Questions tagged [sentence-construction]
This tag is used for questions about the proper construction of sentences.
4,536
questions
0
votes
1answer
8 views
Is “It was that year that…” grammatically correct?
I don't know if this sentence is grammatical and natural:
I have written a novel. It was that year that I entered university, and finished Beauvoir's Le Deuxieme Sexe (1949) in the library.
Would it ...
1
vote
1answer
26 views
Is this sentence correct? 'It was two years of my life that I enjoyed thoroughly.'
Is this sentence correct?
It was two years of my life that I enjoyed thoroughly.
Should I change it to:
They were two years of my life that I enjoyed thoroughly.
The preceding sentence goes like ...
0
votes
1answer
12 views
Would all the suggestions be grammatical and natural to insert in my dialog?
A: I know what you're going through.
B: You do?
A: Yes. ______________________________. So if you ever want to talk, you can always come to me.
Would all the suggestions below be grammatical and ...
0
votes
1answer
16 views
“Secondly, it improves my mental health by taking my mind off my problems and instead uses it to focus on the sport I'm playing”
Secondly, it improves my mental health by taking my mind off my problems and instead uses it to focus on the sport I'm playing
The first "it" refers to "playing sports", the ...
0
votes
1answer
14 views
what does “not for” mean in the beginning of a sentence? And a sentence sans a main verb?
Silks, satins and brocades, elegant plumes and gemstones—details like these give Lievens ample scope to show off his flashy handling of his medium. Not for him the fastidious, enamel-smooth surfaces ...
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0answers
20 views
Find one's bearings
Find one's bearings:
To recognize or determine one's orientation, position, or abilities relative to one's surroundings or situation:
Example:
It took me a little while to find my bearings in the ...
0
votes
1answer
20 views
“Be late (by/for)…” - “Be…late”
Could you possibly let me know which structure is the proper way to convey "being late"?
My apologizes mr. Manson! But I guess I.............
a. will be late for 10 minutes.
b. will be ...
0
votes
1answer
29 views
Is it possible to use a singular verb (makes) when the subject is plural?
Suppose that there is an online app which is interesting because of two main reasons:
Its beautiful graphics = X
Its pleasant music = Y
Now I want to tell someone that those two reasons make the app ...
0
votes
2answers
34 views
Are the two sentence different or which one is better?
I wrote a paragraph as follows.
The experiments proved that the proposed framework A is flexible enough to optimize many models. For example, in the XXX dataset, MetricXX of A is 1, which is 10% ...
0
votes
1answer
22 views
How should I use 'no longer' in this sentence?
What is the correct (or at least the most natural) way to say this?
There is no longer any conflict...
or
No longer there is any conflict...
0
votes
0answers
16 views
Are the rules for creating parallel structures different when dealing with school subjects and compound nouns?
For example:
He likes Engineering, Math and Chemistry.
He likes engineering, playing football and hiking.
He was arrested for breaking and entering, grand theft auto and robbery.
Do all of these ...
2
votes
2answers
46 views
Is 'silently' placed correctly?
I have written this:
Fiona silently takes in the sight of the city.
Is 'silently' placed correctly? Could I also place it at the end of the sentence?
Fiona takes in the sight of the city silently.
0
votes
0answers
21 views
What is the correct option?
I think they mean the same but i also think that one is grammatically wrong
She wanted to be treated like her brother
She wants to have been treated like her brother
Is any of the options wrong?
Do ...
0
votes
1answer
21 views
Sentence structure (subject and object)
Do these sentences mean the same thing:
I have nothing to do with the accident
The accident has nothing to do with me
0
votes
0answers
13 views
Why the odd phrase “wasn't [some distance](10 feet / 5 meters / 2 blocks) away” came to be used instead of simpler and straightforward options?
Why the odd phrase "wasn't [some distance](10 feet / 5 meters / 2 blocks) away" came to be used instead of simpler and straightforward options?
As I asked in the question, it is and must be (...
0
votes
2answers
24 views
Most expensive design Vs Most recent design
In the past, making structures quake-resistant meant firm yet
flexible
materials, such as steel and wood, that bend without breaking. Later, people tried to lift a building off its foundation, and ...
0
votes
0answers
17 views
Ruled the kingdom of Dahomey vs Ruled the battle of Dahomey
Behanzin ruled the West African
kingdom/battle
of Dahomey at the end of the nineteenth century, a time when Europeans were doing their utmost to colonize Africa. Behanzin put up extremely powerful ...
0
votes
0answers
14 views
Rules were obeyed to vs Rules were kept to
A "duel of honour" was a way of settling disputes between gentlemen over some injury or insult. The
fight
had to be arranged privately because duelling was never
legal
, but it became common ...
1
vote
1answer
23 views
“I am happy (that or since) you are back”
The question is:
I am happy .... you are back.
a) while
b) that
c) however
d) since
I think both b and d are correct
I asked some of my friends and they told to choose option b but I think option d ...
0
votes
1answer
17 views
Employer allows an entitlement vs Employer includes an entitlement
Employers often offer employees perks in addition to cash wages, for example, membership of a health insurance or company pension
scheme
If they do, they must
ensure
that they are fair in providing ...
2
votes
2answers
412 views
Unique Chemical vs Known Chemical
Gunpowder, also referred to as 'black powder', was the only
unique/known
chemical explosive until the mid-nineteenth century. It
contains
potassium nitrate, or 'saltpeter', which is an oxidizer, and a ...
0
votes
2answers
25 views
Field equipped for research purpose Vs Field use for research purposes
Professional astronomers,
unlike their amateur counterparts, have no particular interest in the aesthetic quality
of their photographs. What matters to them is the contribution their images can make ...
0
votes
1answer
17 views
Ellipsis with “would be”
Having trouble with ellipsis.
I want to say that at one point in time, there was not a lot of songs that we would label "tango" today, but that the very fact that there was not a lot makes &...
0
votes
0answers
17 views
Is “but not for multipe types” or other words wrong in my sentence?
I wrote one sentence as follows.
"For academic research, I found that almost all of the existing indexes for queries on large graphs work well for one type of query but not for multiple types. ...
0
votes
1answer
26 views
Use “points in the 2-hop cover” or “points of the 2-hop cover”?
I wrote these sentences as follows.
"I also reduced the number of points in the 2-hop cover used for the index to 25% of the initial graph size."
I am not sure should I use "points in ...
0
votes
2answers
36 views
Is this sentence(“He is a high thought guy”) correct?
I am having a confusion about expressing something like, a guy is intelligent and he thinks better and his thinking power is far better from anyone. I naturally wanted to express it like, "He is ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
Can the words “demonstrate intelligence” convey my initial meaning?
I wrote the sentence as follows. In this sentence, I want to express that people can train the neural network by using the calculation of matrix (belonging to linear algebra). After training, the ...
0
votes
1answer
26 views
Is this part of a sentence grammatically correct? “I ride a bicycle 'to or not to' go to the school”
I ride a bicycle to or not to go to the school.
Is to or not to correct expression? I doubt joining two words which have not a lexical meaning but a grammatical meaning with a conjunction is possible ...
0
votes
1answer
12 views
Asking someone about someone else in your greetings
Person 'X' and person 'Y' live together.
You bump into the person 'X' on street and what to ask the 'X' about the person 'Y'.
How would you ask informally how a person "Y's" life is going ...
0
votes
0answers
23 views
present participle constructions after prepositions
Is the following sentence correct?
The cartoonist wants to draw attention to poverty in India in showing that people do not have toilets of their own.
0
votes
1answer
27 views
Can the phase “make it” be used in this sentence?
I wrote one sentence as follows. In this sentence, I want to express that although the work is very hard, I finally overcome many barriers and succeed.
Although implementing my idea was very ...
0
votes
1answer
21 views
“Assuming what precedes is agreed upon”
I might be asking a lot but it's worth trying.
At one point of an essay I am writing, I make several arguments
The last of these arguments implies questions, which I mention
What I then wish to ...
1
vote
1answer
7 views
I am up to face it X I am ready to face it
When someone asks if I would be able to face a full time job, can I answer with the following sentences?
I am ready to face the challenge.
I am up for it.
I am up to face it.
I am up for facing it....
0
votes
0answers
19 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
17 views
“Trapped” or “To be trapped”
Emergency services attended the scene and found the man trapped in his car. A crew from the State Emergency Service (SES) with the assistance of Fire and Rescue extricated the man from the vehicle ...
0
votes
2answers
19 views
Proper sentence structuring: “They would even throw him under the bus if it means that they could make more money.”
How do I say this thought properly?
They would even throw him under the bus if it means that they could make more money.
Can anyone help me to find the right words for this?
0
votes
0answers
28 views
Ways of asking someone to move over
Could you please let me know how the two short request sentences below differ when it comes to ask someone to move over?
Stand aside please.
Step aside please.
I cannot explain the reason, but I ...
0
votes
1answer
25 views
Is the highlighted area grammatically correct? “[…] has recently shown to hold great promises.” [closed]
Is the highlighted area below grammatically correct? If not, how would you modify it?
"Improving conventional imaging techniques especially through combining them with molecular biology methods ...
0
votes
2answers
33 views
Which of these is correct, “She doesn't has” or “She doesn't have”? And why? [duplicate]
She doesn't has a book.
She doesn't have a book.
Why is the first sentence wrong? We use 'has' with singular, and 'she' is singular.
0
votes
0answers
22 views
(ESL student) Need help clarify this sentence. (not A or B) [closed]
"Students who withdraw from the univ. during the first 12 class days of the fall term would be required to apply for readmit if they were also not enrolled in the Spring 2020 or Summer 2020, ...
0
votes
1answer
18 views
Is this grammatically correct?: “something we thought which might have been lost due to the time and distance”
Here is the context: Two performers who are based in two different countries are going to carry out a performance together. The two of them cannot see each other often so they thought the senses and ...
0
votes
0answers
15 views
How can i write this sentence correctly?
How can i make this sentence work with a that-clause?
She needed to be doing her homework last night
Could one way be this?
"It was needed that she was doing her homework last night"
0
votes
1answer
11 views
'This' or 'this' at the start?
I want to use 'this' at the start of my sentence. I mean the word this is in single quotation marks, but I'm not sure about the starting letter! Should I write 'This' or 'this'?
'This' is used to ...
0
votes
1answer
15 views
(A) burden (to / on) someone
As you know, the word "burden" depending on context, can convey various meanings. One of its connotations is "something difficult or worrying that you are responsible for", which ...
0
votes
0answers
29 views
Which of these two sentences is right and why?
I have some problems with making sentences. For example, I don't know which one of the following sentences is right.
What devil's action had you done?
What devil's action you had done?
this period ...
0
votes
1answer
21 views
What is the exact meaning of “Not like you hold me” in Michael Jackson's song “Love never felt so good”?
Baby, love never felt so good
And I doubt if it ever could
Not like you hold me, hold me
I interpret the "Not like you hold me" part as
It's not like you hold me.
as same usage in "...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
regular vs uniform
Since the last papal reform, several
proposals have been offered to make the Western calendar more useful or BLANK. Very few reforms, such as the rather different decimal French Republican and Soviet ...
0
votes
0answers
19 views
Where should “in awe” be placed in this sentence?
Where should "in awe" be placed in this sentence:
The man looks up (in awe) at the spectacular, 50-story building (in awe).
?
0
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0answers
8 views
How to use the X being a Y construction
Is the following a correct way of expressing the meaning 'since we are an authority, we need to...'?
Being an authority, we need to...
Thank you!
0
votes
0answers
10 views
How to refer to something common to two things?
I want to refer to a common cause of two problems that I have described.
I've used the following sentence:
"A common denominator to the problems that I have described is ...."
I'm not sure ...
