texts: Looking for "turn to dust" alternative as a single word

texts:
I'm looking for the verb meaning "turn to dust" in the sense that the card can be broken into pieces and dust. The best candidates for me right now are "dismantle", "fission", "shatter", "break".

To give more context: I'm making a game where there are cards with souls embroidered into said cards. Later, the player can destroy the card which will give him the dust and the blank card in return. I'm looking for the verb describing the process of breaking the card in such specific way.


texts: "She said she would collect the book on Monday when she _____ home from school"-"came" or "would come"?

texts:
What would be the "official" way to complete the following sentence?

  She said she would collect the book on Monday when she _____ home from school

1. Came

2. Would come

EDIT: A few of you guessed correctly. I'm currently in France and this is a test my English teacher gave me. It was just 20 sentences to complete, similar to these ones. She gave an answer that I'm 98% sure is the wrong one, but I need to know why one of them is right/wrong before complaining about my grade.


texts:
Below sentence is copied from The Economist.

  Firms operating there will be subject to rules based on English common law, enforced by independent courts, the government promises.

I'm not able to understand the sentence structure and the usage of commas in the above sentence. The first part of the sentence (Firms operating there will be subject to rules based on English common law) looks me a complete sentence (independent clause), but the second part (enforced by independent courts, the government promises) is using enforced..... as a verb or as a noun?. How is the writer using commas to split the ideas?

Please explain the structure of the sentence.


texts: I had been going to school vs I had gone to school

texts:
I have looked up the difference of "I had been going" and "I had gone" but I still don't understand the difference of two and when to use which.

So what is the difference and in what situation would you use each?

Also with "I will have been going to school" and "I will have gone to school"


texts: How to say I switch from one math class to another?

texts:
So we have two math classes taught by two different teachers. If I want to switch from one class to another, what should I say?

  Change classes for Math? Switches classes for Math?

Also, why do I need to use plural form of 'class'?


texts: "Someone has forgotten their book". Why can we use 'Their"  and what's the difference if instead of "their" we use "his/her"?


texts: How to understand "likes to" in this sentence?

texts:
What does "likes to" mean in this sentence?

  Copenhagen likes to be known as the city that never sleeps.

What is the equivalent word or expression to it?


texts: What's the word for asking someone to deliver their promise?

texts: Let's say someone promised me something and this person forgot. Is there a single word that means asking this person to deliver this promise? I know that you can "collect" debt, but you cannot "collect" promises, right?


texts:
It is in a scientific paper. I have a parameter V.

Is it 'for given V' or 'for a given V'?

I mean a given value of V, say, V=3. The full sentence is,

for given V, the function f(x;V) is always a convex function of x.


texts: What does “lament their teenagers’ noses” mean?

texts:
“Parents lament their teenagers’ noses constantly in their phones.”

Could you help me with the  understanding of the "lament their teenagers' noses" in this sentence? I am confused about it.


texts:
I want to reinforce the exact difference between these two prepositions used in the same sentence.

  I'll go for a walk in the seaside.

  I'll go for a walk at the seaside.

Is it grammatically wrong to say that we can use both?


texts: I don't understand the meaning of the sentence in bold?

texts:
They stopped running and stood in the
great jungle that covered Venus, that grew and
never stopped growing, tumultuously, even
as you watched it. It was a nest of octopuses,
clustering up great arms of fleshlike weed,
wavering, flowering in this brief spring. It was
the color of rubber and ash, this jungle, from
the many years without sun. It was the color of
stones and white cheeses and ink, and it was
the color of the moon

this passage is from the story named "All Summer in a Day"
by Ray Bradbury


texts: What is difference between word incise and excise?

texts:
Are incise and excise synonym?What are the uses conditions for incise and excise?

I found multiple meaning for excise as excise can be both noun and verb. But in my class note both words meaning is surgically cut.


texts: What are the differences in meaning between "We'll do" and "let's do"?

texts:
What are the differences in meaning between "we'll do" and "let's do"?

I need for more explanations between them and when we use each of them.

We will do new job

Let's do shopping

If both of them correct? Could u please explain the differences in meaning between them?


texts:
A girl buys a size that fits her, but is too long for her. So she says:

  I guess I'll have to cut it down to my "length/size". (It fits her perfectly but is too long)

So what should be used "length/size"?


texts:
She was unintentionally inaccurate.

  She was unintendedly inaccurate.

Which one is the better choice/more idiomatic?


texts: Why is it 'grand theft auto' and not 'auto grand theft' or 'grand theft of an auto'?

texts: If it's applied to an act of theft, then why is the last word of the expression 'grand theft auto' is 'auto' instead of 'theft'? It's constructed as if it's 'auto' modified with 'grand theft', i.e. an auto that has been "grand-thefted", so to speak. Why is the word order so unusual?


texts: "lost to the middle ages" or "lost in the middle ages"?

texts:
I was reading "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare and in the introduction there was a sentence which was:

  Shakespeare made it resonate with the most fundamental themes and problems of the Renaissance - a vast cultural phenomenon that began in the fifteenth-century Italy with the recovery of classical Greek and Latin texts that had been lost to the middle ages.

I think that there must be "in" instead of "to" in the sentence. Am I right?


texts: Is there an expression similar to "at the wheel" to use when someone is flying a helicopter?

texts:
When someone is driving a car you can say that they're at the wheel.

Is there an expression similar to that to use when someone is flying a helicopter?


texts: What is the difference between "provisioned" and "provided"

texts:
I'm reading this article and they wrote:

  After the identity is created, the credentials are provisioned onto
  the instance.

What I understand is that the credentials will be given to then instance and when I looked up provision I've ended up at:

  something provided;

  the providing or supplying of something, especially of food or other necessities.

So what is the difference between provided and provisioned? Can't we say

  After the identity is created, the credentials are provided onto
  the instance.

And have the same meaning?


texts: Identifying subject and object of wh- non question

texts: So I have this sentence What the feeling of the student is. But I'm a bit confused when identifying the subject and object of this sentence. Can anyone help me?


texts:
Given an image above, which one is correct as a description for it?

A. He is working on his laptop.

B. He is working with his laptop.

Or, do A and B have different meanings?


texts: Should I use “withdrawal” or “exchange,” when spending credit card points?

texts: I wonder that which word is used when spending credit card points, withdrawal or exchange?


texts:
Suppose a successful university student who has reached to many scientific and academic achievements. You want to ask about their motives and especially someone who encouraged them in that difficult route. How you would ask about it:

  Who was your encourager?

Or when they want to reply that:

  I did not have any encourager. I loved to learn myself.

I didn't found the encourager definition in any online dictionary, but in my personal dictionary, it is used in many sentences.

Does it sound natural to you? How should I say it to make a better sense to the listener?


texts:
no later than is often regarded as the alternative to by, as in :

  You should come back no later than / by 10 p.m

I'm wondering whether no later than can be used in the following way:

  Everyone should work no later than 10 p.m. today because there will be a
  curfew tonight.

Do you think it should be replaced by until?
I'd appreciate your help.


texts:
The Persian Gulf has 65 percent of the world's oil reserves.

Is it because there are many reserves on earth that the plural form of reserve is used?


texts:
I quote what is written down in bold from a grammar book:

"Time reference changes when we use reported speech.
For example:
Anne said, ‘I’m going swimming this afternoon.’ ➟ Anne told me that she was going swimming that afternoon."
Let's suppose that 'Anne' told me she was going swimming at 8 a.m., and that I reported what she had said to someone else at 11 a.m. of the same day; would it make sense to say "she was going swimming THAT afternoon". I believe the listener would assume that 'Anne' has already went swimming, and that I am talking about a previous day, rather than the one we are in. Am I right or wrong?
Thanks in advance.


texts: The meaning of "late" in "the late Buddy Holly"

texts:
I came across an expression "the late Buddy Holly" and additionally gathered two more examples of it, all of which I don't understand.

The rock 'n roll revival has provoked the Record Industry Assn. of America to award two records by the late Buddy Holly for Gold Records.

Here's one of two previously unreleased sides which find the late Buddy Holly working with the swinging tenor man, King Curtis.

Lead singer Freddie Garrity bore something of visual resemblance to the late Buddy Holly, with similar big black eyeglasses and a skinny frame.

I googled who Buddy Holly was, I worked out "the late" is likely to be referring to his occupation, as in the singer Robert Smith or the painter van Gogh. But I still can't figure out what this profession is.

Could it mean a late-night (talk show) host?

Could it refer to a younger-generation artist whose style resembles Buddy Holly's?

Could it mean the deceased Buddy Holly?


texts: "Lily, not he/him, had planned the party" — Which pronoun is more appropriate?

texts:
In this sentence should I use "he" in place of 'him"?

  He explained that Lily, not him, had planned the party.


texts:
If A1 is selected, then C1 will be reported and not C2.

Could you please tell me if it's necessary to put a comma before "and not"?


texts: Confused about the explanation of the difference between "expence" and "expense"

texts:
I've checked WikiDiff for the difference between expence and expense wanting to verify that it's corresponding to licence (the object or permission to do something) and license (the act of issuing said object or establishing/accreditation of said permission).

However, the explanation hit me with whoosh big time. I simply can't determine what's being said. I can't exclude error in the text, of course, but being humble I want to investigate if it might be me.

  As nouns the difference between expense and expence is that expense is a spending or consuming often specifically an act of disbursing or spending funds while expence is.

Also, on top of that, it got me confused and uncertain about the actual difference so +1 to whoever answers that too.


texts: "The genealogy transferred from one loins to another."

texts:
Does the old-fashioned word 'loins' refer to 'sexual organ' or the part we call 'back' i.e. the part  between the neck and the tops of the legs?
What impression do you take if one says:

The genealogy transferred from one loins to another.

Does that sound normal? Note that the writer wants to say "from the back of one male to his wife, and then their son to his wife'?
I however don't agree with the use of this word here. I think it is odd. Simply, the word 'back' should be used.


texts:
Google and some other guys use "boroughs" when talking about the administrative divisions of NYC:

keywords: how many boroughs in nyc

Whereas some post uses "districts" when talking about the administrative divisions of NYC:

Google uses "districts" when talking about the administrative divisions of Beijing:

keywords: how many boroughs in Beijing

Why is that?

A post says

  In general a district is any subdivision of a county, and a borough is just a district which has been granted permission to call itself a borough and call the leader of the council a mayor. It's similar to the way that a city is just a town that has been given permission to call itself a city.

However, those 16 districts of Beijing has been granted permission, why people don't use "borough" there?


texts: Using “the” with names of functions, variables, constants in computer literature

texts: When I write computer-related text and want to refer to something (a variable, a function, etc.) that has a unique name, should I add “the” before the name?  For example: “Here I call the printf function” vs “Here I call printf function.” Logically it seems that the name is a sufficient determiner, but at the same time I see that many people use “the” here.


texts:
Given:

  John was causing obstruction: the act of preventing passage or progress.

Given that the clause after the colon is elaborating on the  head noun 'obstruction', does this mean that the entire sentence is a noun phrase?

If not, are any circumstances where ':' forms a noun phrase?

Does the same reasoning apply to semicolons (';')?


texts: What is difference between "don't remember" and "not that remember"

texts: Recently, I came across this use of the phrase: not that I remember. I have not encountered such use before. I have always come across the classic use of the phrase: I don't remember. Is there any difference between the classic phrase I don't remember and the recently met not that I remember?


texts:
In the midst of Godzilla's attack on Apex Pensacola, I found some
crazy  tech with no official classification. What I saw doesn't match
any of the engineering specs I've ever seen. So what are they working
on in such blackout secrecy, hmm? This could be the thread that
finally unravels the Apex sweater of conspiracy.

What does "sweater of conspiracy" mean?
Apex is a facility's name.
Source: Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)


texts: "I'll teach you" VS. "I'll have you learn"

texts:
I'll teach you a lot more.
I'll have you learn a lot more.

What's the difference?


texts: How to address correctly: "Please someone ..." or "Someone please ..."?

texts:
How should one address a person or a group of people, for example, in a email conversation at the start of a sentence?

Please somebody do something very simple if some simple condition.
Somebody please do something very simple if some simple condition

For example, something like "Please managers forward this request to your people if you believe they could give helpful feedback." Or "Managers please feel free to forward this request to your people if you believe they could give helpful feedback."
What would be correct if both are incorrect?

Should any punctuation marks be applied?


texts:
I am listening to this video. At 0:33, Lil Wayne says:

  We just reached out.

What does "reached out" mean?


texts: What preposition is correct 'sleep on the bed' or 'sleep in the bed'

texts: Are both expressions correct? If yes, do they have different meanings? It seems to me that I came across both of them in books, but I'm not sure.


texts: I don't get the difference , why in first example we use past simple, and in the second past perfect. " He decided to get a present for his children before he left Rome" " He began apologizing before I had paid the driver "


texts:
I was listening Somebody That I Used Know (Gotye ft. Kimbra), I realize there's a phrase that is in the base form.
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number...
...had me believing it always something that I'd done
In theses phrases have is not being used as an auxiliary verb or to have.
I know there are a lot of uses for "have" in its imperative form, like "Have fun", "Have a happy New Year", "Have a good trip", but it is always about to have something.
So, my questions are:

Is it right to use have or make in this phrases?
Doesn't make more sense make and made here?


texts: Bring forward vs. put forward a proposal

texts:
As for the topic of proposal, what is the difference between

  United Nations must bring forward a proposal to denuclearize South Korea to secure World peace.

and

  United Nations must put forward a proposal to denuclearize South Korea to secure World peace.

When googling, the result didn't clearly state what I really needed, especially to compare them. There is another website, but I consider it as still vague.

bring forward a proposal

put forward a proposal

Although they MAY be the same, I THINK there may be subtle differences between them, and that's what I really needed as a foolproof.


texts: Is it allowed to use a period before thereby?

texts:
I did use a period before thereby but I am not sure whether it should be replaced by other punctuation form in this paragraph?

This skill, along with academic preparation in the USA can make his work more credible to the local authorities and the general public. Thereby, receiving the support necessary to promote cooperation and research in the sustainable use of natural resources.


texts: Does "Before" and "After" tell the events sequence

texts:
One rule about past perfect that I've been taught is that

  If the sequence is clear, the usage of past perfect or simple past is optional.

For example, I had eaten the cookies, and then I went to bed to sleep.

The sequence is clear (marked by then).

But, I'm not quite sure about after and before. Examples:

  I had stopped playing game before my mother came.
  I stopped playing game before my mother came.

Are they both grammatical because the adverbial (before my mother came) shows the sequence?

And for after:

  After I had played the game, my mother came.
  After I played the game, my mother came.

I just want it to be clear, can "Before" and "after" allow or forbid the usage of the past perfect?


texts:
Why does IELTS read [ˈaɪelts] when the I starts the word "International" so IELTS should read [jelts] instead.

Is it an exception?


texts: meaning of the phrase 'thematically consistent'

texts:
It's thematically consistent. Every game is rigged.

I understand what the term rigged means and also know meanings of the terms thematically and consistent, however are not sure of what exactly it means put together.


texts:
I think I heard this conversation an ESL podcast. Two people are talking about the girls they have romantic interests in.

One person said,
"what do you see in her anyway. She's a little chubby."

Does the phrase 'see in someone' used here mean that find someone attractive, as in "how do you find her attractive"?


texts:
[Paras 7, 8]: [Dr Andrew Hodges] He explains: “Most people seem to remember maths as their worst subject and
  have developed a mental block about it. So there will be a lot of areas about which
  they know nothing. Everyone who tries to popularise maths understands they are
  going to come up against this, but most choose to ignore it and carry on regardless.
  I felt it was important to address this barrier between writer and reader head on.”.

  Which is easier said than done, when you realise just how limited many people’s
  maths often is. Only last week, Camelot had to withdraw one of its scratchcards
  when loads of punters complained that they couldn't understand why − 9 was a
  lower number than − 8. For Hodges, the real battleground is the syllabus at key
  stages 3 and 4, where the ante gets upped from relatively straightforward maths to
  something altogether more complicated: an uneasy hybrid of the Athenian
  Euclidian abstract logic that was so appealing to the Victorian gentry and the
  relentless grind of long calculation that has its roots in the pre-computer era when
  bosses needed clerks to keep books and ledgers with metronomic accuracy.

I'm trying to determine which of the 2 bolded words is used as criticism in the quote. I wrongly picked battleground, but the answer is grind. Thus, would someone please explain any nuances or oversights about these words? Also, did I choose the right definition for grind? My guess is:

  grind = 2. Hard dull work

How's this criticism? The passage just refers to a process necessary 'in the pre-computer era'?

Wouldn't battlefield signify criticism? In the passage, Hodges criticises the syllabus at key stages 3 & 4?


texts: Should the following verbs take the singular or plural form?

texts:
The sentence is as follows,

Multinational corporations carry out various commercial activities
around the world, such as purchasing raw materials, setting up
factories, exporting goods, opening branches, listing and financing,
which promote the global flow of raw materials, talents, commodities,
and capital, and connect the economies of various regions, which
become interdependent. At the same time, they also promote cultural
exchanges.

My questions are

Is the sentence okay?
Should the words "promote" and "connect" in the above sentence take the singular form (i.e. "promotes" and "connects") or the plural form?

Thank you


texts: I read a sentence "CFIUS has stymied several deals in the past year" in New York times. But I was taught that the present perfect should not be use if there is a word indicated the past time, and "in the past year" is not the past time?


texts:
I heard native speakers rarely use passive expressions.

Is it correct to say something like "I got attacked"?

e.g.

  I’m attacked by him.
  I got attacked by him.


texts: Why do underpants, knickers have to go with the ‘s’?

texts: I’ve learned that pants, jeans, shoes, glass are always in plural form because they consist of 2 parts. For example, jeans and pants have 2 pant legs. So why are underpants and knickers always in plural form?


texts: What's the term when someone holds a company position only by title?

texts:
Please imagine a company in which the manager is a  manager only by name/job position, does nothing and no work, or somehow has delegated the most part of his actions to his underling David who is responsible for everything. David is a very capable and trustworthy person and this is why the manager has trusted him.

How would a native speaker say this surely awkward translation? Is there an idiom for the bold parts of my sentence?

  He is (nominally/ by  name/position) the manager. Everything is in David's hands.


texts:
A flock of birds shattered the windshields of a Malaysia Airlines jet
  as it landed in the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, but all 180 passengers and crew were safe, an airport official said on Sunday.

From this page.

Which of the following does this mean?

  1)  while it was landing in the capital. Actually the Nepali capital
  was its destination.

or

  2) it had to land there. Actually it was not its destination.


texts:
The use of double past tense is always a bit problematic for me.

So far I have learned that when there is a time reference and two actions happening in past we use past and past perfect. The action which is more past or started earlier it takes past participle, the later one in past tense

ex: When I reached the station the train had already left

This is an example of an adverbial clause with a clear time reference. But my question

  1) Is it possible to use two past indefinite tense in the same
  sentence in a principal-subordinate clause structure?

  2) Is it possible to use past-past perfect time frame in the same
  sentence in a co-ordinating clause structure?

For example, if there's a sense of simultaneous action happening in the past, it doesn't make sense to use the past participle.

I can think of an example given below ( which may be wrong)

She emanated ebullience as she learnt/had learnt about her first rank in the examination.

My thought process was. Knowing the rank and being happy is a simultaneous action--> learnt
p.s FOLLOWING UK english


texts: "I am keeping going with my father way" sounds like native speaker?

texts:
His father passed away, and now he is trying to say the that he is keep going in his father way, that was honest and good person. Is the following sentence sounds corresponded?

  "I am keeping going with my father way"


texts: Difference in meaning? "Would" vs "shall"

texts:
What is the difference between these two sentences?

  What would we crime reporters do without juicy murders?

  What shall we crime reporters do without juicy murders?


texts: What is meant by disturbing in this context

texts:
My girlfriend and I do not agree on the meaning of the following:

"It's disturbing"

I say that it could mean two things:

it is interrupting
it is unsettling

But she thinks it can only mean

It is unsettling

What do you guys think? Can it be a verb in the sentence or not?


texts: Oliver Twist: To whom does “the left hand” refer here?

texts:
I am reading a translated version of "Oliver Twist" and  a paragraph was so vague there. So I referred to the English version:

  The surgeon leaned over the body, and raised the left hand. ‘The old story,’ he said, shaking his head: ‘no wedding-ring, I see. Ah! Good-night!’

To whom does “the left hand” refer here? In translated book it is the surgeon but it make no sense to me.

I guess it should be "the body". Right?

What does "The old story" mean?
What does "no wedding-ring" mean here? Is it about poorness or it is about illegal marriage?


texts: Sentences that answers on the question "what is this" should get an article?

texts:
Sentences that answer on the question "what is this" (for example when I ask someone who learns English) should get an article?

For example:

  Q. what is this?
  A. This is (a?) table.


texts:
At the age of six the author visited a theater for the first time.

Is the use of "a" correct,
if he had never visited any theater before that time?


texts: What does "half glance" mean in this context?

texts:
The grin vanished from Fred's face. Harry saw George half glance at Fred, before smiling at Ron.

I'm not sure what "half glance" means exactly. I guess it just means to take a very quick glance. Is my understand correct?


texts: Reluctant to understand "and more often than not one"

texts:
I am reading SICP-Chapter II
and encounter such a sentence

  In this chapter we are going to look at more complex data. All the
  procedures in chapter 1 operate on simple numerical data, and simple
  data are not sufficient for many of the problems we wish to address
  using computation.
  Programs are typically designed to model complex
  phenomena, and more often than not one must construct computational
  objects that have several parts in order to model real-world phenomena
  that have several aspects.
  Thus, whereas our focus in chapter 1 was on
  building abstractions by combining procedures to form compound
  procedures, we turn in this chapter to another key aspect of any
  programming language: the means it provides for building abstractions
  by combining data objects to form compound data.

Reference to the sentence:

  Programs are typically designed to model complex phenomena, and more
  often than not one must construct computational objects that have
  several parts in order to model real-world phenomena that have several
  aspects.

Decompose the sentence:

Programs are typically designed to model complex phenomena,
and more often than
not one must construct computational objects that have several parts
in order to model real-world phenomena that have several aspects

I am very confused with not one here.


texts: scarred me for Ramen (what does that mean?)

texts:
Example (YouTube video):

  Bird feces. Yeah. Nobody wants bird fices in their tomato bisque. Exactly. You're not leaving a used condom in my soup. All that aside. I'm sure that's happened. Not to me. If you've ever been to Tijuana, I'm sure, well, anyway. Well, I'll get a lawsuit out of it. Not if I'm in Tijuana, but if I'm in the States, I'm sure, if I get a condom in my food, I would be able to seek out some type of... I've had a band-aid. I don't go to that Ramen place anymore. Really? Wow, that's harsh. I'm actually, scarred me for Ramen and I'm just not interested, but, anyway...

I don't understand what the guy is trying to say. Especially, I don't understand his grammar.


texts: Using two tenses to talk about past events

texts:
One person is telling the following story to a friend of his :

I bumped into my old classmate John , the last time i saw him was 20 years ago , I said hello to him , but his response was so cold :

  1) After he had gotten a PhD , he became so cocky .

  2) After he had  gotten a PhD , he has become so cocky .

  3) After he got a PhD , he has become so cocky .

Which sentence is grammatically correct ?


texts: Do people commonly say "go down" to mean "go to sleep"?

texts:
I saw this in a movie (Joe Swanberg's Happy Christmas).

  "How long has he been sleeping for?"

  "He went down right at 1:00"

I have never heard the phrase used like this, and can't find this meaning in dictionaries.

Is this usage common?


texts: Which is more natural English: "I don't know what the cause is" or "I don't know what is the cause"?

texts:
I don't know what the cause is.
I don't know what is the cause.

and do you have any difference between these sentences.
if you have, could you explain it.
e.g. 1) is for writing, 2) is for speaking


texts: Which is correct — "avoid fight" or "avoid fighting"?

texts:
To avoid fighting among children, we should give them equal number of chocolates.
  To avoid fight among children, we should give them equal number of chocolates.

Which one of the above statements is grammatical, and why?


texts:
I want to express a sentence.
The meaning is that we hope that someone will pay the bill for today's dinner or drink or something.
In response, someone will say "It's on my treat" .

I want to know can I use "Who pays today?"
Please guide me. Thanks a lot


texts: Why do we use "did" in simple past with every person but we use "do" or "does" in simple present?

texts:
Do you have any idea why we use do and does in simple present and only did in simple past? I mean why there is only one form in simple past but there are two forms in simple present.

And one more question: why is the sentence "He goes to school" simple present? In this sentence there is no sign of present, so why do we call it simple present?

My question is why we use did in simple past with every person but we use do or does with different persons in simple present.


texts: when would I say "I'm having a hard time believing"?

texts:
This is a question in a practice.

I guess this is the answer

  I'm having a hard time believing as he says about Jenny.

My actual question is, what the situation could be when a speaker would say that?

Is the following situation reasonable?

Christopher just told Ronald something about Jenny, and Ronald is telling me what he got from Christopher. That's why Ronald uses "I'm having".

Is my understanding right?


texts: Is there a more natural way of saying "wind was created"?

texts:
I am not sure if you would agree with me, but "wind was created" doesn't sound idiomatic to me. Is there a better way to say it?

Here's the example sentence:

  It doesn't matter the location where the wind was created, what matters is the direction it's coming from.


texts: "Expect of someone" vs. "expect from someone"

texts:
Could you tell me if there is any difference in meaning between the following questions?

What do you expect of your partner.
What do you expect from your partner.


texts: Can I use a hidden subject when it is clear what it is?

texts:
I am struggling with the following sentence: "The following result is the chain rule, and is the first of two results we prove."

It sounds fine to me, and better than "The following result is the chain rule, and IT is the first..."

Question: Should I add the it? Can I keep it hidden? Is this ever permissible?


texts: "three times as much as" vs. "three times more"

texts:
1. She earns three times as much as I.

2. She earns three times more than I.

Are these two sentences grammatically correct?


texts: How to use colons while defining multiple words in a sentence?

texts:
Is there a particular way to combine all these terms and definitions after the colon?

  The Four Nobel Truths are: One, Dukkha, desire to want what you had
  and not wanting what you did not have; Two, Samudaya, suffering comes
  from wanting stuff; Third, Nirodha, stopping Dukkha will assist
  reaching Nirvana; Lastly, Magga,which is the pathway to end the
  suffering through following the Middle Way.


texts: What is the meaning of "only to have instead one nail snap off" in this sentence?

texts:
The claws scraped at a cloak they should have readily tattered, only to have instead one nail snap off.
  [Warcraft: War of the Ancients #1]

The structure looks strange and I didn't ever see "instead" in the position like this.


texts:
I have this phrase and the context is the farming:

  I need somebody... who, during planting time and harvest season will
  finish his 40-hour week by Tuesday noon and then, paining from tractor
  back, put in another 72 hours.

I do not understand paining from tractor back, what does it mean? Is it referred to the rear part of the tractor? Or is it referred to the back pain of the driver of the tractor due to his tough job?

Full source is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMpZ0TGjbWE


texts: Difference between "You have me ~" and "You made me ~"

texts:
I heard someone says

  "You have me worried".

Is it same as "You made me worried"?

Any difference in nuance?


texts: "since" and the tense in the main clause

texts:
School grammar says the tense /aspect of the main clause is the present or past perfect if the subordinate clause or phrase begins with since.

That said, what do you think about the acceptability of the following?

John used / had used / is using Peter's legal services since he was sued by his coworker Tom.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: Confusion about the structure of a sentence

texts:
I confronted with this sentence:

  Rainfall was limited and what water there was rushed across the plain in the annual flood of melted snow.

I'm confused with the sentence in bold. Can anyone help explain the structure of that sentence? Thanks!


texts: Understanding English (Listening skills)

texts:
I've been trying to improve my listening skills for about 9 months.

I realized that I can understand "BBC Radio 4 extra" very well (especially the drama), but I find it's hard to understand "CNN" and most TV movies.

I just want to know your Opinion. Is the British accent easier to understand than the American accent or they are the same?

What is the best way to understand movies? I watch  movies with English subtitles but I think I'm improving my listening skills slowly. Is there any other way to understand movies ?


texts: Meaning of "The evidence in fact does not stand independent scrutiny"

texts:
Sir Alec was thin and grey and his voice matched his looks. It sounded a wisp of smoke wafting from some burning of leaves hidden by a clump of lavender. The effort that appeared to go into his voice seemed not to correspond with any commensurable weariness or boredom; indeed, he was eager to pump me, and, genuinely looking for a job as I was, I felt highly impatient both with the affectation built in to his manner and with the fact that I had come primed for a serious interview and was being frivolously quizzed. Moreover, I had come in a taxi. I always took a taxi to an interview.
I said I understood there was an editorial job available. ‘Yes,’ he breathed, ‘there is in fact an editorial job available, I believe.’ He pressed a button on his desk and spoke through an intercom. Tan, would you come in please? I have a lady editor who might in fact very well suit us. Yes, now, please.’
He rose and so did I. He walked me to the door just as it opened and Ian Tooley came in. Sir Alec offered me a limp hand and when I took it he seemed to throw my hand away into thin air. Tan, this is Mrs Hawkins.’ Then he said to me, or rather sighed out the words: ‘I hope you don’t believe that Shakespeare wrote the plays. The evidence in fact does not stand independent scrutiny. He must be laughing up his sleeve in the next world, if in fact there is one, when he looks down and sees what is in fact going on at Stratford-on-Avon.’

I find this on the net:
So what is Independent Scrutiny? Definition: A regular and planned process external to the audit body and the audited organisation with particular focus on the audit process to ensure that the process is capable of producing objective results and meeting its obligations under Regulation (EC) No 882/2004.
but again its meaning is unclear to me?
Dose it mean: we must not trust something that is said or we see?
Source: A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark


texts: The use of 'with' & 'on' in the financial context

texts:
In April 2011, SES signed a financing agreement with Ex-Im Bank
  (Export-Import Bank of the United States) over USD 158 million for the
  investment in one geostationary satellite (QuetzSat). At the in-orbit
  acceptance date of the satellite, the facility was fully drawn with
  USD 152.2 million which will be repaid in 17 equal semi-annual
  installments starting on June 22, 2012. The loan has a final maturity
  date of June 22, 2020 and bears interest at a fixed rate of 3.11%.

And

  On September 30, 2003, the Group issued in the US Private Placement
  market four series of unsecured notes amounting  to USD 1,000.0
  million and GBP 28.0 million. These notes comprised:

  1)     Series A USD 400.0 million of 5.29% Senior Notes due September
  2013, amortising as of September 2007. The Private Placement Series A
  was repaid on September 30, 2013.

  2)     Series B USD 513.0 million of 5.83% Senior Notes due September
  2015, amortising as of September 2011.

  3)     Series C USD 87.0 million of 5.93% Senior Notes due September
  2015.

  4)     Series D GBP 28.0 million of 5.63% Senior Notes due September
  2013, amortising as of September 2007. The Private Placement Series D
  was repaid on September 30, 2013.

  On these four series, the Group pays interest semi-annually. SES is
  committed under the US Private Placement to maintaining covenants
  requiring certain financial ratios to be upheld within agreed limits
  in order to provide sufficient security to the lenders. Of these, the
  covenant which management monitors the most actively is the
  requirement to maintain the Net Debt/EBITDA ratio at a level of 3.5 or
  below.

  -- Source

What's the use of with here? Can it be substituted here with any other prepositions?

What's the use of on here? Why not for or with?


texts: which tense I have to use with the word before

texts:
What tense do I need to use with the word before

  They truly believe that the benefits we obtained are nothing compared
  with the damage we caused/had caused before.


texts: Well, sometimes we are having power cuts in our area. But before looking for other houses we cannot be sure if it's due to a general problem with electrical power, or if it's a problem on our side. So we have to ask our neighbours for this. Can anyone please tell me how to do that?


texts:
I see sentences with (he or she) like :

  How to know if he or she is the best one for you?

  Give a Person Power and He or She Will Show Interpersonal Sensitivity.

It's possible to use just one word instead of (he or she), something like :

  Give a Person Power and He Will Show Interpersonal Sensitivity


texts:
Narrator: Her husband Carl always teased her about her macaroni and
  cheese, saying it was the only thing she knew how to cook, and she
  rarely made it well.

TV Series: Desperate Housewives

I don't know why the narrator used the -ing form of the verb "saying".
How it would be like if the narrator didn't want to use the -ing form of the verb?


texts: what does "present company included" mean

texts: There is failure to see the forest for the trees; the silver lining in the cloud, may cause small-minded men to reject women; present company excluded/included,  because of their other than acceptable size


texts: "Every time there's a thunderstorm ...." What part of speech are 'there' and 'every time'?

texts:
According to my instructor, 'every time' is used as an adjective + noun, 'there' is used as an adverb. But in the sentence below I think "every time" is used as a time expression adverb, and "there" is used as a pronoun.

  But every time there's a thunderstorm around Marshfield, they say you can hear his rolling voice in the hollows of the sky.


texts:
I heard the following dialog in a British English movie:

  Words go round quick. All the little tongues go clack, clack, clack.

What does this mean, and why was the word "quick" used instead of "quickly"?


texts: What does "in the shuffle marketing wise" mean here?

texts:
"Part of the reason that he wants an investor is to take the company’s marketing up a notch. “We kind of got lost in the shuffle marketing wise,” he said."

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethmacbride/2017/12/31/a-big-wave-surfer-takes-to-entrepreneurship-building-a-20-million-mattress-company/#2232577b43e5


texts:
My ill uncle’s general state in medical report of  was seeming  bad.

  My uncle’s general conditon in medical report  was seeming bad.

In these sentences , are there any difference between two sentences in meaning because of two different words?


texts:
I am reading Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and am confused by the first sentence: "The mental features discoursed of as the analytical, are, in themselves, but little susceptible of analysis.

"I'm not sure  what "themselves" here  means and "little susceptible of analysis" sounds a little weird to me.


texts:
Suppose we have this structure

  To do something, we can do this. For another option, we can do that too.

Which adverbs can be used in replace of For another option, or "in another way" (note these are my own terms)?

Additionally, In addition or Also doesn't seem to fit, because they would imply we can do this and in addition we can do the second (while we have done the first) (Or maybe I am wrong!?)


texts:
The following sentence is from Frankenstein. Does the boldfaced prepositional phrase  describe the time at which the speaker was seized with the nervous fever, or the time at which he remembered the nervous fever? Two paragraphs ago, the speaker said, "Two years had now nearly elapsed since the night on which he first received life," so I suppose that the time represented by the utterance two paragraphs ago is the time referred to by "at the time that I dated my creation." In other words, that's when he remembered the nervous fever. But the problem is, the "and which" sets up the border between two relative clauses and confines the prepositional phrase to the first relative clause. Is there anything wrong here?

I remembered also the nervous fever with which I had been seized just at the time that I dated my creation, and which would give an air of delirium to a tale otherwise so utterly improbable.


texts: What's the difference: We had hoped 'to live/to be living' in our new house by now...

texts:
We had hoped to live/to be living in our new house by now, but the builders are still working on it.

UPDATED:  I mean what is semantically the difference between to live and to be living there?
Why  don't we use living or just to live there instead?
What is more, would you show me a resource for using such a structure – bold part?


texts:
Human civilization is transformed to a ‘quasi nature’, aiming to correct and replace nature.

(Source: The self-criticism of Science by Alexis Karpouzos from Athens Greece)

I have two questions to ask.

■Who is aiming to correct and replace nature, human civilization or a quasi nature?
As far as the verb replace is concerned, my understanding is that human civilization is aiming to replace nature with a quasi nature, isn't it?

■How should the word "aiming" be interpreted in relation to your answer to the first question above?
These are the possible interpretations I came up with.
(1) Human civilization is transformed to a ‘quasi nature’ WHILE (human civilization is) aiming to correct and replace nature (with a quasi nature)
(2) Human civilization is transformed to a ‘quasi nature’ AND (human civilization) aims to correct and replace nature.
Which interpretation of the two is correct?

Could you help me clarify it? Thanks.


texts: Is "I wonder whom you make cry" a correct sentence?

texts:
I would like to say "You made someone cry. I wonder whom." in only one sentence. And now this is what I've got:

  I wonder whom you made cry.

To me, though, it sounds pretty odd that there isn't an object right after "made", as opposed to "made someone".

Is this a correct sentence? Or is there another possibility of saying it?


texts: What's wrong with saying "Can I have a ketchup?"

texts:
My friend corrected me that asking "Can I have a ketchup?" instead of "Can I get some ketchup?" It sounds wrong and not native.

I understand that ketchup is not countable, but since it's a fixed size, I thought it'll be okay to say it like that.

Like if you were to order a glass of Coke at a restaurant, which one sounds more native and are there any that sounds grammatically wrong?

  Can I have a Coke?
  Can I have some Coke?
  Can I have a glass of Coke?
  Can I have Coke?

And what if you were to pick a can of soda instead of a glass of soda?

And would you say "I want to order a drink" or "I want to order drink"?


texts:
a. The deer ran over the hill.

b. The deer moved over the hill.

c. The deer went over the hill.

Can we tell if the deer crossed the hill or if ran/walked about on the hill?

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

d. The helicopter flew over the hill.

e. The helicopter moved over the hill.

d. The helicopter went over the hill.

Can we tell if the helicopter went to a position above the hill and stayed there, or if it went from one side of the hill to the other, or if it was just hovered above the hill?

Many thanks.


texts: Word for experience of feeling cold looking at an underdressed person

texts:
I would like to know whether there is a name for the situation or feeling someone can experience whereby someone can feel coldness in the body by looking at someone who seems underclothed in the same place (even though this other person may not actually feel or be sensitive to such cold).

Thanks.

Note: I have had several answers, but sympathy and empathy do not seem like correct answers to me. The undressed person has a different physical resistance to cold and actually feels warm despite wearing little clothing. The person with more clothes simply cannot bear the sight of it and actually feels cold despite wearing more clothes.

Thanks.


texts:
Please would you mind shipping directly to me as I am shipping to you next monday

Is it better to use going to, I don't think so because Iam going to do it for sure and I can't use present because it is something I do very rarely.


texts:
I'm confused.
When reading a novel, I've encountered

It's around 3 days worth of stuff.

I thought "why not 3 days' worth of stuff?"
So I checked the Sketchengine, and got 2.2k results for days worth of and 1.2k for days' worth of.
In both cases, there were constructs such as "number days worth of noun".
As I understand, the first version is a noun string, when the second one basically says "this amount of work [belongs to / is done within] three days", so my guess is that both forms can be used, but the first one without the apostrophe is more reasonable.
Could you please verify my thoughts?


texts: Convert constuction 'she is standing behind B ' to interrogative expression?

texts:
I want to construction expression

  She(A) is standing next to B..
  in to this interrogative construction .
  Who is A standing next to?

Now, for the expression

  She is standing behind B.

I don't know what will be construction, when I try to convert the same way.

  Who is she standing behind?

Is this expression correct? If yes, Are these expression right also

  Who is he sitting on top of?
  or
  Who is she behind?(for the expression, She is behind B.)


texts:
Sometimes, I don't know which word to use in my sentence (adj or adv). For example, in below sentences, which is right?

  He ran too quick.

and

  He ran too quickly.

And in general, when should I use adverb and adjective?


texts: Is it idiomatic to say "I don't know any other info about the narrator"?

texts:
An answerer asked in a post

  Is the narrator a native speaker

The only thing I know about the narrator is that he is the narrator of that video, so I replied

  I don't know any other info about the narrator.

Is it a idiomatic way to express that meaning?


texts: the earth is still round tomorrow or will be still round

texts:
Shall I say:

  The earth is still round tomorrow.

or

  The earth will be still round tomorrow.


texts:
Is the following a correct way of expressing the meaning 'since we are an authority, we need to...'?
Being an authority, we need to...
Thank you!


texts:
Please have a look at these two paragraphs:

  What indeed? While she was walking through the forest, she saw a wolf
  strolling slowly towards her, humming something to himself. A minute
  or so earlier, the wolf had been watching her from behind a tree,
  and had thought to himself, "She'd make a nice juicy meal".

  I saw this girl when I was parking my car last night. She was crying.
  She explained she had a terrible fight with her boyfriend while he
  was giving her a ride home earlier, which ended in his pulling over
  and forcing her out of the car.

Why in the first example you use past perfect (continuous) and in the second example you don't use it? In both cases it is obvious that actions were before reference time and both actions lead to the actual situation.


texts: "I had not noticed." but "I did not know."

texts:
Did you hear that the engine produced some sounds?
No, I had not noticed.

And also other verbs:

I did not know.
I did not see.
I had not heard.

With some verbs it is common to use the perfect aspect (had not), with some not. For instance, had not known is not popular at all. What's the reason?


texts:
Does your father work for the government?

vs

  Do your father work for the government?

Which one of these phrases is correct?


texts:
Leo: But my childhood, for example, I do not remember a thing about
  it. There is only one thing I still remember.

  Alan: What?

  Leo: The precise moment when I learned how to ride a bike. And this
  morning. As if by magic I remembered the moment right after...

  Alan: When you fell off?

  Leo: How the f*ck did you know?

  Alan: Well, that happens to everybody. You learn something, you're
  happy and then. you forget to brake.

I didn't understand What Leo is referring to by say "know" in his reply?, Alan is asking a question: When you fell off?, But Leo replied differently.


texts: Difference between "the other" and "another"

texts:
I have just imparted to you two pieces of advice. Whether you will eventually choose one over the other is a matter of personal choice, so good luck.
  (from a radio show)

What is this "the other?" Isn't it supposed to be "another?"


texts:
I know I can use "prefer to infinitive" and "prefer ~ing".

And when I use "prefer ~ing", we use "to" to compare.

  I prefer studying at a coffee shop to studying in the library.

Then, how about "prefer to infinitive"?

  I prefer to study at a coffee shop to to study in the library.

I think it sounds not correct. rather I would use like this:

I prefer to study at a coffee shop rather than studying in the library.

Is there any other option for this? Or, is my suggestion the best choice?


texts:
"The fact of its being so rare a flower ought to have made it easier to trace the source of this particular specimen, but in practice it was an impossible task."

I just found this sentence reading a book and it sounds weird to me. I understand the meaning, but I've never seen or studied this structure in English before. I did some research on the Internet but I could find nothing. Could anyone  explain the grammar? Could you please provide more examples with the same structure?


texts:
Can anybody help me ? Which is correct ?

Each of the actors did their part well. or
Each of the actors did his part well.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Which sentence is best suited for the blank?

texts:
I read the following in a TOEIC book:

  From: confirmation@lavendermusic.com To:
  felipejuarez@malomail.com Subject: Welcome to Lavender Music
  Date: August 8

  Hello, Mr. Juarez,

  Welcome to Lavender Music Streaming Service!

  We are sending this e-mail to confirm your subscription to Lavender
  Music. You signed up for the Music Lover package, which costs $3.99
  per month and includes ten hours of music playback each month and
  music videos exclusively available to Lavender Music members.
  ________.

  If at any point should you wish to terminate your service, please
  navigate to your account settings page on our Web site. Once there,
  click the “Close Account” button.

  Happy listening, The Lavender Music Team

  Q. Select the best answer to complete the text.

  (A) This package also includes a subscription to our weekly
  newsletter.
  (B) Unfortunately, we are not able to process your
  payment at this time.
  (C) We will charge your credit card this
  amount on the eighth of every month.
  (D) You may enroll in our
  streaming service by e-mailing a sales specialist.”

Which sentence do you think is best suited for the blank?
I think A and C are fine, but don’t know which one is better.


texts: What are the difference between "be about to do something" and "be going to do something"?

texts: Often these phrases are translated similarly. In which situation "be about to do something" more preferred? If I have the right understanding, this turnover is used then something will happen soon. But most often I met sentences like the following: "You are about to commit changes" (or make something else without extended context). I guess this is some impolite. Please, explain how to use this phrase.


texts:
When often hear on TV, such as "This is CNN" or "This is BBC World". There is no "THE" before the name of the TV. So far so good.

However, I have recently been listening to some scientific panel speeches from the BBC web site. And something caught my attention. Both at the beginning and at the end of those scientific programs, there is an announcement:"This is the BBC".(there is THE).

So my question is: why is it just "CNN" or "BBC World" on TV, but it is "The BBC" on those scientific programs?


texts:
What do you call a helmet that covers the entire face?

By helmet, I mean mostly medieval helmets worn by soldiers. Not helmet you wear when you ride a motorcycle although I doubt it would make any difference in this question. I am not talking about the specific helmet in the picture, but helmets in general.


texts: What is the word for a policy taking effect?

texts:
Usually a policy will go through different stages: making a draft, being revised, being approved by the government, and then taking effect.

Is there a single word for "taking effect" of a policy?

For example,

  I was born shortly before the introduction/enaction/beginning of some policy.

Thanks!


texts: he has been engaged in a project teaching chemistry to students

texts:
Tanmay Rath holds a Ph.D. in polymer chemistry from IIT Kharagpur, with post doctoral experience in nanomaterials research in eastern Asia. However, for the last three years, he has been engaged in a project teaching chemistry to undergraduate engineering students in Motihari, a small town in Bihar’s East Champaran district. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/1200-faculty-in-rural-engineering-colleges-will-lose-jobs-by-month-end/article33956298.ece

In (1) above, does the italicized part tell us what the project is about?
...he has been engaged in a project which is about teaching chemistry to undergraduate engineering students...
If not, how would you understand the italicized part in (1)?


texts: Modal verb "will" to describe a present situation

texts:
I have heard a phone conversation between a person wishing to buy theater tickets and a sales agent like the following:

  “I want to buy two tickets for tonight’s show.” ~ “Certainly. I’ll need your credit card information.”

I believe “I need your credit card information” makes perfect sense. What are the purposes/effects of the modal verb “will” here?

Another scenario: let’s suppose the theatergoer asked the agent something for which the agent has no ready answer. In such a case, I know one would say something like,

  “I’ll have to get back to you on that one.”

Again, I believe the sentence is fine without the “will.“  So, what nuance does a “will” produce here?


texts:
Our income is up %15.

What does it mean? Our income is just a little over &15? or is it below %15 but very close to %15


texts: Phrasal verb with 'hold'. How to use correctly?

texts:
1) Can I merge hold it up and hold it out to hold it up and out   and use in a single sentence as below. Is there something wrong about it?!!

  The little girl held her skirt up and out while turning on her toe.

2) In the following sentence, does 'held her hand out' stands for stretching her hand

  She held her hand out to him to cross over the muddy pit.


texts: the feeling you get sometimes in someone's wedding

texts:
I think I've heard it somewhere but fail to remember. When you're single and you're attending someone's wedding, it may come to you that you want to get married, too. The thought or feeling might go away the day after. Is there a word or expression to describe this? As a context, think of two friends attending a wedding going,

  A: You know what, Sam? I want this. I wanna get married. Yea, it's time to settle down.

  B: Easy pal. You know it's just ...... . Many people get that.

Take the liberty of rearranging the words if there's an idiom or fixed expression to describe this.


texts:
If I were an MLA, I would have helped people yesterday
  If I were an MLA, I would help people tomorrow

  If I was an MLA, I would have helped people yesterday
  If I was an MLA, I would help people tomorrow

Are they grammatically correct?
Someone says If-something-was and    Perfect tense' (would+verb third form) aren't acceptable in condition sentence to use along with one another. They say If we use them with perfect one, then it will be correct.
For example: If I had been an MLA, I would have helped people.
If I were/was an MLA, I would help people
Are they right that that's incorrect to use so? I'm oblivious to the examples because I haven't influential skills on grammar; I wrote them on my own. Sorry If I made any errors there


texts: "Will + be + verb -ing)" vs "Will + verb" ?

texts: Can someone explain me the constructions (or however they are called) with the "Will + be + verb -ing)" and the "Will + verb" ?


texts: What do you call a piece of ribbon facing you the lining side?

texts:
I am having a hard time giving a name to the element representing a folded piece of a ribbon like can be seen on the picture:

There is a word for it in my native language, but unfortunately there is no entry for it in the dictionary, so chances are there is no direct translation.

UPDATE:

Sorry for puzzling you. The "ribbon" is what you see of the light-blue color where the word "Product" can be seen. The element in question is the orange triangle that represents a piece of that ribbon facing us with the back side. I understand it could be hard to comprehend.


texts: Make adjective apply to two different places in a sentence

texts:
The minster must report to the head of the pertinent central administrative agency and the head of the pertinent local government.

Here, I want to apply the adjective 'pertinent' to both 'central administrative agency' and 'local government'. Is saying 'pertinent' two times the normal way to go? Could I just mention 'pertinent' once (or is that more desirable)?

As a side question, would you include 'to' (as shown below) or just leave it out for being wordy?:

  The minster must report to the head of the pertinent central administrative agency and to the head of the pertinent local government.


texts:
I was wondering if someone could explain the subtle difference between these sentences:

1) Monday should be fine.

2) Monday would be fine.

This is in the context of someone asking if they could help me out on Monday instead of on Sunday. I am a little confused about the difference between the usage of 'should' and 'would' here. Both seem to fit. I personally seem to prefer 'should' but I can't explain why. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.


texts: Recently, I have been asking myself whether it is possible or not to use the word "axis/axes" to denominate one of the lines of actions -with a very clear and defined purpose- of a project. Similarly as the word "strand" is found sometimes. For example, if my project consists on children’s alphabetization, could I say one of my ‘axes of work’ is to find agreements with libraries for them to access without charge?


texts:
Should I use -ing form after can't help but? Some examples from the web that appear conflicting to me:

  I can't help but feel there will be people who will be thinking
  about what happened.

or

  I can't help but feeling ripped off.


texts: Term I've heard on Craigslist by Sellers

texts: People will write in the "gigs" section where they offer different types of jobs usually for cash.  At the end some people write "Must Be Knock".  What does that mean?


texts:
In the following sentence, can I omit the word 'about'? If not, I'd like to know the difference between 'tell somebody something' and 'tell somebody about something'.

I found the tea culture in Japan you told me about very interesting.


texts: Is there any difference between the following sentences?

texts:
It's the first time I've seen him that happy.
It's the first time I see him that happy.

Are these two sentences correct?
If they are, what's the difference between them?


texts:
I don't understand, what did I buy?I paid 12 usd so I thought first it was the lathe but as  I have received a confirmation for a digital release ....I'm very surprised

I don't understand, what did I buy?I paid 12 usd so I thought first it was the lathe but as  I received a confirmation for a digital release ....I'm very surprised

What is the best tense for receive present perfect or past simple

I think present perfect is better if I want to emphasize my surprise

I am surprised now because I have received a confirmation for a digital release


texts: Is "scuff" an adjective in this sentence?

texts:
I have found this sentence as an "example" for the "scuff" as a verb in the Cambridge dictionary.

  Do you have anything for getting rid of scuff marks on shoes?


texts: There is a function in Gboard called "auto commit glide input" - Auto commit the current composing text before the next glide input. Could someone please tell me what "auto commit" means in this context?


texts: Our research aimed at defining criteria based on which we CAN (or COULD?) differentiate patients from normal subjects

texts:
In this excerpt from a twitter feed:

  New insights into the testing of schizophrenia. Our research aimed at defining quantitative criteria based on which we can differentiate schizophrenic spectrum disorders from the norm.

I think that the modal verb could should be used instead of can, because the main clause is framed in the past tense. Furthermore, the criteria were not known beforehand, which makes can less appropriate in my view.

Am I correct?


texts:
Which of the following two sentences is more meaningful

With her lap full of newspapers Amita was sitting with her husband on the steps of the temple when Bunty and Bitto came up.

Amita  with her lap full of newspapers was sitting with her husband on the steps of the temple when Bunty and Bitto came up.

Where should I place the clause with her lap full of newspapers and why?


texts: "He is demanding that my father 'pay'/'pays' him $600"

texts:
In a previous question it has been asked (or should it be "it was asked"?)  whether "He is demanding my father to pay him $600" were (or should it be "is", or, perhaps "was"?) correct or not, but @kiamlaluno objected that the grammatical version of the above sentence is, or would be, "He is demanding that my father pays him $600".

Please, note the italicized pays, which, I think, kiamlaluno aseptically used in reference to the third person "father".

Answering the question, another user, @Jay, presumably a native speaker, wrote 'a more common wording would be [...] "He is demanding that my father pay him $600"'.

Being an Italian speaker, and, as such, particularly aware about the difference between "indicative" and "subjunctive" moods, I don't think Jay randomly used "pay" rather than "pays", as Kiamlaluno did.

So, I think that "pay" is correctly used in the subjunctive form there, whereas "pays" is wrong because it doesn't render the involved meanig of the sentence.

Am I wrong in asserting what above? If so, why?


texts: Relative pronoun "whom" used as an indirect object of a verb with two objects

texts:
We have verbs in English with 2 objects, such as "send," "ask," "give," etc.. For instance, we can say:

  I gave the book to John.

or

  I gave John the book.

In both of these sentences, "the book" is the direct object and "John" is the indirect object. The rule is that we can use the indirect object with or without a preposition. Now, consider that we want to use the indirect object "John" in the following sentence and modify it with whom:

  He saw John, to whom the book was given.

or in another form, we can say:

  He saw John, whom the book was given to.

However, my question is that whether or not we can eliminate that "to" from our sentences. In other words, write:

  He saw John, whom the book was given.

In this last sentence, I am using the rule which I used in the sentence at the beginning of my question.


texts:
I have a question about the preposition to use with "threat":

  He made threats against her.
  He made threats at her.
  He made threats toward her.

Should it be "against", "at", or "toward"?


texts:
New York Times

  But in an indication of the hard road ahead for Democrats, the Internal Revenue Service issued guidance on Wednesday limiting the prepayment option.

I have already been familiar with “ahead of” which means: in front of something.

But here in this context, it is confusing me.

Does it mean the hard road was purposely, and specifically waiting only for the Democrats?


texts:
What is the difference between 'associations hidden between objects' and 'hidden associations between objects'?
Aren't both referring to the associations that are hidden and not the objects themselves?


texts:
How to ask politely in English if someone is going to leave or drop off someone ??
For example: What time will you be going to drop Sam today?


texts: I would like to say " By seeing my punctuality you can see how desperate I am " I'm not sure if punctuality is the right word here ,If not any alternatives?


texts: The velcro has come off/undone. Lemme stick it for you

texts:
A kid is wearing shoes with velcro. So it wasn't sticking so the parent said:

  It has come off/come undone. Lemme stick it for you.

And what about asking another person:

  Come on stick it back on! (Velcro)

So should "come undone" or "come off" be used? And what about "stick"?

And if someone "unfastens" the velcro, then what will be used by the other person to describe this?

  Why did you "unfasten" your velcro?

What will be a more natural way to express this?

Do they sound natural?


texts: Proper use of the word equipment in the following sentence

texts:
Which sentence is correct:

  The equipment used for both boats is similar.
  The equipment used for both boats are similar.


texts: My everything is yours, my mind, my body, my possessions, my life

texts: In a long distance strong close platonic love relationship as mother and son, would the proper English term for this statement be all rights given pertaining to him and his life or is there another to define it properly?


texts: Is "Leopard attacks farmer, found dead" proper English?

texts:
There was this news headlines in the TV. Can somebody say if this is right English ?

  "Leopard attacks farmer, found dead"


texts: Which is grammatically correct: can be difficult to "define" or "defined"?

texts:
I was reading an article written by a Native Speaker when I came across a statement like: The word can be difficult to clearly define and hence count.
I do know that this had been paraphrased from another researcher's work. I, however, am having a difficult time justifying the active use of the verbs define and count. I surmise they have to be replaced by passive-voice ones.


texts: She watches movies ...... at the theatre ..... every Sunday?

texts:
She watches movies ......  the theatre ..... every Sunday?

Ans:

  She watches movies at the theatre every Sunday.

My approach: I write this sentence as:

  She watches movies at the theatre on every Sunday.

I made this because "at" is used to denote a person here for the short period of time, and "on" is used to denote days. It's a rule that we can use in the above example and also in these words like on/in the next November, on/in the next month, in/on the last month.

  My question is: If the words "last", "next" and "every" are of the same type,Why they are not used with prepositions and Are there any other words I need to know about?

I found some similar sentences where no preposition was used like:

  She went home this evening.

  She went upstairs

  She went downstairs

  She went inside

  She went outside

  She went downside

  She went upside

  She went cycling


texts:
I am writing a piece on Propaganda,  and I am quoting George Orwell. What I try to say is that the quote gives a an insider's perspective in terms of the era, not of the geographical location.

I want to say something like this:

  A perspective native to the time period (the 40s) is provided by Orwell in his BBC Broadcast: ". . . .


texts: Meaning of the phrase "Glob up in lines" in an advertisement video of Olay products

texts:
I watched an advertisement video of Olay (32 seconds) via youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYstgkG6mxc and this is the transcript of the video:

Inner beauty is important, but not nearly as important as outer
beauty. That's why I use CoverGirl's Simply Ageless Makeup with Olay
Regenerist Serium.  A liquid makeup can glob up in lines and wrinkles
and make you look older.  Simply Ageless stays suspended over lines
and makes you look amazing. Simply Ageless from Olay. I'm easy,
breezy, beautiful, CoverGirl. And to look really amazing, start with
my Serum Primer.

I have looked up the word "glob" in many dictionaries such as Oxford, Longman but they only show the meanings of "glob" as a noun, like:

A lump of a semi-liquid substance
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/glob

Could you help explain the meaning of the phrasal verb "glob up in" and provide me some similar example sentences (if possible)?
Thank you a lot.


texts: Possible (literal) meanings of "get high/get by"

texts:
There's a single "High By the Beach", recently issued by Lana Del Rey, which has the following chorus:

All I wanna do is get high by the beach,
Get high by the beach, get high.
All I wanna do is get by by the beach,
Get by – baby, baby, bye, bye.

The question is: what other meanings/synonyms of the idiom "to get high" [besides the obvious "to get euphoric (by smoking weed)"] are possible here in the context of the lyrics/music video: https://youtu.be/QnxpHIl5Ynw? May it be interpreted literally as simply "to get high enough somewhere over a beach far from the rest of the world"? Does the meaning change through repetition? And the same goes for "get by" phrasal verb, first followed by "by the beach" and then used on its own. What meanings may it have here? Very much looks like a play on words, doesn't it?


texts:
Which one is better? It or This? What is the difference between them?

Trying to master the art of walking in high heels, women put a real
strain on their legs. Because of this, some females suffer from
excruciating pain in their knees when they get older.

Trying to master the art of walking in high heels, women put a real
strain on their legs. Because of it, some females suffer from
excruciating pain in their knees when they get older.


texts:
I have not heard from him for long or for a long time.

Can I use for long and for a long time in the above sentence interchangeably? Or do these phrases have different meaning and usage?


texts: The Present Simple instead of The Present Progressive in the speech of native speakers of English

texts:
I’ve found some examples (provided by native speakers of English) of using The Present Simple where according to all the grammars I’ve read The Present Progressive should have been used. Could you please explain how it is possible? I’ll give the examples below, but now I should say I’ve formed my own hypothesis: this use is old-fashioned, and it is applied:
– by the speaker to sound more dramatic, old-fashioned because such an effect might be used for joking, mockery, playing the fool or to be extremely formal;
– by the speaker/author as fixed expressions which were formed according to the grammar rules of more ancient English but have survived in contemporary English because they sound very good;
– by the speaker/author to mock the speech of foreigners who use the verb tenses incorrectly;
– by the author when he wants to underline that his character speaking like that is very old or lives in previous centuries.
But I’m absolutely not sure about it. I’d be extremely grateful to you if you gave me the right answer. Thank you in advance!
The examples are:

‘You lie!’ It was said by an American politician Joe Wilson to President Obama when Mr Obama was explaining some details of a reform. ‘You’re lying’ should be ‘correct’. The link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Wilson_(American_politician)#%22You_lie!%22_outburst_during_Obama_address I suppose Joe Wilson wanted to sound dramatic.
In the fan fiction book ‘Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality’ by E. Yudkowsky:
"Father," Draco said in a small voice. "I think you should consider it, father." Lucius Malfoy looked at his son. "You jest."
The ‘correct’ verb form would be ‘are jesting’. But the author is an American. The link: https://www.hpmor.com/chapter/97  . I think the author wanted to underline the noble blood and arrogance of L.Malfoy letting him say like this.
In the same book:
"You know it's actually getting rather late in the day and I'm a bit hungry, so I should be going down to dinner, really" and Harry made a beeline for the door. The doorknob entirely failed to turn. "You wound me, Harry," said Dumbledore's voice in quiet tones that were coming from right behind him. "Do you not at least realise that what I have told you is a sign of trust?"
‘Are wounding me’ is supposed to be the right form… The link: https://www.hpmor.com/chapter/17 I think ‘you wound me’ is a fixed expression.
The video game ‘Devil May Cry 3’ (a usual game, like many others, not concerned with theatre at all), the 2nd cutscene of the mission 6.
A man appears in front of a heavily armed girl. The girl points a gun at him. The man says (with the BBC accent), ‘You point a gun at me? Your own kin?’ The girl shoots. The man teleports to the ceiling above her head. ‘You break my heart!’ he says. The link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLQJz860YGs
I think the man wanted to sound arrogant and dramatic, so he didn’t use ‘are pointing’ and ‘are breaking’.


texts:
I have a difficult problem with understanding the following is sentence:

  "I mean, I wasn't just gunning the thing. I was driving."

Especially this phrase "gunning the thing" I misunderstand.
I cannot find anywhere the good explanation.
I will really appreciate your help.


texts: What does “vindication” mean in the following sentence?

texts:
Does "vindication" mean "the fact of proving that what US policymakers said or did was right after other people thought they were wrong:"?

Celebrants atop the falling Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989.  Gorbachev saw Soviet communism's collapse as a new beginning, but many U.S. policymakers hailed it as the ultimate vindication.

Source: The Untold History of the United States p.471


texts: Do you understand it when you hear the word "continued customer?”

texts: Assume you are now taking a look at a customer registration sheet with a check item saying "New Customer / Continued Customer." Do you find the word "Continued Customer" just natural English? As far as I'm concerned, "existing customer" is more common.


texts: What does “have anything to do with you” mean in this quote?

texts:
People will love you, people will hate you, and none of it will have anything to do with you. —Abraham Hicks

In this sentence what is the meaning of "will have anything to do"?


texts:
I'm in New York with my parents and my sisters since one week.

The sentence is from a letter written by a teacher. Is "since one week" grammatical?
I'm not sure that in the sentence, the use of tense and adverbial is correct.


texts: Talking in the past about someone in the present

texts:
I'm not sure whether I'm able to mix the past with the present and vice versa.

I spoke to a nice woman yesterday, she was beautiful.
I spoke to a nice woman yesterday, she is beautiful.

All of my exes were Asian.
All of my exes are Asian.


texts:
What is the meaning of "far to the east" in this text?

It was only ofter a day and a night's delay that the emperor,  by detaching troops under Victor to make a long circuit, cross the canal far to the east, recall Lucilianus with the vanguard, and then attack the Surena's troops in the rear, was able to overcome the resistance in his front.


texts: a small traditional shop vs a traditional small shop

texts:
Are there differences between "a small traditional shop"
and "a traditional small shop".

In my opinion, a small traditional shop sells all hand made products inside. Very good local oil,spices,olives even hand made icons on old piece of wood.Also small hand made jewelry.

Traditional small shops range from family run grocery shops to stores selling flowers, tea and tobacco.


texts:
Which one do you feel more fluent or natural?

I wondered what the children were doing while/ when I was out.

The reason why such a question has been raised traced back to the following:

Grammar says: usually you use while with an ing form

So, considering these, I think the most proper choice would be the bold one, wouldn't be?


texts:
Close up and close-up have distinct meanings. For example,

He closed up (shut down) his store.
A close-up (zoomed-in) picture of him

But can one use the latter close-up as a transitive verb? For example,

Close up the World—a song written and sung by a Korean band Peppertones

It seems the original intention is to take a closer look at the world.
However, it sounds like shutting down the world.

The picture is now too small. Let's close up the new building more.

The same issue—taking a close-up picture of the building versus shutting it down.

Cambridge says (1) close as a verb does not mean something enlarging and (2) closeup is not a verb but a noun. Merriam-Webster also says both close and close-up do not have such usage.
I wonder whether native English writers use close-up in this way.


texts:
I was wondering is there a shorter way of saying 'a quarter minutes ago', or 'half an hour ago' in the following scenario:

  The elevator is not working now, but it was working a quarter minutes ago.

Could you suggest a shorter phrase to use instead?


texts:
Look at this example below

  You kept me waiting.

Why  'waiting' is an example of a present participle? I have found a very decent explanation of participles and how to determine them here. But I am unable to find in which example it fits according to the use given in the reference. If you have any other way of explaining other than the reference please do so.


texts:
I have a question about the phrase "extend credibility to" in this news article:

  “The defense feels frustrated, agonized and outraged — we feel that we have been stabbed in the back by this jury,” Serra told reporters after the verdict was handed down, noting Chow’s conviction was based on the testimony of “five snitches that no rational human being would believe or extend credibility to.”

I could not find "extend credibility to" in dictionaries.  But I did find two similar sounding phrases "extend credit to" and "lend credibility to".  Could "extend credibility to" be slightly wrongly, because it came from an impromptu speech?


texts:
What is the correct phrase to use?

  I am speaking on the phone? Please keep quiet for a while.

or

  I am talking on the phone? Please keep quiet for a while.

To me, the first one makes more sense.


texts: Should I use "ascent" or "ascension" in the following sentence?

texts:
With little remaining energy, Mary hauled herself into elevator,
  fought the gravity generated by the ascent/ascension, and staggered
  out to the 14th floor.

Which word should I use? And why?


texts:
In film called  The Basketball Diaries (1995), Jim, Basketball player and drug addict, wrote this poem.

  You're growing up, and rain sort of remains on the branches of a tree
  that will someday rule the earth. And that's good that there's rain.
  Clears the month of your sorry rainbow expressions.

What is the meaning of "sorry rainbow expressions"?


texts:
Sentence 1: I haven't known him as long as you.

Sentence 2: I haven't known him as long as  you have known him.

Sentence 3: I haven't known him as long as  I have known you.

Does the meaning of sentence 1 equal to sentence 2 or sentence 3?

Thank you very much!


texts:
Source: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69750/when-youre-strange

  It was, as best as I can recall, the first time I listened to a poet speak.

Not sure how to understand the phrase "as best as" in the context. Does the phrase have the same meaning as "as far as"?


texts: Does the question "how long do you sleep" sound natural?

texts:
Is how long do you sleep something a native English speake would say if the want to know how many hours some sleeps per night? For example:

  Person A: how long do you sleep?

  Person B: I sleep for 8 hours.

Would

  How many hours do you sleep

sound better?

I am pretty sure the first question is grammatically correct, but I have doubts as to whether it sound natural. If it doesn't sound natural, then what would  a antive English speaker say instead?


texts:
God made me to help others.

I am very confused as to whether God himself wants to help others by making me or God want me to help others.

Please help.

Thanks in advance.


texts: "Have someone do/doing someting", "be having someone do/doing something" in context

texts:
Let's say I told my assistant to write a report and they are doing it at the moment. Which of the following sentence is correct to commumicate the idea?

I have my assistant write a report, she is unavailable at the moment.
I have my assistant writing a report, she is unavailable at the moment.
I am having my assistant write a report, she is unavailable at the moment.
I am having my assistant writing a report, she is unavailable at the moment.


texts: Would you say "pull the ball open to make all the shapes come out"?

texts:
pull [intransitive, transitive] to take hold of something and use
  force in order to move it or try to move it towards yourself

  You push and I'll pull.

  Don't pull so hard or the handle will come off.

  He got hold of the end and pulled.

  pull on something I pulled on the rope to see if it was secure.

  pull at something He pulled at her coat sleeve.

  pull something Stop pulling her hair!

  She pulled the cord and the parachute opened.

  pull somebody/something + adv./prep. She pulled him gently towards
  her.

  He smiled and pulled her closer.

  pull something + adj. Pull the door shut.

  She pulled the straps tight.

I have a ball which has many holes of different shapes in it (look at the above picture). Children will learn shapes buy putting the right shapes into the right holes. When all the shapes got inside the ball, we've got to "pull the ball open to make all the shapes come out" so that the children can play again.

Note: there are 2 handles at the opposite positions. You can pull the handles out by using your both hands and the ball separated the 2 halves apart.


texts: How should I interpret "it did not seem fantastic"?

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

  The little girl, (not so little anymore; the bumps her feet made under the covers, were half way down the bed, their big double bed that they let her be in for naps and when she was sick) had at last arranged herself, and from the way her fat face deep in the pillow shone in the sunlight sifting through the drawn shades, it did not seem fantastic that some magic would occur, and she would take her nap like an infant of two.

Should I interpret the highlighted part as meaning that "the occurring of the magic had become so common that it did not seem fantastic anymore" or does it mean that "as she has grown older, the imaginary magic wouldn't happen and thus the fantasy is not worth having"? Although I strongly believe that the former should be right, seeing the premises I started having second thoughts?


texts:
In this paragraph of Pulp novel of Charles Bukowski:

  I lit my cigarette, took a drag. Then I followed him. I have Red a goodbye nod, then stepped into the street. Just in time to see him get into an '89 Fiat at the curb. And who was parked right behind him? My Bug was parked right behind him, What luck! Talk about fornicating the odds! First time I had found curb parking in months!

First question: what does fornicating the odds mean and whats is its origin?

Second question: I know what does curb mean, but what does curb parking mean here and to park at the curb?

Thank you in advance.


texts:
This thesis is the product of my own research. Hereby I give my copyright to University X.

Is that right?


texts: Looking for other ways to say "run out of quickly"

texts:
I was talking to one of my friends on the phone today when he mentioned to me that he had got a phone plan that only got him 3GB of data which is really not that much nowadays if you wanna browse through FaceBook watch vids on YouTube and etc...

After he finished saying that I said "You know... 3GBs is really...." and then I paused and in my head, I was like, what should I tell him? 3GBs is really easy to run out of?

Then I ended up saying what I thought "3GBs is really easy to run out of", after saying that and gotten off the phone I started thinking... What other idioms could I have used to say that he would use up all his data very quickly with that amount?

So that is my question what other idioms exist out there that could replace "to run out of quickly"?


texts: Is it "put the meeting back one day" or "put the meeting back by one day"?

texts:
Could you tell me if I need to use the preposition by after back in the sentence below?

Let's put the meeting back one day when everybody is present.
Let's put the meeting back by one day when everybody is present.

I'm a bit confused because when you use bring back or bring forward you use it with by. But in a book on English phasal verbs I've seen the following sentence.

In Britain, around the last weekend in October, all clocks are put back one hour.

Does that mean that I use by with bring back and bring forward and no by with put back and put forward?


texts:
What is the secret to your success? (Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s)

I’ve not found an example that secret is modified by to infinitive. So I’m not sure if this sentence would be accepted: ‘I’ll introduce a secret to lead your life into success.’ - not using leading.


texts: "I cleaned the carpet for 3 hours" - simple past tense vs present perfect

texts:
I want to talk about an action that happened three years ago, and the action took 3 hours.

I cleaned the carpet for 3 hours.

Can I use "for" with simple past tense to talk about the duration of the action that happened in the past, or am I supposed to use present perfect tense if I use "for" to talk about duration?


texts: What is the difference between "analysed" and "analyzed"?

texts:
In a dictionary, I saw it gives the same meaning for analyzed and analysed.
However, In some cases I saw that they used "were analyzed" and in others it was "were analysed".

Could you please help me to understand the basic difference in those words?


texts: Which is the better choice – "election counting" or "vote counting"?

texts: I need the technical term for the counting of votes after an election. I've found "election counting" and "vote counting", which both seem to be used to quite some extent – but which (if any) is the proper technical term?


texts: Shouldn't there be a comma in this phrase from the Frankenstein novel?

texts:
One guy has posted this quote from Frankenstein novel and asked about the meaning of some phrases:

  The room was dark, and at first I could only see a mass of wires, glass bottles and jars, and copper and glass pipes. Here and there the blue light of the burners made holes in the darkness. And from those places the sound of boiling liquids could be heard.

  As my eyes began to see better in the half-darkness I saw that this stuff was arranged round a kind of bath in the middle of the room with a wooden work-table that went all the way round it. Frankenstein was watching me. There was still this strange excitement in his eyes. 'Go on,' he said, 'look inside. See what I have made.'

After reading the first phrase in the second paragraph I wondered if there should be a comma after the word "half-darkness". I don't remember the rule, and, frankly, never understood it completely in the first place. Also, Mary Shelley, being a native English speaker, probably understood the English punctuation a lot better than I do. So, here is my question.

Should there be a comma after "As my eyes began to see better in the half-darkness"?


texts: Using Present Perfect and Past Simple in the same sentence

texts:
I have the sentence below:

I became a zoologist because animals have always fascinated me.

Although I've done a lot of exercises, I found it interesting why we use Present Perfect and Past Simple in this sentence. At first I assumed we should had written "had always fascinated" instead of "have always fascinated", but I think the reason is simple. My attitude to animals hasn't change yet, that's why despite the action of my becoming a specialist in this field is finished, animals are still fascinating me.
I'm sorry if my explanation is a little awkward. Am I right?


texts:
I have eaten lunch at 1 pm

Is the sentence a correct statement to say in present perfect tense. Since I have learned the rules in present perfect tense that one should not use specific time expressions in present perfect tense. So is it correct to say

  I had eaten lunch at 1 pm.

in past perfect tense.


texts: Is "she should ought to adopt it" acceptable English

texts:
She has consented thus to consider the matter in doubt, and to leave to a foreign arbitration that which she believes fully admits of no doubt. The Government of the United States has declined this manner of settlement, resorted to by all nations in similar cases, when she should ought to adopt it, if she believes that reason and right is on her side. (Source: The New York Times, 3 Dec 1860)

Can we use, at least in some cases, two modals when we want to express possibility and obligation at the same time? Is this the reason why "should ought" is used in the piece above?


texts:
After what he did, her mistrust in their relationship _______ .

  So they already had mistrust in this agreement, but with the recent turns of events their mistrust ______ .

  If you do that, their mistrust in you would ______ .

I thought about "empower", "increase", and "raise". What is an idiomatic verb for such contexts?


texts:
Source: Lessons In Electric Circuits—Volume I

Example:

  Since air is an insulating material and an air gap separates the two pieces of wire, the once-continuous path has now been broken and electrons cannot flow from Source to Destination. This is like cutting a water pipe in two and capping off the broken ends of the pipe: water can't flow if there's no exit out of the pipe. In electrical terms, we had a condition of electrical continuity when the wire was in one piece and now that continuity is broken with the wire cut and separated.

I know of the idiomatic expression to cap something off, of course, but it is obviously not this idiom that's being used here. The one in question looks more like a typical phrasal verb. But what do you actually need to do physically to cap something off like the end of a plastic water pipe, for example? What does the action look like?


texts: "How'd I come here?" vs "How did I come here?"

texts:
I found a related post here but I'm still confused and not sure whether it's correct to use "How'd I come here?".

When search in google I got only about 11 results for "How'd I come here?", but I got about 200 results for "How did I come here?". Why is that? Because this I think "How'd I come here?" is not correct or not acceptable in correct English.

But looking at the other post I mentioned, it seems it's correct and common to say "How'd I come here?". Google doesn't agree with that. What am I missing?


texts: Difference between "a", "one" and "some"

texts:
A bus passes my house every hour.
  One bus passes my house every hour.
  Some bus passes my house every hour.
  Buses pass my house every hour.
  Some buses pass my house every hour.

What is the difference between this five sentences?

Does (1) means that one the same bus passes?
Does (2) means that exactly one not necessarily the same bus passes?
Does (3) is equivalent to (2) or (3)?
Does (4) means that one or more buses passes my house?
Does (5) is equivalent to (4)?

What must I write if I want to mean "the same bus passes every hour"?


texts:
I forgot opening the door.

When a gerund follows after forget, it denotes actual past event, says CGEL. Does the sentence above make any sense at all concerned about the actual past? Or do I have to change it into: I forgot the door being opened (= I forgot to close the door before leaving), if I want to refer the opening state of the door.


texts: What does "worry" mean in "The old farmer would stroke his whiskers and worry"?

texts:
The old farmer would stroke his whiskers and worry ...

What does "worry" mean here? Does it simply mean worry beads?

The fuller text:

  Friends from the country would send an invitation: Come see us! We
  want to feed you. We have plenty of everything! The survivor would
  arrive at the village, unable to believe his eyes. The farmhouse would
  be twice its prewar size. A refrigerator would be standing in the
  kitchen, a washing machine in the hall. There would be Oriental
  carpets on the floor and original paintings on the walls. The sausage
  would be served on silver platters and the beer in cut glass. The
  old farmer would stroke his whiskers and worry, “No sense denying it
  – we did very well during the war. People had to eat, you know, and
  with a little thinking... But now things are different... Just as long
  as the Communists don’t take over...”

Under a Cruel Star, A Life in Prague 1941-1968 by  Heda Margolius Kovály

Translated  by  Helen Epstein.


texts: do we say 'repairs on vehicle' or repairs of vehicle'

texts:
what is the best way to say 'repairs on vehicle' or 'repairs of vehicle'
Because i get confused on how to use it whiles others use it the other way round


texts: Is the sentence correct: "He die of heart attack yesterday"

texts:
I have a problem in the sentence:

  I am very sorry to say you this, but Ignazio, he die of heart attack yesterday night.

The time is of past-yesterday night, but the verb die is used in its root form instead of using past tense. Should 'died' be used here or is the sentence correct?

Note: Does it relate to the use of Historic Present i.e. narrating past things as they were happening now?


texts: Why isn't the definite article used in front of "a comma"?

texts: The word comma only means the mark ",", but why does everyone say it as a comma or commas not the comma; likewise a question mark not the question mark only indicating the mark "?".


texts: Can I omit the subject directly in informal writing?

texts:
Can I just omit the subject directly in informal sentence,or I should omit it and start with ing?

For example: (I) Sing in the middle of storms/ Singing in the middle of storms.


texts:
Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted
  blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning
  holes in people's shoes. (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's
  Stone)

There is a tricky word, holes, after burning. If holes is the object of burning, it’s semantically somewhat strange. If not, holes seems to be the result of burning. How can I understand the sentence?


texts: Is " located on the upper side than..." understandable?

texts:
It should be located above the line.

For some reasons, I need to rephrase the sentence above using "upper side".  My drafts are as follows:

  It should be located on the upper side than the line.
  It should be located on the upper side relative/with respect to the line.
  It should be located on the upper side of the line.

It may seem that all sound strange to natives. Which is at least grammatically correct?