All Questions
109,482
questions
1
vote
1
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50
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To lie in/within somebody
I would like to know which of these sentences is correct/the most appropriate:
the necessary resource lies within him.
the necessary resource lies in him.
The meaning I am looking for: I want to ...
- 113
-1
votes
1
answer
26
views
How to use "income distribution" and "age distribution"
I have problem using prepositions with "distribution". Are all these options correct? Are "income distribution" and "age distribution" both countable? Maybe in the first ...
- 1,177
-2
votes
2
answers
44
views
Is this sentence correct: I had read that was bad season.?
Is this sentence correct?
I had read that was bad season.
Duolingo complains about it and prefers
I had read that that season was bad.
Is it because it has no subject in the first version?
- 379
-1
votes
2
answers
90
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I exactly want to know what 'now' means
As I know, 'now' has two meanings. one is 'from now on' and the other is 'at this point'.
I don't have time to watch TV now.
Ming is worried now.
Do both 'now' mean 'from now on' because those ...
- 107
1
vote
1
answer
48
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What's the meaning of "tremendous significance" in this context
People pardoned our hazy lack of details through realisation of the
shock the sad event must have caused us, and believed us when we
explained that the mangling action of the wind had rendered all ...
- 21
-1
votes
0
answers
31
views
have managed '' ended '' or '' continuing ''? [closed]
I have managed this factory for 50 years ( continuing ). I decide who gets hired.
I have managed this factory for 50 years. ( ended ). But I'm too old now. I'm handing this place over to my children ...
- 240
1
vote
1
answer
59
views
Does British English affirm a negative question with yes?
Suppose I was asked this negative question:
You are not a student, are you?
and I'm not a student.
Years ago I read in a book that in American English the answer would be
No, I'm not a student
But ...
- 287
3
votes
2
answers
49
views
How to describe a position in English?
As I know, if there are two things distributed in front of me like below, I can say there two items going "left to right". If I want to specify a particular one, "the right one" or ...
- 103
1
vote
4
answers
72
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Is this called a block gate?
Look at this above picture, a complex of several tall buildings has a gate. Vehicles go in and out through that gate and there is some security guards standing on watch there to make sure only ...
- 23.3k
14
votes
8
answers
2k
views
Confusing use of "if" in "Advanced Grammar in Use"
I'm currently leafing through Advanced Grammar in Use by Martin Hewings and on page 18 there is a unit (unit 9) describing the difference between "will" and "be going to". Among ...
- 149
1
vote
1
answer
31
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What type of conditional clause is this?
https://www.scribbr.co.uk/verb/conditional-sentence/
If you think we are returning to those policies, then that is not going to happen.
Using the resource above, I cannot compare my example:
then that ...
- 527
2
votes
1
answer
53
views
What does "Spin away" mean?
I was reading High Fidelity by Nick Hornby when I came across this:
"What sort of time, after all, could
make a thirteen-year-old boy spin away from a girl and toward a playground,"
I can't ...
- 25
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is it correct to say "What, my family and friends would say, is ...?" instead of "What would my family and friends say is ...?"?
ell.stackexchange.com:
(1) What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life?
my variant:
(2) What, as my family and friends would say, is the driving force of my life?
I think (2) ...
- 4,232
0
votes
1
answer
46
views
Go from left to right or Go left to right?
Suppose I got a word list, "red yellow blue green". How should I introduce these words form left to right? "Going from left to right, these words are red, yellow, blue, and green." ...
- 103
0
votes
1
answer
49
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"Is monarchy relevant in the modern world or should it be abolished?"— Is it correct not to invert the word order and say "or it should be abolished"?
an example from the section "More examples" on cambridge.org:
(1) Is monarchy relevant in the modern world or should it be abolished?
Is it necessary to invert the word order in the second ...
- 4,232
0
votes
2
answers
74
views
"Mark Twain is a famous author. He wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." Write this as a non-defining relative clause
"Mark Twain is a famous author. He wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."
Write this as a non-defining relative clause.
I tried this problem, but I was confused about which clause had greater ...
1
vote
1
answer
27
views
What are roots and affixes, and how do they differ from etymology?
In English, what are "roots" and what are "affixes"? If a word in English is a compound word, or is derived from a compound in Latin, Greek, Old English or some other language, ...
- 219k
1
vote
2
answers
34
views
Using would in that-clauses following glad, surprised etc
In a recent episode of Eastenders , a pastor said:
I am so disappointed that you would think so little of me
to a member of his community who he's arguing with,
My question is: using would in the that-...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
14
views
Reported Speech Time Expression
[Direct speech]
We can change the environmental campaign next year?
How should this sentence be written in reported speech?
A: He is saying they can change the environmental campaign next year.
B: ...
MaiP
0
votes
1
answer
37
views
Appositives with people's names. Occupation
a) Sam a boxer (the is possible) -> ___??? boxer Sam
b) Sam a nurse -> ___??? nurse Sam
c) Sam a painter -> ___??? painter Sam
d) Kate ...
- 153
0
votes
1
answer
29
views
"..., with aftershocks continued..."
This is from a news article.
Strong shaking was felt in Taipei, the capital, some 100 miles away,
with aftershocks continued for roughly two hours.
Automatic substitution in Google Docs suggests &...
- 425
0
votes
2
answers
24
views
How to use "with + noun" to report data
0.4 million students studied abroad in 1970 in the US, with a subsequent considerable increase to 1.4 million in 1985 and a final drop to 0.8.
I was taught by my teacher the above structure, and I ...
- 813
0
votes
1
answer
87
views
"beg, plead, entreat, implore, beseech, appeal" What is the different and when to use
Here is what I researched, is the meaning correct, and when to use
Please help me
1. Beg
ask for help, mercy, or forgiveness.
sometimes carry a connotation of weakness or dependency.
2. Plead
ask ...
- 69
3
votes
2
answers
45
views
Does the verb "to wear someone down/out" mean far more tiredness than the adjective "wearisome"?
My understanding I formed from dictionaries is the following:
to wear someone down/out = to make someone feel extremely tired
wearisome = making someone feel tired or bored
Hence, despite the same ...
- 4,232
-2
votes
1
answer
47
views
making them adjective vs making it for them to be adjective
I used the following sentence.
(2.1)"These fashion models continued to grow weights, making it for them to be less popular"
And the a world-renowned scholar (chatgpt) said it is ...
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Why ", removing ..." is better than ", which removes ..." in this case?
I just got a suggestion from Grammarly that I don't understand. This is my original sentence:
As a result, type MyEnum is composed of literal string types, which removes the need for import just for ...
- 1,023
0
votes
1
answer
42
views
Difference between such and as
a. He is such a boy as everyone likes him.
b. He is such a boy that everyone likes him.
c. He is such a boy as liked by everyone.
d. He is such a boy that is liked by everyone.
Which sentence is ...
- 353
1
vote
1
answer
58
views
What does tune mean here?
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4564443-senate-rankings-seats-flip/ says
For some national Democrats, Moreno, who was endorsed by Trump, is the perfect candidate for Brown to take on this fall — ...
- 3,559
15
votes
5
answers
4k
views
What does "zigs when others zag" mean?
From Merriam-Webster's entry for zig
zigs when others zag.
From Senate rankings: 5 seats most likely to flip:
“It’s going to be tough,” one Democratic operative conceded. “But Montana has that ...
- 3,559
0
votes
1
answer
72
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"They joked earlier about quite what that would mean."
(From A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe)
Gloria glances at the top table then back at William and slips him a wink. 'Get ready for the fuss, she whispers, leaning so close he feels her breath ...
- 979
2
votes
1
answer
252
views
Should "this" be replace by "it"?
I remember I learned somewhere that when using "this" again, better change to "it"? But why does the book use "this" in the second question? Is the book wrong or what I ...
- 1,177
1
vote
1
answer
40
views
"This is also the case for" usage
We can see that 15% of the British were over 65 years of age in 1985, with a prediction of a rise to about 23% in 2035. _________.
In the blank, I want to add a sentence which means the figure for ...
- 813
0
votes
1
answer
38
views
Is it okay to use a noun in one paragraph of your report, then switch to its synonym in the next one, suppose they are similar in both?
Sometimes, I'm not sure if I should paraphrase, or be consistent in my word choice. Suppose that both words are okay in both paragraphs, would you switch to the other word for diversity or keep using ...
- 813
0
votes
1
answer
58
views
were thus to be taken "with a grain of salt", and therefore less seriously
Hypotheses of the phrase's origin include Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia, regarding the discovery of a recipe for an antidote to a poison.[2] In the antidote, one of the ingredients was a grain ...
- 423
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votes
1
answer
48
views
Present perfect tence witth "for"
I have received a letter every month for ten years.
It is correct?
Because I can't understand that it wants to mean
1.I have received a letter in the last ten years.
Or
2.It has been ten years since I ...
- 191
2
votes
1
answer
35
views
Can I call survey respondents "the surveyed"?
To my mind, the + adj = adj people. For example, the old = old people and the poor = poor people. I wonder if this rule applies to all adjectives. In this case, it's the past participle "surveyed&...
- 813
-2
votes
1
answer
59
views
Does richly endowed mean wealthy?
Wikipedia says
In the account of Dares the Phrygian, Achilles was described having "... a large chest, a fine mouth, and powerfully formed arms and legs. His head was covered with long wavy ...
- 3,559
-3
votes
0
answers
20
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Clothes folding songs (and poems)
I am trying to fold a t-shirt properly.
My cludge is to fold the two sleeves towards the center, then bend the shirt, "shoulders 'to knees", because, that resembles a hug.
However, that is ...
0
votes
2
answers
50
views
Pronounciation and casing
Me and my wife have young kids (one of which is 5) who are currently being taught English at school, we live in the UK.
She is under the belief that kids in the UK are taught in infant school that a ...
- 103
1
vote
3
answers
112
views
To-infinitives modifying nouns as discussed in Huddleston's Student's Introduction
My question is concerning to-infinitives modifying nouns, in particular
a paragraph in Huddleston's "A Student's Introduction to English Grammar" (2E). I will first quote the paragraph in ...
- 13
-3
votes
3
answers
66
views
Illogical paragraph in a textbook: is North Ireland considered a country despite not having a national animal? [closed]
This is from 'Cultural Crossroads 2 for Ukraine' by Virginia Evans (image).
Each country in the UK has its own national animal. England has the lion, Scotland has the unicorn and Wales has the red ...
- 7
0
votes
1
answer
37
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What do you call a mock project in developer internship?
Some IT companies offer internships where would-be developer employees build a project. It may be quite complex, involve dozens of people on the team (backend, frontend, BAs, MQAs, AQAs, PMs, POs, and ...
- 3,506
4
votes
1
answer
327
views
Can the verb "be' be a dynamic verb?
I have read from many sources that 'be,' 'seem,' and 'become,' are always linking verbs. But I have seen a few sources mentioning 'be' as occasionally a dynamic verb as well.
If 'be' is always a ...
- 41
-1
votes
2
answers
54
views
What is being implied in this exchange between Simon and Jack in Lord of the Flies?
Here is the excerpt,
"We could be sort of. . . ."
Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind's essential illness.
Inspiration came to him.
"What's the dirtiest thing ...
- 1
-1
votes
2
answers
30
views
Will "relationship" be read as "relationship with other people" when it's not being modified?
I want to ask if we need to say something like relationships with others to make it clear that we are not talking about relationships with things like money? We only need to say relationships and it ...
- 1,177
0
votes
1
answer
38
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She is still needing to pay her rent
She is continuing to pay her rent although is is presently living abroad.
Can one use present continues form, as needing?
Nettles
0
votes
2
answers
23
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Comma position when there are few words in quotes
A: You should not use this word to describe a built-in TV.
B: I didn't use it to describe a "built-in TV", and I don't think anybody would.
Should I move the bolded comma inside the quotes? ...
- 405
3
votes
1
answer
72
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Can we call England "a member nation" of the UK?
Overall, these data support the hypothesis that the UK will see an older population after half a century, which is the result of increases in the proportion of elderly people in each member nation.
I ...
- 813
0
votes
1
answer
32
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Correct prepositions following "that" in comparison structures
US citizens spent the smallest portion on food among all countries, at 14%, which was about 9% smaller than that by the Japanese.
I chose by here as in "...9% smaller than the portion spent by ...
- 813
9
votes
7
answers
4k
views
Traffic is too loud to hear you
I have made up the sentences below.
(1) The traffic is too loud to hear you. We should go to a quiet place to have a talk.
My non-native friends think "too loud to hear you" doesn't sound ...
- 602