53
votes
Accepted
Is it correct to say you are talking “to Skype”?
I would say talking on Skype.
"Talking to Skype" means that you are talking to Skype the company.
- 73.7k
39
votes
Accepted
'Back in 2000' vs 'In 2000'
You would say "back in XXXX" to emphasize that it happened some time in the past. Otherwise there is no difference in meaning.
I graduated high school in 1984
I graduated high school back in ...
- 88.1k
36
votes
Accepted
“Let for each 𝑗” vs. “For each 𝑗 let”
Mathematician here.
Your proofreader is right.
The revised version is how this is normally written. I would understand your original text, but it would make me stumble. You should avoid wording that ...
- 7,103
29
votes
Accepted
There is to such thing
The original quote has been so badly mangled by someone who simply failed to copy it out correctly in the first place.
It has then been handed round the internet by others who simply never bothered ...
- 16.5k
23
votes
Accepted
Why does a grammar checker want to replace "the key to have" with "the key to having"?
The idiom is "The key to something", with "to" being a preposition, used idiomatically instead of "for". So we say "the key to the door" or "the key to my ...
- 202k
20
votes
'Back in 2000' vs 'In 2000'
Good answers all around. I'll add another permutation.
"Back in 2003" can give a very slight impression that you're trying to set the scene, so to speak, and help the listener remember what else was ...
- 2,579
16
votes
Accepted
“On my own way vs. “in my own way”?
In my own way is the idiomatically correct expression. I can't think of a situation where I would use on my own way.
Now, in my way and on my way are both valid expressions. You could say in my way ...
- 14.9k
15
votes
Accepted
Plane took off [from] the runway
First, the phrasal verb is indeed take off, which means:
take off (phrasal verb) To leave the ground and begin flight; to ascend into the air
Second, you can use a preposition after a phrasal ...
J.R.♦
- 109k
15
votes
Accepted
The key to my room. Vs The key of my room
I have studied four Indo-European languages in addition to my native English. If there are any rules on which prepositions are proper in which situations, they are not easily discerned or explicated ...
- 31.9k
14
votes
Choosing between "{ Once / By the time } Norma Jean had reached the age of twenty-six…"
We use 'once' to discuss a situation where something could not happen, or was not possible, before the event specified. It means 'as soon as, or from the moment when'.
Once I was aged eighteen, I was ...
- 70.8k
13
votes
Accepted
Do we say "accuse somebody for" or "of"?
As far as I know, accuse is always used with the preposition of. To say accuse someone for something is just grammatically wrong. If you accuse someone of doing something wrong or illegal, you tell ...
- 37.4k
13
votes
Could "front" also mean "before"?
Yes, the prepositional phrase, "in front of" can replace the preposition "before" in the examples you've given. Other examples include the following:
"Her name was before mine on the list." = "Her ...
- 4,358
13
votes
Are "on leaving school" and "after leaving school" the same?
It's true that on leaving has a connotation that something happened immediately afterward, while after leaving implies only that something happened at some later point (possibly much later), but since ...
- 18.7k
12
votes
Accepted
Zero articles after "of"?
Although in general we precede a singular, uncountable noun with a determiner such as the indefinite article a(n) or the definite article the, there are many instances in which we use the zero article ...
12
votes
Plane took off [from] the runway
You are confused between 'verb' and 'phrasal verb.'
You are absolutely right that 'off' here means 'away'.
I was walking off the road - away from the road.
But the main verb there is 'walking.' ...
- 65.8k
11
votes
What is the difference between 'at Christmas' and 'on Christmas'?
For me (British), I would never say "on Christmas", because 'on' is used with a day, not a period. I would say "on Christmas Day", or "on New Year's Day", or "On Easter Sunday" but "at Christmas" or "...
- 73.7k
11
votes
Accepted
Flee from vs flee
flee
implicitly means to move away from something, moving "away" is implied.
fled the city
fled from the city
have the same meaning, from is not necessary and some might consider it redundant, ...
- 66.1k
11
votes
I sleep in middle. You sleep in outside. Mummy sleeps in inside
If one side of the bed is bordered by a wall, then "inside" and "outside" are natural and appropriate expressions in English - I don't think there are better ones. There are other ways to refer to ...
- 1,862
10
votes
Accepted
Is it "in a contest" or "at a contest"?
This is a case where how many "entries" you find has little to do with correctness. Which preposition you use depends on context and what you are trying to say.
Generally speaking, in regards to at a ...
J.R.♦
- 109k
10
votes
Accepted
A cookie in the shape of a foot
In your examples
A cookie in the shape of a foot.
is grammatically correct
A cookie in the shape of foot.
is grammatically incorrect, however
A cookie in the shape of feet.
is ...
- 66.1k
10
votes
'Back in 2000' vs 'In 2000'
As well as emphasizing that it happened some time in the past, "back in 2003" has a more informal feeling to it than "in 2003". You wouldn't be so likely to see "back in 2003" in a formal business ...
- 727
10
votes
“On my own way vs. “in my own way”?
"In my way" refers to the definition of way as "preference", or "style", so it would be more appropriate here:
Frank Sinatra sang that he always did things in his own way.
"On my way" refers to ...
- 88.1k
10
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between "in itself", "by itself" and "in and of itself"?
by itself means "alone, unaccompanied".
in itself means "not needing other things".
in and of itself means "when considered in isolation".
The pony, standing by itself in the paddock, looked ...
- 121k
9
votes
"In his ear" - preposition phrase or adverbial phrase?
It is both.
The term preposition phrase describes the phrase's internal structure: it is constructed with a preposition followed by its object.
The term adverbial phrase describes the phrase's ...
- 175k
9
votes
Is it correct to say you are talking “to Skype”?
"Sorry, I am Skyping at the moment"
If you search it you will see that such usage is quite common, eg https://www.zdnet.com/google-amp/article/why-are-we-all-zooming-and-not-skyping/
- 860
9
votes
“Let for each 𝑗” vs. “For each 𝑗 let”
Your proofreader is correct. Another alternative I might accept would be:
Let a permutation ℎ_𝑗 : 𝐿 ↪ 𝐿 be given for each 𝑗 < 𝑛.
I’m less likely to Write a sentence with mathematical ...
- 8,393
9
votes
"Of" to explain possession
The structure [ "a" + person + "of" + X ] in this context means that X is part of the identity of the person. So it means more than the person merely possesses X or has X right now....
- 48.8k
8
votes
Accepted
Difference between “most of the people” and “most people”
Using the definite article the only works if you're talking about a specific group of young people.
Most of the young students at this school learn English.
If you're talking about young people in ...
8
votes
What does it mean to 'play on, in'?
"In the field" is where it is.
To "play on" means to continue to play, especially despite circumstances in which it might be better for play to end.
A dense fog has rolled in, but Manchester City ...
- 121k
8
votes
what is the difference between on, in or at a meeting?
You've rightly called out the differences between the first two statements:
He is in a meeting
The above statement refers to the person attending a meeting in the same premises (i.e. on site).
...
- 1,827
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