texts: Which word is equivalent to word Providing?

texts:
Can you tell me which word is equivalent to providing in this sentence below, if or in case?

  The deposit is refundable when you leave, providing you haven't damaged anything.


texts: knowing the basic rules or ways of doing something

texts:
I am wondering when you want to say the following, what/ how  you say it?

To know the basic principle or rules of doing something

For instance, he must know the basic rules of the way of doing research to be able to publish it.

Please feel free to ask any question, as the question might not be clear enough.

Thanks


texts: When do I need to add 's to the first noun (and when don't I need to)?

texts:
Below you can see 63 of a Smart Card security target. (Here)

The question is : "When I need to add an 's to the first noun and when I don't?"

I mean which one of the below expressions is true?

JCVM's information flow control SFP
JCVM information flow control SFP

What is the meaning of it?

flow-control-SFP of information of JCVM
Or
information-flow-conftol-SFP of JCVM

Note that:

SFP= Security Functions Policies

JCVM= Java Card Virtual Machines


texts:
Suppose I have a coordinator which manages and supervises several devices. In fact these devices are under the supervision of this coordinator. We want to mention these devices.

What is the best phrase for referring to these devices? Is it correct to say:

  coordinator's under supervision devices


texts: present perfect or present perfect continuous?

texts:
If I see a friend with a lot of shopping bags and I want to inquire in a friendly way what they have bought, should I ask: what have you bought? or what have you been buying? Are both possible without any difference in meaning?
If I want to know if my husband has ordered something that has been delivered and I want to ask in a neutral way could I ask "have you ordered something?" or "have you been ordering something?" without difference?
I am wondering if the continuous conveys some sort of negativity ( annoyance or accusation )in these cases.


texts: Past perfect or Present Perfect in these situations?

texts:
I've seen these sentences in the British Council website:

He was a good guitarist. He'd been playing since childhood

I'd been watching that programme since it started, but I missed the last episode

Could I say these sentences with the present perfect?

He's a good guitarist. He's been playing since childhood

I've been watching that programme since it started, but I missed the last episode.

Is there any difference that is on the way?


texts: Should “The man has always needed religion and as profoundly as he has always needed food” use a simple tense instead?

texts:
Should this sentence's verbs indicate that the actions occurred in the past indirectly by using the compound present prefect construction:

  The man has always needed religion and as profoundly as he has always needed food.

Or should it indicate that the actions occurred in the past directly by using the simple past tense:

  The man always needed religion and as profoundly as he always needed food.


texts: "Population has increased (up) to more than 10 million"

texts:
If I write:

  Population has increased to more than 10 million

Is it right to use to here or should I use up to more than 10 million?

Or are both wrong? Should I make any other corrections?


texts:
In my language 'nonsense' is impolite enough and used in expressions of disgust usually towards  people and events. But I see a lot of people here often use this word while explaining others' that there questions and the likes have no basis.

  Your assumption is wrong. ... [explanation of what is the right thing] ... So this is nonsense.

This is contrary to their entries in other meta posts or comments elsewhere where the same people are supporting SE's 'Be nice' model.

Is it actually an impolite word? I'd like to know about its usage in both British and US English.

Research: Couldn't find any credible website writing about its usage.


texts: "to disrupt Thompson from discharging his duty to approve the count of votes"

texts:
Currently reading this article about Trump, there is a line,

The Feb. 16 suit says the defendants tried to disrupt Thompson from discharging his duty to approve the count of votes cast by the Electoral College after the presidential election.

I somewhat find this bold part strange personally.
So, Trump tried to "disrupt"="annoy" Mr.Thompson, from setting his duty free to approve the court of votes case by the Electoral College.
Where am I wrong here?


texts: Can verbs become adjectives in sentences like "A _considered_ weakness for job A might actually be a strength for job B"?

texts:
This question is very important to me and I really want an answer. I am wondering whether verbs like the ones in the following examples can be adjectives and placed before nouns. Please tell me whether the ones with As are correct and if not, please mention the reason.

A weakness might be considered a weakness for job A, but considered  a strength for job B.

  1A. A considered weakness for job A might actually be a strength for job B.

A topic that has been explained might still be in want of further explanation to  a layman.

  2A. An explained topic might still be in want of further explanation to a
  layman.

An area that has been explored extensively might still have unrevealed spots.

  3A. An extensively explored area might still have unrevealed spots.


texts: Is the adjective "cheap" used to convey an opinion or a fact?

texts:
I'm taking an online English Grammar course, and I'm a little bit confused with the adjectives order thing.

In the course is said that the order is:

Opinion (nice, lovely, ugly, terrible)
Size (big, small, enormous, tiny)
Age (old, new, 12-year-old, ancient)
Shape (square, oval, round)
Color (blue, red, golden, spotted)
Origin (Italian, European, American)
Material (wooden, gold, silk)
Use (dinner – dinner table, flower – flower pot)

So, in the phrase:

  A RIDICULOUS CHEAP PLASTIC toy

To me, it seems that ridiculous and cheap "opinion" adjectives, so why does ridiculous go first?


texts:
Till today I thought that correct way is to say "let us to know", but today I received a formal email that was written there "Let us know", and that's why I'm here to check the issue.

I would also like to know if the answer depends on the type of pronoun, I mean if it matters that the pronoun is such as: her, him, they etc (let her know, let him know, let they know etc.)


texts: I think an article (a/the) has been missing here

texts:
I was reading this news on yahoo and I think there should be an article. If you say there should not be then please give me some valid reasons.

On yahoo:

  Question- Importance of body language in detecting partner’s mood?

  Ans: Body language is a major form of non-verbal communication and
  sometimes speaks even louder than the words. Words may lie or even
  remain unsaid, but usually,  body speaks honestly, unless the other
  person is trained enough to manage the body language efficiently.

  In my opinion:

  Ans: A body language is a major form of non-verbal communication and
  sometimes speaks even louder than the words. Words may lie or even
  remain unsaid, but usually,  body speaks honestly, unless the other
  person is trained enough to manage the body language efficiently.


texts:
Is it better to say:

  I hope you enjoyed this content, and find it beneficial and
  inspirational with your own analysis.

Or

  I hope you enjoyed this content, and find it beneficial and
  inspirational in your own analysis.


texts: Is it right to say "What time is it?" and "What day is it?" when asking about the day and the time of an event?

texts:
If there's an event yet to come and two people talking to each other about it, if one of them doesn't know about the day and the time, can he ask (What day is it?) and (What time is it?)? Isn't it misundrestood that he is asking about the day and the time of now?

  Example

  A: There's a game this month.

  B: What time is it?

  A: It's at 8:30 P.M.

  B: What day is it?

  A: On the fifth.


texts: Looking for a word that describes an inherent problem in a product

texts:
I think there is a word to describe that a certain problem in a product was cause by a defect that inherently existed in the product from the start as opposed to something that broke during the usage of the product.

Inherent is close, but I think there is some more precise word for it.


texts: Is it common nowadays to say "Zoom in" to mean something like having a chat on Zoom?

texts:
On PBS NewsHour, I heard the following conversation. (At around 13:40 of the video.)

A: Where are you going to be and what are you going to be doing on
Christmas?
B: I'm going to spend it at a quiet dinner with my wife. We will do
what we did over Thanksgiving. I will Zoom in my three daughters,
so we can have a chat and maybe share a glass of Prosecco with them.

I guess the expression I will Zoom in my three daughters is equal to in other words "I will have a Zoom video-chat with my three daughters." Am I correct? Is the phrase commonly used in English speaking countries today?


texts: "decide appointment", "fix appointment" or some other?

texts:
I'm willing to say "The start time of the appointment has been decided long time ago. So, It can not be changed"

In idiomatic English, are the following sentences the same as what I want to say?

  The appointment has been fixed long time ago. So, ...

  The appointment has been decided long time ago. So, ...

  The appointment has been set long time ago. So, ...

I appreciate if you could tell me more simple or natural (idiomatic) way to tell that. I think it's common and often in business.


texts: Am I correct making this statement negative?

texts:
It has to do with pollution that I feel tired.

I am making this statement negative now. But, which one is correct?

  It doesn't have to do with this.   It won't have to do with this.


texts: What is the meaning of the phrase "in the hands of big money"?

texts:
The following excerpt is from The Guardian:

  She needs to prove that she isn’t still in the hands of big money. She has only been proving the opposite again and again. I want to vote for Hillary. I just need a reason to do so.

Please explain the meaning of the phrase in bold. I can only guess it may mean that somehow she was involved in some fraudulent financial activities in the past and now she needs to prove that she's no longer, but I'm not sure.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms defines:

  in the hands of: In the possession of; in the custody or under the authority of.

If we consider that collective mentality usually assumes that big money can only be made unorthodoxly then my guess could probably be true. On the other hand, being in the hands of big money might mean that she's controlled by big money, that is, wealthy people, but these are just my thoughts, so please don't get me wrong.


texts:
I have seen this sentence in lots of websites and I'm really confusing about it:

  a good assistant uses their skills to help the master focus on their skills

When A good assistant is singular, why it says their skills while their is plural. It's the same for master and their skills.

I'm wondering if it is a grammatical mistake which lots of people are doing their websites, or a type of exception which I'm not aware about it.

I'm now confused about the real meaning of this sentence.


texts:
How do you address a policeman while he is on duty (e.g., when you are asked to stop at a checkpoint)? The word "policeman" itself seems quite unusual to me, and some sources suggest "officer". Is that correct?

Is there any difference in use if the policeman is a woman: should you use a different word?

Also, is "cop" a wrong word to use in this context (i.e., potentially offensive or derogatory)?


texts: Why do we use the past-perfect here instead of the simple past tense?

texts:
In this text, why do we use the past-perfect here instead of the simple past tense for "double"?

  The chart shows the percentage of people aged 65 and over in the United States between 1900 and 2000. In the year 1900 just over 4% of the population was aged over 65. However, by 1960 this figure had doubled.

(emphasis added)


texts:
I want to reply to my professor by email. I want to ask him to give me a week to read more, and I also want to tell him I found a basic paper. Is basic correct in these sentences? I want to say the main paper all other papers referred to. How about:

  I found a basic paper for this.

Also, how should I ask for more time?

  I want to take one week time to learn more about this.


texts: When to put comma before"but" in "....not only...but also"?

texts:
I read in a grammar book that only if the two sentences, [A] n [B], are independent clauses, need to put a comma before "but" in ".....not only..[A]....but also ...[B].."?

But How to determine if [A] n [B] are independent?

Consider:

  Tom not only slipped, but also dropped the plate. (correct?)
  Tom forgot not only his wallet, but also his hand phone. (correct?)
  Tom is not only smart but also kind. (correct?)


texts: What other sentences could I use to convey the given expression in the question? And, of the given two sentences, which is right?

texts:
I don't use the same pick I use to play the acoustic guitar, to play the electric guitar.

  I don't use the same pick I use to play the acoustic guitar as I do to play the electric.

(I'm not really sure what this sentence means. So, if you could break it down for me, that'd be great.)

If I wanted to convey that I don't use a single pick to play both them guitars, which sentence would be closer to what I want to convey?

What other sentences could I use to convey the same?
And is the first sentence grammatically correct?


texts:
I am struggling a bit with when I need to use a/an/the before adjective followed by a noun. I understand the rules for articles in general but I discovered that this particular case is always confusing me. For example, I wrote a sentence:

  The key to successful business development in this industry is understanding the market from regional perspective as Canada is a large country with different local dynamics.

Do I need articles before "successful", "regional", and "different"? It doesn't sound right to me. Another example is:

  The proof of their success is evident in acquisition interest by larger players and ongoing creation of smaller companies by their former employees.

Do I need articles before "acquisition", "larger", and "smaller"?


texts: The most fascinating site in the country is/are the men blowing trumpets

texts:
A)The most fascinating site in the country is the men blowing trumpets.
  B)The most fascinating site in the country are the men blowing trumpets.

Which among the two is correct?
Which form should the verb be used if we have a singular subject and a plural verb?


texts: May I use participle clause about "one action that happens just before another" in simple tense?

texts:
My own example:

  "I take off my contact lenses and I always feel tingle."

Does the sentence I shortened equal the example below?

  "Taking off my contact lenses, I always feel tingle."


texts: What tense is "would" in "...and I would go on living, like that,..."? Is it past or present?

texts:
SOURCE  (Paris Review, "Breaking It Down" by Lydia Davis)

I was listening to the radio to improve my listening skills ( because usually I listen and read transcript at the same time ) and they talked about the text below. In the sentence "And I would go on living like that. I would be able to go on living",

"Would" is in the past or the present (conditional)?

I don't really understand those sentences if she's talking about "go on living like that" and being able to "go on living" in the past when she was with her or right now in the present.

  And once she lay over against me late in the night and she started talking, her breath in my ear, and she just went on and on, and talked faster and faster, and couldn't stop, and I loved it, I just felt that all that life in her was running into me too, I had so little life in me. Her life, her fire was coming into me in that hot breath in my ear, and I just wanted her to go on talking forever right there next to me, and I would go on living, like that, I would be able to go on living, but without her I don't know.

  Then you forget some of it all, maybe most of it all, almost all of it, in the end, and you work hard at remembering everything now so you won't ever forget, but you can kill it too by thinking about it too much, though you can't help thinking about it nearly all the time.


texts:
In the past, you ought to spend an excessive amount of time on coordinating, communicating and keeping track with the suppliers.
  At the same time, you are concerned with product warehousing, sorting, and packaging.
  Before your clients could receive the products, you have already spent an immense amount of money on your suppliers. Now, Kinghome has a solution for you.


texts: `against payment in New York,New York` in one sentence

texts:
source:
http://www.fanniemae.com/resources/file/ir/pdf/stock-info/series_s_12062007.pdf

The  Underwriters  expect  to  deliver  the  Preferred  Stock  in  book-
entry  only  form  through  the  facilities
of  The  Depository  Trust  Company against payment in New York, New York, on or about December 11, 2007.

There are two New York in this long sentence.

against payment in New York, New York, on or about December 11, 2007.

Can it be written as

against payment in New York on or about December 11, 2007.  ?


texts: Usage of the combination "in immaturity"

texts:
My friend was telling me an old story. He used the following lines:

  There were two childhood friends, Drupad and Dron. They studied in the same school. Drupad was a prince and Dron was a son of a peasant. Once Drupad promised Dron that when he would become a king, he would give Dron half of his kingdom. So when Drupad became a king, Dron asked Drupad to give him half of the kingdom as Drupad had promised. On this, Drupad replied that he had given that promise in immaturity.

By the sentence he had given that promise in immaturity, he meant that he had given that promise due to his immaturity.

This combination in immaturity looks somewhat weird. Is it a natural way of using this word? Is there a better replacement for this word such as in naivety?


texts: "At x and y, I have encouraged..." or "At x and at y, I have encouraged..."?

texts:
I want to talk about two schools, x and y, in a sentence. I have the following options and I am confused which one is grammatically correct.
(1) At x and y, I have encouraged interaction between students.
(2) At x and at y, I have encouraged interaction between students.
(3) At both x and y, I have encouraged interaction between students.


texts: "we are not holding below booking any longer "versus " we are no longer holding below booking"

texts:
I always have a confusion that which one is right to use between these two sentences.
1.we are not holding below booking any longer.
2.we are no longer holding below booking.
Please help me.Thanks


texts: Can I use "come over" for going to someone's place?

texts: For example, if I wanna go to my friend's place tomorrow. Can I ask him: "hey I can come over to your place tomorrow"? It seems like come over can only be used when you want someone to come to your own place. Like "hey man you can come over to my house whenever you want." So I just wanna ask for a way to say "going to someone's place". Thanks!


texts:
I'm ordering what's the difference between half and halve.

Example: Do I say

  When looking after their eggs, male penguins do not eat anything and loses half/halve their weight


texts:
Here are some examples:
The far side of the Moon is of particular interest to the scientists.
Anglo is of European origin
Morning exercises is of benefit to your health
So what does "is of" in these sentences mean?


texts:
What does "be rounded in" mean in this context?

  All things are in their places in this little world, because all is natural and free, just as "there is room for everything out of doors." Yet all is rounded in by natural harmony, which will always arise where Truth and Love are sought in the light of Freedom.


texts: What is the term for the morning wake up gesture?

texts:
What term do we use to describe the gesture that we find when someone wakes up and flexes her arms?

Here is the picture.


texts: No article or the definite article with uncountable nouns and "of"

texts:
Tell me please which of the following sentences is correct.

  He showed his resentment in direct expression of anger.
  He showed his resentment in the direct expression of anger.

Although I have seen peope use it without "the", I suppose the second one is correct, because "anger" modifies "expression."

Could anyone tell me if I am wrong, and if I am, then explain it for me please.


texts: "Have you seen her?" or "Did you see her?"

texts:
I already knew that we use the present perfect for an action in the past with a result now.
Consider the following questions:

"I'm looking for Paula. Have you seen her?"
"I'm looking for Paula. Did you see her?"

Is there any difference between these two questions for this specific action (verb)? What is the result of "seeing" action which can't be represented by simple past?


texts:
I'm reading a novel by John Galsworthy written at the beginning of the twentieth century and I've come across this sentence:

The Board meeting had been long and "snadgy"--a final settling of that Pillin business.

I don't really know what "snadgy" is (the quotation marks haven't been added by me, but are in the original text). My guess from the context is that it is something like "difficult" or "tricky", but I haven't found it in any reliable resource.
Could anyone help me understand this?


texts:
I'm confused about the phrase "to a seasonally adjusted". I found it in this text:

  Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 311,000, the lowest level since November, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

Taken from Reuters.


texts:
My client is asking me the following question:

  "Do you have time available in the week or two to come?".

What does this mean? We are from different countries and I am freelancing. He needs me to do some work for him. So does this mean after 1,2 weeks or I supposed to work within next two weeks? I hope I explained it right.


texts: Disconnect (the / zero article) power before attempting to repair electrical equipment

texts:
Could you please advise which article should be used in the below sentence?

I and my friend are doing an exercise of filling suitable article(s) (a / an / the / no article) into the blank of the sentence:

  You should disconnect ____ power before attempting to repair electrical equipment.

Both of us agree that indefinite articles 'a' and 'an' will not be used before uncountable nouns like power in the above sentence. However, we have different views on the other choices.

For me, I don't use any article because

  When we refer to general ideas, plurals or uncountable nouns we do not use THE.
  Source: Grammar.cl

and I also showed my friend some example sentences from Google:

  This starts in the home, where you should disconnect power before performing any work like replacing a light fixture or an outlet.
  Source: powerlines.seattle.gov

My friend disagrees with me. She explains that without definite article "the", the sentence in the exercise means you should disconnect all power, even the power from equipment which you don't repair. This doesn't make sense. That's why she thinks "the" should be filled into the blank to mean that you should disconnect the power which is relevant to the electrical equipment you want to repair. Fortunately, she found the original sentence from Cambridge dictionary:

  You should disconnect the power before attempting to repair electrical equipment.
  Source: dictionary.cambridge.org


texts:
I came across this sentence on a Britannica page:

  The titles of Jakobson’s works indicate the expanding scope of his research

Why is expanding used here instead of expansive? Is expanding a commonly used adjective? Any difference from expansive?


texts:
Regarding relative adverbial "How", "how" can replace "conjunction" and "adverbial phrase" in original sentences.
So my thought is as follows.
This is not how you drink it.
→ This is not the way and you drink it not in the way.
→ This is not the way how you drink it.
→ This is not how you drink it. (because "HOW" cannot be used together with "the way".
My understanding is correct?


texts: How to pronounce the phrase "an unreliable person"?

texts: As I mentioned in the topic, I'm confused about how to pronounce "an unreliable person" in a native way, because when I pronounce them seperately, such as an  un, I think it sounds a little bit redundant. Should I mix them into one sound, sounds like an reliable, or pronounce like a nunreliable or just speak them normally without any alteration?


texts: I watched many YouTube videos and they seem to pronounce the first part of "Quarter" exactly the same as "core". It seems that the A is silent reading. Am I correct? Are there any accents that pronounce it like "QuAr"?


texts: Present Perfect after Past Perfect in a text

texts:
Yesterday, when I was using a printer, it suddenly turned off in the middle of printing.  I was surprised and pushed the power button many times, but it never turned on again. I realized that it had broken down. I have used it for about four years.

Is this use of the Present Perfect following the Past Perfect okay, since the author has used the printer for quite a long time? That is, using this Present Perfect, the author is shifting the passage from "me yesterday" to "me today".

Or should one necessariliy backshift it to

  I had used it for about four years.

Alternatively, can one use the Present Perfect in both sentences:

  I realized that it has broken down. I have used it for about four years.

..since the event is a recent one (yesterday) and the condition still obtains (the printer still exists and it is in a broken-down condition).


texts: can we "fight" against "an issue" and a "social tension"

texts:
We should fight against these issues.

and

  We should fight against these social tensions.

are they correct?


texts: Is the sentence grammatically correct? (Concerned with tense usage)

texts:
Since I can understand the English dialogue without much difficulty, there’s no reason not to enjoy the films in the way the film-makers intended.

I'm not sure whether I should use "intended" or "had intended" here, any help is highly appreciated!


texts: When one's look is the index of their mood

texts:
In my mother language, there is a proverb which says:
"It is absolutely easy to guess how one feels in which mood he /she is from their face / look / appearance." I have found three sentences in this regard in English; which one sounds more natural to you in AE:

  The heart’s letter is read in the eyes.
  The stuff the heart writes is read in the eyes.
  The eyes are the mirror of the soul.


texts: Dangling modifier when the preposition is at the beginning of the sentence ("After", "by")

texts:
Which of the following sentences are correct?

After introducing some anchors by the user, the range of nodes which are affected by a single anchor or a group of anchors should be specified.
After some anchors are introduced by the user, the range of nodes which are affected by a single anchor or a group of anchors should be specified
After some anchors were introduced by the user, the range of nodes which are affected by a single anchor or a group of anchors should be specified

How about this.

After visiting a node which matches the anchor “PageNavigationBar”, the scope of the context is closed.
by selecting the two anchors from the list of anchors and selecting the “Common Ancestor” option, the context is created

I am afraid the way I use of subordinate clauses with "after" or "by" is incorrect or not natural or they can be cases of Dangling Modifiers
What is the general rule?


texts: "Rich" or "Well off": Which is more common in the USA?

texts:
I saw in a dictionary this expression:

well off is like:  rich

My question is: is it more common to use "well off" or "rich" in the USA?

Example:

  they must be well off to buy a house there

or

  they must be rich to buy a house there

Both are correct I know, but what is more common or best to explain people that have a lot money?


texts:
If the answer is:
She does not like to drink coffee.

Which question is correct?

  What doesn't she like to drink?

or:

  What is she doesn't like to drink?


texts: Is this correct: "Should you have something that I can do, please feel free to assign me task."

texts:
I want to send an Email to my professor, and say "Should you have something that I can do, please feel free to assign me task."

I assume that "Should you" = "If you", is that correct?


texts: a word/phrase for something that is very obvious

texts:
What do we call it when something is so obvious (about someone) that there is no point in stating it? Is there a phrase or an idiom?

For example:

  It is very obvious that he is a drug addict.


texts: When to use singular or plural when the phase is something with somethings?

texts:
Consider these examples:

bicycle with wheels
bicycles with wheels
burger with fries
burgers with fries
words with definitions
word with definitions
word with definition

Which ones of these are correct? I have seen the more common one is word with definitions. However, it sounds correct when using burgers with fries when you are buying 2 meals. Are there any general rules of thumb when using these clauses? Thanks in advance.


texts:
Example: However, I would be able to transfer the money if you would give me your bank account number.

Is it grammatically correct to use adverbs such as "however" in a conditional clause? I personally think it sounds off but I thought I may ask first before making my mind up. I haven't found any articles related to this subject either.


texts:
Do the following sentences mean the same? Which one among "in" and "on" is preferably used here?

  1) He never lied on/ in any occasion.
  2) He didn't tell a lie on/ in any occasion.


texts:
Yesterday one of my classes was practicing wh- questions in past simple (Stretch Starter, Oxford University Press, p 93). The activity involves creating a question for the given answer. The first is provided as an example, and I've filled in the rest:

  1A: Where did you go? B: I went to a movie.

  2A: (Who did she come with?) B: She came with James.

  3A: (How long did they stay [for]?) B: They stayed for a week.

  4A: (Where did Jack go [to]? B: Jack went to Allan's house.

  5A: (When did you call [me] [*at]?) B: I called you at 9:00.

For 2, about half the students wrote *'Who did she come?', which is ungrammatical, but I couldn't think why, either on the spot yesterday, or now, 24 hours later. In 3 and 4, the preposition is optional (and unnatural for me). In 5, the preposition is ungrammatical.

Huddleston and Pullum (A Student's Guide to English Grammar, p 137-9) don't discuss it, and I can't find it anywhere else. Has anyone got any thoughts about this?


texts: Does "paying public" refer to people/citizen who pays taxes?

texts:
It sounds like the video is saying (link with a time stamp corresponds the following)

  In 2013, Grylls found himself in hot water with the local council after erecting a huge
  metal slide that ended with a drop off a cliff face into the sea below.
  Grylls defended his decision by saying:
  "The slide is not for the paying public and therefore the health and safety is not for
  other people.

Does "paying public" refer to people/citizen who pays taxes here?


texts: What did Obama mean when he said "we've surged intelligence-sharing"?

texts:
Last week, US president Barack Obama said:

  Third, we’re working with friends and allies to stop ISIL’s operations -- to disrupt plots, cut off their financing, and prevent them from recruiting more fighters.  Since the attacks in Paris, we’ve surged intelligence-sharing with our European allies.  We’re working with Turkey to seal its border with Syria. And we are cooperating with Muslim-majority countries -- and with our Muslim communities here at home -- to counter the vicious ideology that ISIL promotes online.

Surge here is a transitive verb (i.e. to surge something).

When I check Merriam-Webster it has six noun senses (e.g. "a surge of interest"), five intransitive verb senses (e.g. "a ship surging in heavy seas").

It does have a transitive verb sense, but with very different meaning:

  to let go or slacken gradually (as a rope)

This is clearly not what Obama meant; he used it in the opposite, to mean an increase like the more familiar noun and intransitive verb senses.

Is Obama's use of this verb a new sense, or am I misunderstanding the M-W definition?

Is it common or mainstream? Or is he introducing some slang or jargon to a wider audience?


texts: What is the structure of the following sentence?

texts:
What did they do about the problem?

I think the structure of the sentence is like the following:

Subject = they
Verb = do
Object = What
Adverbial = about the problem

Is it correct? Please explain it to me.


texts:
What's the proper way to say "1 unit of caviar"? Caviar is an uncountable noun even though technically it's countable unlike water, so because of that I am not sure if you can refer to "1 unit of caviar" idiomatically. Is it the case? I thought about "1 egg of caviar", "1 unit of caviar", but they sound really weird and unidiomatic. How would you say it?

For example:

  He took 1 unit of caviar and put it on top of a rice ball just to show
  him he was a frugal chef.


texts: Which one is correct and why? the verb or the gerund

texts:
Every one visiting these museums feels happy about it.

Or

  Every one visits these museums feels happy about it.


texts:
What are the colloquial names for juice boxes like the one below of children's size?

  A juice box, also called a carton or popper, is a small container used to conveniently carry and consume drinks (most often juice). They are frequently made of paperboard with an aluminum foil lining, but variations exist. Juice boxes are most popular with children, although other uses include emergency drinking water and wine.  (Wikipedia)


texts:
Source:  http://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/998521/the-kotla-shambles

Please look at the following

  Undoubtedly these are shocking details. But legal cases, allegations and political slugfests are unable to capture the experience of the spectator. It is he who has to endure the consequences of the mess that has erupted inside the association.

Here in the above highlighted part, the spectator in question is singular, which of the following two would be correct to use

a) It is they who has to endure the consequences.

b) It is they who have to endure the consequences.

Which one is correct of the two?


texts: "Did you watch this movie?" or "Have you watched this movie?"

texts:
What is the difference between

  Did you watch this movie?

and

  Have you watched this movie?


texts:
The question have confused me for a long time. How to distinguish "are" and "aren't" in American accent? Usually, the pronunciations are:

are is pronounced as /ə/ or /ɑ:r/
aren't is pronounced as /'ɑːrənt/

According to my hearing, many Americans would omit the final /t/ in aren't, making it /'ɑːrən/, which is very close to the pronunciation of are(/ɑ:r/). In fact, I almost cannot find any difference.You can hear this sentence here. It says: These aren't the only governors touting comebacks. But for me, the aren't in the sentence is more like an are, isn't it? Can anyone tell me how to distinguish the two words? Thanks.


texts: What is the verb that describes a chicken opening its wings slightly to balance itself?

texts:
The context I want to use it in is as follows:

  Even within that confined space the chickens bustled around. Bobbing
  their heads in every direction, they balanced themselves by lifting
  their feet in turns from the bars. They puffed out their wings a
  little as well.


texts: when talk about math notation, which expression is more appropriate "denoted x,y" "denoted by x,y" "denoted as x,y"?

texts:
I am leaning this post.

  Therefore, I hope you will indulge me and first think of the ‘vectors’
  (usually denoted u,v,w,x,y) and their ‘coefficients’ (usually denoted
  a,b,c) as fundamentally different objects.

in this case, which expression is more appropriate "denoted x,y" "denoted by x,y" "denoted as x,y"?


texts:
Imagine a following situation.

  Mike and Natalie share same preferences in perfume. They both like
  sweet, clean and soft aroma/scent.

  Two other people - Kate and Jane - are talking about Mike. And Kate
  notes that she likes an aroma of perfume that Mike uses. Jane are
  asking her friend what perfume Mike wears and Kate have decided
  to describe it in following way:

  He wears same ones as Natalie does.

Main Q. Is it correct way to say it? How would you point on same preferences of both in given conversation?

Additional Q1 Is it okay to say "wearing perfume"? I see examples with this collocation in the Internet, but still better to ask and be perfectly sure.

Additional Q2 What the difference between words "aroma" and "scent" in terms of perfume? In my native language we use the word "aroma" mostly with very few occasions of using "scent", but from what I see (and may be totally wrong!) the word "scent" is acceptable in English too.

Thanks.


texts: what does "I did not know you had been ill." mean exactly

texts:
I did not know you had been ill.

the person began to be ill before I knew it, but does that mean she is still ill or has the person recovered from his illness or does it depend on the
context and without context is it possible to know if she is still ill


texts: "crimes against humanity during the 1992-95 war"

texts:
The amnesia about the continent’s capacity for slaughter will be broken in The Hague on Thursday, where judgment will be passed on Radovan Karadžić for charges of genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I am not sure how to read aloud the date with the hyphen in the above sentence. Is it just "in the 1992 and 1995 war"? Or is it "until"? Or something else?


texts:
Why 'can', not 'could' in "She told us that we can use the kitchen."?

I thought that since the main verb is 'told' that the following sentence after 'that~' should use the past tense, 'could', too. Could anybody help me understand what I am missing here?


texts:
One of my colleague has sent me a message.

  Hi xyz, this is my friend abc and you might become friends... Her parents are from qwe place

How should I respond to this message in a way saying that I am interested in meeting the person.


texts:
The sentence is from a novel, and here is some part I'm stuck because of the meaning of 'ass'. I know 'ass' means something bad, but I'd like to know what exactly means in this sentence. I guess it means like 'jay knows when he feels embarrassed because of something stupid he has done'.

A jay can cry, a jay can laugh, a jay can feel shame, a jay can reason and plan and discuss, a jay likes gossip and scandal; a jay has got a sense of humor, a jay knows when he is an ass as well as you do - maybe better.

Jay is a bird, 'blue-jay'


texts:
Suppose you are fighting with your competitor company in order to win a tender and aside form achieving lots of money, it has very high importance for you because of some personal / old problems between you as the directing manager of company A and that guy as the director of the company B. The team is evaluating your companies' points to define the winner. Someone notices your efforts and your worry; he / she comes to you and asks why are you so stressful. (You feel your reputation / prestige is endangered) You answer:

  This is a prestigious matter, and it is of paramount importance that I succeed.

Does the above sentence sound idiomatic and natural to you as a native speaker in this sense? Isn't it too formal?


texts: "this reminds me of", "this reminded me of", "this made me think of", "I'm reminded of", are there any differences?

texts:
Someone asked a question on a forum and my reply to that question started with:

Your question reminded me of a similar thread on this forum.

Before posting this I was debating between reminds and reminded, then I used the latter because I thought reminds did not make grammatical sense in that context, however, after posting it I thought I probably used the wrong verb altogether.
Since reminds is in present tense, it should be talking about a habitual event, so I did not choose it.
In addition, this reminds me of seems to me to have the connotation of: "this makes me remember something/someone important to me, something of sentimental value, something/someone I agree or disagree with, something I have an opinion about... which was in the back of my mind for a long time".
I did some research and found examples which seem to agree with my understanding:

This reminds me of the whole sort of
self-esteem generational thing where everybody gets a trophy cuz we're all winners, there's no competition, there's no
winning and losing.
This reminds me of the poem by the great Irish poet W.B. Yeats, where the best lack all conviction, and the worst are full of passionate intensity.

I also think that the past form reminded me of does not fit in my sentence either because to me it seems to have the same connotation as the present form's except that the remembered thing/person here is probably unique and unlikely to be met with/happen again and I think this is why the past tense is used here and not the present tense.

They reminded me of myself 20 years ago.

It reminded me of how Alice Walker distinguishes womanist from a feminist. You know, if you've heard the quote where she says, "A
womanist is to a feminist, "as purple is to lavender."

In many ways, he reminded me of some other giants of the 20th century
that I've had the honor to meet -- men  like Nelson Mandela; women
like Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth.

Coincidentally enough, I got a comment on a previous question in which the commenter used the phrase this made me think of which I think is what I should have used in my reply.
I have also heard I'm reminded of which seems to me to be the formal equivalent of all of the mentioned above.

I'm reminded of an article you wrote five years ago.

I'm reminded of a song.

I'm reminded of that every time I walk past those fields.

I would love to get some insights from native speakers on this because I could be overanalyzing things here.
Edit:    Although this might be a very simple question, I am a little confused about the use of this reminded me of X.
Does this mean:
1)At some point in the past, this made me remember X.
Or:
2)What you have just said made me remember X?
And if I would like to imply the second, why cannot I say:
This has reminded me of X. [very few examples online]
This has made me remember X. [not even one example]?


texts: Adjective for 'a description that permits different people to envision the same event'

texts:
I'm looking for an adjective that implies that a description of a complex and intricate event enables different people to envision that event and ascribe more or less the same features to it.

Example sentence:
It should be possible to provide a ADJECTIVE HERE description that allows the different, unrelated, and dispersed experiencers and aspirants to form a relatively coherent picture of the event.

NOTE, adjectives such as these here below are excluded:

precise
detailed
rich
all-encompassing
profound

Thanks for any conducive input!


texts:
“I woke up to my mom’s call.” vs “I woke up to a call from my mom.” Which is correct and why?
I want to know which sentence is correct. Could you explain why in simple terms?


texts:
I have an accounting system, and I'm looking for the correct terms for some documents...
As a seller, some of the documents that I can issue are "invoices" and "delivery notes".
But when I'm acting as a customer, what would be the correct name for an entity destined to keep track of the documents that a seller issues to me?
For invoices as was thinking of "proofs of purchase" (a direct translation of "comprobantes de compra" in spanish). And I have no idea what to call an entity for "delivery notes". Someone suggested me "delivery receipts" or "goods reception", but I'm not sure about those...


texts:
The sentence I created to end a sports article looks like this:

  This team seems to be determined to celebrate the 20th anniversary of
  their 1998 World Cup champion title with another conquer on Saturday
  shall their enemy be England or Croatia

I am to express here that the team is ready to put up the fight it doesn't matter if their enemy will be England or Croatia.

Is the usage of "shall" correct there?

Thank you!


texts: Help to understand this sentence from the book Harry Potter

texts:
Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets -- but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.

This is from the book Harry Potter. Couple of things I don't understand:

How come Ten years ago can work with past perfect tense? As I know, 'ago' denotes simple past tense.
Is "what looked like a large pink beach ball" referring to Dudley Dursley? I can't image one could look like a large pink beach ball at all!


texts: "through an attrition of retirement" Did I hear it correctly?

texts:
I was listening to something on YouTube where a speaker said: "That is going to require those who are older now in places of power, to be no longer there. And that will happen through an attrition of retirement and  death".
Which phrase is correct:

  . . .through an attrition of retirement. . .

or

  . . .through an attrition and retirement. . .

It seems to me that the words “attrition” and “retirement” are synonyms.


texts: Does "entity number" sound natural to NSE as an ID despite not being a numeric value?

texts:
I'm translating our project vocabulary to English and I got uncertain if the particular item below is truly English or only Englishish.

  Registry number

The concept it's supposed to convey is the identification text for a record in the registry (sort of a name but guaranteed to be unique). The Swedish term is diarienummer, so optically, number is to be preferred as it would make it intuitively recognizable, because of the partial resemblance. However, that logic would imply that ham comes from a hamster, which it does not.

The actual value doesn't need to be numeric. In fact, it's likely that it won't be. A few examples that might be entered are shown below. Of course, I'm aware that a number can be anoted using roman numericals but that's rather a value (not necessarily a number). Also, I've seen a discussion claiming that the value of MIX is: the number 991 if regarded as such but the concept of blended mixture if regarded so.

  Monkey Donkey 2019:10-a32
  Hamster Ham 2020:04-666
  Abra Kadabra Poof 2020:01-1

I was considering registry ID, RIN (like PIN but for registry and not a person). But not being NSE, I'm too cautious to make a judgement call. The primary target is to be perfectly correct linguistically. The convenience and recognizability are secondary, although nice to have.

Does registry number sound natural as an ID to NSE despite not being a numeric value?
If not (or if not perfectly right), what would be an appropriate alternative?
What do we call the meat that comes from a hamster's gluteal muscles? (Sorry, couldn't resist...)


texts:
A dog followed the man into the store.

Is it only me who thinks the sentence above means both?

A dog was walking behind the man into the store.
The man got into the store by the following of a dog.

I think it's possible the sentence means both, although the second version sounds very weird, but anyways, it can be interpreted the 2nd way.


texts:
There are lots of looking forward to questions, such as this one.

Can this sentence:

  "I am looking forward to hearing from your reply"

Also be written as:

  "I am looking forward to your reply"

?


texts:
I will go to the beach, but not if it is raining.

What is the independent clause(s) in the above sentence to which "if it is raining" is/are attaching to.
Is "not" serving as the independent clause "I will not go to the beach" to which "if it is raining" is attaching to? Or is it serving as a negative adverbial phrase "will not go to the beach"?


texts: Why in my grammar book this sentence " Almost before I had shut my eyes, I felt a nudge in my side" they use past perfect, even nudge occurred first?


texts: ... dates them immediately after >theof the silver coins<

texts:
There are two explanations for the copper archer-type coins. A.
  Simonetta sees in them a Sanabares II, and dates them immediately
  after the Sanabares (I) of the silver coins. (Source)

To which part of the sentence "of the silver coins" refers?

Why "Sanabares (I)" takes "the"?


texts: Interpretation of "share in" in "shared in the ongoing tragedy"

texts:
“Although northern Carolina, unlike the colony’s southern reaches, did
  not at first import large numbers of African slaves, both regions
  shared in the ongoing tragedy of bloody relations between Indians and Europeans."

  From "The American Pageant" by Thomas A. Bailey

I have checked the thread https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/125385/difference-between-to-share-in-and-to-share

I think the writer is using "share in" because northern Carolina and southern Carolina were not the only two regions that participated in the war against Indians(bloody relations). There were other regions, or other Europeans than the British who colonized Carolina.  Is my interpretation correct?

Post 3 in https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/shared-in-shared-the-ongoing-tragedy.3586949/#post-18251878 seems to agree with my interpretation.

  "I don't see any difference in this particular example, but in a more
  general context:

  ... they would share the blame. "They" would be to blame. They would
  be the only people to blame,

  ... they would share in the blame. "They" would take some of the
  blame. They, and others not identified, would be to blame. "


texts: Can you omit the noun after the adjective 'own' that follows the genitive of an NP?

texts:
a. The opposition party approves of the policy, but the president's own party doesn't.

Can you omit the noun 'party' like this?

  b. The opposition party approves of the policy, but the president's own doesn't.


texts:
If I was writing something and I wanted to emphasize its meaning I might informally write it like this:

The bus ride was very loooooong.
I had a BIG lunch.
The document had a number of speeling errors.

Does anyone know a term for this informal usage?


texts:
What is the difference between following sentences?

  They show me a cent.
  They show me to a cent.

Does that “to” change the meaning of the sentence? What I think is it is a archaic structure. “They show me to a cent” means they gift (or give) me a cent.


texts: What is the meaning of 'leisurely vengeance' in the following context?

texts:
He looked around and added: “That goes for your shadow-loving fleabag partner, too, wherever he’s hiding.”
 The Weasel stepped up to the horse and peered at the disheveled figure.

“Why, it’s Rincewind the wizard, isn’t it?” he said in tones of delight, meanwhile filing the wizard’s description of him in his memory for leisurely vengeance. “I thought I recognized the voice.”

(Page 9).
 This is an exerpt from Terry practchett 'The color of magic'.


texts:
What does "critical faculty" mean?

I utter that word of criticism because, in the present circumstances,
my critical faculty is becoming rather blunted from disuse.

or

They have done a vast amount to stimulate the critical faculty among
consumers.


texts: Does this 'Sing like no people listening to you' make sense?

texts:
Sing like no people listening to you.

This sentence means that sing like that no people are listening to you.

Is the sentence 'Sing like no people listening to you' right expression?
I mean that can "be verb" be omitted in this sentence.


texts:
It's a long way back for Villareal. They were still in the game at 2-1, but it is hard to see them recovering from a two goal deficit in the final 20 minutes here.

Could you tell me what the phrase "in the game" means in this context especially in football (soccer)?


texts: Which one is more grammatically correct as a shop name, Valhalla’s Dojo or Valhalla Dojo? It’s a name for a game centre. My partners and I can’t seem to agree on this.


texts: What does "compensate" mean in this context?

texts:
Does it mean "be able to make profits"?
I used this link: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compensate

They point to rising global turmoil underscored by the recent terrorist attacks in Barcelona and the racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as valuations that no longer compensate for potential flareups in North Korea and Venezuela. That’s not to mention the unpredictability in the U.S., where President Donald Trump is feuding with members of Congress before a critical vote to increase the country’s debt ceiling.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-28/traders-ditch-risk-as-dalio-to-gundlach-warn-on-emerging-markets


texts:
I'm watching the movie Skins and I've come across the word quid (never heard so far), which is the slang for pound.

My question is: if I'm supposed to travel to UK, what term to use?

I guess that as a non native English speaker, British would find it very odd hearing me using the slang term. So, what do you think?

On the other hand, which one of them people do actually use?


texts: Question about 'improving' and 'consuming'

texts:
This year’s drought in Brazil has left the state of Sao Paolo with its lowest-ever water level.

  The Cantareira water system, the largest of six in the area, has reservoirs at less than 15 percent of their normal level.

  Wagner Ribiero, a professor at the University of Sao Paolo, warns that if the drought continues, the Cantareira system may not able to meet the demands of the 2014 FIFA World Cup period.

  “Currently, the extraction and processing of drinking water has consumed about 20 percent of the water, and this can be improved. On the other hand, we should enhance industrial water usage and recycling,” Ribero explained.

  Source

I'm wondering what the words "consume" and "improve" really mean in this context.

My perception:
Currently, the extraction and processing of drinking water has destroyed about 20 percent of the water and this can be fixed.

Another possible interpretation:
Currently, the extraction and processing of drinking water has provided / supplied about 20 percent of the water and this can reach to a higher percentage 30 or 40 percent.

In other words, what can be improved? The amount supplied (which can improve by going up), or the amount lost (which can improve by going down)?


texts: Meaning of 'sick' in 'Kylie Jenner is showing off the new sick ride in her driveway'

texts:
Kylie Jenner is showing off the new sick ride in her driveway, but the new whip is so expensive it has some fans calling for her to give that money to people in need.

  Yahoo: Kylie Jenner Shows Off New $3 Million Luxury Car, Fans Upset Pointing Out People Are Starving

I saw this from this article. I feel the word 'sick' means something good here. I found a definition in this dictionary:

  very informal very impressive, attractive, enjoyable, etc. This word is used mainly by young people.

  The hair, make up and outfit is sick! She looks amazing!
  (Macmillan Dictionary)

I'm not sure if I understand it correctly. 'Sick' can also mean unpleasant. How can we determine if the speaker means good or unpleasant?


texts: The prepositions "in/at/for" with a game

texts:
Can we use any of the prepositions' in, at, for' in the following construction?

The ltalian team won the gold medal ....volleyball.


texts: "Give a hand" vs "help": transfer of inputs

texts:
Can the phrase "will you give me a hand?" be used instead of "will you help me?"

'Help" in this sentence includes physical or intellectual help also. Or "help" pertaining to intelligence. Sharing of inputs related to  intelligence sources of any country, may endanger security of  country. If he can use his intellect  no harm will come to him. In conversation it is not unusual to use the phrase.

I am sorry I had to complete my question in an absurd manner. Might be weird and laughable. In the beginning of the movie "Mackenna's Gold" the phrase was used. And the unforgettable song "old turkey buzzard comprises of two lines: "They were ready to die for gold" and "They will do anything for gold"
 In this context I want to narrate an experience of mine.
 I was accompanying a lady to her house.While we were going she stretched out her hand towards me. I held her hand for a brief period.she did not request any kind of help.
 In a later year she went to the district court and requested justice for my behavior.I had pay an amount what the district court declared in judgement.
     perhaps she complained of unusual and insulting behavior.
  Sarcastically, she gave her hand and exacted money, what kind of help is this?other than this she divulged my secrets  gossiping elaborately which can be compared to transfer of  intelligence inputs.A political movement was on,she was member of a  political party, which was inimical to us.


texts:
I am currently reading this article, and the first passage says,

  Such is its devilish complexity, Brexit is often portrayed as a game of 3-D chess, understandable only to the grandest of grand masters. This is how best to understand the series of seismic but impenetrable battles being waged between Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government and his opponents in Westminster this week: battles that are not primarily about what they claim—whether for this motion or that amendment—but rather part of a much larger but simpler game in which each side is trying to ensure that it is not outmaneuvered by the other in a way that will make victory or defeat inevitable. The problem is that, in Brexit, the two sides have thus far been evenly matched and always able to extend the game to avoid a conclusion. ...

I kind very obscurely understand this passage, but I am unable to understand especially the bold part. Can someone help me to analyze this part, in such a ways disecting section by section so that I can understand? ( For instance, what are battles that are nor primarily about what they claim?? )

And what is the "relationship" with the line whether for this motion or that amendment ( Is "for this motion or that amendment" a kind of "this A and that B"? )

Thank you in advance.


texts:
Is "turns into X until" idiomatically and semantically correct? I often hear the phrase "turns into X until", but it doesn't seem to be correct. Instead of that, it should be "turns into X and remains X until", but is this really the case, because I never hear people use the former.

For example:

  He turned into a dog until he wagged his tail (became human again by
  wagging his tail).


texts: Broke vs broken - which is correct in the below sentence?

texts: I dropped my iPad and broken/broke it. It seems like one of those days.


texts: How are "to be gotten rid of" and "to get rid of" different?

texts:
I am trying to understanding why the be-verb is needed when the object of preposition becomes the subject when written in the passive voice, while when the direct object of the sentence becomes the subject in the passive voice, the same rule doesn't apply.

I am assuming that "to get rid of" means "to rid of" in the passive voice, thus safely assuming, grammatically, it can be replaced by "to be rid of."

Example Sentence: The governor rid the state of crimes.

When the direct object of the sentence becomes the subject:

The state got rid of crimes (by the governor).

When the object of preposition becomes the subject:

Crimes were gotten rid of (in the state by the governor).

Is there a rule that constitutes this case? Or is this something unique to the verb "to rid"? Or is my view of "to get rid of" as the passive voice wrong?


texts: You're taller than (it) is described (Is the omission of 'it' obligatory?)

texts:
In an earlier question "You're taller than (is/are) described", there came up this issue of whether 'it' could be inserted as follows:

  a. You're taller than it is described.

The grammar book that I have (Practical English Usage by Michael Swan) has this similar example:

  b. He worries more than it is necessary.

The book says that you have to omit 'it', but Jason Bassford, who answered the question, says that the omission is not obligatory.

Here's an excerpt from PEU:

  Than and as as subjects
  Than and as can replace subjects in clauses (rather like relative pronouns)

  He worries more than is necessary. (NOT ... more than it/what is necessary.)

  There were a lot of people at the exhibition -- more than came last year. (NOT ...more than they came last year.)

  The train might be late, as happened yesterday. (NOT ...as it happened yesterday.)

Since Jason Bassford was basically saying that the grammar book I frequently use is wrong, I had to do some research and I've found an earlier question (Where is the subject in “[…] weaker than would otherwise have been the case”?).

There, another grammar book 'A Student’s Introduction to English Grammar' (Huddleston and Pullum) has been cited to support the claim that it is obligatory to omit the dummy subject 'it' in examples like:

  c. Germany adopted a much weaker currency than it would otherwise have been the case

  d. Germany adopted a much weaker currency than it would otherwise have been possible

(I don't have this grammar book, so I have no way of confirming, but I think that this is basically what the book says, which is in line with 'Practical English Usage'.)

QUESTION

I'm sure that the dummy subject 'it' in the above examples can be omitted, but is the omission obligatory in the above examples?

Or is the omission obligatory in some of the above examples but not in others?


texts:
Mr. President, the house we sit in today has witnessed many extraordinary moments in history.  It’s where governments made the difficult decision to send young men and women to war.  Decisions that forever changed our country and the world.  Prime Minister Trudeau and President Obama deliver addresses to Parliament

This is a speech by Prime Minister Trudeau in the Parliament, and I would like to know what "the house" means here.

Does it mean the Parliament building? or the members of Parliament?

the Oxford says:

  the House)  (in the UK) the House of Commons or Lords; (in the US) the House of Representatives.

and

  A building in which people meet for a particular activity. Oxford

So which is correct?


texts:
Thanks for your nice, long letter.
  Thanks for your nice and long letter.

Which one is correct?
What is the difference between them?
Can you please describe them with perfect explanation?


texts:
Should I say, for example, '1 of 1 son or 3 daughters is tall' to say I have 4 children and a son is tall
('of' doesn't indicate a part of a whole but amount)


texts: Is it natural and correct to to say "something is worth its money" when I want to say that I got my money worth from that?

texts:
Is it natural and correct to to say something is worth its money when I want to say that I got my money worth from that? For example:

  The tablet works really good. It's worth its money.

If it doesn't sound good, how would you communicate the message?


texts:
Does the determiner “some” also describe “milk” in the sentence below? Or it only describes “bread”?
I’d like some bread and milk.


texts: What does it mean for a physician to be a 'batterer'?

texts:
Some physicians reject such criticism as intervention by lawyers, philosophers,
  feminists, and other social critics ignorant of the realities of medical and hospital
  life. But the “neo-paternalists” admit that physicians should attend more carefully
  to a patient’s desires and to give them greater weight in arriving at a treatment of
  choice. Unmollified critics, however, continue to insist that treatment choice
  belongs to the patient, however imprudent, and not to the physician, however
  attentive and knowing. To curb Hippocratic paternalism they define a range of
  patients’ specific rights to be told about, and choose among, alternative
  treatments, including a right to refuse all, even life-saving treatment.

  These rights confer adult status on patients whom paternalists regard as children,
  replacing quasi-familial with quasi-legal relations. A patient’s “free and informed
  consent” reflects an implicit therapeutic contract, defined and reviewed as
  treatment proceeds. A physician who treats without such consent is not a
  patriarch, but a batterer. Less litigiously, these rights define a “principle of
  autonomy” traced to Kantian notions of respect for persons and inherent human
  dignity.

I consulted ODO but none of the three definitions fit? Given this context, a physician would not be striking/thrasing patients, so Definitions 1(.0) and 1.1 clash. Also, the quote above says nothing about what the physician would 'censure, criticize, or defeat', so Definition 1.2 conflicts too.


texts: been to & gone to: a general rule for specific cases

texts:
I understand been to is used for a complete visit and gone to refers to a trip taking place now or the person being there. My question is about the times where it's gets a bit shady. Based on what I see and hear I began to figure out a rule and I need to check it with an English native speaker: we can use have you gone to a place instead of been to if the journey to that place is short and we're talking about a recent experience. If we focus on a long trip to a place and we focus on a life experience, we use been to.

Talking to a tourist visiting Paris at the hotel:

  Have you gone to/been to the top of the Eiffel tower yet? [Both are possible]

Talking to a friend back home in Russia:

  Have you ever been to Paris? [Only been to is possible]

Does the rule make sense, or is there a point here I've failed noticing?


texts: Distinguishing between "speaks [like]" and "leave [something behind | out]"

texts:
How can I distinguish between:

  He speaks like father
  He speaks as a father

because really this confuses me.

How to distinguish between three sentences and the tips

  He left the umbrella behind
  He left out the last word in the sentence
  He left the house


texts: "..I wish you_____________that record player."

texts:
If sentences make a sense, then what is the difference between them in terms of meaning and where / when to use each one ?

  I am trying to study.I wish you would turn down that record player.

  I am trying to study.I wish you turned down that record player.

  It's raining.I wish it would stop soon.

  It's raining.I wish it stopped soon.

  It's raining.I wish it would stop now.

  It's raining.I wish it stopped now.

Thanks


texts:
Is there a word or phrase that allows us to refers to what's around an issue/problem/subject?

Instead of addressing the specific subject directly, he looked at
what's around the subject, although somewhat related to the subject in
question.

I am trying to find a more concise way to express the above to sound more like a native speaker.


texts: Difference between “Do you mind closing the window?” and “Do you mind my closing the window?”?

texts:
What is the difference between

  Do you mind closing the window?

and

  Do you mind my closing the window?

Does the first sentence mean that the speaker asked the listener to close the window? Does the second sentence mean that the speaker asks whether he/she can close the window?
Does the difference lie in that the action, "close the window", is done by different person?

Thank you very much!


texts: What is the difference between 'want camping' and 'I want to camp'?

texts:
I want to learn the difference between 'I want camping' and 'I want to camp'.
Please, somebody tell me the difference~


texts: Do these sentences with “misunderstand” sound natural?

texts:
There are some questions about how do I use "misunderstand", "misunderstanding" and "misunderstood" in English.

Are these sentence correct?

(I did something bad to someone)
"I'm so sorry! I misunderstand you"

(The man doesn't like the woman)
"If you don't like me, please don't kiss me. You will make misunderstand. (or cause me misunderstand) said the woman"

(Try to explain some to someone)
Please don't leave. I properly caused you misunderstanding.

does this sound natural?


texts: How to understand the usage of 'at' in "... followed at a walk"

texts:
... blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him, up the slope towards the castle.

  Very shaken, the Care of Magical Creatures class followed at a walk.

I don't understand the usage of the prep 'at' in the phrase "at a walk". I have seen "by walk", but not "at a walk". How should we understand it?

-- From Harry Potter.


texts:
Consider that we want to say a sentence with meaning in negative form of "hurry up!". Which one is true?

Don't be in a hurry
Don't be hurry


texts: How to describe changing rates of change (acceleration)

texts:
Are the following sentences grammatically correct?

I want to describe speeds (fast/medium/slow) of change.

  increase at a faster/slower/very slow pace

  The increment is significant/slowing down/stagnant

Are there better sentences than these?


texts: What can I call the different type of groups in this scenario?

texts:
Local volunteers can join certain groups to contribute their services, and the rules are:

  a volunteer must choose one group as the initial group, and he serves in this group  most of the time
  a volunteer can join multiple non-initial groups according to their interests, but he only serves in those groups in spare time

Now I'd like to find two words to identify the initial group & non-initial group.

How can I express this?

(here's some examples that I don't know if ok)

  Primary Group & Secondary Group
  Major Group & Minor Group
  ....


texts:
You cough a lot today.

Go to the doctor today.
Go to see a doctor today.
Go to see the doctor today.

Which one is suitable? What are the differences among them?
Does 'the doctor' mean 'the family doctor'?


texts: What is the parallel term for "a while ago" but for short time?

texts:
Based on Cambridge dictionary the meaning of "a while" is a long time. For example:

  You were there quite a while (= a long time), weren't you?

  "When did that happen?" "Oh, it was a while ago (= a long time ago).

  I haven't seen him for a while (= for a long time).

All of these examples are taken from the mentioned dictionary.

Now my question refers to a case where I want to say to my friend that I called him in 1 up to 5-7 hours ago (let's say that I'm not sure exactly) and I want to say something like "I called you "a while ago" but for short time like I mentioned. Does "some time ago" works here?


texts: An obvious model/example/type of someone or something

texts:
There is an expression in our current language which has entered from legal jargon into the common language. (I'm trying to translate it.) We say something like:

  He/she is an obvious example/model/type of a rude person.

Connotation: He / she has all the characteristics of a tude individual and demonstrates all the qualities of such a person.

  He/she is an obvious example/model/type of health.

Connotation:  He / she is a very healthy person and represents all the features, qualities and characteristics of a healthy one in all aspects of their lives.

  That was an obvious example/model/type of an insult.

Connotation:  The action that was done, or the statement that was said, has been clear and obvious example of an insultation and by the sentence it would be clear that someone has insulted someone else.

The only close words/expressions that I could find in dictionaries are as below:

Typical:

  Showing all the characteristics that you would usually expect from a particular group of things:

Example: I must look like the typical tourist with my shorts and my camera.

Picture:

  You use picture to describe what someone looks like. For example, if you say that someone is a picture of health or the picture of misery, you mean that they look extremely healthy or extremely miserable.

Example: We found her standing on a chair, the picture of terror, screaming hysterically. [+of]

I wonder if you could let me know about the way you would say them in normal English.

Thank you.


texts: Please help me to find out which word works better in my sentences from among "mark, grade, score and point"

texts:
What is the most natural sentence from among the listed sentences bellow:

Note: all the sentences are self-made.

Example one)
Suppose a student says:

  I got a very low mark in the midterm test.
  I got a very low grade in the midterm test.
  I got a very low score in the midterm test.
  I got a very low point in the midterm test.

For me only the first one sounds natural.

Example two)

here suppose a teacher is talking to their students:

  I want to read out the test marks to you.
  I want to read out the test grades to you.
  I want to read out the test scores to you.
  I want to read out the test points to you.

For me in this specific sentence, all words work the same and convey the same message.


texts: What is the meaning of "all about" in these contexts?

texts:
This is the contexts:

  we really know what computers are all about.

or

  which is basically what general relativity is all about.

I searched the web but couldn't find anything. The phrase be what something is all about is defined on collinsdictionary.com:

  to be the true purpose of or reason for something

But it doesn't make any sense. Can anyone explain it?


texts:
Nobody, as a countable noun, can mean "a very unimportant person" as in:

  A man in my position has nothing to fear from a nobody like you.

But I don't quite sure about this example from the free dictionary:

  I knew him when he was nobody.

Is it also correct to say I knew him when he was a nobody? Any reason behind this?

How about He is nobody VS He is a nobody?


texts: What time does "shall be" refer to in the following sentence?

texts:
How can I compare shall be with will in the following sentence? I mean, what time does the shall be refer to, relative to the will?

  ... that 27 [of 930] ministers die yearly, 18 of them leave Widows, 5 of them Children without a Widow, 2 of them who leave Widows, leave also Children of a former Marriage, under the Age of 16; and when the whole Number of
  Widows shall be complete, 3 Annuitants will die, or marry, leaving
  Children under 16.

(Robert Wallace, as quoted in Niall Fergusson's The Ascent of Money)


texts: How would "is that what's supposed to look like" sound to you?

texts:
Consider you are asked to deliver your answer in an exam in form of a graph. Now, you want to make sure if you are right or wrong when you handing in the paper. I would say

  Is that what's supposed to look like?

I searched the google for this phrase, but the number of results is not very high or conclusive. I know it's not a good idea to use google search for such a long phrase, but it just made me wonder if something is wrong with this sentence.

I know the most common way of conveying that is to say

  Is it supposed to look like that?

However, I am wondering how would the first highlighted sentence above sound to a native english speaker? Also, is there anything obvious that makes it ungrammatical or idiomatic? Or it's just unidiomatic (if it is!)


texts: What does "to wear the leather on one's boots through" mean?

texts:
Please explain what "to wear the leather on one's boots through" means. I cannot imagine how that act is.

The context:
"I won't let you dance until you wear the leather on your boots through."

Thank you


texts: Which is the correct phrase to be used here ? (since, from, was born, born)

texts:
Which one of the following is the correct answer sentence ?

Que: "Which is your favourite game ?"

Correct answer phrase ?

1) "The one I have been playing since the day I born"

2) "The one I have been playing since the day I was born"

3) "The one I have been playing from the day I born"

4) "The one I have been playing from the day I was born"


texts: What preposition should I use after a conjunction with two nouns?

texts:
How do I conjoin the two sentences below?
He has interest in the law.
He has respect for the law.
Should it be:

He has interest and respect in the law.
or,
He has interest and respect for the law.

For me, (2) sounds correct but I could not find any rules governing how to use prepositions when there are conjunctions. Or is the whole thing just wrong?


texts: Please let me know how the phrase ''it being'' is rational?

texts:
I've read an article on the BBC news, and this sentence really makes me confused.

''And in this cool little video Aston has just released, you can see it very much being pushed to its limits by a real driver''

I know how it would be translated into my native language, but to be honest I cannot find out what grammar tense or structure that the highlighted portion belongs to.

Does it mean ''it is being pushed to its limits''?


texts: Does adding a comma before "or" change the meaning of a phrase?

texts:
For example, the definition given from the OALD for pronoun is the following one:

  a word that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase, for example he, it, hers, me, them, etc.

If I would rewrite it as the following, would the mean change?

  a word that is used instead of a noun, or noun phrase, for example he, it, hers, me, them, etc.

If the meaning doesn't change, are there other differences between those phrases? Is this just an example of using the Oxford comma, or is there something different/more?

I am asking because I rephrase a similar phrase, and I was said it was more correct without the comma.


texts: Is this sentence correct grammatically? "I want to buy a car, especially a red one made in America."

texts:
I'm a Japanese learner of English.
I have a question about an indefinite pronoun "one."
Can "one" is used as follows?
a(n) + an adjective + one + an adjective phrase (or an adjective clause)
Also, can "ones" is used as follows?
an adjective + ones + an adjective phrase (or an adjective clause)
For example, is the following sentence correct grammatically?
I want to buy a car, especially a red one made in America.


texts: Differences between "inform, tell, notify, and instruct"

texts:
When and how to use these verbs correctly? I believe that even though they sound synonymous, every word has its own proper usage in a sentence.

According to Merriam Webster,

  inform- to impart or give information

  tell- to make known; to express in words

  notify- to give notice of or report the occurrence

Does it mean they are somewhat synonymous and can be used in a sentence interchangeably? For example,

I already informed/told/notified him about our plans this September.
Please inform/notify our classmates that we will have a long quiz on our History subject.
The police notified/told/informed the family that this is not just a mere case of suicide.


texts: Is there any difference between the phrases "I lifted my left hand" and "I raised my left hand"?


texts:
In the book Journey by James A. Michener, I read this:

  "Across the United States and Canada, men who had suffered sore deprivation during the great financial panic of 1893 cried: 'Gold to be had for the picking! Fortunes for everyone!'"

The online Cambridge dictionary:

  be had = to be tricked

How would you say in English this "Gold to be had for the picking!" without idiom "be had"?


texts:
Yesterday, I bumped into a friend of mine. While conversing, he told me that he goes to a center. Then I asked him which center do you go? (to. Should I add "to" or not?) then he told me the name of the center. Then when I asked him how long do you spend at/in the center?, he told me, don't use "how long" with "spend". Use "how much time" with "spend".

While looking it up on Google, I came across a website. On that website a guy mentioned the same. Now I am confused as to which one to use?

So now I am asking you guys which one is correct?

  How long do you spend in the center?

  How much time do you spend in the center?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


texts:
"I am so sad to leave" vs "I am so sad to be leaving"
What's the difference between "to leave" and "to be leaving." As a non-native it's just different but not aware of the actual feeling.


texts:
On some pages, it is announced that "it seems to me..." is synonymous with "in my opinion", but I think  "it seems to me..." is less certain than "in my opinion". In the other word, I think that if I say " in my opinion, taking a course online is a better option to me" I am sure that "taking a course online is a better option to me", but if I say "it seems to me that taking a course is a better option to me", it implies that I am not sure about it.
Is the aforementioned note correct?


texts: Correct Preposition: With / For thick materials, jeans became companions of the workmen

texts:
This is my English exercise of filling the correct preposition into the blank:

  Both genders and all social classes, from many cultures can wear
  jeans. ___ thick materials, jeans became companions of the workmen.

For me, I think the suitable preposition is 'with', while my friend believes 'for' is more appropriate. He explained 'for' in this case means 'because of'.

Which one do native speakers frequently use in this case?


texts: Find or find out : "Scientists are trying to find/find out a cure for cancer"

texts:
Find is usually used when you find something like and object or something like that.
For example:

"I've found my lost wallet."

but is:

"Scientists are trying to find a cure for cancer"

correct?
If so when should I use find and when should I use find out, not just in this context, are there any rules about when I should use one or the other?


texts:
It was roy or she who came here last night and kept on knocking the door.
Let roy and her complete this job as they like to do it.

In first sentence we have used subjective case after roy and in the second sentence we have used objective case after roy.
I do not recollect any such rule. Please let me know if there are any such rules which I am missing. Thanks.


texts: How to talk about feeling hot without referring to sexuality?

texts:
"I am feeling hot", I said to my father, of course referring to weather.

He said that that sentence conveys that you are referring to sex and you should not use such sentences.

How should I convey that I am hot due to weather only?


texts:
My original vinyls lp's began OR have begun  to scratch,I had played'them so many times.
I think the first one is better but have begun can fit because it is recent .
Is it possible to write
My original lp's begin  to scratch  because I've played
them so many times.


texts:
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1120764.shtml

  One parent who refused to be fully named told the Global Times that
  "the government said they had organized buses to send these children
  for checkups and then instead sent them back to school."

Was "sent them back to school" also the goverment said?

It means,

  the goverment said they would send these children for checkups, but
  they didn't?

or

  the goverment sent these children for checkups, and then sent them
  back to school?


texts: Should I quote the company name if it is written in my language

texts:
When using the name of Municipal Transport Services in my city that is written in my language should I put quotes around it?

I have clarified it before in the text somewhere else.

for example:

  The "Verkehrsbetriebe Bremen" runs the routes network in the city of Bremen.


texts: Quite a lot -vs- a lot ( what is bigger?)

texts: I've seen other answers, but they don't give enough information. There is a question in a book, to compare the amount of cookies on different plates. In my opinion, quite a lot is bigger, but I can't find any information to prove or disprove it.


texts: What it does mean "bender"? word taken from the cartoon Avatar - the last Airbender

texts:
In this cartoon Airbender is man who have magic force - magic of air.
In dictionary this word is "a period during which a large amount of alcohol is drunk" and "a person or thing that bends, as a pair of pliers or a powered machine".


texts: Should you add AM or PM after a 24 hour time?

texts: Say you've written 16:00 PM. Is that correct? Is the PM necessary?


texts: How could two independent clauses join together with no conjunction or semicolon?

texts:
Big stock-market gains are leading a number of investors to abandon defensive positions taken to protect against a market downturn, the latest sign that many doubters are shedding caution as the long rally rolls on.

I was taught that two independent cannot be joined together unless we put a semicolon or conjunction or conjunctival adverbs.

My question how could the bold line join what came before without being preceded by a conjunction or semicolon.


texts:
I'm trying to allure to your sense of decency

Does the above sentence make sense? Can the word allure be used in this way?


texts: the present perfect referring to habitual actions

texts:
Can the present perfect be used to refer to habitual actions as follows?

  John always has a smoke when he has taken a shower.

Could the sentence convey the idea that his having a smoke habitually follows his shower?

I'd appreciate your help.


texts:
In the movie Casablanca, Renault tells Rick (@ 16'45"):
"I like to think that you killed a man. It's the romantic in me."
I can't find this phrase in the dictionary: " it's (...) in me". But I think "romantic" should be a noun here and by way of analogy, it should be OK to place any noun there. Like I should be able to say "It's the 'rational' in me" ?
Am I correct?!


texts:
The following sentence is taken from the song bleeding love.

Before you know it, you're frozen.

Here's the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzo-EL_62fQ

I am wondering whether "it" and "you're" are joined to sound like "itcher."

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: Is it correct to say "...generate the report more efficient, accuracy and objective. "

texts:
Is it grammatically correct to say:

"It helps staff to generate the report more efficient, accuracy and objective. "

or it should be changed to

It helps staff to generate the report more efficiently, accurate and objective.
?


texts:
I know the a/an rule, but as I meet both in my readings, I tried to google it, and I find both, with not site or dictionaries telling us we should use the one or the other one.

My question is: are they both common and accepted? Are they exceptions?


texts: What is the difference between "depend" and "depends"?

texts:
Could someone explain the difference between depend and depends?

When do I need to add the "s" at the end?


texts: Using present perfect and past simple in 1 sentence?

texts:
Here is the sentence:

  I lost my wife, she went shopping & hasn't come back yet.

Using present perfect here is right or wrong? And I remember that (or I remember wrong) after 'and', verb must be following with the tense before 'and'  (in this case is Past Simple tense) - it's right or wrong? Thanks so much!


texts: "Maximize the chances of searchability" or "maximize searchability"?

texts:
Someone edited my question on Linguistics SE and said in edit summary:

gave more general title to make it easy to find on the web

I wonder how I could rephrase the above sentence. I rephrased it as:

Gave a more general title to maximize/ increase the chances of searchability
Gave a more general title to make it more searchable

Is this something a native speaker would say? Do "maximize the chances" and "searchability" go together?
or should it just be:

... maximize searchability

?
I'm asking this because I've never come across a sentence like this before and Googling this shows no results of "maximize the chances of searchability". (I would also appreciate if you suggested another alternative so long it's not off-topic.)


texts: What is the object in "They want us to help."?

texts:
Quirk's CGEL (p.1171) classifies "B8 They want us to help." under Type SVO (To-infinitive+S as O), where "us" is supposed to be the semantic subject of the verb "help." If so, what exactly is supposed to be the single O (object) in this sentence? Is it "us to help" as a whole?

16.41 [B8] Complementation by to-infinitive clause (with subject)
The verbs in this group (as distinct from the apparently similar 'object +
infinitive' construction; cf 16.50) are restricted to a small number
chiefly denoting (not) liking or wanting: (can't) bear, desire, hate,
like, love, prefer, want, and wish:

They don't like the house to be left empty.
I wouldn't want you to lose your way.

After these verbs, the noun phrase preceding the infinitive cannot be
made the subject of a passive main clause: *The house isn't liked to
be left empty (by them).
There is moreover an alternative construction (chiefly restricted to
AmE) in which the noun phrase is preceded by for which marks it as the
subject of an infinitive clause, rather than as object of the main
clause:

Jack prefers for his wife to drive the truck. (esp AmE)

These two observations point in the direction of a monotransitive
analysis of such verbs. (p. 1193)


texts:
Which sentence should be correct?

  I am neither robber nor police.
  Neither I am robber nor police.

I often saw ( neither....nor) is sometimes used in the middle of sentences and sometimes it is used out of sentences as I added two examples here.

Would you like to tell me the reason behind this problem place?


texts: What is the correct form (using a comparative adjective) of the sentence 'no other planet is so big as Jupiter'?

texts:
No other planet is bigger than Jupiter.

or

  Jupiter is bigger than any other planet.

Which of these is the 'correct form', using a comparative adjective, of the following sentence?

  No other planet is so big as Jupiter.


texts: How to convert "my only options are..." to a question?

texts:
Suppose we have a sentence like this:

My only options are to either do X or do Y.

How do I convert this to a question? If I follow the "standard rule", the question becomes:

Are my only options to either do X or do Y?

But this just doesn't sound right to me. I could be totally wrong but I feel like something is missing between "my only options" and "to..."; like a linking verb or something.
Is the question above grammatically correct? And is it the right way to say what I'm trying to say or is there a better form?


texts: "$5 term for a 25 cents concept". Is this an idiom?

texts:
I just happened to find the phrase on a StackExchange page when searching for the meaning of SME (Subject Matter Expert).

But I totally see his point
All experts are only expert in their subject matter.
it is kind of understood, and implied.
So it is kind of redundant to call someone a subject matter expert.
It is a $5 term for a 25 cents concept.

Next, I googled the phrase, and then found a similar phrase saying "25-dollar term for a 5-cent concept."
Are they both idioms meaning sarcastically "a term that sounds something seemingly gorgeous but actually not"?


texts:
Situation: the student is asking about the possibility of having the next lesson with his teacher at 8:00 instead of usual 8:30. Teacher is answering:

  "This Friday, 8:00 is fine. Not sure, though, about the latter times"

Is it okay to say like that? Google on "latter times" seems to return a lot of religious context, but here the teacher is not implying anything religious. He only says that he is not sure if other subsequent lessons after this Friday are also possible to be held at 8:00


texts: Can the grammar (have something done) be used when an "appliance" rather than a "person" does something for us?

texts:
Is this sentence correct?

  I had my dishes washed by the dishwasher.

or this form of grammar (have something done) is used "only" when "someone" is paid to do something for us?

Thank you


texts: Which one is correct: "in your phone number" or "on your phone number"?

texts:
Could you tell me which preposition I use before your phone number in the sentence below?

Abnormal activity has been registered in/on my phone number, which is why it's suspended.

If neither is correct, would you tell what preposition you would use? Also, if the sentence doesn't sound natural, could you tell how you would improve it?


texts:
He was born in the year 1867.

  He was born in 1867.

Are there differences between “in the year 1867” and “in 1867”?
Please explain it to me.


texts:
With negation, or is motly used.

  He doesn't like this or that.

But with without, I see both forms.

When I searched CCAE, it returned result with both or and and.

Like this:

  I was there without food and water.

  I was there without food or water.

I can see that both forms are used, but what's the difference between without with and and without with or? Is it that "food and water" is considered a thing in unity?

It was what most people said, but I don't think the texts with "and" actaully mean that. It is not even logical, is it? Water and food are separate. Even if you try to refer to them as a thing in unity, or as a one thing, can you possibly understand it that way?


texts:
The following sentence is part of the transcript of an speech of a non-native person:
“Which is a technique that advertisement companies most use it.”
I think “most” is used in a grammatically wrong way, but I’m not sure. Am I right?


texts: Have I correctly revised the specific part?

texts:
Have I correctly revised the following?

  The discovery has resulted in no less than a total reevaluation of every chronological criterion that has been applied to or derived from Aeschylus’ plays.

The revised one:

  The discovery has not resulted in less than a total reevaluation...

I am wondering if the two sentences — now that one of them has been revised — mean the same thing.

I have just excerpted this part from this forum topic.


texts: "Why had you to" or "why did you have to"

texts:
I was solving a test on modals and there was the following line:

  What was the problem? Why _ leave early?

The proposed fill-in combinations were:

had you to
did you have to
must you
you had to

I picked 1 and 2, but the key to the test contained only choice 2.

I've consulted Quirk et al. and it says that in operator constructions (that is, for example, in interrogative sentences, when some auxiliary should be put in the 'operator' position at the beginning of the sentence) 'have to' may be treated either as:

A 'main verb', which requires DO-support:

  Do we have to get up early tomorrow?

An auxiliary. Here, 'have' itself turns into an operator and participates in subject-operator inversion, so no DO is necessary. He notes that this usage is 'British English, somewhat old-fashioned':

  Have we to get up early tomorrow?

Does this mean that "Why had you to leave early?" is also a passable answer?

I've found an instance of "But go on, why had you to go?" in The Good Apprentice by Iris Murdoch.

I'm curious whether any native speaker uses constructions like "Why had you to ..." in real life or is it always "Why did you have to ...".


texts: What does "just before dawn" imply in this sentence?

texts:
I read this in the book "Kafka on the shore" which was:

  Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn.

Does "some ominous dance with death just before dawn" refer to one of those dreams we dream just before dawn in which death is just is so near to us but we manage to evade it in some way"? Or "state of emerging victoriously after traversing through the storm"? I doubt the latter possibility because I think would have only been relevant when there were some reference to traversing the storm? But I'm not sure.


texts: meaning of the phrase "obscurity of one's condition"?

texts:
I have come across this in Crash Course World History. It is at 6 minutes and 55 seconds. Here it goes:

  You also had statesmen like Pericles, whose famous funeral oration brags about the golden democracy of Athens with rhetorics that wouldn't sound out of place today. "If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences... If a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition."

I am aware of what the words in the phrase mean itself, but still I have a hard time understanding what it means there.


texts: Is "these couple sentences" acceptable English?

texts:
Source: my own example

Example:

  Hey, George, could you please review these couple sentences for accuracy for me?

Do you think everything is okay with the grammar?


texts: Whether to use definite or indefinite article in sentences like "Don't put a space between a dash and a/the following punctuation mark"

texts:
Don't put a space between an em-dash and the adjacent words.From Quick and Dirty Tips

In English, you don’t put a space between a word and a question mark.From Quora

These sentences look very similar to me, but for some reason there is the in the first example and a in the second.
Which author is correct?


texts: Does google really pronounce a schwa here as it says rather than an "i"?

texts:
When I google "authentic pronunciation" or "enjoy pronunciation", it will show the followings:

  However, they don't sound like "tuhk" or "uhn"  to me  as it says (what google pronounces when I click the sound button there), they are still "i" (ɪ in IPA) just with less emphasis. Are they really pronounced by Google as "u"(schwa ə) but somehow as a non-native speaker I can't hear it?