Questions tagged [phrases]
A phrase is a group of words that make a unit of syntax with a single grammatical function.
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"Nobody's here" vs "people aren't here"
"Nobody's here" vs "people aren't here"
What's the difference?
I think in the former, there are no people, but in the latter, there are people but they are not here.
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If I didn't have vs Hadn't I had. What's the difference?
I took an English test where I had to complete sentences. After I finished the test I was told that my answer "If I didn't have..." was wrong and I should have written "Hadn't I had...&...
Lalalali
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Verb omission in English. "Enemy down" without any linking verb
Why are there no linking verbs in the following examples?
Enemy down
Feet dry
Feet wet
Mission completed
Shouldn't it be "the enemy is downed" or "the enemy has been downed"?
&...
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Is "rest to say" an actual phrase in English?
I don't know if this is an actual phrase, but I feel like I've heard it before. Like after a story cut short, you would say "rest to say" then sum up the story or state the point? As if ...
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Is the post-modifier "to write" part of a noun phrase in "letters to write"?
I have letters to write.
Is the post-modifier "to write" forming a noun phrase with the noun "letters"?
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I received a phone call from [closed]
I received a phone call from the school but the call got disconnected so I want call back to ask who call me, also I think the HR department but I don’t know how to make the sentence
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1
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What does "Tell me about it" mean?
John: "I had a rough day."
Mary: "Tell me about it."
What does "Tell me about it" mean?
Mary's statement doesn't sound sincere to me.
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"some chapters of it" vs "some of its chapters"
which one should i use and where? for example:
in order to shorten the book we have omitted some of its chapters
or
in order to shorten the book we have omited some chapters of it?
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identify the predicate and verb phrase
Identify the predicate and verb phrase - "Women should wear long sleeves and long dresses or trousers, so their body is covered."
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What does a comma mean when it separates noun phrases?
A comma separating adjectives is understood as AND.
What does a comma mean when it separates noun phrases?
Flow is a state of mind, a level of concentration in which outside stimuli seem to fall away....
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What does "take by the heel" mean?
https://www.etymonline.com/word/Jacob#etymonline_v_1631 says:
Jacob
masc. proper name; Old Testament patriarch, son of Isaac and Rebecca and father of the founders of the twelve tribes, from Late ...
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How to place 'not' reasonably in a clause?
Is it true that we often use 'not' with a verb or auxiliary verb i.e. 'not to do', 'do not need to do'? 'not' does not have this limitation when it forms a fixed collocation with other words, such as ...
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Meaning of the phrase "strike a bonanza"
Just as a tribe might occasionally strike a bonanza in the game of primitive warfare, sometimes a state might do the same, given the opportunities offered an Alexander the Great or a Hernan Cortes.
...
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How do you explain 'at the time'
Here I see this sentence:
The revived nematodes were found in permafrost some 130 feet underground near the Kolyma river in eastern Russia.
Researchers collected samples of the permafrost in the ...
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What is the meaning of "what goes to" in this context
Screenplay
Husband and wife are talking about their ill son:
A: He can hardly eat anything and here we are, wasting our time with this shit.
B: Oh yeah?
Like you have any idea what goes to feed him.
...
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I know for myself or I know to myself
Which is best when describing what you already realize within yourself.
To give context, I was self-reflecting during this time. I was going to say that:
I know to/for myself that I was having some ...
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2
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What does "for cause" mean?
https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/4218489-robert-menendez-broke-the-goldilocks-rule-of-corruption/ says
The curious thing about Senate trials is that you have a jury composed of people you ...
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Tone and meaning of phrases that start with "I thought I said"
I have heard this phrase often when people are irritated if not upset about what had happened despite them making it clearer that they don't wish for it.
Eg:
I thought I said NO.
I thought I said no ...
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Grammatical Unit İdentifying Problem
Fearing the old woman would be frightened by their
being alone, and not hoping that the sight of him would
disarm her suspicions, he took hold of the door and drew
it towards him
...
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2
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Here lies - so telling lies here?
Sorry for my low level question, I am not native... I am thinking of a phrase "here lies Joe" which does not mean something like "Joe is telling lies here". I wonder why is it so ...
Zoltán Hernyák
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Meaning of "How you get any work done is beyond me"
In one episode of the Friends series, the group is talking about the benefits of being a man and a woman. Here's the script:
Rachel: Come on! You guys can pee standing up.
Chandler: We can? All right,...
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"Fade-ins" (digital marketing)
What is the meaning of "fade-ins" in the following sentence found in a data protection agreement?
"We use Ad Server Cookies to measure fade-ins of advertisements and clicks."
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Is there a difference between ''when on'' and ''while on''?
Is it OK to say:
When on holiday, I learnt how to swim.
Is there a difference if we say:
While on holiday, I learnt how to swim.
Ahmed Abdel-hafeez
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1
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Take the efforts or Make the efforts?
Is there any difference in the meaning of "Take the efforts" and "Make the efforts"?
For example: "It takes efforts to quit smoking" or "Helping refugees to start ...
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What is the meaning of the phrase _____ killed my dog? [closed]
Yesterday, I was listening to a podcast and the host said something like _______ killed my dog. What is the meaning of that phrase?
user175406
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3
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Does "subject to review" mean there is a possibility of review or that it is guaranteed?
Paypal said, "All transfers are subject to review and could be delayed or stopped if we identify an issue."
I'm a native English speaker, but I don't know if "subject to review" ...
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Which does the phrase "consider doing something" imply, suggestion or suppression?
When someone says "Consider doing something", which is implied, suggestion or suppression?
For example, "Consider eating more vegetables" sounds like a suggestion for me.
But how ...
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"But, also and interestingly" - Is this properly expressed in English?
But, also and interestingly, from an environmental science point of view: in addition, the study of planet atmospheres has not as yet found any evidence of gasses that are "out-of-chemical-...
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Why are articles sometimes NOT used before common nouns?
Take a sentence like:
'Excellent lady that she was, Lady Gigabytes invited us over for dinner.'
Or:
'Lady Gigabytes (excellent lady that she was) invited us over for dinner.'
What both these sentences ...
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What is the difference between “looking at oneself” and “watching oneself on”?
Example sentences
(a) He’s so obsessed with himself. He keeps looking at himself in the mirror.
(b) He’s so obsessed with himself. He keeps watching himself on the mirror.
As a native speaker of ...
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Confirm on vs confirm
Which phrase is grammatically correct?
“Just wanted to confirm that”
Vs
“Just wanted to confirm on that”
I’ve searched up both of them on google and they both seemed to be used so I’m guessing they’re ...
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Is 'by the bye' an acceptable variant of 'by the by'?
This blog says,
This phrase can be written in two ways: by the by and by the bye. Both spellings mean the same thing; by the by is the more common variant.
Yet this blog says,
Bye and bye, bye the ...
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Is using possesive s okay with conceptual things?
This is my original sentence "The visual aspects of DDS narrative ..."
My professor says "The visual aspects of DDS's narrative ..."
Which one is better?
trying to avoid using ...
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How to express that X was given every 2 days, and Y every other 2 days?
If, for example, X is given coffee on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and so forth, and tea on days 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and so forth, how can I express this as simple as possible (without mentioning even or uneven ...
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What does the phrase "waiting for the proper gear" mean here?
Could anyone please tell me the meaning of the phrase "waiting for the proper gear" in the following sentence:
Hidden beneath her casual demeanor lies a formidable fighter, waiting for the ...
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"What is the final will of Victor Porton?" - usage of the word "will"
"What is the final will of Victor Porton?", asked one of visitors of my (Victor Porton's) site from my AI chatbot.
Should (supposed that the question was asked by a native speaker) the word &...
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Roll the dice vs. Take a chance
Both roll the dice and take a chance mean test your luck.
Is there any difference between those expressions? As far as I am aware, both phrases suppose an action to be taken; I can't imagine any ...
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How does "living in this country" modify both "men" and "women" in this sentence?
The wisdom of men and the beauty of women living in this country are both remarkable.
Can "living in this country" modify "men" in this sentence? I believe "living in this ...
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Are "they gave him a round of applause" and "they gave him a round of claps" the same?
ChatGPT says
While "round of applause" is a common phrase in English, "round of
claps" is not typically used in the same context. "Applause" refers to
the sound of ...
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You took cold juice out of a fridge. Is it more common to say "wait until it's less cold" or "wait until it's warmer" or "wait until it warms up"?
You took a bottle of orange juice out of a fridge and put it on a table but you didn't want to drink it right then because it's still very cold. You wanted to leave it there for awhile.
Is it more ...
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what did you do with him
This guy was hitting on me at a bar last night.
What did you do with him?
I told him to leave me alone.
Tom was my friend.
What did you do with him?
I played tennis with him, and sometimes went ...
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Prepositional phrase
There are two sentences :
We found it in our kitchen.
The storm came quickly out of the south.
"in our kitchen" and " out of the south" are prepositional phrases,right?
I was ...
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Can we a have a noun before a gerund phrase?
I have this sentence:
People smoking cigarettes is unhealthy.
What kind of word group is "people smoking cigarettes"? I understand that "smoking cigarettes" can be a gerund ...
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Can you paraphrase "How long do we give it" in the excerpt below?
I'm still developing my English so it's great if you answer my question in a very short and direct way; the shorter it is, the better.
I don't get the meaning of "HOW LONG DO WE GIVE IT" in ...
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sprang up VS be springing up
I found two example sentences recently about “spring up” in Collins and Oxford dictionaries.
New theatres and arts centres sprang up all over the country.
New houses were springing up all over the ...
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killer of kings
The death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides), which has been the
‘killer of kings’ for centuries, could be losing its edge. Scientists
have found a possible antidote for the deadly mushroom’s toxin.
...
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Difference between "the likelihood of starting in a graduate job" vs "the likelihood of starting a graduate job"
A whole sentence is
Waiting until after graduation to apply for work reduces the likelihood of starting in a graduate job.
I am confused by its meaning
I thought a sentence without [in] is more ...
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Using the Didn't take something
Situation: A person (male) says something to a (female) aged 50+ both. The female ignores it. I could see from her face that she didn't take what he said in a good way.
Can I say this: "She didn'...
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The meaning of "phone cover" in chat
I read a post online:
There was a bit of a run down historically with a nod to medieval shit carters but the focus was on prisons and meat processing.
A lot of these places are in the middle of ...
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How to explain "until after " correctly?
Example sentences:
He is not available until after 12 pm.
He is available until after 12 pm.
What is the different meaning of the two sentences? So, when exactly is he available? I tried to find ...
user479077