Questions tagged [sentence-construction]
This tag is used for questions about the proper construction of sentences.
5,081
questions
0
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0answers
11 views
What can I write in a thank you note [closed]
Yesterday organizers in my apartment had a big tv screen for cricket. Which everyone enjoyed. So everyone is messaging on the telegram group and thanking the residents who organized it. I am at a loss ...
10
votes
6answers
2k views
Is it OK to say "a cat is on the table"?
I've been confused with the "there is/are" expression.
I learnt at school that "A cat is on the table" is an awkward sentence and you should say "There is a cat on the table&...
1
vote
2answers
36 views
About the term of law, and the interpretation
1.Signing a form is little more than a formality.
I know the sentence can be changeable like the following below.
2.Signing a form is only a formality.
But can I change the first sentence into ...
1
vote
1answer
23 views
"It provides opportunity for" vs. "It provides the opportunity for"
I came across this expression in this newspaper article:
"It provides opportunity for a small nonprofit organization to be
competitive with a major brand with huge marketing budget."
I was ...
1
vote
1answer
29 views
what is indirect form of: he said, "If I were you, I would protest."
what is indirect form of: he said, "If I were you, I would protest."
I think the answer is: If he had been I, he would have protested
can it also be : If he had been me instead of I or is ...
0
votes
1answer
16 views
Which of grammatical structures can indicate "your day and mood ruined"?
FOBO, or Fear of a Better Option, is the anxiety that something
better will come along, which makes it undesirable to commit to
existing choices when making a decision. It’s an affliction of
abundance ...
0
votes
0answers
19 views
How do you say you saved time in doing a task as well as saved your employer costs in terms of wages?
I'd like to highlight in my resume that I was able to complete a 75-hour task in just 24 hours. I am not sure if my sentence below highlights two things:
I saved time.
I saved the employer money in ...
1
vote
1answer
21 views
question about how do you think
I don't know that "how do you think?" is wrong.
I'm not a native speaker, but people told me that a native speaker doesn't speak "how do you think?
I want to know why they do, and they ...
3
votes
1answer
24 views
Mustn't we add some verb at the end of this sentence to make the meaning more clear?
This is a paragraph from some Korean SAT preparatory material.
As a pillar of its religion of progress and cult of technology, our society cultivates its great illusion, which is related to time. It ...
0
votes
2answers
21 views
Is this sentence correct in grammar?
This is the second time I came to America for.
As for the above sentence, is the preposition 'for' is necessary? In my opinion, the sentence should be revised to 'This is the second time that I have ...
0
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1answer
26 views
can we use ' like or hate' with that
I'm trying to figure out about what I want to say with the word 'like and hate'. For example, My friend lied to me last night. I hate that. When I translate this on Google, it becomes "I hate ...
0
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1answer
49 views
Do you have it in you to convey the following information in just one sentence like a native speaker? (Just imagine Lord Kitchener pointing at you)
I want to say that most questions on the test are asked from hardcore biology and there are few if any questions from chapters like ' Where Does Our Food Come From' or ''Diseases'. I want to say all ...
2
votes
1answer
32 views
How to put equal emphasis on the application used in a training program in addition to the content/material taught?
I completed some certificate courses, which are designed to teach people how to conduct statistical analysis using "R" (a programming language).
I am trying to highlight this in my resume. I ...
0
votes
1answer
14 views
inversion of past participle
I came across a sentence to understanding like the following.
Enclosed is a brochure explaining our services and investment options, per your request.
This sentence is made to place a past ...
0
votes
2answers
47 views
"When I arrived at the Rome airport, a feeling of excitement flowed through me as I realised I am in the city of my dreams"
Spot the mistake in the following sentence:
When I arrived at the Rome airport, a feeling of excitement flowed through me as I realised I am in the city of my dreams.
A. at the Rome airport.
B. am
C. ...
1
vote
1answer
46 views
How to say "X became Y and remained to be Y" more naturally?
Let's say I want to express that butter became the most consumed spread in 2010 and it remained the most consumed spread until 2015. How do I construct a sentence that expresses that without repeating ...
0
votes
1answer
15 views
simple question in sentence with a prepostion
I want to use a pencil to drawing a picture.
is it a correct sentence?
If not, please, change it into a right sentence.
I want native speakers what to think about the sentence.
-1
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3answers
27 views
Use of please, in a statement related to a request
Is the following sentence correct, with regard to the use of the verb 'please'?
I ask you to please confirm the reception of this message.
0
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1answer
33 views
Is it possible that part of the subject is an adjective in the sentence
I came upon a sentence I can’t grasp in a text book.
The sentence is the following
What so often happens is that either that day or over time, less and less is kept,
first of winnings and then of the ...
-1
votes
0answers
32 views
Everytime i remember that you are not the captain anymore... is it correct? [closed]
Every time when that thing pops in my head..
How to say it in a sentence?
"Every time I remember" or "every time I recall"?
0
votes
2answers
26 views
What is the right way to include a list of items?
Example sentence:
Please proceed to remove the agreed items from the list.
There was a former discussion on the items and I'd like to highlight the items again in the final action to take. Is the ...
0
votes
1answer
17 views
Which of the following(s) is/are (a) preferred structure(s)?
Among the followings, are there preferred sentences ?
[edited: the original sentence used a phrase "on the rise", which seemed to make the sentence less formal]
The incidence of diabetes ...
0
votes
1answer
15 views
in an adjective phrase
In a English dictionary, I run across a sentence I can't grasp.
I sat down deep in contemplation.
Can I change the sentence into the following.
I sat down and I was deep in contemplation.
Does the ...
0
votes
2answers
26 views
an adjective phrase and an introductory clause
In an English text, I happened upon a sentence like the following.
____________ no money, I cannot buy that lovely house. A. Having B. If having
which of those is a correct answer to the sentence?
I ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
Why didn't the author write "the rules we follow in dealing with sets are derived from them." instead of "sets derive from them"?
I am reading "Topology 2nd Edition" by James R. Munkres.
I am not good at English at all, but it's a mathematics book.
In this book, there is the following sentence:
Although we shall not ...
1
vote
3answers
43 views
What does this mean, and why is it in a passive voice
In a English drama, I heard an expression I can't understand like the following.
I'm not finished.
I know that the verb "finish" can be an intransitive or transitive.
by the way, I can't ...
0
votes
0answers
18 views
Construction Shift [closed]
I need to construction shift this sentence but I have two options in mind that make sense somehow and those two options are options B and D.
There was no remedy available for his constant attacks of ...
-1
votes
1answer
21 views
Present Perfect or Past Perfect in a conditional sentence. What makes more sense? [closed]
If you hadn't ever fallen out of the sky, I don't know what I would
do now.
If you haven't ever fallen out of the sky, I don't know what I would
do now.
If you never fell out of the sky, I don't know ...
-1
votes
0answers
44 views
A function of a relative pronoun
I knew that a relative pronoun functions a conjunction and a pronoun at the same time.
I wonder whether the following is correct or not.
The story is about Elsa, who has a magic power and whose ...
0
votes
0answers
18 views
"When his parents visited him" or "that his parents visited him"
I have a question about a sentence describing when something happened.
Which word can I use in this sentence, "when" or "that"?
It was the night of his birthday when his parents ...
1
vote
2answers
48 views
What is the difference between "doing something" vs "having something done to you"?
I know this sounds like an impressively easy answer but here's the problem.
I am in a pickle due to grammar and I can't for the life of me find my answer anywhere online.
I have had a friend make the ...
5
votes
4answers
753 views
"to the place I was once separated, I will return"
I'm writing a story and I want to use the line
to the place I was once separated, I will return.
Now my question is, do I have to use "separated from" or can I simply keep it as "...
0
votes
1answer
14 views
I'm spent for to mean people spend money for me
In the context of money, can I use:
"I'm spent for" or "I'm spent money for" to mean people spend money for me?
0
votes
0answers
12 views
Use of "on" in a sentence demonstrating an action that is repeated
In the sentence below must the preposition "on" be used before "so many days after that"?
I cried the day she left and so many days after that.
I cried the day she left and on so ...
0
votes
3answers
49 views
How to simplify the Sentence "Failure is not Opposite of Success Failure is Part of it"?
I am trying to simplify the sentence
Failure is not opposite of success failure is part of it.
Simplified sentence is :
Failure is not opposite of success part of it.
1
vote
1answer
17 views
Synthesis(If the answer below is correct?) [closed]
Is there any difference in the below two sentences? (synthesis)
Use much to transform the sentence:
Mother needs to be very patient when talking to her teenage daughter.
Much patience is needed by ...
0
votes
0answers
27 views
Is in the following sentence "the possessive noun" removed?
I have just come across the following sentence. I wonder if in the part "a number were", "300 sound movies" is removed? if not why does "were" come after "a number&...
1
vote
1answer
30 views
In a comparison sentence, can “than” be omitted?
In a dictionary, I happen upon a sentence like the following.
bacteria magnified to 1 000 times their actual size
I think “than” would be omitted in the sentence.
so I think the sentence would be ...
-1
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0answers
20 views
"Firing Jack caused a knock-on effect which resulted in half of the employees quitting their jobs." [closed]
I want to make a sentence that says firing Jack made half of the employees quit their jobs as well using the words "resulted in".
This is what I did and I'm not quite sure whether it is ...
-1
votes
2answers
62 views
"He ate apples, throwing away their cores"- Does it make sense?
I made a sentence:
He ate apples, throwing away their cores.
Does this make sense as:
He ate apples and then threw away their cores
4
votes
5answers
1k views
"I kept sleeping" or "I kept asleep"
I kept sleeping.
or
I kept asleep.
Which is correct? I have gotten different opinions.
0
votes
1answer
17 views
How do I phrase this restrictive relative clause
X has problems cooperating with certain people. Now I need to refer to these people using a restrictive relative clause, but I can’t seem to find a way to do this… I have thought of the constructions ...
0
votes
1answer
16 views
Remove object when it can be implied
I'd like to know if it is possible to omit an "object" from some sentences when the reader can understand the object? if is so it is necessary to keep propositions of verbs? consider the ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
How do you indicate the "length" of instalments?
I'm wondering whether it's correct to use the construction "instalments of + TIME" with the word instalment to express the 'length' of the instalment?
For instance, can I say
Payment may be ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
Is it correct to say "was spent in" when talking about a day or a moment?
I would like to know if it's correct to say "was spent" when talking about a moment or a time in the day, and not about people, in a sentence.
For instance:
The rest of the evening was ...
0
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0answers
39 views
an indefinite pronoun or a determiner
In a dictionary, I happened upon some explanation.
Only half of my friends could come to my party.
In this case, they say that the word “half” is a determiner.
I knew that is a indefinite pronoun. I ...
1
vote
0answers
81 views
"I was weeping while selling my car." [closed]
I was weeping while selling my car.
Can anyone tell me whether this statement is correct or not? Can I use 2 -ing words in one sentence?
0
votes
1answer
23 views
an introductory appositive phrase
There is a sentence with this structure below which I can’t understand.
A drastic change from her old style, the woman now dressed very differently than she used to.
Can you this phrase change into ...
0
votes
1answer
19 views
Is the clause "just making sure …" part of previous sentence or part of another incomplete one?
I know there are 100 billion - 400 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. So each of the dots in the image below might be a star or a cluster of stars.
A video is trying to explain how large the (...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
Using the proper pronoun
I was wondering which preposition is more idiomatic here:
To get a shuttle taxi all you have to do is to stand beside the street and just look interested. If a taxi driver wants to pick you up, ..... ...
