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Thank you, David.Read More...

Hi, SadPerson—The placement of commas does not affect how the sentence should be analyzed in terms of its clausal constituents. If you are worried about whether its status as a compound-complex sentence is affected by the placement of commas, it isn't. It would be a compound-complex sentence even if it were punctuated without any commas: I walked to school and when I got there I saw a big cat. How to punctuate that sentence depends on how you think such sentences should be punctuated. If you...Read More...

Hi Toaha, It’s true that in/during/over are sometimes interchangeable as prepositions of time, but not in this case where in your sentence “over” means “more than”, so it cannot be omitted. It means: In 30+ years this is the first time... So yes, there will be a change to the meaning if you drop it. I think “in” can be understood as “during” here although it can’t really be replaced that way. For a duration of how long without an indicator of when, we use “ in 30 days ”. With an indicator of...Read More...

Thanks David 💖Read More...

Again, it is not a grammatical matter. It's hard for me to believe that anybody would frown upon that; however, it is none of my concern.Read More...

The past perfect is technically justifiable, of course, but it is rather forced, unnatural, and academic here. In a case where someone has worked somewhere all his life until a week ago, he may as well have just stopped working there. He has worked there all his life. Last week he retired.Read More...

Hi, Ahmed, I'd go with neither. Actually, he acted as a guide here.Read More...

Thank you ahmed_btm, I’m amazed they are exactly the same questions.Read More...

Yes, Ruifeng, both work. We use the plural to indicate that two buses, or two channels, are involved in the process, and the singular to indicate the one we finally take or choose ( change ( from one bus/channel) to another one ).Read More...

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Thank you very much David for once again solving a lasting doubt of mine.Read More...

Why don't you want to use "one after another"?Read More...

All three are OK, Toaha, but I recommend using ". . . have said is . . ." instead.Read More...

Hello, AlterReal, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange, The correct sentence is (1), because, being a preposition, that "to" needs a noun after it, and the gerund works as a noun.Read More...

Hi, Toaha, Actually, I would love to be like her, having my son singing at my birthday party makes a better sentence because, instead of (2) above, I'd use: I would love to have my son singing at my birthday party. "be having" does not sound well in this case, but "having" does because it introduces a participial clause.Read More...

Hi, Ahmed Imam Attia, Verbs like need, want, require take V-ing with a passive meaning. Although being watered and to be watered can also be found, the simple gerund ( watering , in this case) is the most idiomatic form.Read More...

Hi, Toaha, To put it simply, if someone says you are not intelligent and you respond in writing, you should do so in good language. Otherwise, you will confirm you are not intelligent and will sound like you claim to be something you are not.Read More...

Hello, Withnail73, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. Actually, I would classify that sentence just like you did: it is compound because it consists of more than one main clause ( Maryam and Yasmin arrived at the bus station before noon / they left ), and complex because there is at least one subordinate clause ( before Grace got there ). However, your teacher might want to reserve the term "compound complex" for those sentences where the subordinate clause modifies the sentence as a...Read More...

Thanks a bunch, David for this informative explanation 💖Read More...

Thanks David 💖💖Read More...

“I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group, and in his, shall we say, weight group: ‘Morbidly obese,’ they say,” What about <<he not be taking>> phrase above? Simple present, present continuous or future tense?Read More...

That makes sense, thanks so much.Read More...

Thanks Gustavo 💖Read More...

Hi, Ahmed, I see that the most natural choice here is "will be''. 'Will' is more formal than 'be going to' and is used in formal style for scheduled events. 'Is / Are' can also work if the intended meaning is to tell somebody a statement of fact.Read More...