New answers tagged word-usage
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"Will" is the indicative mood. It's used for simply stating facts. "Would" is generally an irrealis mood, which is used for discussing things in counterfactual situations. For instance, you can say "If I weren't available, I would leave it to you". Because of this, it implies the opposite of what you mean; it would normally be ...
1
Back can be used as an adverb, and it can mean a few things. One meaning is to emphasize that an action is returning something back to a normal state, after being in an alternate state temporarily.
I put the paper back in the tray (it was temporary out of the tray)
I got my dog back from the vet (dog was temporarily at the vet)
I woke back up at 6:00 ...
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These examples show that "reduce" can be combined with "to" to describe the actual conversion of one thing into some other thing (e.g. "building" becomes "pile of rubble"), the latter being inherently different and of lesser quality or quantity than the former.
1
No, that is not grammatical.
The usual form is "You should submit your homework on time." or "You should turn in your homework on time."
Even if it were proper grammar, at least to me, 'making' homework speaks only to completing it but says nothing about actually giving it to the instructor.
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Preposition at is never valid in the cited context. Both for and to are okay, but note that we tend to use to more often if what's now being "enabled" (by the metaphoric door being opened) is a process / activity of some kind...
(NGram link)
...whereas we tend to use for if the opportunity applies to actual agents now able to do something...
(...
2
"Open (the) doors at." is incorrect unless you are talking about a time and a literal door. e.g. "I open the doors at 10 O'clock. Or a location and literal door: e.g. "I open the door at the end of the corridor" Do not use this for your example.
"Open the door to." - For your example sentence this is the correct choice. It ...
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"See also" does not mean "synonym of." It only means "here's something related which might interest you." Collins doesn't list any noun uses of "open" and Merriam-Webster's are all flat wrong in my opinion except sense 3 ("an open contest, competition, or tournament"). The noun form of open is opening and ...
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If each of the students has or could have a different intention, then it should be plural. If they all have the same intention, then it should be singular.
This may be easier to understand with a more concrete object.
Suppose I said, "My parents' house is blue." "Parents'" is plural: I have two parents. But they share the house. There is ...
2
Of those (even ignoring the duplicate with in A), the best option is B.
For example, according to Duke University:
Instructors should not grant students permission to leave class early or arrive late when their class conflicts with another on the student’s schedule.
Option A (after removing the extra with) isn't natural because it makes it sound like the ...
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"in front of" and "before" are nearly identical in context. Both are correct and idiomatic; but, before is preferred as better English speakers avoid the extra words when they don't provide extra clarity or emotional impact.
"dealing with" is an entirely different kind of relationship. You may deal with something that is ...
3
annals means reports or records, as of a society or club, or of a broad topic: Annals of Medicine (a medical journal) or annals of history (a literary term meaning "recorded history"). The etymology shows that it comes from the Latin annus, "year," though its usage today is not restricted to things that are published only once a year. The ...
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They are both correct but they mean different things.
The woman could very well be his mother.
This means the woman might actually be his mother. The speaker isn't certain but thinks it's possible.
The woman might as well be his mother.
This means: (1) the woman looks very very similar to his mother (which we might know because we know what his mother ...
1
There are lots of alternatives, but here are some:
I don't have any option other than going there.
My only option is to go there.
I've got to go, there are no other options.
"Restrained" and "constrained" don't mean the same thing - 'restrain' means to prevent from doing something, so that wouldn't really fit your context where you must ...
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Yes, grammatically correct. It could also be written as
"Sometimes a creative problem is so difficult that it requires people to connect their imaginations together; the answer arrives only if we collaborate."
, using the infinitive instead in accordance with its status as the direct object of "it requires" (the indirect object here is &...
1
Option 1 is not correct. The two words do not mean the same thing and are not interchangeable.
An 'opportunity' is a specific time, occasion or situation in which something can be done.
A 'possibility' is a chance that something could happen.
For example, if someone asked you to do something by the end of the day and you knew that you had the time and ...
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"Business" was much more of a world commonwealth than the political organisations.
I would say the meaning of "made of or consisting of" applies here.
"Business" is made of more of what a world commonwealth consists of than the political organisations.
"Mike Tyson was much more of a figher than the person I just passed by.&...
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I think, in context, it does. A more polite version might be, “Please confirm ...,” or “Please do confirm ....” If it’s not really optional, some alternatives are, “Remember to confirm ...,” or “Be sure to confirm ....”
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The only relevant bit is this:
He had no compunction in taking the help of the Nazis or the Fascists and later of Imperial Japan
To break this down:
He had no compunction in taking the help
This is the first section, which just describes him receiving help from.
of ((the Nazis) or (the Fascists))
He receives help from the Nazis, the first noun, and the ...
3
It indicates that he took the help of the Nazis first, and then later as in "at a later time" or "at a date after than that of which he took the help of the Nazis" he then also accepted the help of Imperial Japan.
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crucible (noun) from Merriam-Webster
a severe test
a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause
or influence change or development
The "crucible of human reason" is referring to people critically thinking about and judging the topic discussed in the book, basically a "a place or situation in which people or ideas are ...
-1
I have always called all TV shows “programs”. From childhood. I am now 59.
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Please keep the room clean and tidy.
You don't want to mention words like messy, dirty, disorderly, untidy because they might conjure up certain images in your friend's head and entice them to act accordingly ;)
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If the material you are worried about is not normally present I suggest something like "Pick up your trash", most of the usual phrases about a room (like "trashing a room"), at least to me, are about messing up stuff that is normally there.
"Pick up your trash" on the other hand applies anywhere and is about the trash (the real ...
3
"Dirty" is the wrong word to describe leaving wrappers. But you already have the right one: mess. You should use "messy". Dirty relates to, for example getting mud on the floor.
And the verb is "to mess up", or "make a mess of"
Please don't mess up my room by leaving out wrappers everywhere.
1
"Improve" can be either transitive or intransitive, for example:
I will improve.
I will improve my grades.
When used intransitively, there will almost certainly be some kind of metric understood to be the thing you are improving upon.
Your specific example isn't quite right, but only because your use of "a dark time" is not correct. It ...
1
Yes, this dialog is correct, and so is your interpretation. It reads smoothly to a native English speaker. "It had better" is more formal, but doesn't fit as well here.
2
To me the verb preoccupy is not very natural - I would be much more likely to use the adjectival phrase preoccupied with (also without a qualifier He was preoccupied.)
Occupied my mind, while it makes sense, is likewise not a very natural phrase to me.
Prey on is different, because it implies that it is worrying the person - occupy and preoccupy do not have ...
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Your comprehension is correct. Here "his" is used because "the man not understanding something" is considered as an "attribute" of the man.
1
It makes sense but I think you should treat this as a new word and use some scare quotes.
John realised that there was an opportunity to start a "motorbike park", to provide parking for the many bikers that used the area.
The scare quotes warn the reader that they should interpret this as a new word, and so understand it from context.
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Can you say, "My T-shirt is so tight that my chest sticks out"? Certainly. As you apparently understand, "sticks out" does not necessarily mean "pokes through the covering".
This sentence would make more sense coming from a woman, but a man might say it if he has a prominent chest.
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Star is a noun. It can be used as a noun adjunct or form compound nouns. Stellar is an adjective it means "of the stars" or figuratively "having the quality of a star performer"
"Stellar Wars" wouldn't work at all. It would either mean "wars with stars fighting each other (?)" or "Very excellent and superior ...
0
Imagine that you are looking for an item in a shop and the shopkeeper shows you two that might fit your purpose.
To say Can I use either of them (for the purpose)?, asks whether both would fit the purpose but implies that you want just one of them.
Can I use both of them (for the purpose)? again asks whether both would fit the purpose but implies that you ...
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First of all, some grammar corrections are needed in your sentences. You shouldn't use a comma to set off "for all their pragmatism" because it modifies the main verb "be(are)" there.
The corrected ones are:
1.He thinks they’re extremely idealistic for all their pragmatism.
2.He thinks they’re extremely ideal for all their pragmatism.
...
1
In informal speaking, non-defining relative clauses are sometimes used to modify a whole clause.
Some relative clauses refer to a whole clause, a whole sentence, or a longer stretch of language. We always use which to introduce these clauses.
We often use these clauses in informal speaking to express an opinion or evaluation. [emphasis added]
I think the ...
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He has wrinkles on his forehead
The native speakers are referring to the surface of his skin. This is the common way of talking about wrinkles because the wrinkles are visible.
He had deep wrinkles in his forehead.
As evident from the word "deep", the wrinkles are situated below the skin surface and may or may not be visible to the human eye.
1
One will is in the main clause, the other is in a relative clause, so why would you think there was any problem using both?
(What you may be thinking of is that English speaker don't usually use will in a temporal or conditional clause: When/if you see him, not When/if you will see him. But that's not what we have here).
However, your sentence doesn't make ...
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They have different etymologies. Generic is like a type, yes (from genus in Latin: birth, race or stock). Whereas general (from generalis in Latin, class, race or kind) is actually non-specific.
In English, generic language is "of the same type". For example, if subject matter uses a type of language, that would be generic to the subject matter. ...
3
Yes, they are indicative of the matter in your question.
1 and 2 have the same meaning, with more indication of doing a poor job because of incompetence.
3 is similar, with more indication of doing a poor job to save time or money.
That are all very similar, though.
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In your examples 1 and 2, we would normally omit the "up" (and, thanks @Lambie, "bungle" should take a more specific argument):
The builders really botched this room.
The builders really bungled the job on this room.
In British English at least, these mean pretty much the same thing, and it's not what you're looking for. It means they ...
1
Singular they is the use of the pronoun they or its derivatives as gender-neutral singular pronoun.
Somebody left their umbrella in the office.
Wikipedia
As commented, its use has become common, as shown in Ngram
0
“I have been injured in the last two months” vs “…for the last two months” vs “…the last two months”
The first two are correct but have different meanings.
The first means "An injury occurred between now and two months ago". It might be that you have fully recovered, or you might still be suffering. The injury could have occurred 8 weeks ago, or it could have occurred yesterday. It probably refers to more serious injuries that affect your health ...
3
When talking about someone's (or something's) future prospects, I would use promising.
Promising means showing promise or potential. It is something an entity displays. Hopeful, on the other hand, more often means feeling hope; a company's leadership may be hopeful about the company's future.
Of course, as you have discovered, "hopeful" can also be ...
0
I think it's
I insist that he do his homework now.
because we use subjunctive. or else:
I insist on him doing his homework now.
1
Yes, your understanding is correct. From wiktionary:
reach, noun.
4: Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope.
So "major developments with global reach" means "big news with worldwide impact."
4
(At least to me as a native American English speaker...) "Under my chin" is more natural. "In my neck" sounds like it was somehow inside the neck itself (that is, under the skin), and doesn't immediately conjure the image of how you were holding it in the same way that "under my chin" does. "Against my neck" would ...
1
I like the answer in https://english.stackexchange.com/a/90444/422405
I use extendable in cases where it means the opposite of retractable.
In other words, a telescoping wand is extendable, the legs of my
camera tripod are extendable.
I use extensible when I mean that the functionality of something may
be increased or enhanced by the addition of an ...
1
Yes, there is a difference.
Someone = Anybody (including me)
Someone Else = Anybody but not me
2
"UR" is the "short name" of one of the parties to the contract. At the beginning of the contract there is probably verbiage similar to:
This contract is made by and between Uniform Resources, Inc. (hereinafter "UR") and A-One Consulting Corp. (hereinafter "CONSULTANT").
So it is an abbreviated name.
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This is a real, if remote, approach to the freedom movement of India of a later age.
From Cambridge Dictionary,
remote adjective (SLIGHT)
a remote possibility
Your example hence means this is a real approach to the freedom movement of India of a later age even if it could be a slight approach.
From the context, we could also use light instead of slight.
...
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The meaning is similar to definition 3 at wiktionary:
(especially with respect to likelihood) Slight.
They have a very remote chance of winning.
You have a remote resemblance to my grandmother.
So the sentence means that the revolt was foreshadowing the later Indian freedom movement. But the usage is awkward and not really idiomatic to my ear; "a ...
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