Questions tagged [verbs]
A verb is a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence.
2,451
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What does the verb "borne" mean here? Is it used correctly?
The actor creates on the stage infinite sensations, feeling, or emotions that become the
emotions of the whole theatrical audience. Before they become the subject of the actor’s
embodiment, they were ...
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2answers
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Usage of verb “top, bring”
This place tops it bringing Japan’s famed hospitality to shame and to
the drains.
How do I interpret this sentence that I found on google maps online review about a restaurant
I suppose that “top” ...
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1answer
24 views
to prove his guilt VS proving his guilt
There's no concrete evidence to prove his guilt.
There's no concrete evidence proving his guilt.
I know the first example is fine. I doubt whether the second one is grammatical.
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1answer
35 views
Meaning of "run" in "run you around 700 dollars!"
I was watching a YouTube clip (the AVGN 3DO episode) and heard this usage of "run".
The complete copy can run you around 700 dollars today!
There should be a definition of "run" ...
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22 views
How to distinguish between main verbs and finite verbs
She has seen that movie already.
Main verbs: has, seen?
Finite verb: has?
He won't come tomorrow.
Main verbs: won't, come?
Finite verb: no?
It is going to rain soon.
Main verb: rain?
Finite verb:...
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22 views
"There go the weekend plans" or "There goes the weekend plans"? [closed]
There go the weekend plans
or
There goes the weekend plans
We're talking about plans, which is plural. But what would be the right thing to say and why?
3
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1answer
88 views
Rest is your decision Or decision rests with you?
On responding to a question to choose one option and after you choose, you say:
Rest is your decision.
Or
Decision rests with you.
What should be used instead of above two sentences if both are ...
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51 views
Why does this sentence sound wrong?
I have a friend who doesn't speak English as his first language. He sent the following message to me: "Why does this guy actually looks very similar to Oliver?" which of course sounds ...
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20 views
Whether the `v.` means both `vi.` and `vt.`?
Does the "v." in a dictionary mean both "vi." and "vt."?
We know in dictionary, "vi." means intransitive verbs, and "vt." means "transitive verbs&...
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4answers
5k views
She's been banned from tennis for five years
She's been banned from tennis for five years.
I think this sentence means she has received a decision which bans her from the tennis game. This ban lasts five years.
Suppose it has been three years ...
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wake up, awaken and awake
He woke up to find others gone.
He awakened to find others gone.
He awoke to find others gone.
All of the sentences can be found grammatical in OED and they seem identical in meaning.
I am ...
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1answer
33 views
difference between remember and memorize
Do remember and memorize both work in the following sentences? I'm studying French.
I often use pictures with French words to help me remember new words.
implies that I use these pictures to help me ...
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1answer
22 views
What should be the verb in this sentence?
As the guest accesses previously
untouched regions of its virtual address space, hardware page faults
vector control to the VMM.
I have difficulties understanding which one should be the verb of this ...
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1answer
31 views
Sentence construction Do vs does
Could someone please let me know if do POC (proof of concept) is correct or should I use does in the below sentence? Does sound correct to me but according to language rules, should use a singular ...
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1answer
40 views
The correct verb form
I was asked to write this sentence with the correct form of verb in paranenthes:
An increasing number of degrees.....(offer) online.
What is the correct for ? Offered or Offering ? And why?
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2answers
24 views
Is "One of them being tourist attractions" a complete sentence?
What the title says. Consider this example:
"There are a lot to visit when going sightseeing. One of them being tourist attractions."
Is "One of them being tourist attractions." a ...
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29 views
Present perfect?
Is it correct to use have in this sentence?
“I have blocked all of them and I’d like you to do the same.”
If it is correct, why can’t I use it without have?
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2answers
28 views
does 'impress someone' always mean 'impress someone in a good way'?
Here is a sample IELTS speaking topic: Describe someone who impressed you most in your primary school. Does this 'impressed you most' mean 'impressed you most in a good way'? Can I talk about a person ...
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2answers
28 views
Can "sized up" be used when a person is looking at the area in front of him and thinking about it and analysing it in his mind?
If I am looking at a clearing in a forest where I want to set up my tent for the night, can I "size up" the clearing? Consider the sentence - "I sized up the clearing in the forest...&...
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1answer
23 views
infinite tense or gerund in this case?
Should I use the infinite tense or the gerund in this case?
It was so distressing seeing/to see Jack kill his neighbour.
If both are correct, is there a difference in formality?
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1answer
23 views
Fix a variable or repair a variable?
In programming or mathematics, a variable can take any value.
Due to some reason, now I have to determine a variable to a specific value, say 3.14, and users/callers cannot freely change it.
How would ...
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2answers
58 views
Would like + ed verb
Yesterday I received an email with a weird construction.
I have a 1X40HQ I would like pulled from Location to Location.
1x40HQ refers to a container.
For me, the verb in the past tense after "...
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1answer
38 views
Can "lie" be a transitive verb?
Can the verb "lie" be a transitive when it's used in the sense of "to occupy a certain relative place"?
My son's math book had the following task:
If the maximum point of y = ax² +...
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3answers
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Should I say, The president of the college, together with the deans, 'is' or 'are' planning a conference for the laying down a series of regulations
My question is what verb should I use in this sentence, The president of the college, together with the deans, (is)(are) planning a conference for the purpose of laying down a series of regulations. ...
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1answer
40 views
How to use 'wish + noun' for myself?
I have this confusion when I am trying to construct a sentence concerning the usage of the verb wish. I've tried to look up dictionaries, but I'm still perplexed because it has a lot of options. ...
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21 views
What verb means letting a tenant use your property for money?
Rent: paying money for using someone's property
What verb means: getting money to allow someone to use your property?
Added later when received an answer for British:
I am asking about American ...
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"Collaboration skills" refers [3rd pes sing] to skills that... OR "Collaboration skills" refer [plural] to skills that...?
When we are talking about words or phrases that are plural in form, but that are in themselves singular, which verb form do we use?
Example:
Collaboration skills refers to skills that...
Here I've ...
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1answer
22 views
What's the difference between verbs "spot" and "see"? What verb fom follows them?
How does a differ from c, and b from d?
a. John spotted Bill enter the house.
b. John saw Bill enter the house.
c. John spotted Bill entering the house.
d. John saw Bill entering the house.
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16 views
simple present vs present continuous
Are both of these sentences true? If yes, are there any differences in their meaning?
Jo says what she thinks without worrying about whether she might be ruffling anyone's feathers.
Jo says what she ...
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1answer
36 views
"Teach" without the second object
If a girl wants to ask her piano teacher (she already being taught by the teacher constantly) to teach her how to play a song by piano, can she say
I like this song. Can you teach me?
without ...
3
votes
2answers
169 views
a verb "know" as a transitive verb and an intransitive verb
Can I say only "Do you know?" without saying the object in this case?:
I'm looking for a flower shop around here. Do you know?
How can I distinguish cases where I need to say object and ...
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1answer
153 views
Generally, what verbs can take the "be + past participle" form?
This came into my mind recently, after I attempted to list the possible formations of the verb "stutter".
You can't say "be stuttered", since you can't apply the verb "stutter&...
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2answers
35 views
Are the verbs [**Did**] and **[do]** plural or singular in the sentence below?
In the first sentence that starts off with a verb and ask a question "Did you do [that]?" I only understand that this question has [that] which stands alone from a noun and it is singular. ...
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1answer
23 views
The word [these] is plural distributive pronoun and the two verbs "like" and buy" are singular. Why is that please?
In the second sentence above that states "I'd like to buy [these]" The general rule is that if you use a singular noun you must use a singular verb and if you use a plural noun you must you ...
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1answer
19 views
What is the syntactic function of the phrase 'in a tribe' (and it's constituents) in the sentence 'We live in a tribe.'?
Also, would it be the same if we say 'We live in a city.' or 'We live in a society.'?
What kind of verb is live here?
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1answer
66 views
the verb "lever" vs "prise/prize" vs "pry"
Looking at the definitions for the words "lever", "prise (prize)", and "pry" in the dictionary, and only considering the meanings involving a physical action, it looks to ...
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Do I need a second verb in a descriptive sentence like: The definition of x is something (eg.:) done contrary to y?
I am not sure if I need a second verb in a sentence like the above. One actual example is:
The definition of illegal is something done contrary to or forbidden by the law.
Do I need 'done' here? ...
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2answers
59 views
Translation of Hindi idiom ‘Keep someone on your head’
Keep someone on your head
That is the translation of Hindi idiom that if you keep someone on your head, you love and excessively treat them.
For example:
When you come home too late, and your mother ...
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1answer
28 views
How to say in short and unequivocally in English: "I am preparing for a trip but I am still at home"? [closed]
I think I should make myself as clear as possible. I hate ambiguities so much! I am however sorry for my poor vocabulary (7,000 words).
Imagine someone calling you. The caller obviously does not know ...
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1answer
30 views
Two spellings of SEPARATE? Desperately Seeking Closure!
I am utterly convinced that I was taught two spellings of the word 'separate'
The first version, separate describes something in a different location.
The second was SEPERATE, a verb describing the ...
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1answer
23 views
What does "act on" mean here?
Hegel used the concept of mediation in its most general meaning seeing in it the most
characteristic property of mind. He said that the mind is as forceful as it is powerful. In
general forcefulness ...
2
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1answer
59 views
Do we have to avoid the verb 'get' in formal writing?
I just saw someone's comment (probably a native BrE) on Facebook, she wrote that the verb get should be avoided and she also told said that she had a professor that was always crossing out papers when ...
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1answer
19 views
Is preposition 'to' necessary in passive sentences when it's applied with verbs that can't be followed by IO+DO
Advanced Grammar in Use by Hewings states that verbs that can't be followed by [Indirect Object + Direct Object] in the active have only one of these passive forms:
V + DO + prep + IO
For example:
[...
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1answer
32 views
Is "they living it up" grammatically correct?
Quote from Eagles – Hotel California Lyrics | Genius Lyrics:
They living it up at the Hotel California
Is "they living it up" grammatically correct? Shouldn't it be "they're living it ...
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1answer
24 views
When to use -ed form of a word instead of -ing when both feel correct
I have a few examples illustrating my problem.
There, the three figures rested became immobile, lied down on their stomach, deep in a secret game.
VS
There, the three figures rested became immobile,...
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1answer
43 views
Should modal verbs and helper verbs in general be marked as a part of the main verb
Supposing that I would like to mark a sentence's verb, should I mark its modal verb as a part of the main verb?
Let's say:
You must calculate...
Or
You should go...
Should the verbs be marked as ...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
There aren't many vs. there aren't a lot of
I have field practice in a school now, and I had an argument with a teacher of English there. She says 'there aren't a lot of [...]' is incorrect, and 'there aren't many' should be used instead.
I ...
1
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1answer
90 views
"Affect" / "Impact" / "Influence"
The consequences of the economic downturn will certainly ......... people's lives in every society.
a. affect
b. impact
c. influence
Based on the provided hyperlinks above, the meanings go as ...
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1answer
25 views
while + participle without a subject
Bran watched them come from a guard turret atop the outer wall,
peering through Maester Luwin’s bronze far-eye while perched on
Hodor’s shoulders.
Is there perched the participle or the past simple?
...
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1answer
24 views
"Frightening" - participle?
In this sentence, what part of speech is 'frightening':
"Halloween can also be frightening for pets."
Is it a participle? Or is it acting as a verb?
