Questions tagged [sentence-structure]
A complete sentence contains at least a subject and a verb, with all of the words being used in the sentence arranged in such a way that they express a complete thought.
1,897
questions
33
votes
6
answers
16k
views
"I often buy fruits when I go to the supermarket" – illogical?
I am an English assistant and I often hear my non-native students say:
I often buy fruits when I go to the supermarket.
I think it is wrong logically because "go" means "to move or travel from ...
- 21.6k
22
votes
6
answers
9k
views
One of my friend's OR friends' wife? (My friend has only one wife)
Anita is Neil's wife. Neil is one of my friends. Now, how do I refer to Anita? Think that I'm telling someone who does not know the couple.
One of my friend's wife
OR
One of my friends' wife
...
- 65.9k
18
votes
5
answers
66k
views
"How is this called" vs "What is this called"?
Which of the following is more suitable as a title for a picture with an arrow toward a part of the body's anatomy?
How is this called?
What is this called?
I need this for a picture of a ...
- 27k
18
votes
7
answers
40k
views
English native speaker vs. Native English speaker
Which of the following options is the correct or the acceptable?
"He is an English native speaker"
or
"He is a native English speaker".
- 27k
18
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Grammar behind "Whatever what is is is what I want."
Here is the poem:
Prayer, by Galway Kinnell
Whatever happens. Whatever
what is is is what
I want. Only that. But that.
I came across this poem as an interesting example of English grammar ...
- 3,447
14
votes
4
answers
11k
views
Why can't we say "**What job** are you?" instead of "What is your job?" to ask one's job?
We can add something to "what" to specify what we are asking, for example "What color is the flower?".
But I am wondering why we can't say "What job are you?" instead of "What is your job?" to ask one'...
- 1,391
13
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Why do commit title sentences start with an infinitive without to?
I am a developer and I am not native English speaker. When I see commits I can't understand why titles for them start with infinitive without to. For example from Spring commits
Add missing runtime ...
- 249
12
votes
9
answers
4k
views
Is the word "here" unnecessary in this sentence: "Hi, Bob the Canadian here"?
The following is the first sentence from a native speaker's video on Youtube about leaning English. He says:
"Hi, Bob the Canadian here, let's learn English at the grocery store."
He is ...
- 5,722
12
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How to reinterpret this complex sentence that starts with "A person who agrees to serve as a mediator..."?
A person who agrees to serve as a mediator between two warring
factions at the request of both abandons by so agreeing the right to
take sides later.
Does this sentence mean:
A person who ...
- 381
12
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What does this sentence on BBC means: ""All baa myself: Is this Britain's loneliest sheep?"
All baa myself: Is this Britain's loneliest sheep? BBC - Britain's loneliest sheep
What does "All baa myself" mean? I couldn't quite understand it.
- 5,722
11
votes
4
answers
5k
views
When you're having a cat nap and a bad car accident happens
Imagine yourself in a road where the driver is your friend and your are sitting in assistant seat. You feel a bit tired and are catching some Z's. Suddenly a car accident happens and you notice it, ...
- 14.3k
11
votes
7
answers
3k
views
When you want to ask someone to maintain their class
Please imagine that you take a friend (a guy) to meet a group of your friends at a party. The group and the guy are have never met one another and know nothing about one another. The guy starts ...
- 14.3k
11
votes
4
answers
14k
views
Can "Wow!" be a sentence?
The question is clear. Can "Wow!" be a sentence?
Imagine a hypothetical context where I'd utter something like this:
Wow! What an amazing idea! I should think about a way to push this fix.
We see ...
- 7,351
11
votes
1
answer
3k
views
"Oh, cough on me, why don't you?": Does this sentence mean the person is angry or is making a suggestion to do it more?
This is from an interview with a celebrity at her home when she is actually spending time with family. 73 questions with Kim (see:1:46-1:55)
At one point, where she is with her children and talking to ...
- 5,722
11
votes
3
answers
2k
views
"Enter string theory to rectify the problem." Where is the subject of the sentence?
The standard model, however, failed to explain gravity. Enter string theory to rectify the problem. (From an ACT test)
As the bold sentence above, it throws me off when I see a verb lead a sentence: ...
11
votes
2
answers
533
views
He got a vote 80% that of Emmanuel Macron’s
I was reading The Economist and found this sentence whose grammar I'm not familiar with.
Indeed, in the first round he got a vote 80% that of Emmanuel Macron’s.
I was wondering how that of works ...
- 1,443
10
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Can "too" occur in a negative sentence? "That effort too came to nothing"
The following sentence is from the BBC web site Trapped
That effort too came to nothing.
We were taught in English classes that too can be used in positive sentences, and either in negative sentences.
...
- 5,722
10
votes
8
answers
2k
views
Which word does the adverb 'usually' modify in 'In stories the witch is usually a homely woman'?
In the sentence
In stories the witch is usually a homely woman
which word does the adverb usually modify?
- 101
10
votes
5
answers
11k
views
'At the battle' or 'in the battle'? Why? [duplicate]
Here is a source in which I read the following para:
That made her the 40th monarch in a royal line that traces its origin back to Norman King William the Conqueror who claimed the throne in 1066 ...
- 3,800
9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Meaning: "Angular is what HTML **would have been had it been** designed for applications"
I was reading the Angular.js documentation when I saw this:
Angular is what HTML would have been had it been designed for
applications.
I've never seen a construction like this and I can't get ...
- 837
9
votes
3
answers
2k
views
"I don't like it when it is rainy." VS "I don't like it raining."
I hear this structure quite often:
"I don't like it when it is rainy."
But, I find it too wordy and somewhat difficult for us non-native speakers. So, instead, I wonder if can simply say:
&...
- 5,722
9
votes
1
answer
409
views
Should an infinitive be treated as a subject or object?
Should an infinitive be treated as a subject or object? For example, in 'I want to know it',
is the 'to know' subjective or objective?
- 3,311
8
votes
6
answers
5k
views
When can we skip 'if'?
I was walking on the web and came across this question:
What do you say we get out of here?
It's seems to me a tad slangy. I don't quite follow the structure of this sentence. It's like something is ...
- 193
8
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Which of the revisions of "Yesterday I went to the wedding of a daughter of my husband's brother." is grammatically correct?
My friend asked me to rephrase this sentence.
Yesterday I went to the wedding of a daughter of my husband's brother.
I came up with these:
a.) Yesterday I went to my husband's brother's ...
- 305
8
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What is the meaning of "The next day, Wednesday, saw Robert become more frustrated"?
Consider the below sentence (source)
The next day, Wednesday, saw Robert become more frustrated.
I can understand the structure of the sentence. I guess it is a kind of deletion. Am I right?
- 6,015
8
votes
6
answers
3k
views
"....in 10 days" or ".....after 10 days."
The text is from BBC web site:
"....Under the measures, Austrians will be asked to work from home, non-essential shops will close, and schools will remain open for children who require face-to-...
- 5,722
8
votes
3
answers
18k
views
"Should I" or "I should"?
Should I give it to you or I should keep it with myself?
Should I give it to you or should I keep it with myself?
Which one is correct? Or which one is better?
- 81
8
votes
5
answers
667
views
Is 'after 20 years sober' correct in 'In 2006, after 20 years sober, he checked himself into rehab for alcoholism'?
The piece of news from the Huffington Post reads...
In 2006, after 20 years sober, he checked himself into rehab for alcoholism. He opened up about his struggles with addiction to alcohol and ...
- 65.9k
8
votes
2
answers
56k
views
100 USD/US$ Over USD/US$ 100
Whilst it's too common in my (and other languages?) to speak (and at times even to write) my currency with construction number + currency name; now, is it, by any means, possible to write/speak that ...
- 65.9k
7
votes
3
answers
1k
views
"This kind of particles" or "These kind of particles"
I want to start a sentence with "This kind of particles" but I'm not sure whether this expression is correct.
There is only one kind (silicate) of particles that I'm talking about, but there ...
- 71
7
votes
2
answers
113k
views
What did you say / said?
What is the correct sentence :
What did you say?
or
What did you said?
The second sentence seems correct, but I am not certain.
- 189
7
votes
3
answers
6k
views
The subject of an interrogative sentence
What is unusual about Angkor Wat?
What is the real subject of this sentence?
- 839
7
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Explain the verb tense in "All that glitters is not gold"
I am confused by the maxim All that glitters is not gold.
May I know why the word is is used there?
In my known according the English grammar glitters is plural, So after plural we add verb+s.
As ...
- 173
7
votes
4
answers
2k
views
"Some things are better left unsaid." -- What are the grammatical functions of 'better', 'left' and 'unsaid'?
Some things are better left unsaid.
This is the way I understand the sentence:
[Some [things]] = subject
[better] = predicative complement
[left [unsaid]] = predicative adjunct 1
[unsaid] = ...
- 1,968
7
votes
2
answers
25k
views
Have you been drinking? vs Have you drunk?
What's the difference?
One day, I returned from dinner with my coworkers.
Before I came home, I drank several beers. When I entered the living room, my wife asked me:
Have you been drinking?
...
- 359
7
votes
1
answer
333
views
Inverted word order in question like sub-sentence
What is the name of a structure that usually contains "how" or "what" and inverted word order but is not a question?
Example:
"Our goal is to investigate until we know how it was done".
- 243
6
votes
6
answers
12k
views
Alternative ways of saying "...., right?"
What are some alternative ways of confirming a point, situation, etc. apart from saying “…, right?” at the end of a sentence to make it a question? (e.g. You are going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, ...
user6200
6
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Is this structure idiomatic: "I seem to remember...." to mean you only remember a little
"I seem to remember that the park adjacent to my school was humongous."
This is a sentence of a native speaker when he was talking about how things have changed compared to when he was ...
- 5,722
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Questioning with how in the middle of sentence
Which of the sentences below are correct?
And I know Congress has been engaged with some of these companies to look at how can you get more revenue back into local news.
And I know Congress has been ...
- 135
6
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Can there be a "handwritten paper"?
Yesterday, someone slipped this sloppily handwritten scrap of paper under my door.
which (without the adverbs and fancy adjectives) essentially conveys this idea:
Someone gave me a handwritten ...
- 1,103
6
votes
3
answers
353
views
Which two clauses should be compounded in this sentence?
He asked a lot of questions which were none of his business and
generally managed to annoy everybody.
Which one is right, and why ?
I'm an English learner and it's refer from a book. It's just ...
- 115
6
votes
2
answers
528
views
"He asked me to use my bathroom."
He asked me to use my bathroom.
In this sentence I thought someone want to use my bathroom and ask for permission. I mean the act will be committed by “he”.
He asked me to take his sister to school.
...
- 805
6
votes
4
answers
882
views
Using "nakedly" instead of "with nothing on"
I need to know whether it is possible to substitute the following bold part with the adveb "nakedly" in a manner that it doesn't change the meaning and doesn't make it ambiguous:
She went to ...
- 14.3k
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
The sentence structure "it is because of... that..."
I read the following sentence:
Indeed, it was precisely because of its futuristic storyline that Star Trek was able to address many of the contemporary social problems that other programs shunned.
I ...
6
votes
2
answers
12k
views
Should I write "If..., I would" or "If..., I will"?
If there's a situation where I can speak either English or Arabic, I would choose English.
I know that I can break this sentence down to smaller and simpler sentences like "In some situations, I have ...
- 1,976
6
votes
1
answer
638
views
How to parse "As for the philosophical content explicitly picks over in the film’s dialogue"?
I can't parse the first clause of this sentence.
As for the philosophical content explicitly picks over in the film’s dialogue, it’s something for the viewer to digest, but it all seems a little ...
user87715
6
votes
4
answers
29k
views
Using “Had Born” in English sentences
Can I Use “Had Born” in English sentence to express past perfect i.e. past of past?
1) He had born when I reached to the Hospital.
2) This is where I had born.
3) Your father came to hospital ...
- 2,273
6
votes
4
answers
72k
views
"I invite you for / to coffee" is correct?
If I'm inviting a person to drink coffe with me, then can I say "I invite you for / to coffe" or should I add a noun or a verb such as "I invite you for drinking coffee" / "I invite you to drink ...
- 27k
6
votes
2
answers
715
views
Using the word down at the end of a sentence
How did the prosecutor track this suspect down?
How did the prosecutor track this suspect?
Is there any difference in meaning in the above two sentences?
How does adding the word down make a ...
- 775
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What do these sentences mean?
They criticized my plans to become a musician.
Does this sentence mean the same as
They criticized my plans about becoming a musician.?
Or, does the sentence mean that they want to become a musician?...
- 493