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a place where vs. a place which

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Hi, Could you please check which of the following would be correct grammatically? <Sentences were made up by me.> (1) We should work hard to make Korea a place where tourists wish to visit again. (2) We should work hard to make Korea a place which tourists wish to visit again. I think (2) is correct, since 'visit' need object, so it need 'which' (relative pronoun) instead of 'where' (relative adverb). What do you think? Thank you in advance for your kind reply.Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Vegnlove, I see that 1 is ungrammatical. 2 is fine and you can also use 'that' instead of 'which'.Read More...
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Tense with 'in the past'

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What tense should I use with in the past ? 1- In the past, I worked for this company but now I work In another company. 2- In the past, I have worked for this company but now I work In another company.Read More...
deepcosmos
Hello, David, if you don't mind, I would appreciate your sparing some time to answer to my previous inquiry.Read More...
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where what

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1 I haven't decided (what/where ) to eat for dinner. Could you tell me which one is correct? 2 I have been owning this car for 5 years. Is this sentence correct?Read More...
David, Moderator
Hi, duaieken—I agree with Ahmed about both of the sentences. Regarding the second, "own" is a verb that basically never occurs in the progressive tenses, except when it signifies something other than mere possession, as in the idiom "own up to": "He has been owning up to his mistakes."Read More...
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How does the "X-challenging" construction work?

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See below. The bold could actually mean that multiple institutions are being challenged, right? If I say that there's "animal-killing pollution" then "animal" is actually refer to animals (plural), right? Or I might say "dogma-shattering research"; "dogma" is referring to dogmas (plural), right? The ideological spectrum has—when it comes to the big institutional questions—narrowed to the point where challenging our employment system might seem bizarre. We should include—in our political...Read More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Andrew—In each case, there is not necessarily one or more than one thing or person involved. Either interpretation is possible. If one has an orchestra-conducting housemate , for example, it could be that one's housemate conducts one orchestra, or that he conducts more than one orchestra.Read More...
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tense

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Hello, there! I'd like to say "you can sometimes make friends even with total strangers simply because you are reading the same book as they are". If I change the tense, is the meaning same? For example, "you can sometimes make friends even with total strangers simply because you were reading the same book as they were." Or "you can sometimes make friends even with total strangers simply because you have read the same book as they have." Thank you so much for your response! MikaRead More...
mika
Dear Mr. Gustavo, Thank you so much for your kind reply! I understood that the present tense is appropriate in this sentence. If the sentence involves the adverb which means the past, is it grammatical? For example, I think that the sentence such as "I am thinking about the story which I read earlier" is grammatical. If so, is the following sentence grammatical? You can sometimes make friends with even with total strangers simply because you read the same book as they did before . MikaRead More...
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too ~ to do ＋preposition

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Hello. I am confused with the preposition when I rewrite the following sentence. I had difficulty getting to sleep, because the house was very noisy. →The house was too noisy for me to get to sleep in. →The house was so noisy that I had difficulty getting to sleep in. Is the preposition "in" required in the above sentences? Thank you so much for your kind response! MikaRead More...
mika
Dear Mr. Gustavo, Thank you so much for your kind message! It is so helpful for me to clear up the problem. MikaRead More...
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Impersonal verbs for objects

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Hi, I have a question for a few English verbs. I understand that there are impersonal verbs and this is where the subject is something undefined e.g. *It* is raining. However, in English at least, I have noticed that we have a few verbs where the object is similarly undefined e.g. "let me explain *it* to you" "I recommend *it* to you". The reason I ask is that I have noticed people who speak English as a second language often do not speak this way (e.g. they say "let me explain you"). Do...Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hello, Grumio, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. Those are transitive verbs that require an object. The referent of the object "it" is to be found in the context.Read More...
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Do I need to write "of it" after "criticism"?

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See below. My worry is that "criticism" will be vague if left all alone in the first sentence. (1) Regarding Knight, it seems like he was trying to defend the human-rental system against what he considered the strongest criticism. (2) Regarding Knight, it seems like he was trying to defend the human-rental system against what he considered the strongest criticism of it .Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Andrew, I agree with you that, for "the strongest criticism" to have a referent, you need to add "of it." Alternatively, since there is no agent that can be replaced with "it," the determiner "its" would also be valid in my opinion: (3) Regarding Knight, it seems like he was trying to defend the human-rental system against what he considered its strongest criticism.Read More...
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How can "in a way that" be used?

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I think that the bold might be an interesting usage. It's not actually about the "way" that X was done in the sense of "X could've been done in multiple ways but it was done in this particular way". It's instead being used in a different sense, correct? Is there any writing about this particular usage and how it works? The point isn’t that there’s necessarily anything good about him—the point is instead that Western media turns him into a cartoon in a way that dumbs us down and makes...Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Well, there it seems to me that it was the person's attitude when turning off the light that bothered the speaker. One thing is clear, at least in the sentences provided: "in a way that" introduces a relative clause with a resultative meaning.Read More...
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no other + singular noun or plural noun?

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Hi Grammar Exchange members! I've read the following sentence in the modern fable titile "The Richer, the poorer" written by Dorothy West. (a) Bess had a beau in the school band, who had no other ambition except to play a horn. I think that because of "other" the noun "ambition" should be plural. I'm wondering if I can use the plural noun "ambitions" in the sentence above. I'd like to know the grammar rule about the expression "no other~". Thanks in advance. KDogRead More...
KDog
Thank you so much for you reply. Even though I have many grammar books that I can consult with, it's often hard to get the exact information that I want to know from them.Read More...
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Why does "Usually" seem to not need a comma?

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See below the two examples. In the first example, the first word seems to need a comma after it. But in the second example, no such comma seems to be needed. (1) Usually they went to the store. (2) Unfortunately, they went to the store.Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Thanks! That makes sense!Read More...
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Should I use an "-ing" construction?

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See the bold below. The bold "transfer" is a thing that has never actually happened; it's a strictly hypothetical notion that a government could permit people to transfer their votes to others. Not sure if "transfer" or "transferring" would be appropriate. How many of the three contracts—that we’ve already outlawed—are irreversible? I’m also curious about the transfer of one’s vote to someone else in exchange for money—would that be irreversible? I think people might get hung up on...Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Thanks! I appreciate the help on this!Read More...
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More well-known than or better-known than?

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I have this sentence that I can't answer "No other Egyptian footballer is as well-known as Mohammed Salah. " This means that (a) Mohammed Salah is better-known than other Egyptian players. (b) Mohammed Salah is more well-known than other Egyptian players. (c) the answer is both [a&b]Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Nada, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange, The comparative adjective of the compound adjective 'well-known' could be either 'better-known' or 'more well-known', so c) a & b is the correct answer.Read More...
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How can "it's" be used?

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Two quick questions on the usage of "it's". 1: Both of the bold instances seem to attach to nothing semantically. What is the "it" referring to in each case? What are the rules about when it's OK to deploy "it" in this unusual fashion? 2: Regarding the bold post-dash "it's" (the second one), is it able to refer to all three of the items that follow it? You could imagine a sentence like "It's not about pink; it's about red, blue, and green" and you might wonder whether the post-semicolon...Read More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Andrew—In both instances, "it's" is a contraction of "it is," and "it" may be classified as situational, referring, as is contextually obvious, to "the point" or "the thing of importance in the point that has just been made."Read More...
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Do I need "will" before "happily"?

0 likes · 14 views
See below (I could also maybe put "of the system are happy to agree"...not sure, though: There’s a harmful dynamic where the defenders of the system happily agree with the engineers that our system is functional.Read More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Andrew—Your sentence means that the defenders and the engineers are in a state of agreement. It is not about acts of agreeing. If you changed "happily agree" to "will happily agree" or "are happy to agree," the meaning would be that acts of agreement between them are latent potentialities.Read More...
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On "would there have been"

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Hi, 1. What a row would there have been if they had known you were here! (From The Cambridge Grammar of the English Languag e, without context) Does "would there have been" refer to a specific time in the past or a period of time leading up to the present？ I think both interpretations are possible because (2) and (3) are possible: 2. There was a row because they knew you were here. 3. There has been a row because they have known you are here.Read More...
Robby zhu
Thank you for explaining it so clearly, David.Read More...
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Predicted versus foreshadowed

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Hello, What is the difference between "predicted" versus "foreshadowed" ? I found that most lawyers always use the word foreshadow instead of predict.Read More...
f6pafd
Hi, Tony. The two words are not synonyms. To predict is usually to foretell with precision of calculation, knowledge, or shrewd inference from facts or experience: The astronomers can predict an eclipse. (From Collins Dictionary.) However, If something foreshadows an event or situation, it suggests that it will happen. e. g . W hat are the signs that foreshadow a suicide. (From Collins Dictionary.)Read More...
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Fast turn-around

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If we were to make a heading on a promotion material. Should we use "Fast turnaround time" or "Fast turn-around time" . Our work is completed within 5 to 7 business days.Read More...
f6pafd
Hi, Tony C. Turnaround or turnround is an established dictionary entry, therefore, fast turnaround time is the right expression. Moreover, "turnaround" without "time" means turnaround time. The word "time" is optional, unless you'd like to put emphasis on it. (The turnaround or turnaround time of a task is the amount of time that it takes. From Collins Dictionary)Read More...
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What's the difference between on and when

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.........Checking my email , I usually find new messages a) on b) when c) during d) a-b What is the difference between using on and when here in this sentence?Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Medo, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange, When we talk about frequently repeated actions, ' when ' sounds more natural to use (like your example above). However, when two things happen at the same time or when one thing happens immediately after the other, we use on/upon doing sth ( NOT when )". From 'Longman Dictionary Of Common Errors', page 356: - When hearing that the child had been found, she burst into tears. × × × - On hearing that the child had been found, she burst into tears. √√√Read More...
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Defining and non defining

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Dear sir, Concerning the following question: -You are telling somebody it is your car. a) The car that is outside the house is mine. b) The car, which is outside the house, is mine. We choose the first answer “a” as it is a defining relative clause. And I have seen this model answer in one of the grammar site . My question is about the second option: Is the second answer “b” correct or not?And if not ? Why not? Thanks in advance.Read More...
f6pafd
Yes, both are correct depending on the context, but different in meaning. a) is correct, meaning the car outside the house is mine. b) is correct only on condition that the listener knows the car you are talking about. The car (that, you know, we have talked about) is mine and is outside the house.Read More...
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should have missed for Deduction

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Hello. Could you please help me? Is the following sentence correct using "should"? - Samar should have missed the train because she arrived at the station too late. Thank you.Read More...
f6pafd
It is often the case that there are different ways of saying the same thing in English. It all depends on the context to decide which one is most appropriate. As to your question, if the speaker was 100 % sure that she arrived at the station too late, and then "must have missed" should be used," because it is logically necessary. If the speaker was not 100 % sure and only speculated, then "should have missed" is also appropriate.Read More...
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Should the word "cartoonize" have quotation marks around it?

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Final post here; thanks for all the incredible help with my new piece and I apologize for the burdensome posts. In my defense, I haven't posted in a while so maybe that counts in my favor. Let me give some context for this question. I'm doing a piece that talks about the fact that certain terrible figures around the world (ones about whom informed people would have lots of harsh criticisms) are turned into unrealistic and two-dimensional caricatures. I was originally going to simply call...Read More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Andrew—One alternative to using quotation marks to mark a neologism as a neologism, at least on the first mention, is to put a hyphen before the suffix: cartoon-ize, cartoon-ization . Also, you might consider the -ify and -ification suffixes as alternatives in forming your neologism: cartoon-ify, cartoon-ification . I couldn't say whether I prefer cartoonize to cartoonify , or cartoonization to cartoonification .Read More...
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Future continuous being considered more polite than other future tenses when asking about somone's plans

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I have read on an English site as below: The future continuous can be used to ask questions in a polite and indirect manner when we want to know what someone's plans are. Example: Excuse me. Will you be using this chair? ( = If you're not using it, may I take it?) (1) Will you be using this chair? (2) Will you use this chair? (3) Are you going to use this chair? As the explanation from that site, then (1) is considered more polite than (2) and (3). Could you give me the reason the future...Read More...
le12345
Thank you so much Gustavo, Co-Moderator and ahmed_btm As we can see, there are 4 ways of talking about the future. Sometimes I don't know to choose the form to use and the differences between them. Here are some of my opinions, please help me check if it is correct or not: (1) I am visiting Pairs next month. => If I already have fixed arrangements ( already booked tickets, hotels...). I have a question here: if the listener hears this sentence, do they think that the speaker already has...Read More...
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