Questions tagged [construction]
A construction is an established 'template' for combining words.
89
questions
0
votes
1
answer
51
views
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 ...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
2
answers
512
views
Having pp, have pp sentence
I'd like to ask questions about the exact tense of participial construction like the following sentence.
Having worked in the industry over the years, I have sometimes been surprised to see young ...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
32
views
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 ...
- 4,124
0
votes
1
answer
35
views
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:
...
Tran Khanh
5
votes
1
answer
9k
views
Did not! - Did too!
I often hear the "Did not! - Did too!" in TV series and films.
I know perfectly well what it means but why is it the word "too"?
As best as we know "too" stands instead of "indeed/so" and ...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
29
views
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 ...
- 1,477
0
votes
1
answer
22
views
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 ...
- 1,502
0
votes
1
answer
18
views
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 ...
- 204k
2
votes
1
answer
135
views
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' ...
- 2,684
1
vote
2
answers
61
views
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 ...
- 41.8k
0
votes
1
answer
31
views
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 ...
- 37
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
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 ...
- 249
2
votes
2
answers
483
views
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 ...
- 41.8k
0
votes
2
answers
53
views
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?
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
18
views
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 ...
- 7,971
0
votes
5
answers
115
views
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 ...
- 3,789
0
votes
1
answer
38
views
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 ...
- 10.6k
-1
votes
1
answer
18
views
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.
- 1,299
0
votes
0
answers
18
views
"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 ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
35
views
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 ...
- 9,422
0
votes
1
answer
28
views
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 ...
- 9,242
0
votes
1
answer
48
views
"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: "...
- 59.1k
2
votes
1
answer
68
views
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 ...
- 1,477
0
votes
2
answers
92
views
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?...
- 41.7k
10
votes
4
answers
3k
views
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 ...
- 2,627
4
votes
1
answer
159
views
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 ...
- 48.9k
0
votes
0
answers
32
views
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 ...
- 18k
1
vote
3
answers
1k
views
When to use infinitive and when to use present participle of a same word?
When to use infinitive and when to use present participle of a same word?
I like to play cricket.
To play cricket is fun.
I love playing cricket.
- 18k
0
votes
1
answer
50
views
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?
- 922
0
votes
0
answers
22
views
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…
- 61
2
votes
1
answer
87
views
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 ...
- 4,787
0
votes
0
answers
16
views
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.
- 4,124
0
votes
1
answer
44
views
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 ...
- 204k
2
votes
1
answer
599
views
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 ...
- 528
3
votes
2
answers
99
views
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 ...
- 204k
2
votes
2
answers
4k
views
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?
...
- 7,103
1
vote
4
answers
8k
views
Is there a word for "the state of deserving something", such, as, say, "deservance"?
Italian has a word called "merito", which describes the state which a person may attain in reaching a state of deserving something. Unfortunately, bilingual dictionaries tend to do a poor job of ...
- 1
0
votes
2
answers
103
views
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 ...
- 9,339
0
votes
1
answer
21
views
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 ...
- 141
0
votes
0
answers
190
views
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 ...
- 5,894
0
votes
1
answer
37
views
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 ...
- 23k
0
votes
3
answers
660
views
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 :).
- 2,242
0
votes
1
answer
16
views
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!
- 49.5k
1
vote
0
answers
4k
views
“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 ...
- 1,214
3
votes
3
answers
153
views
"Services marketing" vs "marketing services"
I surfed the internet and found both terms, but I couldn’t figure out which one is more suitable in the following context:
Consider that company A persuades company C to buy some product from company ...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
911
views
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 ...
- 1,368
0
votes
1
answer
120
views
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?
- 5,830
0
votes
1
answer
497
views
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/...
- 4,027
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
"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 ...
Hydes
0
votes
1
answer
36
views
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?
- 4,641