All Forum Topics

Hello, Nico, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange! "Were" is the verb that is needed, and you should say "one red card." It is ungrammatical to say * one red cards . "Two yellow and one red card" means "Two yellow [ cards ] and one yellow card." That is a plural noun phrase. We use plural verbs with plural subjects in English.Read More...

Hello, Emad, I agree with Ahmed_btm that the best choice is "one's," and it is not listed. In old-fashioned English, "his" was used as a generic singular pronoun. In modern feminist English, "her" can be used as a generic singular pronoun. If you use "his" or "her," however, you must change "jobs" to "job." Indeed, you need to change "jobs" to "job" even if you use "one's": One should do one's job well.Read More...

Hi, Kis, Yes, they are both correct. The singular represents the 570 acres as one piece of land. The plural represents the 570 acres as 570 individual units of land.Read More...

Thank you very muchRead More...

Hello, Emad, The "that"-clause relates to "so." As a result of there being a lot of people there, you didn't know who was doing what. "Who was doing what" is an embedded question with two wh-elements and is functioning as the object of "didn't know." You didn't know the answer to the question "Who is doing what?" (i.e., Who is doing this?, Who is doing that?, etc.). Q: Who is doing what? I can't tell. / I can't tell who is doing what. A: John is shaking Mark's hand. Joan is setting the...Read More...

I agree with Ahmed. In addition to those two options, you have these three: This is the flat I live in. This is the flat in which I live. This is the flat where I live.Read More...

I'll appreciate, if I could hear your explanation for my last question in the following post, when you're convenient; https://thegrammarexchange.inf...pic/seems-like-as-if Thanks in advanceRead More...

Thank you David. It is deeply satisfying reading your answers.Read More...

Hello, Emad, The past perfect is the correct choice in that sentence. To see this, it may help you to see the sentence with the "when"-clause fronted: When he died, in 2000, I had known him for ten years. I have set off "in 2000" with commas because the phrase is nonrestrictive. He only died once, and that was in 2000.Read More...

Hi, Freeguy, That question is not natural. I'm assuming that the time of the walk is to be in the fairly immediate future. Your other questions are OK, but "Will you come with us?" is a request, whereas "Do you want to come with us?" is a friendly invitation. Here's what I would use: We're going for a walk. Would you like to come with us?Read More...

It is already used in our book as an MCQ! It is the first question written on the page you attached! The question is mentioned with its model answer circled in blue. It is mentioned three times in the same unit, so there is no way to choose 'won't discover' here.Read More...

Thanks David! Yes, I don't think that the problem is on "OK" but rather in "yes" itself! There was an opinion saying that we should use a coordinating conjunction instead of "yes" especially they didn't mention speaker A or B. So it is considered as rhetorical sentence! I still don't get it!Read More...

thank you so much my dear friendRead More...

Hi, Ramadan Mohammed, and welcome to our forum. Hussein's answer is very good. Another preposition you can use with the gerund is "by," but the meaning will be different: I'll help you by cleaning the hall. Unlike the other sentences Hussein provided, this does not mean that "I" and "you" will clean the hall together. Instead, "you" will clean the hall by him/herself and will thus help "I," who will be devoted to some other task.Read More...

Thanks Mr AhmedRead More...

Thanks for the clarification David cheers 😜Read More...

Many, many thanks. What about this version: She's getting ready to begin a presentation and she's nervous about that. People are talking about "her" and decide that she'll be more likeable if she smiles. .... I know that here, "she would be more likeable if she smiled" is not correct. But I wonder if the above sentence sounds natural to you.Read More...

OK thank youRead More...

Hi, Kuen, "He is very much a loner" is simply an emphatic version of "He is a loner." The version with "very much" sounds very strange outside of context. Here is a context in which the version with "very much" would work: A: Is he a loner? B: Oh, yes! He is very much a loner.Read More...

Hi, Freeguy, I agree with Sarah that both are correct. Although it is possible to say, "Whom was that book written by?," most people would not say that, because it sounds stiltedly formal. So it would be silly to say that the version with "who," which almost everyone would use instead, is incorrect. On the contrary, it's fine. Why not use the active voice? You could simply say: " Who wrote that book? "Read More...

Many thanks for your reply, Mr.David. I will really appreciate, if you let me know how you analyze above that , like ( as if ) clauses in (2), (3) as a subject complement or a real subject , since it has been a difficult problem to me for long. Best RGDS,Read More...

Hello, Ahmad, "Indirect object" is a term that is used in different ways by different grammarians and textbook authors. I use "indirect object" in reference to the first NP object in what they are calling the double-object construction. I, too, use "double-object construction" instead of "indirect-object construction," but I tend to do so only in my private thinking about grammar or when talking to linguists. I use "indirect-object construction" when teaching learners. The other construction...Read More...