Questions tagged [licensing]
Use this tag for questions about what sort of arguments a particular word 'licenses'-- that is, what forms of subject, objects and other complements it requires or permits.
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Adverbs: "tight" vs "tightly"
Tight is used as an adverb following verbs that denote a process of closure or constriction, as squeeze, shut, close, tie, and
hold, denoting the state resulting from the process, whereas tightly ...
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“One‘s wish is to do something” vs “One's wish is doing something”？
I can't see any difference between “His wish is to be a fighter jet pilot” and “His wish is being a fighter jet pilot”.
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Why can't we say "explain me it" or "say me it"?
By putting the direct object before the indirect object we can say:
tell it to me
say it to me
explain it to me
And if we put the indirect object before the direct object we can say:
...
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"be forbidden to Verb" or "be forbidden from Verb_ing"
1.Long ago, women were forbidden to vote in political elections.
2.Long ago, women were forbidden from voting in political elections.
Which's true? "be forbidden to V" or "be forbidden from ...
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"sue for + verb" or "sue + to + verb"?
… who with Mississippi's attorney general Mike Moore are suing Big Tobacco to reimburse the state for Medicaid funds used to treat people with smoking-related illnesses.
(Source)
We always say: s/he ...
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Should "other than" be followed by the infinitive or the -ing form
I'd do anything for you to repay my debt, other than killing people.
I'd do anything for you to repay my debt, other than kill people.
Are both sentences grammatically correct?
Is the first more ...
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Is there any reason why we can't use "I hope you to buy me a doll."
I saw the sentence like
I want you to buy me a doll.
But I read the book that says
I hope you to buy me a doll.
is not the right sentence.
I think there is a reason certainly.Don't say that ...
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Subject of infinitive clause with "expected"
You are expected to be well informed.
Is it possible to rewrite the above sentence in this way:
It is expected from you to be well informed.
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Is "coincident" followed with "as" or "with"?
I was looking at examples of the word usage of "coincident", and I saw that most "coincidents" were followed by "with".
dictionary.com then says that coincident is "happening at the same time", so ...
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Difference between 'record for' and 'record in'
In an english exercise, there was the correct answer:
I am going to establish a new record for swimming.
However, my gut wants to write 'record in swimming' (as it is written in Wikipedia: 'list ...
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When should I use a gerund and when an infinitive with 'like' or 'love'?
Do you like to cook?
Do you like cooking?
Do you love cooking?
Do you love to cook?
In which one we should use gerund?
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"I like listening to music" and "I like to listen to music" - is there any difference?
When speaking about my hobby, should I say:
I like listening to music.
I like to listen to music.
Do both mean the same? Is any of these sentences grammatically incorrect?
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What's the difference between "continues doing" and "continues to do"?
I realized I don't really know. I've just been using them interchangeably.
If I were to guess, perhaps "continues doing" hints a bit more at a continuous process (continues hitting him for ten ...
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Fall/Come Under Investigation
I have a question about "come under" and "fall under". These:
He came under suspicion for fraud.
He fell under suspicion for fraud.
are standard English. Could I then write ...
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Is it predicative or object clause?
Could you tell me what type of subordinate clause it is: predicative or object?
I felt (or had a feeling) that they had no objections.
I know that if we have such construction: "I felt as if they ...
user11312
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Bare infinitive vs to-infinitive
I found these sentences in my book:
He did nothing but cry.
He had no choice but to obey.
Example #1 uses a bare infinitive ("cry"), but example #2 uses a to-infinitive ("to obey&...
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Perfect Infinitive: To + have
She denied to have seen him yesterday.
She denied seeing him yesterday.
She denied having seen him yesterday.
Are these sentences grammatically correct? Do they mean the same?
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Except + gerund or infitive
1
The graduate student had nothing in mind except finishing his thesis.
2
The mason will not do any work except giving the order.
Both sentences use -ing of verb finish and give. I know these ...
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Usage of "As Spotted By"
If I take a look at the usage of the verb "notice":
As noticed by some customers, the store does not stock the ...
Some customers noticed that the store does not stock the...
I will ...
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... finished {written/writing/to write/wrote} two compositions
I am just practising some english grammar related questions , here is the question I am confused about :
Salman finished__________ two of his published compositions before his twelfth birthday.
...
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Usage of "ratio to" when talking about proportions
In my application, the fonts are automatically resized to stay proportional with the window. I am trying to describe it with this sentence:
Font sizes are dynamically calculated in order to ...
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Go Into Stalemate
Some usage of "go into" allows this sentence:
The company went into bankruptcy.
Could "go into", then, be used like this:
The two teams went into stalemate.
where the context is sports?
...
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'Would' vs 'should', expressing expectation on the part of the speaker
Page 111 (77, Should expressing probability), Oxford Learner's Grammar - Grammar Finder:
We can also use should to say that something is probable,
either in the present or the future.
...
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What is this variant of remember doing?
I remember to have heard that your mother has many suitors
Source
"My friend," said Nestor, "now that you remind me, I remember to have heard that your mother has many suitors, who are ill ...
user8153
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Departure To/For
Two senses of both "depart" and "departure" are 1) going from one place to another, and 2) leaving one job and taking another job.
For sense 1, it seems that "depart/departure" should be followed ...
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"Of His Own" Usage
For these idioms:
"take a chance"
"kick the bucket"
"of his own" could be add to first sentence, but not the second:
He took a chance of his own.
He kicked the bucket of his own.
I ...
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3
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Usages of "Important"
I have a question about "important". When we say <something> is important, that "<something>" is assumed to be positive/desirable.
But when we way something is NOT important, then that ...
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"I have ever been to New York. "Is this sentence correct?
I'm not a native english speaker.
I know this sentence is correct.
Have you ever been to New York? (O)
I have never been to New York. (O)
I have ever been to New York. <<<< ???
Is this ...
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look forward to meeting
“My daughter and I––and my dog, Enzo––would very much like to join you
for dinner in Maranello, then.”
“Your dog is named Enzo? How propitious!”
“He is a race car driver at heart,” Denny ...
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complements of 'typical of'
"It's typical of men to annex a global trend and turn it into a male
device to reject women to make themselves feel clever and us feel
stupid." (Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones's Diary)
It seems ...
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2
answers
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"I end up studying English" vs. "I end up to study English"
Why is it that we have to use the gerund form for the first example? I have been told that it is not grammatical to use the infinitive form.
For some verbs, it's okay:
I wanted to study English.
...
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I don't understand this structure of the sentence
As committed as he is to improving the quality of education in urban school,
I don't understand why the word used is improving, not improve (root verb)
Zoë Yeh
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Interpretation of "My dream is becoming an English teacher."
My dream is becoming an English teacher.
Do native speakers not think that the person who says that wants to become an English teacher?
And, by any chance, do native speakers think that he/she went ...
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How to say "I suggest adding [something]"
I said to my employee:
I suggest adding dtUpdate column to the table.
For me it sounds wrong. I want to say:
I suggest to add dtUpdate column to the table.
But I know by verb pattern this is ...
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How to parse this sentence: "The book is worth reading"？
The book is worth reading.
How to parse the sentence constituents? How to parse "worth doing"? What kind of constituent it is?
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Does 'reason' have a modifier and a complement?
Things couldn't have been worse.
Filch took them down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other.
Hermione was trembling....
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Verb + object + verb
Which one of this two sentences is correct?
I need you to help me do this job
I need you to help me to do this job
Can you also provide me some explanation?
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" ... need [something] 'verb-ing' ... " vs. " ... need [something] 'infinitive' ... "
Like most backup programs, you need another drive to store the File History archive. You can use an external USB drive or a network location, and Microsoft has instructions for setting up either ...
user114
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Infinitive and Gerund Construction
English isn't my mother tongue. I'm familiar with the notions of infinitive and gerund but I sometimes just don't know which of the two should be used in combination with which verb.
Thomson and ...
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"He likes swimming" or "He likes to swim"?
One can say: He likes swimming or He likes to swim. What is the exact meaning of each of these? What is the difference?
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Why is "He said me he was ..." ungrammatical, but "He told me he was ..." is not?
a.1) He said he was moving to New York.
a.2) *He said me he was moving
to New York.
b.1) *He told he was moving to New York.
b.2) He told me he was moving
to New York.
Why is a.2) ...
user114
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"Make" meaning "force to do something"
As it is well known, among other meanings "make" means force someone to do something and searching on Google shows that the sentence "The boss made me work an extra day" is grammatical (68,500 hits). ...
user114