texts: Can ing nouns substitute the already existing ones?

texts:
When there is an existing noun (as memorization) could we use the ing to form another one (memorizing)?

If so, what would be the difference between the two concurrent nouns?


texts: Appropriate reply if someone asks you are good at something?

texts:
Someone asks you - Are you good at biology?
As a tutor following replies come to my mind :

I am not into it.
I don't tutor biology
That's not my area of expertise

Which of the above are correct?
Any better way to reply back?


texts: Is 'duration' a natural/standard term for end time - starting time?

texts:
I know duration is ok here, but is that always the word a native would
choose? Is there any more natural alternative?
For example:

Start Time: 3ᴘᴍ
End Time: 6ᴘᴍ
Duration: 3 Hours

I came across some alternatives, such as time or simply hours.
I ask because I’m deliberately calquing duration straight out of my native Portuguese, where we would say duração here, and sometimes when we do that the result is a much fancier or less common term in English than it had been in Portuguese.


texts: Can we say, "can have to" like in,"You can have to buy me a new phone if you drop it"?

texts: As far as I know, we can say "might have to" or "may have to", but I think I am not used to "can have to." Can we say, "can have to" like in this sentence I thought of: "You can have to buy me a new phone if you drop it." I know we can say, "You may/might have to buy me a new phone if you drop it (my phone)", but how about the phrase "can have to"? Is it generally ever usable?


texts: What is the difference between "deserves" and "deserved"?

texts:
deserve /dəˈzərv/ verb

  do something or have or show qualities worthy of (reward or punishment).

Which of the following sentences grammatically correct?

  He deserved to die.

or,

  He deserves to die.

or maybe they mean the same thing?


texts: Concerning this type of construct "They ran afoul of standards we'd like to see countries meet."

texts:
In the sentence:

  They ran afoul of standards we'd like to see countries meet.

standards is the object of meet,  it has been positioned six words before its verb, could someone please tell me how this procedure  is referred to (if it has any name) ?


texts: Difference between get away from and take away from

texts:
Please explain the difference between get ... away from ... and take ... away from ... .

For example: They get the children away from the TV. They take the rubbish away from the house.

when we use get away and when take away?


texts:
Is this sentence correct?

This song would be difficult to be or reach number 1

I think it should be phrased like

It would be difficult for this song to be or reach number 1

While trying to say that "this song is not likely to reach number 1".  My friend who studied for 2 years in the U.S. told me that even if first one is not used often, it is grammatically correct but when I asked him why, he wasn't able to give a proper answer.
So I would like to ask if the first one is correct or not, and could you please explain the reason or grammatical rule behind this?


texts: Is a plastron correctly defined as a neck-tie?

texts:
I had never heard of this word, and I'm suspicious that this is really its correct meaning.

As far as I can see the etymology leads from Greek roots to chest protection to the front decorative panel of a bodice.

Equestrian female clothing which required a stock tie to worn (as it would double as a bandage for horse or rider) appears to have caused a confusion with the plastron of the bodice that continues in dressage uniform where a stock tie serves the same function of both (though probably used less often as a bandage).

It seems to me that the usage of the word plastron for a neck-tie comes from this confusion through the popularity of equestrian sports.

Plastron so far as I can see is really the panel under the stock tie, and not the tie itself.

Can anyone correct my amateur sleuthing, and explain how the meaning came to be or is etymology unimportant if it is widely (if infrequently) used?


texts: Is "this week" always necessary referred to the week starting from Monday and ending on Sunday?

texts: If I was a TV host of a TV show (similar to The big Brother)and wanted to talk about the events happened during the week to the participants, considering that they first entered the house on Monday, could I consider the week the one that started on Tuesday and ended on Monday? And so would it be acceptable to say" This week a lot has happened, for example every night while you were sleeping one of your belongings has been taken away and hidden and your task is to find them again in the house"?


texts: Can I use the combination "multi-adjective+noun"?

texts:
I'd like to learn if I can use the combination "multi-adjective+noun" to form an adjective.
Examples;

This is a multi-rigid-body analysis.

(I mean that this analysis has more than one rigid body. I know "This is a multi-body analysis" is correct but it is not exactly what I'd like to say)

It is a multi-powerful-core processor.

(I mean that this processor has more than one powerful core. I know "It is a multi-core processor" is correct but it is again not exactly what I'd like to say.)
Thanks.


texts:
In Storm by Tim Minchin, Tim says in an argument about magic:

"Look uh, Storm, I don't mean to bore ya,
But there's no such thing as an aura."

Can bore here mean also to "scold" or to "come into her"?


texts:
Does "We will vigorously raise the level of politics" sound natural in English?  It is a translation by Microsoft Translator from Chinese (The original Chinese is fine).

We will vigorously raise the level of politics.


texts: The meaning of the phrase "to have Helen all to herself"

texts:
Annie wanted to have Helen all to herself so that she could do anything with her.

Note: In this context, Annie (full name, Annie Sullivan) is the teacher of Helen (full name, Helen Keller).

What is the meaning of "to have Helen all to herself", and is the clause "she could do anything with her" correctly used in the sentence?
The sentence above is the answer to the question " Why did Annie want to have Helen all to herself?" The question was created from the passage " The next day, I told Helen's father, " I can't do anything with Helen unless I have her all to myself. I want her to depend on me for her food, her clothes,everything. ....."


texts:
We should go about/on/to doing more good than harm.

Go about is a phrasal verb which says to deal with something. How should I go about telling her truth.
Go on says which continues.
Go to somewhere.

So, out of the three options I find go on as the best. However, none of them suits the best. But the answer of this question is go about.


texts: How to read this symbol, a', in English?

texts:
While reading a English Syntax book, I wondered how I have to read a', a'', a''' in English.
Would you tell me how to?


texts:
From https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/health/coronavirus-exams-mcat.html
"One student said each time examinees entered or exited the test room during the nearly six-hour test, they were required to place their hands on a scanner and then remove their mask — touching their face — so that a photo could be taken for identification purposes."
Why using plural "their hands",but singular,"their mask",and "their face"?
Thanks.


texts: "Whichever ONE/ONES you choose DO/DOES not matter"

texts:
Is it grammatical to say

  Whichever ones you choose does not matter

or do I have to say

  whichever ones you choose do not matter?

Because "it doesn't matter whichever one you choose" is legitimate, I was curious as to the grammaticality of its un-extraposed counterpart.

Also, is it grammatical to say

  Which ones you choose do not matter?

If not, please explain the reason as to why it is not grammatical.


texts: Can I use "when" immediately after the word "situation"?

texts:
Cambridge Dictionary gives this definition about situation

  a condition or combination of conditions that exist at a particular time

and gives this example

  I was in a situation where I didn’t have cash handy

Given situation refers to a particular time, can I substitute when for where, and get

  I was in a situation when I didn’t have cash handy


texts: I've bought a car since last year; I've learnt to swim since 2017

texts:
Are the two sentences correct?

  I've learnt to swim since 2017.
  I've bought a car since last year.

Context for 1:

  I moved to this city in 2017. 2017 was a turning point in my life. Before 2017, my life was a mess. Since 2017, my life has changed a lot. I've married a pretty woman. I've found a decent work. I've made lots of friends. I've also learnt to swim since 2017. Before 2017, I tried several times to learn it, but eventually gave up because I was in a bad mood.

Context for 2:

  A: Did we meet last year?

  B: Yes, we did.

  A: Are you still riding your motorcycle to work?

  B: No. I've bought a car since last year.


texts:
This is the story about Elizabeth I and Philip II from "rewards and Fairies" Gloriana by Kipling.

  'What's here? Philip complains that certain of her gentlemen have fought
  against his generals in the Low Countries.
  He prays her to hang 'em when they re-enter her realms. (Hm, that's as
  may be.) Here's a list of burnt shipping slipped between two vows of
  burning adoration. Oh, poor Philip! His admirals at sea--no less than
  three of 'em--have been boarded, sacked, and scuttled on their lawful
  voyages by certain English mariners (gentlemen, he will not call them),
  who are now at large and working more piracies in his American ocean,
  which the Pope gave him.

I can not understand the meaning below.

  Here's a list of burnt shipping slipped between two vows of
  burning adoration.

What is "two vows of burning adoration"?


texts: How to make a transitive verb from an intransitive verb

texts:
For example consider the sleep which is an intransitive verb, what is the verb for making one to sleep?

Is there any rule or transformation to make such verb using the intransitive verb?


texts: How to ask about adjustment to something new

texts: How can we ask to people who moved to new neigherborhood/city/country or who started working a new job at a company or who started going new school if they feel comfort with it/ if they managed to adjust themselves in this new culture. How can we ask that in casual way?


texts: Term for additional payments from your employer

texts: I'm looking for a word (or, if no single word exists, a short expression) that includes anything that is not your base salary (e.g. overtime, bonuses, sale commisions). If possible, I would like it to not require any additional context (so "Hey, I got my x today!" could be understood, even if it sounded awkward).


texts: To allow for *word request* to regional regulations - to be uniquely aligned

texts:
I'm using the following sentence in a set of bullet points outlining the perks of a certain product:

  Allows for parameters to be specified per country to allow for them [the parameters] to be uniquely aligned to regional regulations

My original plan was to use the following sentence:

  Allows for parameters to be specified per country to allow for allination regional regulations

I'm aware this obviously isn't a word and I was never really going to use it (hence changed the sentence to the one above). However, it got me wondering, is there another word I could have used?


texts:
The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global jobs market, leaving many unemployed, furloughed or working reduced hours as employers implemented sweeping cost-cutting measures.
If the "as" is a conjunction in this sentence, does it mean "so"?
Can I rewrite the sentence like The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global jobs market, so employers implemented sweeping cost-cutting measures like leaving many unemployed, furloughed, or working reduced hours.


texts: What should the more appropriate tense to use in this case be?

texts:
There is an website that allows users to send 1024-character messages to each other. When the message is longer, trying to send it causes an error message similar to the following to appear:

  Max message length is 1024 characters. Your message was 1122 characters.

Since the message is shown to the user after the "Send" button is clicked, shouldn't the message say "Your message is 1122 characters"?
Using the Present Perfect doesn't make the sentence sound right to my ear, but probably "Your message has been 1122 characters." could make sense.

Given the message style (which uses max instead of maximum, and doesn't use any article at the beginning of the sentence), I thought the aim was to keep the message as short as possible. If that were true, then using is would save a character more. I guess that is not the reason for using the Simple Past instead of the Simple present.

What tense should be used in this case?

IMO, using the Simple Past would confuse people who don't speak English as first language. For example, using the Simple Past in Italian would confuse me, as I would understand the message is informing me about a previous state, not about the actual state. Only after checking the message length (which is always shown as 22 / 1024 characters used, where the character count dynamically changes while the user edits the message) I would understand it is the actual state.

Rather than using that message, I would use the following one:

  You cannot send messages longer than 1024 characters.

That is probably preferable to the following one:

  You tried sending a message you could not. Its length was more than 1024 characters.

Using the latter sentence seems to make clearer the message was more than 1024 character when the user tried sending it; that is probably the reason why I prefer it to the error message currently used by the website. On the other side, the other sentence I suggest is less verbose, and it is correct even when the error message is still shown after the user started editing the message to make it shorter, since it doesn't say what the user could understand as the current message length.

Would the Simple Past make sense in a sentence like that, or would the Simple Present be preferable also in this case?


texts: D.Trump was elected president or "a" president

texts:
Some of you told me that when we put an article before president (a), we are referring to a specific position, but when we don't put an article, that means we are referring to a general position.

  Trump was elected president.

Is president here is a general position?


texts: Understanding "Make America Great Again"

texts:
Being a non-native speaker, it is tempting to think about this phrase as expressing the utmost respect and esteem for Great Britain as the fatherland of whole english-speaking world. Moreover, there could be another explanation. Having left Great Britain they lost "great-ness", and now Trump promises to return it back - make America great again.

Can it be true? Could Trump refer to Great Britain in the slogan "Make America Great Again"? Or it has nothing to do with Great Britain, and it is just a coincidence?


texts:
I'm studying the poem 'Ozymandias' by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The language is a bit complex, and that's why I want someone to tell whether my interpretation is correct or not.

  [...] on the sand, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, tell that its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things [...]

What I think it means (in the literal sense):

  The broken face of a man's statue lies on the sand. Its outward arrogance tells that its sculptor captured the passions well. The passions still survive, carved on that lifeless statue.

EDIT

I'm slightly confused about what 'read' in this line means:

  its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive

Did the sculptor understand the passions well or did he portray them really well in the statue?


texts: What is the difference between "suggestion" and "recommendation"?

texts:
For example:

"a recommendation was made"
"a suggestion was made"

I would appreciate it if you could tell me the difference.


texts: What is the role of "of" in this sentence

texts:
A method of driving a motor vehicle comprising the steps of: 1)... 2)...

Before, I had this mistake to say "The variable of X" instead of "The variable X", but the sentence again looks like "The variable of X" to me!

Anyway, what is the grammar or structure for using "of" (bold one) in this sentence.


texts: What do you see if you enter 'clip' in the Windows 10 Search Box or Cortana?

texts:
I thought I made a mistake and inputed the word 'clip' in the search box and I saw that I hit the snipping tool which was really what I wanted.

But the question arises:

Are clip and snip in this scenario a synonym? Or it has just learned to adjust to my habit? I thought I may have entered 'clip' before and just found I was wrong and then entered 'snip' and it therefore leaned to correct me silently, which seems horrible to me as an English learner.

What's going on?


texts: Hi I usually use "at" to inform about a place I am, but can I say "I will be in the school at 8:15 a.m." , thus I want to emphasise that at the time I will be inside a school, indoors. not running to, not going upstairs or opening doors, I will be in the school ready to study?


texts: Manually installed, or, Installed manually

texts: I'm curious to know if there is a difference with regard to the order of these words (especially when they are at the end of a sentence).


texts: Follow the antecedent, Adjective Clauses

texts:
According to this book, the first two highlighted sentences, to avoid confusion, an adjective clause should follow its antecedent, but there are some occasion that some words may come between the antecedent and the adjective clause.

I wonder on what occasion can we insert words between an adjective clause and antecedent.
Is it proper to write in this way?

Thank you!

Thank you!


texts:
Usually acquit of something is used.

Is it wrong if I say

  Five months ago he was acquitted on a shop lifting charges.

and what is different in

  Five months ago he was acquitted of a shop lifting charge.


texts: I'll be singing or I'll sing or I'm singing

texts:
When you announce the name of the song you are going to sing right now, which expression is correct or most appropriate,; "Now, I'll be singing XXX." "Now, I'll sing XXX." or "Now, I'm singing XXX."?

The expected situation is where you give some words of congratulations in front of people and after finishing the speech, you're going to sing a song.


texts: Paraphrase "Her cooking is not so good."

texts:
Let's assume following situation. You've been invited to a dinner by friend of yours. He told you that his wife is a great cook. After you got home, you say (in a private conversation) to your partner:

  Frankly speaking, her cooking is not so good.

This isn't worded well. How could I rephrase the sentence to sound more natural?


texts:
I went to London last summer.
I went to London the last summer

What's the difference between these sentences? Do we need article 'the' before "last summer"?
According to me we need 'the' only when a time period is mentioned like "the last summer of 2010". Am I right?


texts:
In the third paragraph of this text, there is a line

  Each culture is unique with its own way of life and perspectives of the world which would all be lost if there were only one language

If I replace "there were" with "there is" or "there was". Will it still be grammatically correct?

In the last paragraph of this text

  If more people strived in life toward true happiness, the world would be a better place.

If I replace "the world would be a better place" with "the world would have been a better place" or "the world would had been a better place". Will it still be grammatically correct?


texts:
What is the meaning of run athwart? Does it mean run contrary or fly in the face?
Sentence:
However, defendant USA Northeast Province of Society of Jesus (hereinafter referred to as "defendant") opposes the application, arguing that the anonymity protection sought by plaintiff would run athwart of defendant's basic due process rights.
This sentence appears in a judgment -
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5dd3ad72342cca69bd87a315/amp


texts:
The following sentence is from a mock test. (The original that the test passage is the article Advertisements: The Pros and Cons.)

  Money spent on advertising is money well spent. It assists a rapid distribution of goods at reasonable price.

What I am confused about is what does "it" refer to?

Money spent on advertising
Advertising

My opinion is 'Advertising'. But my tutor's is "Money spent on advertising."

What is the correct answer?

Note that in the actual article, the sentence is

  Money spent on advertising is money well spent. Thus, it is a good idea to spend money on advertising.. Advertising assists a rapid distribution of goods at reasonable prices.


texts: How do you say: "I was doing many things at the same time"

texts:
I work with people that speaks in English (my native language is Spanish).
Yesterday I gave the wrong information to a coworker, so I wanted to apologize and explain that my mind was doing several tasks at the time and that's why I sent him the wrong information, but I'm not sure how to say it properly.
Could you tell me the best way to say this?
I tried this: "I'm sorry, my head was at several tasks at the time. But here is the correct info..."


texts:
The word seems to exist, but is in half of the dictionaries and has little usage, except from a link with the Bible I can't really explain.

Is it an actual word ? Can I use it in a paper ?


texts:
İ have a question.
İf(when) his team is champion, he is happy.(he will (be) happy). > this can means for future?
Tnx


texts: Is it so bad to say "A cafe is at the corner"?

texts:
My grammar book says it's "There is a cafe at the corner" but can't say "A cafe is at the corner". Is it really so? I feel that the rule is prohibiting free ways of expressing things.

[Edit] It seems like my careless switching words made confusions and problems. I'd like to go back to the original sentences: "There is a restaurant around the corner." vs. "A restaurant is around the corner."

Maybe 'can't say' was too much and I should have said 'don't say', my grammar book is written in my native language.

So, now I understand that people usually say "There is a restaurant around the corner" in a day-to-day conversation, This is the common way of saying, but in a novel you might also find "A restaurant is around the corner", or you can use it when you are giving a direction.

So both are grammatically correct, but the nuance is slightly different and not really convertible each other. I hope I got this correct.


texts: When you and someone else often joke together

texts:
I was out with a friend. A stranger heard the way we talked with each other. The stranger became offended at some of the vulgar language we used and I found him a bit uneasy and uncomfortable; so I decided to tell him in English:

  Don't worry, he and I have jokes together.

Connotation: we often joke with each other.

I was wondering if the bold part above sounds correct to you. If not, then what is the naturally idiomatic way to express this matter?


texts: His most attractive trait/s was/were his eyes

texts:
I'm confused about the requirements of singular/plural in the given sentence.

  His most attractive trait was his eyes

vs

  His most attractive traits were his eyes

Eyes is a plural word, however, it is only a single trait in this context. Do I need to use plural or singular here?


texts: If two boys jump and two boys jump, 'two boys each (=four boys) jump' makes sense?


texts: What does "bore" mean in "Athena's aegis bore the severed head of the monstrous Medusa"?

texts:
What does "bore" mean in Athena's aegis bore the severed head of the monstrous Medusa? I looked it up in dictionaries and found a relevant meaning:

to make a long deep hole with a tool or by digging

But this seems can't be applied here, as it basically is digging holes. How can one dig a hole on the aegis and the hole looks like Medusa's head? To me the bore here means more like "carve", but I can't find this in the dictionary. So what does it really mean here?


texts:
According to Sautter (1980), authorities feared that the end of the war would leave thousands of workers from the weapons industries [,] and at least half a million “demobilized” soldiers [,] out of work and out on the streets.

I am wondering if the commas in the 3rd brackets are correctly placed, if they are even needed in the first place. A simple version should look like this:

  According to Sautter (1980), authorities feared that the end of the war would leave thousands of workers out of work and out on the streets.


texts: The right preposition after a house of/ in ... colour

texts:
What is the right preposition in the phrase:

  She has a detached house in a yellow colour.

or

  She has a detached house of a yellow colour?


texts: How to describe the state of beginning of improving?

texts:
Suggestions:

Science was in the state of gathering momentum = is taking off

Science was in the state of embryo = is taking off

Question:

With what word can I describe better the state of very beginning of improving?


texts:
Hers is among the most valuable collections ever assembled by a single person.

Does this mean that her collection is one of the best? or Best one (number 1 without competitors)?


texts: When you hear 'sound out', don't you picture percussion activities?

texts:
While they were eating it, Michael risked asking Howl what the King had wanted.
  “Nothing definite yet,” Howl said gloomily. “But he was sounding me out about his brother, quite ominously.”(Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones)

  sound out: to try to find out from somebody what they think about something, often in an indirect way (OALD)

When I read the passage I thought, 타진하다 [tajin-hada], for ‘sound out.’ (I can find that Japanese use the same word, だしん [dashiŋ]; 打診).  And OLAD’s Korean translation also used the word, 打診. When I hear the Korean equivalent, 타진하다, I picture the image or sound from an activity of percussion or tapping, e.g. by a physician, even though in the politic news in which the word is used as an idiom.
I hear too much ‘it’s an idiom, no argue at all! Just accept it as it is!” These are not a few sayings to hear even in this LEARNING website. QUESTION (1): Don’t your teachers in classrooms say about the word’s backgrounds, even though it’s from just their pure imagination, not based on grounds?
QUESTION (2): Where the words, sound out, came from? Don’t you recall any images or sounds as I recall, when you hear the sounds, at all?


texts:
I asked a few times about the use of prepositions with the word "cemetery"

in the cemetery is the correct form but every time I see the sentence like this I'm confused. ""My friends and I had a chance to watch an execution carried out at the Jewish cemetery " Why is there an "at" instead of "in" ?


texts: Definite article in front of plural or uncountable nouns

texts:
Please help! I'm totally confused whether to use or omit the definite article in front of plural or uncountable nouns. I'm writing a scientific article. Here is an excerpt (N.B.  ROS = reactive oxygen species, plural).

  (The?) studies investigating (the?) ROS production in (the?) primary T cells are
  limited, especially (the?) studies in (the?) primary human T cells. Moreover,
  (the?) majority of those studies employed (the?) highly artificial types of
  (the?) stimulation, such as (the?) stimulations with (the?) PMA and (the?) ionomycin or (the?)
  CD3 and (the?) CD28 antibodies added in (the?) solution, leading to (the?) T-cell
  hyperactivation or (the?) unresponsiveness, respectively. There were also no
  precautions taken to discriminate (the?) T cell-derived ROS from that
  emanating from (the?) phagocytic cells, which are always present in (the?)
  preparations of (the?) primary T cells and could be easily activated by (the?)
  same stimulatory agents.

All I know is that for plural countable or uncountable nouns the rule is:

If a noun (or noun phrase?) refers to all of the group/entity – no article is required (word typical can be inserted)

If a noun (or noun phrase?) refers to a subset of the group/entity – the should be used (those/that can be inserted instead)

The major problem for me is to understand whether it is a noun or a noun phrase that must refer to a subset of a group, and whether the rest of the noun phrase can make noun to refer to a subset. For example,

  The studies investigating the ROS production in primary T cells are
  limited, especially the studies in primary human T cells.

Here, the studies refer to a subset of studies devoted to investigating the ROS production in primary T cells. The ROS production refers to a subset of ROS production that occurs in primary T cells. On the other hand, primary T cells in this context are generic, so no article is required. Is my logic correct?

Or can it be that studies investigating ROS production in primary T cells, studies in primary human T cells and ROS production in primary T cells are also generic concepts, and hence do not require articles?

  Studies investigating ROS production in primary T cells are
  limited, especially studies in primary human T cells.

Please help!


texts:
My friend wrote a phrase in his textbook:

  "All of above led to three major alliances to rise".

I suggest him to change it to

  All of the above has led to the rise of the three major alliances."

However he argues that perfect tense is not good here. Which version is more correct?


texts:
I know what cartilage is, but I was looking for the every day synonym to the word in the context of meat and eating, not in the context of human anatomy.
I found out that gristle maybe the informal synonym I was looking for, but I want to confirm what I think before adopting the word.

Note that gristle was described as a nontechnical name under the definition of cartilage.

Update:
The reason I am asking is that my daughter asked me about the name of that kinda white solid matter covering the end of a bone while she was eating a chicken thigh. I told her it is called cartilage, but then this is more of a technical term than an everyday word for a child to use.


texts:
Is the apostrophe "s" necessary in the following?

  Police('s) entering a private house without a warrant is illegal.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: Is there a comma before "and soon" at the end of a sentence?

texts:
I'm proofreading for an author and his sentence is, in essence, written like this:

  Bob will be exposed for his bad deeds and soon.

I think you need a comma before "and soon," but I can't find a reference for it anywhere.


texts:
The book whose name is "Manwatching" is written by Jellison.

Or

  The book the name of which is "Manwatching" is written by Jellison.

EDIT: After reading the comments below, I've revised the sentences:

  The man whose name is Michael Patterson is the manager.

Or

  The man the name of whom is Michael Patterson is the manager.

Is it possible to use the second sentence instead of the first?
Is it grammatically correct?
If not, what makes it unacceptible?


texts: why 'Would' in this sentence?. Why not a simple present

texts:
Why do we use would in the following sentence?. Can we replace the would with "it burns your fingers"

A hot potato is definitely something you don’t want to hold with your bare hands for a long time, because it would burn your fingers


texts: Is it "glowed" or "glown" when conjugating "glow"?

texts:
I want to say he's glown with brilliance but the spell checker barks at me for misspelling, like if it prefers glowed.
This resource commands the latter, while this one the exact opposite. I've also found this answer giving me little understanding as they seem not to suggest any. Checking Wikipedia confused me even more as they list both.
So, which is it and how can I confirm that?


texts: need help understanding the function of 'not'

texts:
I will go to school, but not if it is snowing, if I finish my homework.
Can "not" serve as a substitute for "I will not go to school"?
If so, does the "if I finish my homework" clause modify "I will (not) go to school if it is snowing" ?
or does it modify "I will go to school" ?
or does it modify "I will go to school, but not if it is snowing"?
I understand that adding more conjunctions would help make things clearer. However, everything was spoken and the "if I finish my homework" was added as an afterthought so there really was no time to add conjunctions to help clarify things.


texts:
I found a sentence in Collins online dictionary under the entry of boarded-up:

  Mary went to one of the boarded-up windows, peered through the crack.

As there is a comma so it should qualify Mary.

But this format is really new to me.

There would be no difficulties if it were:

  ..., peering through the crack. (with a comma)

Or,

  ....cracked everywhere. (Without a comma)

Please explain the sentence.

Thanks in advance.


texts: What is the Difference between these two sentences?

texts:
I got confused between these two sentences:

Are you having internet connection?
Do you have internet connection?

Can any one explain me.


texts: 'these five years' vs. 'the last/past five years'

texts:
Let me confirm my understanding.

(1) I have been working for the last/past five years. (correct)

(2) I have been working for these five years. (incorrect)

(3) I have been working these five years. (correct but archaic)

Is this understanding correct? Are there other expressions corresponding to (1)?

Thanks in advance.


texts: does "natural" here means that people use of that expressions regularly?

texts:
does "natural" here means that those people use of that expressions regularly?

  Idiomatic language uses words in a way that sounds natural to native
   speakers of the language.

  idiomatic means: using, containing, or denoting expressions that are natural to a
  native speaker.


texts: compare "book the first" and "the first book"

texts:
I started to read a book. In first pages It says:
"A Series of Unfortunate Events
Book the First
The Bad Beginning"
Why it says "Book the First" instead of "The First Book"? Is there any note about these kind of forms?


texts: May I speak of the effect of two Xs "on together"?

texts:
Do I use "Effect" and "on together" appropriately in my sentence?

  I want to analyse the effects of two consecutive irrigation gate on
  together.

Cheers


texts: Is there a negative counterpart of the phrase "thanks to"?

texts:
The thing to which the phrase "thanks to" is attributed usually produces positive consequence.  I wonder if there is a negative counterpart.

EDIT:

Many thanks.  I have now learned that thanks to can gain a negative meaning via irony.  But what if I do not want to sound ironic?


texts: Asking whether it will take a long time to complete something

texts:
If I want to ask someone whether it will take a long time to complete something, can I ask

  Will it take long?

Does this sentence look awkward or is it the correct way to ask?


texts: Does "mouse" need an article in front of it?

texts:
I have the following sentence:

  These elements are highlighted as mouse moves over them to make it easy for the user to detect the boundary of each element.

I thought I am addressing the mouse which is used by the user or is known for the reader because each computer has a mouse. I don't know if it needs "the" or not.

What is the rule here? If it doesn't need "the", why?


texts: Do you either put comma before conjunction so or not?

texts:
M-W Learner’s
  We were bored with the movie, so we left.
  I don't want to go, so I won't.
  There are no more chairs available, so you'll have to stand.

  OALD
  It was still painful so I went to see a doctor.

There are commas in M-W Learner’s examples before so; in OALD isn't. Is it a different way to write in two countries, or either way do you, American and British, can write?


texts: What type of construction is used in this sentence

texts:
They hailed Brissenden and his demijohns with acclamation, and, on
  being introduced, Martin learned they were Andy and Parry.

I wonder what type of construction is on being introduced.

Is it the absolute construction? If yes, of what type?


texts:
What's the difference between "citizenship" and "nationality"?

Webster says on "nationality":

  the fact or status of being a member or citizen of a particular nation

and on "citizenship":

  the fact or status of being a citizen of a particular place

It looks like nationality is more related to your ethnicity, while citizenship is more related to a place of living. Which means that citizenship should be more "flexible" than nationality (as it's much easier to change your place of living rather than your ethnicity).

That's how I thought until I came across a Wiki article today on Steven Seagal stating that he has three nationalities:

So, now it looks to be like I was wrong. But then I really don't see the difference now. Are they synonyms?


texts:
Can something a plural describes be treated in two ways like collective nouns?

Cars are half disappeared.

A group of cars are half disappeared. (individually)
A group of cars is half disappeared. (collectively)


texts: I spent last two years chasing him - meaning

texts:
I was just wondering. What does this sentence say? In my country we have two words for LAST - one means previous calendar year and other means previous 365 days.

  Sentence: I spent last two years chasing him.

And in this sentence I am not sure if they mean last 2 calendar years or last 2*365 days. How am I supposed to know whether it is supposed to mean 2 years from now or previous 2 calendar years?

Would there be any difference if the sentence was said like: I have spent last two years chasing him.


texts:
Would you simply show me which one of the following bold parts you would use?

Something must be taken into account.
Something must to be taken into account.


texts:
It was Quasimodo Sunday, one week after
  Easter. The child who had been left that day
  was being inspected by two old women.
  “How strange! What can it be?”
  “It can’t really be a child, Agnes. Maybe it’s
  a deformed ape.”
  “It’s so ugly! Perhaps we should throw it
  into the river or the fire.”
  “Surely no one will claim this one! I don’t
  think it’s really a baby. My guess is that this
  ittle monster is about four years old.”
  Indeed, it was not a newborn baby. It was
  a twitching mass of humanity in a canvas bag.
  The head peeping out was very disfigured!
  There was a forest of red hair, one eye, a
  mouth, and a few teeth. The eye was weeping,
  the mouth was crying, and the teeth seemed
  to want only to bite.

Dose it mean that he was a creature that was made suddenly and carelessly in a short time?

Can we say here "mass" is: creature?

This context is from: The Hunchback of Notre dame adapted by Emily Hutchinson.


texts:
I recruited them to help me in the project.

Is it possible to say and mean the same thing?

  To help me in the project, I recruited them.


texts:
In the following paragraph can you tell me if there are dialecticism (a dialectal expression)?

  Besides, in establishing the field school, the diagnosis included the initial study and the sensitization meeting for the field school presentation.


texts: Is "I bought it because it costed ..." an idiomatic and grammatical phrase?

texts:
I thought the phrase was common. Example sentence:

  Naomi bought the coffee because it costed ¥499, and she was obsessed
  with prime numbers.

However, Google only yields 4 results. This makes me suspect there's something wrong with the phrase.


texts: Definite or indefinite article after a title

texts:
I have a car. The car is red.

To introduce the car, I use a. And then, I use the.

But what about the case when "introducing" occurs in the heading?

variation 1

  A story about how I bought a car

  I bought a car two months ago. The car is red.

variation 2

  A story about how I bought a car

  I bought the car two months ago. The car is red.


texts: "Of your lunch boxes" vs "in your lunch boxes"

texts:
When to use the former and when to use the later? And why?

Example:

You never eat the bell peppers of your lunch boxes.

You never eat the bell peppers in your lunch boxes.


texts:
knot: a join made by tying together two pieces or ends of string, rope, etc.

  to tie a knot

  Tie the two ropes together with a knot.

  Tie a knot in the rope.

  (figurative) hair full of knots and tangles (= twisted in a way that
  is difficult to comb)

  a tangled knot of arms and legs

  Sailors had to know lots of different knots.

Look at this balloon,

People blow air into the balloon & then tie its end to prevent the air escaping from it.

Do we call it a knot?


texts:
A: My computer broke, ever since that happened I've been trying to fix it but everything I have tried hasn't worked. I tried calling my brother who is an expert but nothing, I tried many times leaving it to cool off but it didn't work, what can I do?

  B: Have you tried opening it maybe there's something wrong inside.

  A: I have tried many times already / I tried many times / I have tried many times/ I tried many times already but it didn't work.

Now the problem is that since I have already listed  all the things that  I have tried in past simple if this other one is part of the things tried can it be in present perfect?


texts:
We know that a cat is able to endure, continue, or survive despite a near encounter with death or disaster because cats have nine lives (according to a common myth).

  Example:
  - Mr. Pickles has been missing for a few days, but I wouldn't worry about him. He is a cat with nine lives.

Does my bold self-made sentence work properly and idiomatically here?


texts:
That was the country he liked best, over there; those sandhills dwindling away into darkness. One could walk all day without meeting a soul. There was not a house scarcely, not a single village for miles on end.
  (Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse)

Is scarcely an intensifier in the sentence, meaning "at all"?


texts: How do I form a sentence that could imply that it's not known whether the condition with the if clause got fulfilled or not?

texts:
He might have reached home by now, if nobody had stopped him.

From what I know I could say that this sentence pretty much implies that the person I am talking about didn't reach his destination (home) by the time this sentence was spoken since he was stopped by someone.
But how do I form a sentence that could imply that it's not known whether the condition with the if clause got fulfilled or not, like it's not certain whether he was stopped by someone or not and it's not certain either whether that person has reached home by now.


texts:
Which will you say and why:
1.Why are you dressing so weird?
2.Why are you dressing so weirdly?
A native speaker said although she knew sentence one is grammatically incorrect, she would probably say “weird” because that word is more common and therefore sounds more natural.


texts:
I and my mother are planning to go on a trip next week, but my father doesn't want us to go. On top of this he just got the news that the weather is going to be severe next week.

As I am not a native speaker, I am having difficulties to say this in the format given below.

  _________ My father didn't want us to go on trip, on top of this, he just got the news about the bad weather; ___________ now there is no chance that he would let us go.

Help me with some conjunctions that can be used in the blanks.


texts: Are "maternal uncle" or "cousin brother" commonly used in English?

texts:
Expressions like "maternal uncle" (meaning mother's brother) or "cousin brother" (meaning male cousin), used commonly in e.g. Indian English, define more subtly the relationship between people in question.

But are these used in standard English (British, American)?


texts: What does the "honest" in "honest mistake" imply?

texts:
I encountered this thread on Twitter by Will Amos.

I made a really unfortunate mistake today & obviously I’m embarrassed by it. My camera was accidentally left on as I changed into work clothes after going for a jog. I sincerely apologize to all my colleagues in the House. It was an honest mistake + it won’t happen again.

I cannot comprehend what the honest in honest mistake implies. I googled it and can find this definition:

A mistake made unintentionally or unknowingly and without the intention of causing harm; a mistake that anyone might have made in similar circumstances.

But I don't know how honest relates to either unintentional or anyone might. Could anyone please help explain what the honest implies?
I wonder if it means that Will Amos honestly admitted and apologized for the mistake?


texts: Do I need "though" in the following sentence?

texts:
The forest seemed endless. Either that or we
  were going in circles; it seemed like the same trees kept passing by,
  like the looped backgrounds in old cowboy chasing scenes. Just as I
  was about to lose hope, though, the trees cleared away, and Tom and
  I found ourselves in a small valley.

Two people told me that I don't need the though. But, I don't know, I feel it's necessary to add one, because the sentence is saying: "We were going in circles and I was about to give up, but I finally didn't because we found our way out."

Or maybe I'm wrong?


texts:
Omitting verbs, can I say "Two tangos dead", "Two tangos dead ahead", "Two tangos coming", "Two tanks down", "Two tanks over there" ?

Is it colloquially acceptable to omit "is", "are" verbs like above?

(Tango means target as a military term)


texts:
I read a sentence in an exam:

  There is no child who did not bring his parents to the picnic.

I think that the sentence does not have tense-agreement. Why is is used instead of was? Please explain it to me.


texts: Is there an alternative for the phrase "Sorry about my English"?

texts:
Is there an alternative for the phrase below?

  Sorry about my English.

I usually use this phrase at the end of my texts to show that I'm still learning English.


texts: A skillful person who is very familiar with "their own" profession

texts:
I have found a term which can be used to describe a person who knows a lot about a specific field. Imagine a carpenter or a mechanic or an electrician etc. who know a lot about their specialties and are very familiar with their own profession. How would one indicate such an ability in natural English?

This is what I found:

  He is very well versed in this / his business

I would relly appreciate it if someone could let me know whether there is a better term or idiom to explain such a person or not.


texts: Should I revise translated sentences (Present Perfect Continuos)

texts:
The first excerpt is:

A man ner the window is looking at us. - Yeah, and what of it? - I've been meeting him at the library lately.

In this case "lately" inmplies the process of meeting as a repeated and continuos action which started at some moment in the past and is continuing up to the present time. Do I use it correctly? Certainly, I've learnt Present Perfect and Present Perfect Progressive are closely related except for "some duration" in the second case and "making emphasises on number" in the first. I don't say it is awkward enough to me but nevertheless. Unfortunately it's hard to explain. May be I should had used Present Perfect?

Although, there is no actual difference between them as we could use them instead one another without any distinction in the meaning.

I've just deleted one of my topics to in order to improve it and make it clearer.

I've been developing photos for the whole day.

Someone said I should had written it as:

I've been developing photos all day.

I hav got some experience practicing exercises and know we use "for" and "since" with Perfect Forms. Since we talk about some period from starting point we should use it. But actually I'm not a native so it's too difficult for me to state it with no doubt that this adverb is used in a right manner at all.


texts:
This question is something to do with a sense that means "to make someone look more attractive"..
In my the first imaginary situation,I meet a friend of mine who started to wear glasses.So I would like to say that the glasses she wears look good on her and a subtle thing is that I don't want to imply your new glasses better than old ones or this color  is better, I want to imply you look better with glasses (and this is first time I see her with glasses).Should I say:

1.The glasses suit you.
2.The glasses fit (on) you.

If both are ok, is there any difference in terms of meaning?

And a situation in which a friend of mine who asks which one I should wear for the party , blue or black shirt?Can I say?

1.I think you should go for blue one .It suits you because your eyes are blue too.So they match.
2.I think you should go for blue one .It fits (on) you because your eyes are blue too.So they
match.

If both are ok, is there any difference in terms of meaning?
Thanks in advance.


texts:
The following quotation is from my grammar textbook under a unit about "all" and "whole":

All day/the whole day = the complete day from beginning to end, for example:
We spent all day/the whole day on the beach.
Note that we say all day (Not all the day), all week (Not all the week) etc.

But to me, "all day" in the above example sounds unnatural. I think it should be replaced with "all of the day" because it is a definite "day" not indefinite:

We spent all of the day on the beach.


texts: The Wikipedia page of sitting doesn't list this kind of posture. Do you know what its name?


texts: Is the phrase an idiom or a phrasal verb?

texts:
Source Ever English Magazine (Facebook)

Here is a sentence in an article.

  Robots work on through the night while their human supervisors are at home in bed.

In the sentence, is the phrase 'are at home' an idiom or a phrasal verb? What does it mean?


texts:
Below are verbs exemplified instead of 'build' for infrastructure(formal tone/register)

  'Super dams' should be erected for the growing sea level.

Or

  'Super dams' should be installed for the growing sea level.

P.s: Can these 2 verbs here be used? I'm a learner(that's why I am asking) but I doubt if the 'installed' thing is appropriate. Thx


texts: Is 'I am glad to hear that' very formal or informal phrase?

texts: I responded this to one professor when she expressed about her current research work. Later, I realized that that phrase could be very informal.


texts:
...Rain, yet so fine it could scarcely fall but rather floated. It clung to everything it touched; the rushes in the deep choked ditches of the sea-marsh were bowed down with it, the small black cattle looked cobwebbed with it, their horns were jewelled with it.

  The fox in the Attic;
  Author: Richard Hughes

My question is:
What does this word mean in this context?
Cobweb is a spider's old and dusty web, but also can be some kind of confusion.


texts: "I'm trying to learn" vs. "I'm learning"

texts:
An ELL post (How do I complete the sentence, "If you don't mind, ____"?) says

  I'm trying to learn the sentence structure and I had a few thoughts about the possible structural continuations of the sentence.

I am aware that "I'm trying to learn" is different to "I'm learning".

However, I cannot see the difference of them in the quoted sentence, could someone please give a hint? Thanks in advance.


texts:
In this answer I provided a sample sentence:

  You are friend with Toby.

and as a result I received a comment from @JasonBassford:

  *Both of your example sentences are ungrammatical. You can't be friend with someone. You can be a friend of someone or you can be friendly with someone.*

Now, I tend to trust JasonBassford (as a result of seeing hos posts here on ELL), but a dilemma remains.

From my point of view, friendship and friendliness do not convey the same meaning.

I can be "friendly" with a dog or with some foreigner on the street, but that will not make us friends. Friendship (from my point of view) is much deeper and much more complex than friendliness.

So, to be explicit: is there another way to express friendship? I feel that something is missing, but I am not sure what that is.

As one alternative, I think about "to be friends with" (friend + s = plural):

  You are friends with Toby.

but I cannot decide if it is fine / idiomatic, or if there is something else missing.


texts: Using 'just like' in a sentence with subject + object

texts:
I always use "just like" + noun, plus also see some sentences using this form with subject + object.

I have not seen any particular English lessons for this usage, could someone explain me how I can use "just like" in a different situation. For example, is the sentence below are correct?

  You can find the proper description on the prospectus of the machine just like everyone does.

I want to emphasis that everyone finds clear information in this prospectus before running the machine.


texts:
I read this Politico article, and it has this quote:

  Marcos reached Laxalt by phone on the Hill, proposing a power-sharing coalition with Aquino, and trying to suss out whether Reagan really wanted him to step down. Laxalt said he’d check with the president, and, when the Nevada senator phoned the presidential palace in Manila two hours later without a definitive answer, Marcos, exhausted and frail, asked Laxalt for his personal advice. “Cut and cut cleanly. The time has come,” Laxalt famously answered...

The word 'cut' has a lot of meanings, but none of them seems to fit. What does 'cut' mean in the sentence?


texts: What do the dates mean in this sentence?

texts:
"A number of applicants will be selected for a preliminary interview by Jan 11, 2019 and short-listed applicants will be invited for a campus visit around Jan 20, 2019. The final decision would be made in early Feb 2019."

  (A) At the end of Jan 11, a number of applicants will be selected out, but the preliminary interview hasn't been conducted; search committee will send invitations to short-listed applicants on Jan 20, but campus visit will be conducted later

  (B) At the end of Jan 11, search committee will finish all preliminary interviews; short-listed applicants will come to the campus around Jan 20.

Which one (A or B) sounds more reasonable for a typical job search?


texts: Why "grand theft auto", not "grand auto theft"?

texts:
There is a video game series called "Grand Theft Auto".

According to its Wikipedia page:

  The name of the series references the term used in the US for motor
  vehicle theft.

  [...]

  Motor vehicle theft or, grand theft auto, is the criminal act of
  stealing or attempting to steal a car (or any other motor vehicle).

I always wondered why this term sounds so strange.

Shouldn't it be "grand auto theft" or maybe "grand theft of auto" instead?
Are there any other terms with strange words order and/or missing prepositions like this?


texts:
8:00 pm : I started to drink.

9:00 pm : I finished drinking.

9:02 pm : I was heading out the door.

9:03 pm : I met old friend Suzi and we decided to drink more just two of us.

9:30 pm (now): We drink.

In this situation, I said like

  A. I had just finished drinking and just as I was about to leave, I happened to meet old friend from college at the bar, Suzi. So, we decided to drink more and we're here at another bar drinking.

Here, A means B or C ?

  B. Only a short while ago from now, I finished drinking and just as I was about to leave, I happened to meet old friend from college at the bar, Suzi. So, we decided to drink more and we're here at another bar drinking.

  C. I finished drinking and was about to leave, and only a short while after I finished drinking and was about to leave, I happened to meet old friend from college at the bar, Suzi. So, we decided to drink more and we're here at another bar drinking.

I want to know the meaning of "just" here.


texts: How to inform someone when there is a "flood" or an "earthquake" in a city

texts:
How would you normally let someone know that a flood or an earthquak has happened in a specific place? I was wondering if you let me know which choice would work better in the blank below:

  a) Hey, did you hear the news last night?
  b) How come?
  a) ...........................................

  1) A flood / an earthquake has occurred in... (the place name) (to me, it sound as a formal case which using it would sound odd in daily dialogues)
  2) A flood / an earthquake has happened in... (the place name) (to me, it sounds a formal choice for everyday conversations, but it can be considered as a reserved choice for a polite case)
  3) There was a flood / an earthquake in... (the most natural choice in my opinion, but I'm not sure )
  5) A flood / an earthquake hit... (I surmise it would be too formal for everyday speech)

I'm looking for a structure that can be used to informing someone about such natural disater in plain language.


texts: "development of U.S.-Chinese trade relations" VS "development in U.S.-Chinese trade relations"

texts:
The stock market is most focused on developments in U.S.-Chinese trade relations, and positive developments around the G-20 meeting.
  The stock market is most focused on developments of U.S.-Chinese trade relations, and positive developments around the G-20 meeting.

Usually, I see development of something, such as the development of the economy. My question is why "in" is chosen here.


texts: Would not matter "for" or "to" most of us?

texts:
I wanted to know which answer among these is grammatically more appropriate in context to the given situation:

  Question: Did you know there was a correction in one question in today's test?

  Ans 1. It would not matter for most of us. Our overall marks are very low.

  Ans 2. It would not matter to most of us. Our overall marks are very low.

Also, if both are correct when should I prefer the usage of one over the other?


texts: WHY there is “more fat on a kirby grip" and what does it mean?

texts:
This is very, very struggling for me to imagine:  why " there is fat on a hairpin"???
I could get that the dress is too small and tight, and maybe the person is a little fat(depends on how you see it, not to me), but why fat on a pin? HELP please.

Here is the sentence :

  The embarrassing thing was not that I was wearing my mother’s suit, or that it was in a cut last fashionable in the late 1980s, but that it was actually a tiny bit small for me. I felt the waistband cutting into my midriff, and pulled the double-breasted jacket across. As Dad says of Mum, there’s more fat on a kirby grip.


texts: same content, different meaning? (with + subject + adjective (participle)" construction)

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:
I enter a chatting room and see many lines of 'CBG' in its chatting history,

I learn that it acronym of 'creeping bald guy' whereas still cannot get its point.


texts: What's the plural of Rally, as in the car competition?

texts:
For the car race typically known as «rally», how does one form the plural?

Is it «rallies» or «rallys»?

Thanks.


texts: which word is more suitable in the context? coherent, inline, match

texts:
I have received two tables from my colleague. In one table the values are in metric unit (m). In the other table I am supposed to have same values but in the imperial unit (ft). Unfortunately the values were not converted correctly . I want to tell it to my colleague in an  formal email. How can I say it in English?
The values in these two tables are not coherent.
The values in these two tables are inline.
The values in these two tables does not match.
cheers


texts: I'd rather something do something else -- grammar pattern

texts:
Example (audio version: http://tindeck.com/listen/wtoo):

  You may not have ever come across this before. For example, my food order ID, I want it to be an Autonumber data type because I don't care what the number is. I want it to be a number. But I'd rather Access just take care of making sure that my food order IDs are unique.

Could you please explain to me how this grammar pattern works?


texts: Happy to hear that!/ Great to hear that!/ Glad to hear that!

texts:
I'd like to express (via text message) that I'm happy/glad to hear that you'd like to work with us as a volunteer. I omitted the rest of the sentence (about volunteering work) because I have mentioned this before. Here's the scenario:

  A: Hi, would you be interested in working as a volunteer at [name of the organization]?

  B: Yeah, sure! I think it's just what I need right now.

  A: Happy to hear that!

Is the phrase "Happy to hear that" used by native speakers?


texts:
This is a film without propaganda, a balanced movie.
This is a war film without propaganda.

"a film without propaganda" grammatical? It doesn't sound quite right, because it implies a movie can contain a propaganda, when the movie should be a propaganda or not. Is it grammatical or not? I am not quite sure to be honest.


texts: "It helps me understand", "It helps me to understand" or "it helps me understanding"?

texts:
Which one is correct:
1)It helps me understand
2)It helps me to understand
3)it helps me understanding


texts: Is it possible to link two different moods sentences with a conjunction?

texts: Do your business, but what is your business? Is this sentence grammatically possible?


texts:
This is a formalized version of the solution. Is this sentence correct ? What are alternative
words one could use apart from formalized. The context is :
I solve a question but in a rough way. After that I write it formally to submit it to the prof
In this context apart from formalized what other words one can use


texts: Words for "Those who pass / fail in an exam."

texts:
I know:

Those who win: Winner

Those who lose: Loser

But,

Those who fail in an exam: ?

And,

Those who pass in an exam: ?

Please help.

Thank you.

(Edited after jonathanjo's comment)


texts: What other possible ways of saying "I'll let you know"? I heard people in Northern Ireland say" I'll give you a shout", but I'm not sure it has the same meaning.


texts: Are these determiners or are there omissions?

texts:
From the moment they arrived, the Twins had been admonishing Eve for having her baby at home. They told her she was endangering her baby’s welfare and that in these modern times, it was irresponsible to give birth anywhere but in the most prestigious of all hospitals with the most expensive of all doctors. Eve tried to explain to them that
(Garth Stein, The Art of Racing in the Rain)

Are there one that is omitted after prestigious and expensive, or are these the most prestigious of and the most expensive of determiners for next noun phrases?


texts: Callibrating. Is it adjustment? Help with translation

texts:
I was very doubtful about posting this question here or in the Japanese language section. However, although a translation question, it seems to me that this deals more with the english meaning of the word "callibrate".

I am looking to translate the japanese word 調整(chosei) which according to a quick dictionary search means:

Meaning of chosei

  accommodation（論争・紛争などの）
  adjustment
  alignment（部品などの）
  conditioning（身体の）
  conditioning（温度などの）
  coordination
  fitting（物の）
  fix
  fixing
  liaison（軍の部隊同士などの）
  reconciliation《会計》
  rectification
  regulation
  true-up
  tune-up

I think the closest meaning for me would be "adjustment".
As in "module adjustment screen" but I am wondering if I could just say "Callibration" instead of adjustment.

So what does callibrating means exactly?  (I know the word, I have read the dictionary meaning- I am going for a native speaker opinion of what this word does mean and does not mean- where it would be wrong to use it)


texts: How would different verbal emphasis in spoken English change the meaning of these sentences?

texts:
What is the meaning of verbal emphasis in Spoken English?  For example, the difference between the following three sentences and how emphasis changes the semantics?

I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you very much.

Are there other ways of verbally emphasizing "I love you" to express different meanings?


texts:
I wish to say that I sell membership cheaply (in my opinion). Let's say for $99 for one year. What's the right way to say it on my site:
1.) Membership at only $99  OR
2.) Membership is only $99?
One more thing... In this context "only" and "just" mean the same (interchangeable)? like "membership is just $99" or "membership at just $99".


texts:
Specifically, if waiters don't come, how do I ask a waiter to come? If I say "Excuse me", would other customers think I'm calling them?

If I want to pay, and the waiter gave [a check/the check/check?], but s/he doesn't come again, do I say "(Hey waiter, )take my money"?

Can you recommend a way to learn these?


texts: What is the difference between “refer the letter” and “refer to the letter”?

texts:
I’m asking about usage of “refer” and “refer to”.

Can one say “refer to the letter”?

Is “refer the letter” enough?


texts: What's the spoken version of "same as above"?

texts:
Example:

  "Do you like Shiba Inus?"

  "Yes"

  "What about Chihuahuas?"

  "Same as above"

Obviously, you can't say same as above in spoken English, because ... well it sounds weird to me (I picture the listener staring at the sky).

Maybe I'm wrong? If not, what's the spoken version of the phrase?


texts: Is it wrong to hyphenate a phrasal verb like "log in" or is it a matter of style?

texts:
People log in to Facebook.

In this sentence, if I change log in to log-in, will it be grammatically incorrect? Or the adding/omission of a hyphen is just a matter of style?

The other thing is, if log in is listed in dictionaries as a phrasal verb and log-in is not listed as a phrasal verb, will citing the dictionaries be a sufficient reason to say that adding a hyphen in log in is grammatically incorrect?


texts:
What should we say to sit for an exam as an examinee and what should we say to take an exam from an examinee as an examiner?

I mean, if an examiner takes exam from an examinee what does he say, "I'm taking/giving exam and examinees are taking/giving exam"?

I'm confused, as one of my juniors said that examiners give exam and examinees take exam.


texts: Do we need "The" in front of "Istanbul Chamber of Commerce"

texts:
On the Chamber of Commerce building in Istanbul I saw that they wrote their name as "The İstanbul Chamber of Commerce". I thought that it is wrong to put "the" before İstanbul.

The correct way, I think, should be "İstanbul Chamber of Commerce" or "The Chamber of Commerce of İstanbul". Am I right? If so can you explain why?

Thanks.


texts:
I saw this sentence in a novel that I am reading:

There was a chill in the air, and we were all of us tired.

The second part, using "we" together with "all of us" seemed unusual to me. Is this structure grammatically correct? If so, what kind of usage is it?


texts:
So there was a following exercise on the test I wrote yesterday:
What (gap) next week?
It's going to be sunny.

So at first I wanted to fill the gap with "What is the weather going to be", but I strongly doubted it was correct, so finally I decided to put stupid sounding sentence "What's the weather like next week". But I have little hope that is might be correct.
Or "what's the weather like" can be used only when we talk about today?


texts:
look 1 /lʊk/ ●●● S1 W1 verb

  1 SEE [intransitive] to turn your eyes towards something, so that you
  can see it

  We sneaked out while Jessie’s mom wasn’t looking.

  If you look carefully you can see that the painting represents a
  human figure.

  Gina covered her eyes, afraid to look.

  look at

  ‘It’s time we left, ’ Ian said, looking at his watch.

  The men all turned to look at her as she entered the room.

  look away/over/down etc

  Dad looked up from his paper and smiled.

  ‘We can’t go out in this weather, ’ said Bob, looking out of the
  window.

  outside

  1- not in a room, building or container but on or to the outside of it

  I'm seeing a patient—please wait outside.

  I stood outside in the corridor, looking through the window.

  The house is painted green outside.

  2-  not inside a building

  It's warm enough to eat outside.

  Go outside and see if it's raining.

  The heat hits you as soon as you step outside.

A man was facing the door, and he was turning his eyes towards the wide open space before him so that he could see it.

Would you say "He looked outside"?

Why some people (non-native English teachers or European people who know English) says this sentence is wrong. They said I have to say "He looked through the door" instead of "He looked outside".

But Google book showed a lot of "He looked outside" phrase in many books.

So, what would native English people say?


texts: What's the diffence between "I want you to go to sleep" and "I want you going to sleep"

texts:
Are the following two sentences correct?

  I want you to go to sleep.

and

  I want you going to sleep.

If they are both correct, what's the difference?


texts: When to use most things and when to use most of (the) things

texts:
I want to know when we should use "of" after "most." For instance,

  Most of the documents are read completely.

Or

  Most documents are read completely.

  Most of (the) people know about that.

Or

  Most people know about that.

What is the general rule?


texts:
What is the difference between

He is hard to understand

He is hard to being understood

Which one of the above should I use if I want to say that "He doesn't understand others much"?
Thank you as always:)


texts:
I have a conversation between two people and the man splatters the woman's face with blood.
Can the woman say

You splattered on my face! (and omit blood because they both know that there was the blood that was splattered)
You splattered blood on my face
You splattered my face with blood

Is any option correct?


texts: Backshifting 'could' and 'would' in a work of fiction

texts:
"Hold on there!" he grabbed my arm.
"You're not going back until you tell me what this is all about."
I could have broken his grip, but then he could order me dragged back by the heels, and quite a few people would enjoy doing the dragging. So I forced myself to speak slowly, softly:
"It's simply that I lost my watch. My mother gave it to me and it's a family heirloom. I want to find it before we leave."
"You sure it's not in your cabin, or down in Tirellian?"
"I've already checked."
-- The Doors of His Face, The Lamp of His Mouth by Roger Zelazny

I would have expected the bolded part should be "... he could have ordered me dragged... people would have enjoyed doing...", for the context clearly indicates the whole dragging scenario is conceived in the narrator's mind.
I could give some examples from Google Books ( And there are a lot more, if you would try to get some.):

The power of the Deity could have given a tenfold force to the
winds, but then no tree could have stood on the land and no ship
could have sailed on the seas.
She could have broken her neck and become a quadriplegic. Then she
would never have taken ballet lessons or thrown herself into gymnastics, softball, and basketball. Then she would never have
been a cheerleader.

Please help justify this use here.


texts:
All lessons are cancelled today because of weather bad condition.
I'm freezing of the cold.

Are they grammatically correct?


texts: When should I use "elections" instead of "election"?

texts:
I understand that elections can be used to generally refers to elections, but can it be used to refer to elections happening in a specific case?

I am asking because in Italian I would say the equivalent of "the election of the President of the Republic," but I would say "In the last elections, none of the parties had the absolute majority, and it is able to govern." (I just translated word-by-word the sentence in Italian.) With last elections, I mean the elections that were held between February 24 and 25 to decide who will govern Italy.


texts:
What is the difference between (if any) "fill in for" and "sit in for"? Are they used interchangeably ? If yes, then what is more likely to be used?

Like a teacher is ill so another teacher comes to teach  the class for a day:

  Your teacher is ill, so I'll be filling in/sitting in for him today.

(The teacher may or may not sit)

The Manager is busy, so another person had to attend the meeting.

  The Manger is busy, so I'm filling in/sitting in for him today.

(And all sorts of such contexts......)
Thank you:)


texts: Had been a great journey or was a great journey

texts:
what is the difference between these two sentences ?

It had been a great journey.
It was a great journey.


texts:
I know academic subjects like math, history, physics, etc., are not capitalized, and course names such as Economics 101 begin with a capital letter. What about names of a person's major?
Do we say

He majored in international trade.

OR

He majored in International Trade.

If international trade refers to an activity, it isn't capitalized, is it?

He works in international trade.


texts: Why is "gusting" not the opposite of "disgusting"?

texts:
The prefix dis often makes a word negative. It is a negative prefix. For example: courage and discourage, the latter is the opposite of the former. Continue and discontinue, honest and dishonest and many more.
But gusting and disgusting are not opposites?? Why is this so? I can't think of any other words that show the same behavior. Is there any reason why both of them are not opposites?


texts:
I want to describe parameters which have been set experimentally to my algorithms. So, I listed out parameters in table 5 and also described important points as follows.

  Table 5 summarises the fundamental parameters used by the
  reconstruction approach. The parameters are set by the user based on
  his knowledge about data and landscape. In terms of scene
  complexities for e.g. having closely located feature lines, scene 1
  and 3 are bit complicated than scene 2. This illustrates by the
  narrow half-width equal to 0.7m in Table 5. On the other hand,
  scene1 consists of shorter edges than other two scenes, which leads to
  accept short ridge-lines and step-edges roughly equal to 0.5m. In
  the case of remaining parameters, they behave in a
  similar manner, thus, equally set for every scene.

So, my question is I want to know whether this description is smoothly connected to each other? that mean, I first explain similarity of site1 and 3. then how site 1 deviate from others. finally, similarity of all sites. So, please comments whether my explanation has good connection and flow.

Your suggestions and corrections are also very welcome.


texts: Is the expression "You will know what I mean" often misused?

texts:
I will give you a clue, it's one word: poetry. You will know what I
  mean.

I thought about it and the sentence "You will know what I mean." doesn't seem to be correct, because you are giving a hint to something, but you're not trying to convey a meaning. So instead of saying that I think you should say "You will know what I am hinting at." Am I correct in saying this? What are some better alternatives?


texts: A transitive verb to imply "to cause someone/something to romp"

texts:
Suppose I want to tell a musician that my ultimate wish is playing with them on the stage. However, I want to metaphorically describe the music-play as romping the child inside.

Something like to unleash the child inside by playing music which gives a sense of playing and joyful movements like romping around.

  My ultimate wish is to ...... the kid inside on the stage with you.

Can romp be used as a transitive verb meaning to cause someone to romp? If no, is there any verb having the same connotation?


texts: Can you use 'about' with 'tickled pink' (tickled pink about)?

texts:
Can you say you are tickled pink about  something the same way as you can say you are happy about something?

  I wasn't tickled pink about being invited but I went regardless.
  I wasn't happy about being invited but I went regardless.

I haven't seen that preposition used with that idiom, it always seems to be followed by either 'by' or 'with'.


texts: Which to choose between “that”, “if”, or “whether”?

texts:
Which is correct?:

Your question is very broad, and I doubt that it is answerable.
Your question is very broad, and I doubt if it is answerable.
Your question is very broad, and I doubt whether it is answerable.


texts:
The following is from "The Manner of Men" by Kipling (emphasis mine):

  ‘Just darning the water again, as we had done from Myra to Cnidus,’ said Quabil ruefully. ‘I daren’t stand out. There was the bone-yard of all the Gulf of Africa under my lee. But at last we worked into Fairhaven — by that cork yonder. Late as it was, I should have taken her on, but I had to call a ship-council as to lying up for the winter. That Rhodian law may have suited open boats and cock-crow coasters,1 but it’s childish for ocean-traffic.’

I do not understand the meaning of by that cork yonder.

I am glad if some one would kindly teach me.


texts: What is the difference? "being that nasty" vs "was nasty"

texts:
Would you please to explain the difference?

  Even with the weather being that nasty, the couple and their families
  decided to go ahead with the wedding as planned.

  Even though the weather was nasty, the couple and their families
  decided to go ahead with the wedding as planned.

The first form is very unusual for me, because it uses "ing"(I mean "being") in past simple sentence.


texts:
Is  "I'm on Heathrow airport" correct? I mean is it correct to use the preposition "on" here?

With "I'm on Heathrow airport" I meant being inside the main building/terminal, I know the usual preposition for that is "in" ("I'm in the airport"), but can I also say "I'm on Heathrow airport" for that meaning ?


texts: How to avoid ambiguity of the antecedent of a relative clause?

texts:
I wrote this technical text, which I found ambiguous:

  What's a child expression? It's a call expression inside a function,
  which represents a parent call expression.

For the purposes of discussion in this question, let's simplify it to this:

  What's a child sphere? It's a sphere inside a cube, which represents a
  parent shape.

How do I rewrite this sentence in a non-ambiguous way, to link the verb represents to the noun cube?

(Also, hypothetically, how would I rewrite it if I wanted to link the verb to sphere?)


texts: what does "being of concern" mean in this sentence?

texts:
I can't understand the meaning of concern here:

  therefore a topic such as how to go about recording and preserving interview data is methodological, while interpretation and reliability of oral histories would be a theoretical topic, although one can hopefully see how the two often end up being of concern at the same time for researchers who are interviewing elderly musicians to learn about the musical past, for example.


texts:
1) A group of boys is playing football.

or

  2) A group of boys are playing football.

My teacher told me the first sentence is correct since of boys can be ignored to make:

  A group is playing football.

It feels very awkward in my mouth to say boys is.


texts:
I was reading this article, Night Sister, when I got to the following sentence:

“I can go out between 6 and 9 on the evenings I’m working, but I don’t because it doesn’t feel right.”

I wonder why the more conventional phrase, in the evening(s), has not been used here. Can anybody explain it, please?


texts:
I'm trying to name a database table. This table will contain every specific information of a person. Those information will be different for each country.

So, I've two options

  SpecificInformationPerCountry

or

  SpecificInformationByCountry

Which one is the correct option? There's a huge semantic difference between them?


texts: "separately" and "put together" in this context

texts:
Conversation between two friends:

  A: My dad bought me a school bag and a wrist watch yesterday.

  B: How much did the cost?

  A: I don't know their price separately but the put together cost us $30.

Are these words fine and in right place?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
How can we pronounce the number "0" in British English? I mean: telephone numbers, room numbers etc.

Which form is correct and where (why)?

o
oh or Total English Starter Students' book at page 17

Do we use "nought" or "zero" in science in British English?


texts: Difference between "wormed itself in at another place" and "wormed itself in another place"

texts:
The Essential E. F. Benson: 53+ Titles in One Volume ...
E. F. Benson · 2017

The garden has had to take care of itself under such circumstances,
and if the house has been pushing it back in one place, it has wormed
itself in at another...

I am not sure if "at" is necessary here, although I am not sure what he means by this. The garden has wormed itself in at another place?"
Is the difference between "has wormed itself in another place" and "has wormed itself in at another place" that the first one mean "wormed itself in to another place" while the second mean "wormed itself in to some place at another place"?


texts: Is this understandable? - "they claimed that seeing what"

texts:
Pay attention who said that you were chatty, they claimed that seeing what?

I mean on what basis specific people think that somebody is talkative, what they saw and in which situations that they claim what they claim.
"they claimed that seeing what?" - Is it a good sequence? Should I write it in some other way?
*they claimed that - here I mean "claimed so", "claimed in that way"


texts: Fill in the gap help - should I choose Etiquette or Utensils?

texts:
I study an oral skills course and we have vocab lists based on a book called “Interactions 1”. However, I was practicing for my Midterm when I came across one activity and didn’t know the right answer.

  In India, people don’t use/have a form of _______ for eating as one can eat using his hands.

Etiquette or Utensils?

During the course, we learned that 'Utensils' are tools to cook with but after research, it turned out that utensils are also tools to eat with. Moreover, we learned that etiquette is a way of doing the right thing in formal situations; however, I also know that etiquette is highly related to food and table manners, so I am so lost trying to find the right word to put inside the gap.


texts: "For your reference" or "For your information"

texts:
I always get confused whenever I find myself in this situation. I get emails asking to send someone some pictures and other information. When replying, what should I write?

  Kindly find the attached pictures and link for your reference.
  Kindly find the attached pictures and link for your information.

Or should I use any other words to make it simpler? What about "for your needful"? Please let me know.


texts: On the grammaticality of "What it is that you fear is unfounded."

texts:
Is the construction

  What it is that you fear is unfounded.

grammatically correct?
I am somewhat confused about what the subject of the first auxilary is is. Is it what, or is it it?


texts: The first or second conditional after "predict"?

texts:
What's the difference in meaning?

  Some scientists predict that if everyone in the world lived like an American, our fossil fuel supply would last for just fifteen more years.

Or:

  Some scientists predict that if everyone in the world lives like an American, our fossil fuel supply will last for just fifteen more years.

Predict means to say something will happen, before it happens. Then, is there any room for a hypothetical situation as in Sentence 1?


texts: "I was reading posts there" vs. "I was reading the posts there"

texts:
This is my post from History Stack Exchange. I was reading posts there and one specific issue interested me. That's why I wrote that post.

Should I use the when referring to posts on History SE in general?

  This is my post from History Stack Exchange. I was reading the posts there and one specific issue interested me. That's why I wrote that post.

Since I did not refer to particular posts, I used no article, but a native speaker corrected me, adding the.

Would not the use of the indicate "all posts"?

P.S. Do we say

  I was in the N.Y. Library. I was reading the books there, and one book interested me.

The N.Y. Library must be quite big. On the other hand, without the the reader might assume that I took some books along with me into the Library and was reading them there.


texts:
I read this line in a book:

"The general elevation of the Deccan plateau is from the West to East, which is proved by the pattern of the flow of the rivers, which flow from West to East."

Shouldn't the elevation be East to West, as elevation means increase in height? Please correct me if I'm wrong.


texts: The use of the word "reinforce" in context

texts:
Let's say I tought students some new grammar on the last class, and now I am going to give them a task to do for helping memorize the grammar. Could reinforce be approoriate in the following sentence? If not, then what is a natural word for saying that?

  I am going to give a task to reinforce the already learnt grammar.

By the way, is it in the last class or on the last class?


texts:
The man in yellow clothes seems nice. ....(Some more sentences not including any other men)...... And (A) the man (in yellow clothes) has a Bugari.
If it is certain that the listener will understand who is 'the man' when the speaker only says 'the man' at Point A, it is OBLIGATORY that I not use 'in yellow clothes', or is it just that It is EFFICIENT that I not use 'in yellow clothes'?


texts: Why is the word "Odometry" always recognized as a typo

texts: Working a lot with robots, this word is very important. Whenever I write the word odometry, I get it underlined in red. Even here in Stackoverflow. Why is that? The word has even  a Wikipedia page defining it and is everywhere in the Internet.


texts: Difficulty understanding sentence with "it was always to"

texts:
Am reading the Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer at the moment being halfway through the second book. While reading the first one, got now and then my eyebrows raised at the language of the book. But the following has had me completely at a loss—I simply can't get my head round it:

  "I don't remember."

  Her constant use of those words had begun to grate. [...]

  "Are you sure?" Of course she was sure.

  "I think I would remember forgetting that."

  When Control met her gaze now, it was always to the slightly upraised corners of her mouth, eyes that had a light in them so different from the last session. [...]

  "This isn't a joke," he said, deciding to see how she would react if he seemed irritated. Except he really was irritated.

Google does not know such a locution. Somebody, please, parse it to me!


texts:
The following quotation is from “A study in scarlet” by Arthur Conan Doyle:

  That book made me positively ill.

I know the meaning of both positively and ill, but when consolidating (combining) them I can’t figure out the meaning of the expression positively ill. I can’t even realize how can be associated two opposite (in meaning) words, but I guess is one of the particularities that English can offer.


texts:
Shouldn't it be

  The Albiceleste captain looked embarrassed when he was awarded the
  Golden Ball as the tournament's best player after his country was
  beaten 1-0 in the final by Germany.

instead of

  The Albiceleste captain looked embarrassed when he was awarded the
  Golden Ball as the tournament's best player after his country were
  beaten 1-0 in the final by Germany.

which is how it is in this link


texts: Is it possible to separate "by" from "by which" in these two cases?

texts:
There's no other standard by which to compare yourself to.

  Competition provides a benchmark by which to compare yourself to and
  be better than, and forces a company to prepare and think much in the
  same manner a football team prepares to run faster, be stronger and
  outsmart the opponent.

I've read many articles about [Preposition + Which] and most of them talk about how we can put the preposition at the end of the sentence without stating when we can or can't actually do that.

My biggest question is not only just about the usage and the grammar of [By which] but those of all other Preposition-which's. That said, my recent encounters of them are mostly [By which], at least that is what I can recall, and the two quoted sentences above are what I actually found after reading/listening to multiple online resources.

So, back on the topic, if we were going to move the position of "by" to another position in the two sentences, where should we place it? The following alternatives do not look okay to me.

  There's no other standard which to compare yourself to by.

  Competition provides a benchmark which to compare yourself to by and
  be better than, and forces a company to prepare and think much in the
  same manner a football team prepares to run faster, be stronger and
  outsmart the opponent.


texts: Which is more common, “decide to do” or “decide on doing”?

texts:
Today I did my homework and found one question that is too difficult to answer to me.
The question was like this:
She decided to marry Tom.
≒She decided ( ) marrying Tom.
I’ve been studying English for 6 years. But I think I’ve almost never heard the expression “decide on doing”.(At least I don’t remember that.)
Is this expression relatively common, or is this so usual?
If the two expressions “decide to do/decide on doing” are used in different ways, please tell me the difference.


texts: What is the meaning of "indicate otherwise?"

texts:
"First, the Handlins cannot adequately demonstrate that the White servant's position was improving during and after the 1660's; several acts of the Maryland and Virginia legislatures indicate otherwise."

Does this mean that, in reality, the position of White servants was not improving?

Source: The first mention of slavery in the statutes of the English


texts: Past continuous for longer background events

texts:
I was studying about Past Continuous tense and my book states:

  We use the past continuous when the repeated actions or events provide a longer background to something else that happened.

It also gives the following example,

During the time I started to get chest pains, I was playing tennis a lot.

One sentence that I made myself germane to this rule was

When Pablo came on police's radar, he was organizing mass smuggling of contrabands.

I have two questions regarding this
1. Does the second sentence conform to the rule which the author wanted to describe?

Would it seem normal to native speakers or would they prefer to say it in some other way?


texts:
I have never seen look is used as a transitive verb. This is from the book Harry Potter. I don't quite get "Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast."

Here is an excerpt for more context.

  Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise -- unless of course it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him.  Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast. -- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling


texts: Is "ultimate best" correct grammar when used to describe something?

texts: For example: "This car is the ultimate best."


texts:
How do I change this direct speech into reported speech?

Father said,"Never say never."


texts: What does "one provocation too many" mean?

texts:
The phrase in question is part of a news article's headline:

  Letters: Turkey’s attack on a Russian jet came after one provocation too many.

Source: Telegraph

I googled the phrase but it doesn't seem to exist in any dictionary. However, I came across "have one too many"  which refers to drinking too much alcohol. Therefore, I'm guessing one provocation too many means too much provocation. But, if my guess is correct,  what does the word one refer to?


texts: grammars on "shoot me an email" vs "shoot me with an email"

texts:
According to several online pages, there are different grammatical interpretations of the structure of the phrase - shoot someone an email. To complicate it further, I've seen online a similar phrase "shoot me with an email", although it is possible that the users are not native English speakers.

I am seeking some clarification, if possible, or consensus in this ESL community regarding these two phrases and the grammars behind it/them.

In all structures, the verb to shoot seems to be used as a transitive verb. However,

  structure 1: shoot (someone) an email - email being the action object.

  structure 2: shoot someone an email - double objects

  structure 3: shoot someone with an email - someone being the action object.

Q1. Are all three correct English sentences ?

Q2. It seems unusual for the verb "to shoot" to be followed by double objects. Is it limited to the "borrowed definition" of to send ?

Q3. what are the differences, if any, between sentences 1 and 2 and between sentences 2 and 2 ?


texts: Use of the verb "to ride" when referring to riding a motorcycle

texts:
I'd like some clarifications about two points. The first is: is there any difference between the verb bike and ride in this example? Does the sentence sound natural in both cases?

  Yesterday I took my motorcycle and rode/biked to the park.

Second: do I always have to specify the vehicle (motorcycle in this case) in a sentence when I use the verb ride if it is known already by the context? (Considering all the various meanings the word ride has.)

For example, let's assume I've been talking a lot about the new motorcycle John has just bought and he is now in the garage where we know he keeps his motorcycle, is this sentence clear or ambiguous?

  Without thinking twice, John rode to town in search of his suspect.

Is it clear that he rode on his motorcycle rather than on a bus or taxi?


texts:
Look at this picture, a rat was at a distance from the ticket booth. The suddenly, the rat ran towards the booth and then sneaked under the booth.

The dictionary says

  under (prep) in, to or through a position that is below something

  Have you looked under the bed?

  She placed the ladder under (= just lower than) the window.

  The dog squeezed under the gate and ran into the road.

So, according to oxford dictionary, under: to a position that is below something

So, "The rat ran under the booth" can be replaced by "The rat ran to a position that is below the booth"

But saying that "The rat ran under the booth" may be confusing because people may think the rat just ran under the booth but not from a position outside the booth.

My question is

Do we say "The rat ran to and then under the ticket booth" or just "The rat ran under the ticket booth"?


texts: Should you use "a" or "an" with foreign words that start with "hi"?

texts:
For example, the word hikikomori (recluse in Japan).

Some sources use "an hikikomori," like this entry in IMDb.

And this article in the BBC uses "a hikikomori."

Are both usages acceptable? Or only one is correct?


texts:
When I finish my work, I need to write a simple report about completed tasks. What time should I use?

Now my report usually looks like:

Fix bag with this
Update that
Clean up

Should I use past simple to write about tasks that I've done?


texts: In the YouTube video A Man Drank 3 Liters Rum Everyday Since Age 13. This is What Happened To His Liver it is mentioned that "No more than 1 to 2 shots per day, without rollover, of hard liquor [...] is the recommendation." What is rollover?


texts: Should I use "its" or "their" in "The problem with this generation is its/their view of life"?

texts:
Which is correct?

  The problem with this generation is its view of life.

or

  The problem with this generation is their view of life.

I would say the first option, since the subject in the sentence is singular.
However, I wonder if it is correct to use the possessive "its" when referring to people.

I would appreciate the grammar explanation.


texts: May I say "It is less than 1 minute to print the paper"?

texts:
I know that we can write the sentence in the title as

  It takes less than 1 minute to print the paper.

But is

  It is less than 1 minute to print the paper.

also correct?

What I want to emphasize is that it is very fast to print the paper.


texts: Why place a connective in between a subject and an auxiliary verb?

texts:
Sometimes it is the people that(or who) nobody imagines anything of, who do the things that(or which) no one can imagine.

I question why should we place who in the above sentence. For example:

  The boy who is studious who scores good. - Incorrect

  The boy who is studious scores good. - Correct

I am implying that the subject and the auxiliary verb should be directly connected and why should we place a connective like who in between them.


texts: "the" before a thing and "down-filled snow pants"

texts:
I have the text in my book:

  Chad Michaels bounded out of Mukluk Middle School in northern Alaska. He ran as fast as he could despite his huge boots, down-filled snow pants, mittens, and hooded parka.

I have two questions:

1)  How do English people know that he bounded out of building of school? It is not "the Mukluk Middle School" which is meanining "building of school".

2) What does "down-filled snow pants" mean? Is it pants which filled with snow or something else?


texts: Had been already given or had already been given. Both are correct?

texts: The sentence : We had been already given three presents or We had already been given three presents. Can native speakers understand both sentences ? For Grammar,  which one is correct ? Thanks in advance


texts:
"I happened upon this video" or
"I happened on this video" I read the latter in a blog post, but I've heard the former mostly. Which is right?