the phrases or sentences in bold?

texts:
My, how time flies when you are having fun! Get it? Flies? Birds? Oh,
  well. Thank you for spending some time with us. Remember, more
  LearningEnglish Programs are just seconds away. And world news follows
  at thebeginning of the hour. I’m Jim Tedder in Washington. We’ll see
  you later!

This article is from VOA Special English, the link is:enter link description here


texts:
It seems to me that there are 2 ways to pronounce "handler":
Macmillan and Oxford's dictionaries pronounce it either /ˈhændlə(r)/ or /ˈhændlər/. In other words, both have a "soft" /d/ sound:

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/handler
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/handler
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/handler

Meanwhile, Merriam Webster pronounces it with a very strong "dᵊl" sound: /han-dᵊl-ər/
At first, I thought that is a difference between British English and American English, but that is not true according to the Macmillan and Oxford's dictionaries. Because I assume that both pronunciations are correct, why are there two different ways to pronounce the word?


texts: "that is one of the definitions of what Shakespeare-language does," that refers to？

texts:
At this very early and rather primitive stage, we could not give our student-subjects undiluted lines of Shakespeare because too much in the brain would light up in too many places: that is one of the definitions of what Shakespeare-language does. (From ACT)

I know "that" in bold refers to a definition of what Shakespeare-language does, but what is the definition because I cannot find it in the preceding sentence.


texts:
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/overtone:

  2. (often overtones) A subtle or subsidiary quality, implication, or connotation:

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/undertone:

  1.1. An underlying quality or feeling:

Are these meanings identical? What's the phenomenon or oddity called, where two words with opposite prefixes (not necessarily just over- vs under-) surprisingly mean alike? Would someone please explain the "paradox" here?


texts: How much information should I jam into a sentence

texts:
Are there any guidelines for the amount of information which should be present in a sentence?
Consider the following sentences:

In this section we describe the algorithm for data extraction from a webpage using a wrapper, which has been created by the user through the GUI explained in the previous sections.
In this section we describe the algorithm for data extraction  from a webpage  using a wrapper,  which has been  created by the user through the GUI explained in the previous sections.
In this section we describe the algorithm for data extraction  from a webpage  using a wrapper,  which has been  created by the user through the GUI  explained in the previous sections.

I know that I can sometimes rely on the context to avoid repeating information.
Which of the sentences above do you recommend?


texts:
The following paragraph from the classic book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, retold by Doreen de Castro seems to have a missing article in the placeholder (*). Is the missing article "a" or "the"? Would be great if you could tell me why in either case?

  Ben stopped in midbite and watched Tom run the brush daintily over the
  wood fence, resting against (*) trunk of a tree with legs stretched.


texts: A/The laptop which I bought in the UK is faulty

texts:
Are the statements below wrong? Thanks!

  The laptop which I bought in the UK is faulty.

analysis: You know I bought only one laptop visiting the UK and it's faulty.

  A laptop which I bought in the UK is faulty.

analysis: You know I bought more that one laptop in the UK and one of these laptops is faulty.

  A laptop that I bought in the UK is faulty.

analysis: The indefinite article “A”  means of all the laptops in the world one is faulty. You bought it in the UK. You don't know whether I bought one or more.

  The laptop that I bought in the UK is faulty.

analysis: Of all the laptops in the world faulty is the one you bought in the UK. You don't know whether I bought one or more.


texts: What is an example of a sentence that has no verb?

texts:
My teacher believes that every sentence has a verb but I want to prove her wrong. (My teacher told the class that whoever can find a sentence with no verb she will give them a prize.)

Does anyone know and example of a sentence that has no verb?


texts:
This time he does go; but giving him, Cromwell, a sort of mock salute,
  a flourish in the direction of his hat.

  Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

What is the meaning of the phrase 'in the direction of his hat' here?


texts: Is it right to say "I have started to watch" or better to say "I have been watching"?

texts:
Here are my sentences

I have been watching football since 2010 World Cup and i liked players like Drogba, Lampard and after World Cup i have started to watch Premier League.

Is it right to say "I have started to watch" or better to say "I have been watching" in this context?


texts:
Edited

I've seen the word "a well person" in my school examination meaning a person who is not currently sick, can the word well be used as an adjective like that? Is "a well being person" more preferable? And how do we normally use the word well before a noun.


texts:
which is correct?

  This is the third time I have traveled to Italy this year.

or

  This is the third time I travel to Italy this year.


texts: The structure of the clause "go all round Italy, Austria, Switzerland"

texts:
He's going all round Italy, Austria, Switzerland.

Would you tell me if my parsing is right or not?

"all round" is complement of "go" and "Italy, Austria, Switzerland" are complement of "all round"
(the head of "all round" is round, all being premodifier of round)


texts: Do you know any friends of hers; Do you know any friend of hers?

texts:
[i] Do you know any friends of hers?
  [ii] Do you know any friend of hers?

The first is from a Korean grammar book and the second is mine. Whenever I come across any in questions, it’s very tricky to understand. From OALD #1, the first seems to imply that there is a set of her friends and ask if the listener knows at least a few of them.
And the second question seems to ask if the listener knows her friend, whoever they are.
Is my understanding proper?


texts: "Moral fibre of celebrities" Should I treat this as a collective noun?

texts:
The Moral fibre of celebrities is \ are questionable.

I guess "The Moral fibre of celebrities" is a collective noun and should be treated as singular and, therefore, The Moral fibre of celebrities is questionable.

Right?


texts:
Pastry is a food made from flour, fat, and water that is mixed together, rolled flat, and baked in the oven. It is used, for example, for making pies.

Source:
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/pastry

Is the antecedent of this relative clause, "that is mixed together...", "a food"?

But I kind of feel it is illogical: how can a single thing be "mixed"?


texts: Hyphenation of the words anyone, anymore, anything

texts: I'm confused about how I should hyphenate these words because MS Word often suggests something like this: an-yone, an-ymore. According to Google, MS Word is right and we can hyphenate them in two positions: an-y-one, an-y-more. But sites like hyphenation24.com and hyphenator.net disagree with that, and according to them, there's only a possible way we may hyphenate these words: any-one, any-more, any-thing.


texts: Meaning of “pique” & “vanity” in this context?

texts:
“Lady Middleton piqued herself upon the elegance of her table, and of all her domestic arrangements; and from this kind of vanity was her greatest enjoyment in any of their parties.”

  Source: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Pique means annoy and vanity means pride and being worthless. However, somehow I get the feeling that the Lady M. is not annoyed but pleased in arranging domestic things but it contradicts the word’s meaning. I’m confused.

And if I take vanity as pride, I think it means that she likes specially the dinner time more than the party itself because she feels proud in arranging tables. But the other meaning of the word “being worthless” somehow match the “annoy” word in general. I don’t understand the meaning of this sentence at all. Could you explain its meaning in other way?


texts:
Tinder is like Facebook, but it's just, like, straight to smashing.

What does "straight to smashing" mean?

I tried to find answer following below step, but it doesn't make sense. Please, help me.

It's straight to smashing.
straight : frank
smash : to go to pieces suddenly under collision or pressure
It's frank to going to pieces?????????
I can't even understand the literal meaning.


texts: How you describe your position with respect to direction of traffic?

texts:
Lets say I am wainting on the road for my friend to pick me up. He calls me and asks me which side of the road I am on. Now, I can't say left or right since I don't know which direction he is coming from, so I want to tell him  with respect to the direction of the traffic on that side of the road I am standing.

Can I say

  I am on the side where traffic goes in the direction of X.

While the sentence above is grammatical, is construction feel a a bit awkward to me. Can anyone suggest a better construction for the expression above?


texts:
From Intermediate Language Practice by Michael Vince

  The police suspected that Brian had broken the window at his house because he  wanted to make them think that a burglar had stolen his valuable stamp collection. They  thought that Brian had done this because he  needed the money. However, they  didn't know that Brian  had flown to Brazil the week before, and was abroad when the burglary  took place.

Why "had flown"? Is it because it is here to emphasize the innocence of Brian because it is obvious as it is written a week before that the fly happened before the police did not know, or is it to respect the backshifting done with "suspected" and "thought", or both of them — backshifting and emphasize?


texts: How to express regrets, wishes and complaints?

texts:
Everyone feels something they regret about the past, whether it’s big or small. And everyone wishes they could do something differently if they got the chance!
What are the useful phrases and words that can be used for past, present, and future? How can we use them?
Examples

Talking about past regrets

Talking about the present

Talking about the future


texts:
One of my colleague is single. I want to know does he have any "marriage" experience. Should I say:

  Did you get married before?

or

  Have you been married before?


texts:
What's the difference  between :

1 This car does 30 miles to the gallon.

2 This car does 30 miles per gallon.


texts:
Is there a difference between these two phrasal verbs? I know that fold up means simply folding something once or several times. Eg, folding (up) clothes, a piece of paper, etc.
I also kind of know what fold over means because this phrasal verb comes up a lot. It probably has a similar meaning. But what is the difference between the two? How do I know when to use fold (up), and when to use fold over?
I looked up fold over, online definitions did not make it very clear. All they said was fold something over means double over on itself. But isn't that what fold (up) means?
I think fold over is different from fold up.


texts:
Here is a small story. in the game Oblivion there is a character who says "... then I took an arrow in the knee and I am not an adventurer anymore." This way I learned that the expression "to take [thing] in [part of body]" is equivallent to "[part of body] was injured by [thing]."

Recommend RPG games or any PC/video games that are good to learn English?


texts: Problem with sentence structure/construction

texts:
The following are what two authors have written.

A further complication was jurisdiction: even if unemployment were admitted as a social, rather than an individual, problem, was insurance against unemployment a federal or a provincial responsibility?
There existed some uncertainty regarding constitutional jurisdiction over unemployment assistance. As such, even if unemployment was recognized as a social problem requiring state action, it nevertheless wasn’t completely clear which level of government would be responsible ― federal or provincial.

The one below is my attempt at restructuring the question.

  Another complication, as Smith (1988) pointed out, was constitutional jurisdiction: if unemployment was indeed recognized as a social problem, it was not clear as to which government—federal or provincial—would then be responsible for administering a support program.

The part after the colon, "if unemployment was..." tends to finish the sentence as a question like author 1 (but I don't want that). I am not sure if the way I have written makes sense (ending it as a statement and not a question).


texts: Expressions/phrasal verbs for "when someone makes you a meal"

texts: When a person makes himself a meal, he says "treating myself with" but what can we say for when someone else makes you food?


texts:
I take an exam yesterday and I think reject from this exam. Anyway, here is one of passages from the exam:

  Thunder is caused by lightning, which is essentially a stream of
  electrons ﬂowing between or within clouds or between a cloud and the
  ground. The air surrounding the electron stream becomes so hot—up to
  50,000 degrees Fahrenheit—that it forms a resonating tube of partial
  vacuum surrounding the lightning’s path. Alternative choices for the bold words in above text are as follows:

  a)very, so, too, enough

  b) surrounding, surrounds, that surround, and surround

The original text had blanks in place of the bold words, but this text has the solutions. Could anyone describe in short detail why these words were selected?


texts:
I wonder whether I should write "contained in text" or "contained in texts". Example:

  Using natural language processing is necessary to identify information that is contained in texts.

The Google Ngram Viewer seems to show that both "contained in text" vs. "contained in texts"  are commonly employed:

Does that mean that both "contained in text" vs. "contained in texts" are grammatically correct?


texts: "hearing him speak" or "hearing him speaking"

texts:
The sentence:

  Probably, after hearing him speak in English, they allowed him to enter in the pub.

So, can I use speaking in place of speak?


texts:
I came across this sentence:

  We stepped into a windowless, off-white waiting room carpeted in shag the color of a puppy's accident.

Now, I've never been in an accident involving a puppy. So, can anyone tell me what exactly is the color of "a puppy's accident"?


texts: In the article, he writes / wrote that the problems in the refugee camps are getting worse

texts:
This is a question from my English exercise book:

  Choose the best answer A, B, C or D to complete the following sentences.

  In the article, he ____ that the problems in the refugee camps are getting worse.

  A. wrote B. had written C. writes D. has written

I checked the source and found it was from Cambridge Dictionary (link). Would it be correct if I use the past simple tense 'wrote' in this case to indicate the action already finished / completed in the past? I don't understand why the present tense 'writes' is used in this case. Could you explain the purpose of this?


texts: Why Rebecca says "you're right" to Enid when the blonde guy says "tonight" to others?

texts:
In Ghost World, there's a scene where a Blonde Guy passes over Rebecca & Enid and says these words to other guys:

  You guys up for some reggae tonight?

And then, Rebecca says these words to Enid:

  OK, you're right.

Why did Rebecca say these words?


texts: Why does "unexcelled" mean very excellent when it should mean not excellent?

texts:
I was reading a real estate ad and it said, "Unexcelled" and it means amazing, top of the line, nothing can be better, obviously?

But here's the thing, I've always learned that un- meant the opposite or the negative. So why is "unexcelled" going against that common rule? Where does that "unexcelled" come to the point that it means the best rather than "not excellent."


texts: Could I say sentences like : "I fear skydiving" or "I fear being enclosed in small spaces" or are such sentences wrong? Would I have to use "scared of skydiving/being enclosed etc" or do I need to add the preposition "of" to fear? "Fear of skydiving"? (so use fear as a noun and not a verb)


texts: One adjective paired with multiple nouns

texts:
Perhaps trees feel things in a way totally different from us, but we
  have no way of finding out about it, because we have no way of
  discovering the correlations between experience and observable
  manifestations or physical conditions in their case. We could discover
  such correlations only if we could observe both the experiences and
  the external manifestations together

[What does it all mean?, Thomas Nagel, p.26]

Does the word "observable" modify both "manifestations" and "physical conditions" or it just modifies "manifestations"?


texts:
What should be used in the following sentence
Either much or a lot of and why?

He has got many friends because he had got ________ money.


texts:
This testimonial I accordingly received in about a month, forwarded a copy of it to Mrs. Fairfax, and got that lady’s reply, stating that she was satisfied, and fixing that day fortnight as the period for my assuming the post of governess in her house.
  (Jane Eyre)

Is the highlighted noun phrase the case of a complement for the noun – an adjective function?


texts: Are outside and beyond interchageable here?

texts:
A black car pulled up outside/beyond the barricades and Detective Blake stepped out.
Are 'outside' and 'beyond' interchangeable here?


texts: Removing "a big" before using the word "fan"

texts:
I have heard someone says, e.g:

I am a big Elvis fan.

I am a big Obama fan.

But how it would be if someone tends to remove the determiner 'a' and the following adjective 'big'? I mean does it sound idiomatic in English to be said:

I am an Elvis fan.

I am an Obama fan.


texts: What is the part of speech and meaning of ‘likely’ in the following passage?

texts:
It is important to know how to identify what a reference word refers to. Some questions in the exam are likely to test this ability.

If the meaning of ‘likely’ in this passage is ‘possible’, then what the difference between them?

Thanks!


texts:
I am confused with the grammar here. Which is grammatically correct?

  At which time will you call me?

  At what time will you call me?

And why?


texts: "How is this called" vs "What is this called"?

texts:
Which of the following is more suitable as a title for a picture with an arrow toward a part of the body's anatomy?

  How is this called?
  What is this called?

I need this for a picture of a part of the body, that appears without information about this part. So, I need to ask what it is called in anatomical terminology.


texts: "I have a certification" vs "I'm certified"

texts:
Let's say I just passed a certification exam in a certain technology ABC.

Which of the following is/are correct? If more than one is, how do they differ?

I'm certified on ABC
I'm ABC certified
I have a certification on ABC


texts:
I have a definition of "desperate":

  To act desperate means to appear to do something out of extreme urgency or as a last resort, when you feel as if you have no choice,

What does " out of extreme urgency" mean in this sentence? Does it mean "keep you from extreme urgency"?


texts: Care from? How is it different from care for and care about?

texts:
Buffy:  I don't care from private! I care from dead guys attacking us. I
  care from you Lost Weekending in your apartment.

  (The Dark Age episode)

It occurs around 27:10. Here is a copy of the script: The Dark Age.

Is "care from" grammatical? Does it imply some strong emotion?


texts:
1.if he were my brother, I would have helped him.

  2.if he had been my brother, I would have helped him.

Are both sentences correct? If so, then how?

I think it's a third conditional. unreal past condition-unreal past result. but for that we should use had been not "were". I saw first one in my textbook.


texts:
Can I say, I need to submit these worksheets before the day is out, instead of before the end of the day? I've seen out used to mean finished.

One more thing: Can out also mean a period of time from now? As in I will be vacationing two months out or my appointment is five days out.

Is out in these two instances idiomatic and informal?


texts:
Currently I am studying English in a school, and today I had an exam, and one question was like:

  "What did your brother use to do when he was 5 years old?"

My answer was:

  "He used to fight me a lot, when he was 5 year old"

then she told me "that fight me" was wrong that I needed a preposition, so I used "fight against me" in the sentence, she said that the sentence was correct now, but I have doubts, and I think both are fine written.


texts: On one website I saw a sentence "My friend calls me every day. I'd like it if she stopped." Is it correct to say "I'd like her to stop it" instead of "I'd like it if she stopped"? Which is more natural and correct?


texts: what dose the sentence means in given text?

texts:
sentence: "While you won’t be repurposing it to be the next biggest blockbuster, you can still repurpose it for great revenue"

"What can you learn from this? That repurposing content is possible and is a great idea! It helps you get the most out of your content without making you spend days and weeks on new content. While you won’t be repurposing it to be the next biggest blockbuster, you can still repurpose it for great revenue. Ways to repurpose your content could be to use chapters from e-books as blogs, turning blogs into infographics, and making videos of your existing content. Make sure to take a page from Disney, however, and make your repurposed content unique!"

i think It means that: even if you cannot produce a great one, you can produce a good and acceptable one.


texts: What is the right usage of the verb "congratulate"?

texts:
I was wondering what is the right way of formulating a sentence in which I want to express my respect/consideration to another person. In particular using the verb congratulate.

Which one of the following is right?

  I would like to congratulate you for this thing
  I would like to congratulate with you for this thing

And what is the difference in the 'moods' if I use I should like to or I want to instead of I would like?


texts:
I was reading Scam City: The unlicensed 'forex trader' who lost £3.8 million. Excerpt:

It didn't sound like natural territory for a bio-med student - but on his Instagram profile he explained his philosophy with the words: "No rich parents. No excuses. Straight hustle."

What does "straight hustle" mean?
"Straight" could mean "honest", and "hustle" could mean "scam" (in American English). This does not make sense. An "honest scam"?!


texts:
A dictionary defines 'noun phrase' as:

"A phrase formed by a noun and all its modifiers and determiners."

But some noun phrase has no modifiers, and some noun phrase has a modifier, not modifiers. Then, does it mean a plural have a special function?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noun%20phrase
In the same way, 'winged' is defined 'having wings' although 'a winged man has one wing' is true.


texts: What do you think this number refers/refer to?

texts:
I am confused on the usage of 'refer to' and 'refers to'. 'Refers to' sounds natural, but 'number' is singular so are we supposed to use 'refer to' as it is singular?

What do you think this number refers to /refer to?


texts: fertilizer grades most in demand: forming the phrase

texts:
Suppose I want to say that three grades of fertilizer produced by a plant were most in demand with the customers during a certain period, implying that other grades were bought in lesser volumes. What would be the most natural way to put it? I've formulated it thus:

  During the period under report, the following compound fertilizer grades were most in demand with the customers:
  - Grade 1
  - Grade 2
  - Grade 3

What are other possible ways?


texts: The Smith's paper vs the Parkinson's foundation

texts:
Following grammar rules I know (quoting):

  The ’s is placed immediately after the last letter of the author (or
  name, country, etc.). Note: do not use the before the name of the
  author.

..

  Do not use the + name of person + ’s.

So according to that, the following example is wrong:

  The Simpson’s paper is an excellent introduction to the
  topic

But why the following works:

  The Parkinson's Foundation makes life better for people with
  Parkinson's disease
  The coalition has developed the Parkinson's Disease Composite Scale

I feel the definite article is somehow bound to the "foundation" and "composite scale" words in the examples. But on the other hand, it is before the name (Parkinson) which uses the genitive.

Or in this case, Parkinson's is just understood as the name of the disease and thus it is used as an adjedctive? As in The Clinton foundation (why not Clinton's, then).


texts: Can not understand the meaning of the sentence

texts:
Plenty of students continue to be drawn to the intellectual thrill of linguistics field work.
1.is the sentence passive form?
2.does this indicate the future?


texts: Sentence with the same meaning as 'This box contains more than N balls,' when N is replaced by a phrase?

texts:
Sorry if this question is too easy.

When N is a number, like 6, we can simply say

  This box contains more than 6 balls.

Now, what if we replace '6' with a phrase like 'the number of rooms in my home'?

Of course the sentence

  The number of balls in this box is greater than the number of rooms in my home.

is correct. But I'm looking for sentences beginning with 'This box contains'.


texts: Do you think the following sentence illustrates future?

texts:
I want to talk about my future goal.Do you think the following sentence illustrates that?

  I have an intention to continue my researches and works exclusively in car industry.

Thanks


texts:
I know you don't often see a red cat on a bicycle.
He understood that you shouldn't talk loudly in the library.
She learned that you mustn't throw charged batteries into fire.

Does the "you" + negative do,must,should,etc. mean that it's a general statement that concerns everyone?

I mean that this - "The teacher told us that you shouldn't drink coffee in the evening" means that 'in general no one should drink coffee in the evening'.

Here "you" simply means 'everyone'?


texts:
Such reactions may appear as edema or inflammation at the injection site or cause a variety of manifestations elsewhere, such as redness of the skin, itching, conjunctivitis, rhinitis, swelling of the face (angioedema), the upper or (and) lower lip, cheeks, vocal cords, pharynx accompanied by difficulty of breathing or swallowing, urticaria, severe dyspnea, which may progress to anaphylactic shock.

In the Russian original, the word "which" is in the plural (indicated by a plural ending), which makes it clear that it is "manifestations" that may progress to the shock.

However, in English it might seem like it points at "dyspnea" only, isn't it?

Is there a way in English to get around this ambiguity? "... , and these manifestations may progress to anaphylactic shock"? That's a bit unwieldy. To move "which may progress" directly to "elsewhere"?


texts: Difference between speak the truth and speak to the truth

texts:
“The story in Genesis about Adam and Eve eating forbidden fruit is
  worth years of meditation. Somehow, eating the wrong things brings a
  curse on life. The story has far-reaching and sublime theological
  implications, but may also speak to the simple truth that we can be
  nourished or poisoned with whatever we take into ourselves- the books
  we read, the people we associate with, the religion we follow, or the
  food we eat.”

  From "The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life" by Thomas Moore

Speak to something(Oxford Learner's Dictionaries):

to discuss or comment on a topic, problem or situation
to be evidence that something exists or is true

What is the difference between "speak the truth" and "speak to the truth"? Why is "speak to the simple truth" used here instead of "speak the simple truth "?

I have asked the same question here ( https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/speak-to-the-truth.3583343/#post-18231703), but didn't get a valid answer. I really hope you can help me.


texts:
The following is a sentence from the wikipedia page on Drexel Burnham Lambert's early history.

  However, the company's ability to expand was limited by the structure of the investment banking industry of that time.

Why not at that time or during that time?

To be

  of a time

is to be in step with the happenings, styles, morals, and zeitgeist at a particular point in time.

  He was not of his time.
  She was ahead of her time.

both mean the person was out of place during their life.

  the investment banking industry of that time.

  the investment banking industry at that time.
  the investment banking industry during that time.

is there a difference in meaning?


texts:
You were just having some dream.

and

  You were just having a dream.

Are both correct? What is the difference, if any?


texts: How to express "you are unavailable" for few days

texts:
When you are going on a holiday and want to update your students -
Is this a correct English to message -

Just a Note : I won't be available for next 2 days

Is there any better/eloquent way to write the same.
The message includes the Just a Note part.


texts: The meaning of 'I'm blowing it' by Superman

texts:
I'm translating 'Superman' from English to Hungarian, and I don't get the meaning of the following sentence:

  "I'm blowing it"

The context is that he realizes that the 'S' sign is a symbol in a different world, and he makes it out that it must be his legacy.

Can someone explain it, please?
Thanks!


texts: used to vote Republican - how do you understand that?

texts:
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/american-becomes-rebel-cause-east-ukraine-124221430.html

  Hunter said used to vote Republican but had become as disillusioned with that party as he was with the Democratic Party of President Barack Obama.

First up, I assume he was omitted in Hunter said (he) used to. Is that correct?
And secondly, how do you understand the phrase vote Republican? Does it mean that he used to support the Republican Party and vote for them, so in a sense he was a Republican? Something along those lines?


texts:
How long time is needed for "stay" to turn into "live"?

  I stayed there for five days

  I stayed there for three weeks.

  I stayed there for one month.

  I stayed there for two months.

  I stayed there for half a year.

  (Or "I lived there for half a year."?)

  I lived there for one year.

  I lived there for two years.


texts: Choice of (should / could / would / might) in the "so that" clause

texts:
He used a false name so that no one should discover his secret. source

I refused an invitation so that I might spend Sunday with you. source

She burned the letters so that her husband would never read them. source

I close my eyes so that I could stop missing you. (from internet)

The dictionaries just provide definitions for each modal-verb in these examples.

Any difference in meaning or usage?

I think they are just ordinary meanings here. Why do the dictionaries list them separately as standalone entries? Just because they are used in the "so that" clause?


texts:
1)Police officers found the footage of the building ten hours ago.

  2)Did you see the view of our city a hundred years ago?

Police officers found the footage which showed what happened in the building ten hours ago. In this case what does”ten hours ago ” modifie in this sentence footage or the building ? I thought it modifies “the footage”. But I couldn’t be sure. Or does it mean officiers found it ten hours ago? But what try to say it is the first meaning .
And I asked the same question in the second question  Does “ a hundred years ago” modifie “view” or “city”?


texts: Word for a really black African-American

texts: How do you call an exceptionally black Afrian-American as opposed to those with lighter skin? Is there such a word in American English or slang?


texts: What is the difference between "Wasn't it supposed to have started 30 minutes ago?" and "Wasn't it supposed to start 30 minutes ago?" in this case?

texts:
If I want to ask my teacher if the lesson should have started earlier, Could I use the sentences below?

  1 Wasn´t it supposed to have started 30 minutes ago?

  2 Wasn´t it supposed to start 30 minutes ago?

If both are wrong, then what is the difference between 1 and 2?


texts:
In comparing different methods by which a teacher's performance can
  be evaluated and educational outcomes improved, researchers found
  that a critique of teacher performance leads to enhanced educational
  outcomes if the critique is accompanied by the information that
  teacher performance is merely one of several factors that determines
  the educational outcomes.

I am having hard time understanding the structure of bold part, especially because of the part "outcomes improved". Between "outcomes" and "improved", is there an "can be" hided so it can be paralleled with "performance can be evaluated"?


texts: Even some useless stuff would be of use some day

texts:
Is there any common idiom or expression in English which can convey such a message that: anything that is of no use, will be used someday for sure. It is a translated proverb which believes do not underestimate some out-of-use things. It indicates the message that you have to value your belongings and not through everything away.

The only idiom I know in English is:

  Keep it seven years and you'll find a use for it;

But for me, there is something missing in this idiom which is hard to explain. So I think it wouldnt work in this sense. (If you think it works please let me know.)

Note: it's not at all about hoarders who don't have the heart to throw away even useless stuff.


texts: What is the meaning of this sentence? "I've got far more important matters at stake!"

texts:
Those days are through for me! I've got far more important matters at stake! - Warcraft: War of the Ancients #1

Even read this many times. I still confused with the second sentence. I know all the meaning of separate words but still confused when combined together.

Thank you.


texts:
"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.
   About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper
  and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more
  haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together,
  but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way - all over
  the place.
  (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

Is there ‘have had haircuts’ omitted between boys and in his class?
Is ‘put together’ a participial phrase modifying boys?


texts:
Which one is correct?

I am enthusiastic about gaining knowledge of medicine particularly in X and Y techniques.

I am enthusiastic about gaining knowledge of medicine particularly about X and Y techniques.

Many thanks.


texts: describing a sequence of events, does my sentence sounds natural?

texts:
As the most affluent ASEAN country, Singapore had undergone
  industrialization from the 1960s to 1980s and has since undergone
  de-industrialization.

Does my sentence sound natural?


texts:
[20% down the page] The main argument that retribution is immoral is that it is just a sanitised form of vengeance. Scenes of howling mobs attacking prison vans containing those accused of murder on their way to and from court, or chanting aggressively outside prisons when an offender is being executed, suggest that vengeance remains a major ingredient in the public popularity of capital punishment.
But just retribution, designed to re-establish justice, can easily be distinguished from vengeance and vindictiveness.

Since 'retribution is immoral' and vengeance connotes negativity, is it unreasoning to use 'sanitise'? What does it mean in this negative vengeful context?


texts: Word for what is sold by companies to investors

texts:
What is the word (or phrase) used to refer to what is sold by companies to investors? When an investor comes to own more than 50% of them, he becomes the owner of the company:

In French it is: "Les parts d'une entreprise"

Could it be something like: "The parts of a company"?


texts: Why "Take something with [reflexive pronoun]" is incorrect?

texts:
People don't use bring/take/etc (If you know other similar verbs, please tell me) with reflexive pronouns. I heard that from one of my English teachers too. Why?

  As I know we need to use objective pronouns after those phrasal verbs/verbs.

Take it with yourself [Incorrect]
Take it with you [Correct]

[Edited]

You need to take it out with yourself [Incorrect].
You need to be on good terms with yourself [Correct].


texts: Enhance vs. deteriorate: more of a bad thing

texts:
Google defines "enhance" as

  intensify, increase, or further improve the quality, value, or extent of

Consider the sentence

  (something) is enhanced

I fear this sentence will be interpreted as "there is more (something), and this is a good thing".

On the other hand, "deteriorate" is defined as

  become progressively worse.
  synonyms:   worsen, get worse, decline, be in decline, degenerate, decay;

Some of these synonyms, notably "decline", suggest a reduction.
So the alternative sentence

  (something) is deteriorated

could be interpreted as "there is less (something), and this is a bad thing".

Is there a similar elegant way to express "there is more (something), and this is a bad thing"?


texts:
I'm divorced,  she remarried a wealthy man around a year after our divorce. She demands more maintenance than I can afford, despite having lots of money.
Is there a term or saying for her behaviour? Is "Insatiable" the correct term? Does "give her an inch and she'll take a mile" apply?


texts:
What would be the correct way to reply to a statement such as:  "I belong to this group"

Would it be "So do I" or "So am I"?


texts: Present Perfect Contracted Negative Forms such as "He hasn't" vs "He's not" + (past participle, been+present participle)

texts:
In the following set of pairs, the first part of the pair is the standard negative form of contraction.

Are they ever heard of in conversations? If yes, are they as acceptable as the standard contracted forms?

  He hasn't come yet.  He's not come yet
  He hasn't been working. He's not been working
  They haven't come yet. They've not come yet
  They haven't been working. They've not been working

Update:
You can read more about less common contractions in the following posts:

Is it appropriate to use short form of “have” ('ve) when it means possession?
Can a word be contracted twice (e.g. “I'ven't”)?


texts:
Are the following sentences in Causative form and grammatically correct?

I want you to have my car cleaned.
I'd like to have you clean my car.


texts:
Is there a difference? How to write correctly?

  "They searched my car"

and

  'They searched for my car'


texts:
Why is that there are different suffixes of adj.?, but it seems to have the same meaning

  Ex. Ineffective leadership and Ineffectual leadership

Is there any difference?


texts: "I joined a dance class" vs "I signed up for a dance class"

texts:
Which one of these sentences is correct when I want to mean I registered for a class? Or can either of them be used interchangeably?

I joined a dance class.

I signed up for a dance class.


texts: Is the result of my translation grammatically correct?

texts:
I was trying to translate a sentence from German to English and would like to know if the result is grammatically correct.

  I agree explicitly that you start before the end of the cancellation period with the execution of the contract. I am aware that with the start of execution of the contract I’m losing my right of cancellation.


texts: Understand "work" in "they don't work either"

texts:
I saw this tweet and tried to understand it:

  My daughter asked me if Socialism doesn't work, why do people support it? I said because they don't work either.

Per my understanding, in the first sentence, "Socialism doesn't work", probably means "Socialism isn't good for people". But I haven't find a way to interpret the word "work" in the second sentence, or what "they don't work" stands for.


texts:
When the program began, the disease still threatened 60% of the world's population and killed every fourth victim.

I failed to get what the bold part could mean.


texts: Is "How far did Dan come in his Early access play of Subnautica?" grammatically correct?

texts:
Someone asked this question on a stream I was watching and was told it's not grammatically correct.

  How far did Dan come in his early access play of Subnautica?

If it's incorrect, what would be the right way to ask that?

"early access" is like a Beta version
"Subnautica" is a video game
"Dan" is the streamer


texts: Should I say "I don't must to do that" or "I must not to do that"?

texts:
Which of the following forms of the sentence is the correct one?

CONTEXT: someone told me to sign on a document and I do not want to do that because it's only possible but it's not must.

  1) "I don't must to do that"

  2) "I must not to do that"


texts: Help somebody check how well they have memorized a piece of text

texts:
Is there a verb for somebody to use when they want to ask someone to help them check how well they have memorized a piece of text such as a poem or a speech? Also, is there a descriptive term or an idiomatic phrase for this process?

Scenario:
You are approaching Dylan asking if he could listen to you as you recite a poem and correct or prompt you when you get stuck. If they agree you give them the poem so they can follow your recitation.


texts:
I have looked up in the Cambridge's dictionary and have found this definition

  be willing (to do sth) : to be happy to do something if it is needed

But is willing to in this context don't mean like that, does it?

  Three months. That’s as long as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the
  National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National
  Institutes of Health, is willing to wait to get a vaccine candidate
  against the latest coronavirus that he can start testing in people.

Source : https://time.com/5775784/coronavirus-vaccine-research/


texts: Is the use of inversion right in this sentence

texts:
I read this sentence from the Washington Post.

“Being down more than 100 officers is very problematic,” a former senior Secret Service supervisor told The Post. “That does not bode well for White House security.”

I think it should be like :

More than 100 officers being down is very problematic.

Is it because the sentence is started with "being"? Is it legitimate to use inversion here.


texts:
Recently I heard native speakers pronouncing 'gender' with a soft 'g', almost sounding like 'jan' from 'January'. I've instantly looked it up at dict.cc and YouTube: seems like this is the correct pronunciation.

However, I'm wondering why the 'g' isn't a hard 'g'. I mean 'get' or 'git' (the software), 'goal' and many more have a hard 'g', thus not sounding like a 'j' at all.

Is there any rule of thumb for the pronunciation of a 'g'? How can I ascertain whether a word should be pronounced with a soft or hard 'g'?


texts:
Which can I say?

  The price of A is higher compared to B.

or

  The price of A is higher compared to the price of B.


texts:
I`d be most appreciative if someone could explain me about this sentence.

  I am under no obligation to accept any referral or job to which I have been introduced by the Agency

I found the above sentence in an agreement letter and I am little bit confused in meaning. Does this sentence mean it is also okay if I don't accept the job which is introduced by the Agency??


texts:
Is there any difference between:

On this Thursday my sister will come to visit us...
This Thursday my sister will come to visit us...

I feel like #2 is "more" correct, but I'm not sure.


texts:
How do you distinguish a free relative from an indirect question? Both begin with wh-words. How are they different in meaning?
Are the following sentences examples of free relatives or indirect questions?

Where he lives has been frequently asked.

What he said that day has been frequently asked.


texts: Can I use "which" instead of "that" in these sentences?

texts:
1. The darts contained a drug that put the wolves to sleep.

Can I also use "which" to take place of "that" in this sentence?
Plus, what about using "which" to take place of "that" in these sentences:

2. Few kids in the survey met the guidelines for physical activity that raises the heart rate and makes you breathe harder.
3. Pi came to an island that is sweet by day but dangerous by night.
4. Other major effects have included programs to destroy rabbit holes or use viruses that sicken and kill rabbits.
5. The answer is probably as simple as the fact that people change.

Honestly, I am quite doubtful about the last sentence, for the "that" in it seems unchangeable.
Anybody help?


texts:
I have seen the use of (s)  inside the two brackets. For instance

  Others in a way.

  Also Other(s) in another way.

What does the word including (s) in brackets define? Does other(s) = other or others ?


texts:
Read the following conversation:

  A : My mind was telling me to say, "Don't go".

  B : What are you thinking?

  A : [continues thinking]....   Not even for him.

There were just two people, A and B. So, Thinking about "even" for emphasis is not in the vicinity. My research
told me that "even" could also mean "Fair". So, we could interpret as "A" wanting to tell him to stay but also feels it as unfair for him.

OR there's something else going on?

Is that an idiom?


texts: "Found" or "have found"? Present perfect vs. simple past

texts:
This is a quote from a website:

  Are you looking for responsible and competent Russian translators you can rely on?
  Great news: you found them!

Which tense is more appropriate here, you have found them or you found them?


texts: Was "something" written "some thing" around 1900 in United States?

texts:
I want to know whether words like: "something", "anything", "somewhat", etc., were written: "some thing", "any thing", "some what", around 1900 in United States.

I read a few letters of some historical importance and their author systematically splits the above mentioned words in two. He also writes "tomorrow" as "to-morrow", which was not a mistake, but about "something", "anything" and other similar words I do not know if he really intended writing them in two words or simply his ugly handwriting just gives the impression these words are written in two pieces.


texts: Can be "due to" used with regards to a 'positive' consequence attributable to a person?

texts:
I am not sure of whether this use of "due to" is correct or not:

"This progress is due to Thomas."

Where it says "progress" you can put any sort of positive result, tool or contribution, such as "solution", "method", etc. Instead of "Thomas", consider any other person.
So, my question is: Does it make sense to use "due to" when referring to something good or positive that can be attributed to someone? If not, what are some ways to express this in a more natural English?
This doubt arises because I frequently see "due to" used as associated to negative consequences caused by something which is not a person. For instance: "The delay is due to an engine malfunction".


texts: Difference between "special equipment" and "specialized equipment"

texts:
My translation of a text by a pipe-producing plant:

  Bevel angle inspection

  Inspection of this type is carried out as specified in the regulatory documentation using a bevel protractor or a gauge.

  Pipe length inspection

  Inspection of this type is carried out using rulers, tape measure tools or automatically using special (or specialized?) equipment fitted with incremental sensors.

The general meaning in the original text is "some equipment that was designed for measuring pipes". The phrase was chosen in order not to overload the production catalogue by naming the specific equipment.

Would both "special" and "specialized" have the same meaning here?

I googled and found many examples for "using special equipment" and "using specialized equipment", as well as for "use of special equipment" and "use of specialized equipment". There does not seem to be much difference. Maybe "specialized" might indicate a more restricted specialization relative to "special", or that the equipment was modified for some particular purpose.


texts: Word/Phrase for searching for some support for something

texts:
How can we state that we are searching for some supporting evidence for something? For example, in the following sentence:

  This may cause some errors in the evaluations. However, we do not aim at providing an independent evaluation method and just seek some support for our previous results.

I sense that "seek some support" is good, but it doesn't seem that it's widely used in that meaning according to Google.


texts: "For such requests/questions" or "In such requests/questions"?

texts:
In/for such requests, you should make the details clear.

It gave me a pause to choose between the two prepositions. Which one should be used? Does it have to do with the noun in the phrase? What about the following sentences?

  In/for event-related questions, you should mention the details.

  In/for questions about future events, you should write to me.

I find the last sentence stilted but can't put my finger on what's wrong with it. (Also, should it be "event-related" or "events-related"?)


texts:
In the context of the following sentence, what is a better alternative to the phrase/idiom 'let alone'?

The weapon was not seized, let alone tendered in court during the trial.

I tried searching online for an alternative to 'let alone', however, my search results were 'leave alone, get off, etc' which does not suit the legal context of the sentence.


texts:
I asked several questions about the definite article "the". Especially using "the" before user and mouse when describing an application was interesting to me.

I concluded it to myself that when I use "the", one can ask "which or who" and I should have an answer "the X which ...." based on the previous sentences, common knowledge, context.... You can consider it as the reader replies which

Let's give an example:

  In the software, the user presses the left-button of the mouse and moves the mouse pointer on the main dialog box to draw a rectangle, then he fills the rectangle by choosing a color from the colors provided by the software on the right side ...."

Now:

Which software? The software we discussed in this article

Which User? any software has a user, and there is a user in front of computer, that user

Which mouse? any computer has one mouse, that mouse

Which button the left button of mouse (mmmm (or again the mouse?))

I think "mouse" doesn't need "the" here because it is general, if one asks which mouse? I can say any mouse

Which dialog box? the main dialog box, the one is shown first as you run an application

Which rectangle? The rectangle I already said about it, the one the user drew

Which colors? the colors provided by the software (it is in the sentence)

Which side? The right side, we have four sides I mean the right side

Let's test it again!

  In the morning when I wake up and see the sun in the sky, I thank  the  God for being alive to live another day.

Which morning ?, It's part of a day, the early part of day

Which sun ?, the sun, how many suns we have? I mean the sun

Which sky ?, the seventh sky! It's obvious, we have one sky

Which God, I didn't use "the" I strike it throw, however we have one God, but English don't say the God, then be careful with your rule

Could this rule work in practice?


texts:
what: the thing or things that; whatever

  Ex: I know what I saw

Most people say "I know what I saw" and not many say "I know the things I saw"

is "I know the things I saw" idiomatic or common?


texts: 'Someone who just came back from a trip' and 'someone who greets or welcomes him' at the airport

texts:
I have a picture showing someone having some luggage shaking hands with someone else who is greeting him and giving him a welcome back. I want to describe the picture and I wonder what I can call each of them: a person who just came back from a trip and the other who's greeting him at the airport and probably is going to give him a ride back home.

I'm thinking of passenger but that person is not on a trip anymore and I think I can't call him so. Also arrival but I feel it's too general.

For the other person greeting him, the first word was a pick up that occured to me but I'm not sure it's even right but even if it is it doesn't imply greeting or welcoming and it strongly suggest the person is there to give him the lift.

Any suggestions?

Thanks


texts:
We shall start tomorrow, if the weather permits.
  We shall start tomorrow, weather permitting.

Both sentences are equal. Rather, I think We shall start tomorrow, the weather permitting.

In the second sentence, why has 'the' been omitted?


texts:
I would like some help learning about "adjective phrases".

  Jane is in the meeting room.

Does "in the meeting room" modify "is" or "Jane"?

I think “in the meeting room” is an adjective phrase. Is that right?

  Jane, along with other students, is in the meeting room.

Does “along with other students” modify Jane? Is it an adjective phrase?


texts:
Below is a certain dictionary explanations.

agree on : Two or more people have the same view about an issue. This is more a mutual. It suggests an equality in status.

Q: In the above sentence, I wonder whether the article 'a' is possible before adjective alone like in the above sentence,


texts: "... He stomped downstairs, clumps of mud falling off his shoes. My hands turtled into fists." p.400 Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I have tried looking for the verb 'to turtle' online but I cannot find anything that would explain its meaning in this context.


texts:
Original: It was a dark autumn night. The old banker was walking up and down his study and remembering how, fifteen years before, he ...

Could you possibly show me which one is correct grammatically? and is there any difference  between them semantically?

A. The old banker was walking up and down in his study

B. The old banker was walking up and down at his study

C. The old banker was walking up and down his study


texts:
I would like to know how to make a sentence with 'determine'.

for example, I want to determine a recommendation blog by selecting a blog which has a high quality score from among a plurality of blogs.

So, should I say 'determine a blog which has a high score as a recommendation blog'?
or should I say 'determine(decide) a blog which has a high score to be a recommendation blog.?

I mean, it's like setting something as A. but I don't know if it's the right way to say 'determining/deciding something as" or 'to be'.

Thanks in advance


texts:
Please help me to use the words Bloat, Swell and Bulge properly.

Oxford defines "bloat" through the compression of gas or liquid but some other dictionaries are not specific about the cause.

For example consider the example below and please clarify the difference(s) that you see among their meanings.

  The balloon bloated/swelled/bulged.

What is the difference between swell and bloat in the sentence below?

  In children, the abdomen can become swollen and bloated and medical
  attention should be sought urgently.

Please also consider the following situations and suggest the most common or proper word for them.

Pregnancy : A ______ tummy. bulgy/bloated
Natural prominent eyes : ______ eyes. bulgy/bloated
Surprised : His eyes _______ . bulged out/bloated out


texts: "For another same amount of time" in this context

texts:
The bus arrives at our local bus stop at 8am. The other day my brother and I were going to catch the bus and we went to the bus stop at 7:50am so we had to wait for 10 minutes. My 10-year-old brother was too eager to get on the bus. When it was 7:55 am my brother eagerly asked me:

  How much more do I have to wait?

I answered:

  (You have to wait) for another five minutes.

Could I have answered it a bit differently by saying:

  You have to wait for the same amount of time that you have already waited.

Or should I use for another same amount of time that you have...?

I'm not a native speaker, Please help me.

Thanks in advance.


texts:
This is a two-part question:

1) I have consulted multiple sources and found that 'it isn't' and 'it's not' have little to no semantic difference. If they are pretty much equivalent then for what reason is -

  It's not like we didn't try our best

preferred to:

  It isn't like we didn't try our best

If they are both correct grammatically why is the first construction much more common and even sound more natural. Is it a matter of placement of emphasis?

2) It is stated in a grammar article that tag question should be in the opposite form to the main question. However, in a case of two negatives yielding a positive like the example above, should the tag question be negation or positive?

  It's not like we didn't know what to do, is it?

or

  It's not like we didn't know what to do, isn't it?

Which one obeys the rule, 1 or 2?

Many thanks in advance.


texts:
Do the following sentences in each pair mean the same?

  These foods supply the body with necessary vitamins and minerals.
  These foods supply necessary vitamins and minerals to the body.

  They are supplying Lebanon with arms.
  They are supplying arms to Lebanon.


texts: " I guess you could say that" as a reply =?

texts:
What people exactly mean when they say " I guess you can/could say that ... " or reply with " I guess you could say that. " ?

I mean if it doesn't need any further context to be provided here.


texts: Difference between these two sentences/ type of usage

texts:
I look forward to the results, trying a hand at it myself.

He issued an attack on her at the company, describing her as an amateurish programmer.

Are these examples both accurate?

I noticed you can say:  And I am trying a hand at it myself but describing doesn't go with he as well. Rather it would be better suited to 'described'. And he described her as and amaterish programmer.

I thought there might have been an error/contrast between the two which look similar at a glance?


texts:
Here's part of a conversation:

  Mrs. Parker: Can't we get a loan from the bank?
  Mr. Parker: Actually, I asked them the other day.
  Mrs. Parker: What did they answer?
  Mr. Parker: They said I didn't have enough credit with the bank.

I looked credit up in Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary and found the following:

  a record of how well you have paid your bills in the past

Is this the right meaning in this context?


texts:
Well, we can use cleft clauses as subject for focus in a sentence. Like that with 'How', 'What', 'Where'. I am having difficulty in identifying the complete cleft clause in this sentence :

Why I think my father is successful is because of his personality, he is very fair about everything,; for example if he sees two beautiful women walking down the street and you ask him which is the nicest of them, he couldn't tell even if one was plain ugly he couldn't.

Does the cleft clause ends at successful or Is the next is also included in the cleft clause?
Or in other words what kind of phrase or clause is is because of his personality ?


texts: Can "message system" and "messaging system" be used interchangeably?

texts:
According to google results, there seems to be a moderate bias for messaging system. However, there is a bias for message protocol over messaging protocol.

I found no way to distinguish message system from messaging system and message protocol from messaging protocol. Are there differences in meaning or usage?


texts: What is the difference between 'to be' and ' to become'?

texts:
I want to know the difference between 'to be' and 'to become'.

There are two sentences below

I want to be a president.
I want to become a president.

I think the two sentences are same.
If not, what is the difference in meaning?
What do you think of this?


texts: Adjective order/plural form of "ninety", "story/stories", and "tall."

texts:
I was doing some multiple choice exercises. One of them was:-

A fire in the ..... building could be a problem for firefighters
1- Ninety-story-tall
2-ninety-tall-story
3-ninety-stories-tall
4-ninety stories

I wonder, why does 1 work but not 2? What does the sentence mean when we use 1?


texts:
A line feed means moving one line forward. It's definition references feed.

In summary,'feed' has three meanings

Give food to.
Supply with material or power.
Cause to pass gradually and steadily, typically through a confined space.

From which 'line feed' originate?


texts:
Yesterday I found out that “as of” is, especially in AmE, used often to mean “on a particular date”, not just “from a date onward”.

So I wonder:

The directive is effective as of now.

Could this be interpreted that the directive is effective just today? Intended meaning is “effective from today onwards”.

We will investigate more, but as of now, we are happy with the results.

That is the other meaning.


texts:
It's about permission.
1)May I use your phone, please?
2) could I use your phone; please?


texts: What is the difference between "glamorous" and "mesmerizing"?

texts:
I looked up both "glamorous" and "mesmerizing", but I am still not sure which one is the better adjective to explain some beautiful eyes which are attractive and capture attention:

... glamorous eyes ...
... mesmerizing eyes ...


texts: bring (something) to the fore. put the object to the back

texts:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/16/world/europe/france-national-front-yellow-vests.html

  Mr. Briois’s critics say his motivation is obvious: The hundreds of
  thousands of protesters are France’s newest and most powerful
  grass-roots force, threatening the presidency of Mr. Macron and
  bringing to the fore the plight of the country’s struggling middle class and working poor.

I see the idiom bring (something) to the fore.
Why does it can put the object to the back?


texts: What do you call the small protusion found in merchant stalls that protect people and goods from the rain?

texts: What do you call the small protrusion found in merchant stalls that protect people and goods from the rain? It's called a roof, but I am talking about the part of the "roof" that's protruding a little bit and might be useful for customers. Is there a word for it?


texts:
I really wonder, the following sentences relate to each other?
Why can we emphasize about in a sentence?

The restaurant closes in about 5 minutes.
The restaurant closes in 5 minutes.


texts: Using "visit" in reference to supernatural appearances?

texts:
According to Wikipedia, "The Visitation is the visit of Mary with Elizabeth as recorded in the Gospel of Luke , Luke 1:39–56."

After reading the above, can one correctly infer that the word "visitation" is used in the place of "visit" when ghost, aliens or angels, or similar supernatural apparences, are involved.

If so, would it be more proper "The Visitation is the visitation of Mary with Elizabeth as recorded in the Gospel of Luke , Luke 1:39–56."?

However, apart the above case, which of the following are correct or proper English?

1.a) The visitation of the ghost.

2.a) The gostly visitation.

1.b) The visit of the ghost.

2.b) The gostly visit.


texts:
Does "CO" stand for "Colorado Office"? Or just "Colorado"?

Rebecca Ballhaus tweeted:
Jenna Ellis has said she is a former Colorado prosecutor and State Dept attorney. In CO, she handled traffic cases. She isn’t listed in State Dept payroll records & was listed in one 2013 case as a lawyer for a firm providing legal-discovery help to State.


texts: Whether a certain sentence is correct or not

texts:
I was on facebook, and I came across a status that went, "When you suck at studies, and have tests starting the next day onward.", alongside it was a picture that went with the caption.

I was wondering whether the caption he used is grammatically correct:

  When you suck at studies, and have tests starting the next day onward.


texts: Splitting "either...or" struct over several sentences

texts:
I want to distinguish two options by using the "either...or" structure.
However, as I have to explain the first option, the "or" part would start in a new sentence. Is this good style? Personally, I wouldn't like to start a sentence with "or". Which other options do I have?

Example:

  One has two options: Either you do the first option. This requires several considerations. Or you do the second option.


texts: Definite article: the; a method of the extraction of minerals vs a method of mineral extraction

texts:
In my mother's tongue, there is no articles; a, an, and the.
So I am always confusing the usage of articles.

For example, the first sentence use 'the' in front of extraction, but the second does not; (the) mineral extraction

a method of THE extraction of minerals
a method of (blank) mineral extraction

These sentences are supposed to be written for the same meaning.


texts:
Why is I am reached incorrect while I am done is correct?

Ex: I reached office at 9am today is correct while I am reached at 9am is incorrect.

But I am done with this project is correct. Can someone please explain me the difference here?


texts: the grammar about `adv adv` as 'too quickly'

texts:
I read such a sentence from my error report

  　WARNING: App 'org.gnome.Shell.desktop' respawning too quickly

The first time to notice explicitly that the adv adv grammar structure.

However, it might be awkward to say  'respawn extremely extremely quickly'.
Naturally  to say very quickly or `too quickly'

Are there such limits in grammar that exclusively solely the special  adv as  "very and too" could be used before another adv ?

Where could consult the details of the adv adv grammar with?


texts:
I saw somebody say that 'because' used in subordinate clauses as in "I left because I was tired" is preposition.
I have considered 'because' as not a 'preposition' but a 'conjunction'.
What do you think of this? 'preposition' or 'conjunction' in this sentence like "I left  because I was tired."?


texts: How do we say something started to happen frequently

texts:
I see my friend doing exam. He never look for answers when he doing his exam (rarely cheat on exam) and until the 3rd exam he looks for the answers on his notebook during his exam then he started to do it frequently (not every time when he doing an exam)
What should I say?
Should I say "Jamie started to cheat on exam frequent?" Or "Jamie cheat on exam quite frequent" those sentence looks weird for me.
Any ideas?


texts: "But that if you do that" or "But if you do that" Which one is more common in written English?

texts:
Note: The text of this question changed after two of the answers were provided. If reviewing those answers, be sure to review their EDIT sections, as they initially start off by replying to different quoted text.

Consider a sentence from Jason Bassford in reply to What does it mean? “Feminism's fine, but there's a lot to be said for having your bills paid” (emphasis mine):

  The short interpretation of the sentence is that she's saying you can have feminist ideals and, as a woman, support yourself - but that if you do that you won't make as much money as you would if you married a rich man.

As far as I know, there is no difference in meaning between it and this one which removes that:

  The short interpretation of the sentence is that she's saying you can have feminist ideals and, as a woman, support yourself - but if you do that you won't make as much money as you would if you married a rich man.

Which one is more common in written English? And which is commonly used in spoken English?


texts:
From the passage I have to answer the following question:

  According to the passage, which of the following was an important source of revenue in medieval France?

  Cheese
  Wool
  Olive oil
  Veal
  Wine

The given answer is 5 (wine), but there is no clue for that answer. I guessed olive oil because it has relation with land. Is it right?

  Agricultural progress provided the stimulus necessary to set off
  economic expansion in medieval France. As long as those who worked the
  land were barely able to ensure their own subsistence and that of
  their landlords, all other activities had to be minimal, but when food
  surpluses increased, it became possible to release more people for
  governmental, commercial, religious and cultural pursuits.

  However, not all the funds from the agricultural surplus were actually available
  for commercial investment. Much of the surplus, in
  the form of food increases, probably went to raise the subsistence
  level; an additional amount, in the form of currency gained from the
  sale of food, went into the royal treasury to be used in waging war.
  Although Louis VII of France levied a less crushing tax burden on his
  subjects than did England’s Henry II, Louis VII did spend great sums
  on an unsuccessful crusade, and his vassals-both lay and
  ecclesiastic-took over spending where their sovereign stopped. Surplus
  funds were claimed both by the Church and by feudal landholders,
  whereupon cathedrals and castles mushroomed throughout France.

  The simultaneous progress of cathedral building and, for instance, vineyard
  expansion in Bordeaux illustrates the very real
  competition for available capital between the Church and commercial
  interests; the former produced inestimable moral and artistic riches,
  but the latter had a stronger immediate impact upon gross national
  product. Moreover, though all wars by definition are defensive, the
  frequent crossings of armies that lived off the land and impartially
  burned all the huts and barns on their path consumed considerable
  resources.

  Since demands on the agricultural surplus would have varied from year
  to year, we cannot precisely calculate their impact on the
  commercial growth of medieval France. But we must bear that impact in
  mind when estimating the assets that were likely to have been
  available for investment. No doubt castle and cathedral building was
  not totally barren of profit (for the builders, that is), and it
  produced intangible dividends of material and moral satisfaction for
  the community. Even wars handed back a fragment of what they took, at
  least to a few. Still, we cannot place on the same plane a primarily
  destructive activity and a constructive one, nor expect the same
  results from a new bell tower as from a new water mill. Above all,
  medieval France had little room for investment over and above the
  preservation of life. Granted that war cost much less than it does
  today, that the Church rendered all sorts of educational and
  recreational services that were unobtainable elsewhere, and that
  government was far less demanding than is the modern
  state-nevertheless, for medieval men and women, supporting commercial
  development required considerable economic sacrifice.


texts: I want to make witty comments, but I don't know if I used the tenses correctly or not

texts:
Should I use present perfect or simple past in the sentences below?

  Every man wants sex. If he doesn't, he just experienced it.
  Every man wants sex. If he doesn't, he has just experienced it.

  Nine out of ten men want sex. The one who doesn't just experienced it.
  Nine out of ten men want sex. The one who doesn't has just experienced it.

By the way, the jokes are not to be offensive. If they offended you, please forgive me.


texts:
Does it mean lovers with romantic stories, or persons who love romantic stories?

An example in Oxfords Dictionary:

  lovers of sloppy romance


texts: What does "with effectiveness for the future" mean?

texts:
(...) you shall have the right to withdraw your consent for the data
  processing, with effectiveness for the future (...)
  (https://productdata.vwgroup.com/data-protection.html)

What does Does it mean that "with effectiveness for the future" mean? Does it mean:

  You have the right to withdraw (...) and this right is effective even
  in the future.


texts: Meaning of "He could always use a bit of extra money" in the context below

texts:
Phoebus started walking toward the bridge
  where he planned to meet Esmeralda. Soon he
  noticed a dark figure creeping behind him in
  the shadows.
  “Who’s there?” he called.
  Claude Frollo, his face hidden by his hood,
  stepped out of the shadows.
  “What do you want?” Phoebus asked.
  “Just to know if you are seeing the young
  gypsy woman tonight. I mean no harm.”
  “Why do you want to know, stranger?”
  “I have my reasons. If you are meeting her,
  prove it. In return, I will give you a bag of
  gold coins,” the hooded man said.
  Phoebus thought about it and smiled.
  “Very well,” he said. He could always use a bit
  of extra money. “Follow me.”

Sorry maybe this is a simple question but I doubt about its meaning.

Dose it mean one of the following sentences.

1) He could always have money.

2) Everyday He could use a bit of that money.

3) Everyday he could spend a little more money.

second sentence seems correct to me.


texts:
Have I not been cleaning the house?

or

Have I been not cleaning the house?

Which one is correct? I saw both of them in the same grammar book but I can't trust that book completely.


texts:
This is from an article in the CBC news.

  CBC contacted three Canadian government departments — Global Affairs
  Canada, Natural Resources Canada and the Department of Fisheries and
  Oceans — for a response.

  A spokesperson for Natural Resources issued the holding lines —
  talking points put out when you don't want to, or cannot, address an
  issue in detail.

I googled 'holding line(s)' and had no luck. The closest I can find is 'hold the line' which means 'to firmly maintain something' and I don't think that's the case here. What is the 'holding lines' here?


texts: When to use the prepositions 'in' and 'inside'

texts:
Could you please tell me which one of the following sentences is correct? I'm interested in understanding when it's best to use either 'in' or 'inside'.

  The cinema is very cold.
  In the cinema is very cold.
  Inside the cinema, it's very cold.