12
votes
The pronoun in short yes/no answers to rhetorical tag-questions with the generic "you"
In English, when rhetorical tag questions are phrased with "you" (as in "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, don't you?"), the "you" is typically ...
- 485
4
votes
Accepted
Is it natural to say "I can still smell a hint of something"?
To call a faint smell of something a 'hint' (of that thing) is quite normal English. A hint of lavender, of smoke, of urine, of cheese, of perfume. Another very commonly used word is 'whiff'.
faint ...
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2
votes
Accepted
Is it natural to say "the news came to the king's ears"?
More natural, I think, than "came to the king's ears" is "reached the king's ears".
FWIW, here's an ngram.
- 132k
2
votes
Funeral Rites vs. Funerary Rites
Funeral and funerary are related words but they are not identical. Consider these definitions from Merriam-Webster:
Funeral (adjective)
of, relating to, or constituting a funeral
(a funeral [noun] ...
- 4,523
1
vote
The usage of 'the' in certain situations
In the case of "public agricultural policy" you are talking about a whole subject that encompasses all the instances of making policy as concerns agriculture, its principles, processes, ...
- 883
1
vote
Adverb "honestly" —At the beginning & At the mid position
There's no difference in meaning. It's pretty cut and dried. You can't definitively say when you'll be home.
- 8,642
1
vote
Usage of plural form of "threat"
Singular "threat" would be a perfectly valid option, but would hold a slightly different meaning.
Recognize that one singular thing can be made up of multiple things. A book, singular, is ...
- 17.2k
1
vote
Is it natural to say "the news came to the king's ears"?
Come to one's ears is found in thefreedictionary:
to be heard by one eventually
The idiom come to one's knowledge is more common and is defined as
to become known to one
Google has a similar ...
- 18.5k
1
vote
"It would be appreciated if you can let us know when can we expect to receive the final payment" does this sound right?
It would be appreciated if you can let us know when can we expect to receive the final payment.
This is “good” English in that it is grammatical (it follows the rules of standard English) and it is ...
- 7,099
1
vote
Is it possible to use the question 'Where are you from?' in everyday situations?
"Where are you from?" is grammatically correct, but it usually refers to the place or country somebody was born/grew up, or if they're travelling, the place they normally live.
"Where ...
- 1,268
1
vote
She's beautiful. She's gone to the market. How to differentiate "She is" and "She has"?
In American English, we tend not to contract has|have when it is the lexical verb and contract when has|have is an auxiliary verb.
Southern US speakers tend to contract lexical has|have more than the ...
- 132k
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