Questions tagged [sentence-construction]
This tag is used for questions about the proper construction of sentences.
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Alternative or one word for saying re-mentioning it
So if I am on a group chat and I want to mention something again that I mentioned
in an earlier email to one of the people.
I could think of the following:
Just re-mentioning it
Just mentioning it ...
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End a sentence with "in the following"
Is it correct to end a sentence with "in the following" to indicate that there will be something in the next paragraph?
e.g. "In Figure 1 there is an example that we describe in the ...
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instructions written on a packaging
Such instructions [the underlined in red] are usually written in this way. Another example can be:
Wear a helmet while riding a motorbike.
Which of the following is more idiomatic?
A. Be seated while ...
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Adverb relative clause or nominal relative clause?
#1.It never snows where I live.
I can't understand a structure of the sentence above. I don't now whether it is an adverb relative clause or a nominal relative clause. Whatever it is, I think it ...
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For my family and I/myself
Is it correct to say:
I want to create a brighter future for my family and I.
Or is "I" supposed to be replaced by "myself"? Is there a better way to construct this sentence?
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Question about a common expression
I'm not a native speaker, but I found some expression where I couldn't understand the sentence construction.
#1. Can we get started now?
#2. Let's get started.
Can I change get into be in the #1, ...
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5
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Meaning of the phrase 'the way the meaning of things'
I am studying Math Logic. The author of the book starts with an explanation of a word that linguists refer to as 'indexicality'. He gave the explanation to this as
This means the way the meaning of ...
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1
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When to use "would not" and "did not"?
In the movie Angry Bird, Angry Bird says "He wouldn't even try this".
Does this mean same as "He didn't even try this"?
Context in movie:
"It was a quality cake.
Look, I ...
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3
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Questions about a time expression with a present perfect tense
I found an English site with quizzes which native speakers built.
I was asked to fill in this gap:
How long have you been here _____?
1)since
2)for
The correct option is "for". I don't ...
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How to mention your family ties in your cover letter
I'm writing my cover letter for visa application and I want to mention about my father who is late (when I was in my fifth standard) and I'll be taking care of my mom after the completion of my ...
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I'm telling a friend that "not seeing them changed things". Is this correct?
I couldn't see my grandchildren last Easter because of the covid. I'm telling a friend that 'not seeing them changed things' (i.e., I will have to make new plans to visit them instead). Is the ...
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How do you say ‘a hell of a’ in a plural form?
People say “It’s been a hell of a year”.
But then what about it’s not just one year but the past two or three years (plural)?
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Please explain the meaning of this phrase
Below sentences is confusingly structured.
It is not uncommon for the person being sexually assaulted to have no physical injuries or signs of their assault.
Is the meaning that it is common for ...
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Getting rid of non-restrictive clause in the end of a sentence
I try to understand if there a better way to structure the following sentence:
Note that if min-width is greater than width or max-width, it overrides them, both.
// results to 300 px
width: 100px; ...
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spoken English: 20 5-cent coins VS 20 coins of 5 cents
When you speak English, is it correct to say: "It takes 20 coins of 5 cents to make 1 dollar" ? Or it should be: "It takes 20 5-cent coins to make 1 dollar". The latter sounds like ...
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What do these "doing something" mean and are they grammartically correct?
These two sentences are from TOEFL speaking (tpo40):
(1) I got to know a lot of people in my dorm during my first semester just watching TV and taking study breaks in the lounge.
(2). If students knew ...
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Tip the balance
I wanted to know that as the definition of “tip the balance” is (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/tip-the-balance);
Does this statement make sense?
“Being addicted to computers cuts ...
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Sentence structure _From what for
Their valet service helped smooth the transition to the school day from what for many kids was a raucous home environment
What kind of function is the italicized part in the sentence above? it is a ...
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Tenses: I studied or I had been studying
I studied in ABC school from 2013 to 2020. I graduated from that school in the year 2020. I was admitted to the school in grade VI, and progressed up to grade XII. The system is similar to the K-12 ...
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Past tense. "when Tom went [was going, would go, used to go] to high school."?
I'm confused with how to mention past habits.
If Tom is a student now, you say "Tom goes to high school", right?
If Tom already graduated, are these three all OK?
A-1) Tom went to high ...
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It is the first time I have done something and I did it for the first time. Which is grammatical?
There's this construction in English:
It is the first (second, third etc.) time I have done something.
It was the first (second, third etc.) time I had done something.
So I'm wondering whether the ...
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Do I need to insert "for" in this sentence? "How long is the insurance valid?"
I searched the Internet and there are three versions of this sentence. Is there any difference between them at any level (grammatical, formality, spoken vs written etc)?
How long is the insurance ...
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Meaning of "... how it is that..."?
The original sentence:
We set out to explore how it is that we can all live in the same universe yet see reality so differently.
The compared sentence:
We set out to explore how we can all live in ...
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"A quote, quoted by someone that I happen to read on the internet"
“I am alone, and this loneliness is killing me”, is a quote, quoted by someone that I happen to read on the internet
Is the sentence after the quote correct?
What I’m trying to say is that I saw this ...
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2
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“My each/every attempt”
After the possessive pronouns, can we use “each” or “every”? For example, are all four of the sentences below grammatically correct?
My each attempt was useless.
My every attempt was useless.
Take ...
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Use of 'think ' and 'reckon' [closed]
-I think he is right.
-I reckon he is right.
Which one of the above sentences is more accurate and why?
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"It will take an hour for the room to get/be painted" "It will take the room an hour to get/be painted" [closed]
"It will take an hour for the room to get/be painted"
"It will take the room an hour to get/be painted"
i am thinking if they are grammatically correct sentences. As usually we say ...
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2
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Why is ungrammatical to use "have" instead of "is" after "There"
Why can't one just say:
there have a booke over the table just to mean: "there is a book over the table"?
I know it's ungrammatical but seems to be semantical right? it should convey the ...
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Do I have to specify the time when I say "How silly of me!" in the past? (see example)
Do I have to specify the time when I say "How silly of me!" in the past?
Let's say I'm telling a friend about something silly that I did in the past, and I say:
How silly of me (it was) not ...
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Which one is predicates?
I can think of several examples of where technical teams knew a proposed well would be dry and yet senior management wanted to drill it because of pressure from government or business partners.
I ...
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2
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"They have got water coming up to their knees". vs "Water comes up to their knees". Which one is more idiomatic?
A native speaker is telling about the floods, how it happens, how people behave during floods, etc. and she says:
They've got water coming up to their knees.
I know this structure is commonly used ...
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Difference between keep away and keep away from
1. He keeps away smoking.
2. He keeps away from smoking.
This is a question given in option to choose only one sentence as correct sentence. It seems that both sentences are correct but in different ...
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Punctuation for multiple independent clauses in the antecedent of a conditional sentence
(1) If you like apples and your friends like bananas, you buy apples and bananas.
(2) If you like apples, and your friends like bananas, you buy apples and bananas.
Is (1) or (2) correct? I'm leaning ...
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2
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"travel at very high speeds" / "travel at very high speed"
These trains are fast. They can travel at very high speeds.
These trains are fast. They can travel at very high speed.
Can I say "at very high speed" in that context? If it is possible, ...
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"the one with the red door on the right" / "on the right, with the red door"
My house is the one with the red door on the right.
My house is on the right, with the red door.
Are both sentences idiomatic and do they have the same meaning?
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Can 'who was' be omitted from "The woman (who was) arrested"?
The woman who was arrested denies all charges.
Can 'who was' be omitted from this sentence?
Trebor
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1
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How to use dream in combination with nightmare?
I know that dream can be used as a noun and as a verb. And I know that a nightmare is a bad dream.
My question is:
If I wanted to use dream as a verb and wanted to use nightmare as its object, would ...
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"There are alot of people who can substitute you"
Is "There are alot of people who can substitute you" equivalent to
"There are alot of people who can substitute for you".(People will take your position).
I reckon if we use "...
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When someone moves their hands too much as the speak
Lets suppose someone moves his hands while he is speaking to you or somebody else and then the extent and they way he is doing that starts getting on your nerves.
I wonder how would you imply that ...
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Can I place an adjective after the noun it describes, like "My hair is a fast-growing"?
I want to say, I have a type of hair that grows fast like:
My hair is a fast-growing.
where fast-growing is an adjective and the article "a" connect the adjective "fast-growing" ...
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Is it possible to put "on the one hand" between 'to' and the verb?
Most of the time the construct is used as follows:
On the other hand, it is used to fertilize the soil.
Is it possible to, e.g., say:
It is used to, on the other hand, fertilize the soil
I already ...
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Which one is correct? "People who have a toothache go to the dentist" or "People who have toothaches go to the dentist"?
I asked a similar question on another Q&A website and got different answers from native speakers. Some of them even said I shouldn't use "a" before toothache and backache, but some said ...
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A smile of contentment
Would you be so kind as to let me know which phrasing below sounds more natural and constructionally more appealing in English?
I never forget the moment when he came up to me .......... and said: &...
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Usage of "rather"
What's the difference between following sentence:
She kept herself rather to herself in her own pantry.
and
She rather kept herself to herself in her own pantry.
Are there some omitted words in ...
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Do you need an extra complement in sentences like these?
When I speak English, I fear I might be unconsciously relying on the syntax of my mother tongue a little too much, which might end up with me creating ungrammatical sentences (and even ...
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Is it possible to say "Tom likes cats, and Mary dogs."?
Verbs are sometimes omitted when they are repeated, aren't they?
ex) There are two roses on the table; one is red and the other yellow.
Is it possible to say "Tom likes cats, and Mary dogs."?...
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Meaning of rock the world
Is the sentence "Let's rock the world" correct?
The intention is to communicate to a friend that we together will do a great business and make lots of money
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Is the sentence grammatical?
I saw a sentence on Twitter by Bloomberg Opinion writing like:
"The U.S. decided sending Polish jets to Ukraine was too risky."
I found two finite verbs here so I was thinking if the ...
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Can transitive verbs not be followed by an object?
Here's an example of a transitive verb "found" not followed by an object. Can anyone tell me what kind of sentence structure is that which makes this possible?
Some people with pain, ...
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Will the placement of two conjunctions that appear consecutively sound better?
I found this sentence from my exercise book (Oxford Grammar):
I felt lazy, and because I didn't have any real work to do, I took the
afternoon off.
The execise instructs me to guess whether it's ...
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