New answers tagged usage
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votes
Today would have been or today is
It depends if he's still alive or not. "Is" is correct if he is alive, if not then "would have been" is correct. "Is" would not be actually incorrect if he was dead, but ...
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0
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She is one of (the) better speakers. - need "the"?
Example 1 & 2. Both are correct, but the meaning changes subtly. Using "the" implies some subset of writers or American writers, but there isn't any real substantial change in meaning.
...
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any problem these children have
The particular wording is open to various queries. What you seem to want would be more clear if you used instead '… any problem these children (may/might) have.'
Rightly or wrongly in grammar or ...
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3
votes
"brother," "brotha," or "bro" when I just want to sound good and sociable and don't want to be associated with cowboys, etc
You should avoid this, unless you are sure.
This kind of use is very specific to particular groups. If you are not part of that group it would sound odd to call a person "brother".
If you ...
- 202k
-1
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any problem these children have
It should be "any problems" (plural).
However otherwise I think it is fine.
As an example:
We need to feed any children who are hungry.
That doesn't necessarily imply some of them must be ...
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There is a table in a/the kitchen? (if 1st sentence)
"Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a table in a kitchen. The kitchen was very large with tiled walls." [a generality, and notice how one moves from a to the]
"Let me ...
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6
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any problem these children have
That seems a good analysis. The grammar doesn't say that the children do have a problem, and the speaker seems to accept the possibility that no problem will be found.
However you would infer that ...
- 202k
3
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Can 'it' refer to a plural noun?
Here, it refers to the hypothetical event of your considering “all the tasks AI-powered machines could actually perform.”
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Why are there two "woulds" in this sentence?
Both "Would"s here are in the irrealis mood, which indicates unreal situations, as with unreal conditionals.
"...would choose..." indicates speaker B doesn't have to choose among ...
- 48.8k
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Is 'adapt to [infinitive]' generally used?
This usage (process rather than processing) throws the emphasis back on the subject, so it is the brain itself which has adapted IN ORDER to process information through other senses.
If you say "...
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2
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Is 'adapt to [infinitive]' generally used?
To adapt to process is to change in a way that permits —or, depending on context, in order to be capable of —processing, whereas to adapt to processing means to change as a result of or through ...
- 5,599
0
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Why is it present perfect here?
There are various uses to the present perfect; it signals the past without specifying when something is done. As compared to the finished action of the simple past. It also is used to mean up to the ...
- 41.1k
2
votes
Accepted
Why is it present perfect here?
In both of the fragments you enquire about,
“Often in the notes and essays I have had to…”
and
“in this book at least this range has been my priority,”
the author is conceiving of the writing of ...
- 5,599
5
votes
Accepted
Symbols used in a dictionary
Symbols used should be explained in the dictionary. If it was a printed dictionary, then usually at the beginning.
Upper and lower marks resembling apostrophes or commas are often used to denote ...
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2
votes
Accepted
Why don't we use "a same" in some cases?
First of all you are correct that the proper sentence is:
"They both chose the same option",
rather than:
"They both chose a same option".
If you want to use the "a" ...
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1
vote
Difference between “somewhat like” and “something like”
"Kind of like", "something like" and "somewhat like" have similar meanings. They are mostly interchangeable.
"Something like" is a general, common, idiomatic ...
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0
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What's the modern version of 'I will drown and nobody shall save me!'?
The top answers do a good job on the historical distinction between "shall" and "will", so I won't restate everything. It boils down to "will" used to express intention ...
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2
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What's the modern version of 'I will drown and nobody shall save me!'?
The version I heard was that an English schoolmaster was the only one who heard the Scottish boy’s plea, said, “Very well then, have your way,” and walked off. The Oxford English Dictionary had ...
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-1
votes
What's the modern version of 'I will drown and nobody shall save me!'?
Modern version:
I'm going to drown and no one's going to save me.
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12
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What's the modern version of 'I will drown and nobody shall save me!'?
The man has got it wrong (which is the point: he would have been rescued if his grammar was correct). In the first person (according to the grammar books) "I shall" is used for future, ...
- 202k
24
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What's the modern version of 'I will drown and nobody shall save me!'?
There is no 'modern version'. The point of the joke is that I will used to be regarded as expressing resolution (it famously occurs in the Book of Common Prayer marriage service) and you shall as a ...
- 49.4k
0
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What is the usage of "is, am, and are" and "do and does" in terms of closed question?
Two parts to your question:
Declarative sentences in English usually have a subject and then a verb. When you ask a question in English, you typically reverse the order and have a verb and then a ...
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1
vote
Either this or that in the sentence
My preferred version would be one the OP doesn't mention.
You should go to either a hospital or clinic
as it applies the "either" to the only thing that is different (where you go).
If &...
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3
votes
Either this or that in the sentence
With "either...or" structures (as with many others), grammatically speaking, anything that is present in the first part can be optionally elided from the second. So all of your example ...
- 48.8k
0
votes
Either this or that in the sentence
I add brackets to your 4 variants and see that parallelism is there. They are, however, wordy.
[1] Either [you should go to a hospital] or [you should go to a clinic].
[2] You either [should go to ...
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1
vote
Accepted
Using 'powerful' as a noun - "Britain's powerful"
It is possible to use an adjective such as "powerful" to mean "powerful ones" or "powerful people". You can talk about "the poor" or "the rich", for ...
- 202k
1
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She sees her boyfriend vs She is seeing her boyfriend
One of the several meanings of "see" is "have a meeting" or simply "meet", and it can be used with any verb tense.
The verb "see" can also have the meaning of ...
- 48.8k
1
vote
Understanding this particular usage of "only if"
"only if" sentences can often be usefully rephrased with negatives.
Only if the two votes are in agreement will the deal go through. <=> If either of the two votes are not in ...
- 202k
0
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Understanding this particular usage of "only if"
I think you may be confusing logical implication for semantic meaning. While you can logically rewrite sentences to form equivalent logic structures, it changes the meaning of the utterance.
For ...
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2
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Understanding this particular usage of "only if"
Only means what it says; it emphasises that P is the only circumstance in which Q will happen.
"If the two votes are in agreement the deal will go through" could describe a routine procedure ...
- 49.4k
1
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She sees her boyfriend vs She is seeing her boyfriend
Yes, seeing someone means in a romantic relationship with them. To illustrate the contrast, note that you’d need to be careful about turning the completely idiomatic
I see my allergist twice monthly ...
- 5,599
1
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Why is "would" used in "have to"
There is an unspoken clause here. I've added it for clarity.
A: Is it correct to say "X"?
B: For me, if I were to say it, it would have to be "Y".
The "would" is ...
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votes
What is the use of "would" in this context
I would paraphrase this as a man who was selfish through and through.(here the subject's belief/expectation/thinking/inclination/willingness of paraphrasing the statement in question).
The speaker is ...
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0
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What is the use of "would" in this context
"Would" in that context is the same as in the unreal future conditional, commonly known as "second conditional", but there's no "if"-clause. So it is not the past of &...
- 48.8k
2
votes
What is the use of "would" in this context
No, "would" here expresses "a conjecture, opinion, or hope."
It's one of the different usages of the word "would".
Cambridge Dictionary defines this usage as:
used to ...
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