Questions tagged [construction]
A construction is an established 'template' for combining words.
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There is the next task
Students and a teacher are doing language related exercises. There are 3 of them. The first two have been done and the teacher wants to inform that there is another one because the students seem not ...
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Multiple consecutive verbs with ambiguous objects
I found the following sentence:
It was a fine gun which he forged, stocked, and completed himself.
I can't just figure out the exact meaning of "completed himself", does that mean:
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Tran Khanh
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Plural nouns that fit in the construction "to be all (plural noun)"
I'm familiar with "to be all thumbs" and "to be all ears" but I recently came across "She was all smiles", which I thought was interesting.
I'm wondering whether there ...
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Can "with" be used to mean "since"?
In my native language we have a construction that allows us to use the ford for 'with' in the sense 'since', so that the (a) and (b) versions of the following examples mean the same:
1a With its ...
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Mentioning another negative action
I can speak English as well as Chris can. CLEAR.
What if we both can't?
I can't speak English as well as Chris can't. (wrong)
I can't speak English and neither can Chris. (maybe correct)
But I want ...
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I would rather he should do it
I would rather he should do it.
Is it OK to use "should" after "would rather"? If it's OK, are these OK?
I would rather he should have done it.
I would rather he should have be ...
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Is the expression 'the hours worked by employees' natural?
In the page of 'timekeeper' in thefreedictionary, one of the explanations goes as follows.
One who keeps records of the hours worked by employees.
The expression 'the hours worked by employees' ...
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the + adjective + of + something
I've came across the sizzling of [something] and I've found out sizzling is an adjective. However, I can't understand the construction the [adj] of [sth]. All I know is the construction the [adj] as ...
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Can I use "being + Past Participle" instead of "have been + PP"?
I've came across some sentences that I think have been reduced from "have been + [past participle]" to "being + [past participle]" but I don't know whether this right or not and I ...
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Why does "get gerund" work with some verbs but not with all?
I have noticed that "get gerund" works with some verbs:
I have to get going.
I have to get working on it.
He got thinking about it.
These are not correct
He got cleaning the house.
He got ...
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Use of two same words repeating immediately
Button, Button is the title of a short story by Richard Mathewson. The title has the same word two times. Is it the use epizeuxis to lay stress like Papa, Papa I want to go to picnic? If not, how will ...
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Why is "sally is a sandwich" grammatical? [closed]
I have this sentence:
the president thought that sally is a sandwich.
It's supposed to be grammatically correct.
But isn't that mean that this sentence is also grammatically correct:
sally is a ...
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Will the placement of two conjunctions that appear consecutively sound better?
I found this sentence from my exercise book (Oxford Grammar):
I felt lazy, and because I didn't have any real work to do, I took the
afternoon off.
The execise instructs me to guess whether it's ...
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Does this construction work? "do as many something as someone else does"
Is it possible to use this construction? Is it correct?
He can provide as many pros as I can provide cons.
I can buy as many things as you can sell.
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"all evening today" vs. any better variants
Does it sound natural if I say --
My neighbor has been playing loud music in their apartment all evening today
.
Or
My neighbor has been playing loud music in their apartment the whole time this ...
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Does "The Vampire Diaries" mean "the diaries of the vampire"?
Not sure how many people have heard of the book series / television series by this name, but can somebody explain the grammar behind the name "The Vampire Diaries"? Does it mean "the ...
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Construction of clarifying phrases
I am wondering what is the most idiomatic way to add clarification after a sentence that might not be completely clear.
Does the second part of the following examples sound idiomatic or is there a ...
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Some constructions with the adjective INTRUSIVE [closed]
Are these construction correct?
He was intrusive in his desire to be friends with Jack.
She was intrusive in asking the questions about Kim and
Toby's wedding.
I just wanted to translate some ...
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"In a surprised way" or "In wonder" or
I ran for her and put my hand on her shoulder and called Sarah (my wife's name), but immediately, I found out that I had mistaken another woman for my wife! When the woman turned around I said: "...
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The construction of "drink them gone"
The following is from the song "no can left behind":
How 'bout a 12-pack packed
Just between us
We're gonna drink 'em all
gone
Y'all this is some serious stuff
I am wondering about the ...
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Use of need in "He needed all the help he could get...)
Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius.
This construction seems odd.
I usually hear "he got all the help he needed".
But here it is opposite.
What does it exactly mean?...
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Does the construction "should + of + past participle" exist?
There was someone on Facebook who commented like this:
Next time she should of flushed the toilet.
At first, I thought he had misspelled "should have", then I was thinking that it's not ...
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The pattern - be +adjective+ as + to verb
All these sentences have this pattern "be +adjective+ as + to verb"
I was told that these are correct:
1 How could you be so stupid as to think that would work?
2 My headache was not so bad ...
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How to use “short”
The supplier sent my raw material 250 kg short.
You paid your debt a hundred dollars short.
Is the use of “short” grammatically correct? I mean can these sentence be understood by a native speaker?
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These things are what makes
Answering the question, the student used the following:
'When the water vapor goes high, the cooler air causes water drops to stick to particles of dust or ice. These things are what makes clouds ...
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Is this construction valid "since what age is it allowed to do something"?
Is this construction correct?
Since what age is it allowed to drive?
Since what age was she allowed to work there?
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a snapshot of what life was like…
The book offers a snapshot of what life was like in Britain under the Romans.
Does that phrase sound fine by you?
I like its construction but I’m not sure if it is correct.
Thank you…
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Be revenged on someone
I don't understand this construction of revenge as a verb (example from google dictionary):
"I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you"
And also given in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary ...
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would rather + past perfect + a point in the future
Can the past perfect be used to indicate a future action?
I would rather you had finished trimming the lawn by the time we come back.
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would rather had been doing something
I want to know how to use "the past perfect continuous" with "would rather".
Do these make sense?
I would rather you had been revising for the last ten minutes.
I would rather you ...
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ten dollars' worth of + something
Am I correct that this "10 dollars' worth of" works differently depending on what type of noun follows it:
I bought 10 dollars' worth of vases. - CORRECT (plural)
I bought 10 dollars' worth ...
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Is "a 30 percent representation of either gender" correct?
If I'm putting together a work group, where at least 30 percent of the members should be female and at least 30 percent should be male, would it be correct to say
The group should have a 30 percent ...
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Which is better: "tasked with doing" or "tasked to do"?
As the heading says: Which is the better alternative – tasked with doing or tasked to do? Or are they equally good, but used in different contexts? In that case, what's the difference between them?
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Is "It is necessary for them for me to be at the function tomorrow." correct?
It is necessary for them for Jake to be at the function tomorrow.
Is the above sentence correct if I want to say that "for them it is very important for Jake to be present at the function ...
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Which of these?
I am going to share three responsibilities of our class monitor.
I am going to share the three responsibilities of our class monitor.
Which of the two above conveys a message that "there are ...
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It is impossible that . . . / It is not possible that . .
I'd like to know if the following sentences are correct. The intended message is that he cannot be a good student. What are the constraints on "It is impossible that . . ." and "It is ...
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Grammatical structure of this sentence
As with most things, what happens in the US winds its way over to the UK. Including, it turns out, racist tropes. In my day job as a writer on a national newspaper, I sat next to someone who would ...
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Used to have or had?
What is the difference between:
I didn't use to have a phone
AND
I didn't have a phone
Maybe the first option is not correct at all? I will be grateful for explanation :).
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Differences between the two phrases
When and how should I use the phrases “suddenly realized” and “suddenly realize” ?
What are the differences between them?
Thanks a bunch!
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“What is its name” vs “What is the name of it”
Let’s say a friend of mine is listening to a song, and I heard the song while he is listening to it; and I wonder what the song is called. Can I use these sentences interchangeably to ask him the name ...
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Sentence construction with "as ... so"
For example, if someone was driving in front of you in a car breaking the rules and continues to do so, then how do you say using a construction?
Is this correct to use this one? Or maybe there is ...
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construction of the question
Is it correct to say like this? Or are these questions both wrong?
Why did this sentence make differently?
Why is this sentence made differently?
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Negative tag-questions
I have a question regarding the question-tag. I hear that the negative question-tag can be made out of the following construction: helping verb + subject + not?
I have a meeting every day, don't I/...
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"4 hours each session" or "each session will last for 4 hours"
Which one is clearer and grammatically correct?
The course will commence on December 2 every Mondays and Wednesday, 4 hours each session, for 4 weeks
The course will be scheduled every Mondays ...
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Sentences What for/For What need
Both sentences sound right? And do they have a different meaning?
For what needs life?
or
What is life for?
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"I am safe" vs. "He is safe"
(A) I am safe.
(B) He is safe.
How do I distinguish the meanings above in sentences with the verb "to report"? For example:
"I reported him to be safe."
Who is safe?
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In what degree/to what degree
I was doing a chapter in my grammar and there I found the following sentences
This mango is very sweet
In this sentence, very shows in what degree the mango is sweet.
What my confusion is
We ...
user93387
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Either who or whom?
In present day English, I think both of the followings are correct
The specialist who you want to meet is available only on weekends.
The specialist whom you want to meet is available only on ...
user93387
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I was to have left
In the following sentence
I was to have left on Thursday. But on Thursday I had a terrible cold, so I decided to wait till Saturday.
I think was to have left by Thursday should be used.
user93387
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Is this construction <go someone something that clause> grammatically permissible? [closed]
I'll go you three dollars that the horse is going to win the race.
I made this sentence myself.
My gut is telling me there's no problem in grammar and in this case "go" can be meant for "bet" or "...
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