Questions tagged [construction]
A construction is an established 'template' for combining words.
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Is "ingratiate someone" idiomatic?
All major dictionaries provide the usage of the verb "ingratiate" as "ingratiate oneself with people". However, I just came across this line:
Since the outset of last season, Curry has cut down on ...
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He likes skiing and she loves walking
Can anyone explain to me what you call this type of sentence form in English?
Other examples: she likes skiing - I like reading - I love cycling - We hate driving ...
It's not a Present Continuous as ...
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for-if-construction
I don't understand the meaning of "For if" that I've found in different contexts:
For if I could see this radiance, might it not reach....
For if we don't find, The next little girl, I tell you we ...
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How to provide technical as well as colloquial, or non-technical, adjective
How do I best insert a synonym for a technical adjective?
For example, in the title of the question,
How to provide technical as well as colloquial, or non-technical, adjective
I gave the ...
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No sooner - than construction
No sooner had I spoken than I wished I kept my mouth shut.
How is it explained that "than" is used alone and without any other words and why "than" in the first place?
As a side question, how to use ...
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how to describe the three stages of before making policy, policy draft release and policy implementation?
I want to classify the process of creating a policy into three stages:
Step 1: public begins to talk about an agenda, which attracts the government's attention.
Step 2: the government releases a ...
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Question about a sentence construction (has/have)
Who have we got in the next round?
Who have you arranged to meet later on?
Who have they coming over for dinner?
i know that after who we put has like this example
who has the car?
but in ...
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Question about a sentence construction has/have
I know that I should say"
He/She/It has something,
and
I/We/You/They have something.
I get confused with sentences such as:
he was having a good time
he is having a good time
In these ...
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"Israeli-like" or "Israel-like"?
I happened upon an old news footage in which Howard K. Smith said,
[C]ivilized people are going to have to accept much more police security action and put up much tougher resistance, Israeli-like, ...
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"As for to" in comparison to "as for" or "as to"
I often ask myself: if the preposition can be placed before the verb and not after it, will the construction "as for to" be grammatically correct in comparison to "as for" or "as to"?
As for to where ...
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'so much too..' construction
I would like someone to explain the way the "so much too" construction works in sentences. What prepositions work after this construction? I made up these sentence and would like to know if they work:
...
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"it's not that somebody + verb" construction
I often see this construction "it's not that somebody + verb" and just wish to clarify whether I'm understanding it correctly.
It's not that he doesn't like coffee that he doesn't want it now, he ...
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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 ...
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What is the right way to say "Smb. was/is understood by smb."?
What is the right way to say "Smb. was/is understood by smb."? I suppose that this sentence is incorrect in English, so I'd like to know how to express this idea the right way.
E.g.:
He ...
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What are these constructions?
When you red painted the car, you scratched it. (When you painted the car red)
If I hand make something I sell twice the regular price. (If I make something with my hands)
What if I ice freeze the ...
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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 ...
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How to use the phase "as opposed to"? [closed]
As the title states, in what circumstance should i use "as opposed to"?
Can i use "vice versa" in some context instead?
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What is the name of this construction?
I've got an excerpt from a book here and I want to know what kind of grammatical construction this is:
He set off for the stairs with the others trailing after him.
I want to research it, but I ...
superfranky
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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 ...
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What happened to "widely spread"?
According to statistics and Google Ngram "widely spread" is dying out, and is being used less and less often while "widespread" is becoming popular.
There's also "spreads widely" that is also ...
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Do these sentences give same meaning? [duplicate]
Do the following (1) and (2)sentences have the same meaning ?
Being taken to the hospital, he died.
While being taken to the hospital, he died.
( Do both sentences mean: while he was being taken to ...
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Is it correct to say "Data are transferred" [duplicate]
I am a bit confused. When multiple data (plural) transfer takes place, which would be the correct expression:
a. "data are transferred"
b. "data is transferred"
Or both expressions are correct?
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the things that money can not buy vs the things that we can not buy things with money
The things that money can not buy
The things that we can not buy with money
The things that money cannot be bought
What is the difference between these phrase
phrase and clause ? Can money ...
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Why did the writer use "would" instead of "loved"
I can't understand why the phrase beneath is written that way.
"She needed someone that would love her for more than just one night"
I've seen the same construction in other cases. Hope someone ...
Santiago Cárdenas
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"How do you say that in Russian" is it correct in the following context?
Many time when my friend talk to me in English and I want to know the parallel word of this English word but in Russian language. So, what is the right why to ask it?
I always say "How do you say ...
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"I like to be loved" vs. "I like being loved"
I like to be loved.
I like being loved.
What is the difference between them?
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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.
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I am wondering what"the simple cast off items" means
Take metal cans, for instance, and imagine them in any number of uses, functional or purely as an art form. Can your eyes and mind see the potential metal case, bird feeder, or other object in the ...
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Why are lakes called "Lake Soandso" but seas are called "Soandso Sea"?
I am an English teacher for Brazilians. I was explaining the Great Lakes, and after that I mentioned the sea in Europe and noticed that the names were in a reversed order:
Which of the great lakes ...
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What does "one is to do something" mean?
What does construction one are to do something mean. E.g. in this context:
Imagine, that you are to open an online shop.
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What is the meaning of "every of the sons"?
I read this question on facebook,
A man and his wife have three sons and every of the sons has a sister.
How many members are there in the
family ?
A. 8
B. 10
C. 6
D. 12
I've never ...
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The use of "NP + for someone doing sth"
Peter Quill: She betrayed Ronan. He's coming back for her. And when he does, that's
when you... ( Quill makes a gesture of slicing his own throat )
Drax: Why would I put my finger on his throat?...
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It is worth trying vs it deserves a try
Let’s imagine two constructions:
It is worth trying, and
It deserves a try
Checking on google Ngram Viewer I found out that both are valid English.
In my language, there are no the exact equivalents ...
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"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 ...
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Strange structure of "is in a shambles"
When I said "is in a shambles", a native speaker of American English corrected me, saying it should be "is in shambles." And it makes sense, because in my case you have a (represents singularity), and ...
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"Not only from [...] but also from [...]"
Students can acquire knowledge not only from educational institutions, but also from many other ways.
In the above sentence, is from following "but also" needed, or can it be removed as in the ...
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Is the "the ... the ..." construction governed by some grammatical rule?
a) The more I study, the less I learn.
b) More I study, less I learn.
Could we rewrite the sentence shown under the letter a) in the form shown under the letter b) without breaking any grammatical ...
user114
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Is 'also' necessary in "not only... but also..." structures?
The car not only is economical but also feels good to drive.
I identified with Rowan Atkinson not only as an actor but also as a person.
Yes, both sentences, as they stand, are perfectly acceptable ...
user114
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Usage of phrase like "The friend of mine"
Referring to a friend like: "the friend of mine" is a common way.
But what about referring to something else, like car, fork or plant i.e. the something of mine? Is there any restriction of using ...
user20