Questions tagged [sentence-construction]

This tag is used for questions about the proper construction of sentences.

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2 answers
843 views

the usage of “remain + of”

Here are two examples: The front wall is all that remains of the fort. ... since no records will remain of their phone conversations, emails, blogs, and text messages. The sentences below have the ...
0 votes
2 answers
40 views

Is the phrase 'the delusive nature of' related to next phrases?

In this following context, is the phrase 'the delusive nature of' related to the next bold and italic phrases as: 'the delusive nature of ego-entity, the delusive nature of the mere relative value of ...
0 votes
2 answers
63 views

Past perfect tense different

It is a imagine, not reality "My niece hates me.Because I did not take care of her when she was a child." I know the sentence is acceptable in use of tense. If I use present perfect "My ...
0 votes
1 answer
35 views

"How much are you offering "? "What is your offer"?

If I am selling a house, Could you pls tell me that who could say these qestions? Seller or buyer or both(as in anyone)
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

Difference between "did not" and "will not"

Which Sentence construction is correct ? Why? Also, what is the exact meaning using did not and would not ? A ) He did not want the young man's future to be spoilt and only wanted to ensure that he ...
0 votes
2 answers
526 views

"Far from" Vs "A long way"

I have no idea if grammatically there is any rule which makes a distinction between using "far from" and "a long way" in positive and negative sentences! Please have a look on my examples below and ...
3 votes
1 answer
593 views

A very complicatedly structured sentence

I was reading Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It when I encountered a very complicatedly structured sentence in the "September 30, 1993" section of ...
0 votes
1 answer
41 views

Does this sentence have comma splice

It doesn't matter what obstacles you face in life, Sarah, and no matter what, you've got to reach your goals. I added 'and no matter what' as it considered a comma splice without it- although when ...
-2 votes
0 answers
43 views

Present perfect and past perfect

1.By the time I got dismissed from military it has been ten years of being an officer. 2.When I got dismissed from military it had been ten years of being an officer. Is it correct usage of present ...
0 votes
1 answer
23 views

A participle construction?

Excerpt from ‘The Proclamation of the Irish Republic, 1916’ ‘The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to ...
0 votes
1 answer
4k views

which words is the best choice here? (What I mean by that is / I mean ) / the way (that / in which) /

Q: Do you prefer to listen to other's opinions or to make a decision on your own? A: I feel I have to say that I'm a person who doesn't listen to other's opinions. (What I mean by that is / I mean ) I ...
0 votes
2 answers
50 views

How do you shorten this unnatural sentence: "The problem is not caused by me 100%, but it is also caused by you to some extent."

Two people are arguing about a problem, why it is caused, etc. And finally one of them wants to mean: "This problem is not caused by me 100%, but it is also caused by you to some extent." (...
0 votes
1 answer
799 views

Someone offers someone an opportunity vs. Someone offers an opportunity to someone

I am trying to express an idea but I am not sure it is proper: I'm writing a letter to someone explaining a situation, but I need to be sure the person will understand. My sentence is the following: ...
0 votes
1 answer
43 views

Combining clauses with different linking verbs by conjunction and leaving out the subject

A TOEFL book claims that I'm not allowed to write like this, for example the conjunction "and" : I still have leftovers on the table and am cooking it later. Why is it incorrect? Does that ...
0 votes
0 answers
14 views

Past perfect tense example

I passed high-school in 16 years old and later I joined Army. When I was 21 years old I had been an officer. Could I use past perfect as completed action above when I was 21 years old I had been an ...
0 votes
1 answer
46 views

suction surface pressures

Is the use of "suction surface pressures" in the following sentence correct grammatically? If it is not, kindly suggest ways to make it clearer. On the other hand, with increased blade loading on the ...
1 vote
2 answers
58 views

"Based on what evidence do you say that?"

Do you think it is okay to use "based on" at the beginning of a sentence? For example saying sentences like: Based on what empirical evidence do you say that? Based on what order did you ...
2 votes
1 answer
83 views

My teacher says "is stronger and more enduring" changed the meaning. How can I write the sentence without changing the meaning?

The instructions for a grammar exercise were to correct the following sentence: The camel has as much strength and more endurance than the horse. Suggestions to correct the sentence: The camel has ...
1 vote
1 answer
378 views

facilitate reading

Is use of "reading" in the following sentence correct grammatically and conceptually? If it is not, kindly suggest ways to make it clearer. We thank the reviewer for the comment here, the comment ...
1 vote
3 answers
88 views

using it as a second subject

Is the following sentence correct? I think grammatically we should get rid of "it". He was in a quandary about which selection from his extensive repertoire it would be feasible to perform ...
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

I like / liked the way you act / acted last night

Which sentence sound more idiomatic when we talk to someone now for referring to something specific she/he did before, for example helping someone last night. I like the way you act last night. ...
0 votes
1 answer
438 views

Can a complete sentence be an object?

I am wondering can a complete sentence be an object. Like: I think she is right. He says I am a good person. She suggests we should go together. These are very common. The grammar structure in ...
0 votes
1 answer
94 views

Confused about the structure of this sentence

Don't take a decision based on your assumptions. I think some parts of the sentence are omitted. The complete sentence may be Don't take a decision that is based on your assumptions. or Don't ...
1 vote
1 answer
65 views

Usage of 'this' in a sentence/punctuation

The fight was well fought but violent--this made it a tough watch. The car soaks up fuel and is tough to drive, that being said, it looks good. The story has surreal overtones-- there are parts ...
-1 votes
0 answers
25 views

Which word order is the correct one?

That is the book I don't want to be read to out of. That is the book I don't want to be read out of to. (I made those two sentences from a interesting artificial construction that I encountered, “...
0 votes
1 answer
48 views

Additional phrase to the main clause with different subject

The fictional character is the master, the writer his apprentice. (Jose Saramago) What is the name of that phrase grammatically? Is it an absolute phrase or reduced relative cluase with different ...
0 votes
1 answer
100 views

Is this statement construction correct? -- "I do understand [w], [x] and [y] much better than I do [z]."

Is this statement construction correct? "I do understand [w], [x] and [y] much better than I do [z]." I just wanted to know if this statement is correctly constructed. Here w, x, y and z ...
0 votes
2 answers
338 views

Appropriate sentence/ Tense to be used for declaring something

Which sentence should I use when I pass the exam? I mean at the time of announcing the result. a) I cleared the Exam. (Past Tense) It refers to the past event of passing the exam. I mean results were ...
0 votes
2 answers
91 views

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 ...
0 votes
2 answers
176 views

Sentence construction in past tense

a) I went to his home and find/found he was not there. b) I went to his house in the morning, I find/found him lying on ground. C) I was driving yesterday, and about to give up my search, I find that ...
2 votes
1 answer
3k views

Sentence structure -"It..That"

There are 3 sentences that I'd like to know more deeply. The sentence structure that I'm trying to talk about is "is..that.." sentence pattern like "It is essential that we start ...
1 vote
2 answers
96 views

Use of 'there' as an empty subject

How do these differ? i. X has always been there. ii. There has always been X. & i. How long has there been X? ii. How long has X been there?
0 votes
1 answer
51 views

How to ask about the subject and objects in the following sentence?

I made up a sentence: "She feeds the shark fishes." How to ask about the subject, the 1st object and the 2nd object? Maybe: Who feeds the shark fishes? Who does she feed fishes? What does ...
-3 votes
1 answer
124 views

Rules for Joining by Past Participle [closed]

The sentences below have different subjects. I saw a child. He was burnt. But we can join/add them using a past participle, and write- I saw a burnt child. I have not been able to find any rule ...
3 votes
2 answers
272 views

"Could not but" in interrogative sentence

Is the following sentence grammatically correct to write in literature? How could I not but close my eyes? As "I could not but close my eyes" is a valid sentence, I felt like this one should also ...
1 vote
1 answer
802 views

"thus allowing..." vs "thus allow..."

This sentence is from OALD, under its entry for thus: The universities have expanded, thus allowing many more people the chance of higher education. Is "thus allowing" a short form for "thus they ...
-3 votes
0 answers
56 views

Who is talking here? [closed]

Man - can you tell me what assignments I missed when I was absent from your class? woman - you missed one homework assignment and a quiz. narrator - who is the man? a-A newspaper editor b-A police ...
0 votes
2 answers
113 views

Use of "decreases"

Is use of "decreases" in the following sentence correct grammatically and conceptually? If it is not, kindly suggest ways to make it clearer. This causes better performance in VTB than the CTB. ...
2 votes
3 answers
455 views

“I saw him who was smiling”

I saw him smiling. Here the participle smiling acts as an adjective, right? I think something is omitted in the sentence. The complete sentence is: I saw him who was smiling. Is my concept ...
1 vote
1 answer
35 views

When can we shift the subject in a sentence?

When can we shift the subject in a sentence? We are not supposed to shift the subject: Shift—“ We have reached a point where ‘one’ ought to face the possibility of a sudden change.” Better—“ We have ...
0 votes
3 answers
1k views

Wording - The two other/The other two

The two men stepped off the elevator at the same time as the two other / other two men stepped out of the stairwell. Does one of "the two other" and "the other two" sound awkward ...
0 votes
1 answer
240 views

How to ask a wondering question to make a listener deduce the answer

How can someone ask a wondering question to make a listener deduce the answer? Here are a couple of examples to demonstrate what I mean: A: Is he sad because he lost 1 Bitcoin? B: He was ...
2 votes
1 answer
38 views

Should I use type or type of in this sentence

1. I must condemn your criminal type mentality. 2. I must condemn your criminal type of mentality. Which one is grammatically correct and preferable? Can I use kind of in the place of type of?
1 vote
2 answers
40 views

What is the grammatical viewpoint behind this sentence?

Following is a sentence from an article in The New York Times, having a grammar that I could not fathom. "I would not have minded if Smollett had gotten off relatively lightly— provided, that is,...
1 vote
2 answers
50 views

When vs while is sentences

I know that when we focus on duration, While/when I was cooking she came in. we are allowed to use both "while" and "when". When we focus on effects we are only allowed to use &...
0 votes
1 answer
354 views

Can We Use Modal Verbs Could / would for future events?

Can We Use Modal Verbs for future events? My examples are as follows, Could: Can you tell me how could we recover this amount from him in the next month? Would: Can you tell me would it be ...
1 vote
1 answer
253 views

Difference between two conditional sentences

What is the difference in the meaning between following sentences: 1.If I'm to be a teacher , I will never be absent from school. (I have found in a grammar book that It's called indicative mood) ...
0 votes
1 answer
68 views

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 ...
0 votes
1 answer
25 views

Collective nouns

We could say the "the family is or are" it depends if we think about it as the whole or rather about individul people. I know that a/on only go with singular words therfore I wouldn't say &...
0 votes
2 answers
39 views

Where does "retain" belong in this context?

As schoolteacher and priest Agricola retained Latin as the language of learning and culture and also many Catholic customs, such as the doctrines of purgatory, the Lenten fast and confession. A ...

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