texts: Tense when recounting and analysing a literary text

texts:
Should I write the substance of a poem In past tense or in present tense?

Here are a few lines of the poem owl:

Downhill I came, hungry, and yet not starved;

Cold, yet had heat within me that was proof

Against the North wind; tired, yet so that rest

Had seemed the sweetest thing under a roof.

Here's the link Vintage Poetry: click

Here's the substance written by me: Should I use past tense or Present tense?

The poet comes/came down a hill. He is/was hungry, tired and feeling cold. But he is/was not really starving. He could/can still relish a shelter under a roof, and have/had sufficient warmth within him to resist the cold wind. He gets/got food, fire and rest in an inn. He is/was protected from the darkness and cold that prevailed outside the inn. But he cannot/could not avoid hearing the sad note of an owl coming distinctly from a hill. The cry of the owl seems/seemed to remind him of those soldiers and poor people who have/had not been able to get food and shelter. So, although he gets/got food and rest, he cannot/could not enjoy himself.

I think past and present both tenses can be used but present tense is better. What do you think?

One more question, should I use past tense or present in answer to the following question?

Question: Describe the feelings of the poet on hearing the cry of the owl.
Answer:- The owl's cry was/is sad and piercing. It makes/made the poet ponder over the plight of the homeless poor and the soldiers fighting at the front. They have/had to starve and spend the cold winter nights in the open, under the sky. The poet feels/felt sad for the misery of those people. The owl's cry picks/picked his conscience. He cannot/could not enjoy his food and rest?

The question is in my text book with the above answer that is written in past tense. But I think present tense can also be used. What do you think? Which tense would you prefer?

Can any teacher or anyone who knows the language well please answer this?


texts:
I read the famous line describing Nicole from Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald:

"Her face, the face of a saint, a viking Madonna, shone through the faint motes that snowed across the candlelight, ..."

I looked up Wikipedia and it says "Madonna is a medieval Italian term for a noble or otherwise important woman, and has long been used commonly in reference to images of the Virgin Mary".

But, what is a "Viking" Madonna?


texts:
It is a very confusing concept, when to use "will" or "be going to". Both of them refer to the future but there is a slight difference. One of the differences that I have found and I was confused about is that:

We use be going to:
when there are definite signs that something is going to happen (we are sure, we feel it must happen).

Example: "I think it is going to rain. I just felt a drop."

We use will:
when we think or believe something about the future.

Example: "I think it will rain later so take an umbrella with you."
But when we use "be going to" in a sentence like this:

"Look at the clouds! It is going to rain."

why can't we use "will" since I don't think that in the last sentence we're sure, we are just making a prediction?


texts: "look forward to hearing your decision"?

texts:
Which one is better (or something else)?

  "I am looking forward to your decision."

  "I am looking forward to hearing your decision."

  "I am looking forward to hearing from you about your decision."

The context is emails about application to graduate schools and jobs.


texts: How do we say "in all angles" idiomatically?

texts:
There's a sphere in all degrees of which there are smaller spheres, and
  thus forming a bigger sphere.

"In all degrees of which" sounds non-idiomatic. I think it's correct and it's easy to understand what it means from the context, but there's a more succinct way to say it, but I don't know how.


texts:
Which one is right:

  It is neither known what Jack actually said to Lilly that evening, nor it is known how they broke up.

  It is neither known what Jack actually said to Lilly that evening, nor is it known how they broke up.

Why?


texts:
We need to rectify the errors before anybody point it.
  We need to rectify the errors before anybody point it out.

In the above sentence, which is the better phrase to use: 'point it' or 'point it out'?


texts:
At an airport two people accidentally swapped their bags.

Looks like our bags (accidentally) got swapped.

Looks like our bags (accidentally) got exchanged.

I think the second one sounds more intentional than unintentional. So does the second sentence work? Is it likely to be used?


texts:
From The Godfather:

Fanucci was shot by Vito Corleone:

  Fanucci was holding on to the sides of the door, trying to stand
  erect, trying to reach for his gun. The force of his struggle had torn
  the buttons off on his jacket and made it swing loose.

I didn't get the meaning of swing loose. Couldn't you give some explnantion?


texts: Is the phrase "in a way that" appropriate for a Formal sentence

texts:
"At first, internet allows the people to connect with others, who live in far-away, in a way that just wasn't possible decades ago."

Is "in a way that" is formal or informal?


texts: How to avoid repeating the same verb to avoid redundance

texts:
In my point of view, skipping the same verb in one sentence makes it more poetry-like and native.

Here is my phrase:

  The sky is your limit and the sea is your birth place.

Could it be modified to:

  The sky is your limit and the sea your birth place.

I hope you can get the sense of what I am trying to figure out.


texts:
In this sentence from a UN document:

  The prospect of direct and personal access to the discovery and enjoyment of the planet’s resources constitutes a right equally open to all the world’s inhabitants
  (Source)

I wonder what prospect means here. Neither possibility nor view fits well here, supposedly.


texts:
What is the best/correct way to write the following sentence?

  He has changed his attitude towards his colleagues since he was promoted or has been promoted.

Or:

  He changed his attitude towards his colleagues since he was promoted.

Thanks


texts:
Let's say, in a building or an enclosed area, people should first get in through the entrance

(irrelevant, but: get in through, or from the entrance?)

which is point A, and then first go to point B , and then C and finally to their desired destination.

What's all this called? Route? Path? Way Or....?

Now if there's an alternative path/route/or whatever that they CAN take  but they SHOULDN'T, and I have to point out to people that they shouldn't take that one, how do I communicate this without being too wordy?
I'm looking for a short sentence like:

  You must take the ABCD- route/path/way.

Thanks for your help.


texts:
Which one should I use here?

IN June 2014

or

ON June 2014

Why? Thanks.


texts: Is there a better way to say "on a price for quality basis"?

texts:
I think it's idiomatic, but the expression "on a price for quality basis" is quite a tongue-twister, so is there an alternative expression that has less syllabes, so you can say it more quickly?

  On a price for quality basis, Huawei phones are better than Apple phones.

It doesn't have to exactly mean the same thing, but it should be as precise as possible. Being too general would be a bad thing in my opinion.


texts: Are "as if nothing" and "as if it were nothing" synonymous?

texts:
I can't think of anything other than these two expressions "as if nothing" and "as if it were nothing" that mean what they mean, but I am not sure they mean the same thing, because I couldn't find them in a dictionary. I think "as if nothing" is an elliptical expression of "as if it were nothing", but is that really so?

For example:

  The people in that town did a very weird thing, but they acted as if
  nothing.


texts: The meeting was postponed _____ (for/due to/owing to?)lack of quorum

texts:
The meeting was postponed owing to lack of quorum.

This is from a sentence improvement MCQ which has the following options :

A. due to
B. because of
C. for
D. No improvement

Can anyone tell me which is the best option to choose among the given options? I think  because of is a synonym of owing to so it can be eliminated but which one to choose among options A,C and D?


texts: "Any kind of CAR" vs "Any kind of CARS"?

texts:
What sentence between those two is valid, using singular or plural with "any kind of" ?

  Any kind of car

Or

  Any kind of cars


texts: Is [How kind she is to take care of Tony!] correct?

texts:
I found a sentence in my grammar book for Junior high school students in Japanese as follows;

  How kind she is to take care of Tony!

The book explains that this sentence means ”she is so nice,
because she takes care of Tony.”

Please advise me the correct sentence.


texts: Usage of had *ed and were in the same sentence

texts:
So, I have a sentence:

  The amount of workers had increased significantly when CNC machines were launched.

I wanted to say that when CNC machines were launched (or have been launched, not sure), only after that the amount of workers increased.

Is my original sentence correct?


texts:
Are "one more" and "another" interchangeable? When are they not interchangeable?

Please, give me one more (another) chance.
You can take one more (another) apple from the table.
There's one more (another) thing left to do.
If you take one more (another) step I will shoot.


texts: Using the definite article with comparative adjectives

texts:
It appears that the stronger argument is in favour of grandparents living independently.

We normally use the with superlative adjectives. Here the is used before stronger as a comparative adjective; making me confused.


texts:
Sara wanted to get her a present.

Does this make sense?
I think it should be "Sara wanted her to get a present." or "Sara wanted to give her a present."


texts: which prepositions is correct? In or from?

texts:
I wonder which one is better: "She is a pupil/student IN an American junior high school" or "FROM an American junior high school"?
Thanks a lot.


texts: What is correct in this sentence "is" or "are"?

texts:
Which is correct:

  My current address and telephone number is:

or

  My current address and telephone number are:


texts: Error spotting : I spent nearly four and half years at harrow of which three were in the Army class

texts:
I spent nearly four and half years at harrow of which three were in the Army class.

This is an error spotting question. I searched for the above sentence on google and found two different answers. One said we need to replace nearly with about and other said we need to replace of which with in which but to me both these seem to be wrong correction, I guess the error is in phrase four and half years it should be four and a half years. Am I correct ?


texts:
Source: The C Programming Language by Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie

  As we said in the preface to the first edition, C "wears well as one's experience with it grows." With a decade more experience, we still feel that way. We hope that this book will help you to learn C and to use it well.

How do you exactly understand that? I'm especially confused by the adverb more placed in between decade and experience. I would understand it perfectly well if it read with a decade-long experience, but as it stands, the grammar looks a little bit fishy to me for some reason. Please, give me a grammatical breakdown of what's going on. Do you think that decade more is functioning as an adjective and therefore can be hyphenated to show that it is actually an adjective? I'm kind of getting lost here.


texts:
We always use a positive tag question after a negative sentence:

  You shouldn't take this medicine, should you?

We use a negative tag question after a positive sentence:

  She must leave early, mustn't she?

But when there is a negating prefix on the adjective (impatient vs. patient) after the verb "to be", then the sentence is negative in meaning. Does this mean the tag should be positive?

Which is correct, A or B?

  A: I am impatient, am I?

  B: I am impatient, aren't I?

  A: The class was dismissed, was it?

  B: The class was dismissed, wasn't it?


texts: Economy or Economics, this is the question!

texts:
In the following sentence, which word should I use?

My favorite topics to talk about include politics and economy(or economics).


texts: In the sentence "we always buy toilet paper in bulk", does 'in bulk' function as an adverb or adjective?

texts:
Does in bulk modify buy as in we buy loads of toilet paper or does it elaborate on the number of toilet papers we buy? Is one way of seeing it less wrong than the other?
Based on my intuition, I am leaning towards 'in bulk' behaving as an adverb, but to explain it in analytical terms I cannot.
What metric does one use to accurately the grammatical function of such words, or words/phrases in general?


texts:
Is it grammatical to end a sentence with two dots? Because this involves a particular type of sentence, let me give you an example.

For example:

  The meeting was to begin in 8:00 p.m..


texts:
I want to know informal ways (both American and British English) to propose a plan (e.g. going to a party, doing something interesting, starting a mutual job). This is not an offer for sex at all ( Please edit the post if "making proposition" usually means so). These are some of the sentences I though of:

  I wanna make you a proposition.

  I have a proposal for you.

  I have a plan.


texts:
Violet got a letter from the University of Michigan to join in but was afraid of his husband. She could become like her mother who once sacrificed a job for her father and now she is living an unhappy life.

  Violet: I know, I think I'm just scared that you will end up
  resenting me.

  Tom: This is a huge opportunity for you. If you don't do this, you're
  gonna end up resenting me, and, frankly, I would much rather be the
  resentor than resented.

I looked up this word in the dictionary but it doesn't even exist.

Source: The Five-Year Engagement 2012


texts: What is the difference between superstition, blind faith and omen?

texts:
If someone believes it is bad if it rains on your wedding day or a cat crossing your path is bad then

Is it a superstition, an omen or a blind faith ?

Could someone please elaborate with few another examples ?


texts: How to improve my British accent, in particular intonation

texts:
I have been studying English for many years, focusing on British accent. Apart from my books with DVDs in British, I listen to different podcasts of BBC learning English. Sometimes, I shadow the speaker to repeat it with the same pace and intonation. However, I assume that while I speak, my intonation is not good enough perhaps because we dont have much rising or falling in our language.

I have noticed that there are lots of great books, DVDs, websites with the title "American accent training", which are not merely about pronunciation, but also about intonation and everything. However, I could not find such a comprehensive thing about British accent. Could you please recommend some ways, books, and stuff to improve my accent?


texts: What do you call someone who doesn't pay others back?

texts: I've heard the term "Deadbeat" but I'm not sure whether this is very common for saying that someone is a bad payer. Do you guys know of other words that could be used to describe someone like that other than "deadbeat"?


texts: Grammar check: Highlight the sentences that have grammatical or lexical errors:

texts:
Highlight the sentences that have grammatical or lexical errors:

A. I think London is more nice than Paris.
B. The tour guide gave us
an excellent advice about visiting the museum.
C. I have been in New
York since three days.
D. I have visited Prague last year.
E. We had a very enjoyable meal at the restaurant.
F. I enjoy to look at architecture.
G. The tourists are taking a bus trip to the coast.


texts:
the passage is from Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth. What 2 Trevs stand for?
GINGER. I’m a DJ.
JOHNNY. He’s an unemployed plasterer.
PROFESSOR. I see. Are you pure or applied?
GINGER ( to the PROFESSOR) . Just a tick, mate. ( To
JOHNNY . ) Since, right, I’m pencilled in second if 2 Trevs
pulls out today, from the car park of The Cooper’s at sunset.
I got my records in the car. ( To the PROFESSOR . ) Sorry.
You were saying.
PROFESSOR. A DJ, eh?
GINGER. That’s right, mate.
In another part:
GINGER. I fucking am. Possibly. I’m standby DJ at The
Cooper’s.
WESLEY. Are you?
GINGER. Yes I fucking am. I spoke to Sue.
WESLEY. She never said nothing. When?
GINGER. Last week. I’m back-up for 2 Trevs. If the 2 Trevs
can’t make it, or, say, one or both of the Trevs is ill.
WESLEY. I just spoke to them, they’re fine. They’re on their
way.
GINGER. Right. But, what if they, you know…
LEE. Get lost?
DAVEY. Crash?
LEE. Have a fight. Musical differences.
GINGER. Or food poisoning. One of them could eat a dodgy
burger.
LEE. They’re called 2 Trevs. There’s two Trevs. So if one
Trev eats a dodgy burger. There’s a spare Trev.


texts: Can I include the verb 'to be' in the sequence of homogeneous parts of a sentence?

texts:
The problem remains pressing and is difficult to resolve.

I have a doubtful feeling about 'and is' but don't see any grammatical issues with it. Or, say,

  Jim goes to the gym, follows a healthy diet, and is in good shape.

Is it okay?


texts:
I wrote this sentence:

  The resulting rulesets are organized in a hierarchical fashion to make it possible to share the rules for extracting content from similar websites.

Can I remove part of it and write it as

  The resulting rulesets are organized in a hierarchical fashion to make it possible to share the rules for  extracting content from  similar websites.

These omission may change the meaning of the sentence without any context, but in both I mean extracting content from similar websites, can I rely context to do such changes?!

Update: If I use "reuse" instead of "share" I can write it as:

  The resulting rulesets are organized in a hierarchical fashion to make it possible to reuse the rules for similar websites.


texts: Are these sentence correct "What things can make you cry?", "What can things make you cry?"?

texts:
I don't know whether or not these sentence are correct. The following sentence shows below.

"What things can make you cry?"
"What can things make you cry?"

I have found some article about auxiliary verb. The following question "What is different between “What is the dog can do?” and “What can the dog do?” (ELL link here).

I still don't know Whether or not the two sentences are right or wrong. I want put a noun in my question like "things" in the example sentences above. I konw "What can make you cry?" is correct.

Please tell me which is right or both of them are right or wrong, and why?


texts:
I have a question about “to his full potential”:

  He told Golf World magazine that he hadn’t yet played to his full potential, “and when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger.”Source: NYT – Sports of the Times – Nice Hole in One, but Nobody Is Close to Par With Woods

I’ve looked in dictionaries and cannot find the phrase “to one's full potential”.  Could this be an error, or could it just happen not to be in dictionaries?


texts: What did you give him money in exchange for?

texts:
I would like to learn if these kinds of questions are possible and correct in English. I think they are but I'm not sure.

What did you give him the money in exchange for?

In exchange for what did you give him the money?

What are you writing to me in relation to?

In relation to what are you writing to me?


texts:
I have this sentence in an architecture context:

  The concept of the pointed arch allowed architects to change the way they approached vaults in churches and cathedrals.

I'm wondering what the meaning of "vaults" is. I tried googling it and searching in the dictionary but I couldn't find the meaning because as you might know that word has many meanings.

If you could give me a photo of it I would appreciate it!


texts:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claims Border Police agents are forcing
  migrants to drink out of toilets and live under other extreme
  conditions — while the officers sit back and laugh.

When does the officers sit back and laugh?

  While Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claims ...
  While migrants are drinking toilets water.


texts: Which is better: "tasked with doing" or "tasked to do"?

texts:
As the heading says: Which is the better alternative – tasked with doing or tasked to do? Or are they equally good, but used in different contexts? In that case, what's the difference between them?
Thank you!


texts: Can I say --> Send me a scanned copy of "rear of the card"?

texts: Let's say I have some document which is printed on both sides. I need scanned copy of both sides. I have already got the front part of it and need the back of it now. Can I say --> send me a scanned copy of "rear of the card" ?


texts: What is the difference between "Gas" / "Petrol" / "Benzine" / "Gasoline"

texts:
I get always confused with that. What am I suppose to use for what and where (US English / UK English?)

Example:

  I need "gas / petrol / benzine / gasoline" for my car.


texts: "of in a half century of critical hyperbole over all things Arendt"

texts:
But Hannah Arendt accomplishes something rare in any biopic and unheard of in a half century of critical hyperbole over all things Arendt: it actually brings Arendt’s work back into believable—and accessible—focus.

Source: http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/05/30/lonely-thinking-hannah-arendt-on-film/

Could you explain to me the bold passage from the bellow excerpt that praises the movie about Hannah Arendt. Does the "critical hyperbole" mean the way how the director treats the life of HA? And what about "Arendt things"?  Is this phrase related to all biographies (in movies or in literature) dedicated to HA that have been made in the last 50 years?


texts:
A says: It is impossible to do anything.

B replies:

a. No, it is not impossible to do anything.

b. No, it is not impossible to do something.

Which is correct in this context? (a) or (b)?

And can one say

c. It is not impossible to steal anything.

(I suppose the meaning would be: Anything can be stolen.)

?


texts: Tenses agreement..Have/had..and how backshifting works

texts:
It'd be great if you showed me the paintings you had drawn.
It'd be great if you showed me the paintings you have drawn.

Are both the above sentences grammatically correct?
Should I backshift when constructing hypothetical sentences,or when I'm using past tense to be polite?
What's the difference in their meaning?


texts: Why is it correct to say “your hair wants cutting”?

texts:
In a multiple choice question:

Your hair wants ____. You'd better have it done tomorrow.

Clearly here required a passive voice, like "to be cut."
However, the answer given is "cutting." Why is that the case?


texts: Did vs. past perfect and present perfect continuous

texts:
In a test question: "How long ___ in Spain before you came here". Choices are: a. Did you live
b. Have you lived
c. Have been living
Accordingly, the answer is a.
Isn't it suppose to be c?


texts: “probably was” or “probably would be”, which one is correct?

texts:
That probably was the most surprising moment in my life.
That probably would be the most surprising moment in my life.

Which of the above sentence is correct or are they both correct?  Is the second one just saying that I am just a little less certain whereas the first one saying I am a little more sure?


texts: Meaning of "So say the knights who say NIH"

texts:
So say the knights who say NIH.

I don't get the above reference. What does it mean?


texts:
In my emails with a university professor, speaking of new students, it says:

looks like A, B and C will come. Should be a party!

What does "should be a party" mean in the context?


texts: "to a bit of what is all around you". Is it grammatically right?

texts:
Song "Martha, my dear" (by Beatles) contains these lines:

When you find yourself in the thick of it.
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you.

I don't understand why part to a bit of what is all around you is grammatically right.
I suppose that this part should look something like: Help yourself to take a bit of what is all around you.
I would like to know what this part exactly means and why it is grammatically right.


texts: "...probably knew the answer judging by..." Is this grammatically correct?

texts:
Example:

  "What do you think about my house?" Tommy asked, who probably knew the
  answer judging by my open mouth.

...who probably knew the answer judging by... has only one Google result. So I wonder whether it's grammatical.


texts: Difference between "I'm home" vs "I'm at home"

texts: What's the difference between these two sentences? And which one's grammatically correct?


texts:
I am not sure which one is correct to use to describe the verb of "given" or "providing" help to someone.

I am trying to say that my professor helped (e.g., with reference letters, research opportunities, etc) me and still willing to help in the current time and in the future. On other words, she is someone that I can always count on her and I am thankful for her help.  So, can I say:

  For many times, you have always provided your assistance to me.

OR:

  For many times, you have always given me your help.


texts: What kind of sentence constituent of "good night"

texts:
She kisses them good night and puts them to bed.

Is "good night" a direct object of "kisses"?


texts: Why people say ‘a racehorse’ and ‘a racing car’?

texts: A horse bred and trained for taking part in racing is termed a racehorse, while a car made for taking part in racing is called a racing car. Could anyone figure out any reason for this apparent inconsistency in compound formation?


texts:
A person had died years ago. How do we say ‘has’ to him now? Say -

  Tom died 15 years ago. He has or had 3 sons?

I know it’s ‘has’. But somehow ‘has’ to me sounds that he is alive. Even further, if I use ‘had’ it may mean that the sons are dead.

Likewise,

  Ben, who died 14 years ago, has received a notice.

The notice is received today.

Is there anyway to avoid the conflict of ‘has’ with existence?


texts: Is there a synonym to the phrase "running joke" in any context? I feel like I've heard something like onrunning and I'm not sure if there isn't a connotation of an inside joke, that could serve as a synonym.


texts: Using a narration in interrogative sentence

texts:
Suppose ABC told XYZ, "I don't need it today. Bring it tomorrow". I need to use it inside an interrogative sentence. What is the correct way to write it? See my try below:

Did ABC tell XYZ "I don't need it today. Bring it tomorrow"?

OR

Did ABC tell XYZ like "I don't need it today. Bring it tomorrow"?

What is the correct way to use narration inside an interrogative sentence?
Optionally suggest the correct punctuation.


texts: "Is there a plane" or "Do you have a flight", which is better?

texts:
Assuming I'm speaking to staff at a booking center, which of these is better?

  Is there a plane to London today?

or

  Do you have a flight to London today?

And why?


texts: Interpretation in context in a paragraph

texts:
Probably the biggest roadblock to play for adults is the worry that they will look silly, improper, or dumb if they allow themselves to truly play. Or they think that it is irresponsible, immature, and childish to give themselves regularly over to play. Nonsense and silliness come naturally to kids, but they get pounded out by norms that look down on “frivolity.” This is particularly true for people who have been valued for performance standards set by parents or the educational system, or measured by other cultural norms that are internalized and no longer questioned.

Probably the biggest roadblock to (1)play for adults is the worry that they will look silly, improper, or dumb if they allow themselves to truly play. Or they think that it is irresponsible, immature, and childish to give themselves regularly over to play. (2)Nonsense and silliness come naturally to kids, but (3)they (4)get pounded out by norms that look down on “frivolity.” This is particularly true for people who have been valued for performance standards set by parents or the educational system, or measured by other cultural norms that are internalized and no longer questioned.
(1) I think "play" is a noun.
(2) I interpret like: Kids think adults who only play is silly.
(3) Who is they? I guess they are adults
(4) What "get pounded out" menas? I guess "get criticized by norms"
My guess above is correct?


texts: How do I change "I am sure" to a second/third person pov?

texts: I'm sure you wouldn't want your writing to smudge and fade - how do I change this to a second/third person pov?


texts:
Recently I was speaking to a friend (also an ELL)  and he told me that the verse "And I try, oh my God, do I try", from "What's Up - 4 Non Blondes" has the "do I try" actually as an emphasis (meaning that the person REALLY TRIES) rather than a [rhetoric] question.

The other friend says, that even without the question mark, this is definitely a question.

Is it possible to say : "Oh, Do I Work!" and be a valid English construction emphasizing how much I work?!

Any references?


texts:
From examenglish.com:

  Man:   The world cup starts in three weeks! It’s going to be great!

  Woman:   Oh yeah, great.

  Man:   Aren’t you into the world cup then?

  Woman:   Oh, I don’t mind it, I suppose. When I was younger I used to
  quite like watching all the fit met running around!

I didn't really get what she meant by I don't mind it. Don't mind sb means that you can carry on with what you're doing not paying attention to them. But in the context of this dialog it doesn't quite make sense.
all the fit met running around
Not sure, but fit met running around mean sport events near the place where she used to live.

Is it correct?


texts: Has or Have for the semi-modal verb "Have to" when making question and negative sentences?

texts:
Considering the semi-modal verb "Have to" Which of these sentences is correct grammatically:

Question form:
1- Does he have to wear his uniform?
2- Does he has to wear his uniform?

Negative form:
1- He doesn't have to wear his uniform.
2- He doesn't has to wear his uniform.


texts: The demons assailed me; and fever came, and delirium, to people the waste with shadows. --"to people the waste"?

texts:
In the following paragraph, I cannot figure out the meaning of the part in bold, and the grammar concept behind that (It comes from the story "Told in the desert"):

The red demons of thirst assailed me; and fever came, and delirium,
to people the waste with phantasmagoric shadows.

To me it seems as if there was a verb missing between the "people" and "waste". In this context, "waste" probably refers to the desert the character is in.


texts: Present perfect for lasting action up to now

texts:
I have been getting / have gotten everything they have released so far

I think both can fit  but may be continuous is a bit better as it goes  up to now and the action of getting is a continuous thing


texts:
Over the last days , I’ve read a couple of my friends’ entries on the web about how tremendously picturesque places look in a snowy winter

Can one use an adverb before the adjective in the pattern above?

  how beautiful it is

vs.

  how very/amazingly beautiful it is


texts: How to say when I have motion sickness in a car?

texts:
I wonder if I could say something like:

  "I feel nauseous."

or

  "I got carsick."

when I feel sick and going to vomit due to a motion in a car. Does the sentences above sound natural?


texts: what is the difference between past perfect continuous and simple past using time periods

texts:
Today I ran into an example in the Longman dictionary. I wonder whether or not it  is correct. Here is the example:

  Bargain hunters queued for hours before the store opened.

I believe it should be:

  Bargain hunters had been queuing for hours before the store opened.

If they are both correct, what is the difference between these two sentences?


texts:
In English, we have the expressions "the reason why" and "the place where," but is it correct to use "how" in the following?

  I can show them the way how Japanese is spoken.


texts:
I am asked in the English exam I've recently taken online to make a collocation with the given word. Like this sample: Ice-...cream
but with the word radio:

  Radio - a)pm  b)mp  c)DJ

I chose the c option because I was imagining the occupation-a DJ person, but I googled it later but with no results, it wasn't in most dictionaries.


texts: "Have you done with the exam" vs "Did you finish the exam"?

texts:
What's more appropriate regarding to exams at university when asking friend about exam that he did? ׂ(For example, I am texting him a message and I would like to ask him if he already after the exam at the university that was started one hour ago)

  a) "Have you done with the exam"

  b) "Did you finish the exam"?

Is it a matter of style that it's possible to choose anyone of them or one of them is incorrect?


texts: May I say "get broken", "get awake", "get spread" instead of break, wake up, spread?

texts:
I often say:

  — "Handle it carefully, otherwise it will get broken"
  — "Be quiet, otherwise she will get awake"
  — "Don't touch the oil, otherwise it will get spread" (here, the oil is already on the ground and touching it will spread it)

I could have said:

  — "Handle it carefully, otherwise it will break"
  — "Be quiet, otherwise she will wake up"
  — "Don't touch the oil, otherwise it will spread"

I am in a habit of speaking the former. Do I need to correct myself?


texts: Parsing “have a limited release the product”

texts:
We'll have a limited release the product and let this region serve as a guinea pig.

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/guinea
I saw this sentence on thefreedictionary and i'm stuck in interpreting it.
Is the verb have acting as causative verb and a limited as noun?


texts:
Truth be told, I do not like writing.

I know that some idioms are informal, but is this one also considered informal? I want to use it in my essay.


texts: Restructuring the phrase to remove repetition

texts:
Would my knowledge about the event make such events from occuring ever in future?

Consider the phrase above. the event is in reference to a general event which occurs weekly/fortnightly.

Can I use some other structure for the same phrase; so that I won't have to repeat the word event? What my actual meaning in context is:

  If I get to know more about the event, will this result in stopping of
  such events from happening ever in future?


texts: Can I use "in addition to" to mention new information?

texts:
Can "in addition to" be used to introduce information not mentioned before in the text? Is it weird?
For example,

In addition to doing A, I also did B.

But this sentence is the first time A appears in the whole text. I kind of have the feeling that A should be talked about before using this sentence, or is this just fine?


texts:
I was trying to write a formal email to my manager stating that the change controls are put on hold. For 'put on hold', I meant that the change controls are on 'hold' status and are no more processed.

So what is the correct usage - 'Put on hold' or 'kept on hold'.


texts:
When using the noun turn, should I use the +ing form or the infinitive?

Whose turn is it to do the washing up?
Whose turn is it doing the washing up?


texts:
When I translate an Italian sentence, I often use the "dummy it" to keep the same structure of the Italian sentence.
For example, translating è stato difficile trovare il colpevole, I would say "it has been difficult to find who is guilty" instead of "finding who is guilty has been difficult" or "to find who is guilty has been difficult." The Italian equivalent of the last sentence is trovare il colpevole è stato difficile, which is not different from è stato difficile trovare il colpevole. The only difference is that I inverted the order of trovare il colpevole, and è stato difficile, and I am probably highlighting the fact it has been difficult.

In  this case, using it has a purpose. Imagine speaking with somebody that uses a sentence similar to the one I used as example every time a new topic is introduced.
Can using a sentence with the same structure of the sentence I used as example be seen as overusing a construct, such as in the case I would keep saying this very moment instead of this moment, or "I do like it" instead of "I like it"?


texts: How a native English speaker use Present Perfect tense in formal writing?

texts:
In formal academic essays or in IELTS task 2 essays. The Present Perfect can be used in two cases mainly, which are shown in the below examples:

  Case 1) I have been married for 21 years.

  The action "married" happened in the past, but the action is still happening now.

  Case 2) When Australia has applied the economic policies which I mentioned earlier, according to the government statistics, most employees found a new job in supermarkets after their former employer companies had been closed.

  The government applied these policies in the past, but I want to
  emphasis that these policies are still applied now. It is like "I have lost my book." Losing my book happened in the past, but by using present perfect, I want to emphasis that losing my book is still important now.

Two native English teachers said that the sentences in case 2 are wrong and suggested to use past tense instead, but when I discussed this with them they changed their mind. I wonder how native English speakers actually use present perfect despite what grammar books say as I want to learn avoid writing sentences which seem ungrammatical to most native English speakers.


texts: How to explain "Liberty Mutual" company name?

texts:
I was asked by a friend of mine to translate/explain:

  Liberty Mutual

company name. Liberty means freedom and what does mutual mean in the context?

I have a hypotesis of it's being mutual fund or mutual insurance, but not sure.

P.S. I am not in any way related to the company nor this question was created for promotion purpose.


texts: present, past, past participle form of 'spit'

texts:
I saw this sentence on the internet.
i know being spit on is probably not what you need right now
In this sentence, spit is past participle form of verb, spit.
I know past form of spit is spit, spitted, spat and past participle is spit, spatted, spat
Is this right?
Why should I use spit in stead of spatted, spat?


texts: Factors governing the avoidance of contracted forms such as we're, I'm or didn't and wouldn't

texts:
I am looking for a comprehensive lists of the factors that govern the avoidance of contracted forms such as we're, I'm or didn't and wouldn't and so on.

So far I have found (personal impressions):

Very formal communication


texts:
As a vital organ plays a critical role in most metabolic processes
  happening in the body, liver also takes part in other modulations.

I am a new English learner. This is a sentence I have written. I am not confident in using "happening" as a present participle here? If I want to make it appear to be more academic and professional (more complex), what verb can I use to substitute "happening" here?

Thank you!


texts: comparison clauses the more ... the less

texts:
Can we say " The more tired you are, the more it's hard to concentrate" instead of "the more tired you are, the harder it is to concentrate" . and which of them could be more common?
and also what about these to sentences?
1- The longer she had to wait, the more impatient she become.
2- The longer she had to wait, the more she become impatient.


texts:
I want to describe the evaluation of my Android app (Bus tracker).

  Can I say about the time of enter and exit the bus The time of getting in and off since the bus was not always accurate or I should use departure and arrival time?


texts: each a local and national landmark - no "is"?

texts:
Example with a context (Wikipedia article):

  Canada's railway hotels are a series of grand hotels across the country, each a local and national landmark, and most of which are icons of Canadian history and architecture.

Why do you think there's no is between each and a local and national landmark?


texts: how to say this in another words with adverb?

texts:
I wanted to look around the whole park which was surrounded with forest and spend quality time enjoying the view slowly, relaxedly.

This is what I want to say but sounds too tedious(?), boring and lengthy. Is there some kind of proper adverb to express something like relaxedly, slowly, carelessly?


texts:
Please look at the following sentences.

  Having lived with him for 25 years I can say a lot about him.
  (I have lived for 25 years and am still living.)
  Having lived with him for 25 years I can say a lot about him.
  (I am not living with him now, but lived before for 25 years.)
  Having been living for 25 years mean I have been living with him for 25 years.
  (I have been living with him for 25 years and am still living)

Are my interpretations correct? If not, then please correct me.

Similarly, look at the following sentences

  Having lived in Dublin all my life, I'm not used to being stopped at checkpoints, harassed and searched, which I was subjected to in Palestine.
  Having lived in Bangalore all my life but never having visited Coorg, I decided quite happily to tag along with a bunch of friends to stay at the Last Resort. We drove late night on a Friday from Bangalore to get the most of the place over the weekend.

I am confused as to the meaning of all my life above. All my life should logically include the present moment, but from the sentences above it doesn't seem to be the case. Does all my life in the above sentences mean all the life till then, that is a point in the past and not till now? Is it right?

Thanks.


texts: "Get a free notebook WORTH $2." Where is "IS"?

texts:
I use worth in sentences like:

This is worth $10.
It is worth doing the job.

Today I have seen a sentence :

"Get a free Notebook worth $2."

Is the sentence grammatical? If it is then tell me the format.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is there a noun for people who have already completed their work and have free time? They are about to help others in other activities. I thought of idle people/idlers but that word seems to suggest the person it refers to deliberately avoids work.


texts: Are "in that", "that in which" and "there" synonymous?

texts:
A liar claimed he had courage, it was there that he was deficient.

  A liar claimed he had courage, it was in that he was deficient.

  A liar claimed he had courage, it was that in which he was deficient.

It seems that "in that", "that in which" and "there" are synonymous, especially in the above sentences. Is this true? Are there other phrasing that might be synonymous? I thought about "in which", but it's not synonymous to "in that", because "that" is a regular pronoun while "which" is a relative pronoun in "in which".


texts: "Makes you stay more productive" vs "Makes you more productive"

texts:
1.A vacation makes you stay more productive.
2.A vacation makes you more productive.

I know these 2 sentences are pretty much the same, but I'd like to know the subtle difference. For me, sentence 1 sounds like more natural because it is more obvious that 'you' is a subject of action or state 'stay more productive'. If you had to choose one favorite expression, what would you choose? And how about followings?

a. A vacation helps you stay more productive.
b. A vacation helps you more productive.

Thanks in advance.


texts: "taste different" or "taste differently"?

texts:
Tell me please if it correct different or differently in the following sentence.

  But eggs can taste different/differently depending on how fresh they are, the way they're cooked and the diet of the hen.

This passage is from this article and the author uses the word different there. Tell me please why.


texts:
1) Spend a hundred dollars and get 10% off
  2) Approximately, on Black Friday you get 25% off any item you buy.

As I know, that most prepositions have dual functions: as a preposition if it is followed by object or as an adverb if nothing comes after. Please, correct if I am wrong.

Yesterday, I walked down the street (preposition)
Hey buddy, do you know where I can find this store?

Yes, it is a couple of streets down (adverb)

Does off in the first (1) sentence act as an adverb because nothing follows it? Or does it act as a preposition in the second sentence (2) as it is followed by an object “any item”.


texts: Is there a difference in meaning and usage between "what I hear" and "from what I hear"?

texts:
Could you tell me in which situations I use what I hear and from what I hear? Is there any difference in meaning and usage between them? For example:

What I hear is that a vaccine for Covid-19 will be available soon.
From what I hear is that a vaccine for Covid-19 will be available soon.


texts: Are "deal" and "deal in" interchangeable?

texts:
From Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary:

  She got caught dealing drugs in school.

  He deals in rare books.

I want to express "buying and selling a particular product." It seems that "dealing something" is always related to drugs. I'm not sure. Can I interchange them?

  She got caught dealing in drugs in school.

  He deals rare books.


texts: sentence from Cambridge dictionary: ‘his’ vs. ‘he'

texts:
Is this sentence from Cambridge dictionary correct?

  He was there and saw what happened, so his is the only authentic
  account.

  (from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/authentic)

I am wondering why it says ‘his’ and not ‘he’,


texts: A strange way to use the adjective "enlightened"

texts:
I am practicing a listening section of the test TOEFL, and the material gave me a strange sentence. The lecture was about a crop farming in middle ages in Europe.

  The truth was that the Lord of Manor had many rights over the villagers, rights granted by the king. The villagers had to work a set number of days on the lord's land -- typically three days a week -- and they only got to work on their own land once they had finished working on the lord's. It gets worse. The villagers were not allowed to leave the village to work elsewhere, or even marry, without the lord's permission. These were pretty sever obligations. You could call it almost enlightened slavery.

I actually am having a problem how to translate or understand this adjective in this context. What is the feeling or opinion by native speakers?.


texts: How to choose prepositions after "cheat"

texts:
Which prepositions do we have to choose after the verb "cheat"?

cheat in exams
cheat at exams
cheat in tests
cheat at tests
cheat in cards
cheat at cards

Which ones are correct in British English?


texts:
When I was learning English, I just learned the word 'friend'.

Now I begin watching some British TV series, I hear the characters say 'You're my mate', 'He's my mate', 'Cheers mate', etc.

There seems to be some subtle differences between 'friend' and 'mate', but I can't tell. In which situation(s) would 'mate' be more appropriate than 'friend'?


texts: Words choice: Represent average per month for 6 months

texts:
I have been developing a question about averages. I gave 5 months' profit values and asked what should be the profit in the 6th month to get an average monthly profit of $X? My intention is to ask about the average profit per month for the period of six months.

Now my question is if the words average monthly correctly represent the intention. What if I use six-monthly average? Would it be better or would it change the sense?


texts: How to mention person's occupation in the sentence?

texts:
Russell (prisoner) got informed by his brother Rodney that their father had
  died.

I am putting prisoner in brackets, So is there any way to rephrase this sentence without brackets.


texts:
Do they have the same meaning:

The effect "y" has when the value of "x" changes is called rate of change.
The effect "y" gets when the value of "x" changes is called rate of change.

Is there usually a difference when we use has or gets with effect?


texts: How do I pronounce the letter "y" in words?

texts: Why is the letter Y in 'by' pronounced 'bai' but in 'Tyrion' it's 'Tirion' and not 'Tairon'?


texts:
The first sentence of each row is direct speech. The second one is reported speech.
The modals will and can change in the reported speech. But I am not sure what to do with should.

"I will go to Europe." — He said he would go to Europe.
"I can play the guitar." — He said he could play the guitar.
"I should go to college." — He said he [should] go to college.


texts: What does this sentence mean in this context here?

texts: Yet it may be the very familiarity of such images—no one of which has particular ascension over another—that shifts the emphasis, in “Memory of the Camps,” to two sequences. Source


texts:
"Recent events in the Ukraine and our dependency on the Russians for transportation to the space station [make it] even more important to reignite our space program."
  So argued Gene Grush, former head of the propulsion and power group at NASA's Johnson Space Center, in a series of articles published by Fox News earlier this year. But why is it so "important" that the U.S. "reignite" its space program? What sparked this sense of urgency, and what are America's space exploration companies doing to fix it?

What does that mean?


texts: Still I don't know how to use modifiers properly

texts: For example, a blueberry is blue fruit and if the fruit becomes yellow, is it called 'Yellow blueberry'? That is, 'yellow' is modifying 'blueberry'?


texts:
Second stanza of The Convergence of the Twain by Thomas Hardy:

Steel chambers, late the pyres
Of her salamandrine fires,
Cold currents thrid, and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres.

Can 'late' be used as a preposition and what does it mean in the above lines?


texts: Is it necessary to repeat the determiner "the" in the following case?

texts: which is correct as a title: "The river system and the water supply" or "the river system and water supply"? And would you remove all determiners and leave it like this: "River system and water supply"?


texts: very impressed-->dead impressed (adjective)

texts:
Instead of using "very", which is annoyingly too common, would it not sound awkward if I use "dead"+adjective:

  My friends would be dead impressed if they saw me wearing the latest Prada bag that cost 1.2 billion dollars!

I am no native English speaker and I am sure if this is valid because when I google the word combination, nothing appeared.


texts: what's the difference between the expressions 'there shall be an answer' and 'there will be an answer'?

texts: There a lyrics, 'There will be an answer, let it be'. But I am curious about the change of the meaning of the sentence above when I substitute 'shall' for 'will'. Is there any difference made between them?


texts: "Expanding his chest went out of the room."

texts:
Source: Anna Karenina

  For a few seconds Oblonsky stood alone; then he wiped his eyes, sighed, and expanding his chest went out of the room.

Why isn't this sentence in this way: wiped his eyes, sighed, expanded his chest, and went out of the room.


texts: Should I pronounce my russian name as an american or as a russian?

texts: In meetings with my teammates from USA they pronounce my russian name "Artem" with American accent(not the way other russians pronounce it). Should I also pronounce other's Russian names with the accent or say them as I usually say in Russian?


texts: Do you still call it a "snack" if it consists of various items?

texts:
Let's say I buy potato chips, a rice ball, and a beer. And I consume all that at midnight.

Can I still call it a midnight snack? Or I should call it midnight snacks?


texts: He was state champion and national record holder

texts:
Why is there no article used with state champion and national record holder in this sentence?

  In high school he was state champion and national record holder.

What would happen if a or the were inserted?


texts: Should it be made or would make in the following sentence?

texts:
I'm trying to figure out why this sentence (highlighted in bold) doesn't seem right? Could someone explain to my the reasons why it's not correct?

Here's the sentence, it's talking about Anwar Sadat and the peace treaty he signed with Israel:

  "He had a major role in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 . He put a plan that would make Israel surrender and remove the idea that they are unbeatable."

I'm thinking that "would make" should just be made???


texts: difference between 'deliberately' and 'on purpose'

texts:
Please read the following sentences.

He deliberately did that.
He did that on purpose.

What's the difference ?

Could you give me any more examples which will clarify where to use these words ?


texts: What is the difference between to hinder and to nix?

texts: It seems like they both mean something like to prevent but I prefer to know what does it mean exactly ?


texts:
Let us assume that in a text we bring an example.
And we want to bring more similar examples.
Is this statement grammatically correct?

  There are more of such examples

How about the following:

  There are more such examples


texts:
This is a student's composition, I'm not sure about the use of "great nature" and "reinforced concrete buildings" in this composition, are they being used properly here? (Any proofreading comments will be much appreciated.)

Campus is a place for us to study.
It's environment ought to combine itself with the great Nature other than those reinforced concrete buildings now we see.
So greening our campus is rather important. There should be various plants in our schools. There should be flowers in different seasons.
Let's try to make the schools ever green throughout the year. The plants are beneficial to children's body and mind. They will help to create a better campus environment for us.


texts:
I just found out clothes is plural only. Yay

How do you say one clothing item without specifying the exact type or using some mouthful words ?
Or perhaps, more natual way is just say a dress, a shirt, etc. ?


texts:
Suresh has joined a _____ course.

Options:

1) two year's

2) two years

3) two year

the answer is two year.
but two year's sounds to me more logical.
can you explain the nuance?
thanks in advance.


texts:
I have a question

  1.He was to be home by now.

That means he was supposed to come home either before now or maybe by now?

  2.He was to have been home by now.

That means he was supposed to have come by the time specified that means before that time not at that time.
Am I right?
Please tell me when do I use them?

If I say a day later then would I say it this way
He was to have been home by then.
 Or
He was to be home by then.
I am utterly confused by them.Please tell me how to use these forms.Please.Please

Thank you.


texts:
"As" is a frequently used word in English and has many parts of speech including preposition, adverb and conjunction.

Here are two sentence which both have used the phrase "as...as":

1) You're as tall as your father.

2) I have as much confidence in you as in him.

It is apparent that the former "as" in both sentence is an adverb. But what's the part of speech of the latter? A preposition in sentence 1 and a conjunction in sentence 2? Does it mean the latter "as" in this phrase has no fixed function, and its part of speech depends on the context of the sentence?

And one more question: What is the part of speech of "as" in this sentence: We demonstrate that she is the murder as indicated by the knife with her blood.

Thank you!


texts: "On the phone" or "over the phone" in context?

texts:
Tell me please if I have to use on or over in the following sentence?

  People tend to be nervous when they speak a foreign language on/over the phone.


texts: Can I say: "during the visits he paid to them"?

texts:
I know that I can say like this:

"Dr. Thomson paid them a visit."

Is this sentence correct:

  The author tries to elucidate, in his book, what Dr. Thomson saw and did not see during the visits he paid to them (a group of experimenters).


texts: Company with a volume vs Company with volume

texts:
I would like to say a company is sizable.

Which expression is correct between a company with a volume and a company with volume?

P.S.

Is the sentence "a company is sizable" also grammatically acceptable?


texts: “Equivalent part on my body” or “the equivalent part of my body”?

texts:
What's the correct option? The former yields zero results on Google the latter has one. So, I'm not very sure about the correct answer.

Example sentence:

  She stood silently beside me, her shoulder and hip making contact with the equivalent parts of/on my body.


texts: What does "get someone off the board" mean?

texts:
From the movie Logan (2017)

A mutant hunter tortures a mutant called Calliban who can track another mutant Laura.

The hunter says

  She's not a natural like you. She's a business mistake, a R&D gone
  bad. There's liability. They can't have things with patents running
  around, hurting people, can they? We need to get her off the board
  before she hurts anybody else

What exactly does "get off the board" mean? Does he mean a metaphorical board like a checkerboard or it's just idiomatic like "we need to capture and hide her"?


texts: Help understanding "one rather than the other of two present-day phenomena" in this sentence

texts:
"The argument proceeds by presenting evidence that a past phenomenon is more similar to one rather than the other of two present-day phenomena."

I am having problem understanding this sentence, because of the part "one rather than the other ... phenomena." Can someone explain it in detail?


texts: Can "right" be used as short for "right now"?

texts:
Is it correct to say "I right got an up-vote." to mean "I got an up-vote right now."?

I know I can say "I just got an up-vote." but would right in a sentence like that be understood to mean right now?


texts: Difference between Job duties and Job description

texts:
I am an assistant of ABC cake shop.
Here is some information about my position on a job leaflet:

  — Age: over 17
   — Clean tables
   — Buy food
   — Take orders

One of my senior workers called this a job description other than job duties, and it made me confused.

If my friends ask me what I do in the shop everyday, I will tell them, "I need to clean all shop tables, help the master chef buy the food he wants, note down customers' orders."

Can you tell me the difference between job duties and job description?


texts: Use of unlike at the beginning of sentence

texts:
I corrected the following sentence:

  Nowadays, if you drive through a forested area, the windscreen of your car will most likely remain almost clean. Unlike 20 years ago, when the windscreen was darkened by dead insects after such a tour.

into:

  Nowadays, if you drive through a forested area, the windscreen of your car will most likely remain almost clean. Unlike 20 years ago, there are hardly any flying insects left that you will crash into while driving.

The person I corrected this for got angry, because I changed the whole sentence around, and told me it was just fine. As far as I am concerned one cannot use "unlike" in such a manner, semantically connecting 2 sentences while the first has stopped already? It doesn't seem to make sense.

It should be 1 sentence in that case:

  Nowadays, if you drive through a forested area, the windscreen of your car will most likely remain almost clean unlike 20 years ago, when the windscreen was darkened by dead insects after such a tour.

I don´t know how to explain why in case I am right.


texts:
Is there any difference between "it" and "this" in my sentences?

Is it your computer?
Is this your computer?
Is this your brother?
Is it your brother?


texts:
https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/king-abdullah-bin-abdulaziz-al-saud/

Saudi King Abdullah dies aged 90

I can't understand why in the above sentence there is "dies" instead of "died".

about that event,  bbc world news television, uses "dies" instead of "died" too. why?


texts:
What is the adjective of the word "complex" in this context:

  The echo that is produced by species x in closed habitat is more complex than in open habitat.


texts: How to ask highest temperature for a gadget ? - word choice issue

texts:
I don't know how to word this in proper English ..

So I want to ask a question,

"What is the highest temperature this gadget can take ? "

I think people will understand what I am saying, but I want to know if there is a better way to word this ?

Thanks,


texts:
How does one write that something is like something else using "like" as a suffix?

Possibilities that come to my mind are:

X-like
Xlike
X like

Which of these forms are most common?

X could be a variety of things, anything really.


texts: {I am/I will be} more than happy to be corrected

texts:
I tried to translate rather complicated nouns from my native language into English, then I wrote the following sentence:

I referred to some online dictionaries regarding the translations. If
anyone thinks any translation can be expressed more accurately, I am more than
happy to be corrected.

Is using I am more than happy correct here or should I say: I will be more than happy?
Both make sense to me in the sentence, this why I am a little confused as to which one I should use.
I was also wondering if don't hesitate to correct me can be used here.
As far I know, when we say don't we are usually addressing a specific person or people but I am not sure if I have encountered a case in which don't is used to address anyone.
Thank you for any guidance on this.


texts: Diagramming “There is less need for a superstar hardware designer hanging around”

texts:
There is less need for a superstar hardware designer hanging around.

Can someone diagram this sentence for me? I remember that "-ing" form as present participle can represent an event that is progressing (e.g., Being given a chance, she immediately jumped at it); or has finished（?); or will happen（I'm leaving tomorrow, of cause in different context.

Sometimes it can represent passive voice, e.g. need doing something.

Could explain it to me that how "-ing" can be used in three different context showing above?

By the way, English is really a complex language.


texts:
It's an announcement in an airplane

  ''In the unlikely event of a water landing, place the life jacket over
  your head, fasten the straps at the front, and pull them tight. Do not
  inflate the jacket inside the aircraft. As you leave the aircraft,
  pull down on the red tabs to inflate the vest.''

what does it mean?

why is it using ''pull down on the red tabs'' not ''pull down the red tabs''?


texts:
This wikipedia page has two forms of the word name calling.

Name Calling
Name-calling

But the Wiktionary entry, namecalling has the following forms:

Namecalling
Name-calling

Which is correct and which is wrong? Are all of them correct? Is 'namecalling' a word or a two word phrase?


texts:
If he had known I was single, he would have asked me out.

Is this correct? In this case he had no idea I was single but he would have asked me out if he knew that. If not, how should I say that?


texts: it is hurt (Simple Past) or it is hurting? In the next situation

texts:
In the next situation...:

  (I am talking with my friend in the afternoon about something which
  happened to me in the morning. As you can notice all happened in the
  same day...):

  Me: I woke up this morning and I noticed an huge pain in my leg, so I
  think it is hurt (hurt is in Simple Past).

I said: "It is hurt" automatically, but I do not know the reason, I translated fast in my mind and it sounded good for me, but... if I analyse a little the sentence, when I said "I think it is hurt" that problem could has my leg yet, in the moment that I am talking with my friend (a muscle could be damaged or something but I do not feel the pain in that moment). So... Why do not I use: "I think it is hurting"?, for me it has not much sense, but talking gramatically for me it does not seems a bad option because as I said before it is something which I could have in the moment that I am talking (an hurt in my leg).


texts: Does this inversion take any effect, "Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."?

texts:
Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to -- everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

I think the normal order of the sentence in bold is: Snape knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts. I'm wondering if there are any literary effect for that inversion?


texts:
I was working and my brother started poking me because   he had to go out through the door. But I was busy and said :

  Go from there. (There are two doors in the room).

And if he asks me to move, can I still use:

  Go from there. (While pointing in that direction).

So is it used or will "go that way" be used? Is the use of "go from there" natural and is it used?


texts: Is it polite to say "ask for help on ..."?

texts:
Assume a user NZ wrote the following sentence on a website when he was preparing for the IELTS a few months ago.

  Would you please help me prepare for the IELTS SPEAKING?

One of his friends BB is preparing for the IELTS now and talks to NZ.

  BB: "Hi, NZ, what did you do when you prepared for the IELTS?"

  NZ: "I left a message on a website to ask for help on the IELTS reading."

I am sure "ask for help on" is common, according to Ngram Viewer

My concern is whether "ask for help" sounds a little bit impolite or some kind of demand.

However, a more soft way "ask about help" is in the state of "Ngrams not found".

So, is it polite to say "ask for help on ..."? If no, how should I say it more politely?


texts: Seeking for advice about appropriate names

texts:
I am writing an application (game) for teaching Maths. I have a problem how to name various objects. The first is clear - Formula (5-3=2). Then I want to have an object holding a definition how to generate set of formulas (generate 5 formulas with plus operator). And finally I need an object that will hold set of these definitions.

The definitions: Round, Test, Test Case
The set of definitions: Test, Test Set

What would native speaker choose?


texts: "What is the opposite word for X?" Is the sentence correct?

texts:
I always use:

  What is the opposite of X ?

But today I came across:

  What is the opposite word for X ?

Are the both grammatical?

Thank you.


texts: What is the difference between "an answer" and "the answer"?

texts:
I've run into one of those cases again where both the definite and indefinite article seem to work. And that makes me very confused as it makes it harder for me to grasp the concept of the articles. Here are some sample sentences that I found on the internet.

At the outset of the interview students were told that if they did not
know an answer they could say "pass" and move on to the next
question.
It is always a good idea to go over the test to make sure that you
answered every question. If you do not know the answer, guess.
You may get the right answer or partial credit.
It can be a reasoning exercise in which the student has to figure out
an answer on her or his own.
The teacher-librarian serves as a guide to help students figure out
the answer on their own.

Are the articles in these sentences interchangeable?
So if you are not talking about any specific answer (you don't know what an answer can be), do you use a or the, or it doesn't matter?
Again, the answer seems to be more common, according to my research, so is it more idiomatic?


texts: The grammatical role of "rich" in the following sentence

texts:
What is the grammatical role of "rich" in the following sentence and what does mean it? (also why it uses the comma?)

  In the Pacific Northwest, the high level of precipitation ensures
  rich, green plant life.


texts: Is there any nonnegative word to describe those who are in their late 30s to 50s but not in employment?

texts:
From Wikipedia

NEET is an acronym that stands for "Not in Education, Employment, or
Training". It refers to a person who is unemployed, not receiving an
education or in vocational training.

I'm not sure if the acronym is commonly-used in your country, but if it is, then do you use it to describe someone who are in their late 30s, 40s and 50s also? If you don't, is there any alternative word to describe them other than such negative sounding ones as the jobless or the unemployed?


texts:
I want to describe this video to my son with the most correct local speaker grammar.
Of course, I want to learn too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRxbXZ19ucw
So what statements can I use from the below? Video's description was "roll over".
PHRASE 1
"The car is spinning."
"The car is spinning around very fast."
"The car is rolling."
"The car is rolling over".
PHRASE 2
"The car is breaking apart"
"The car is getting destroyed"
"The car is breaking up"
"The car is broken now"
"The car is wrecked now"
"The car is completed crashed now"
How would you describe what's on the video if you are going to put short subtitles on it?
Thank you.


texts: Is the phrase "like a fish in water" a valid English phrase meaning feel comfortable in a certain place?

texts:
Could you tell me if the phrase like a fish in water is a valid English phrase meaning feel comfortable in a certain place? For example:

Mike is like a fish in water when he is abroad.

If it's not, then what is the valid phrase to convey the meaning?


texts: comma after "Firstly" at the beginning of a sentence?

texts:
A post (Comma after "of course" at the beginning of a sentence?) gives a clear rule/suggestion about the usage of comma after the transition words/phrases at the beginning of a sentence.

  ... one should use commas after their transition word or phrase that starts a new sentence.

However, the example sentences in Cambridge Dictionary seem to invalidate this rule.

  Firstly I would like to thank you for your kind offer of a job …

  Firstly the sodium chloride is dissolved in the water and heated gently.

Is the comma in this case required, optional or unnecessary? Could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.


texts:
Does "seen people pulling together" mean "witnessed people being united"?

"We have seen people pulling together over the past year: food banks, community food projects, businesses, and creative local authorities. No one disputes the importance of this phenomenal response, but food aid is a sticking plaster"
Source: The BMJ (British Medical Journal)


texts:
I was reading this page.[1] It's about Komodo Dragons, an animal you should really study about them if you didn't do that yet.

  The notorious Komodos are no dirtier than any other species he’s
  studied, he says. “After they are done feeding, they will spend 10 to
  15 minutes lip-licking and rubbing their head in the leaves to clean
  their mouth… Unlike people have been led to believe, they do not have
  chunks of rotting flesh from their meals on their teeth, cultivating
  bacteria.”

The problem is with the bold part. If I'm not wrong, "they do not have chunks of rotting flesh from their meals on their teeth, cultivating bacteria." means "they do not have chunks of rotting flesh from their meals on their teeth that leads to cultivating bacteria." Is that right?

[1]. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/2013/06/25/here-be-dragons-the-mythic-bite-of-the-komodo/#.Ucq2z_n3pz1


texts:
You got there? You got Hermione's owl?
  We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you.
  It was you [that cried, "Harry! Harry," when I was losing my consciousness].
  I feared I might be too late.
  You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer.
  Not the Stone, boy, you - the effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed.
  (Harry Potter)

I guess just "one terrible moment there" can make an adverbial phrase as an absolute phrase, then what's the purpose of for?
Why does the main clause use the past tense ("was afraid")?
What's the meaning of the highlighted sentence?


texts: Do you know (that woman who is talking)? / (that woman talking)?

texts:
I just studied about relative clauses and I know that they should tell us which person or thing the speaker means. So when I'm in a conference and a woman is speaking can I ask my friend

"Do you know that woman who is speaking?"

or should I say

"Do you know that woman speaking?"

or when someone is talking to my friend Tom can I ask my friend

"Do you know the woman who is talking to Tom?"

or should I say

"Do you know the woman talking to Tom?"

and why? When should I use relative clause and when -ing and -ed phrases?


texts:
In the Middle Ages, most churches had a cell set aside for a person seeking sanctuary. At Notre Dame it was a small room toward the top of the cathedral. It was here that Quasimodo had placed the gypsy girl.

Does this mean: They built sanctuary in a place apart from main building of church?


texts: "Want someone to do something" vs. "want someone doing something"

texts:
I always thought that when a person wants something done by another person, I use the infiitive after the object pronoun. But in the 16th episode of the 7th episode of Friends Ross use used a gerund. Here it is:

Ross: I will be! Listen, I don’t want you teaching my son that stuff anymore. Okay?

Would the meaning somehow change if he said I don't want you to teach...?


texts:
After Dennis Skinner's referring to Prime Minister David Cameron as “Dodgy Dave”, I listened this phrase for the first time. But because of being the news so popular, search engines are giving that news as far as I scroll down instead of giving it's meaning.

So, I am asking it here to know the exact meaning of the phrase. I am pretty sure about that it is used for negative sense, but I want to know the exact meaning.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT:

Though Dodgy could be found from dictionary and Dave could be retrieve from intuition, but it is a little bit confusing to the non-English speakers or who use English as second or third language.


texts: What does "to be on white knuckles on Nemesis or the Energiser" mean in other words?

texts:
Please, explain the phrase given in bold below in details:

Britain’s No 1 theme park
with more mega thrills than ever, set in 20 acres of stunning parkland!
So whether you’re after white knuckles on Nemesis or the Energiser, or pleasant green acres, there’s something for everyone!


texts: When you get emotional and reduplicate your adjectives

texts:
It's not something I've seen in a textbook or any description of English grammar (these are always by necessity incomplete, so I do not trust them to describe the whole language in its fulness).

But it seems to me, you can repeat the adjective in English if you despise the trait the adjective describes. I have sometimes heard natives do this. Like this:

  I think we need to seal up those drafty, drafty windows.

  Why would you buy such a scrawny, scrawny dog?

Am I right by this analysis?

But I know, it's not the full story, because sometimes it simply does not hold. I had the inkling, so to test this out I said:

  I see her going out late at night in that indecorous, indecorous skirt.

This sentence does not appear to sit well with English speakers.

Is there a reason for this?


texts: Do I need an adjective or adverb here? I usually use fast so that there is no visible difference but I hear people say things like "Lets do this real quick" all kinds of colloquial stuff so I am not certain whether "really quickly" is.


texts:
What is the difference between

  I think it would be wise to do so.

and

  I think it would be wise to do it.

Do 'so' and 'it' have the same grammatical category?


texts:
What is the structure in which people sit on the elephant called in English?

Here is a picture which describes exactly what I mean. The structure here is in silver color, and has three people on it.

n.b. I don't know the name of it even in my native language.


texts: Is "In each observation, the chance that sth. was provided was x %" a clear description of a controlled experiment?

texts:
I ran a controlled experiment and am now trying to explain the conditions I investigated. In one condition, the chance that the subjects in my study got some additional information Z for a specific item was 20%. I first wrote

Z was provided at a random chance of 20%.

My institute employs an English native speaker for proofreading our writing. She told me to replace "at a random chance of 20%" with "in a random 20% of cases". However, I think this is not exactly what I am trying to express, but I cannot ask her at the weekend and have a very close deadline for this text.
The problem with her suggestion is that (please correct me if I am misunderstanding this) it means that the subjects got Z for exactly 20% of the items. What I am trying to say is: For each combination of subject and item, the chance that Z was provided was 20%. So some subjects actually got Z for less than 20% of the items, whereas others got it for more than 20%. Based on this answer, I came up with this sentence now:

In each observation, the chance that Z was provided was 20%.

Does this express what I am trying to say?


texts: '[That] includes publisher and date' — no article?

texts:
I stumbled upon this text:

  Many thanks go, first of all, to the authors of more than a thousand sentences quoted in Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style. Each author's name and the title of the work appear at the end of the quotation and again in a bibliography-index that includes publisher and date. I hope readers will enjoy these wonderful examples as much as I do and will be inspired by them.
  —Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style, Virginia Tufte.
   (emphasis mine)

I wonder why there is no article before publisher and date and yet both publisher and date are in the singular. As far as I know, both of them are almost always used in the singular. And if I happened to write that by any remote chance, I guess I would write it as either publishers and dates or the publisher and date. (That is, it should be in the plural or else I should use an article there.)

I tried to come up with a good way to explain this case of a bare noun phrase (also known as "bare NP", or "bare nominal"), but couldn't come up with one. It's unlike "prep. + noun" phrases (such as by bus, at home, on phone, etc.) It's also unlike bare noun phrases designating a role being used after a linking verb (such as "He became president of ..." "She became secretary-treasurer and chief executive officer"). Maybe it's like go to hospital, where hospital is used as if it's a mass noun. (Then again, it's after to, which is also a preposition.) But I'm not sure.

How should we explain this use of publisher and date?


texts: Second conditional and sequence of tenses

texts:
Should I use past tense in such sentences? Which one is correct?

  If I said I was going to Canada, would you accompany me?
  If I said I am going to Canada, would you accompany me?


texts: Here pronunciation is not even close to the spelling. I wonder why and if there are other words like this which I should probably be aware of?


texts: Preposition usage in “at/in the corner of the room”

texts:
He is sitting at/in the corner of the room.

Which preposition is more appropriate in this example?


texts: "never" + past perfect vs. "never" + past

texts:
Suppose that it is my first time visiting Italy, which is correct or what is the difference in saying:

I never visited Italy before
I had never visited Italy  or I had never visited Italy until now

I mainly mean past perfect vs. past in this case.
Can I say:

I have never visited Italy

While I am currently in Italy?
If I visited Italy last year, can I say:

I never visited Italy until I visited there last year? (or last year)

If yes, what is the difference in saying:

I had never visited Italy until last year


texts: What do you call a dorsal support on a seat?

texts: What do you call a dorsal support perpendicular to a seat? I am not talking about the dorsal support found on a long couch seat, but any seat particularly those found in a bike. Is there a word for these dorsal support perpendicular to the seat?


texts: Difference between "has" and "is" in the context?

texts:
Your explanation is correct, but option C says "has" not "is".

My attempt:

is means the subject is present and has means get the subject.

  Can you explain it in a formal way, please?

I'm posting a question on ell.se than cs.se. :) good.

In a bottom-up evaluation of a syntax directed definition, inherited attributes can

 1. always be evaluated
 2. be evaluated only if the definition **is** L-attributed
 3. be evaluated only if the definition **has** synthesized attributes
 4. never be evaluated


texts: Turning back a statement as a question. Is it grammatically correct?

texts:
"She would have loved this"
"Would have she?"

"It would have worked!"
"Would have it, now?"

Does it make any sense? Is there a grammar to follow for these cases?


texts: I look for a common phrase containing umbrella or roof, etc. with connotation of unification

texts:
Consider a scenario (that I constructed to convey my intends):

We want to unify some people from different parts of a country, e.g. farmers.
These people have similar interests.

Now, consider my concocted sentences:

  We should bring people with same interests under a roof so that ... .

  We should bring people with same interests under an umbrella so that ... .

The above sentences have been translated word by word from my native language. I want to know whether English speakers have same phrases including "umbrella" or "roof"? If so, I will be happy to know about it.

More:

I know I can use the verbs like "unify", but I want to use idiomatic phrases. So, other suggestions will also be appreciated.


texts:
A quote from The Guardian:

  The Bank of England, under its new governor Mark Carney, has promised
  that interest rates will stay at their record low level of 0.5% until
  the unemployment rate drops below 7%. Threadneedle Street's experts
  expect that will not happen until 2016; but upbeat news from the
  labour market will fuel fears in financial markets that rates will
  have to rise sooner than the Bank expects.

Why is there no definite article before interest rates and again before rates?
Is it because with the definite article, interest rate would refer not to a metric or gauge, but to some implied specific figure, e.g. 8%, and interest rates would respectfully refer to a string of figures (8%, 9%...) ?

It is strange to see the third mention of rates without an article, because the word may point an all kinds of rates, there are a lot of metrics in economics.

The unemployment rate understandably takes THE, 'cause the head noun is singular.

What if we rewrite the paragraph using the singular form:

  The Bank of England, under its new governor Mark Carney, has promised
  that the interest rate will stay at its record low level of 0.5% until
  the unemployment rate drops below 7%. Threadneedle Street's experts
  expect that will not happen until 2016; but upbeat news from the
  labour market will fuel fears in financial markets that the rate will
  have to rise sooner than the Bank expects.

Would this look OK to the native speaker?


texts: "she" (always takes) or (has always taken) "good care of her finances"

texts:
the question is in "Common mistakes at CAE" (amazon)
unit 1
the book says the answer is
"she has always taken good care of her finances"
but why can't I say "she always takes good care of her finances" ?
i imagine the context as being that she is very disciplined and careful with her finances and budget, always pays everything correctly and never lose control over her money.
i saw in google that you can "she always takes care of her younger siblings" for example
Our Bodies, Their Battlefields: War Through the Lives of Women
sorry if the question is stupid... i'm trying my best ç - ç
============
the question in the book simply says "Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets"
8 - She ___ (always / take) good care of her finances.
here in the first page


texts:
a low-hung, two-wheeled, covered vehicle drawn by one horse, for two passengers, with the driver being mounted on an elevated seat behind and the reins running over the roof.

The first one should be "with the driver mounted..." no? Because it is not continuous.

The second one is reins that run over the roof right?


texts: Do you say "Namaste, you", "Namaste, Grandpa", "Namaste, Daddy", "Namaste, Sirs", "Namaste, Boss" or "Namaste, + [proper name]"?

texts:
Namaste (exclamation)

  (Indian English) a polite greeting said when giving a namaskar (=
  with the hands placed together as in prayer and the head bent
  forwards)

  (also namaskar) [uncountable] a way of greeting somebody in which the
  hands are placed together as in prayer and the head is bent forwards

In English we say, "Hello Tom" or "Goodbye Tom" but we don't say "Hello you" or "Goodbye you".

In Indian English, do we say "Namaste, you", "Namaste, Grandpa", "Namaste, Daddy", "Namaste, Maddam / Sirs", "Namaste, Boss" or "Namaste, Mary"?


texts: Words pronounced "subtle or gemene messed-up" in Australian English

texts:
There’s a short passage that I don’t understand in a formal speech in a youtube video.
The passage starts at 6:30, and the URL is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJJX123tIwA#t=6m25s
Here is my transcript of the passage, with the part that I don’t get in boldface :

  Catholic seminaries were almost emptied.
  Convents were a smouldering wreck of
  subtle or gemene messed-up
  nuns, who were the remnants of the vast numbers that used to be there.

The speaker is from Australia.


texts:
Isn't it wrong to say "to go to the countryside" instead of "to go to the country?"
A word for word translation from Russian would be "to go to the village".That probably doesn't work in English.


texts: Suppose/assume that or supposing/assuming that

texts:
Which one is correct?

  Suppose/assume that X equals 1, we know X+1=2.

or

  Supposing/assuming that X equals 1, we know X+1=2.

It seems to me that using present participles makes more grammatical sense, but I've seen the first expression being used as well.


texts: What is the meaning of "objectively better" in this sentence

texts:
I read a sentence in Word by Word by Kory Stamper which was:

  If you ask a modern adherent to this rule why, exactly, you aren't supposed to end a sentence with a preposition, they merely goggle at you as if you had just asked why you aren't supposed to lick electrical sockets. Because it is objectively better not to, that's why.

The fact that the "objectively better" part is italicised as well as answer both the above mentioned questions makes me think that the author is making a pun here. Regarding the latter question, I think the word "objective" means "based on experience and facts" and regarding the former question, I think it somewhat relates to the "objective case" we learn in grammar.  But I am still not sure. Am I right?


texts: What does "You dare not make a mistake!" implies in this context?

texts: It doesn't make sense here saying "You don't have enough courage to make a mistake!" I would have think it means "Try to make a mistake and see what will happen!" as there is a entry in dictionary which is "[with obj. and infinitive] defy or challenge (someone) to do something", but the part of speech is a regular verb whereas in the sentence I provided it's a modal verb.


texts: Meaning of the adverb "definitionally" in context

texts:
It was in Crash Course World History. It is at 3 minute and 44 second. Here it goes:

  It also lends itselve fairly well to herding, and since nomads are definitionally good at moving around, they are also good at moving stuff from point A to point B, which makes them good traders.

It seems to me that definitionally means very, but I am not sure if it does mean very.


texts: What do you call a film sequence where a lot of scene changes happen rapidly one after another?

texts: In movies, there are scenes where a lot of scene changes happen in a short period. Like for example when the main characters has a dream after taking drugs, we will see like 30 scenes seemingly unrelated to one another in a short while like let's say 3 minutes. What do you call this type of jumbled scenes or film sequence?


texts:
You have been replaced by another person.

  You were replaced by another person.

  You are replaced by another person.

If something happens in recent past, which tense should I use?

What is the meaning of the above three sentences?


texts: Difference between "at any instant be sown" and "be sown at any instant"

texts:
The children, small seeds, might at any instant be sown to all the
  Martian climes.

Why not the sentence be written as:

  The children, small seeds, might be sown at any instant to all the
  Martian climes.

what is the difference between these sentences?
Source:
(Dark they were , and golden eyed by Ray Bradbury)


texts: we got there just as the shop was ____ (closed/ closing)which is the correct answer?

texts:
Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.

  We got there just as the shop was ____ (closed/ closing).

Which is the correct answer?


texts: What's wrong with this sentence, and how to write it properly?

texts:
However repeated assurances that the product is safe, many people stopped buying it.

There is an error in this sentence, but I couldn't correct it.

I thought first about changing, However to Despite, but I couldn't identify what's wrong with the sentence.


texts:
Can I say "The organization contributes for children in developing countries"
Can the word contribute have someone as objective?


texts: Expressing future-related well wishes on a certain occasion

texts:
If a company, with which my company has long been in cooperation, is celebrating its 20th birthday, what is the correct way of expressing my well wishes for them on the occasion of that anniversary?

Best wishes of constant success and progress for 20 years
anniversary!

or

Best wishes of constant success and progress for 20-year
anniversary!

or

Best wishes of constant success and progress on the 20-year
anniversary!

or

Best wishes of constant success and progress on the 20-years
anniversary!

or

?

Will any of these not sound as if I were wishing success and progress for only that one day?
Should it be "20-years anniversary" or "20-year anniversary"?


texts: What does this "Will do" response mean exactly?

texts:
Me, per email, one hour ago:

  Hello,
  I am available in an hour for the following three hours.
  Just drop me an email when you are available and I will send you a meeting invite.

Him, per email, right now:

  Will do.

Does this mean that he is available right now and that I should open an online meeting invite, or am I understanding correctly that he will send me an email later when he is really available?


texts:
See in this sense refers to selecting for variants that do reproductively useful things.

What does for function here in  this sentence.

As far as i am concerned, we can use for when the word “select” comes in a passive form as following:

  the players were selected for their outstanding performance.

What is the reason for including for after selecting In the first mentioned sentence above?


texts:
Example with a context (The Object-Oriented Thought Process by Matt Weisfeld, 3rd Edition):

  There is no question that today’s software systems are quite complex.To build quality software, you must follow one overriding rule to be successful: Keep things as simple as possible. For large software systems to work properly and be easily maintained, they must be broken up into smaller, more manageable parts. How do you accomplish this? In a 1962 article titled “The Architecture of Complexity,” Nobel Prize winner Herbert Simon noted the following thoughts regarding stable systems...

How do you understand the phrase overriding rule and what does it mean to you? Obviously, an overriding rule is simply a kind of rule, but what kind of rule is it exactly? Something like a cardinal rule or a rule so important that it trumps everything else when applied?
Have you ever heard this expression used before?


texts:
The following is from The African Queen by C. S. Forester

  When she was only a girl he had attained the wonderful, almost mystic
  distinction of the ministry, and was invested in her eyes with the superiority which that implied.

I looked up the dictionary and can't decide which one to be the meaning of 'distinction' here. Is it one of 'difference', 'eminence', and 'appearance'?


texts: Is this "not only...but...as well" sentence correct?

texts:
Its a sentence written by a school kid.

  Not only can they (school activities) help us to be physically stronger, but can break the routine to provide relaxation as well.


texts: How to express "you are holding your bike and then walk, which makes the bike go with you", do you say "I am carrying / taking / walking my bike"?

texts:
Say, you are not riding on your bike. Instead, you are holding it with your hands. You, then, walk, which makes the bike go with you.

do you say "I am carrying / taking / walking my bike"?

If we used these terms, then would people think that I were moving the bike without its wheels touching the ground, I might lift the bike up and walked (see the picture)


texts:
Are the both phrases correct to use in the sentence below?

It was the staple diet \ diet staple of the old stone age people.

Both phrases are common but I am not sure if both are correct.


texts:
I have read all the dictionaries and surfed the web to find out the nuance between the words: "sentimental" and "emotional", but I'm not able to explain their semantic difference if it comes to!
As a reply to a thread on stackexchange, mfe said:

  Use sentimental to indicate mood, as in someone who reflects on his/her feelings.
  Use emotional to indicate someone who reacts to events by expressing what he/she feels.
  Sentimental connotes an internalized feeling, emotional an expressive one.

But actually I guess rarely non-native people would be able to use these two words in their correct places based on a simple definition.

So I wonder if you could provide me with some particular examples so that I could distinguish between these two.

Also I read about the adjective "sentimental" that mostly it is used to refer to the past memories.

  A sentimental person is strongly influenced by emotional feelings, especially about happy memories of past events or relationships with other people, rather than by careful thought and judgment based on facts.

I would be greateful if you explain that to me.

Thank you.


texts: Asking clarification of a complex sentence

texts:
The National Anthem does not allow any different notion or perception of individual rights, that individually thought of have no space.

It is a sentence I have found in a longer passage of a legal verdict.  What is the subject of the last part "have no space?" Please, can you help me with clarifying the underlying grammatical structure of the sentence given above?


texts: Could you please describe how it's possible to write about "I always made some mistakes on the exams." with verb "did", if it's really possible. Because, for example, "I always did badly...", in my opinion, it sounds more about some bad actions rather than mistakes on the exam, isn't it?


texts: What does “brimstone” mean in this context?

texts:
Then, stepping into his extended hand, and condescending to be held out at arm’s length, he gave vent to a succession of sounds, not unlike the drawing of some eight or ten dozen of long corks, and again asserted his brimstone birth and parentage with great distinctness.

Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens


texts:
Hi guys I'm creating a wesite and my start name was "Plan Up!" but I found that a company already take that name, so my new thought is "Up2Plan".

I want to know if "Up to plan" means be able to plan, like if your friend wants to hang out and you can say him I'm up to plan. Could I use it for this situation?

Thanks!


texts: "Human motives are an involved affair" - meaning in a sample text

texts:
This is a paragraph (13th) from An Egyptian Hornet, a short story by Algernon Blackwood:

Human motives, even in the professedly holy, are an involved affair at any time. Just now, in the Rev. James Milligan, they were quite inextricably mixed. He claims this explanation, at any rate, in excuse of his abominable subsequent behaviour.

I understand the language here but I think I do not get the point of both parts in bold. How should I understand it?


texts:
There is so much (that) is at stake for many.

Can we omit 'that' in this sentence?


texts: How many ways are there to read years like "123 BC","49","1500","2009",etc.?

texts:
I've heard people say "2 thousand and 15", "twenty fifteen", "two-O-one-five",are they all acceptable?

How many ways are there to express such years like "23 BC","49 AD","1500","2009",etc.?


texts: Why do we have to use 'have got' instead of 'got'?

texts:
I saw the sentence on the internet like this:

  I don't know how much money he has got.

I think that

  I don't know how much money he got.

is only possible here.

What is the difference between the two?


texts: On "have had been" in a theoretical past

texts: When talking about a theoretical situation in the past - in the present case this sentence: "It is because those people (theoretical) would not have had been (action) - is it correct to use "have had been"?


texts: The second type of conditional clause (the type contradictory to a current fact)

texts:
I have a question in regard to the second type of conditional (the type contradictory to a current fact). I know that the clause should be in past tense, but if there's an adjective clause, should it be in past tense too, as a consequence of the conditional clause?

If u had a chance to choose whether Trump (keeps/kept) leading the country or Obama (replaces/replaced) him, which one would u choose?