texts: The difference betweeen 'believe strongly' & 'strongly believe'

texts:
What is the difference betweeen 'believe strongly' & 'strongly believe'?

Is 'I believe strongly' a correct usage?
What is the true difference between these two? Different emphasis?


texts:
I was reading The Accidental Billionaires and I came across this sentence

  "...; the relaxed, almost rubbery way he leaned against the window - a stark contrast to his usual calcified, if slightly hunched posture; ...."

What does the phrase "stark contrast" mean? Thanks!


texts:
The Oxford Advanced Dictionary says,

bug means

  "to put a special device (= a bug ) somewhere in order to listen
  secretly to other people's conversations"

And there's an example like this:

  They were bugging his telephone conversations.

My questions is:

can bug take a conversation as its object? I mean, not a place or a device?


texts:
All I know about "NO" is like this.
There are no movies playing on Christmas day.
=>There are not any movies playing on Christmas day.
=>We won't be showing any movies on Christmas day.
And here's what I'd like to ask.
As I don't want to wast my time doing nothing at home, I usually make my way to a place where I can do something productive.

So, there are not many things that I do at home.

So, there are no many things that I do at home.

Here, I think #1 is right because #2 means "there are not any many things that I do at home" and this sounds awkward and not grammatically right. Am I right to think this way?


texts: how to distinguish between"would" and" to be to"

texts:
About Magellan: He married the daughter of Diogo Barbosa. He had two daughters from her, both of whom died at a young age. She would die in Seville around 1521.

Have I correctly rephrased the bold part?

And, in this story or narrative, She was to die in Seville around 1521.

The best


texts:
Are in the following contexts 'continue' and 'persist' can be interchanged?

  He wants to persist / continue in his way.

  We should persist /continue in out treatment with antibiotics.

  People don't like to persist /continue suffering their pain.

  You should turn right and then persist /continue straight and
  you'll see the destination on your right.

  She persists / continues to get a budget from her country.


texts: Preposition used with "clock" and "watch"

texts:
It's 4 am __ the clock.
  It's 4 am __ my watch.

Which preposition is to be used?


texts:
In the following question sentence

When he arrived to attend the wedding of his brother, he ______ in dark suit.

I have only two options to fill

Had dressed

Was dressed

Which one should I use, I am not able to find difference between their usage.


texts: 'Do you want to see it!' - Which type of sentence is this? Why exclamation mark at the end of a question?

texts:
I am a beginner, but my knowledge says that Do and Does come at the beginning of a question. Simply put, to my mind, the sentence should be
Do you want to see it? rather than Do you want to see it!
Am I correct? I am confused because this sentence is written on The World Beast news website:

Recently we launched TWB Photos, Do you want to see it! Visit NOW

I am aware of 'what a life!' kind of explanatory sentences. Is this a similar use?
Please enlighten me about this type of usage.


texts: Can "if + past simple be used in not conditional meaning?

texts:
I was told not to use the "if + past simple" construction outside of the second conditional, but is that truly correct?

What about:

  A hundred years ago, people could bury their relatives in their
  gardens, if they wanted.

By "if" I mean something like "when".

Also, is "if they wanted" correct, or do I need "if they had wanted"?


texts:
Is this the correct order in a list of adjectives in a sentence?:

1.Quantity or number

2.Quality or opinion

3.Size

4.Age

5.Shape

6.Color

7.Proper adjective (often nationality, other place of origin, or material)

8.Purpose or qualifier

Example: I have 1 cheap little old white american sleeping mattress.

Is it the same thing if we use adjectival nouns(nouns which occupy the function of an adjective when there are 2 nouns in a row)?. Here are some examples:

  a race horse is a horse that runs in races
  a horse race is a race for horses
  a boat race is a race for boats
  a love story is a story about love
  a war story is a story about war
  a tennis ball is a ball for playing tennis
  tennis shoes are shoes for playing tennis
  a computer exhibition is an exhibition of computers


texts: What is a word for people who frequently hypothesize?

texts: I am looking for a word or a short phrase for people who frequently hypothesize and contemplate. Please help me out. I need use this word to give a title to an article that deals with such people as I've described. These are just general people, who happen to dream and ponder a lot over hypothetical possibilities.


texts: Meaning using "was to" and "were to" in sentence

texts:
Please help me with my below questions.

A) "Below the bridge, the fishermen started shouting that if Chaudhary were to jump, they would catch him and foil his attempt to end his life."

My questions are:

What is the meaning of above sentence using "were to"?

Why "were to" has been used in above sentence instead of "was to"?

What would be the meaning if I only used: "… If Chaudhary jumped they would catch him …"?

Need meaning of some more examples:

B) He was to become boss but he retired early.
C) He was to come at 5:00 am but the train arrived late.


texts: It's ok to say "the above image" but not "the below image"

texts:
Frequently, when editing/reviewing SE posts, I see the following:

  as you can see in the below image.

Now, to me, below image, just sounds wrong and I reverse the order, changing it to:

  as you can see in the image below.

However, in my own posts, I will often write:

  as the above image shows

en lieu of

  as you can see in the image above

because it sounds, to me, to be a bit more in keeping with formal documentation. The phrase ... image above is, obviously, correct also, and sounds fine, just not so technical.

TL;DR

Why does above image sound ok, but below image does not?
Am I wrong, and the only one who thinks this sounds odd?
Why isn't the antonym of above (which is an adjective), not an adjective itself? It seems rather asymmetrical.

Update:

I hadn't realised that this had already been asked on SE ELU: Which is correct: “the below information” or “the information below”?. I should have checked, apologies


texts: what country you are from? is this correct or wrong?

texts: So, I know the sentence should be like this what country are you from? But I also want to know if it is wrong to write what country you are from? If it is wrong then why please explain?


texts:
This expression is from a book Eat, Pray,Love by a writer Elizabeth Gilbert.
I try to guess the meaning but still don't know.
Below is the situation the writer is standing at her house's door with her friend, expecting him to kiss her.

This is an improvement; for the first few weeks, he would only shake my hand. I think if I were to stay in Italy for another three years, he might actually get up the juice and kiss me.


texts:
I have to analyse these two sentences:

  He must have had a business meeting the next morning.

  He must have had a lot of money because the furniture looked expensive.

The verb “must have had” is used in the same tense in these two sentences? It seems to me that in the first it is future in the past and in the second past. Is it right?


texts:
Ask for my help
Or
Ask my help

Whose help did you ask for?

Or

Whose help did you ask?      In the above two example is the usage of the preposition "for " appropriate or not?


texts:
Lifts are to remain solely under the control of the operator in the
  platform.

What does "remain solely" exactly mean? Does it mean that there should be one lift?


texts:
1) Linux operating system should is installed on the Gallio board using an SD card (I have no idea why they put should here.)

2) Both these piece of equipment are vitally important should the plane crash,as they help crash investigators find out what happened just before the crash. (well. It's kind of like "if" to me, but why on earth didn't just say 'IF')

English is my second language. would anyone be able to help me with this?. thanks


texts: Can someone please clarify the language function of the expression typed in bold below

texts:
A couple of teachers have got different opinions about the function in one of the lines in below given conversation.

  Principal : We all are going to visit the museum tomorrow.
  Student : That's very nice sir, can we bring our cell phones?
  Principal : No,  NOBODY SHOULD BRING THE CELL PHONES.

Enough discussion has taken place about the usage of the modal SHOULD but we couldn't come to a conclusion whether the line ...NOBODY SHOULD BRING THE CELL PHONE.... means, advice, order, direction, or suggestion.plz help me what is the function of this line.


texts: What is the difference between  island and island of ?

texts: I see that both are used and don't know what is the difference.


texts:
“That’s a wake-up call that investors are really worried,” Boodry said, overriding Son’s previous reticence to slim the portfolio.

what does (overriding) means in this sentence?


texts: Do to-infinitves have the meaning of repetition?

texts:
i         a. I like to stay home at weekends.
    b. I like staying home at weekends.
    ii         a. I’d like to be a politician.
                 b. I’d like being a politician.

  With [i] there are many contexts where [a] and [b] would be equally
  appropriate, but there are also some favouring one or the other.
  Suppose you ask me to go bushwalking next week-end but I wish to
  decline: [a] would here be more appropriate than [b]. Conversely if I
  am currently enjoying a week-end at home [b] is more appropriate than
  [a].      The infinitival is more associated
  with change, the gerund-participial with actuality. Thus someone who
  has recently turned forty or got married might say I like being forty
  or I like being married. An infinitival would be strange here,
  suggesting repeated changes from not being forty or married to being
  forty or married. In this case the meaning is close to that of enjoy,
  which only allows gerund-participials. Would like, by contrast,
  projects into the future and resembles a verb of wanting, with a
  strong preference for the infinitival, as in [iia]; [iib] is possible,
  but the interpretation is roughly “I’d like/enjoy the life of a
  politician”. If we change the examples to I’d like to start the
  meeting a little earlier this week the gerund-participial becomes
  quite implausible: I’d like starting the meeting a little earlier
  suggests that the starting is itself something to be enjoyed, which is
  an odd idea.

    Hate with a to-infinitival has an idiomatic use seen
  in

    [53] I hate to tell you this, but your battery is flat.

  This can be thought of as involving projection into the immediate
  future: “I’m going to tell you, though I hate having to do so”. What
  is special about this use (virtually confined to the 1st person) is
  the combination of simple present tense in the matrix and single
  dynamic event in the complement - contrast [52ia], where we have
  repetition of staying home; other verbs of liking and not liking do not
  allow this pattern, though it is found with adjectives: I am happy /
  ✲like to tell you that you’ve passed your test (cf. also regret in
  [56] below). (The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language)

What does it mean: a to-infinitival has the meaning of repetition?


texts: How to use a phrase to describe a situation that you meet a problem can't be solved?

texts:
Assuming this :

I was doing some work step by step, then I blocked at somewhere and I have tried all the solutions I could find, spent a lot of time, but the problem still can't be solved.

I want to use "I have some trouble in ..." or "I have a difficulty in..." to describe it, but I think they are not fit very well and a little casual. How do you people describe this situation in written English and Spoken English?


texts: Is this how you state your university, graduate school, department, and major?

texts:
OOO University, Graduate School of Language Education, Language Education, Department of Language Education

where the format is: University, Graduate School, Major, Department

This is to be stated in the abstract of a thesis at top, and I'm wondering if this is in the correct order? ('Language Education' is a made up major/department)


texts:
I'm reading a book and I see that in one of the sentence it doesn't use in conjunction "that". Therefore I'm a little confused about this topic- where I need to put conjunction and where not.

  I'm afraid your luggage is ten kilos overweight; you will have to pay
  extra.

Before I saw it I would write it as follow:

  I'm afraid that your luggage is ten kilos overweight; you will have to pay
  extra.


texts: How are you? in the beginning of e-mail?

texts:
Is it natural for native speakers to ask "how are you?" in the beginning of e-mail? Or it is better to delete to be concise?
Dear xxx,

How are you doing today?

xxx xxx xxx xxx....
I guess it is OK to ask, but this obliges a recipient to reply. Is it better to delete all the time?

Thanks,


texts:
Living as they do in a different world from adults, children have
  problems peculiar to themselves.

Is "do" the same as "live"?
Isn't "do" ungrammatical to use there, because "living" is a present participle?
So, I think that "are" is grammatical as in "Living as they are in a different world from adults, children have problems peculiar to themselves."


texts: Can I replace "would" with "will" in this sentence "how would that benefit me."?

texts:
I am watching a movie in which two people fight with two zombies. One of them says "Do you want to switch?" and
other says "How would that benefit me?"
In the second sentence can I replace "would" with "will"?


texts: Can we congratulate someone on a birthday or a new year?

texts:
What verb should I use instead of an ellipsis?
Suppose I said "Happy birthday" to John. Then, I decided to tell my friend that I ... John with/on his birthday.
The point is I want to highlight that I didn't just said "Happy birthday" to John, but I sort of congratulated him on it. But I don't think the verb "congratulate" fits here, because it's more about success and achievements rather than an age mark.
P.S. The same question can be applied to the following situation:

I ... Carmen with/on a New Year.


texts: Can we apply 'case' to any type of 'cases'?

texts:
I know that we can apply case to a suitcase.

But does it happen with the other type of cases?

Can we apply case to a briefcase, pencil case, attaché case, vanity case, etc?

For instance, when asking for a briefcase:

  Can you pass me my case? (briefcase)


texts: Why is "university" not capitalised here?

texts:
Why is "university" not capitalised in the second sentence below?

The Guardian: West Virginia University suspends fraternities
and sororities after student lands in intensive care unit.
The Guardian: Students sue Virginia university after campus
feminist group member killed.


texts: Verb sequence when used with “Will” or “Shall”

texts:
In the following sentence, is "telecast" a verb, or something else?

  The Awards will be telecast on Saturday at 8:00 PM.

I am a little confused about verb structure/sequence.  In particular, in what order should verbs be used, in sentences with “will” or “shall”?


texts: Possible passive construction of a special sentence

texts:
Somebody promised to tell him the truth.

I want to write the passive construction of the above sentence. Here it is:

  He was promised to be told the truth.

Is this passive construction right? If it is not correct, please tell me what is the reason.


texts:
(1) Harry’s broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it. He
  was dangling from it, holding on with only one hand. (Harry Potter and
  the Sorcerer's Stone)

  (2) The stupid man swung off the enemy side. (From a Korean
  English-Korean Diction-ary)

I guess ‘off it’ (1) is the result of ‘swung’ and meaning ‘dangling from it.’ While in ‘swing off’(2), ‘off’ means away from the original place; and the result of ‘swing off’ is ‘the enemy side.’ Is this right understanding?


texts:
A dictionary entry for "to" has this usage example of the phrase "put ...to":

  He put a finger to his lips.

But, on the web, I found sentences that uses "put...to" this way:

  Jane put a flashlight to John's ear.

Does it mean Jane really touched John's ear with a flashlight?  The purpose of a flashlight to shine light at something.   Could sentence 2 have other meanings?


texts: 'should have + past participle' for expectation

texts:
In Advanced Grammar In Use, Unit 20, there's this:

We also use should have + past participle to talk about an expectation that something happened, has happened, or will happen:
(1) If the flight was on time, he should have arrived in Jakarta early this morning.
(2) The builders should have finished by the end of the week.

I believe that (1) corresponds to "an expectation that something happened", and that (2) "an expectation that something will happen".
Am I right?
If so, "the week" refers to this week, and "the end of the week" a future time.
Assuming that "the end of the week" refers to a future time, do these variations of (2) work?

(2a) The builders should finish by the end of the week.
(2b) The builders should finish at the end of the week.
(2c) The builders should have finished at the end of the week.

EDIT
Having read the answers by Evelyn and RuslanD, I now know (2c) is not natural English. How about these alternatives?

(2d) The builders should have finished before the end of the week.
(2e) The builders should have finished at or before the end of the week.
(2f) The builders should have finished within the end of the week.
(2g) The builders should have finished the end of the week.

Or can you think of some other preposition that works in this sentence?


texts:
Is the following sentence correct? To my knowledge, "might" should precede "have", but in the following sentence (from this website), it has used in reverse process. Please explain.

  These are most of the horse breeds one have might expected to encounter in the old west.

Is it fine to change the above sentence as

  These are most of the horse breeds one might have expected to encounter in the old west.


texts: How can I coherently use a sentence to effect of "entrusted by both Client and Project Management"

texts:
I am putting strenuous effort however it sounds garbled.

  For a role way over my head, I was entrusted both by Client and Project manager with full oversight and control of site activities as I had done a similar project earlier exceeding expectations and promoted. Yet I cannot use a professional business language to word this in my CV.

Please help. I am open to any other suggestions!


texts: What definitions can "blessed" have when referred to people and events?

texts:
I'm wondering if "blessed" can refer to either of the following when used to describe a person or event:

1) Being favored by a higher power

2) Just being fortunate/happy

Here are a few sample sentences:

"I feel blessed for the opportunity to work on Project X."

"It was a blessed opportunity to work on Project X."

The first sentence describes the author as blessed, while the second describes the opportunity itself (the event) as blessed.

Could a secularist or atheist write either of the sentences if they just want to convey that they're happy or feel fortunate for being able to work on Project X?

For some context: Assume the sentence would be in writing (so no pronunciation involved), and in the piece of writing the author never discloses their beliefs.

Also, I've looked up the definition of "blessed" on quite a few online dictionaries, and the consensus seems to be that it can mean either definition 1) or 2). So my question is mainly about whether "blessed" can still mean either definition when used to describe a person or event (as in both my sample sentences). For example, can a person be said to be both "favored by a divine power" and "happy" while an event can only be one? The dictionaries never went into detail here.


texts: Correct article to use before noun + preposition

texts:
May you give me an explanation on what's the difference if I say these following sentences :

Cream is a part of milk that contains fat.

And

Cream is the part of milk that contains fat.


texts:
I had taken off my shoes(we're supposed to take them off before we enter the music room). When I came back and put them back on, I realized they weren't mine. (There had been a lot of shoes there, now only this one pair was left, so I assumed that they were mine; our shoes are black)

  Looks like my shoes got swapped with someone.

  My shoes got swapped with someone.

I know that "swap" sounds natural when the trade is intentional, but does it sound fine if it happens by accident?

This happened at my school. We have similar shoes, it's part of our uniform.


texts: Is it correct to say "my ability is fully trained"?

texts: Is it correct to say "my ability is fully trained" ?


texts:
A small boy ask his mom to pour so much sauce in the bottle:

"Mom, please pour all of the sauce on the pizza."
"Mom, please pour the sauce on the pizza a lot."

What would a native English speaker choose or say in this situation?


texts:
Solution architecture is a practice of defining and describing an
  architecture of a system delivered in context of a specific solution
  and as such it may encompass description of an entire system or only
  its specific parts.

I want to say that I've specialties in Web Applications and (plural of) Solution Architecture

Which one is the correct?

  I have specialties in Web Applications and Solution Architectures.

or

  I have specialties in Web Applications and Solutions Architectures.

or

  I have specialties in Web Applications and Solutions Architects.

or

  I have specialties in Web Applications and Solution Architects.


texts:
In the oxford dictionary, the definition of colonize is

  Send settlers to (a place) and establish political control over it.

An example sentence with this definition is

  I think we should send them to colonize other planets for us.

I have been told that you can substitute the definition of a word for the word. The thing is that it wouldn't make sense for this sentence. It would be 'I think we should send them to send settlers to other planets for us and establish political control over it.' What is the rule for knowing when a word fits in a situation?


texts:
We thought he is planning to go on vacation after the first of the
  month.

I think thought is incorrect because the sequence of tense. Is my reason correct?


texts:
In the following sentence which is the correct usage? Would have been or would be? Would have been sounds better to me but I am not sure.

"I have written in such a way that there are some words and sentences that would have been/be omitted in a proper (book) review."


texts: "Reading-enhanced slide show" - a correct English phrase?

texts:
Would this wording make sense? I am re-editing a slide show putting more time between the text portions, so that they can be read wholly without pausing.

  Would it be correct to call it a "reading-enhanced slide show"?

Or else how could it be appropriately named?


texts:
According to OALD rain is used as

Uncountable, singular

But when it is used in plural form like the rains it refers to the season of heavy continuous rain.

But the sentence

  Heavy rains quenched the fire.

Is correct, although rains is used.


texts: What is the best choice among the four below sentences?

texts:
In the earthquake, thousands of people died.
In the earthquake, thousands died.
In the earthquake, thousand of people died.
In the earthquake, thousand died.


texts: I stumbled across this example sentence in Wikipedia: "I braked in order that the car stay on the road," and immediately thought what I would've said would be: "I braked so that the car would stay on the road," or maybe "I braked in order for the car to stay on the road" instead, though there is a strange ring to the last one. Which one(s) is not correct and why not?


texts:
I am constructing a sentence where a person wishes that an other person soon will visit her.
Should this be written as:

  She hoped he would come visit her shortly

or

  She hoped he shortly would come visit her


texts: What's the function of "in" in "fishing in the lake"?

texts:
In a sentence such as "Alice is fishing in the lake", what is the function of "in"?

My impression is that "in" is used to indicate the target of "fishing". That is, Alice herself is not necessarily in the lake (she could be standing beside the lake, etc.). In that case, is it similar to sentences such as "Alice is writing in the book" or "Alice is looking in the mirror"?

If my impression is incorrect, does "in" indicate that Alice is in fact within the boundaries of the lake (e.g. Alice is standing in the water, or is in a boat on the water)?


texts: Can I understand that "as long as" is 1st Conditional and "If only" is 2nd or 3rd Conditional?

texts:
When I think about this sentence "As long as you study English, you can improve your English", it means "If you study English, you can improve your English", and it is 1st Conditional.

When I think about this sentence "If only I could speak English", it means "I wish I could speak English", and it is 2nd Conditional.

Are there cases that "as long as" is used as 2nd Conditional and "If only" is used as 1st Conditional?


texts: Does this have two meanings: 'how do you like your coffee'?

texts:
How do you like your coffee?

Can I use the above sentence either on an offering situation that I ask if they like it black or with sugar, or during having situation that I ask if the coffee tastes good?

When the latter is possible, can next both answers be possible?

I like it a lot.
It's good.


texts: How do you analyse the verb phrase elements in the sentence 'I have been having difficulty sleeping'

texts:
For the sentence 'I have been having difficulty sleeping', how would you analyse the verb phrase elements : VP have been having?
'have is an auxiliary - required to create -en form of the verb 'been'.
but then the present progressive (having) also rquires an auxiliary [a form of to be].
Does this mean that 'been' is both a main verb, and an auxiliary?
Seems weird!


texts: Creating a sentence with the verb "tell"

texts:
I'd like to tell you that I'll go to Ngwe Saung beach this year after the exam.

Is the sentence grammatically correct? Thanks.


texts: An equivalent for "It is not a divine message to..." in American English

texts:
In my country, whereas it has an eastern, religious type of the culture when someone wants to say that an event must happen 100% in order to achieve something or when someone wants to say that it is not "very" necessary to do something and generally when someone wants to emphasize that a specific belief is not very necessary, says:

  It is not a divine message / voice for you to do that.
  It is not a divine message / voice that it must happen.
  etc.

I am looking for an idiom, expression in AE for "divine message / voice" in the ways that I used in above self-made / translated sentences.
I would be thankful if you could help me.


texts: When “strong” is used after a number，does it refer to that exact number or an approximate number？

texts:
When strong is used after a number，say in this sentence，

  We suffered severely and came back only eighty strong.

does it refer to exactly 80, or more than 80, or approximately 80 survivals?


texts: “I’ve a cold” vs “I have a cold”—are both correct?

texts: Would the sentence “I’ve a cold” be correct? I’m wondering if contractions can always be used in place of the original words.


texts: How do you describe this way of walking while bent forward?

texts:
How do you describe this way of walking:

Walking while bending forwards:

because you are in severe pain.
because you want to pass somewhere stealthily/ silently and thus
try not to be seen.
because your old or weak, so you cannot walk uptight.


texts:
Why is the preposition "to," rather than "by" used in the following?

This car does about 40 miles to the gallon.

Consider also this:

He is paid 20 dollars by the hour.

Why is "by" rather than "to" used here?


texts:
I know that combination of Present Perfect and Past Simple is okay in some cases but I need help now.

I never said I wanted to do that.

That is correct.

I have never said I want to do that.

This is also correct.

But what about this sentence:

I have never said I wanted to do that?

Please help!


texts: Is "sweating" a gerund or adjective -ing in this context "we would certainly be sweating if we went on a round-trip journey of 32 KM by bicycle."

texts:
Is sweating a gerund or adjective + -ing in this context:

  we would certainly be sweating if we went on a round-trip journey of
  32 KM by bicycle.

I think sweating is not gerund as subject,gerund as complement nor gerund as object.

And according this artice https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-reference/adjectives-ending-ed-and-ing:

  Adjectives that end ‘-ing’ describe the thing that causes the emotion
  – a boring lesson makes you feel bored.

As far as i know sweating is not a emotion too. I'm confused.


texts:
Other studies, including in the United States, have shown this same
  pattern, with girls who begin developing earlier than their peers
  vulnerable to depression in adolescence.

Without context, are there two meaning? :

Girls are vulnerable to depression in adolescence.
Peers are vulnerable to depression in adolescence.

Put another way: if sentence is

  There are girls who begin developing earlier than their peers vulnerable to depression in adolescence.

then is there ambiguity which group is vulnerable to depression in adolescence?


texts: When I said "I like what you dislike", why was the listener confused?

texts:
A friend of mine told me that he always dislikes K country's food, and I said,

  "I like what you dislike"

But I could see that he was so confused and was thinking what I meant, so I explained to him, "I don't like K country's food either. Then we both laughed.

I think the sentence, "I like what you dislike" can refer to
(1), I like the thing you dislike
(2), I like the action that you have done

He was not sure whether I was talking about (1) or (2), so he was confused.

Am I right?


texts: Where to put the common word in a series including symbols

texts:
Look out for bold D, struck-through D and italic D formatting.

  Look out for bold D, struck-through D and italic formatting D.

Which of these above sentences should I be using?

The sentences show a series of three terms with the word they have in common (formatting) taken out of the series and placed at the end. My question is, how symbols should be positioned when they are added as an example for each term - where to place the D, the D and the D - especially around this common word.

A sentence without these symbols included is unambiguous and issue-free:

  Look out for bold, struck-through and italic formatting.

So, when adding symbols in the sentence to illustrate what is being talked about - as is often done in mathematical contexts and scientific texts - how should they be placed in a sentence with a series of terms?


texts: "two other methods" vs "other two methods"?

texts:
for example,

  I want two other methods.
  I want other two methods.

Which one above is correct ?

If both are correct, what is the difference? What is the target noun of "two" and "other" assuming they are both adjective?

If only one is correct, is it due to adjective-order-restriction?


texts: What is the meaning of "Take a good look because "?

texts:
What is the meaning of "Take a good look because" in the following sentence(Source: Skateboard moves by MATT CHRISTOPHER),

  Charlie skated toward the exit gate. He did not see X until he slammed
  right into him. "You are still here!" X exclaimed. "Surprised to see
  me?" Charlie sneered. "Take a good look because the next thing you
  will see is my back. I know you stole my skateboard!" He shoved X
  aside and skated home as fast as he could.

?

Does it mean "From now on, play alone. I will not play with you anymore! You can not see my face in the future. All you can see is my back." ?


texts: who vs. whom (vs. which) again - can whom be used as a subject of the sentence

texts:
Old English grammar books indicate a general rule of thumb for who vs whom  -

Who should be used to refer to the subject of a sentence.
Whom should be used to refer to the object of a verb or preposition

Many people have raised similar questions in this forum and most have been answered, including this good example
who vs whom. which one is appropriate.
However, I feel that my question could not be fully answered by either the conventional grammar book (not looking hard enough) or the posts in this forum. Hence this question below.
According to this link pronoun mistake #3, whom should be used. Can who be used in this example (seems strange)? If not, is whom used as a subject or an object?
The link above discussed the following example -
Huffington post had the following paragraph (date unknown) -

On New Year’s Eve at 11:45 am, Pope Francis called up the small
community of the Carmelite nuns of Lucena in Cordoba, Spain, but they
didn’t pick up the phone. Their once-large community has now dwindled
to a mere five nuns, three of which are from Argentina, which is also
the pope’s home country.

I interpreted the which here refers to the subject - the nuns, who are from Argentina. Is it correct that nuns are considered a "subject", not an "object"?
The author of the link (not of the Huffington post article) thought whom should be used, instead of which. Does this mean whom can be used as a subject of a sentence?


texts: Problem in understanding of a sentence in a conversation

texts:
Here is a conversation from a "BBC Learning English" YouTube video:

Feifei: We sometimes put the word "straight" in front of "fire". "Straight" here means "very".

Roy: So I probably should have said your T-shirt is straight fire, then.

Feifei: Only if that's what you really think!

Do that sentence in bold mean "If you say so"? Or is there any other way to say that more naturally?


texts: What is the rule for when "a few X" is correct, vs when "a few of X" is correct?

texts:
There are lots of previous questions about "few", but I couldn't find any that addressed this aspect of its usage.

What is the grammatical rule that makes the sentence

"This will take a few of days"

incorrect? (There shouldn't be an 'of' there.)

Does the same rule cover

"Take a few of the sandwiches"
"Take a few sandwiches"

or are there different parts of speech in play?


texts: Is it possible to use present perfect instead of past perfect?

texts:
This dialogue is from the textbook for ESL students:

  Last night I went to a party and met an old friend of mine. We haven't seen each other for years, so we had lots to talk about."

I thought that "we haven't seen each other for years" should be "we hadn't seen each other for years." They met each other last night already. However, this is from a textbook; my question is whether this usage is common in daily casual conversation.

Is it all right to use the present perfect instead of the past perfect, or are there other implications?


texts:
I have a graph that shows data at 5-minute intervals for 1 day. I am trying to come up with a title for this graph.

I am thinking of something like: "5 minutely temperature graph 1 day"

However, it just sounds wrong.

What is a better title for my graph?


texts:
How to ask when exactly (date) someone is leaving?
My friend is traveling to America next week and I'm not sure how to ask about date.

  When do you leave
  When are you going
  When you will be leaving

Which ones are correct?


texts: Is my too complicated sentence correct or does it reflect what I'm trying to say?

texts:
Although with all of these findings, it can not be proved that 13-cRA disrupts the skin barrier, the hypothesis of 13-cRA’s facilitating irritation and sensitisation reactions required for contact dermatitis development via its effects on immunity and skin barrier is supported when the literature data is considered.

Another sentence example of what I'm trying to mean:

  We can not prove that 13-cRA disrupts the skin barrier with only these findings but when literature data is considered, this study results (or results from/of? this study) support the hypothesis indicating that 13-cRA facilitates the irritation and sensitisation reactions required for contact dermatitis development via its effects on immunity and skin barrier


texts: performance of something vs. the performance of something

texts:
I asked my American friend to take a look at these three sentences and pay particular attention to how the word performance was used. To him, they all sounded fine. But what bugs me personally about the grammar in all three sentences is that in the first two examples we don't need a definite article in front of the word performance while example #3 requires that there be one in order to make the sentence sound grammatically smooth. Do you have any explanation as to why that is the case?

Example #1:

  Performance of thread-related features—and particularly synchronization constructs—is key to writing multithreaded programs.

Example #2:

  Performance of applications that tend to use input/output capabilities extensively during their execution can degrade significantly especially when run in networking environments such as local area networks.

Example #3:

  This strategy will really help you make the performance of your applications much better.


texts: What's the difference between these sentences?

texts:
I'd like to know what's the difference between these sentences:

  By the time we had had lunch it was 2.30
  By the time we had lunch it was 2.30

and

  I had hoped you would invite me.
  I did hope you would invite me.
  I was hoping you would invite me.
  I hoped you would invite me.

Edit: Some more specific questions:

a) The third sentence means that I had hoped until a moment in the past. But does it mean that he invited me, he didn't invite me or maybe it can't be infered from this sentence?

b) What's the difference between the 5th and the 6th sentence?

c) Does the second sentence mean that t was 2:30 when we were having lunch?


texts: Which be form to use after "and" with I?

texts:
How are these sentences usually joined using "and"?

I am from Asia. I am an English language learner.

Is "I am from Asia and am an English language learner" correct?

You are from Asia. You are an English language learner.

Is "You are from Asia and are an English language learner." correct?


texts: "Except of" vs. "except for" vs. "apart from"

texts: I've used to say "except of" for a lot of sentences but recently someone noted (or corrected) me "apart from". I don't really remember the context that this correction was in. Anyway, after sometime I saw this article in Cambridge which is talking about the difference between "except for" to "apart from". That says that my habbit to say "except of" is a mistake?


texts: Relationship between stock market meaning of trend and other meanings

texts:
Why are the ups and downs of an investment on the stock market called a trend? Isn't a trend something associated with people's behavior that someone follows by adopting that same behavior themselves?

These seem to be completely unrelated concepts

Whoever can help this will be deeply appreciated.

Thanks.


texts:
Can someone clearly explain what is the meaning for the word "context"?

I would like to know in web apps in specific if possible (Example: Application Context)

thanks in advance!!


texts: Basic question about plural and possessive

texts:
I have multiple tables of different colors.

What is the correct saying if I want to talk about the colors of all the tables ?

  The tables' colors.
  The table's colors.
  The tables colors.
  The table colors.

I would say (1) is the correct answer but I cannot find a source to validate my assumption.


texts:
'Friends' he was saying ,'I've ordered brandy to be served to you all,so that we can celebrate my wedding properly'
No ,Frank don't give them brandy,begged Bathsheba,it will only do them harm.
Far from the madding crowd,by Thomas Hardy

A)it will only do them harm.

B)it will only harm them.

is there any difference between the two sentences?


texts: What nuance does "Scientists do not really know." have?

texts:
How do children learn? Scientists do not really know.

This sentence is quoted from a certain English-learning book published in Japan.
Does the sentence, "Scientists do not really know.", mean that scientists don't know "almost nothing" about how children learn? If the sentence doesn't have a meaning like that, What is the correct meaning?


texts:
Is this possible to use the infinitive in these sentences?And how to form the last one? I simply can not do it.
In brackets I wrote variants which to my mind suit it best.

1.Not overdoing(or to overdo?) discipline and helping (or to help?) children understand the reasons behind the discipline by explaining it to them is important.

2.When children are playing,parents or caregivers should supervise clsely enough to monitor(or monitoring?) how the children are behaving and be prepared to teach them appropriate social behaviour.

3.They risk their child growing up(or to grow up) to think that such behaviour is acceptible.

4.(you/begin/a conversation) may not make you instantly popular,but if you consistently focus on helping people feel comfortable by talking to them and smiling at them,you will notice that people will be more friendly towards you.


texts: To file something with something (party)?

texts:
When you say
You file your income tax return with ABC,
What does the "with" mean? Against ABC or through ABC?


texts: confused about grammar in question sentences

texts:
Are these sentences grammatically correct?

Did you know that he has cheated on you?
Do you know that he always has been telling you to stop making a joke?

I guess I am quite a bit confused when it comes to do/did question sentences, whether I can follow it up with present perfect/past perfect tense.


texts: usage of "assumption" and subjunctive mode

texts:
"This was done under the assumption that the car is blue"

OR

"This was done under the assumption that the car be blue" ?

Thanks.


texts:
Yesterday I was reading an article and I came across a sentence with two modals and I have never seen two modals together.

The military might can curb the terrorist group.

Can anybody explain how to use two modals simultaneously?


texts: What does the word "round" mean in football (soccer) term?

texts:
What does "round" mean in football (soccer) context?
HUGE CHANCE! Magennis feeds KLP through. He rounds the goalkeeper but the angle is narrow for the winger as he flashes his effort across the face of goal. Unlucky!


texts: Are '' books are too many" and "cats are not enough" correct to say?

texts: My teacher told me that it should be like "two cups of coffee is too much" and I wonder if it applies here? I understand it's common to say "there're too many books" and "there are enough cats". so my question is : are "books are too many"  and  "cats are not enough" correct to say? and what should I say if i put "many” and "enough" at the end of sentence.


texts: Digging and placing a cut tree or plant in a hole

texts:
It is part of my culture to place a cut banana plant in a hole in the ground, which we dig accordingly. It forms part of many religious rituals including marriages.

Another similar example would be bamboo, which is used for various purposes like a stationary pull up bar, etc.

Doing the same for a live plant would be called "planting a banana sapling".
What word may I use for a cut plant or tree or anything else (to make it stand upright)?
An image for representation:

Image Source : https://olcoyote15.wordpress.com

Kindly comment if I couldn't express it in a way that makes it understandable.


texts: Do Relative pronouns and Relative Adverbs have the same function in a sentence?

texts:
Consider the following sentences:

This is the house that Jack built.
This is the place where he was assaulted.

In the above sentences, why is "that" in 1 a relative pronoun and "where" in 2 a relative adverb. Aren't they essentially doing the same thing, i.e., referring to the antecedents "house" and "place", respectively.


texts:
When using the verb "to note" in the sense of "to write down", for example,

  Note that down so you will remember it

is the down necessary or not? Does

  Note that so you will remember it

also have the meaning of writing something down (aside from the other meaning of "to note")? To me, the second variant seems to be a false friend often used by German speakers, because in German the corresponding expression is "sich etwas notieren".

The reason why I am not sure is that the OALD mentions the phrasal verb "to note something down", but Merriam-Webster also includes "to say or write something" as a possible meaning of "to note".

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/note


texts:
I am not a native English speaker and in my country my teacher used to ask students to translate our native language into English and vice-versa. That's when, I encountered this question for the very first time. My teacher emphasized on the usage of 'since' in the following example which I could never reconcile myself to.I have some questions regarding the following sentences:

I've been watching TV for last two days.
I've been watching TV since last two days.

Which sentence above is grammatical?

Am I correct if I say: the expression "two days" refers to a "period of time" so use: for, but the "last two days" refers to "point of time" so use: since?

I read the following explanation on answers.com

  Since last two months", that one is correct. When you are talking about a period of time, you have to use since, because it's a grammatical word used to indicate that a situation has continued from a particular time or event in the past.

The explanation provided by that website further adds to my misery!
Please help me understand it.Thanks in advance.


texts: Is "To be not invited is sad" grammatical?

texts: I know that "Not to be invited is sad" is a grammatical sentence in English. How about "To be not invited is sad"?


texts: Run into and go out or go into and run out

texts:
I have a piece of homework that is filling appropriate words into the blanks

  The robber ...... into a bank and took the money. He put it in a bag and then he .... out.

ran and went are given, but I don’t know if they should be ran into and went out or went into and ran out.


texts: How to explain whole and entire together in a sentence is incorrect? Or, is it?

texts: I hear "whole entire" used often. Shouldn't we use just one or the other in a sentence?


texts: That's the guy I talked to./That's the guy I was talking to

texts:
Person 1: His said his name was Heathcliff-
Person 2: That's him. That's the guy I talked to/was talking to.
I know "I talked to" is fine, but would "I was talking to" also be natural to use here?
If Person 2 had talked to Heathcliff for one minute an hour ago, which one would you go with?


texts:
If the eating meal starts at 7:00 AM and finishes at 8:00 AM. the drinking liquor starts at 7:00 AM and finishes at 7:50 AM.

can I say that :

I drank the liquor when I ate the meal.
I ate the meal when I drank the liquor.

Is I need to use progressive tense ?


texts: What is the meaning of "be a unique character in our company"?

texts:
If an employee or employer says in a retirement speech:

  He is a unique character in our company, I guess we all agree on that.

What do they mean?
Is it a compliment or not?


texts:
Example with a context (Top 10 Best Canadian Cities To Live In 2014):

MoneySense has presented its annual ranking of the best Canadian cities in live in, and when you consider their methodology, it should come as no surprise that half of the top ten are in the west, primarily in Alberta. It will also come as no surprise, particularly to Atlantic Canadians, of the low representation out east. Moncton, New Brunswick, is the first city east of Québec to rank, at #16. Fredericton takes the 22nd spot, and Halifax is 26th. St. John’s, Newfoundland, is the last eastern city in the top 50, at #37.

I have a bit of a hard time following the sentence in bold. First of all, what does of the low representation mean exactly? That Atlantic Canada is underpopulated? And what exactly will come as no surprise to Atlantic Canadians?


texts: Why do we use "is" in "It isn't raining now." and "does" in "It doesn't rain very much in summer."?

texts:
It isn't raining now.

  It doesn't rain very much in summer.

Why in the first sentence do we use is but in the second we use does?

Can someone explain in general, please?


texts: Why is "lay on hands" grammatically awkward?

texts: The question is about Hearthstone card. Each Hearthstone card has some funny description. "Lay on Hands" card described as "A grammatically awkward life saver". So the question is why it is grammaticaly awkward?


texts:
I had communicated with a native speaker and received the next message:

I: We will pay and sign the booking form the next week.

Respond: Just let me know when the payment HAS BEEN MADE and I’ll keep an eye out for it.

I know that I should drop "will" after "when", but why Future II tense was used?

Is it correct tense in this situation?


texts:
I think you're pretty darn foxy yourself. Lady Lisa, I'll love until
  the end of time.

quoted from the script of movie 'Pixels(2015)'

What's the meaning of "pretty darn foxy" "yourself"?

I guess pretty darn foxy means pretty (damn) sexy,

but what is the role of 'yourself' in the sentence?


texts:
Which one is correct?

1)If I were you, I would save money as much as I can

or

2)If I were you, I would save money as much as I would be able to


texts: "[...]you'll see them all run for cover"?

texts:
Recently in a different context I was presented with something like this:

  [When something big happens], you'll see them all run for cover.

At first I thought this was very idiomatic, but when I looked at the well known idioms I couldn't find exactly run for cover(sure it's about running to the place of safety, but isn't that place usually not the shelter more than the cover?) - what I found was take cover, run for it/for one's life and try to cover one's ass.

Do the idioms compete or interfere with what is being said here? Does the native speaker get a mishmash of two or more idioms or just the literal meaning because it's neither exactly? Are there any negative connotations in the provided example - does "all" provide any clue into that; is any context obvious, such as that of the fleeing civilians, or the business management setting?


texts: Can I say "You have had bad marks last week"

texts:
Is it right to say

  You have had bad marks last week

in the meaning "for the period of the last week"?

And what is the difference between first one and this

  You had bad marks last week

?


texts: Would all the suggestions be grammatical and natural to insert in my dialog?

texts:
A: I know what you're going through.
B: You do?
A: Yes. ______________________________. So if you ever want to talk, you can always come to me.
Would all the suggestions below be grammatical and natural to insert in the dialog?

Two years ago my ex-wife and I separated.

My ex-wife and I separated two years ago.

My ex-wife and I got separated two years ago.


texts: Is the gerund being used in a proper way: "His job is driving a cab."

texts:
I am not sure if the following sentence is grammatically correct.

  His job is driving a cab.

I believe the gerund cannot be used in this way.  Am I right?

Would it mean the same to say? His job is to drive a cab

What are the differences between these two statements? Are they both possible?


texts: Can "motivate" mean 'explain'; 'justify'?

texts:
In my native language, the word corresponding to the English verb motivate can be used to mean something like 'explain' or 'justify'. We could for instance ask someone to 'motivate' a particular point of view, a particular choice, a particular answer etc. When I check the various dictionaries I have access to it seems that motivate cannot be used in this sense in English, but when I google BrE web pages for "motivate your answer", I nevertheless get a number of hits that seem to support this use also in English – for instance:

Use the specific data given above to motivate your answer

If you wish, please motivate your answer (max. 1000 characters)

Describe the objective data you would collect from patient T and motivate your answer.

So, is it, after all, possible to use motivate in this sense in English, or are the above examples just bad English? If it is possible, would it also be possible to use a modified participle of this verb as a premodifier in a NP, as in well-motivated choices and well-motivated answers? If not, what could I use instead?
Thank you!


texts:
Marketing is the process of transforming or changing an organization to have what people will buy.

I don’t know what the infinitive here means,
does it tell the purpose or it has other functions.


texts:
And his federal colleague, Warren Truss, will be Acting Prime Minister when Tony Abbott, along with other world leaders, travel to South Africa to attend tomorrow's service for Nelson Man-dela. (ABC.net.au)

Why isn’t there number agreement between Tony Abbott and travel?


texts: Is it right to use "guided" as ạdjective and using "building" after "to" in this sentence?

texts:
I saw this sentence:

  View this set of incremental lessons as a guided introduction to building your first app.

Why they use word "guided" before "introduction" ? it is an adj ?
Why "building" (V+ing) placed after "to" ? What is its meaning ?


texts: Should I put commas and periods before the ending quotation mark?

texts:
I know that it is advisable to put commas, periods, exclamation marks, and question marks before the ending quotation mark when dealing with direct speech, or quoting whole sentences. But what if I just want to quote a single word or a phrase? For example, my sentence is this:

Don't forget the definition of "righteous" -- "morally right and good".

Is it correct to put a period after the quotation mark in such case? If not, is it always obligatory to insert terminating punctuation within quotation marks?


texts:
Scenario 1

  person 1 - Have you ran?
  person 2 - I haven't ran.
  person 3 - I didn't run.

Scenario 2

  person 1 - Did anyone salt that pork?
  person 2 - I haven't salted that pork.
  person 3 - I didn't salt that pork.

I'm confused at which to use when people ask in the form of person 1 above. In scenario 1, who is correct between person 2 and person 3? Also scenario 2, who is correct? If someone asks a question in Did. Should I answer in Did or didn't instead of have or haven't?  And Vice/versa.

I hope all that points out what I'm confused about.


texts:
What is the difference among these questions:

A . Have clothes dried?

B. Have clothes gotten dry ?

C . Have clothes gotten dried?


texts:
I'm late.

vs

  I'm going to be late.

What is the difference between their meanings?


texts: Is this usage of the verb "hold" correct?

texts:
In a song I need to address the following request to mother nature and in particular to one of the four elements, water:

  Your waters hold your floods they're so deadly

Is this line correct and does it make the sense I'm expecting?
Thanks a lot!


texts: Do I use the Past Simple or the Present Perfect whem talking about my previous jobs?

texts:
Let's say I work as a bartender, and I want to mention the fact that I worked as a cook a while ago. Do I use the Past Simple or the Present Perfect? For example:

Person A: Do you think you could cook meat?
Person B: Sure! I worked as a cook/I have worked as a cook.

I am aware that when we are talking about the things that are no longer true, we use the Past Simple, as in my the context above. And we use the Present Perfet when we are talking about past experiences up until now, as in my example in my sentence. Working as a cook is an experience, right? I'm confused which one to use in the context I provided and in resumes.


texts: Can I use "promoted" instead of "considered" in this sentence?

texts:
Can I replace "considered" with "promoted and change" the rest of the sentence as below? Also, I am not sure if using "the majority of opinions" as the subject for the sentence. The opinions are from kindergarten teachers.

The majority of opinions considered delivering Korean history education to early childhood through playing traditional games, visiting cultural sites, and using fairy tales as appropriate means to deliver history education to early childhood.

The majority of opinions promoted delivering Korean history education to early childhood through playing traditional games, visiting cultural sites, and using fairy tales.


texts:
What did George Orwell mean by his saying "they struggled after the truth"

  In the past people deliberately lied, or unconsciously colored what they wrote, or they struggled after the truth … but in each case they believed that ‘facts’ existed and were more or less discover-able.


texts:
From a recent science article:

  Jonathan Watkins of King’s College London and colleagues found that after controlling for other economic changes, death rates rose after the cuts, especially among the over 65s.

  The two events were statistically associated in time, which doesn’t formally prove cause and effect, the team notes. But excess deaths correlated most closely with a lack of nurses in care homes and cuts to community nursing.

  This is alarming given that a bad flu season is expected to strike the UK soon, and people over 65 are the most likely to die from flu.

I want to detect the meaning of the phrase “alarming given”?
Is given a noun here?
If it is a noun, i think it should be an alarming given because given is countable.

Could it be this way:
(This is alarming) [which is] given participle adjective that ...?


texts: How do you call a problem with ink in a ball pen?

texts:
Sometimes you try to write or sign something with a ball pen on paper, but because the pen malfunctions (e.g. because it is running out of ink, or has dry ink), part of the line is drawn very thinly or discontinuously, sometimes leaving just a scratch on paper. How do you call this effect (or pen's condition/behavior) in English?

Also, when signing an important document with a pen, sometimes you try first to draw a few lines or curves on a separate discardable sheet of paper, either to ensure that the pen is not malfunctioning, or to help it to restore its function. What is the English verb for this action?


texts: What does the phrase "listen to yourself" mean?

texts:
I was discussing something on another SE site(link). The discussion with full context is,

I searched and found two recent mechanics questions which got migrated to Phys.SE, 1 and 2. Note that problem solving questions aren't allowed on Phys.SE, only conceptual questions are. So homwork questions migrated from MSE can be closed there. — user103816 yesterday
@user103816 These two aren't math questions at all... By the way, 10k users can check the list of recently migrated questions here. I count six questions migrated to Phys.SE in February. Only one of them had some amount of mathematical content, and in that case the OP requested themselves for the question to be migrated. –  Najib Idrissi yesterday
@NajibIdrissi Both of them are classical mechanics questions. Classical Mechanics is a well known field of Mathematics. –  user103816 yesterday
Classical Mechanics is not a field of Mathematics. –  quid yesterday
"Classical Mechanics is a well known field of Mathematics." Do you even listen to yourself...? –  Najib Idrissi yesterday

Is the phrase "listen to yourself" some idiomatic expression? Or does it literally ask me can I listen to myself. What does it mean?
When is it used? Does it have a negative connotation?

Now let us discuss the exact phrase, "Do you even listen to yourself...?". As I understand it is asking me do you listen to yourself with emphasis. What I am confused about is whether it says me that I do not listen to myself all the time I say something, or, just that I didn't listen to myself only when I wrote that "...well known..." sentence. E.g. consider the sentence "Do you even wash hands". To me it appears that someone is implying that I never wash hands, that is a an every-day(continuous) type action. I cannot conceive a one-time type sentence with wording "Do you even xyz".

Is the sentence "Do you even listen to yourself...?" a continuous type question or one-time type?
What does the three dots after 'yourself...' mean?
As a native English speaker if you put yourself in my position then how much negative that sentence would sound to you? That is what is its level of negativeness? Is it simply rude or highly humiliating?
Another thing that user Mar Amezani said  is that 'even' gives the sentence some negative cannonation and if it is replaced by 'ever' then the sentence is okay. How is the sentence Do you even listen to yourself...? different from Do you ever listen to yourself...? Is the second version a continuous type action sentence or one-time type?


texts: " I am ashamed that I should have been involved in the case." (involved really?...)

texts:
" I am ashamed that I should have been involved in the case."

The speaker was involved in the case really? or he regrets not having been involved?
'should+have+pp' is generally used when someone regrets something that (s)he didn't do in the past.


texts:
Be happy! You mustn’t be sad (= don't be sad). (Essential Grammar in Use)

I’m confused whether it’s possible to order other people to have certain emotional accomplishment. Do the two sentences really mean that, or do they just demand the hearer’s outer expression showing pleasure, not showing unhappiness?


texts: Difference between "two years old and two-year-old"

texts:
What is the difference between 'two years old' and 'two-year-old'?

Are they the same or not?

What is the function of using dash in this phrase: 'two-year-old'?

When we use dash we cannot say 'years' why? What's the reason for that?


texts:
Are these phrases always used as fixed expressions? Would it be wrong to change them and say "open the doors at", "open the doors to", "open doors to", "open the door at", "open doors at", etc?

"Open doors at."

"Open the door to."

"Open doors for."

"Surrogacy opens the door for the exploitation of both the mother and the child."

"Surrogacy opens the door at the exploitation of both the mother and the child."

'Surrogacy opens the door to the exploitation of both the mother and the child."

"Surrogacy opens doors for/at/to exploitation of both the mother and the child."

"Surrogacy opens the doors for/to/at the exploitation of both the mother and the child."


texts: Some questions about these two sentences: What did I have and What have I

texts:
I saw people leave their comments in some strange videos on Youtube:

  What did I have just watched?

  What have I just watched?

Is there any difference between the two sentences?
Which one is more grammatical?


texts: What is required in philosophy is a certain capacity for thinking about everyday concepts in abstraction from their everyday context, an ability distinct from the mathematical skill essential for being a good physicist.


texts: Can "start" be used instead of "kicked in"

texts:
How long does it take for the generator to kick in after the main power supply shuts off?

Can "start" be used here instead of "kick in"? I mean maybe it won't sounds as natural, but is it likely to be used?


texts:
I was in a computer programming training. A code executed an output number 7 and the trainer asked ( assuming joking) "Why is 7 the most feared number?" and someone said "Because 7,8,9 ... aho ho ho.."

was the expression very native or idiomatic? what does this mean?


texts:
Is there a solid rule governing the issue of prepositional phrases. I am always confused which phrases should be placed where. For example, in the following sentence, I can't decide which phrase should go first and which second.

  Take him to Japan with you

Or

  Take him with you to Japan.

Thanks.


texts: Is it correct to use 'the' with 'person' the very first time in the sentence?

texts:
A little while ago I was scrolling through my friend's Instagram & it seemed to me that one of her photos' description could be grammatically incorrect a bit.

The description is

  "Today I saw the person who taught me to speak English..."

Right away I realized that I would go with "a person" not "the person" in that case.

(Quick facts: we are both Russians, and we don't have the articles in our language, so it's more or less expected that we might have some problems when it comes to put an article in the sentence.)

So, she writes about a friend (a person) of her. She does it the very first time in the context. Thus it seems pretty obvious to me to put "a" over "the".

On the other hand, theoretically the person the author talks about might be the only person in the author's life that was successful to teach the author to speak English. Is it then correct to go with 'the' in that case?

And last thing, I know that, for example, programmers and their managers use 'the user' all the times. They, as I suggest, just want to emphasize the importance of their users to them. According to that, I still think that if she wanted to emphasize the importance of the person she talked about, then she had to go with something like "Today I saw that person who taught me..."

P.S. To be honest, even though I think that 'a' is the correct one here, I'm pretty sure that an English teacher of mine would treat my 'a' as a mistake.

Since it's not 100% clear for me I'm adding some:

I know the author in the real life. She studied English at school, she's doing it at university. So it's obvious there have been persons who taught her English. According to that and the James K's clarification he left under

  I saw a person that taught me English

I still do guess that she was wrong & she had to use 'a'. So, she saw one of that persons that taught her.

She (author) wanted to express that the person she talked about was the only one from whom she really learnt how to speak English. The thing is in Russian we have two words учить and научить. Unfortunately, as far as I know, they both are translated to English as 'to teach', while the second one (научить) implies that the person you taught has completely understood what you taught one, i.e. the person completely learnt the lesson. And if she meant that, she had to express it in other way, not the way she did it, because it does not express what she really meant.


texts: Is ‘malarkey’ an acceptable word to use today?

texts:
Is it acceptable today to use ‘malarkey’ to describe an idea that is nonsensical?
Or are there better terms to use?


texts:
But we do believe that diligent readers will become better writers and that they will be equipped with the means to improve further on their own.

Is the word "that" a necessity in this sentence?


texts:
“Now, now, Viktor!” said Karkaroff with a laugh that didn't reach his cold eyes, “don't go giving away anything else, now, or your charming friend will know exactly where to find us!”

  Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. “Igor, all this secrecy, one
  would almost think you didn't want visitors.”

  “Well, Dumbledore,” said Karkaroff, displaying his yellowing teeth to
  their fullest extent, “we are all protective of our private domains,
  are we not? Do we not jealously guard the halls of learning that have
  been entrusted to us? Are we not right to be proud that we alone know
  our school's secrets, and right to protect them?”

I don't quite understand the phrase "the halls of learning" in this context. Does it simply mean: learning something in the halls? What does it mean exactly?


texts: What's the difference between various question structures?

texts:
Is there any difference between these sayings

  Why are you smiling?

and

  Why you are smiling?

Or

  What is your name?

and

  What your name is?


texts: Lexico says the first syllable of 'Iran' can only be pronounced as [ɪ], but I constantly hear it pronounced as [aɪ] and Wiktionary lists it as an option (yes, I understand everything about the credibility of Wiktionary). Can I pronounce the first syllable as [aɪ]?


texts: Should I say "I am by the lake" or "I am at the lake"? Currently I am camping and I do not know how to tell my friend where I am. Thank you for help!


texts:
The definition of "chink" cited here is

  A narrow opening, typically one that admits light

What is that admit light?


texts:
I'm explaining to students the different situations ways we'd use there is/there are vs. have/has. I'm focusing on the uses where they indicate existence vs. possession, respectively. In some situations we would use either verb, while in other situations, we wouldn't. For example

There's a hole in my shirt.
My shirt has a hole in it.
- Either of these is okay.

There's a lemon in the fridge.
The fridge has a lemon in it.
- The latter feels awkward to me. But I'd like to know if anyone reading this is okay with the latter.

There's something that I'm overlooking so I don't understand the difference in use. Can anyone help?
Thanks very much,
- Troy
What's going on here? Why does either verb work in some situations, but not in all situations?


texts:
A basic example:

  -Hey, will you be at the party this Friday?
  -I'll

A guy I know does that all the time and I can't convince him that this isn't correct... or is it?

For me it just sounds stupid and is hard to pronounce only one word like that


texts: An English equivalent of "need one ask to do a good act?"

texts:
In my native language, when we hear someone ask if it's a good idea to do something good for the sake of others, we say, "need one ask to do a good act?". It means doing a good thing for others, or being kind to them, needs no conditions or any questions to be answered - just go ahead and do it.

Sometimes it's used humorously to accept an offer when someone offers you something, e.g. your friend offers you some cookies and says, "Want some?" And you respond, "Need one ask to do a good act?"

Is there any English equivalent of this proverb for both contexts that I described above?


texts:
I've just read the following sentence in a book:

  He wilted away from the spot.

As I understand, this sentence means that he go away from the place with a sad mood. Is that right?

In this case, the use of this verb is usual, I mean, can I use it when I'm writting or is it only a one-time metaphor?


texts: Is it possible to use a subject before the gerund?

texts:
Can we use a subject before the gerund?   Is it unusual?

e.g:

I remember this book having been read before.
People having found money was a good thing..
terrorists killing people is a violation of human rights.


texts: Can both "running for" and "running to" be used with the present perfect continuous?

texts:
I have a question about the following sentences, which both refer to a single occasion:

  Why are you out of breath?
  I have been running for the bus. (uttered when entering the bus)

  Why are you out of breath?
  I have been running to work. (uttered when arriving at work)

I would like to know if both sentences are possible and if this is not the case why not? Is it to do with "running for" being atelic and "running to" being telic?


texts: They don't know many people in this city. vs They know only some people in this city

texts:
Why such structure of sentence is so popular in English?
Do you express your polite to "them" in this way?

They don't know many people in this city.

In fact, "They know only some people in this city." is the same, isn't it?


texts: meaning of 'do you plan to continue working?'; 'do you plan to continue to work?'

texts:
(1) Do you plan to continue working?
  (2) Do you plan to continue to work?
  (both are from Webster's Learner's)

Can I understand each of the two examples as below?
(1) Do you plan to continue the work that you are doing now?
(2) Do you plan to continue the repetition of working what you are doing now?
    (gerund is used for actual present; to-infinitive for repetition - CGEL,p.p.1242-3)


texts: what is the term for someone who likes to be the center of attention, by talking about himself and his greatness

texts:
I am not sure if it's duplicate, but what is the term for someone who likes to be the center of attention by talking about himself and greatness (and not sure about the word, but dislikes and fails what people say or do).

Example: A guy with some people, he talks most of the time and does not always give people a chance to talk, he likes it when people ask him questions or give him advice, and when he talks, he speaks about the great things he did (I traveled to Paris with girls and spent nights at. . .) and if people talk about what they did he start to minimize that (oh I can do that its simple. . .)

What is the term for this? I am not looking for ego or selfish.


texts:
How dared you speak to me like that?

Is this a correct way to use "dare"? Shouldn't we say?

  How dare you speak to me like that?


texts: Understanding the meaning of “breathe the air of human spirit”

texts:
I found this sentence in a sample letter, from a brother to a sister:

  Since Mother's passing I have yearned for nothing more than the acknowledgment of my own kin, to be treated as human again, to breathe the air of human spirit once more. By grace even a wretch like me could be saved, but I do not expect it. If not response is received, I shall henceforth accept my sentence, and one day simply cease to be.
  (Source)

I'm having trouble understanding “to breathe the air of human spirit once more.” How can we “breathe the air of human spirit”? Could the speaker have also said something like “drink the wine of human spirit”?

Can someone paraphase that part in plain English, so I can get the gist of what it's saying?


texts:
Suppose I have a picture of something. Suppose further that there is a cut in the middle of the picture.

So, is it correct to say:

There is a cut in the middle of the picture

or

There is a cut at the middle of the picture

and Why?


texts:
I understand when the sequence of tenses is used, but I'm confused with the next example:

  He added that they do not sell any data to third parties, but that instead they listen to advertisers and do the placement themselves.

or

  He added that they did not sell any data to third parties, but that
  instead they listened to advertisers and did the placement themselves.

Which one is correct? By the rules of sequence of tenses I would say the second one is correct, but the first one seems more logical to me, since "he" said something that is true in general (they didn't do that one time only, but they are always doing it).

Thank you in advance


texts: How do you describe the relative position of circular taps?

texts:
Consider a bath tap like the picture below. (Not exactly like this picture; just the fact that temperature is controlled by a rotational stick like a clock)

Context, the water is warmer than what used to be. I said:

  I used to put the stick on 6, but now It's really hot on 9. (It seems that something has been changed in this building.)

Is it the idiomatic way to describe the relative position of the stick? The only thing that came to my mind at the moment was the analogy between the tap plane and the clock.


texts: Whether the sentence is the conditional sentence type II

texts:
If you knew the trouble I've had with this one.

I'd like to know whether the sentence is the conditional sentence type II. The
sentence is taken from RD MAY 2013.


texts: What is "territorial state" in this context?

texts:
The 26 cantons, with their different traditions, histories,
languages and religions, most of them having enjoyed centuries of
political autonomy, were able to create a modern territorial state as
early as in 1848.
- Swiss Democracy by Wolf Linder

I want to know what does the writer mean by "territorial state"? Does he mean a federal state?


texts: How could adjective come after verb in the phrase "spoke nary a word"

texts:
How could adjective come after verbs such as the following sentence:

  He spoke nary a word until they arrived.

I checked the word nary up and I saw that is adjective, means not a single, but as known, we use adverbs after verbs.

Moreover, the dictionary mentioned that nary is a dialect. Does that mean this words is only used in a specific area or state?


texts: What is the concept of a software product which is created based on another?

texts:
I know mash-up, which is the hybrid of more than one applications, and third-party which is run as add-on acting as a component, but what I mean is not them, rather a product or application created based on one, not necessarily more, service like Wiki and Linux and that can be run independently, correspondingly, like Wikipedia and Ubuntu.

Also, Edubuntu, an other operating system built based on Ubuntu for some particular reasons and purposes. And so on.

If any, can you tell me the exact jargon which can cover those software originated from one product like Linux kernel forming an "ecological chain" surronding their origination?


texts:
I have noticed that many people prefer different words to speak about "making something look like something" or "have something be exact copy of something". I sense there is a difference and where one word of the same meaning cannot be used another can, but I can't reveal this sense. The words are:

  According to Merriam-Webster dictionary

Replicate (duplicate, repeat, make a replica of something) - Replica (noun)
Duplicate (to make double or twofold, to make a copy of, to produce something equal to, to do over or again often needlessly ) - Duplicate (noun)
Reproduce (to produce new individuals of the same kind by a sexual or asexual process,  to cause to exist again or anew,  to imitate closely,  to make a representation, to make a copy of something, to produce something that is the same as or very similar to something else, to cause something to happen again in the same way)
Copy (duplicate, to make a copy or duplicate of, to model oneself on, to make something so that it resembles an existing thing) - Copy (noun)
Clone (to propagate a clone from, to make a copy of, to produce a clone) - Clone (noun)

I've also heard the words "repeat", "follow", "recreate", "twin", "twofold", "double" and "represent" but I still can't truly understand how to use these words in the context of duplicating and replicating.

Here are examples of my own, are they correct:

I've got to clone this image tonight; the paper of the original is quite old already. (to replicate the image)
Those features were reproduced in another software of a kind. (were duplicated)
I wish I could replicate ideas with a flick of a hand. (produce more of those ideas)
She wasn't copying the dog. She was trying to irritate it. (resembling the dog)
The statue was duplicated in several countries. (a copy of the statue was created in several countries)

And with less popular words:

Can you repeat his journey on paper? (replicate in on paper)
It follows every nuance of that situation. (repeats every nuance)
I wonder if it's possible to recreate the act they showed? (to replicate the act)
This is a twin of the car you saw in Boston! (a clone)
Why do you twofold every page you print? (make a copy of)
This machine doubles what they create. (duplicates the creation)
This model represents the building on Backer st. (it is reproduced to look like)


texts:
There is a scene in the movie Michael Clayton where after Michael and a cop discuss a murder the cop makes small talk by mentioning Michael's brother, who is in some sort of trouble.

  Cop: I know your brother a little. My wife works the one-nine-O out in Queens.

  Michael Clayton: I'll tell him hello.

  Cop: If something comes in, I'll get back to you.

I can't find anything online about this term. It is uttered in three separate words in the movie: one nine o. What does it mean?


texts: What is the verb of the sentence? has or have?

texts:
I don't understand why the verb of the following sentence is has, not have. Doesn't some degree of modify sadness and depression? If so, is sadness and depression regarded as a single concept?

  Yet, it seems that some degree of sadness and depression has
  been far more accepted in previous historical ages than is the case
  today.

The Social Psychology of Living Well


texts:
In a scientific context, I need to write about the mitigation of space debris. For example, a wrecked old satellite can be known as debris. But the word debris is a mass noun, so I want to use a singular derivation of that. Which one of the following is a better option?

"a piece of debris" or "a debris piece"?


texts: Perspective of "If only he knew the truth"

texts:
I found it in dictionary.cambridge.org:

  If only he knew the truth. (he doesn’t know the truth, but he wishes he did)

It sounds to me that it means I, instead of he, wish he did know the truth. Can any one explain it to me?


texts:
I used this link for the 1st bold phrase: http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/gasp_1#gasp_1__4
and couldn't understand the 2nd one. Can anybody explain them for me, please?

"While UBS is one of Switzerland's two main lenders, Deutsche is Germany's only global bank. Although its misadventures in investment banking may have left it gasping for equity, the German lender is too big to fail in a way that UBS will never be. Deutsche Bank hasn't needed a bailout, but it's easy to see that with its deep ties at home, it could always get one."

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2017-05-16/hna-can-avoid-singapore-s-ubs-sour-grapes


texts: Omitting 'that' is acceptable in written form?

texts:
You said you did not know him.
You said that you did not know him.

Apparently , while conversing , both are acceptable but while writing formally are they? Or is it the case that  the two fall under two different structures? Like in  the first one you did not know him is the noun clause to a transitive verb and the second one shows the transformation from direct speech to indirect speech and that way both are correct , is it? But noun clauses do require the conjunction that don't they ?


texts:
You too shall fall.

This is quote from a character from League of Legends. In this phrase, the positioning of "too" is unusual (but still correct), being the common position at the end:

  You shall fall too.

Is there a difference in meaning? I hear the first positioning way less, and mostly in formal situations.


texts:
Within an episodic instructive comedy named "Extra", when one of the characters saw a hazardous insect is moving on the other character's shirt, she got panicked and said:

  Hold still, Hector.

I know it means "don't move". But according to the Longman Dictionary's definition, it seems that "still" is mostly used for people.

I wonder if you can tell me a little about the nuance between these two similar imperative sentences.

I guess there should be an AE/BE difference or maybe as Longman confirms, the former is mostly used for people and the latter one is used for everything.


texts: "because I'd been working late" vs. "because I worked late"

texts:
I was really tired because I had been working late the night before.

I want to show cause and effect. If I say instead

  I was really tired because I worked late the night before.

does that change the meaning or feel in any way?


texts: Why do positives and negatives not usually co-exist?

texts: If I drink half of a bottle of water, there's half of a bottle of water and there's not half of a bottle of water. However, why is the negative sentence not usually used? Is it a wrong sentence?


texts:
Which option fits best the following sentence.

  I tried to explain why I had been delayed but he ..... my excuse as
  pathetic.

  1.ignored

  2.disregarded

  3.dismissed

  4.refused

For me all the options suit to the sentence in meaning. I saw 'to dismiss an excuse' and  'refuse an excuse' on search results. Is 'dismiss an excuse'  the most common one?


texts:
I have a question related to usage of a and the following sentence. Can anyone please tell me which one sounds better in in the following sentence?

For some days, street dogs have bitten more than 20 people in our locality. people are afraid of getting out of their houses. It's a big problem. We have to find a/the solution to the problem.

I think both are correct. In general, there sometimes is only one solution to a particular problem so I think I can use the. Sometimes the situation gets such grave that it is hard to find a solution and we start thinking if there is any solution to the problem. In that situation, can I use the? And sometimes, there is more than one solution so I can use a. What's your opinion?

Can any person knowing the language well answer this please?


texts:
" I've died every day waiting for you "
The word everyday considered as unfinished Time period ?
I mean we could use it with present pefrect ?


texts: Is "Thank you" a seperate expression on its own, e.g "goodbye", or is it short form of "I want to thank to you"

texts:
It may be a funny question.

I wonder about the word "you" in the expression "Thank you". Is it a pronoun like "her", "him", "us", "them" or is the "you" part of standalone expression like "Regards, etc".

In other words, is "thank you" a seperate expression functioning on its own, like a single word, e.g "goodbye" Or is it only the short form of a longer sentence like "I would like to thank to you?

If it is the short form of "I would like to thank to you", then may be I can also say "Thank her" or "Thank them" when I want to thank to a lady or a group of people in the absense of her or them, such as when she is or they are away at the time I thank to them?

Regards,


texts:
What are the 'meanings' and the'differences' between following sentences:

He might not be cooking.
He could not be cooking.
He wouldn't be cooking.


texts:
I have much more inspiration, and the editing would be easier.

Is "the editing" a gerund? If so, is "easier" being used as a comparative adjective?


texts: how to paraphrase "the dusky, golden softness"

texts:
The following quote is from "SONS AND LOVERS" by D.H.LAWRENCE:
She was a puritan, like her father, high-minded, and really stern.  Therefore, the dusky, golden softness of this man's sensuous flame of life, that flowed off his flesh like the flame from a candle, not baffled and gripped into incandescence by thought and spirit as her life was, seemed to her something wonderful, beyond her.
One of the problems we non-native speakers often encounter when reading English classical literature is paraphrasing abstract nouns, like "the dusky, golden softness of..." in the above quote.
Would you please help me paraphrase it in plain expressions?


texts: Idioms for { repairment is costlier than the price of new }

texts:
We often come across situations like:

Investment is costlier than profit.
Repairment is costlier than the price of new.

I actually want to ask that if there any idiom or Proverb exists in English especially for the two examples, as they exist in my mother tongue.

If so, what are the idioms to express these situations?


texts: Which tense do I use when reporting an action that occurred yesterday?

texts:
Today I told my friend that yesterday I had read the book which my father had given me two weeks ago

Today (when I told my friend) is 23rd March; I read the book on 22nd March, and my father gave it to me on 8th March.

Did I use the right tenses in the first (that yesterday I had read the book) and the second (which my father had given me two weeks ago) subordinate clauses? Are there any alternative versions in regard to the use of tenses in these subordinate clauses?


texts:
I was listening to a BBC documentary about Putin and heard this:

  ...that shaked one of today's key world leaders

(The sentence is in the first 20 seconds.)

I thought that shake is only conjugated shake/shook/shaken

Anyway, I've found one source where it is considered a regular verb.

Can it be used both as a regular and irregular verb?


texts: How to say when some pointy objects are hitting me

texts: How do I say when some point objects are hitting me?  I mean what is the word for it.... Like when there are so many spikes and then it hits or irritates you... What is the actual word for it.... Should I say "the spike hit me" or "the spike poked" or what else?


texts:
Update your profile picture with this frame.
Update your profile picture to this frame.

I asked my teacher whether the 2 is correct and she told me it is not and the correct would be the 1. I wanted convey a meaning of Update your current profile picture and make it with this frame(keeping the same picture but with a frame). By profile picture, I mean the social media one. I have this uncertainty because 'with' means to accompanied by, to me it means something like to do the action of updating the profile picture through(with the help of) this frame which is not the meaning I want to convey. Can I instead say

Update your profile picture to with this frame.

If the 1 is correct, how about this if I want to say to do it with a certain app

Update your profile picture with this frame with this app.


texts:
When we use "verb + - ing" forms, Is it possible to put adverbial phrases between "verb" and "- ing" ? I saw that example down below and it made me think. I suppose "come + -selling" means that the woman came for selling pictures in this example.

  We had a strange woman come to the door selling pictures

Can I rearrange the sentence like this?

  We had a strange women come selling pictures to the door.


texts:
i have a paper  about researches that have been made about cybercrime. here is a paragraph of it

  Several works identify computer- and website-hacking, sabotage of networks, DoS attacks,
  viruses and malware, spamming and phishing, digital piracy, cyber-bullying, cyberstalking,
  internet fraud and online child pornography as different forms of cybercrime.

What does "works" mean here exactly? i know that the meaning of work as a noun is:

  activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.
  mental or physical activity as a means of earning income; employment.

but is the word "works" referring to the researches or simply jobs?


texts:
I've read some pages on the Past Perfect and they've left me confused, so I have a few questions:
I've been given the impression that the past perfect can't be used in dependent clauses, though I'm somewhat sure that it can be used in the following way:

If mom yelled at me, I would know that she had seen what I had done.

the first two tenses don't refer to a past time as far as I know, the first past perfect tense just refers to what would be complete by the time of the yelling, or to what would have already taken place at the time of the occurrence (the yelling). And it's obvious that the second past perfect does refer to a past time, or to an action that took place before the moment of speaking. (am I understanding this correctly?)
But when the sentence isn't conditional, can I use a past perfect tense in a dependent clause?. I found this online (it was just what's written below, there wasn't any additional context):

Person A: Why didn't you come back for me?
Person B: Sorry, I had thought that you were dead.

here, were is used instead of had been, is it because the verb is in a dependent clause?, or just because the time reference (the time that is given attention) had changed from "didn't come back" to "thought"?. If the reason is because the time reference had changed, does that mean whenever we mention an action the time reference changes to it?
Thx a lot.


texts: Should I say "certain atom make/s molecules"?

texts:
Should I refer to the word "certain" as a plural or singular?

This is an example of the answer's sequences:

  "Certain atoms make molecules."

  "Certain atoms makes molecules."


texts: Ask a big ______ of you: question or favor?

texts:
In my textbook, there is a question like this,

  Fill in the blank:
  I’ve come to ask a big _________ of you.

and the answer is “favor”.

Is it wrong to put “question” in the blank?  If so, why is it wrong?


texts: I thought, I've thought or I've been thinking?

texts:
For example,
1. I have been thinking I wanna go abroad since I was a child.
2. I have thought I wanna go abroad since I was a child.
3. I thought I wanna go abroad since I was a child.

Which is better?


texts: Use of would have been as perfect conditional

texts:
If we do not have any factual evidence about an event occurred in the past,  we can use perfect conditional to express our inference about it based on from our knowledge and information.

I often use "It seems", or "in most likelihood", but not would have to tell the past which I am not completely sure. Can you help me with an explanation to understand the usage of would have as perfect conditional?

  The Roman readers, many of whom would at one time have been in the army, would have had no trouble with Caesar's austere narrative; they would have found it complete as it is. They would have known how to read the shorthand.  -V S Naipaul

What changes will occur if I replace would have with the simple past?

  Yesterday my mother went to market so she had the chance to see the accident.
  Yesterday my mother would have gone to market so she would have had the chance to see the accident.

What difference does the use of perfect conditional bring here?

I am familiar with the usage of "would have" with an if clause. But I have not found the usage of "would have" as perfect conditional very frequently. But, Naipaul uses it extensively in his book while describing even the well-known events of the Roman history. It startles me. Many historical events are just logical inferences, reconstructions. We know a very few complete fact about the remote past. But the history books are not replete with the perfect conditional "would have".


texts:
I often hear questions like will you? or shall you? used in an unusual way, and I would like to understand what that usage is for. Take this conversation for example:

How were you able to do it?
You shall never know, shall you?

This shall you? isn't a normal questions, he's not really asking the other party to if he shall or *shall not. But what does it mean?

Thank you in advance for your help.


texts:
There's a guy like me in every state and federal prison in America, I guess - I'm the guy who can get it for you. Tailor-made cigarettes, a bag of reefer, if you're partial to that, a bottle of brandy to celebrate your son or daughter's high school graduation, or almost anything else ... within reason, that is.

What do the last words "that is" mean?


texts: Word to communicate - Express in writing

texts:
Suppose I want communicate - Express in writing
Like if someone has solved a question but he hasn't given explanation
So I could ask him to express more in writing
Is there a good word for this ?
verbalize is one such word, but it is used for spoken sentence, not for written ones


texts:
Example with a context (How Putin could lose power):

  However, the very fact that the West and those Russians in the know were alarmed, and that even the Kremlin apparatus seemed clumsy and unsure of what to do, stress the degree to which if anything happens to Putin the regime will be in trouble — and we do not know what would follow.

What is the subject of this sentence? To me, it looks like the very fact should be the subject. Thus, we need a singular verb to go along with it. But, as you can see, that's not the case at all. The verb is stress and it is a plural verb. On the other hand, that entire monstrosity in bold might very well be the subject, although, to me, that doesn't really sound like it can be one—it'd grammatically inconsistent to think of it as the subject. Hmm, am I missing something here? What do you think is going on?


texts: The meaning of "asking for the blood of"

texts:
This is from "Rost Region" by Rudyard Kipling:

"Carter, what the blessed heavens are you doing at the rear? Bring your men up, man."
There was no answer, till a trooper replied:—
"Carter Sahib is forward—not there. There is nothing behind us."
"There is," said the subaltern. "The squadron's walking on its own tail."
Then the Major in command moved down to the rear swearing softly and asking for the blood of Lieutenant Halley—the subaltern who had just spoken.
"Look after your rearguard," said the Major. "Some of your infernal thieves have got lost. They're at the head of the squadron, and you're a several kinds of idiot."

I don't understand the meaning of "asking for the blood of."


texts: Can I use the word "escape" instead of "escapism" in this context?

texts:
I want to escape from school and I love with this "escapism".

Can I use escape in place of escapism?

Similarly can I use escapism instead of escape in this sentence?

  Romantic novel should present an "escape" from dreary realities of life.

Both escapism and escape are nouns. So can I choose any of them? If I interchange would the meaning will be same or altered?


texts:
Here's the situation: I meet a friend and I tell her about yesterday:

  “Hey, John!”
  “Hi, Sarah!”
  “How was yesterday's trip?”
  “It was great. Karl took me to the countryside to show me his new house. It reminded me of the/a house I rented in Oxford.”

“...a house I rented in Oxford.” indicates one of the (multiple) houses I rented in Oxford?
“...the house I rented in Oxford.” indicates I rented only one house in Oxford?


texts:
The robber wouldn't say where he had spent all the money.
The robber didn't say where he had spent all the money.

What's the difference between two sentences?