Questions tagged [usage]
For questions about how certain words, phrases or grammatical aspects are typically used.
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How does "would" work in "I would agree"?
In this dialogue, why does Donny say "I would agree" rather than "I agree?" How does "would" works in this context?
Telek's #1: Is there any difference between 'He snuck ...
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"Make Our Life ..." vs "Make Our Lives ..."
I had thought "Make Our Life easier" was wrong and that I should use the plural form, "Make Our Lives easier" but I find I see the form "Make Our Life ..." from time to ...
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Why is in this example?
I found this example in Grammarly
When I was out there this morning cleaning off the door, I remembered that just last week I had noticed what a muddy white color it is, and I had thought about other ...
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the proof of <the> pudding is in the eating
the proof of the pudding is in the eating
Question 1: What is the role of the?
Question 2: Is it possible to replace the with "a"?
(I am assuming that "proof" means "test&...
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Can I put the article 'the' before a proper noun which also has common noun after it?
Can a proper noun (Oxford University) take the if it is followed by a common noun (journal), like in the following sentence?
We can get more data in the Oxford University journal.
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Present perfect for three consecutive events
John, Peter and Sarah are at a ski resort. John loses his balance and falls down. He then tries to get up, but he can't, so Sarah and Peter call for an ambulance. When it arrives, the doctor says John'...
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Today would have been or today is
Why does this sentence use "would have?" Why not say "Today is the birthday of our FA Cup winning captain, Jack Nicholas?"
Today would have been the birthday of our FA Cup winning ...
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She is one of (the) better speakers. - need "the"?
Example 1
He was one of many American writers.
He was one of the many American writers.
Example 2
He was one of few famous American writers.
He was one of the few famous American writers.
...
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"brother," "brotha," or "bro" when I just want to sound good and sociable and don't want to be associated with cowboys, etc
I know young English speakers like to use "bro" to refer to their good friends.
I think "bro" is too casual; I would use it only when the friends are close and I know them well, so ...
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There is a table in a/the kitchen? (if 1st sentence)
I'm confused as to why internet shows a lot of hits like 'There is a table in 'the' kitchen?' after 'There is a table in'. Is it because the sentence(s) are assumed to be already in the middle of the ...
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any problem these children have
a. We have to find the root cause of any problem these children have.
b. We have to find the root cause of any frustration these children feel.
Could these sentences be used if the speaker is not sure ...
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Can 'it' refer to a plural noun?
I think it refers to all the tasks that AI-powered by artificial intelligence can do. But is it possible for it to refer to the plural noun, all the tasks? If so, all the tasks must be used as a ...
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Is 'adapt to [infinitive]' generally used?
Is to adapt to [infinitive] generally used in addition to to adapt to [-ing] form? If so, is there any difference in meaning, like using to [infinitive] to express a purpose or intention or something ...
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Why is it present perfect here?
I'm reading a book where the author describes the process of his work. Referring to what he wrote in the past, he says:
Often in the notes and essays I have had to break off just at the
point where a ...
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Symbols used in a dictionary
I came across this little bar located on lower part of a word in a dictionary, and I am wondering what it means.
Unfortunately even my keyboard doesn't have the symbol so that I can show you.
It looks ...
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Why are there two "woulds" in this sentence?
I'm a little bit baffled why there are two "woulds" in this dialogue? Why doesn't speaker B use "will?"
A: Which sentence is your choice?
If I study hard then I will succeed.
If ...
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Passive voice with it and infinitive
Practical English Usage says:
A few verbs that are followed by infinitives (for example decide,
agree) can also be used in passive structures beginning with it.
They decided to meet at twelve. -> ...
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Questions about verbs
70% (700) of the total data is used as training data, and the remaining 20% (200) are used as validation data.
I am in the process of creating presentation PPT materials.
Is are used as correct in ...
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Why don't we use "a same" in some cases? [duplicate]
Suppose there are three options: "A", "B", and "C", and two people each have to choose one of them. I want to say a sentence like the following:
"They both chose ...
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Difference between “somewhat like” and “something like”
What's the correct usage of both terms?
Is it possible to use both constructions interchangeable?
Like in these examples:
It's something/somewhat like that.
It sounds somewhat/something like jazz.
It ...
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What's the modern version of 'I will drown and nobody shall save me!'?
'I will drown and nobody shall save me!' cried the man who had fallen into the canal two hundred years ago.
I am wondering what he would be crying if he fell in the canal today.
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Either this or that in the sentence
To combine these two sentences into one, we can use coordination structures such as 'either...or...'
You should go to a hospital.
You should go to a clinic.
As in:
You should go to either a hospital ...
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Using 'powerful' as a noun - "Britain's powerful"
The bane of Britain’s great and powerful is a couple of inches long, has warty skin and a bright orange underbelly—and the power to disrupt some of their most heartfelt ambitions.
'Britain's great ...
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What is the usage of "is, am, and are" and "do and does" in terms of closed question?
When we want to ask the yes-no question, we will use verbs like "is, am, and are" or "do and does", and we put it in the head of the sentence.
And the question is, what is the ...
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Understanding this particular usage of "only if"
I am confused about the usage of "only if" in the below sentences:
Only if the two votes are in agreement will the deal go through.
Only if Ted and Kate both bring pies to the picnic, will ...
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She sees her boyfriend vs She is seeing her boyfriend
I have been wondering about the meaning of "to see" in relation to visiting someone and/or having an affair. Could you confirm (or not) that I understand the difference correctly? I have ...
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Why is "would" used in "have to"
Why does speaker B add "would" in his response? Here is a dialogue.
A: Is it correct to say, "It would be appreciate if you can do something"?
B: For me, it would have to be, &...
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What is the use of "would" in this context
Could you explain what the use of "would" in this sentence is? In this context, someone opens the conversation with the question:
A: what does this mean?
A man who never drew but selfish ...
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What's the use of the word 's in this sentence
Could you explain how the apostrophe 's works in these sentences? I understand the word 's to show possesive meaning to belong. But it doesn't make sense in this case.
"A huge victory for ...
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I wonder if the sentence is grammatically correct? "I wonder who it was defined man as a rational animal." Am I missing something?
So, I was reading "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde and stumbled across this sentence:
I wonder who it was defined man as a rational animal. It was the most premature definition ...
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What's the meaning of "would" in this sentence?
Could you explain Damian's use of "would" when he answers a someone's question in the following? I can't understand the meaning.
Dwi: What does "emphatic" means in this sentence?
...
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How to put an article before a word in a phrase if the first word is uncountable and the second word is countable?
Clinimetrics corner: the many faces of "selection bias"
Now, selection and bias are both nouns.
Selection is an uncountable noun and a countable noun.
Bias is a countable noun.
So, can I ...
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Fall or fall down/ fall off
Is it correct if I say:
He was repairing the bulb when he fell.
(not fell down or fell off, just fell without any preposition after fell)
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Does removing the definite article in "The Association between Economic Status and…” matter?
The Association between Economic Status and Depressive Symptoms: An Individual and Community Level Approach
I know that "the" implies a particular association that is between "economic ...
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Why "the" is used before the word "association" in the given sentence?
"The" association between socioeconomic conditions and health differed between countries of different economic development.
I know that "The" implies a particular association that ...
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"The" is used to refer the specificty. Which particularity is indicated by "the" in the given sentence?
There is a protein in our body called Intrinsic factor.
So, if there is a sentence - "The" intrinsic factor is a glycoprotein. By putting "the" before intrinsic, the sense of the ...
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Why do some type 1 conditional sentences use "can" instead of "will be able to"?
I've always thought that when using a type 1 conditional, we should always use "will/won't be able to" instead of "can/can't", but then I come up with some contexts where "can/...
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Why doesn’t this sentence use “will be able to”?
I think the future form of can is will be able to, and when using type 1 conditional, we should use future tense in the main clause, but then I think in some cases, “will be able to” sounds weird.
I ...
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"Why is there the definite article in “The increase of GDP…”
The increase of GDP factor helped the country to combat paucity.
Why "the" is used before "increase" when already there is a particular factor that is GDP? If it hadn't be given, ...
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Is it possible to use the present perfect tense with the time marker "last night"?
The ground is all wet. It must have rained last night.
Why is the present perfect tense used in the second sentence if there is a 'last night' time marker?
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Why is "would" used in this sentence, not "will?"
This question is about why my friend Jane used would be in her response to a particular language question. Here's the question:
Context:
Lady Catelyn's husband was murdered by Joffrey who belongs to ...
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Is "the" used in the names of stadiums?
Is "the" used in the names of stadiums? For example.
Etihad or the Etihad
Wembley or the Wembley
White Hart Lane or the White Hart Lane
Old Trafford or the Old Trafford
Stamford Bridge or ...
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"ought" with or without "to"?
We usually say "ought to" not "ought". (Although more often we say "should"). I wonder when I can say "ought" without "to".
Some examples:
1: Ought I ...
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Usage of going to vs going to go
I'm going to Japan. I already have my plane ticket.
Correct!
I'm going to go to Japan. I already have my plane ticket.
Wrong!
I thought there was no difference in meaning between these two ...
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Why does this sentence have the word "...again...": "The world's largest Eagle, stellar sea eagle, a third as big again as a golden
"The world's largest Eagle, stellar sea eagle, a third as big again as a golden." BBC-SEA EAGLE (see:1:53-1:58)
I got confused by this sentence. As far as I understand, the sentence means &...
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can the definite article ''the'' be omitted when describing a well-known evaluation metric
I wonder can the definite article ''the'' be omitted when describing a well-known evaluation metric?
using average squared Euclidean distance as a measure of closeness
Source: https://drive.google....
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Is ‘be’ without a complement grammatical? [closed]
The following quotation (with a link to the source) is from a title to an Amazon product review.
Not selling the product as they claim it to be.
I can understand the meaning, but not figure out the ...
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Relative pronoun "which" [duplicate]
The below sentence was taken from one of TOEIC questions. I chose "that"(relative pronoun), but the answer was "which".
I understand if there is a comma after the word 'month', ...
Oskarin
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should articles be added when explaining abbreviations
I wonder are the sentences below grammatically correct if we omit the articles?
RPG stands for (a) ''role-playing game''
RPG, also known as (a) ''rocket-propelled grenade''
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Why is the use of future perfect incorrect in this scenario?
I'm working on:
Raymond Murphy - English Grammar in Use - English Grammar in Use Fifth Edition
In this exercise, I have to choose the correct answer(s):
Andy goes to work every day. He leaves home ...
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