texts:
I came across this sentence in a text-book written by non-native speakers:
"He attaches great importance to his friends."
I thought it did not sound very natural.
Longman dictionary says "attach importance/significance etc to something: to believe that something is important"
Can we really say "attach importance to somebody" as in the above-mentioned sentence?
Thanks for reading.


texts: Bill Jones, WHO/WHOM we believe to be the preeminent authority on the subject

texts:
Which is correct?

  The training material was prepared by Bill Jones, who we believe to be the preeminent authority on the subject.
  The training material was prepared by Bill Jones, whom we believe to be the preeminent authority on the subject.

What is the rule?


texts: Which question is grammatically correct? "Which (one) do you think he is?" and "Which (one) do you think is he?"

texts:
"Which (one) do you think he is?"
"Which (one) do you think is he?"

If they are both grammatically correct, what is the difference in meaning?


texts:
It's been a long time since I've noticed that natives omit articles in casual speech quite a lot when the context is understood:

Oh, look, train's coming.

How does this work?


texts: Word to combine brother-in-law and sister-in-law?

texts:
Imagine the following scenario:
Ronald and Alana are a couple.
Jono and Daisy are a couple.
Jono is Alana's brother.
What would be the correct way to say the following phrase?

We are Ronald and Alana, Daisy's brothers-in-law.

We are Ronald and Alana, Daisy's siblings-in-law.

We are Ronald and Alana, Daisy's brother/sister-in-law.

Something else?


texts: Name for the type of religious philosophy that doesn't require any religious beliefs to "use" or "implement"

texts:
I'm curious as to what the word for religious philosophy that, although it may have come from a religious figure, or said in some religious context, can, and often times is, used in a secular context.
For example, the expression "Do unto others as you would have done to you." is derived from the Christian bible, but this is a fairly common ideal of many societies. I know that it's not just religious figures that have talked about that kind of concept, (for example Immanuel Kant with the Categorical Imperative), but what would be the best word or way to describe this kind of philosophy that is non-religiously contingent?
I’m looking for a word that describes a philosophy that is religiously originated, but itself doesn't require anything more than wisdom or comprehension to understand. (i.e. one doesn't need to believe in -just as an example- God, or any other such "unproven aspect").


texts: What is the meaning of "Counter-productive at best"?

texts:
I cannot understand the last sentence of the following paragraph:

  Highly Emotional – While emotional expression is healthy and natural, with Campaigners even viewing it as a core part of their identity, it can come out strongly enough to cause problems for this personality type. Particularly when under stress, criticism or conflict, Campaigners can experience emotional bursts that are counter-productive at best.

Is it the same as very counter-productive?


texts:
Does "close in on" work in this context?

  The satellite is closing in on the surface of the Earth.

Does it sound fine? That is "the satellite is approaching/nearing the Earth". (It is falling to the Earth, and thus, it isn't a controlled motion........)

Does "close in on" give a sense of "controlled motion"?

Will it work if the motion is controlled?

  X is closing in on the surface of Earth. (Controlled motion.)

Thank you:)


texts:
Neither I can go out nor she can come to me.

Is this sentence grammatically correct? Do I need to change "inversion"?


texts:
I just saw a quote from someone here in this site and I’m searching for the meaning of a word in the sentence.
The sentence is: I know the rule of thumb that in interrogative sentences we always have to answer in the same tense that we were asked.

Well I cant understand what is “the rule of thumb” here in this quote. What is ”thumb” in this context?
Im not a native speaker, I’m just trying to understand a little bit more of some words that you use in the middle of some sentences. Sometimes I can understand the meaning, but I cant understand why the word is on it you know?
Thank you.


texts:
Charlie Bingham Gets Clocked

This is a name of novel.

What does it mean ?


texts: What TV shows would be best for improving English?

texts: English is my second language. I can speak,read,write English without any problem. But I am trying to find ways to level up my spoken English. I was wondering if someone can suggest a few tv shows or debates or something I can find on Internet (free of cost) that can help me further improve my English.


texts: An idiom or phrase that means "as an act of solidarity"?

texts:
I remember there was an expression like that used informally, but I can't quite remember what it was. I remember expression like "to scratch each other's back", but it's not quite that that I am looking for and it's something you can plug into almost any sentence and that always sounds good like "to one up one another". It's not "in solidarity", it sounds way too formal. I think it implied that they would get something back like the expression "to scratch each other's back", but it's ok if your idiom doesn't imply that.

For example:

  Seeing he was drowning from fatigue, his brothers all flocked to him in order to
  ___.


texts: In a casual conversation to a child, is it okay to say "a skirt" when you are actually referring to "a shift or pinafore or jumper"?

texts:
According to Oxford Dictionary

This is a shift

The black one in this picture is a jumper or pinafore

And a skirt normally doesn't have the top as the blue one in this picture

And say you are a parent and you don't know much about clothes and in a casual conversation to a child.

is it okay to say "a skirt" when you are actually referring to "a shift or pinafore or jumper"?


texts:
The original sentence:

  The administration of a strong sleeping draught to the condemned man
  every night from which one night he does hot awake, seems a more
  civilized alternative to our present barbarous procedure, if capital
  punishment through the influence of backward minds be retained.

Is "be" supposed to be "were" here?

  The administration of a strong sleeping draught to the condemned man
  every night from which one night he does hot awake, seems a more
  civilized alternative to our present barbarous procedure, if capital
  punishment through the influence of backward minds were retained.


texts: Subject-verb agreement in questions that start with wh- words

texts:
I have a sentence that says "Simon and Shirli are friends"
When I want to ask about the subject, how should I ask:

Who are friends?

or

Who is friends?

Thanks!!


texts: What does "one's" mean in this definition?

texts: Google Dict defines "Reside": Have one's permanent home in a particular place. Does "one's" mean other person's home which doesn't belong to the speaker?


texts:
What are the available options? Vs. what options are available?
Which one is the correct sentence?
Ans Please tell me what is the best structure for wh-questions?


texts: What does "classmate overstock.com" mean in this context?

texts:
And his team's projections generally proved accurate, even as Netflix's 2002 IPO classmate Overstock.com (OSTK) lost Wall Street credibility with a series of antics by its then-CEO Patrick Byrne.

Source: Yahoo Link 1. Link 2.


texts:
Staff nurse made error in recording patient's name in a book. Or staff nurse did error in recording patient's name in a book.
Which one of these is correct?


texts: "across" vs. "in" in "animals are likely to be introduced 'across'/'in' the market"

texts:
Currently available GM fruits stem mostly from plants, but in the
  future foods derived from GM microorganisms or GM animals are likely
  to be introduced across / in the market.

Note:  GM means Genetically modified.

I'm pretty sure that in makes sense here. But I's unsure when my friend used across the market. Is across is apt here?


texts: What does "bloc" refer to in "oversees the sprawling arm of the bloc that negotiates trade deals and commercial policy"?

texts:
Currently reading this article, I am confused "which bloc" the line mentions if it is the bloc of the Ireland or the EU.

Hogan’s appointment to the role, which oversees the sprawling arm of the bloc that negotiates trade deals and commercial policy, had been seen as a powerful signal that the EU would prioritise Ireland’s interests in Brexit negotiations.


texts: Does anyone know how to make this sentence active?

texts:
How to turn this sentence into active voice:

He expected to be taken care of.

Thanks.


texts:
I'm looking for a word to positively describe (flatter) a female leader (VP/CEO/...). The word should reflect her great ability, high status and incredible power, in a good manner.

One of the candidate words I have found is mistress. According to the dictionary, it means:

  a woman who has power, authority, or ownership

However, it can also mean:

  a woman other than his wife with whom a married man has a continuing sexual relationship

This meaning is clearly improper here.

headmistress looks safer, for which the dictionary only lists one definition:

  a woman heading the staff of a private school

I'm not sure if this word can also be used for "a woman heading an enterprise".

My question is two-fold:

About the words themselves:

Is it only possible from context if mistress means "a powerful woman" or "a female lover"?
Would headmistress ever be construed as "a head female lover (among all the lovers of a man)"?
What is the masculine counterpart of mistress? The closest I have found is master, which has the meaning of "a powerful man", but not "a male lover".

Is mistress or headmistress a good word to use here? Are there any better choices?


texts: Why does "don't be" sometimes sound like "dombe"?

texts: Why does "don't be" sometimes become "DOMBE"? There is no M in the spelling then why?


texts: "Eating local means shoot your own squirrels." What does it mean?

texts:
please, help me to understand the meaning of the sentence "eating local means shoot your own squirrels." Speaker is from Arkansas. Are there any similar sayings?
Here's the context:

“The Fiveashes have lived in Toad Suck for as long as anyone can
remember,” Priscilla said. “They work hard, go to church, and send
their kids to school. They shop at Dollar Tree because they don’t want
to get dressed up for Walmart. They think eating local means shoot
your own squirrels. And when my kin start talking, you’ll wish they
came with subtitles.

Lisa Kleypas "Crystal Cove"


texts: Usage of Simple Present between speakers

texts:
Is the use of "Do" in the begining of interrogative sentence necessary? I means, casual conversation.

Does he play tennis?
He plays tennis?


texts: Why do people use "I've been + name" instead of "I am + name"?

texts:
I have watched many interviews and talk shows in English and in many of them, when the host is saying goodbye, they say

  "I've been Xxxx Xxxxxx and this is The Talk Show X!"

Why do they say "I've been..." when they can perfectly say "I am..."? Is there a rule for this or is this just popular language?

An example of what I'm trying to say is this video by Tom Scott (I've copied the link on the time he is saying goodbye because the video is too long): https://youtu.be/3kgI-TZXCa8?t=920


texts: What's the meaning of "Beyond the Rhetoric" in this context?

texts:
In these sentences

  This series looks beyond the rhetoric.
  Kenya should move beyond mere rhetoric to fight off wanton corruption.
  Such transition teams will delve far beyond the rhetoric of hashtags.

What's the meaning of "beyond the rhetoric"?

In my point of view, the meaning should be "do not use rhetoric words or languages to influence others".


texts: How to use the personal pronoun when answer "Is this....?"

texts:
In an exam paper, the following question confused me:

Is this your mother?

No, it isn’t.

"your mother" is a lady, how can we use "it" here ?
I wonder whether the following two negative answers is correct or not:

No, this isn't .

No, she isn't.
How to use the personal pronoun when I answer"Is this..." ?


texts: Does 'will' as a transitive verb connote mental powers?

texts:
Since ODO positioned of the example sentence confuses me:

[formal or literary] Intend, desire, or wish (something) to happen:

\1.1 1.1 [with object and infinitive] Make or try to make (someone) do something or (something) happen by the exercise of mental powers:
...With only one weekend left until Christmas, the major retailers are willing us all to indulge in a last-minute splurge of spending. But the experts are already predicting that the 2002 festive period is a long way short of last year's bumper spree.

ODO's juxtaposition of this example  sentence under 1.1, and NOT 1, confuses me. Does this sentence imply the specific mental, rather than general, desires or wishes of 'the major retailers' (eg mental marketing/psychological ploys)?  Please elucidate?


texts: This is the gift that my dad sent (to) me

texts:
This is the gift that my dad sent me on my birthday.

Vs

This is the gift that my dad sent to me on my birthday.

Is to required?

Also

Presenting you guys, the trailer of the film.

Vs

Presenting to you guys, the trailer of the film.

Is to required?


texts:
Signals to be used to, among other things, halt working in the event
  of lost communications or inability to utilize radios.

In the sentence above, does "among other things" mean "along with other purposes"? Does it mean "Signals to be used to halt working ...(along with other purposes other than halting)"? It's unclear for me what "other things" it refers to.


texts: ‘A fried rice’, ‘ fried rice’, or ‘ a bowl of fried rice’

texts:
I came across this sentence in an English book:

  A fried rice is 2,500 dong.

I know that rice is a mass noun so it cannot be counted, and if ‘fried rice’ refers to the name of a dish, it is correct to say ‘I’d like two fried rice’ when you are in a restaurant. However, in this case, if fried rice refers to the name, is fried rice better than a fried rice?


texts:
When omitted, is it understood? And has the same meaning of generalizing, while the definite article “the” has the particularizing role?

There is the famous quote of Oscar Wilde’s “The importance of being Earnest”: “When one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses other people.”

I would like to know whether there are some other options to formulate these sentences (writing or omitting “a” and “the”) without changing the meaning.


texts: What does "has to alarm" mean in this sentence?

texts:
"Trump's power to remake the Fed has to alarm the occupants of its headquaters on Constitution Avenue."

What does "has to alarm" this sentence mean?

When saying "I have to finish my essay tomorrow", it mean I need to and will do it (finish the essay). But this meaning doesn't fit in the Trump sentence.

Thank you!


texts: 'Take off' the country vs leave the country

texts: I'd like to learn that Would 'taking off the country' be used instead of using 'leaving the country' in an essay. Appreciate any comment in advance.


texts: Progressive tense, progressive aspect, continuing aspect or continuous tense?

texts:
I have heard four different names:

Progressive tense
Progressive aspect
Continuing aspect
Continuous tense

Which is the grammatically correct name approved by most grammar books and dictionaries? Or are they different terms and mean different things?


texts:
‘give rise to’ means ‘to cause something’ in the Cambridge dictionary. But I think ‘arise’ is more similar to ‘cause’ than ‘rise’ according to this.
What is difference between ‘give rise to’ and ‘cause’? And why ‘rise’ not ‘arise’?


texts:
You have called London.
You have called in London.
You have called wrong person.
you have called to wrong person.

All the sentences relating to "Phone."
When the verb "Call" in transitive and when intransitive?

Thank you.


texts: What does "to make quite a show about going into action" mean?

texts:
It appears that he's making quite a show about going into action.

Source: Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta about his enemy Cell destroying everything around


texts: Is this a correct sentence: "I had a lot of troubles when I was young"?

texts: When I talk about the difficulties I experienced when I was young, can I say "I had a lot of troubles when I was young"? Or should I use the singular version after the word "have"? I think I am not very used to hearing "troubles" instead of "trouble" after "have". But here I am talking about different kinds of things that worried me and distressed me when I was young, so I think the sentence I provided is probably correct.


texts: Can you parapharse this part of the passage please?

texts:
When he says he had been a witness to a courtship that ought to have faded before I was born, does he mean he was thinking if a child was born, there will no longer be love between spouses? Can you simplify or parapharse it please?

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


texts: What should we use? Popular among OR Popular with

texts:
Which one is preferred and why?

Due to less complications and minimal cut on the skin, the pinhole (endoscopic) surgery is popular among surgeons all over the world.
Due to less complications and minimal cut on the skin, the pinhole (endoscopic) surgery is popular with surgeons all over the world.

I asked to a learned person in English. She suggested -Use among when you restrict it to a few surgeons (may be from one corporate hospital) but when you use it for all the surgeons on this planet, use with.
Having said that,

The stay in hospital reduces when a patient is operated with a pinhole (endoscopic) surgery. This reduces the bill of the hospital and hence, in this town of poor people, this procedure is popular among surgeons.
Due to less complications and minimal cut on the skin, pinhole (endoscopic) surgery is popular with surgeons all over the world.


texts:
My question is about subject-verb agreement when the subject consists of two (or more) synonyms joined by 'and'. Which sentence is correct?

Envy and jealousy is bad.
Envy and jealousy are bad.


texts:
The reflection of your face (or anything else) in water or a mirror:

is that called a picture or an image?


texts: Question about the phrase "shines harsh light"

texts:
In the sentence:

  Shutdown shines harsh light on rift in Republican Party

What do they mean?

p.s. "shutdown" here about government shutdown in the US.


texts: Why these tenses are used in the following sentence?

texts:
Here is the sentence:

It turns out that she had known him when they were children.

Why "turns" and not "turned"? Might the sentence be said when commenting on something like film (can be rewatched so the present simple is used)?
Does it mean she had known him by the time when something, that isn't indicated in the sentence, happened?


texts:
On p. 62 of the 2nd edition of Practical English Usage, M. Swan writes:

68 articles (8): special rules and exceptions

4 the ... of a ...

In classifying expressions of this kind, the first article is definite
even if the meaning of the whole expression is indefinite:

Lying by the side of the road we saw the wheel of a car. (NOT ...a wheel of a car.)

However, this entry is missing from the 3rd and the 4th editions. Moreover, dictionaries give these examples:

She got a glimpse of a very different way of life.

the management and disposition of the property of a deceased person, debtor, or insolvent company, by a legally appointed administrator

The phones are considered to be the property of the company.

Why is this rule not included in the modern editions? If the rule is not valid anymore, does it mean than the choice of a/the obeys general rules say:

We choose a property of a system... (random property of some system)

We investigate the property of a system... (some very interesting
property mentioned earlier of some random system) ?


texts: I think "advice" and "suggestion" are both abstract nouns. Then why is "advice" used as an uncountable noun and "suggestion" used as a countable noun?


texts: What is the difference between 'than you need' and 'than what you need'?

texts:
Please give the seats to the ones who need them more than you do.

I considered it writing as

  Please give the food to the ones who need them more than what you do/need.

How the presence of 'what' changes its meaning?If 'seats' seem awkward, you could replace it with any other noun.

Also 'more than you do' ,'more than you need' and 'more than you do need', there all are grammatical and mean the same thing.Only the native speakers will chose the ones with which the flow is easy.Am I right?


texts: Is it correct to say you are really aside to be old?

texts:
I was watching a short film and one of the characters said: "You really are aside to be old, sweetheart", and I wonder when it's right to say that, and the meaning of it. Here's the video:

Horror Short Film “Special Day”


texts: the same...as / that- What's the difference?

texts:
What's the difference among the following?

Isn't it the same radio that I lost last year?
Isn't it the same radio as I lost last year?
Isn't it the radio that I lost last year?

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: Reflexive/Intensive Pronoun - "I can sabotage me by myself"

texts:
The title is a lyric from Caught in the Middle by Paramore.

I know lyrics can break grammatical rules, but I want to know the correct way of using reflexive/intensive pronoun. So, should it be

  I can sabotage myself by me.

or

  I can sabotage myself by myself.

I'd like to add too my own examples

  She's so crazy that she writes letters to give to the mailman, which will be delivered back to her/self.

  She looks at mirror and brakes it after seeing herself looking at her/self.

Unrelated additional question but please answer: What's the difference in meaning if I don't put an article (definite or indefinite) between "at" and "mirror"? Is mirror a countable noun?


texts: Two vowels together: "Go out" and "Go upstairs"

texts: Is go outside correct? and also "go upstairs.". Since two vowels are followed by each other, eg., o then after this it's o again. How is that?


texts:
He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and
  three-quarters. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry
  couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started
  to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting
  desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock,
  but the guard said there wasn't one. (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's
  Stone)

In this context, I guess, ‘asked for’ seems to mean ‘asked about’ the train. But I’ve not found the usage yet. Would you let me know what the phrase exactly means in this case?


texts: Does "I've run for 3 months" sound correct?

texts:
What I'm trying to say is:

  I started running, as a habit, 3 months ago. And I haven't aborted it yet.

Can I just say "I've run for 3 months"? If so, then how should I say

  I run for 3 months nonstop

in present perfect tense? I know it doesn't make a lot of sense but let's assume I'm a superhero or whatsoever.


texts: is "what should be the meaning of life" a question?

texts:
Is the following sentence a question!?

what should be the meaning of life

I don't mean the meaning
I'm talking about Grammer and structure


texts: Which is the correct one between these sentences?

texts:
Suppose I'm talking to my friend and we both have a same bag. What should I say :

I have a bag like you have!
I have a bag like your's!
I have a bag like you!

I feel the 3rd one is not correct, as the line states 'bag like you' and friend I'm talking to is not a bag .
I cannot figure out the sentence I should use between the first two sentences, rather I do not understand if they mean different things either.

So, can you help me here please ?


texts: A proud coward. Is there a word for that sort of person?

texts: Someone who is proud of himself, his moral values etc. however who is a coward in his general approach, related to anything in which he could get involved with, since he avoids most situations.


texts: Can vehicles sell themselves? Shouldn't it be passive voice?

texts:
I read one sentence

  About 170,000 of those vehicles sell each year in the U.S.

It is extracted from:

  The large vehicle is part truck and part car. Strength and size combined with comfort. Some well-known sports utility vehicles are the Jeep Cherokee, the Cadillac Escalade and the Toyota Land Cruiser. About 170,000 of those vehicles sell each year in the U.S. If you owned one of those cars, it would cost almost $100 to fill the tank when gas was most expensive.

Can vehicles sell themselves? Shouldn't it be passive voice here? If this sentence is correct, then would every unanimated subject sell themselves?


texts: If I had known you ARE/WERE coming along, I wouldn't have gotten here really

texts:
Let's your most hated person in the class suddenly popped up joining your group for a planned eating out. Now you are annoyed, and you said:

  If I had known you ARE coming along, I wouldn't have gotten here really

Or

  If I had known you WERE coming along, I wouldn't have gotten here really

This a 3rd conditional construction, after you applied (If I had) + participle, what is next? ARE or WERE


texts: arouse vs rouse (looks really same) could be any different usage?

texts:
ex) arouse sb's interest
arouse sb's curiosity
arouse sby's anger
The whole community was aroused by the crime.
ex) rouse sb from sleep. Nicky roused her with a gentle nudge. A lot of people were roused to action by the appeal. to rose sb's anger. Chris is not easily roused.
very similar.


texts:
The Prime Minister said: "I have indicated in opening remarks that I do not intend to be Prime Ministerial candidate if the UPA were to come to power after the general elections.
BJP leader Narendra Modi will prove to be "disastrous" for India if he were to become the Prime Minister, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.

What does the use of were to in above sentences indicate? If I don't use were to, does it then mean something different? Or can I use only were instead?


texts: Is this prepositional phrase adverbial or adjective?

texts:
"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid (to Harry). A pair of goblins bowed them (Harry and Hagrid) through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

Is the prepositional phrase (through the silver doors) modifying the verb bowed, or the object them?


texts: Meaning of "rockin' it out" in this context?

texts:
Obama was spotted with his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, rockin’ it out on Saturday at a Beyoncé and Jay Z concert just outside the nation’s capital.

I find "rock it out" is defined in Urban dictionary:

  A rock term. Do have several meanings, like:

  -Same term as Rock On! Used to show appreciation for rock.

  -Used for cheering at someone.

  -Means that somebody does something completely to the limit.

It seems that the second one(Used for cheering at someone) is the closest to the context. Maybe, it just means they were out there to enjoy rock-and-roll music. I am not quite sure about it.


texts: The use of preposition "on" before a date

texts:
I am reading the Time magazine and I noticed that the choice to use the preposition "on" before the dates are puzzling:
An example:

..., but German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass warned Sept. 6 that the country might "change [its] stance"..

but, by the same author, another sentence in the same article read:

Since Berlin detected Novichok, an internationally banned nerve agent, in Navalny's body on Sept. 2,...

And this phenomenon happened throughout the magazine.
Why in the first case the absence of "on" is valid and accepted? It seems unnatural to me.
More examples here:

And Lou, who died Sept. 6 at 81,...
The 2020 Kentucky Derby-- which was run Sept 5. after being postponed...


texts: "...amount to much that they behaved in accordance with the negative expectations others had of them..."

texts:
Can you explain to me what the last sentence mean in the following passage please ? Especially I could not figure out the meaning of the parts of " to amount to  much that " and " others had of them"

  In the 1970s, sociologist William Chambliss studied two groups of high
  school boys to find out how strongly labels affected them. The eight
  boys in the group Chambliss called the Saints came from middle-class
  families. Society expected them to do well in life. The six boys in
  the other group, the Roughnecks, came from lower-class families in
  poorer neighborhoods. The community generally expected them to fail.
  Both groups engaged in deviant behavior—skipping school, fighting, and
  vandalizing property—but suffered different consequences. The
  teachers, the police, and the community excused the Saints’ behavior
  because they believed the Saints were good boys overall. The same
  people saw the Roughnecks as bad and prosecuted them for their
  behavior more often.

  Years later, all but one of the Saints had gone to college and
  subsequently into professional careers. Two Roughnecks went to college
  on athletic scholarships, graduated, and became coaches. Two never
  graduated from high school, and the other two ended up in prison.

  Chambliss discovered that the boys’ social class had much to do with
  the public’s perception of them and the ways the public perceived
  their acts of deviance. He also hypothesized that a deviant label can
  become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Roughnecks had heard for so
  long that they were never going to amount to much that they behaved in
  accordance with the negative expectations others had of them.


texts:
I believe my skills will be an asset to the company.
I believe my skills will be an asset for the company.
Concerning the meaning in this context, the Cambridge dictionary defines the word asset to mean a valuable person or thing and suggests that the word is used with to. I would like to know if for is wrong here. Or if they both mean the same thing and are acceptable in written form.


texts:
Please let me know, in the following context either "Now-a-days" is Adverb of time or Compound Noun?

I don’t watch TV very much now-a-days. There’s so much rubbish on. It’s not like it used to be.
Young people now-a-days don’t respect their teachers any more.


texts: "There's no telling": An "-ing" verb after "there is no" as a way of expressing the idea of the impossibility of an action

texts:
There is an expression "there's no telling" and a proverb "There's no accounting for taste", the meanings being clearly explained here and here.

My question is this:

Is there any particular grammar rule for this ("there's no" +  an "-ing" verb) construction,  for hard as I tried, the only explanation I did find was in the entry "No" in here.

Would it be right to say that this construction may be used to express the idea of the impossibility of an action, for example:

  There's no making her change her mind.

  There's no persuading him into selling his old car.

  There's no beating him at tennis.

  There was no denying that she had a lovely figure?


texts:
Could you please check if the following sentence is grammatically correct:

"There are a number of reasons for this trend, which is having a significant impact on both family life and on the community as a whole."

I think it should be "which are" instead of "which is" as I think "which" modifies "a number of reasons", which is a plural noun phrase.

Thank you!


texts: Is there any difference between "refurbish" and "renovate"?

texts:
In this week, I was following the news of the Grenfell tower and I mostly heard the verb "refurbish" being used. That triggered my curiosity to know why this verb is getting used more than "renovate".

  I am wondering if there's any significant difference between refurbish and renovate?

Is there any difference between these two verbs?

More info

I googled the difference, but the pages do not say completely similar things. For instance, you can read these references [wikidiff], [hinative], and [wordreference].


texts: Help me understand the meaning/usage of 'anarthrous'

texts:
In Ruchir's answer here, he specifies the word 'anarthrous' (before editing). I could not find any satisfactory definition/description about it in popular dictionaries that we find online.

Anyone here to describe this? What is 'anarthrous' in the context of the English grammar. Wikitionary talks about it but I did not get it completely. MW too has an entry but it is limited in description.


texts:
I am not good at English. And I used to say that I want to become a software developer. But Some people are using that I want to be a [something]. Which one is correct? And at what situations we should use which one? I read in many websites. Answers I have found so far are

Be is abbreviation of become. Both are same.
Be is representing continuous thing. Become represents future.

I can't understand it because of people usage. Could anyone please further explain the difference between these two?


texts:
I would like to express that one does not fulfill the requirements of being invited to an interview. So I wrote "Not qualified for the invitation for the interview". But I am not sure whether I should write:

Not qualified for the invitation for the interview
Not qualified for the invitation for interview
Not qualified for invitation for the interview

My question is therefore: Where should I put the "the" in this case?


texts: What does paperwork mean in this sentence?

texts:
What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork.

  — Pearl Bailey (United States singer 1918-1990)

One teacher said, paperwork in this sentence meant marriage certificate. But I’m not sure about it.

I checked on dictionaries and find that the word means

  routine work involving documents such as forms, records, or letters.

To my understanding, it doesn’t necessarily mean “marriage certificate”.

I searched on internet, but can’t find a certain answer. Therefore I put this question here.

Does it mean marriage certificate in this sentence? If not what does it mean?

Thanks in advance!


texts: Do I need an article in a phrase that can be regarded as a unit?

texts:
I wrote:

  For example, in English where phrases in sentence have an almost fixed order, using the phrase structure is more common.

I know sentence is countable and perhaps I should say phrases in a sentence but I think maybe the whole phrase can be used as a unit without any article? Especially that I speak generally. Am I right?


texts: How can I interpret an infinitive clause?

texts:
I wonder whether an infinitive clause can be interpreted in different ways. For example:

Example 1:

  "It is a joke for me to wear this shirt on streets."

  Interpretation no.1: For me/From my point of view, it is a joke to wear this shirt on streets.

  Interpretation no.2 ("for me" as the subject of the infinitive clause): The idea/scenario that I wear this shirt on streets is a joke.

Example 2:

  "It is impossible for me to climb this mountain."

  Interpretation no.1: For me/From my point of view, it is impossible to climb this mountain.

  Interpretation no.2 ("for me" as the subject of the infinitive clause): The idea/scenario that I climb this mountain is impossible.


texts:
what is the difference between "fell" and "fall" while they are both in present simple tense? (or to fell and to fall)

When I want to say on something that it felled, but in the present simple tense, can use both words? (fell and fall)?


texts:
I usually say "I'm gonna ride the bus"

But why is it "the" instead of "a" or nothing.

Sometimes a noun doesn't need "the" or "a"

Like some people say "call transportation" or "goto school"

Transportation and school are both nouns but why don't they need anything before these words?

How do you determine when you need the or a or when it doesn't need anything?


texts: Is the word 'still' redundant in the sentence "the good times when you still had the bread"?

texts:
When you ate all the bread and then remember the good times when you still had the bread

1) Is the word 'still' redundant in this sentence?
2) Should I use the past perfect tense in the second part? (e.g. when I had had the bread)


texts: I am trying to figure out what would be the opposite of "dumb down" as in "I can dumb down this presentation". In this example the presentation is too complex and needs to be simplified for the target audience, but what about the other way around, I can't say "complex up", and whilst "smarten up" is valid it doesn't work in this context.


texts:
There have been vigorous arguments among biologists about whether complicated goal directed behavior among high mammals is reliable evidence for their consciousness.  Indeed the admission of consciousness into animal research is quite a recent phenomenon.  Injury-avoidance behavior is often based on reflexes,  and it is not completely obvious that the inner sensation of pain must be attached to it. Even in our own case pain is often felt only after the limb has been moved away.

Here, what does it refer to?
consciousness or reflexes? So difficult to me


texts:
He is buried alive

or

  He is burned alive.

Is the word "alive" an adjective? In such a case, it's more likely an adverb.


texts: what does "virtual" mean here and why? or what is its concept here?

texts:
I am wondering what is the concept of the bold part here? although I know what it means.
 Meanwhile, would you please show me what is the difference in meaning between the italic part and A-- my revised?

A. old and new friends

Social networking is an important part of many people's lives now where massive numbers of people congregate on sites like Facebook and interact with friends old and new, real and virtual.

...........

Thanks. I cannot yet get what is the difference between the following conceptually, or how do they differ from each other here?
 old/ new/ real / virtual

enter link description here

Thanks


texts: Putting the accent on a word when speaking

texts:
To put the accent on a word when I am speaking, in Italian I would raise the tone on the accented vowel; raising the tone of accented vowels is normally done when reading an Italian word, but it is even more raised when putting the accent.

  Sono nervóso. I am nervous.

As alternative, I could say the word syllable by syllable.

  Sono ner vo so.

What is the way to put the accent on a word, in English?

I was reading a book about General American, and if I understood that, that is done making a vowel sound longer. Is that the normally way done in American English, or is that what I should do if I want to speak General American?

If that is the correct way, on what vowel should I put the accent? For acronyms, the rule seems to be on the last one, but are there rules for other words as well?


texts:
I was doing an English exercise and I read the following sentence:

Ask Walter, he knows who's who.

Here, what is the meaning of "who's who"?


texts: The emotional moment of lovers' saying goodbye

texts:
I wonder if you could let me know how a native speaker would imply the situation in which two people are saying goodbye to each other and while they are getting away they are looking with their eyes tied to one another.

This is an emotional case that may happen when two people do not tend to be separated from someone they love and they wish they could stay together.

Example:

She and I were close friends since childhood. We had really fallen in love with each other and up the time when her family decided to move to New York City, we were not aware about our true feelings towards each other.
I'll never forget the moment when her parents were waiting for her in their car and we were tearfully saying goodbye to each other.

  While our hands were getting separated, our eyes were tied up to each other...

The bold sentence above is an exact translation of such emotional moment.  Please let me know whether it is natural in English? If not, how would you describe it.

P.S. Unfortunatelly I couldn't find any related image including both (hands and eyes of lovers at saying goodbye). So I tried to add two separated photos.

Ah! What a sad moment is that...


texts:
I was wondering if someone could let me know which choice works better in the following self-made sentence below. (I need to know the most natural choice here.)

Imagine someone is teaching driving someone else and is going to say the point that you have not release the clutch when it is in the gear suddenly.

  Don’t release the clutch............

  a) suddenly

  b) abruptly

  c) out of the blue


texts:
One hour after 11:00 am is 12:00 pm.  I find this to be very strange.  Why isn't it 12:00 am?
More descriptively,  I thought we can think of the am/pm part as time unit representing higher amount than the numerical part.  If so, it would be representing 12 hours time unit, and it switches after numerical overflows 12.  Then, 11:00 am + 1 hour should be 12:00 am or 0:00 pm, not 12:00 pm. What knowledge am I missing?


texts: Is "It is necessary for them for me to be at the function tomorrow." correct?

texts:
It is necessary for them for Jake to be at the function tomorrow.

Is the above sentence correct if I want to say that "for them it is very important for Jake to be present at the function tomorrow"
And by "them" I mean the people who are organising the function. And in the above sentence Jake is a famous person who is going to be the chief guest of that function. So for the people organising the event, it is very important that Jake is going to be at the function.
And could provide some alternative ways to covey the same meaning?


texts: Is "What did mummy told you? " - Is this correct?

texts:
What did mummy told you?

Is this a correct sentence?

Or it should be:

  What did mummy tell you?

Can you give an explanation why one or the other?


texts: To mention the scale of a map, which is more natural and formal, "Four and one half feet to an inch" or "Four and half feet to an inch" ?


texts: X needed to be opened/somebody needed to open X/X needed somebody to open

texts:
The treasure inside Helen needed to be opened.
Somebody needed to open the treasure inside Helen.
The treasure inside Helen needed somebody to open.

Do they mean the same?


texts:
I have a question about "freeze" as in weather conditions.
It is perfectly normal to say:
it rains a lot in Holland
it has been raining a lot lately
it rained last night
if I want to express these conditions with "freeze" are the same constructions possible?
Is it ideomatic to say:
it freezes a lot in Holland
it froze last night
it has been freezing a lot lately?


texts: I need a specific rule to explain difference between 'were' and 'did' questions

texts:
A student has asked me to give him a very clear explanation of why we use two structures in the past tense to make questions:

Did (eg Did you see him yesterday?)
Were (were you with him yesterday?)

I find that when I try to explain I go round in circles and confuse him even more. He's pre-intermediate and needs a very simple explanation that he can grasp and my brain is fried from trying...any help would be gratefully received! Thanks :)


texts:
My own father saw combat on that frontier of freedom.

Does it mean his father experienced the combat? Or is he just a witness?


texts:
Should I write:

He wrote in his last email that he did not find the time to do it yet, but was going to do it pretty soon . In fact he  has still not done it.

He wrote in his last email that he had not found  the time to do it yet, but was going to do it pretty soon. In fact he has still not done it.

What is the difference?
(I am thinking that #2 is better.)


texts: "bent" meaning in "the contemptuous look he bent upon Harry"

texts:
He [Kreacher, a house elf] was still wearing the filthy rag in which they had first met him, and the contemptuous look he bent upon Harry showed that his attitude to his change of ownership had altered no more than his outfit.

  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I don't understand the use of "bent" in this context. I've looked up 'bend' in this dictionary.  But it seems that no definition could fit in my view. What's 'bend' supposed to mean in this context?


texts: Does "cleverly" have a negative, positive or neutral meaning?

texts:
I wrote this sentence and I would like to know whether the word "cleverly" is positive, negative (like e.g. cunningly) or neutral.

  Lose weight cleverly in the privacy and comfort of your home!


texts: should I use a determiner before this nominalised adjective?

texts: Is it preferable to say referring to Gulliver "You're a giant in the land of small" or "you're a giant in the land of the small" or "you're a giant in the land of (the) small people"?


texts: From where?can be replaced with From which?

texts:
The post office from where i sent you the package is down the street.

Here can i use from which or where instead of from where?


texts: What's the proper word for this type of 'porridge'?

texts: What's called in English for this type of Chinese food? It's made of rice and water. Refer to the picture.


texts: What are the implied words in front of "to hell with them" in this sentence? "They want me to stop, but to hell with them! I'll do what I want to do!"

texts:
The sentence is from here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/to%20hell%20with
"They want me to stop, but to hell with them!"
If I am correct, this is a compound sentence. The second clause should have a subject too.


texts:
I'd like to ask which interpretation is correct?

  The institute has considerable influence with teachers.

a.The institute has influence over teachers.

b.Teachers has influence over the institute.

c.Teachers make the institute capable to exert influence.


texts:
The Duties of a Steward on a Ship Are:
  The duties of a steward can vary greatly depending on the size of ship he works on. In general, the majority of stewards work in galley or housekeeping departments. They carry a Merchant Mariner Credential, or MMC, and are designated as "Ordinary Seaman." Instead of working on deck and navigating the ship, stewards are employed as cooks, waiters, bartenders, chambermaids and more. No prior experience is needed when applying for an MMC.

  Source: Career job description

Question: Could you please explain, what they mean "to carry Credential"? Is that some special duty?


texts:
He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.

Can you please explain the meaning of this. Especially the last portion  "because he didn't approve of imagination."


texts: Why is the direct object incorrect in this sentence?

texts:
In the following statement, the direct object "them" is incorrect and should be removed. Why?

I believe that all the principles that underlie how a radio works are beneficial to use them in other invention.


texts:
Remain alert for conditions that can cause slack action (e.g. train
  brake, change in grade or change in speed).

  Remain alert for conditions that can cause abrupt changes in speed,
  e.g., train braking, changes in grade, wet or icy tracks, and entering
  or leaving a rail yard or train station.

What does "grade" and "slack" mean in these sentences? It seems that none of the definitions found in a dictionary fits in this context. Does "grade" also mean gear (gear shift)?


texts:
The proposed formalism enabled us to employ various heuristics in specifying contextual rules to eliminate unwanted parts of each website.

I doubt if it is "the contextual rules" or "contextual rules", I feel I don't speak specifically, then I need no "the".


texts: Can traffic lights "turn red" for ten minutes?

texts:
I've been learning Indonesian with Indonesian pod 101 and I'm afraid in learning bad English meanwhile. Is this sentence correct?

  "Lisa, so sorry. The traffic jam was awful, and all the traffic lights seemed to turn red for longer than usual."

Can you say traffic lights "turned red for ten minutes" or is it just literal Indonesian translation?


texts: Contractions on a negative sentence in present

texts:
More specifically I'm talking about the present simple and continuous, for example I know you can answer a yes/no question whose answer is negative like this:

Is he in college?
No, he isn't.

Are they eating?
No, they aren't.

But would it be correct to write it like this?

Is he in college?
No, he's not.

Are they eating?
No, they're not.


texts:
I know the primary meaning of "tend to" - have a tendency to~ / If something tends to happen, it usually happens or it often happens.

But in this context (this is from my English reading book)
-> Too many of your fellow students are too busy complaining about the teachers and the system to tend to their studies, which, after all, are the primary reason for being in school.

according to the explanation from the book, here meaninf of " tend to" is same as "devoted"
But I couldnt find this meaning in my dictionary..(korean-English)

so my question is that does the meaning of "devoted" in "tend to" commonly use in academic writing?


texts: Is there any dialect of American English, where "Waiting" is pronounced as "Wedding"?


texts:
I've come up with these ideas:

My name online
My online name
My web name

"My name used online" is too long for me and I think there must be a shorter alternative.

But I cannot decide on one. Is there any convention about that?


texts: Another adjective rather than good which is used to describe sleeping quality

texts:
I am trying to find an adjective to describe sleeping quality other than good, which is used to describe sleeping quality, the word will be used in biology report writing.

so the following words cannot be used

amazing, fantastic, awesome, wonderful, and great.

Thank you for your help.


texts:
I am reading a book. A paragraph begins with this sentence:

  They say we Scots are a pessimistic people. Maybe it has to do
  with the weather - all those dreary, rainy days.

I am searching for pronouns "they" but I couldn't find what it refers to because I could not find anything for it.

Can anyone help me about it?

This is the whole passage:

  But to do that, you need to be more than usually canny.
  And that provides an important clue as to just where the history
  of insurance had its origins. Where else but in bonny, canny
  Scotland?

  Taking Cover

  They say we Scots are a pessimistic people. Maybe it has to do
  with the weather - all those dreary, rainy days.


texts:
The example of "for":

"This pool is for the use of hotel guests only".

I know that the key point of this sentence is "this pool is for hotel guests" and I understand it, but why "for the use of hotel guests"?
I am always confused when the "for" is before a thing or anything else except a person's name.


texts: The use of being in a sentence to say something that has just happened

texts:
Which one of these is correct to say about a payment that is just entered in the system (few minutes ago) for payment:

These are being entered in the system for payment.
These are being entered now in the system for payment.
These are entered in the system for payment.
These have been entered in the system for payment.


texts: How is "Wouldn't have been the pig I would have chosen" related in this joke?

texts:
Coach tricked the man to have sex with pig by giving him
a drug:

  Youth 1: How's your man, then, Coach?

  Coach: Ah, he'll survive. Wouldn't have been the pig I would have
  chosen, though.

How does "Wouldn't have been the pig I would have chosen" is related to sex joke?

From my English friend, it means "he were the one having sex with the pig he would have chosen a different one". Coach didn't use the word "sex" anywhere, how is it sex joke on pig?

I find these line in The Gentlemen 2019


texts:
section 1.1 of the book "Introduction to Probability, 2nd Edition" says

If S is a set and x is an element of S, we write x ∈ S.
If S contains a finite number of elements, say X1, X2, ...

similar usage of “say” shows up everywhere.
Is "say" a simplified version of "let's say" here?


texts: What is P***Y? Is it giving a bad impression?

texts:
I saw movie of this post. I found this sentence:

  And bragged about grabbing women by the P***Y

What's P***Y? I think it is not a good expression... (Because I hear bleep censor while the man is talking.)


texts:
Here is the context:

  Rail means "to revile or scold in harsh, insolent, or abusive language," whereas raillery usually suggests cutting wit that pokes fun good-naturedly.

I feel that cutting means acute there, but I am in doubt because neither the Merriam-Webster nor Oxford dictionary give similar definitions.


texts: Than - must be followed by "to" even if it has already been mentioned?

texts:
I have such confusion with the word than, check out these examples:

  I would prefer to have beaten him up than have been beaten up by him.

  I prefer to die than kill someone

Should the preposition to be placed after than if I wanted to put the verb in the infinitive form? Like, I prefer to die than to kill?  Or should it be like the first example? No preposition necessary?

And when talking about verbs ending in -ing: I would prefer doing this than doing that or I would prefer doing this than do that?


texts:
How do we know when to use which, when they convey the same meaning?

The dictionaries say this:

Pick - choose (someone or something) from a number of alternatives.
Select - to choose (someone or something) from a group
Choose - to decide that a particular person or thing is the one that you want

Examples:

I'm doing a test and I don't know which answer to [choose,select,pick]. {Why choose?}
I have [chosen, selected, picked] this color because it looks good on you. {Why chosen?}
You need to [pick, select, choose] three numbers from 10 to 99. {Why pick?}
I have [selected, chosen, picked] two students who will attend the festival today. {Why selected?}

Edit.

I can never select/choose/pick the right answer in this test. {all the three are possible}


texts:
I came across an ISO, say ISO 12345:78, and wondered what is the way to pronunce it:

For the ISO part, should I say...

"ei" "es" "ou"?
or "aiso"?

For the 12345:78 part, should I say...

"one" "two" "three" "four" "five" "colon" "seven" "eight"?
or "twelve" "thirty-four" "five" "colon" "seventy-eigth"?
or "twelve thousands, three hundred fourty-five" "colon" "seventy-eigth"?

Also, for the : part, should I proununce "colon" or just say nothing?

I found a couple of interesting debates in wordreference, but it still a bit uncertain to me if there is a standard way of doing it:

ISO pronunciation
iso 9001:2000


texts: Is there any difference in meaning between "dry" and "dry off"?

texts:
Is there any difference between dry and *dry off? For example:

  Let the fruit dry (off) before eating.

I cannot see any difference, but I am very curious to know what would make native English speakers go for dry off when dry is a bit shorter. What flavor of meaning does off add there?


texts: “This / That / It” in the following context

texts:
When someone asks on a forum:

  What does it mean? ...
  or
  What does “something” mean?

How would it better to answer? And how can I answer if someone asks me about that face-to-face, I mean in real life. Is there any difference between em in this context?

It means ...
This means ...
That means ...

I’m awaiting your answers. Thanks in advance.


texts:
1

After ten years has passed you can apply for possession of the land.
Ten years have passed - ten long, lonely years - since Bill died at sea.

I wonder why is there has in first sentence?. I know if we use it as  "a period of ten years" then we can use has.
2

"A short ten years has brought us to this point."
"An arduous ten years have passed."

Here in #2 it(Ten year's) modified by article that makes it countable. So there should be Has in both sentences of example #2.
Correct me if i am wrong.


texts: Difference in the meaning between "of + ~ing" and "to infinitive"?

texts:
What is the exact difference in the meaning and the grammar between

  "The quickest way of contacting the police station is to use your
  cellphone"

and

  "The quickest way to contact the police station is to use your
  cellphone"

I got the following answer (by A. Galloway ) in response to a specific question.

  =====================================================================

  the following answer (by A. Galloway )

English is notorious for using the -ing ending (which normally denotes something being done in the present progressive tense) in place if the verb's infinitive form. The sentence would most accurately be read as:

  The quickest way of contacting the police station is to use your
  cellphone."

  =

  "The quickest way to contact the police station is to use your
  cellphone."

  ===================================================================

I have not yet been able to distinguish between "of ~ ing" and "to infinitive" at all.
If these sentences have the exact same meaning,
I would appreciate it if you could give me a lot of examples.


texts:
Identify primary topic area from the list provided to which the abstract is best suited

The sentence as shown above. I am not sure what's sentence meaning and as it is a clause structure, can we divide it into two seperate sentences. I think in that way I will understand it eaily.


texts: Perfect Modals [The Usage of Must, Might and Should]

texts:
I still don't know what the difference between those perfect modals, especially between "might", "should" and "must".

  It was wrong of Glen to be so rude. He ______ (not behave) that way.
  Something ______ (happen) to Steve. He always calls when he's late.

Especially for sentence 1, why don't we use must? In my opinion, I think everyone who became rude is actually wrong. It's like "should" = something that you have to do/something right, but if you ignore, it doesn't matter. While "must" = Something that you have to do, and if you ignore it, you will face the consequences.

Why do I use "must"? Because, I think on this problem "It was wrong of Glen to be so rude.", we can see the consequences. Think about it, when someone being rude, no one want to see him nor talk to him. There is a consequences.


texts: Should it be a Gerund Modifying the Verb or a Past-Tense Verb?

texts:
Say I have a sentence like
"The child, realizing the parent's weakness, started coming up with his plan to take his device back from the parent."
I know it should be realizing, not realized. However, I am wondering if someone can give me a better explanation on why it should be realizing.


texts: Should I choose "for" or "of a" in this sentence?

texts:
A top tier choice for a camera

or

  A top tier choice of a camera

Please explain why at the same time


texts:
In the dictionary:

  Dead: no longer alive

  Her mother had been dead for ten years.

  Her parents were long dead.

  The man was already dead

So, what is the difference between "He is dead" & "He was dead"?

If we choose other adjective "nice" for example, then it is so easy

He is nice: At this moment he is nice

He was nice: He was nice in the past but we don't know if he is nice now

But: He is dead: At this moment he is no longer alive, but when he is dead, that event was already in the past even if it only happens a few seconds ago

Or we can say "He has just been dead" seems accurate

He was dead: He is no longer alive in the past.

When to use "He is dead" and when to use "He was dead"?


texts: Is there a feminine equivalent for the word "houseman"?

texts:
There are lots of words ending with the masculine suffix -man. So far, I haven't had any trouble with their feminine equivalents (most of them can be easily found in dictionaries).

Now I am having a trouble with the Brittish word "houseman" meaning " a male or female doctor who is still training, and who works in a hospital". I very much doubt that "housewoman" (or house (-) woman) might work at all in the meaning I'm going to use it.

So, is there a feminine equivalent for the word "houseman" like it is for the words chairman, horseman, postman, etc?

Since in AmE the synonym for the word houseman is intern, could it be possible to say a woman/girl intern or intern(n)ess, if the word exists at all?


texts:
Sometimes you are going to say something about past which you should do it before. As I know after 'should' (and may and might and ...) the simple form of verb should be used; but then how should I say:

I should told it!!!

Is the correct way the following?

I should tell it, before.


texts: "Too well" or "Good enough": Which goes better In "I didn't know him ......., but I was still upset when he died"?

texts:
I found this sentence "I didn't know him ......., but I was still upset when he died" so I have to choose between these two answer:

A. too well
B. good enough

According with the results of the test it says that the correct answer is "too well" but I don't understand very well the rule in this specific sentence.
Can someone please help me?


texts: Combine both present perfect and simple past together

texts:
Is it correct to combine both present perfect and simple past together as in the sentence below?

  This method has saved the lives of many patients as the true diagnosis was missed or unusual.


texts:
On the other side will be the real opposition: the pound. As the likelihood of Britain’s departure from the single market grows—a corollary of its uncompromising stance on immigration—the country’s economic prospects will decline. Sterling will struggle to find a floor, inflation will start to hurt, growth will fall below that of the euro zone and investment will slow.

Find a floor? does it mean it will have difficulties landing on the ground(stabilize) being unstable? Or because of the inflation it will float like a balloon? I don't know what sense it is used.

the source: http://www.theworldin.com/article/12586/wait-fall


texts: The opposite word of "to meet up with someone."

texts:
What is the opposite word of the word "to meet (up)" in the sense in the example sentence below.

  We met up, as we arranged, at 2 pm at the cafe and after about one
  hour-long chat  ....... near the central metro station.

I think we can use the word "to split (up)" but it sounds to me it can be used more like when somebody breaks up with her girlfriend/boyfriend.

Thank you


texts: "To keep up -- a new and exciting..." why this sentence is split up?

texts:
THE SOURCE

  Becker found himself struggling to keep up — a new and exciting experience for him.

Why is the sentence split up? I mean why the writer separate the phrasal verb "keep up" from "a new and exciting..."?


texts: What preposition should I use after "maintenance"?

texts:
While writing an article I ended a paragraph with the sentence

"The data will require some degree of maintenance by the experts"

After rereading, I got stuck on by because for some reason it didn't sound right, and my next guess was

"The data will require some degree of maintenance from the experts"

That doesn't sound right either, so now I'm wondering what I'm supposed to write between "maintenance" and "the experts". The meaning I'm trying to convey is simply "The expert will have to maintain the data to some degree."


texts: Not as what I thought it would be OR not as I thought it would be

texts:
Let's say Youtube videos always have a "clickbait" modus, that is, they have catchy title, BUT when click them, they are fake.  it goes like this:

  Youtube videos always have a catchy title, but when you click them, not as WHAT I thought it would be (fake)

Or

  Youtube videos always have a catchy title, but when you click them, not as I thought it would be (fake)

Which is correct here really? They both kinda ok to me with not much of a difference.


texts:
From the movie Tracks:

  Man: Where you from?

  Robyn: I grew up on a cattle station near Darling Downs.

  Man: Oh, a Queenslander, eh? What'd you run?

  Robyn: Hereford.

  Man: Hard country, that. Reckon she copped her share of drought, eh?

  Robyn: Seven years.

  Man: Muster through it, did ya?

  Robyn: We went broke.

I figure it means something like "plow through," but can't find it in dictionaries. What does it mean exactly? And is it specific to Australian English?


texts: Word for a character's history after the end of the movie

texts:
Often in the movies based on real life incidents, the ending credits say what happened to character after the point where the movie ended. For example

X is now the manger of a football team.
Y is now living with A in Z country.
R was arrested for possession of drug in 1997 and is in jail.

So I want to describe it like this

The movie ends with ending credits revealing the development/progress with the character featured in the movie.

Both development/progress here are positive words meaning something good happening the characters, However it does not necessarily have to be positive as shown in the example with R.
Can anyone suggest me the appropriate word for development/progress in this context?


texts: What does it mean (late) in this sentence?

texts:
A senior director in the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said [on June 20] that international flights were not likely to resume in Thailand until late September.

The late september mean 30/Sep? Or the 4th week on Sep?


texts:
“The heart is such that doesn’t just obey.”

I want to say that the heart is odd; it continues to demand what it wants. I am trying to entice it, but dosen’t obey me. Does ‘just’ implies here something persistence or  continuance?


texts: Understanding "ear-first" and "crowded room"

texts:
what does "enter crowded rooms" and "ear-first" mean in this sentence from the passage:

The paper’s eyes were big and round, whereas mine disappear altogether if
I smile, and my nose is more potatoey. That said, the spaces between my
features are in perfect proportion to each other. So far no one has noticed this.
Also my ears: darling little shells. I wear my hair tucked behind them and try
to enter crowded rooms ear-first, walking sideways. He drew a circle on the
paper’s throat and filled it in with careful cross-hatching.


texts: Is it correct to say "wind something secure"?

texts:
Let's say there is a doorknob that is wobbly, and I want it be fixed. Can I say this?

  I will try to wind the doorknob secure today.

Or would it be to say it this way?

  I will try to tighten the doorknob today.

Tell me please the most natural way to say that?


texts: A joke about explanation and understanding

texts:
I want to translate a short joke into English. The result doesn't sound natural, though I guess the idea is pretty clear. How would you rephrase it to sound more colloquial and natural?

  Two professors in a university are talking after a lecture:

  - Fools! I've been explaining that thing to them over and over again. Even I could understand it finally!

(This is my first question here, and I'm sorry if such questions are not appropriate for this website.)


texts: "fixated" negetive or positive conotation

texts:
Does telling someone "he is fixated on something" have a negative or positive connotation or it depends on the context? for example,

  You are very fixated on your own research.

thanks


texts:
I saw the word hype and as far as I know by now it means being excited, but im not sure with such sketchy information I found.
I was wondering if I could use it to say

  The new Scream Queens season is premiered today: OMG i'm so hyped up!

Is it correct? I know I can use something like "I'm so thrilled" or similar but i wanna sound too complex when I post my snapchat so my friends say  "Wow, he really knows plenty of English!"

Can you help me, please?


texts: What does someone do vs what someone does?

texts: Context: Jerry will have to think about what does he want more. vs Jerry will have to think about what he wants more.


texts: might be expired or might pass its expiration date

texts:
Which one is correct:

Did you receive the parcel? I am a little worried because it contains some traditional pastry that might be expired.

Did you receive the parcel? I am a little worried because it contains some traditional pastry that might pass its expiration date.


texts:
I know someone may think this question maybe funny,but I'm not a native English speaker.But I'm willing to learn.
I saw this on the bus :

"Those in wheelchairs are to ring the bell."

Sounds weird. I'd like to know how to make it right. Does it mean that the bell is for the particular use of disabled people?


texts: Are these comparative subordination examples, with 'than', missing prepositions?

texts:
[Source:] Comparative subordination

  Examples of the comparative that do not allow an analysis in terms of coordination (because the necessary parallel structures are not present) are instances of comparative subordination. In such cases, than has the status of a preposition or a subordinator (subordinate conjunction), e.g.

  c. More passengers than the airline had issued tickets [♦ to ♦ ] tried to board the plane.
   d. More guests than we had chairs [♦ for ♦]  showed up.

Please beware that I was the one who added the prepositions surrounded by the lozenges (♦ ). I did so because I believe that these were wrongfully missing. Were there? Why or why not?


texts: Who are "the Leavers" and "the Remainers"?

texts:
The context is Brexit and its consequences.

Perhaps this question is obvious, but in my country it is difficult to find information about this topic.
Could you please explain me in short what these people are for?


texts:
“Our son will get that game over my dead body.” (recorded from Korean EBS)

/ei/ in game sounds like /ii/, /ӕ/ in that /ɛ/. Consulting Wikipedia (e; ӕ), the two vowels seem to be pronounced by someone from New Zealand. Is this correct?


texts: What is the difference of "maritime" and "marine"?

texts: I know both words have the meaning in relation to sea or ocean, are they interchangeable as in marine corps and maritime organization or marine silk road or is there any rule about using them?


texts: Which preposition should be used in "building of/with 100 storeys"

texts:
What is the correct preposition here:

  building of\with 100 storeys


texts:
I read a sentence in a news paper and it was like

  Abhinav Bindra's final Olympics finished in the most agonising manner when the Indian shooter lost out in a shootout after both him and Serhiy Kulish of Ukraine were tied at 163.8 after seven series of shots.

Does him right here?

I think he is right since it is referring to the subject here.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Is it wrong to use he instead of him?

Please explain to me.


texts: What is the proper use of Preposition here?

texts:
I am posting here for the first time. Please help find the correct sentence:

1) Mr. Keanu is not at the committee.

2) Mr. Keanu is not on the committee.

3) Mr. Keanu is not in the committee.

4) Mr. Keanu is not in committee.

Which one of these sentences is correct answer?

Please help me out here. I am very much confused.


texts: "in order to 'better' solve a problem" sounds uncommon, is something wrong?

texts:
This video is saying

in order to better
visualize the cost function J, I'm going to ...

with the same structure, we could make this sentence

in order to better solve a problem

sounds uncommon, is something wrong?


texts:
I am writing for a contest:

  having a Master degree will give my chances their best to find employment after graduation.

I am especially asking about the word their.


texts: Meaning - 'so little would I endure that' (1990 US translation)

texts:
Source: p 104, 1 Peter 2:9a,  Commentary on Peter and Jude, by Martin Luther (first published in 1523)

  Therefore I would be glad to find this word priests becoming as common as it is for us to be called Christians. For it is all one thing—priest, baptized, Christian. As little as I would suffer that those who are anointed and shorn should be called Christians and the baptized, [1.] so little would I endure that they only should be regarded as priests. Yet they have arrogated the name entirely to themselves. So too they have named the church which the pope and his cardinals rule. But Scripture refutes this. Therefore mark well, that you may know how to establish the distinction as to how God names us priests, and how men call themselves such. For we must yet again state this word priest [2.] should become as common as the word Christian. For to be a Priest belongs not to an office that is external, it is only such an office that is administered before God.

I think that the archaic definition 2 of suffer applies here. Then does [1.] mean that although Martin Luther only tolerates little of 'those ... called Christians and the baptized', he would tolerate even less that such people be regarded as priests ?

I question my guess for [1.] because the modal verb should in [2.] implies the opposite: these sham priests should become Christians? What did I misinterpret?


texts: reading comprehension: meaning of "assume a little extra buffer of paranoia built in"

texts:
I'm reading The Fermented Man by Derek Dellinger. He talks about U.S. government's regulations about cheese making. For example, cheese can be sold to the public only if it's been aged a minimum of sixty days. Then he says:

  The government’s thinking here seemed fairly sound. One can always
  assume a little extra buffer of paranoia built in when it comes to
  anything related to public health, but sixty days of fermentation, two
  solid months, I didn’t think that sounded unreasonable.

I'm confused about the part in bold. I looked up the definitions of assume, buffer, paranoia and built in. But I still couldn't figure out what it means. The sentence just seems very indirect to me. Can anybody explain its meaning for me?


texts: Is it correct to use only one "as" here or should I repeat it?

texts:
Consider the following sentence:

I would recommend not using this word as it sounds very casual and
some people might find it strange.

Is it correct to say "and" or should I say:

I would recommend not using this word as it sounds very casual and as
some people might find it strange.?


texts:
I remember to have heard that your mother has many suitors

Source

  "My friend," said Nestor, "now that you remind me, I remember to have heard that your mother has many suitors, who are ill disposed towards you and are making havoc of your estate. Do you submit to this tamely, or are public feeling and the voice of heaven against you? Who knows but what Ulysses may come back after all, and pay these scoundrels in full, either single-handed or with a force of Achaeans behind him? If Minerva were to take as great a liking to you as she did to Ulysses when we were fighting before Troy (for I never yet saw the gods so openly fond of any one as Minerva then was of your father), if she would take as good care of you as she did of him, these wooers would soon some of them him, forget their wooing."


texts: Box is expected to be delivered by/in/on Q1 of 2016

texts:
Box is expected to be delivered by Q1 of 2016
Box is expected to be delivered in Q1 of 2016
Box is expected to be delivered on Q1 of 2016


texts: difference in the use of "specifically" and "specific" in sentence-meaning

texts:
What is the difference between saying:

  Additionally, those who are in power can monitor communications specifically for opinions, particularly political attitudes, and track down opponents.

and

  Additionally, those who are in power can monitor communications for specific opinions, particularly political attitudes, and track down opponents.

I know that the meaning changes, but I'm not really sure how? Thanks for the help!


texts: Premodifying adjectives and proper noun countability

texts:
Secondhand PC hardware is incomparable with brand new Raspberry Pi.

In this sentence, is it correct to say brand new Raspberry Pi without making it countable? That is, a brand new Raspberry Pi or brand new Raspberry Pis


texts: Which meaning of "but" is the correct one in "You are no longer a slave but a son?"

texts:
“So you are no longer a slave, but a son” (Galatians,4.7, NIV)

I’m confusing which meaning do I have to select for but above: ‘on the contrary’ or ‘except’. In fact, I get the idea that one does not wave away the other. But I’m not so sure that I don’t find no explanations on that yet. Would you let me know which one is right or is there any other view?


texts: Parts of speech identification in- 'He must go there in order to sing wonderfully.'

texts:
He must go there in order to sing wonderfully

In the above sentence, i have a couple of doubts. They are as follows :

1.isnt 'in order to' alone a phrasal preposition (& not subordinate conjunction )?

2.isnt 'sing' alone an infinitive ?

3.Am I correct in saying that we can not group 'to' & 'sing' together here to say that 'to sing' is an infinitive ?

4.isnt 'must go there in order to sing wonderfully' the predicate here?

5.isnt 'must go' alone the verb phrase or phrasal verb here?

6.isnt 'there in order to sing wonderfully' the complement of the intransitive verb 'go'?

7.isnt 'in order to sing wonderfully' the adverbial clause (of purpose) here?

8.isnt 'there' a simple adverb here ?(in relation to 'go')

9.isnt phrasal verb different from verbal phrase?

10.isnt phrasal preposition different from prepositional phrase?


texts:
The material is processed in the autoclave at about 150 degrees Centigrade.

My question relates to the usage of 'at about' to indicate approximate temperature rather than the exact temperature


texts:
In Frozen 2 there is a lyric that Anna says to Olaf:

Like how I'm holding on tight to you..

I don't understand the grammar and the meaning behind this. Does this mean "I will be tightly with you", or "I'm hugging you"?
Can we change the sentence to this?

Like how I'm holding on to you..


texts: What is the difference between: Everyone has come VS Everyone has arrived?

texts:
What is difference between: "Everyone has come" VS "Everyone has arrived"?

E.g.: A and other people are waiting for B. And A is making a phone call to B:

  Everyone has (come/arrived), where are you now?

Is it possible to use 'come'?

According to the dictionary 'arrive' is more occurate here:

Come - move or travel towards or into a place thought of as near or familiar to the speaker.

Arrive - reach a place at the end of a journey or a stage in a journey.

because meaning of 'arrive' contains act of reaching the place. But if I use present perfect with 'come', I guess it also means that everyone is already at the place, isn't it?


texts: Is it okay to start a sentence with "like" to show sarcastic tone?

texts:
Is it okay to start a sentence with "like" to show some sarcastic tone?

For example:

"Like you knew how to swim, right?" (meaning: you are acting as if you could swim, but we both know you can't)

"Ha! Like you could do a handstand right now." (meaning: you are acting as if you could do a headstand, but we both know you can't)


texts:
As I was talking to one of my friends, I said this sentence.

  We will need two of it.

I said it looking at the only glass cup I had. I was preparing for the party.

Two of it struck me as extremely wrong. But I knew that I couldn't say "two of these" as there was only one cup in the whole house.

I searched for similar texts but attained no satisfactory results.

I think "two more of it" or "two more of that" is better sounding, but not so sure as to the gramar aspect of it.

Is it grammatical to say "two of it" or "two more of it"?


texts: ‘Centuries-old architecture’ or ‘century-old architecture’

texts:
I came across the phrase ‘centuries-old architecture‘ in a video provided by BBC learning English. It’s common knowledge that a boy who is 12 years old can be called ‘a 12-year-old boy’ so why don’t they say ‘century-old architecture’ instead of ‘centuries-old architecture’?

The whole sentence extracted from that video is

  The problem is that unusually high tides often cause serious harm to its centuries-old architecture, which draws millions of visitors each year.


texts: What is the adjective to describe someone who conspicuosly takes others' things without asking? Can the adjective audacious be used to communicate the idea?


texts: How does the meaning of a sentence change depending on the position of "just" in it?

texts:
I would like to learn where in a sentence the word "just" can or can't be placed and how the sentence meaning will change depending on the position. Below are some sample sentences I made up myself with each followed by my interpretation in parenthesis.

He just doesn't like working for someone else. (Simply, he doesn't want to work for someone else.)

He doesn't just like working for someone else.  (He likes working for someone else, but it is something more significant for him. e.g. his life purpose)

He doesn't like just working for someone else.  (He doesn't dislike working, and it matters little whom he works for, but it matters the reasons for the work. For example, he possibly sees more value in helping people than in simply working for profit.)

He doesn't like working just for someone else.  (He doesn't dislike working, but if the work is solely for the benefit of any particular individual(s) or organization(s), then he's not interested. Possibly, he would like to be his own boss, or to do something for the sake or happiness of people around the world, for instance.)

Q1. Do the four sample sentences all sound natural to you?
Q2. Is my interpretation for each sentence reasonably correct?
By the way, I translated them into Japanese, my native tongue, with Google Translate. Interestingly, all the first three sentences were translated into the same Japanese, which reads "He doesn't like working for someone else". Google Translate seems to have judged that the "just" in each of the three sentences just meant nothing.
I would appreciate your advice.


texts:
Suppose I'm writing a report where I often refer to a particular training dataset and a particular control dataset.

Would it be grammatically correct to refer to them as to the Train dataset and the Control dataset, respectively?


texts: What's the difference in meaning between "talking about this" vs. "to talk about this"?

texts:
I think

  It makes me feel nervous talking about this.

means talking about that topic is making the speaker feel nervous while

  It makes me feel nervous to talk about this.

means if they were to talk about that topic, it would cause the speaker to feel nervous.

I think that's the difference between the two sentences. Do you agree with me?


texts: What does it mean "to make the numbers work"?

texts:
Everyone is asking why. It's simple, really. We are the network's
  golden child in every way, except profit margins. Fact is, #Eureka is
  an expensive show to make. And we could not maintain the quality of
  our show with the cuts it would take to make us profitable for Syfy's
  new parent company. Our creative execs at Syfy fought hard to keep us.
  Trust me, they LOVE us. We just couldn't make the numbers work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_(U.S._TV_series)

How could one explain what does it mean to make the numbers work?


texts:
Repeating the indefinite article. Is it a matter of style? If so, which quote is more natural [or maybe sounds better]?

  My name is Amy Purdy, I am a survivor, snowboarder, founder of
  Adaptive Action Sports, globetrotter and daydreamer.

vs.

  My name is Amy Purdy, I am a survivor, a snowboarder, a founder of
  Adaptive Action Sports, a globetrotter and a daydreamer.

Source: Amy Purdy
Note: the first comma is from the source. It should be replaced by a period.


texts: Is there an idioms for "nothing is yet clear"

texts:
I usually say that something is not clear yet like "it is still in the wind" when something is uncertain.

Is there any English idiom or proverb that describe this saying?


texts: What's the suitable preposition in this sentence?

texts:
It's about making a video (images timing with audio).
You will have the option to choose when to display them (in || along with || in relation to) the script.
You're welcome to rephrase or suggest better words like the word (timing or using where instead of when).


texts: 'Suppress someone's voices and opinions' - Word Choices?

texts:
Today, my mom and brother argued about an opinion regarding the cultural problem in our country. When I monitored the conversation, I saw my brother using aggressive voice, tones, and his own opinions rather than calmly stopped talking in order to hear what mom had to say from her perspectives and opinions.

-> I call his act in English 'to suppress someone's voice and opinions with his own opinions', or merely 'suppress someone's opinions with his own perspectives' in this context. For e.g.: 'my brother used aggressive voice and tones to suppress my mom's voice and opinions'.

Is that a correct way to put it in spoken English and in written English?

Thank you!


texts: What are the grammatical rules determining whether to use "which" or "what"?

texts:
What are the grammatical rules determining whether to use which or what?

I usually go by intuition. It's "What car are you looking at?" and "What bicycle do you like most?" but "Which song did you sing?" Quite often, I don't know whether to use what or which.

How can I tell?


texts: word/phrase/term to refer to a teaching approach

texts:
Some teachers intentionally slow down their speech to let students hear them clearly, in the meanwhile, they keep the contraction to let students learn the pronunciation point.
For example, when speaking normally slow, "an apple" would be pronounced /æn . ˈæpəl/. When speaking slow in a teaching way, the phrase would be pronounced /ən . ˈnæpəl/.
How do I refer to this kind of teaching technique/tip/approach?


texts: single word for dark smelly fart / farting without noise

texts:
In our local language (India->Maharashtra->Kolhapur) we have two different words for fart.

When a person farts with (hearable) noise (smelly or not smelly) we call this farting 'Padla'(male=पदला) / 'Padli' (female=पदली).
When a person farts without noise and we come to know because of dark smell, we call it 'Thuski'(ठुस्की).

So what is this 'Thuski' called in english?

No doubt everybody will be having their own calling name for this.
After some answers, i edited the question a bit.
I want a single word (no multiple words) with locality name as i have mentioned. So, please tell the word with your locality.


texts:
I don't go to bed early on Saturdays.
Sometimes I go to bed early on Saturdays, but sometimes I don't go to bed early on Saturdays.
I don't go to bed early on Saturdays at all.

Does #1 mean #2 or #3? Is #1 a partial negation?


texts:
Only if upward compatibility and speed are important issues should a system supporting the double extended format also support single extended.

Is this sentence the same as following one?

Only if upward compatibility and speed are important issues, a system supporting the double extended format should also support single extended.

If conditional should has inversion in that sentence, the sentence has form only if ~~~, if ~~~ which doesn't seem to make sense. What's wrong with my parsing?


texts: What is meant by 'I couldn't wait to leave'?

texts:
What is meant by "I couldn't wait to leave" in the following dialogue:

One day a traveller was walking along a road on a journey from one
village to another. He noticed a farmer working in a field of crops
beside the road.
The traveller stopped for a moment, greeted the farmer, and said, ‘I’ve just been to the village in the mountains, and I am now on my way to the village in the valley. Have you been there? Can you tell me what that village is like?’
‘How did you find the village in the mountains?’ asked the farmer.
‘It was terrible,’ replied the traveller. ‘I couldn’t wait to leave. The people were cold and unwelcoming to me.

Kindly, can somebody rephrase it (i.e. I couldn't wait to leave) in a more clear way?

Thank you.


texts:
A) I (hear, not) _____ the song in years.
  B) I (hear, not) _____ the song in years, and when I heard it I cried.

If I have understood correctly the differences of these two Tenses, in the first sentence we've to use Present Perfect, because we are talking about an action that has an influence on the present.

  Answer A): I haven't heard the song in years.

And in the second sentence we've to use Past Perfect because we are talking about an action that took place once before another point in the past.

  Answer B): I hadn't heard the song in years, and when I heard it I cried.


texts: What is the difference in meaning between "I hear" and "I am hearing" in the sense of perceiving information through the sense of hearing?

texts:
What is the difference in meaning between I hear and I am hearing in the sense of perceiving information through the sense of hearing? Grammar books say that it's not corret to say I am hearing in that sense. But that's what they do in the TV show Friends. Here is one of the scenes:

  Mr. Geller: I remember when we first got engaged.

  Chandler: Oh, I don’t think I ever heard that story.

  Monica: Oh dad, really you don’t need to…

  Mr. Geller: (ignoring her) Well, I’d gotten Judy pregnant. I still
  don’t know that happened.

  Mrs. Geller: (incredulous) You don’t know how that happened?! Your dog
  thought my diaphragm was a chew toy!

  Chandler: What a sweet story.

  Monica: Well, at least you’re not hearing it for the first time at
  your fifth grade Halloween party.

How the meaning would change if Monica said at least you don't hear...?


texts:
SOURCE    (Glee fan fiction)

"I can't be having this conversation with you."

The above form of sentence is new to me. Can somebody help me on that?
I understand the meaning, it means the conversation can't go on. What I don't understand is the format.

There are some sentences. Which of these are right?

I can't be having this walk with you.
I can't be having walk with you.
I can't be having walk.
I can't be have this walk with you.
I can't have this walk with you.
I can have a drink with you.

Can you give me some examples like these.


texts: Use of tenses (Past Simple vs Past Perfect)

texts:
Getting ready for the test I found this task

  The lucky coincidence allowed them to take a trip together and Angela loved traveling! More than that, she ________ (prepare) a list of the most desirable destinations. It was all written on her tablet and it was time to start making those dreams come true!

The key states that Past Perfect should be used there but I'm wondering why. I understand that maybe the result is emphasized there but I can't see any certain evidence for that.

My question for native speakers is whether it is grammatically correct to simply use Past Simple in the abstract given?


texts:
In the test below, Option 3 is the correct answer;

  The ---------- began at 5 A.M and they reached the peak of the
  mountain at noon.

  1.second nature

  2.far cry

  3.long haul

  4.rolling stone

I wonder why the 2nd option can't fill the gap.

What's the difference between 'long haul' and 'far cry'?

The respected entries in merriam-webster:

far cry
long haul


texts: what does 'I don't respect a porn star the way I respect a career woman' mean

texts:
Newspaper says

  I don't respect a porn star the way I respect a career woman or a woman of substance or a woman who isn't going to sell her body for sexual exploitation

I understand

  I don't respect a porn star. and I respect a career woman

In this case, what does "the way" mean?


texts: examples that show imperative "be" is a special verb(auxiliary verb)

texts:
Wikipedia says if a verb shows all or some of the following properties it is an auxiliary verb

They can participate in what is called subject–auxiliary inversion,
i.e. they can swap places with the subject of the clause, to form
questions and for certain other purposes. For example, inversion of
subject and verb is possible in the sentence They can sing (becoming
Can they sing?); but it is not possible in They like to sing – it is
not correct to say *Like they to sing? (instead do-support is
required: Do they like to sing?)
They undergo negation by the addition of not after them. For example,
one can say They cannot sing, but not *They like not to sing (again
do-support is required: They don't like...)
Other distinct features of verbs in this group include their ability
to introduce verb phrase ellipsis (I can sing can be shortened to I
can in appropriate contexts, whereas I like to sing cannot be
shortened to I like), and the positioning of certain adverbs directly
after them (compare I can often sing with I often like to sing).

and it adds that "be" (as infinitive, imperative and subjunctive) is an auxiliary verb. can you say an example that imperative "be" follows at least on of the above criteria?


texts: What part of speech does "dead" stand for in the following sentence?

texts:
OP:

  "He will end up dead".

Does the word "dead" denote an adverb here?


texts: If "discuss about" is redundant, what about "discuss with you about"?

texts:
My research showed that "discuss about" is incorrect because "discuss" is a transitive verb which means an object have to be attached. So "discuss about" would be redundant as in "talk about about".

But what if I say "discuss with you about"? Is it still redundant in this case or are there other problems?

For example:

  "I want to discuss with you about logistics"

I know the best version would be:

  "I want to discuss logistics with you"

But is the first version still wrong? Thanks


texts: I encountered a book explaining the meaning reify followed by examples but it did not mentioned its a verb. I had to lookup dictionary for that. My question is when this type of strange/new word pops out from someone in conversation what should I ask if I want to know what type of word is it as in parts of speech? Instead of asking like "Is reify a verb, adjective, noun?"


texts: Does the saying "speaking English like a Spanish cow" exist in English?

texts:
In French we have an expression which is:

  Parler (une langue, l'anglais par exemple) comme une vache espagnole

which literally translates to:

  Speaking (a language, like English) like a Spanish cow

Is this expression correct in English? Is there a similar expression which refers to non-native speakers who don't speak the language well, or who have a very pronounced accent?


texts: Can we use Verb Somersault without Auxiliary?

texts:
Which sentence is correct?

a) The car somersaulted several times in the air.

b) The car was somersaulted several times in the air.

According to me "was somersaulted" Is correct use because someone has to somersault the car. Hence passive voice should be use.


texts: "My wife and I am": Singular / Plural and the rule of proximity issue

texts: "My wife and I am" = one family, a singular number. Therefore satisfies  the use of "am" for both number and proximity issues.


texts: Why is there no preposition after the word ‘requires’?

texts:
The constitution requires members of parliament to take an oath of allegiance

I read this sentence in dictionary list of sentence examples and I would like to know: Why is "to" not needed in here:

  "The constitution requires to members of parliament to take an oath of allegiance"

or:

  "The constitution requires toward  members of parliament to take an oath of allegiance."


texts: "You need to not only think short term but long term too"

texts:
You need to not only think short term but long term too.

Is this sentence wrong or right?


texts: Difficulty facing horses/ difficulty horses facing

texts:
The difficulty facing horses was in reallocating the huge numbers displaced by technology to places where they could still be of use.

My question is that in the above sentence it seems to me that difficulty was facing something or " horses" is the subject here .Shouldn't it be - The difficulty horses were facing was in reallocating..../ The difficulty horses facing was in allocating ...?


texts:
What do you call the part of a helmet that protect the eye?

In the picture above, there's a part that seems to have been nailed on the helmet, it's the bottom part that protects the eyes. Is there a name for it? I am thinking there might be a name, because it seems to have been added to the helmet. Because it was added, I am thinking there might be a word for it.