Unanswered Questions
5,384 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
4
votes
1answer
43 views
“Do” as main verb
I do that work.
You do that work.
He does that work.
Here is my question: if we use the verb "do" as main verb how can we form interrogative sentences? Are these correct?
Do I do ...
3
votes
2answers
30 views
“something I’d do as a matter of course had I not been under Atticus’s interdict” — why “I'd do” and “had I not been”?
From To Kill a Mockingbird:
In later years, I sometimes wondered exactly what made Jem do it, what made him break the bonds of “You just be a gentleman, son,” and the phase of self-conscious ...
3
votes
3answers
59 views
Is “it is you that is wrong” correct?
I know that between ”it is you who are wrong” and ”it is you who is wrong”, the former is the correct version.
However, if I change who to that, is the same still true?
It is you that are wrong. ...
3
votes
1answer
645 views
Repeating the indefinite article
Repeating the indefinite article. Is it a matter of style? If so, which quote is more natural [or maybe sounds better]?
My name is Amy Purdy, I am a survivor, snowboarder, founder of
Adaptive ...
3
votes
1answer
606 views
generic or specific reference
My question is how can I decide wheather a noun is a generic or specific one? I know all the rules but still one thing confuses me. For example:
"According to the linguist (mentioned before) ...
3
votes
1answer
122 views
“Past perfect progressive” vs “past progressive”- Can we use the adverbial phrases of time with past progressive?
I know one of the main differences between past perfect progressive and past progressive is the fact that the latter can be used when the duration of an event or its exact timing is not important to ...
3
votes
1answer
355 views
Reduced relative clauses
a. Trees which fell in the storm have resulted in several accidents.
b. Trees falling in the storm have resulted in several accidents.
a. Teams which have completed the first round go into the ...
3
votes
2answers
177 views
How to use tenses in reported speech
If I had two verb forms in a sentence, how should I use the tense?
For example:
I heard that you were moving to London.
The situation is like this, the event (moving to London) has not taken ...
3
votes
3answers
213 views
Past Simple/ Present Perfect
Is it correct to say
"I've missed this programme but I've watched another informative programme"
Should I say 'but I've watched...' or 'but I watched...'
Thanks
3
votes
1answer
160 views
When should I use the definite article before a plural noun + relative clause?
Here are examples from my posts on Lang-8:
E1. Its style was older -- for example, "today" was written there as "to-day" -- but it had no typos, or at least far fewer of them. Out of interest, I ...
3
votes
3answers
679 views
I'm having a hard time figuring out “Categorical Noun”
I like fruit
Here, fruit refes to a category called fruit. that's why we use singular form:fruit.
I like oranges and apples.
oranges and apples refer to two kinds of fruit.
I have oranges and ...
3
votes
1answer
24 views
Misplaced modifier? Judging by
I have read many sentences with the modifier "judging by..." followed by the subject "it".
Such as this example:
Judging by his appearance, it is clear that he doesn't comb his hair.
The sentence ...
3
votes
1answer
502 views
Comma after “to”-phrase starting a sentence
I am wondering if I need a comma in the following sentence.
To further our understanding of this phenomenon(,) we conducted yet another experiment.
If the sentence was the other way around (We ...
3
votes
2answers
181 views
Present simple + time? “I can't do it for the next 5 hours”
Is it correct to say something in present tense, but it has a time information that will be taking place until a certain time in the Future.
For example,
I can't do it for the next 5 hours.
3
votes
1answer
557 views
Type 2 Conditional - Should verbs be consistent?
From EF (Education First), The type 2 conditional is used, with if clause in simple past and main clause in present conditional or in present continuous conditional, to express an unlikely or ...
