texts:
I was reading the lyrics of Harry Chapin's song, 'Cat's in the Cradle' and I encountered a line:

I've long since retired and my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day

What is the meaning of “I've long”? Is it grammatically accurate?


texts: Should I use "of" or "about" in the following sentence?

texts:
"Who would have thought," I said, "that drinking water could kill
  you."

  "You did think of/about it." Aiko  into .

Should it be of or about? Why?


texts: What is this "as has" playing role in this sentence

texts:
I came across this sentence and unable to figure out this structure as has is playing

  Such a self-sacrificing  man as has come wins our sympathy and admiration.

Can anyone explain this structure and part of speech in this sentence is playing?


texts:
Can I say:

Nobody saw me

and

Anyone didn't see me

The second example:

I said nothing

and
I didn't say anything
Are all these sentences correct?

So, we can always sat something in 2 ways? At first with nobody/nothing and then anybody/anything?
Or are there things where we can't do like that?


texts: Why it is "he was promoted to writing" instead of "...to write"?

texts:
His first big break in journalism came when he was promoted to writing obituaries for the local newspaper.

Why that position is "writing", I think it must be "write".


texts:
While understanding the general meaning of "all things X" ("All Things Electronic", for instance), I'm having some issue putting it into a sentence.
Would you rather use (I can't really explain my issue without examples, but would be happy to edit this based on your suggestions):

"Please let me know if you have any questions all things electronic"
"Please let me know if you have any questions on all things electronic"
"Please let me know if you have any questions on all things electronic related"

Or another way?
I guess my issue comes from not knowing precisely what "all things" implies.


texts: Definite Article use before contract names and numbers

texts:
I've been struggling with the definite article and its usage in contracts' names. Please comment and explain, I would appreciate any help!

P.S. Language of origin is Russian.

Examples of the sentences:

Conclusion of additional agreements to (the?) Agreement for financial lease #12345.
<...> attaching a draft of (the/an?) additional agreement #1 to (the?) Suretyship agreement #54321.

One more question: if a name (of a contract or agreement) doesn't contain numbers, do I need to use any articles?

Many thanks in advance!


texts: word for moving your head to keep staring at something

texts:
"The dog tracked the bone with its head as the owner kept waving it at
it."

Is tracked something with its head the best way to say this? I can't think of a simpler way to say this, but certainly there has to be, because I couldn't find any similar example on Google.
Another example would be:

The audience tracked the ball with their heads as the tennis players
kept hitting the ball.


texts: what does "call the man who deals in love beyond repair" mean?

texts: There is a song by "Celine Dion" entitled "Call the man" in which she said somewhere "call the man who deals in love beyond repair". What does "who deals in love beyond repair" mean?


texts:
The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, has declared that “We’re not going to put a dollar figure on human life.” It was meant as a rallying-cry from a courageous man whose state is overwhelmed. Yet by brushing trade-offs aside, Mr Cuomo was in fact advocating a choice—one that does not begin to reckon with the litany of consequences among his wider community. It sounds hard-hearted but a dollar figure on life, or at least some way of thinking systematically, is precisely what leaders will need if they are to see their way through the harrowing months to come. As in that hospital ward, trade-offs are unavoidable.

What does this sentence mean?

article link : https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/04/01/covid-19-presents-stark-choices-between-life-death-and-the-economy


texts: Difference between Helping Verb & Linking Verb **To Be**

texts:
1) This window is broken

2) This window is broken by children

Correct me if I am wrong. Verb IS in the first sentence has been used as Linking verb because IS is defining the subject window.

& in sentence sentence it is Helping verb because IS is supporting main verb broken to identify that action happened in present tense.


texts: What's the meaning of "at least as important are ..." in the following sentence?

texts:
Changes in the geometric properties of the joint with wear occur slowly for a lower pair. At least as important are the simple geometries of the relative motions that these joints permit.

I don't understand the last sentence.


texts: What about the preposition before 'here' and 'there'?

texts:
"I went to the beach but there was no one over there"

"Dickie, come down here!"

"It's more comfortable up here"

I come across such sentences in movies and TV. What do they actually mean? Wasn't it enough to say "I went to the beach but there was no one there". Why did they have to put the over? Or does it mean something slightly different?

About the up and down , I have come to the decision that it has something to do with stairs. That is , say you live in a multi-storied building and you're on the top floor. If you want to ask someone from a lower floor to come to yours , you'll say "come up to my room" because he/she will have to go up the stairs. Same goes for "Come down here", going down the stairs. This is what I believe.Tell me if wrong.

But I've not yet succeeded in making something out of the over. Please discuss.Explanations with examples will certainly help the most. Thank you.


texts: What does it mean when a dictionary says something is "not a viable sentence"

texts:
I just want to know as to following.
"I am always doing" is not viable as a sentence.
What does this mean?
Also, is this ridiculous sentence?

UPDATE:
Then what about this? What if someone asking me and he is always criticising everything I do, Are you still cutting the meat? Then yes! I'm doing. Is this wrong?


texts:
When I go to a crowded place like a supermarket, it is possible to almost hit someone sometimes while seeing goods and moving forwards.

How to describe this situation idiomatically? Not sure if come across is the correct phrasal verb.

  It is easy to come across someone in a crowded market.


texts: Active voice of "They expect to be invited"

texts:
They expect to be invited

Here, this sentence is a passive voice. What is the active voice of it. If it haven't then give reasons please.


texts: Is it inappropriate for introducing yourself starts with "Hi! Myself XYZ"?

texts:
Normally i use this as introductory sentence but someone told me that this is not the correct way to introduce yourself and he recommended me to start as

Greetings, i am XYZ infront of you all.

What should i use ?
Is this really a wrong way to start with 'Myself' ?


texts:
How to call senior when meet at a school? When I don't know the name.
When I call him or I refer to him to someone who are my friends.
or on the speech, "I respect all you senior" ?
Hey senior? Hey elder student? Hey seniority?


texts:
...And it was a preview of one possible future - a glimpse of our
  children's fate if the climate keeps changing faster than our efforts
  to address it. Submerged countries. Abandoned cities. Fields that no
  longer grow. Political disruptions that trigger new conflict, and even
  more floods of desperate people seking the sanctuary of nations
  not their own.

This was a passage from a speech given by Barack Obama. I want to describe the form of the bolded sentences and their rhetorical functions. Are they called short, truncated, or telegraphic sentences?

I have found descriptions such as:
1) Short sentences - just short ("I like reading");
2) Truncated sentences - missing something ("I like reading more than Ann [does]");
3) Telegraphic sentences - less than 5 words and missing articles, words like do, have etc., without needless qualification ("Leave on doorstep").

Another possibility is that they are fragments. But I suppose, fragments are something negative, grammatically incorrect. Are they not?

Short, truncated, and telegraphic sentences are so composed to serve a purpose, but fragments are composed only by people who do not know grammar well enough. Is that right? I'm looking for answers about rhetorical function, not whether they are grammatical or not.

As I found (http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/fragments.htm), fragments can be sentences with no subject-verb relationship. I understand that my sentences are grammatically incorrect, but that is for the purpose of rhetoric. If I analyze the rhetoric, can I analyze fragments? Or are the sentences, for example, truncated as well (feature I can analyze)?


texts: "By the next year, I will have been losing my dad for 5 years." "By the next year, I will have been working in this company for 5 years."

texts:
I’m wondering if this sentence is grammatically correct or not!

  By the next year, I will have been losing my dad for 5 years.

  By the next year, I will have been working in this company for 5 years.


texts: What did President Trump mean by "the record is in"?

texts:
US president Donald Trump in his Jerusalem-is-the-capital-of-Israel address said:

  In 1995 Congress adopted the Jerusalem Embassy Act urging the federal government to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize that that city, and so importantly, is Israel's capital. This act passed Congress by an overwhelming bipartisan majority, and was reafirmed by unanimous vote of the Senate, only six months ago. Yet for over 20 years, every previous American president has exercised the law's waiver, refusing to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, or to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital city. Presidents issued these waivers under the belief that delaying recognition of Jerusalem would advance the cause of peace. Some say they lacked courage, but they made their best judgement based on facts as they understood them at the time. Nevertheless, the record is in. After more than two decades of waivers, we are no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the palestinians. It would be folly to assume that repeating the exact same formula, would now produce a different or better result.

Edit

Youtube link to the address

I transcribed the video myself, but here's an online transctipt on The US government White House website


texts: A committee [comprising/ comprised of] eminent members from various technical institutions was set up

texts:
A committee comprising(A) / of  eminent members (B)/ from various technical institutions was set up.(C)

This is an error spotting question which I think can be corrected by replacing comprising by comprised in part A or by omitting of from part B , Although my book suggests latter correction but I think the former correction is better since from the clause in part C it's explicit that the sentence is in passive voice so it's better to have part A in passive voice as well. Am I correct ?


texts: What does "fix the flat on your car" mean?

texts:
I listened Hannah Montana's song "Rock Star". Then I watched the lyrics of the song:

  I'm unusual
      Not so typical
      Way too smart to be waiting around
      Tai chi practicing
      Snowboard champion
      I could fix the flat on your car //unclear
      I might even be a rock star

Misunderstand the phrase "fix the flat on your car".
What does it mean? What flat does a car have? Could this mean a vehicle interior?


texts: before we get to yuppie -- why no article in front of "yuppie"?

texts:
Source: short audio clip

Transcript:

  So, what is a yuppie? Well, actually before we get to yuppie, we need to go back in time. Let's go back all the way to the 1940s. Now, a couple months ago, in DDM we studied a man called Jack Kerouac. And he was a famous author. And he was basically the man who started a generation of people called beatniks.

Although I sort of might have a very basic idea as to why there is no article, whether definite or indefinite, in front of the second yuppie, I just don't know how to put that in rigorous grammatical terms. Nevertheless, I would very much like to hear your ideas on what you think makes him completely leave it out in this case.

My gut feeling is that we can't use neither one due to the fact that it would make it very much unclear what exactly we are talking about here. For example, a yuppie is way too broad. That obviously wouldn't work. the yuppie is too specific. It almost sounds as though we are talking about a particular individual who we're all very well familiar with, not a group of people who choose to live a lifestyle different from the norm, so to speak. So, that's not going to cut it here either. He could just as easily have said yuppies though. And I guess that would be an absolutely fine, if not perfect, choice of grammar, but he didn't, as you can see for yourselves. And I believe it may be because he wants to focus primarily on the concept of yuppie rather than the actual followers of this subculture. And that's by no means a conscious choice. He does that naturally without thinking. Something makes him do that. Maybe the word should even be capitalized when written because it is used in a nominal kind of fashion. I don't know. You tell me. If you can think of other similar examples, feel free to share them. Tell me what you what think.

PS:
I guess you could boldly say this is an example of a zero article, but I'm not going to count that as an answer. Well, first of all, duh! It is a zero article because there is literally zero of it. That's a no-brainier. Secondly, here, I'm first and foremost interested in the mechanics of the reasoning that goes behind when a native speaker decides to use a zero article.


texts: Is there any difference between the phrase "from day to day", "day by day" and "day after day"?

texts:
Is there any difference in meaning betweeb the following sentences.

  My health is improving from day to day.

  My health is improving day by day.

  My health is improving day after day.

If there is no difference, then which one is the most common?


texts: About the use of "over" in "He is going to hold America's infrastructure hostage over the investigation issue."

texts:
The seventh entry in the ODE defines the preposition over as:

  On the subject of.

along with some synonyms:

  in connection with, regarding, concerning, about.

Is this the meaning that over took within:

  He is going to hold America's infrastructure hostage over the investigation issue.


texts: What is the plural of word "a" ..can we. Say, we have spent a beautiful night with friends for three days.


texts: Could I use a 'dry' job? if not, alternative?

texts:
In my native language, we use 'dry' as an adjective for job. I searched "dry job" in Google and Google Scholar and I guess this usage is not common or appropriate in English. Please tell me whether use of 'dry' in this context sounds natural or not. Also I'm very willing to know other adjectives that collate with job with a close meaning. I know the obvious ones like boring but I want it to be more close to dry.

Update:
Thanks to @Jeff comment, it really helped when I thought about the meaning of 'dry' in my language context. A 'dry job' means a job that involves almost no flexibility not just in terms of job schedule, but you can't use your imagination or creativity to change things there. It's always the same and usually there is some authoritative belief or force to maintain this state in the job. Some clerk, military, or manual jobs look like this. With this little thought about the meaning I've came to the words 'rigid' or 'inflexible' but I don't think they can be readily used with 'job'. I would like a combination of 'rigid' and 'boring' if there were any word for that. Thank you all for reading my obsessions about words!


texts: Is it "human and physical capitals" or "human and physical capital"?

texts:
I am writing an essay that has this clause:

  Due to the flight of human and physical capitals as a result of lower transportation costs,...

It gave me a pause because I realize "capital" in this sense is uncountable. But given the context is about two different types of capital, should "capital" be pluralized? I am thinking other uncountable words like "beer" and "water". People say "give me two beers" or "I'd like three waters".


texts: What does "go it on your own" mean in this context?

texts:
Context: I am reading Success magazine and the topic is "Take three steps to open yourself to learning."

I am trying to figure out what "You can go it on your own mean," in this paragraph.

  Because you're human, this process [learning new things] will be
  uncomfortable, and this discomfort is called growth. You can go it on
  your own, but it's easier with help from a friend, a parent, a
  mentor... a coach, whether formal or not.

I did a Google search on idioms for "go in" but there was none available.


texts: Is it okay to say "She is in a red bracelet, a silver necklace, sun glasses and golden earrings" and "to put the key in the keychain"?

texts:
We often say "She's in a baseball cap and red shoes".

Similarly, can we say "She is in a red bracelet, a silver necklace, sun glasses and golden earrings"?

This is a picture of a keychain and a key

Do we say "to put the key in or on the keychain" and "to put the keychain in or on the key"?


texts: What is the function of "pretty" in "pretty inefficient"?

texts:
Could you tell me what is the role of the word in bold in the following sentence :

  Worrying is pretty inefficient.


texts: Is “come September” a kind of inversion?

texts:
From NPR, transcript here.

  Michelle Scott is reading from the Common Core math standards for
  fifth-graders. She'll be teaching fifth next year, along with John
  Gries. And together, they're writing—and rewriting—lessons
  they'll need come September.

For the last sentence, did he want to say, “they're re-writing lessons they'll need if September comes”? He inverted the last part, put the verb “come” in the front and omitted “if”, right?

As far as I could determine, it seems only “if” with subjunctive voice could be used in this way. I don't think it's a subjunctive voice. In my impression, the subjunctive voice stands for those occasions when you're not sure whether it will happen or not, such as “If it were to rain, I'd pick you up.”

September will come sooner or later (it's not in limbo), so I'm wondering how to explain the sentence.


texts: Nullified the deportation rule ON/TO/FOR her

texts:
Let's say your aunt got deported by the U.S government. Few weeks later, she came back, as the gov't has nullified the deportation rules because your aunt gave birth in the U.S.A (more like mandatory child support). The correct phrase & preposition is:

  My auny was deported, but few weeks later, the U.S. government found out that she gave birth to her youngest child in the U.S.A, then the government has nullified/amend the deportation rule on/to/for her, so she came back.

What is the correct phrase and preposition here?


texts: Will perform, will be performed and are performed

texts:
I have a doubt about the meaning of these sentences. It's actually a sentence for my contract.

Maintenance and security services will perform by our contractors.
Maintenance and security services will be performed by our contractors.
Maintenance and security services are performed by our contractors.

Which sentence is formal to use in a contract?


texts: "take off" is a noun phrase in "after take off"?

texts:
Boeing 737 MAX 8 in second crash in months

  Both were operated by well-known airlines with strong safety records
  -- but the Lion Air flight went down 13 minutes after take off, while Sunday’s Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed just six minutes into its
  journey.

I know "after doing something". So I guess "take off" here is a noun phrase.


texts:
Are the following two sentences both correct? If so, what is the difference between them?

  She got married as soon as she resigned from the CEO position of the company.

And,

  She got married as soon as she had resigned from the CEO position of the company.


texts: the meaning of "Girl you're every woman in the world to me."

texts:
Girl you're every woman in the world to me.

This sentence is a part of lyrics of a song 'Every Woman In The World' by Air Supply.

(You can find full lyrics here.)

I roughly know the meaning of the sentence, "I LOVE YOU",

but I want to know about its meaning more specifically. Does it mean

you are the only woman in the world that I care about:

or does it mean literally:

you have so many attractive attributes and characters thereby I experience every woman through you?


texts:
Can I use the preposition "to" after the word "instead" in a sentence?

Example: let's say I'm in a situation where I bought an used computer that gave me a lot of problems and I want to say the following:

  I think I should have bought a new computer instead to avoid problems

I'm asking this question because I recently had an English Exam and my teacher corrected my sentence to

  I think I should have bought a new computer instead of avoiding problems

Edit

I think the phrase "instead of avoiding problems" does not make much sense in my sentence.


texts:
I am reading  Programming in Emacs Lisp

  fill-column, an Example Variable
  The variable fill-column illustrates a symbol with a value attached to it: in every GNU Emacs buffer, this symbol is set to some value, usually 72 or 70, but sometimes to some other value. To find the value of this symbol, evaluate it by itself. If you are reading this in Info inside of GNU Emacs, you can do this by putting the cursor after the symbol and typing C-x C-e:

fill-column

  After I typed C-x C-e, Emacs printed the number 72 in my echo area. This is the value for which fill-column is set for me as I write this. It may be different for you in your Info buffer. Notice that the value returned as a variable is printed in exactly the same way as the value returned by a function carrying out its instructions. From the point of view of the Lisp interpreter, a value returned is a value returned. What kind of expression it came from ceases to matter once the value is known.

  A symbol can have any value attached to it or, to use the jargon, we can bind the variable to a value: to a number, such as 72; to a string, "such as this"; to a list, such as (spruce pine oak); we can even bind a variable to a function definition.

  A symbol can be bound to a value in several ways. See Setting the Value of a Variable, for information about one way to do this.

I have no idea of fill-column,  does it mean pour color on column?


texts: Which expressions, verbs, vocabulary... Should I use in the writing for the B2?

texts:
I'm going to take an exam of the B2, and I wanted to know, what is the vocabulary, the expressions... Etc... That they want?
Because all I can find in every website is "complex expressions... Vocabulary", but that's just not explanatory


texts:
I looked at a text a friend of mine wrote. She almost always uses "would be" or "would have" instead of "will be" or "will have".

An international team of scientists collected insects with so-called “Malaise traps” in 63 protected areas in Germany. This long-term study revealed that the number of flying insects decreased by more than 75 percent in the time from 1989 until 2016. Other worldwide studies met or exceeded these figures.

For instance, the consequences of the extinction of bees would be a serious matter. One-third of our food wouldn't exist if these insects didn´t pollinate the blossom of plants.

...

In my opinion, we need a worldwide prohibition of pesticides. Another idea would be to build vertical gardens in densely populated cities. Vertical gardens would have a huge number of positive effects like providing food and a home for insects. The plants would also clean up the air. Vertical gardens would reduce the air pollution.

She intends to say this would be true hypothetically.  I think it should be "will" in every case, but after looking up (would vs. will) I am not sure anymore. Which is right or best here?

To me, using "would" goes in line with saying  that one believes a certain thing will happen as a result of an event in the future like in:

She'd look better with shorter hair.

Using "will" instead of "would" sounds very drastic to me in comparison in the text. But maybe would is to "weak" since insects do die more rapidly than ever...?!

Will means "it will definitely happen" to me here. Would means "it´s very likely to happen when looking at some of the facts but it´s ok for now" to me.

I am confused if I misinterpret will and would generally speaking as well as in this example...


texts: Whenever I talk to my friends or teacher , they never use gotta but when I look at natives , they often use gotta after have in the sentence. Can someone please help me with this..


texts:
Please tell me the meaning of stomachache in this sentence:

I usually go away with a stomachache because I think there is a lot of disregard for the way people are treated.


texts:
everyone
It's been bothering me for a while - when someone asks 'what are you up to?' - i think it concerns the present continous tense or nearby future (plans) as in 'what are you up to today?'. I'm wondering if this kind of structure could be classified as any of the existing tenses.
Thank you in advance and best regards :)


texts:
Full of self-reproach and self-loathing, the man put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

Is the combination of 'self-reproach' and 'self-loathing' more natural than 'self-reproach and self-loathe' and 'self-reproaching and self-loathing'?

Can you 'be full of' both?


texts:
The sentence is " I was once intrigued yet confused with/by all the things that I could supposedly do with my meagre salary"

Why is using 'with' Wrong ? I thought 'with' means you are in possession with another thing.
In this case, the person is with the 'things' that he could do with. He is in possession of his salary .

So I'm confused why 'with' is wrong , and 'by 'is the answer


texts: Using the definite article with "most" in an example

texts:
I know that in some cases (with adverbs) I can omit the definite article in the superlative. Would this be correct?

  Of all the guests, I liked them (the) most.

Also, would this work with the same meaning?

  Of all the guests, I liked them most of all.


texts:
As far as I know, pronouns such as "it" cannot be modified
like "beautiful it". However, from my experience, I have heard native speakers say things like "Enjoy it with your dog", which I believe the pronoun "it" is being modified by prepositional phrases or relative clauses however I am not so sure.
So my question is "Is it possible to modify a pronoun such as 'it' with a prepositional phrases or relative clauses?? I'll list more examples below thank you.
1."What is it that you don't understand about the problem"?
2. "Did you enjoy it at the restaurant?"
3. "What is it with you!"


texts: Having had several classes taught in English or...? Correct usage

texts:
Suppose I have a phrase like this one:

  Having had several classes taught in English, I'm familiar with the professional vocabulary

Is it correct? Can I say "classes taught" or should I say "classes that were taught"? Or maybe, given it's the Present Perfect in the first part of the sentence, I should also use the Perfect tense in the classes part of it?


texts:
There is currently a debate on Duolingo about the proper translation of a sentence to English (the original language isn't the point of this question).

The sentence, literally translates to "She is under the shower".
Now, in no English that I have heard is this correct. Possible appropriate interpretations would be:

She is taking a shower
She is in the shower

However, I thought I would put it to a wider audience for analysis. So:

Is "She is under the shower" a proper English sentence?


texts:
It's time colleges helped you compare apples to apples.
(The Boston Globe)

If the time is a present moment, why does the journalist use "help" in the past tense? Or is "helped" subjunctive?


texts: Difference between 'should do this' & 'should have to do this'

texts:
I am confused between

  You should do this

and

  You should have to do this

Can anyone explain difference between these sentences.


texts: How to eliminate ambiguity of "Sisters reunited after ten years in checkout line at Safeway."?

texts:
Background
Cited from p. 12 Introduction to Mathematical Thinking by Keith Devlin.

Sisters reunited after ten years in checkout line at Safeway

Ambiguities in newspaper headlines—which are generally written in great haste—can sometimes result in unintended but amusing second readings.

Possible meanings of the sentence:

Sisters had separated and spent their life in a checkout line at Safeway for ten years. Then, they reunited.
Sisters separated ten years ago and they had spent their normal life. Then, they reunited in a checkout line at Safeway.

My question
How do you rephrase the sentence to clearly state meaning 1 or 2, keeping it concise?


texts: Is "during" or "while" is correct in the given sentence?

texts:
1: Your level of hormones changes "while" travelling.
  2: Your level of hormones changes "during" travelling.

I think that "during" would be right if travelling is used as a gerund in the second sentence.


texts:
The following dialog was between a basketball coach and one of team players:

  We hear you, dog. But we can't see you. The glare from your big,
  black-ass head  is hella shiny, man. Damn, do you buff it?

  Oh, you got jokes to go along with that ugly jump shot of yours, huh?

Source: http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/c/coach-carter-script-transcript.html

I was a little confused by the meaning of go along in that sentence. I'm used to using go along in the meaning of continuing doing something which is not suitable here.


texts: The meaning of the bold part in this text?

texts:
The following text is written by an otherwise great writer who is a native speaker of English language. Nevertheless, I don't get the bold part. Is it written incorrectly?

  A special form of this requirement is that the belief has been
  acquired in a reliable way. Thinking of a belief's being based on
  grounds, this would amount to the requirement that the belief be based
  on such grounds that forming beliefs like that on the basis of grounds
  like that is a generally reliable way of forming beliefs, one that
  can be relied on provide mostly true beliefs.


texts: "firstly ... secondly ..." or "first ... second ... "?

texts:
Suppose I am enumerating reasons not to fly. Is it then correct to write/say:

  Firstly, I prefer the train because I can see the landscape. Secondly, I have control over my luggage, and thirdly, it is better for the environment.

Or is it rather:

  First, I prefer the train because I can see the landscape. Second, I have control over my luggage, and third, it is better for the environment.

I thought the first should be correct, but I find the second one in written texts. Which one is correct?


texts:
I haven't found anything related to this device neither on internet nor in dictionaries
It is an equipment used to make up for the problem of not having enough sockets, nearby.


texts:
'if a man has his private spite laid up against you, the Unions give
  him his excuse for workin' it off.'

  'Well I know it,'said Hal.

  'They never let you go, them spiteful ones. I knowed a plasterer in
  Eighteen hundred Sixty-one--C'if a man has his private spite laid up
  against you, the Unions give him his excuse for workin' it off.'

  'Well I know it,'said Hal.

  'They never let you go, them spiteful ones. I knowed a plasterer in
  Eighteen hundred Sixty-one--down to the wells. He was a Frenchy--a bad
  enemy he was.'

This is from "Rewards and Fairies" The Wrong Thing by Kipling.

I do not understand what "down to the wells" means.

I would be glad if somebody could explain this to me.


texts: Confusion about use of article before the word open

texts:
I have a little doubt about use if article before the word open. Which one is correct in the following examples:
There exists an open interval.
There exists a open interval.
 What is the rule?


texts:
I understand that sentence (1) is correct but what is wrong with sentence (2)

1)The trading segment contributes 10% of the company total revenue
2)The trading segment contributes to 10% of the company total revenue

Thanks


texts: Inversion in this sentence: "Nothing can/could I do..."

texts:
Is it possible to use an inversion like this:

"Nothing could (can) I do in that situation."


texts: "Do not use X if A, B, or C is sufficient"

texts:
Do not use X if A, B, or C is sufficient.
Do not use X if either A, B, or C is sufficient.

X, A, B, and C are nouns. The reader have a choice to use either A, B, C (the exact choice depends on the external circumstances) or X. X is the universal and very powerful solution. However, using X is an overhead and generally it should be avoided.
Is "either" required here? Does it make the sentence more idiomatic and clear?


texts:
Reading this article, there is a line,

In North Carolina, college students whose university experience was rocked by the pandemic drew solace from watching a basketball game between UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University men's teams, only the second game this season with spectators.

Neither dictionaries nor googling helps.


texts:
The trailer ends on two characters half-wittingly playacting scrolling through their Onion-y looking social media feeds and allegorically muttering: “They say it’s bad for you, you know. The way we’re all connected.” / “Everything’s bad for you these days.” - https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/dark-web/amazon-releases-trailer-for-darkweb/

  Just as U.S. and Soviet leaders Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev agreed during the Cold War that “nuclear wars cannot be won and should never be fought,” Beijing and Washington should set some basic boundaries to their competition so that they do not half-wittingly destroy everything worth competing for. - https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2020-01/features/opportunities-nuclear-arms-control-engagement-china

  witting

  ADJECTIVE

  1 Done in full awareness or consciousness; deliberate.

  ‘the witting and unwitting complicity of the institutions’
  1.1 (of a person) conscious or aware of the full facts of a situation.
  ‘a witting accomplice’

  https://www.lexico.com/definition/witting

Why does "half-wittingly" seem to mean the same as "unwittingly"?


texts:
In Life (2017) movie, the ISS Crew sends Katrina into space to fix the communication to get back earth online. So the crew reminds her these lines:

  David: What is it you say? "Slow is fast", right?

  Katrina: Yeah. Slow to go fast.

  David: Yeah. Well, that's out the window.


texts: should I use double negative in a compound sentence?

texts:
The following two sentences are compound having  negative expression-

They don't learn English at all and reach the target stage.
They can not write English sentence correctly and speak out their feelings in that language.

I found them from one of my text books,but it's seeming really horrible  to me as there is no use of negative word in the second clause of both of the sentences but still they want to express a pure negative state.
Now say me,will I adopt this structure or use negative word in the second clause?I think,I should opt for the second one because at times I may need to express positive state in the second clause,then it will be difficult to distinguish the meaning from each other.


texts: "Be in a conflict of interest" or "have a conflict of interest"?

texts:
What verb does the phase conflict of interest collocate the best with: be or have? For example:

  The polician has to resign because he is in a conflict of interest.

  The polician has to resign because he has a conflict of interest.

If neither sounds good there, then what would you say?


texts: Using "weather" to mean "weather report"?

texts: Can I say "I missed the weather today" meaning "I missed the weather report today"?


texts: Does "grasp the road condition" sound strange?

texts:
The following sentence is created when my language is translated into English using my dictionaries:

  To drive safety, it is necessary to grasp the road condition.

After googled, I found that this usage is less common.  It seems that "know" is common. Is using "grasp" sound strange?


texts: Worry about something? Or, Worry for something?

texts:
"Worry about something?"

"Worry for something?"

Which sentence is grammatically right?


texts: Is 'The customer having left, ...' a dangling participle?

texts:
I found the following sentence in one of our questions: Use of "having" in English,

  The customer having left, the criminal takes out a pin from his purse and scrapes off hardened glue from the edges of the keys.

It gave me a grammar warning immediately. After thinking about it for a while, I concluded two points:

The phrase The customer having left looks odd as a participle phrase. It should be just Having left. But then again, if the part The customer were removed, we would have gotten another kind of error, and the meaning would have been changed.
It seem like The customer having left is a dangling participle phrase. The phrase itself and the main clause don't seem to cohere well enough. Some conjunction such as after should have been added, or the sentence should have been revised.

So I would like to ask: Is the phrase 'the customer having left' above good English?

NOTE: I personally don't think it is, otherwise I could write something funny such as this:

  John walking into the woods, I followed him, we walking together for two hours, John walked, I walked, John having fallen down, I picked him up, we continuing walking, I like the woods, the woods smelling nice, John saying something, I didn't hear him, we continuing walking, John keeping walking, this was so much fun.


texts:
Clear the stock

  Clear out the stock

Which one is correct and formal?

I have searched in Google and got results for both.

Also Google Ngram shows more results for "clear the stock" than "clear out the stock".

Stock here in my example means "all the goods available at factory, which we want to despatch"

Please help me. Thanks in advance.


texts: what does 'coiled' mean in 'the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat'

texts:
(from Woody Allen's 1979 film Manhattan)

  Behind his black-rimmed glasses was the coiled sexual power of a
  jungle cat


texts: The ship/vessel/boat sails to/in/on the sea/ocean/river

texts:
What are the differences in meaning when using to, in, or on after sail in the examples below? Is it possible to use all the collocations with the three prepositions in all the examples?

There's a ship sailing to/in/on the sea.

There's a ship sailing to/in/on the ocean.

There's a boat sailing to/in/on the river.

He is sailing to/in/on the sea/ocean/river.


texts:
My grammar book says Simple Present can be used with some certain verbs in Indefinite Past

For example,

"I forget what he said"

Is there any difference between

"I forgot what he said" and "I forget what he said"

Because Simple past can also express "Uncertain  Past" in this case


texts: hit for "snow" on Google image -> Does it make sense?

texts:
My friend told me to hit for "snow" on Google image. I don't understand what that means.

I think it means searching for "snow" on Google image. Does it make sense?


texts:
It is necessary for Mary to go home.

It is necessary that Mary go home.

It is necessary that Mary goes home.

I am wondering, what's the difference between their meanings?


texts: “have despatched...yesterday” vs. “despatched … yesterday”

texts:
I have a doubt in the below sentence whether to use Past Simple or Present Perfect Tense,

  We have despatched the parcel yesterday.

  We despatched the parcel yesterday.

I know the second one is right because the parcel was despatched yesterday which means the action is completed (Past Tense).

But what about the first sentence, because the parcel was despatched, however the parcel is not reached the customer yet. So is it ok to use "have despatched" in the sentence (Present Perfect) in the mail to inform the customer?


texts: where should I put 'enough' in this sentence?

texts:
I'm not close enough to the person that I would prepare something for the person's birthday.

I'm not close to the person enough that I would prepare something for the person's birthday.

I feel #1. is right but I'm not sure. which one is the right one?


texts: Exactly when do you put 'even' before the comparative words?

texts:
One of common mistake that non-natives say is something as below.
(B is a non-native here)

  A: How was the movie? (expecting a good response)

  B: It was better than I expected. (meaning it was even better than he thought)

  A: Oh... well... (disappointed and thinks B didn't expect the movie that much)

As such, some of Youtube English classes mentioned that if you say like B did, where something is just better, not even better, than the other thing, then automatically the other thing feels not much at all.

So, I thought until now that if something is great already, and if you like to emphasize the other thing is greater than that, you should always use 'even' before the comparative word. Like "The cake tastes great, and the liquor is even greater", not "liquor is greater".

But I saw today, in my grammar book, this sentence below.

  I am pretty tall, but my dad is taller.

And here I'm confused. Why didn't they say "my dad is even taller"? Is it because of the word 'but' here? What's the golden rule of putting 'even' before the comparative words at all?


texts: What does "getting or giving red-penciled to someone" mean?

texts:
I read it in the text below:

  Cannot is the correct form in almost all cases. The only (very rare) exception is in sentences like "You can do it, or you can not do it"—in other words, where the two words have their separate meanings ('are able not to'). In the normal sense ('not able to'), it is always one word. Anyone who tells you different is trying to get you red-penciled.

What does it mean? Is it a phrase or expression?


texts: The man whose / that company is hiring employees

texts:
Can I use the first sentence in lieu of the second?

  1.Let me introduce you to the man that his company is hiring employees

  2.Let me introduce you to the man whose company is hiring employees

If both are used, which one is more common?
Does one seem more weird than the other?


texts:
In my grammar book I have 2 right options of past tense usage  for one sentence:

  He knocked and rang for some time before he made himself heard.

  He had knocked and had rung for some time before he made himself heard.

But I thought that appropriate option would be:

  He had been knocking  and ringing for some time before he made himself heard.

Why I am wrong and the grammar book is right?


texts: "for someone to do something" as a noun phrase

texts:
Can we use the structure: for + sb/sth + to + verb + ... As a noun phrase?

For example, in the following sentence:

  The best approach to address this issue is [noun (phrase)]

Can we complete the sentence like this?
Is it grammatically current? If it is, what grammar is used?

  The best approach to address this issue is for the government to introduce green taxes.


texts:
College courses, like math, (are designed) or (is designed) to help students?

Can someone answer which is correct and why?


texts: Which is correct? "I eager to..." or "I am eager for..."

texts:
Assume I like to meet my friend and I want to say my feelings to him.

Which should I use ?

1) I eager to you.

2) I am eager for you.

3) I eager for you.

4) I eager you.

or something else...?


texts: what are the different between i'm grew up and I am raised?

texts:
I  saw this expression here:
Parenting beta

i'm grew up myself

I am raised me myself

on  spanish is :

Crecí yo mismo

Me crié yo mismo

I am try said that "myself i grew up alone without parents , that myself made my future all and I was independent"

i would like explain thing similar but I would like sound like american people from US.

what example are more common in US people?


texts: How to overcome sequences of negative words which still cripple my comprehension?

texts:
Despite my attempts and *surplus of questions (since joining ELL), sequences of negative words still annihilate, lame, squash my reading comprehension. So how can I decisively vanquish this paralysis/scourge, productively on a general scale? What do I lack?  I asked about the relevance of logic.

*These are listed in this exemplifying question and When do multiple negatives cancel and when do they not?.


texts: Wondering what the word "receiving" here means

texts:
Since last September Aleppo, Syria's largest city and its former economic capital, has been at the receiving end of what the pressure group Human Rights Watch (HRW) calls "an indiscriminate and unlawful air war against civilians by the Syrian government". Last month HRW produced a study into the scale of the attacks.

-It is difficult to me figuring out what the meaning of the city has been at the receiving end of an unlawful war, really means.
Receiving? I would appreciate your help, providing some similar examples.


texts: How is "He makes cooking seem simple" different from "He makes cooking simple"?

texts:
Here is the sentence:

  He makes cooking seem simple and fun.

I do not understand to this sentence with the verb seem. I understand this below sentence without the verb seem.

  He makes cooking simple and fun.

Can you tell me what the first sentence mean? I know meaning of the verb seem but I do not know what the sentence means.


texts:
Is there any word that is alternative word to 'sufferer' in the context?
Here is the example, which is from a novel 'Baker's blue-jay yarn' by Mark Twain.

As for the plot of this novel, there is a blue-jay that has found a very deep hole, and keeps dropping acorns in there without realizing the fact that the hole is actually not a hole but a knothole of the roof. I guess that's why the author calls the blue-jay a sufferer.

"Another jay was going by, and heard him doing his devotions, and stops to inquire what was up. The sufferer told him the whole circumstance, and says 'Now yonder's the hole, and if you don't believe me, go and look for yourself.'


texts:
There are still plenty of details to fill in...

I searched online dictionaries for meaning of fill in but I didn't find any fit meaning.
So, could you please explain it to me?

The fuller text:

  Would you jump off a skyscraper on the basis that the clash between
  general relativity and quantum theory means there are serious problems
  with our theory of gravity? It makes no more sense to question the
  reality of evolution because scientists are still debating about some
  of its finer aspects than it does to question the existence of gravity
  for the same reason. There are still plenty of details to fill in but,
  as surely as dropped objects fall, life has and continues to evolve.
  https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13717-evolution-myths-yet-more-misconceptions/


texts: If you want to rent your apartment, what is the proper way to say so? Do you offer a friend an apartment in rent?


texts: Can "limber up" be used as "activity to reduce stiffness" without the part about "further exertion"?

texts:
limber up is defined as light activities to prepare for serious physical effort [1,2,3,4].
From what I've seen, limber up is defined just as make more flexible only in one dictionary.
Therefore I'd like to clarify: Is it fine to use limber up for the situation when a person eliminates stiffness in the muscles after some actions? I'm talking about the case where no further physical effort is expected.


texts:
Google is a search engine to the core.

Google is a search engine at its core.

Is there any difference between those sentences?


texts: Liable / responsible / accountable / culpable

texts:
In which scenario which words are suitable ? (there may be some mistakes with prepositions)

  The police chief who conducts the investigation thinks that it is likely the
  security crew was  responsible / accountable/liable to/
  culpable for the burglary at the bank because they all vanished after
  the incident. ( criminals)

  The police chief who conducts the investigation think that the
  security crew is responsible /will be held accountable/is liable to/will be held
  culpable for the burglary at the bank because they did not screen the
  cctv(s) for a long time at that night..(neglect)

  Hi,My name is Marc and I am responsible / accountable/liable for
  conducting the marketing researches on the project.What will you be in charge of at the company? ( being in charge)

  I feel responsible/ accountable/ liable /culpable to save the earth
  from preventing it further pollution so I decided to buy an
  eco-friendly electric car. ( feeling guilty )

  To cite another example, take the case of the notorious 2001 Enron
  scandal that led to the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation. Members
  of the executive board were indicted for their illegal and unethical
  actions. CEO Kenneth Lay was one of the people indicted. Lay insisted
  that Enron's collapse was due to a conspiracy waged by short sellers,
  rogue executives, and the news media — implying that while he could
  be held accountable as the CEO and leader of the organization, he
  was not in any way responsible for the fraud in the company.
  However, a jury found Lay guilty on six counts of conspiracy and
  fraud, making the CEO responsible as well as accountable for the
  downfall of the company.

http://www.christopheravery.com/blog/the-difference-between-accountability-and-responsibility/

What did CEO Kenneth Lay try to say by that? Did he imply that "he can express or explain what/how happened now but it was not his idea/ he was not not the one who organized the bribe" ?


texts: Why is "iron" pronounced "EYE-URN" but not "EYE-RUN"?

texts:
I just noticed that the word iron is pronounced EYE-URN in standard Englishes instead of what the spelling suggests. I have always been pronouncing it "EYE-RUN" but I just checked its pronunciation and it shocked me a bit.
So in UK English, it is /aɪən/ and in US English, it is /aɪrn/ according to the Cambridge Dictionary.
I know English spelling is not regular and as Ronald Sole said in a comment to my previous question, "Do not expect consistency in the pronunciation of any words in English. You can only look up words to find their provenance as a clue to pronunciation", but I just want to know the reason and cause for this.
Why is it pronounced as EYE-URN (IPA: /aɪən/ and /aɪrn/) but not EYE-RUN (/aɪrən/)?


texts:
While watching the Godfather I heard this:

  Sonny was hot for my deal, wasn't he? And you knew it was the right
  thing to do...you gotta talk some sense into him. The Tattaglia family
  is behind me with all their people. The other New York families will
  go along with anything that will prevent a full-scale war. Let's face
  it, Tom, and all due respect. The Don, rest in peace, was slippin'.
  Ten years ago could I have gotten to him?

I'm not clear why they used the past Pr. here. As far as I got,'slip' means to get less or worse in level or quality. So to me, the sentence doesn't make much sense. Maybe you can give a little explanation?


texts: What's the meaning of "you take it, you fly it, and you have something going for it"?

texts:
From CNN Student News

The following paragraph introduces the size of an asteroid that has just zipped by the Earth.

  Now, let's think about the size of this. Because here's the baseball diamond right here. Here's actually the tournament field. If you take a ball of - a big rock and you put it right over the infield, that's how big this asteroid was. Right over the infield of any baseball diamond. Now, you take that, you fly that in between the Earth and the Moon. And you have something going for it. Now, this is not one of the closer ones probably will have this year. But it certainly is 90 percent of the way between the Earth and the Moon, and it's called DX-110. 110 because it's actually the hundred and tenth asteroid that they have found so far this year.

I'm uncertain about what the stressed sentence is trying to express. I guess it is a figurative way to introduce the asteroid. Here is how I interpret each key word.

take: get hold of it in sb's hands
fly: make something fly in the air
go for it: to attack it

So I guess the sentence is trying to say: you hold and fly the asteroid like a kite between the Earth and the Moon. And you have something attack it. Right? I feel it may not right, because I feel a little odd about the interpretation. Can anyone tell me how to interpret it? Thanks.


texts: What is the difference between "What are you?" and "Who are you?"?

texts:
I am often asked "Who are you?" and "What are you?", but I don't know the difference between these two questions.

Please explain it to me.


texts:
Can you clarify the meaning of bold parts in

  The Drama Society is now auditioning for parts in the student play.


texts:
In this file, I see that

  Research methodology
  You should provide an outline of:
  • the theoretical resources to be drawn on
  • the research approach (theoretical framework)
  • the research methods appropriate for the proposed research
  • a discussion of advantages as well as limits of particular approaches and methods

What does it mean by "the theoretical resources to be drawn on"?


texts:
It was vs it would have been in the context

Hello teachers! which one is correct here using "was" or " would have been", and how do they differ in the meaning if both are correct?

For example:

It was/ would have been fun of the heart attachment if the fire of love had started equally, neither you nor I would have found repose


texts: What does "I can't say as I have high hopes where that is concerned" mean?

texts:
It's from the second episode of the first season of Breaking Bad. Here it is:

Do you think he is capable of listening to reason?
What kind of reason? You mean, "Dear Krazy-8, hey, listen...
...if I let you go, you promise not to come back and waste my entire
family?
No Colombian neckties?" That kind of reason?
No, man, I can't say as I have high fucking hopes where that's
concerned.

I am totally baffled by the grammar. First, what does the as mean there.


texts:
Despite a 2-0 hole and historical precedence in favor of Golden State, the Cavs aren’t out of this series yet. (source)

I am not sure what "hole" means here since this article is about basketball not golf.


texts: 'all' , 'all the', 'all of the', and 'the whole'

texts:
Which one of the following phrases is not correct:

1a. All life
1b. All my life
1c. All of my life
1d. My whole life
2a. All time
2b. All the time
2c. All of the time
2d. The whole time
3a. All day
3b. All the day
3c. All of the day
3d. The whole day
4a. All morning
4b. All the morning
4c. All of the morning
4d. The whole morning

For me 1a, 2a, 3a, and 4a all are incorrect (or perhaps they are used only in informal English).
Rest of the choices are the same, but 1b, 2b, 3b, and 4b are less grammatically correct. 'c' and 'd' are exactly the same and most natural ones.


texts:
I'm waiting to receive an package. The tracking information says 'dispatching'

No one can explain that to me. What does it mean?

Thanks


texts: How should I use 'no longer' in this sentence?

texts:
What is the correct (or at least the most natural) way to say this?

There is no longer any conflict...

or

No longer there is any conflict...


texts: About the period of "from the turn of the decade"

texts:
When you use "from the turn of the decade", that means from 1990, 2000 or 2010, right?

Or is it also OK to use the "decade" for the middle number like 2003~2013?


texts: Does this sentence say something specific, or is it ambiguous?

texts:
I read this sentence and found it to be confusing:

  According to NAME, there is an ongoing shortage of forensic pathologists working in the United States, with about 500 currently employed and a need for 1,200.

Does this mean 700 more are needed or 1200 more are needed, or is it ambiguous? (Also, was "specific" the right word to use in the headline given this context?)


texts:
Is this sentence correct?

  There was no choice for me to go to school while I really wanted to visit my friend at the hospital yesterday morning

I’m most concerned with how to correctly use “There’s no choice” in a sentence.


texts: "Heart of the matter" Vs "gist of the matter"

texts:
When Someone is telling you something in great details and you want to find out what they are going to indicate at last, you would ask them to cut the matter short and tell you the main subject (perhaps their purpose) and let you know what they intend to say in short and avoid giving you more details about the topic under discussion.

I have found an idiom and a word, but I have no idea if using them this way  would sound natural to you:

  Please tell the heart of the matter.
  Please tell the gist of the matter.

If not, then let me know what shall I say instead.


texts: Key word transformation and blank filling

texts:
I'm having trouble trying to do these exercises of sentence transformation, where you have to fill in the blanks with 3-6 words, including the one in brackets, so that the new sentence has the same meaning as a similar meaning to the original one. This is the first.

  They left as soon as I entered the room. (had)
  No _____________________ the room than they left.

Before knowing the answer, I thought it was something like No [sth] I had entered the room than they left, but I couldn't guess what [sth] could be and I didn't notice the inversion.
Here is the second.

  He told her because he believed it was true. (belief)
  He told her ______________________ true.

I don't understand why they removed because, maybe I shouldn't write it... But they left true... And I think the solution doesn't contain the fragment his belief was true, since the thing that is true is the it of the first sentence. But I may be wrong...

Edit. This is not homework! Answering this question will mean neither relieving me of my duty nor making me able to do all the exercises of this kind. It'll just teach me two expressions that might come in handy one day (and maybe some useful tips too ;).


texts:
A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will
  save you from most poisons” (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,
  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

  first reader (Stephen Fry) / bi':zɔ:r / second reader (Jim Dale)
  / b3zɔɑ’ː/ [audio]

The second reader’s pronunciation doesn’t sound like English for me, and suspect whether he pronounces French. Would you check whether it is English or French?


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

texts:
This is a passage from an article on the use of store mannequins to collect data on shoppers behaviours:

  Others say profiling customers raises legal and ethical issues. U.S. and European Union regulations permit the use of cameras for security purposes, although retailers need to put up signs in their stores warning customers they may be filmed. Watching people solely for commercial gain may break the rules and could be viewed as gathering personal data without consent, says Christopher Mesnooh, a partner at law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse in Paris.

What's the meaning of raise in the first sentence? From looking it up on MWLD, there are two definitions that seems to fit the context; however, I'm unsure which is more appropriate, they are:

  5b : to cause people to think about or be aware of (something)
  ▪ The book raises many questions about our biological origins. ▪ The discovery raises the possibility of a cure for the disease. [=the discovery makes it possible that a cure for the disease will be found]

  6 : to cause (something) to happen or exist : to produce (something)
  The news raised hopes for peace. ▪ The news raised fears of war. ▪ Her comment raised a few smiles/laughs. ▪ He was so tired he could barely raise a smile. [=he could barely smile] ▪ The laws were passed without raising much opposition. ▪ A passerby saw the intruders and raised [=sounded] the alarm. ▪ The audience raised a cheer [=the audience cheered] at the end of the speech. ▪ Some people are raising a ruckus/fuss/stink [=are complaining or objecting very angrily] about the proposed tax.


texts: What is the term for the road shown in the photo?

texts:
Take a look at this photo:

Valid XHTML http://img1.cfcdn.com/public/property-listing-images/full_size/51b80d4a3765e.gif.

My question is what is the correct word to describe these roads (inside a residential colony) that lead to individual apartments, unlike the public roads? This is an image of the inside of a residential colony.


texts: to say not even a word vs not to say even a word

texts:
Are there any differences in meaning between the following sentences? Are they equally usual?

  A. He said not even a word.

  B. He did not say even a word.

  C. He did not even say a word.


texts: Which one is correct? The supplier was recommended by us or The supplier is recommended by us


texts:
I just read the following sentence which is part of a quote from Richard Taylor, Restoring Pride:

  "[..]Indeed, many people will account their lives to be successful if
  they get through them with only minimal pain, with pleasant divergence
  from moment to moment and day-to-day, and the general approval of
  those around them.[..]"

I know the meaning of divergence in terms of being a deviation but I'm having difficulties understanding what it means in the context above.


texts:
I found a sentence on Google. This is

  "People of long ago wore a watch on a chain tucked in their vest pockets.".

Can we use "long ago" as noun?


texts:
I was reading articles online and found this:

When a modifier appears between the article and the noun, the
subsequent article will continue to be indefinite:
"I'd like a big glass of orange juice, please," John said.
"I put a big glass of juice on the counter already," Sheila replied.

Source:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/determiners/determiners.htm

My question is that "can we rephrase this sentence:"

"I put a big glass of juice on the counter already," Sheila replied

Something like this:

"I put the big glass of juice on the counter already," Sheila replied

If not then please let me know below sentence is correct or not?

I have seen the big house in our town.


texts:
Before arguing to me you should make sure that you have your facts straight.

  Please be sure you have (your/the) facts straight before you make a decision.

In the above sentences is it correct to use 'your' or not?


texts:
When I am doubtful about something I may say

  I doubt it is true

Before, I used "suspect" interchangeably

  I suspect it is true

But as I checked "suspect" means that I think it is rather true?!

In general, except doubt and suspect which words can be used in the same meaning for such purpose (to express one doubts)?


texts: As each of them touches down... is it touch or touches?

texts:
Context: Paratroopers are landing.

My brain says it should be: "As each of them touch down,..."

but then again, it could be

"As each of them touches down,..."

You could argue that plural noun/pronoun goes with plural verb but "they" is a plural pronoun and would go with "touch" not touches, and "each" could go with "touch" if "each touch" did something.


texts: is it idiomatic to say "to coax the baby not to cry"?

texts:
Your baby is crying

is it idiomatic to say "to coax the baby not to cry" or any better / common way to say it?

  coax: to persuade somebody to do something by talking to them in a kind and gentle way

  synonym cajole

  coax somebody/something (into doing something) She coaxed the horse
  into coming a little closer.

  coax somebody/something (into/out of something) He was coaxed out of
  retirement to help the failing company.

  coax somebody/something (+ adv./prep.) She had to coax the car along.

  Police managed to coax the man down from the ledge.

  coax (somebody/something) + speech ‘Nearly there,’ she coaxed.


texts: is surname often put after title like Prof or Dr? we got the name "Stephen Hawking" and we often heard "Prof Hawking" and not "Prof Stephen"

texts:
let say, we got the name "Stephen Hawking" and we often heard "Prof Hawking" and not "Prof Stephen"?

in Asia, we always use first-name (or given name) after title.

is surname often put after title like Prof or Dr?


texts:
Is there any subtle nuance in meaning between:

  You promised not to tell anyone.

  You promised to tell no one.


texts:
I am having a problem in using the relative pronoun which inappropriately.
Hence I would like to confirm that the below sentence is a right usage of it.

  Animals & birds are butchered for food by humans, which a few folks
  support it by stating that the ecological balance rests entirely upon one
  depending on the other for food

Can this sentence be constructed in any other form to make it clear.

Secondly, can I use a comma before words such as who , which, where, while
in a sentence for sentence clarity?

For example, in the above example I used as "food by humans, which few folks". Is this comma acceptable?


texts: Should I say "When I return from vacation, I ..." or "When I'm returning from vacation, I..." if I want to emphasize that the act of returning (and what follows) is something that happens regularly (e.g. every year)?


texts: What is the phrase for 'people always giving free advice'?

texts:
There are always these people who are giving their opinion and ideas about anything just to show how intelligent they are, even if they are not asked. But the advice is either absurd or too impractical and is of no use.

Is there a word or phrase for free advice?


texts: What's different between "so ... that" and "so that" sentence

texts:
As following two sentences,please tell help me to handle a couple of questions?
1.Are they the same meaning ?
2.If not ,how to use both and give me some sentences for both?
3.And please instruct about grammar with both?
4.If yes. how to use both in different scenario conditions?

  He is so good a boy that I like him.
    VS
  He is a good boy so that I like him.

other example
She made so good a meal that we all ate far too much
VS
She made a good meal so that we all ate far too much


texts:
I want to know if the following lines are grammatically correct. In particular, I want to know if this use of fell is correct.

  Dear XXXX:
  Would you tell me what is the result please?
  If my question violates your foundation's privacy, fell free to not answering it and I am so sorry for that.
  Thank you very much.
  Yours' Sincerely,


texts: "for obvious reasons" and "for good reason" - Why does one phrase have "reason" as plural form, but the other doesn't?

texts: "For obvious reasons", "for good reason", please explain.


texts: "Passed" or "Past" - Referring to a time in past compared to now

texts:
How can I compare the current time to a time in past? Should I use past or passed?
Given that the current time is 14:10, which of the following is more appropriate to use?

  14:10 is passed the morning time.
  14:10 is past the morning
  time.

  14:10 is passed 14:00.
  14:10 is past 14:00.

or even:

  We are past 14:00
  We are passed 14:00


texts: Why is "like to swim" possible, but "enjoying to swim" is not?

texts:
I read that like swimming and like to swim "are often interchangeable":

  [...] While he likes to swim always means that he enjoys propelling himself through the water using his own body power, he likes swimming could also be used if he enjoys watching it as a spectator.

However, while liking and enjoying don't seem to be very different (the former meaning "find agreeable, enjoyable, or satisfactory" and the latter meaning "take delight or pleasure in (an activity or occasion)"), enjoy to swim is ungrammatical.

Therefore, I would like to know what the difference is between liking and enjoying in reference to the fact that, while like to swim is possible, **enjoy to swim* is not.

Thank you.


texts:
Are both answers to the question "Would you like...?" correct or there is must be "to" in the answer?

Yes, I would like.
Yes, I would like to.


texts: What does it mean: "...to the extent of $250 a month"?

texts:
This sentence is from a conversation in which a person is asking for advice from a councellor because he can't pay bills, etc, so is asking for advice on how to make the family budget. The councellor says to the man this:
"Looking at your expenditure, you are over-committed to the extent of $250 a month and you will have to make some changes in your spending habits.
I could not understand the sentence properly, especially the part ".....over-committed to the extent of $250 a month".
I would say "Every month, you seem to spend 250 dollars more than your budget allows".
But I am not sure if the original sentence exactly means this.
So I want to ask:
1- Why is there a word "extent", which is obscure here. Does it mean amount? or a degree  of a problem or a seriousness level of an issue?
2- If it means amount, why should someone commit themselves to spending more where he is in hardship. "to commit is something you want to do". So why should I force myself to spend more. That does not make sense does it?
3- Does the sentence mean; you promised someone(eg a bank) to pay more than ($250) you would be able to pay in a month and this TOO MUCH amount is nearly $250 a month.
4-Can we replace "to the extent of $250" with "an amount that might go up to $250?
Regards,


texts:
The "go" in the phrase "decide what OS to go choose" appears to be redundant. Why not simply "to choose"? Is "to go choose" simply colloquial that is informal?

Apart from considering the similarity or differences in the number of tools available, other factors like speed also matter to decide what OS to go choose. To be on the safer side it is always better to go with a Linux system, over Windows. Linux is built to be more developer-friendly and gives much more flexibility over Windows.

Source: Linux Vs Windows: Which Is The Best OS For Data Scientists?


texts:
To his great astonishment, the heavy bell went on from six to seven, and from seven to eight, and regularly up to twelve; then stopped. (A Christmas Carol)

What does it mean? I think the clock is going like 6 to 12. Or isn't it?


texts: Is "believe each other" grammatically correct?

texts:
I've often heard "believe in each other" used, but considering that "believe" is a transitive verb, it would seem to be grammatically correct to say "We have to believe each other", instead of saying "We have to believe in each other." Is this wording grammatically correct? Or is it not acceptable enough to use?

If it is grammatically correct, do both sentences convey the same meaning?


texts: Is it right to say 'can you go to work instead of me?'

texts:
I'm working as a waiter in a restaurant and I can't go to work for a few days. So I wanted to ask my friend to go to work instead of me.

Is there any expression to ask this to my friend and to tell my boss?

I got some words for this but not sure if it's right: replace, substitute, backup.

And which one can be used in an informal situation (to friend) and a formal situation?


texts: are these both sentences have an identical meaning? or each has its own emphasis? "tomorrow is his birthday" "it's his birthday tomorrow"?

texts:
There are 2 sentences have similar (may be identical) meanings.

sentence_1: "tomorrow is his birthday"

sentence_2: "it's his birthday tomorrow"

are these both sentences have an identical meaning? or each has its own emphasis?


texts: How to read some maths expression in English?

texts: Hi there! I am learning English and I wonder how to read this maths expression in English.


texts:
I have noticed that many native English speakers use the word guy in reference to a number?

Is this slang or right way of using this word to mean a number?

  note: I didn’t find any definition in any of the dictionaries that give the meaning as numbers


texts:
Blood from the gash on his head – which was his father's first effort
  – is trickling across his face. Add to this, his left eye is blinded;
  but if he squints sideways, with his right eye he can see that the
  stitching of his father's boot is unravelling. The twine has sprung
  clear of the leather, and a hard knot in it has caught his eyebrow and
  opened another cut.

(Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel)

Does the bold part mean that the twine from the leather boots is flying away or broken and the boy on the ground is kicked again?


texts: What exactly does the word "term" represent here?

texts:
I recently started reading research papers in English. There have been some hiccups, but I was always able to understand the meaning from context, but now I'm stuck.

  Exactly what is an "idea"? In our work we take a simplistic definition: idea = term. Parsing the document for terms is easily done, in our case, using the Brill tagger.

This is part of paper on automatic text summarization (Text Summarization via Hidden Markov Models and Pivoted QR Matrix Decomposition, Conroy and O'Leary 2001). It's an algorithm that takes text and extracts sentences that summarize the text. They mention the Brill tagger, which is a method that tags text for part-of-speech (it can analyze sentence and mark words for their part-of-speech).


texts: Difference between "have done to "and "have been doing to"

texts:
This is a scene from a novel:

A boy is attacked by a bull in a field, the boy defends himself with a knife and both bull and boy are wounded. Someone asks the boy: "what has the bull done to you?" but the farmer who owns the bull asks the boy angrily: "what have you been doing to my bull?"

Why is "what have you done" used in one sentence and "what have you been doing" in the other? Could either be used in either sentence?


texts:
How do you use the word "alone" when you want to use it as a synonym for "only"?

  The paints are so dry that I can't paint new pictures on them alone; I would need to find color pencils.

or should I say

  The paints are so dry that I can't paint new pictures with them alone; I would need to find color pencils.

I'm hearing "alone" used a lot, but I can't quite grasp how people around me use that word. Is there a rule? Am I using it correctly in my examples? Thank you!


texts: Hyphenation of adjectives composed of three words

texts:
Hyphenating an adjective composed of two words is, from what I understand, fairly straightforward: if the adjective is before the noun, it must be hyphenated

  The three-eyed raven
  Customer-centric organizations

(with some exceptions such as not hyphenating after adverbs ending in -ly)

  A highly efficient team

But how would one apply this to create an adjective from a composed word or expression and an adjective or past participle ? The example that comes to my mind is the following sentence:

  Your product is based on big data

Which of these two options, if any, should I use, and why?

  A big-data-based product
  A big data-based product

Reading this, I think the second option does not mean what I want it to mean (it means that the product is big and based on data, not based on big data). The first option seems to make more sense, but is it correct?


texts:
a. Jane is reading a mystery novel again.

b. Jane is reading another mystery novel again.

c. Jane is reading the same mystery novel again.

Are the above sentences grammatically correct?

Do they make sense?

Which of them have the meaning

Jane is reading another mystery novel

?

Which have the meaning

Jane is rereading a mystery novel

?

Many thanks.


texts:
I've tried to parse this statement, but it was really hard, and neither I can understand it:

  An office culture that makes exceptions for remote people results in second-class citizenship, putting a muzzle on your potential.

Please Explain It in a plain English.


texts:
Can you say: British residents=UK residents

1.Are these two synonymous with each other?

2.Is ''UK'' also a formal adjective here?


texts: He spent all that money to/on buy/ buying a house. - meaning difference

texts:
He spent all that money to buy a house.
He spent all that money buying a house.
He spent all that money on buying a house.

Do all the above sentences mean the same, if not, what are the differences in their meaning?
Is it necessary to use a preposition before buying/buy? Or is it okay to leave prepositions out in similar contexts?


texts:
I'd like to construct a sentence, but I just can't decide if it's incorrect, or correct.

The sentence is

  If you wouldn't remind me to breathe, I would be dead for years.

It's a part of a conversation, where person A often acts like person B's walking conscience, and person B is quite annoyed by that, so he sarcastically says that if he wouldn't be reminded to breathe, he'd already be dead, mocking person A for his motherlike reminders, which person B doesn't think necessary.

"If you didn't remind to breathe, I would be dead for years" sounds quite off to me, but since I'm not a native speaker, obviously I can be mistaken and that's why I'd like to ask for help.

Please help me out, I feel so uncertain.


texts: Can "which" be substituted with "that" in the sentence?

texts:
The original sentence:

  In fact, however, it is the untruthful thought which is the more
  vicious of the two.

The above sentence semantically appears to be:

  In fact, however, the untruthful thought is the more vicious of the
  two.

If so, is there any particular reason to use "it is...which..." instead of the more common "it is...that..." structure in this context?


texts: "me [gerund]" or "my [gerund]" at the beginning of sentences?

texts:
A.1 The lions reacted to my singing.
A.2 The lions reacted to me singing.
B.1 My singing alarmed the lions.
B.2 Me singing alarmed the lions.

As far as I know, both A.1 and A.2 are grammatical: "me" and "my" are interchangeable, although there is a little difference in meaning.
Can we say the same refering to B.1 and B.2? Why does B.2 seem ungrammatical? If it is, what grammatical rule, if any, impedes using "me" in B.2?


texts: When should we use "THE" and why sometimes we just shouldn't?

texts:
When should we use the article "the" and why do we sometimes just omit it?

Examples:
1) Last year I went to London! (instead of: "the last year"...)
2) I was ill last week. (instead of "the last week"
3) I was sick the day before yesterday.
4) The year before last.  (instead of: year before last.)


texts:
Is "for you" redundant or unnecessary?

  This is enough for you to attain an expert proficiency
  in guitar.

  This is enough to attain an expert proficiency in
  guitar.

I don't think the second sentence makes sense, but is there a way to rephrase it so that you can remove "for you" and make sure the sentence still makes sense. The addition of "for you" makes the sentence sound a bit too wordy.


texts: Why “formed” can sit after “exist” in the following sentence?

texts:
Some works of fiction achieve remarkable popularity by creating entire alternative worlds that seem to exist fully formed.

What does exist fully formed mean?


texts: I don't get the meaning of this sentence

texts:
This is a video about climate change.

(https://youtu.be/DkZ7BJQupVA?t=85)

  So I like to say that climate change is the policy problem from hell.

  You almost couldn't design a worse problem as a fit with our underlying psychology or the way our institutions make decisions.

  Many Americans continue to think of climate change as a distant problem...

Sorry for this unclear title, but I don't understand the whole sentence even though I know the meaning of every word here.

Does "you almost couldn't design a worse problem" part mean you can't even think a worse problem than climate change cause it's the worst and most serious one?

And also "as a fit with..." part is confusing for me.

What does this sentence mean and what is he trying to say?


texts: gerund or past simple: "I have registered for 4 classes after meeting (I met) my counselor"

texts:
I saw that this sentence was not correct:

  I have registered for 4 classes after I met with my counselor.

but this one was:

  I have registered for 4 classes after meeting with my counselor.

'met' and 'meeting' are both in the past so what is the difference? Both are single events (registered and met). Does met reject the action in a further past than gerund?


texts: What does "in the tone of someone explaining that one and one made two" mean?

texts:
"My dear young man, the Minister of Magic wouldn't have taken Hagrid if he hadn't been one hundred per cent sure that he was guilty," said Lockhart, in the tone of someone explaining that one and one made two.

What does the phrase mean in this context?

-- From Harry Potter.


texts:
In some developing countries, some sellers walk/ride on streets and call out loud to advertise their products and attract customers.
They often sell traditional food or ice cream. In the past they used their actual voice, which could make them exhausted. Now they use recorders with loud speakers, which save their energy.
Is it natural to say "the seller is calling out loud to advertise her products"?


texts: Is this BBC article ambiguous, or am I interpreting it incorrectly?

texts:
I came across a BBC article titled Ten laws that India should scrap. In the section about salt taxes, it first states:

  In 2013-14 collections from the tax amounted to $538,000 (£343,400), which was nearly half the cost of collecting it.

and follows this with:

  A High Level Salt Enquiry Committee set up in 1978 recommended that the tax should be scrapped since the "annual collection was very small" while the total cost of collecting it was more than half of the total collection.

Am I mistaken in thinking that the first quote implies that the revenue from the tax was almost half the cost of the tax, while the second quote implies the opposite?

EDIT: I'm including the relevant part of the article here as a screenshot, as well as an Internet Archive copy of the BBC article.


texts: How would you express that you want to force a tiny bone stuck in your throat all the way out of your mouth?

texts:
spit 2 FOOD/DRINK ETC [transitive] to force something out of your mouth
Billy stood up slowly, rubbed his jaw, and spat blood.
spit something out
Diana tasted her martini and quickly spat it out.

Now you have just eaten some fish and some tiny bones got stuck in your throat.
Now you managed to force these tiny bones all the way out of your mouth.
Is it correct to say "I spat the bones out"?
But it seems "spit" emphasizes to push something in your mouth out of it and not a good choice to say to force something all the way out of your throat + your mouth.


texts:
I'm asking this because I feel insecure using some sentences. I've heard English teachers (though non-native) say 'change seats' to imply 'swap places'.

My question: are all these sentences right?

I want to say take your partner's book and give yours to him/her:

Change books.
Exchange books.
Swap books.

I want to say stand up and go sit down on your friends chair while s/he sitting on yours.

Exchange seats (or chairs).
Change places.
Swap seats.

Thanks


texts: What does 'exist beyond' mean in the passage?

texts:
Does it mean 'such reactions exist in addition to any tendencies'?
Or, such reactions precede any tendencies, that is, the former is more important than the latter?

One way in which someone’s loyalty might be expressed is through a
tendency to identify herself with the object of her loyalty. Such a
loyal person to some extent treats the thing to which she is loyal as
though it was her, feeling as she would feel and acting as she would
act if certain things that are true of it were true of her. If your
loyalty to your favorite sporting team is expressed in such a way,
then you may feel like a success yourself when your team is doing
well, and like a failure when your team is doing badly. You may feel
pride when your team does something good — when it wins a tough game
or raises money for charity — and you may feel shame when your team
does something bad — when it gives a boring performance or mistreats
its players. Such reactions exist beyond any tendencies to want
to advance the interests of the object of your loyalty, to serve as
its advocate, or to venerate it through involvement in appropriate
rituals.


texts: How can I figure out whether a word is an adverb or an adjective?

texts:
How can we confirm the word modifying an adjective is an adverb which may well be adjective sometimes?

In this sentence, what are the parts of speech of 'bright' and 'red'?

  She wore a bright red beautiful dress.

Could someone please come up with an example that clearly identifies adjective vs. adverb which is really confusing for me to decide?


texts: "Borne her in." What does this sentence mean?

texts:
I was reading a book and I encountered a sentence I cannot understand.
As I mentioned in the title, what does "borne her in" means?
Does it mean that somebody gave birth to her? Or are there any other meanings?
I searched the dictionary and I couldn't find any helpful answer.

Below is the excerpt from the novel "The Surrenders"

"The wheels of the last car squealed and flashed; it was accelerating, about to pull away. In defiance she leaned forward and cried out, suspending her breath, and reached for the dark edge of the door. The world fell away. Someone had pulled her up. Borne her in. She was off her feet, alive. "


texts: Singular vs plural with multiple nouns stringed together

texts:
As a general rule, I learnt that when stringing together multiple nouns to form a noun phrase, the nouns acting as adjectives lose their ending "s", even if they carry a plural meaning.

For example:

asset inventory (an inventory of many assets)
sample collection (a collection of samples)
system logs (multiple logs of multiple systems)

Now my question is: if the nouns on the left always lose their s (do they?), how can I distinguish when the noun is actually singular or plural?
See the following examples:

risk analysis (how can I tell apart if the analysis is of a single risk or multiple risks?)
system log (is it the log of a single or multiple systems ? )
vulnerability assessment (am I assessing a single vulnerability or more than one?)

and so on...

How can I avoid the ambiguity that derives from this kind of noun phrases?


texts: "in plural form" or "in the plural form"?

texts:
Is the use of definite article necessary in the below sentence?

  How would you say the word man in (the) plural form.


texts: 'Of' in "The tomb had been robbed of its treasures."

texts:
The tomb had been robbed of its treasures. (Oxford Dictionary)

What should I think that this 'of' means? I know 'of' has the similar meanings to 'from' and 'about' but I am not sure which it is in this case.

Thanks and a happy new year to you!

»» I needed to know the meaning of 'of' in this usage and I've seen that question and answer but that one was about 'rob' and not explained about what I needed to know.

»» I want to comment on the 3rd answer because I like it and want to say something. I'm trying to put it in words now.. please give me some time.


texts: Why does the writer choose "back" over "away" in "yanked the car back from the chasm"?

texts:
I was saved from a deadly descent into the jaws of death by two overhead cables, which yanked the car back from the chasm.

From an essay written by a native speaker.
The writer is talking about her experience of taking a cable car ride up the mountains. The writer feels scared as the car passes across peaks and over gorges.

Back: At a distance away. (According to Oxford dictionary)

Why does the writer pick "back" over "away" here?


texts: A word to describe a situation, in which the eventual winner in the competition is hardly predictable

texts: What's the right word to describe a situation in a sports competition or in elections, in which both competitors are equal on all parameters and it is absolutely not clear which one of them will be the winner?


texts: What is the "small window" on a web page called?

texts:
Sometimes, we see on sites a type of small window of which we to choose between some choices. It can be between male/female, or more choices in case of title: Ms. Mrs. Dr. Prof. etc. What is called?

I want to refer to it, and I don't know how to do it.

  "Do you see the small window (?) bellow for the title? Great. Now open it and choice the title you
  want us to address to you".

See the attached example:


texts: Difference between "started something for communicating" and "started something to communicate"

texts:
What is the difference between these two sentences?

  I started this blog for communicating with other country's people.
  I started this blog to communicate with other country's people.


texts: What does 'that' refer to in the passage?

texts:
What does that refer to in the passage? I think it refers to 'movement' but someone else argues it 'physiology,' which I think makes little sense. Which is right?

  Let’s go back to our ancestors, back before elevators, escalators,
  cars, and even horses. This is the time when our human physiology was
  coming of age. Our ancestors had to move to survive. Not unlike most
  other mammals, humans had to expend much energy in order to acquire
  food and water. These early humans, with whom we share most of our
  physiology, were nomadic, and therefore moving was an essential part
  of their lives. As descendants of these nomadic people, our physiology
  is based on abundant movement and a diet of vegetables, fruits, nuts,
  fish, and infrequent, small portions of meat. To the extent we have
  that, we are more likely to be healthy. To the extent we don’t have that, problems arise.  If you look at photos of crowds just
  over half a century ago, before exercise was a word, before the term
  jogging had meaning, before fitness centers, and before the hundreds of diet plans, you’ll see that the people in these photos are lean.
  Almost every person―lean. Movement was an inherent part of daily
  life―walking, biking, work, play―and obesity was rare. Not exactly
  like our distant ancestors, but closer than we are today.

*source : Authentic Health and Successful Aging By Roger Landry


texts: Which one to use: "Has passed away" or "Had passed away"?

texts:
I'm developing a mobile app about family tree that the user can put information whether someone in their family tree is already passed away or not. If a user open a profile of another user where that user was reported dead, which one is the correct one to use:

  He has passed away at March 3, 2017.

  He had passed away at March 3, 2017.

I'm conflicted between the past tense and past perfect tense here (and even with perfect tense), because he is/was indeed has already passed away (perfect tense), but he also passed away in the past as information (past tense). Sometimes whether to use past and perfect tense is blurry, because both was referring to something in the past / already happened.


texts:
In the episode 14 of Friends, Susan and Carol are having dinner in a restaurant. Susan's cell phone rings - it's a workmate who needs her presence there. Then, they talk to each other:

  Carol: Oh no. I thought you said they could shoot the spot without you.

  Susan: I thought they could.

  Carol: But it is Valentine’s Day.

  Susan: I know, but it is my job. Look, I’ll try to get back as soon as I can. I’m sorry.

I've been trying to understand the meaning of the bold expression above checking different meanings to to shoot and spot, but I couldn't. I guess Susan's job was not presented on the series (so far). To spot I found:

  spot. A situation, especially a troublesome one.

I think it may be the right meaning in this case, if to shoot could be like to solve. However, I couldn't be sure of that. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks in advance!


texts:
I have stumbled on it in the 23rd episode of the 7th season of Friends. Here is the context:

Monica: I’m making a list of all the things that are most likely to go
wrong at the wedding. Now, that way I can be prepared.
Phoebe: What are they?
Monica: Well, so far I have uh, my bride’s maids dresses won’t get
picked up, my veil gets lost, or I don’t have my something blue.
Rachel: Hey! Those are all the things I’m responsible for!
Monica: I had to go with the odds Rach.


texts:
Is the following comma placement correct?

  A is twice the number of B and, the closer A is to 0, the closer B is to zero.


texts:
I have doubt on a phrase.

Situation: Let's think like that,I want to change the position of a box. I want to take permission from the owner of the box. What should I say?

Where should I put the box?
                Or
Where should I keep the box?

Which one is the right as per a native English speaker?  Put or keep?


texts: I insisted that he {don’t/doesn’t/not) look out of the window

texts:
I insisted that he doesn’t look out of the window.
  I insisted that he don’t look out of the window.
  I insisted that he not look out of the window.

Which is correct?


texts: What is the opposite of genderless - genderful?

texts: There is the word "genderless" (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/genderless), however there is no such word as "genderful", so what word should I use instead?


texts:
a. Three books and notebooks were on the floor.

Does that mean that there were either one book and two notebooks or two notebooks and one book on the floor?

Is the sentences grammatically correct?

Could it have any other meaning?


texts: Using "is" vs. "is over the" when dating old objects

texts:
When answering the question:

  How old is the moon?

We could say:

  The moon is over the 4.6 billion years old

or:

  The moon is 4.6 billion years old.

Is the first answer grammatically incorrect?


texts: Why can "a big pile of hay" be placed behind "in front of him"?

texts:
On his way home, he found in front of him a big pile of hay.

In this sentence ,
On his way home = adjectival phrase modifying the whole sentence

he = complete subject

found = the verb

a big pile of hay = noun phrase ,the object

in front of him  = prepositional phrase, the objective complement.

Is this sentence correct?

Is it ok to put the objective complement before the object?


texts: which sentence is better? using possesive structure or 'of'

texts:
A: The increasing air pollution in Singapore is due in part to its neighbouring developing countries’ high dependence on fossil fuels.

B: The increasing air pollution in Singapore is due in part to the high fossil fuels dependence of its neighbouring developing countries.

Which sentence is better? is the choice only a matter of different styles? I think A is better because the country's name is followed by the thing possessed (its neighbouring countries), so the reader will transit smoothly from the old information to the new information. Not sure if I am right.


texts: Inexplicable lack of articles: two examples

texts:
I have stumbled upon two cases of article usage (better to say lack of it) I do not really understand. Both come from here

In one place the author writes:

  This is not entirely practical, so I will at least break the code into logical sections that do fit on screen all at once.

Why not "on a screen", why word screen lacks here an article?

On another occasion he writes:

  White space is free, use it to make your code look good.

Again, why not "a white space" (to refer to any white space) or "the white space" (to refer to all white spaces in the universe)?


texts:
This guy is testing the performance of soundproofing.

both with and without soundproofing are boosted by 15db

what does boost mean here?

cambridge gives this explanation about boost

  to improve or increase something

obviously, boost here does not mean increase the sound from inside, which does not make any sense, so what does boosted by 15db mean?

I am aware of what db means. I am asking what does boosted mean here.


texts: How often is "check" used to mean "ensure"?

texts:
I'd like to know how often check is used to mean ensure, which means not only "determine if everything is right," but also "take the appropriate actions to correct the situation if it is not."

What I'd like to understand is how likely is that readers understand this as the intended meaning. Is there's a high change that he will think the only an assessment is requested? Would using another expression such as "ensure" or "make sure" be better?


texts: Are body parts like thighs, hips etc. considered private parts too?

texts: When we use the phrase 'private parts' do we refer to 'thighs' also or this phrase only refers to parts like urinary organ, hips, etc?


texts: Independent clause and part of a sentence

texts:
1.What is the independent clause here?
2.How does 'accidentally spilled his cargo, leaving a pulpy mess' function here?

Last month a porter carrying a basket of tomatoes in the crowded Shasha market in Ibadan, a city in south-western Nigeria, accidentally spilled his cargo, leaving a pulpy mess.
(Source)


texts:
Many of the population in the rural areas is composed of manual labourers.

In the above sentence, 'many' is the wrong word in this case. Could anyone please give the correction to the error?


texts: What are parties in a legal dispute called (collectively)?

texts: Is it 'dispute sides' or something? How to say it, I forgot.


texts:
Yesterday I was watching a video on YouTube. Here was the original sentence:

  — If you really don't want to go to that party, what is going to happen if you say no?
  — Oh, my god! Guilt trip city!
  — Oh, yeah? How they gonna do that? How is your dad gonna guilt trip you?

Questions:

What's the meaning of "guilt trip city"?
How do you use "guilt trip"?


texts:
What is the meaning of the sentence: "He would have been about to have just been about to leave."
It is taken from the tense book of Bernard Comrie (Page76). In English, it is in principle possible to build up a series of reference points using periphrastic constructions, although it is hard to imagine circumstances in which one would need or want to oscillate between past and future reference points as in the above sentence.