Questions tagged [phrases]
A phrase is a group of words that make a unit of syntax with a single grammatical function.
931
questions
0
votes
1answer
9 views
Is the phrase “an extensive amount of hard work” correct and does is sound natural?
What I want to indicate in my writing is that I understand I need to work really hard as a student in the program. I'm using this sentence:
I am aware that studying in such an intense and demanding ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
Why this phrase is right: The hardened professional smuggler?
Why this phrase is right: The hardened professional smuggler?
I think because hardened = professional, so it is weird to see the phrase: the hardened professional smuggler.
But I know that phrase ...
-2
votes
0answers
26 views
Which one phrase is correct? [closed]
Can you please help me, which one phrase is correct?
Perfect view for a creative ideas.
or
The perfect view for creative ideas.
0
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0answers
14 views
Meaning of a phrase and is it grammatically correct? [closed]
Could someone please tell me what the exact meaning is of this sentence and if it is grammatically correct?
They created this tone by the voice-over in which Article 24 of the first Geneva ...
0
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0answers
17 views
Cites or mentions [closed]
Could someone please tell me which of the following phrases is the best?
They created it by using a voice-over in which a man with a serious voice mentions Article 24 of the first Geneva ...
0
votes
0answers
21 views
What is grammitcally correct when trying ot schedule an appointment
.. Any ‘ol way.. just let me know when you are/will be free upon your return.
0
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0answers
25 views
Which sounds better? [closed]
This is another part of a song I am writing, and I need an opinion. The lyric is, "The innocence, that once was there, now (or is) hollowed out, and sadly bare."
The words that I'm struggling to fit ...
0
votes
2answers
55 views
Exclamation with “What or How”
How does it say correctly with exclamation?
How she looks!
or
What she looks!
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2answers
45 views
What is the opposite phrase of “ALL CAPS”?
As far as I know, we say that the words in which every letter is in upper-case as "ALL CAPS".
Then how can we say for not "ALL CAPS"?
Something like "Not all caps".
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1answer
37 views
meaning of the phrase [duplicate]
Can this phrase be used this way?: to mock at someone who said some kind of nonsense or the way what he did or the way how he looks. Or is it possible?
For example: I can't with/from your stupid ...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
Carrier fibre: what is it?
I was reading a thesis and saw this sentence,
Recover (Spain) takes post-industrial cotton waste and shreds the
fibre to upcycle it into yarn. By colour sorting the waste materials,
they have ...
0
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0answers
14 views
Elliptical structured confusing English
1.She believed to have been killed in somewhere in frontline
For me it should be written in like "She is believed 'who' have been killed in somewhere in frontline"
After the peace treaty ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
What does the phrase “edges the fabric” mean here?
Please help me figure out the meaning of the phrase "edges the fabric" in the following sentence:
Depending on the look you want to go for, hold your felt sides together using a running stitch (where ...
0
votes
1answer
36 views
What is the meaning of “indicate otherwise?”
"First, the Handlins cannot adequately demonstrate that the White servant's position was improving during and after the 1660's; several acts of the Maryland and Virginia legislatures indicate ...
1
vote
2answers
71 views
What does the phrase “snap into place” mean here?
I find the phrase "makes drawing operations snap into place" confusing in the following sentence (which is unfortunately not available online):
Generally, I prefer to work with a coarse grid that ...
0
votes
2answers
47 views
“somehow” or “ in any way”? [closed]
Tell me please which one of the following sentences sounds the most natural.
Can I help you somehow?
Can I help you in any way?
What I am trying to convey is a willingeness to know if there ...
2
votes
1answer
28 views
Is the usage “it is not until now……” grammatically correct?
I have heard a lot of sentences including the phrase "until now" at the begining of sentences.
But when I search its inversion format in Google, I hardly find any related sentences which begin with
...
2
votes
4answers
77 views
To beat someone in a competition/debate/etc in a humiliating way
What is the most common informal/casual idiom / expression / verb to imply making someone feel defeated in a humiliating way in AE?
For instance, let's say two youngsters are playing soccer against ...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
What does the phrase “ragtag rebels” mean here?
I am not sure about the meaning of the phrase "ragtag rebels" in the following sentence:
Your ragtag rebels will fight in turn-based battles with monsters.
The sentence above is a description of ...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
Is there any difference between the phrase “all the better” and “so much the better”?
Is there any difference between the phrases? For example:
If can come earlier, it is all the better.
If can come earlier, it is so much the better.
By the way, do I have to include it is as ...
1
vote
1answer
23 views
Is there any difference between “sideways” and “to the side”?
Is there any difference between sideways and to the side? For example:
Stop leaning sideways/to the side!
The car in front of us suddenly moved sideways/to the side.
I feel that in the ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
Is it considered natural to open an answer with 'On the contrary!'?
Person A: He says that you like sweet foods.
Person B: On the contrary! I do like salty foods.
Is it considered natural to open an answer or comment with this phrase, or it should be a part of a ...
1
vote
1answer
31 views
Meaning of a “having come to be required”
What does the following mean?
"having come to be required".
It is meaning of statutory?
-2
votes
1answer
26 views
What does pay-off mean?
Recommender Systems: Noisy data, commercial pay-off (e.g., Amazon, Netflix). -- source
I look up the longman dictionary. Seems none of the explanation makes sense.
1
vote
1answer
21 views
Does the phrase “fix a schedule” sound natural, if does, then what is its exact meaning?
When I want choose a date for, say, a party, does it sound natural to say the following?
Let's fix a schedule for the party.
If that sounds ok, then could I change fix for set?
0
votes
2answers
34 views
“Close/shut one's eyes to sth” VS “Turn a blind eye to sth”
I was wondering what is the difference between these two phrases. For me, they both mean very similar and I cannot differentiate between them.
For more clarification, let me provide you with an ...
1
vote
1answer
60 views
Is it natural to use the phrase “who are you to do something” when expressing anger?
Is it natural to say the following when expressing anger at someone for something they have done, and they don't have the right to do the thing?
Who are you to behave like that?!
Who are you ...
0
votes
1answer
13 views
To think…I think
I am wondering if this is the correct usage
To think I thought I had seen everything when she slipped on her own
spit, I think I cannot be surprised anymore.
I am wondering if this is the only ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
What does “take a nap between the snoozing lion and lamb” means?
This phrase is from the below paragraph in the book Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky.
The book has a number of personal roots. One is that, having had
...
0
votes
1answer
55 views
Talking or speaking to someone [duplicate]
What is the correct phrase to use?
I am speaking on the phone? Please keep quiet for a while.
or
I am talking on the phone? Please keep quiet for a while.
To me, the first one makes more ...
1
vote
1answer
29 views
What do the Arapesh ancestors do when they “pluck back the bramble”?
I'm not sure about the meaning of the phrase "pluck back" in this passage of Margaret Mead's Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies.
The ghosts themselves are residents of the lands, and ...
-1
votes
2answers
60 views
Is there some alternative use of “You are welcome” [closed]
From what I have learned it's as described here
You are welcome
But we use English as corp language at work, using slack and have GIPHY (a tool for adding GIFs to messages) connected to it and I give ...
0
votes
1answer
14 views
On using “to what extent there exist”
Is the phrase
to what extent there exist
a correct phrase? For example:
To what extent there exist disadvantaged families in this area?
I searched on it in google but did not find it used. ...
0
votes
2answers
21 views
How to use 'used to' two times in a sentence
How to say this
"When I used to go to the college, I used to play Volleyball".
Or is it ok to use used to two times in a sentence?
I know I can also use something like:
"When I was in ...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
Can I use “due left” as meaning of “due west”?
According to the dictionary, "due" can be used to emphasize for "Straight, directly" i.g: "Go due west".
So,can I use "due left" as meaning of "due west"?
1
vote
1answer
28 views
Meaning of “it is onto something”?
I came across it in this video. It is at 49 seconds.
On earth we deal with flush toilets if that is available, hopefully, to you. You do what you need to do, then you clean yourself up, and then it ...
8
votes
1answer
969 views
What does the phrase “pinch apart” mean here?
Here is a sentence from a task management app:
The app allows you to add tasks in several ways and in one of them you
can pinch apart two items in order to squeeze a task in between them.
I am ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
What does the phrase “pull down on” mean here?
Here is a sentence from a task management app:
The app allows you to add tasks in several ways and in one of them you
can pull down on a list to put a task to the top.
I am not sure about the ...
1
vote
3answers
37 views
Conveying the idea of a sole item
I'm having a hard time finding a phrase I'm contended with in regard to a sole item. I tried using "the only one" but for some reason it rings as referring to a person, not an item (but hey, maybe it'...
1
vote
2answers
33 views
Picking out Adverb Phrases from the given sentence
He strove with all his might to escape
According to my Wren and Martin textbook, with all his might is an adverb phrase in the given sentence. But what is to escape? Is it an adverb phrase as well?
1
vote
1answer
20 views
What is the difference between “go up to something” and “go over to something” in the sense of approaching something?
What is the difference between the following sentences?
He went up to the table to grab some cake.
He went over to the table to grab some cake.
If the phrases have identical meanings, could ...
0
votes
2answers
39 views
American Equivalent for “roll on something”
Roll on something
As you perhaps know, Britons tend to use this term to imply how much they like something happen and when they wish a specific time or event would come more quickly.
Example:
...
3
votes
1answer
168 views
Meaning of the phrase “Beating on your craft”!
I was translating a document in another language, then I saw this famous quotation from Will Smith that is provided here.
The separation of talent and skill is one of the greatest
misunderstood ...
1
vote
2answers
51 views
“Have a nice ride to work”
Is it OK to say the following to somebody who is going to work on a bike?
“Have a nice ride to work!”
How can I wish someone a good time while he/she is on her way to work?
0
votes
1answer
34 views
“The professor does the attendance in his room” is grammatically correct?
I know that attendance for students means "being present in the class".
How can I say that the professor answers the doubts questions in his room, for example Mondays between 4 and 5 pm?
Could it be ...
0
votes
0answers
57 views
Grate on someone's ears / nerves
What does the sentence below mean?
His voice grates on my ears.
His voice grates on my nerves.
Please have a look on Longman's definition below:
To grate on (to annoy someone):
- Mr ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
When a youth's voice becomes “manly”
I wonder how would you talk about a voice breaking in young males - around the age of puberty?
This is when they lose their high-pitched voices and start to produce deeper sounds.
What shall I say:
...
0
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0answers
19 views
Can I understand that “as long as” is 1st Conditional and “If only” is 2nd or 3rd Conditional?
When I think about this sentence "As long as you study English, you can improve your English", it means "If you study English, you can improve your English", and it is 1st Conditional.
When I think ...
1
vote
1answer
36 views
What does the phrase “tight level design” mean here?
I am not sure about the meaning of the phrase "tight level design" in the following sentence from a combat game's description:
The tight level design and many opportunities for vertical gameplay
...
-1
votes
1answer
47 views
(As you mentioned / pointed out) and (Thank you for mentioning / pointing out)
I know that when you 'point something out' you have already found something important with that and would like the listener(s) know about it too in order to draw their attention to it.
Now, please ...
