Thank you! It's good to know. But this one is correct... right? Last week was the first time it has snowed heavily in the last 10 years.Read More...

Hi, Me_IV, Neither sentence is correct. You mean "a genius" (where "genius" is a noun). (1) I regret not being a genius. (2) I regret that I am not a genius. The structure used by (1) refers to the past (compare: "I regret not being a Boy Scout when I was a kid"), whereas the structure used in (2) refers to the present. If you mean what (1) means, (1) is correct. If you mean what (2) means, (2) is.Read More...

Hi, EKW, and welcome to the G.E, No, it isn't. It should be 'decade' in the singular form, ( not decades) . It is a compound adjective here. David and Gustavo have asserted this point already. See here: https://thegrammarexchange.inf...1#595653434403800051Read More...

Hi, Faruk, and welcome to the G.E, 'Evidence' is an uncountable noun. It takes zero article. See: https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/evidenceRead More...

Hi, David, Yes, I completely agree with you. In fact, this sentence is found in Sec 1 and it uses 'did'. I first read it as you did, then I thought that the writer uses 'they' to refer to 'children and mothers'. It is illogical to say that 'they' refers to 'fewer children and mothers' as the sentence will be meaningless then.Read More...

Hi, Sarah Zhou—No, those sentences are not grammatically correct. Each one of them is ungrammatical. Modals are always followed by the base form of a verb. "Had" is the past tense of the verb "have." The base form of "have" is "have." Thus, while " would have . . . " is grammatical, " would had . . . " is not. If you changed "had" to "have," the second and third examples would be correct and equivalent. The first example, however, would remain ungrammatical. Although you can say " If it had...Read More...

Hi, Shmom—Present-perfect sentences with stative verbs can be interpreted in two different ways with or without a phrase specifying duration. "Mike has lived in / been in Paris for two years" can mean either (a) that the two-year period has extended up till the time of speech, in which case Mike is likely still (living) in Paris, or (b) that Mike has, sometime in the past, perhaps even decades ago, lived in or been in Paris for a two-year stretch of time. When we take out the phrase of...Read More...

That is very informative and very much appreciated. Thank you, kindly!Read More...

No, it isn't right. It's unfortunate that the issue distorts Shakespeare's grammar. The past tense is needed in the "since"-clause, since the hearing of strange news did not extend throughout the period.Read More...

Thanks David!Read More...

Hello, Tonga, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. When you start a discussion thread here, please do not title it with the order "Help!" Choose a title that is descriptive of the grammatical topic of the thread. Here you could have used a title like "reasons that encouraged." The Grammar Exchange is not an editing service, but we can help you with this sentence. I agree with you that the use of "reasons" and "encouraged" is awkward. The sentence could be rephrased in many ways, but the...Read More...

No, bear_bear, you can't say any of those things. First, "he" doesn't go with "her." The possessive related to "he," as you know, is "his." Second, there needs to be grammatical parallelism when you use "neither . . . nor . . . ." Each term should introduce a phrase of the same type. Third, as a speaker of American English, I never use "maths." I recognize that British speakers are OK with "maths," but I can't stand the word. I use "math." He has studied neither for his math exam nor for his...Read More...

Thank you for your clear explanation! I understood now.Read More...

Hi, Robby zhu—Yes, you can apply the term "relative clause" to that phrase. It is a type of nonfinite relative clause ("nonfinite" because it does not have a tensed verb). In generative grammar, they are called "infinitival relatives."Read More...

I'm sorry for not being clear. I mean "subsequent measurement was taken wherein the 10% grew to a larger percentage and the 20% deceased to a lower percentage". This is what i meant to say.Read More...

Hi, Jack, 'The English class, held' is just a reduced form of 'the English class, which is held '. This is a reduced relative clause in the passive voice. You have asked a similar question here: https://thegrammarexchange.inf....cc/topic/to-be-heldRead More...

Hi, Tony—"Lead to" means to result in and "give rise to" means to cause.Read More...

I wasn't just talking about "the ABC trust register showing." I was talking about the entirety of (2), every single word. It's one big noun phrase. It is not a sentence. In (2), "showing" could be replaced by " which shows."Read More...

Hi, Aimee—Yes, you are right. I find myself unable to hear "experience" as a noncount noun in the context of that phrase. "Experience" in a noncount sense is not something that can be delivered. Perhaps it would work with "creating"; however, I like your solution of making "experience" countable by using "an."Read More...

Hi, May123—Laughs have concrete properties. Laughter does not. Similarly, individual jokes have concrete properties. Humor does not.Read More...

I agree with Ahmed_btm that "would" sounds more polite than "will" in such requests. Another modal that I and many others use in such requests is "could": "Could you pass the pencil, please?"Read More...

Excellent!Read More...

Hi, Ahmed, Mostly, I'd use 'sore' , but it isn't found here, so I'd go with ' aching '. 'Achy' is informal . See: https://www.oxfordlearnersdict.../english/achy?q=achyRead More...

I feel that it depends on the context. If he's looking for help immediately (because he has fallen down a hole, for example) I'd use C. If it is something more long-term (such as if he has a health problem) I would use D.Read More...

Thank you, David. AppleRead More...

David thank you! Ahmed. Yes, it means "What kind of children like you?" There’s a first time for everything .Read More...

Hi, May123—"He who" is just a pronoun followed by a relative pronoun. "He that" can be used as an alternative. The meaning is generic in either case. You can substitute "someone who" or "someone that." The phrasing is rather old-fashioned. I suspect it sounds dated to you because it is generally found in biblical or proverbial contexts, and because some people nowadays might find the use of "he" instead of "someone" sexist.Read More...

Hi, May123—"Complement" is not a part of speech. I think you meant to ask whether "thin" is an adjective or an adverb in "cut the slices thin." It can really be analyzed as either. I analyze "cut the slices thin" as a resultative construction: cut the slices so that you have thin slices after you've cut them. In that case, "thin" is an adjective functioning adverbially. Treated as equivalent to "thinly," "thin" is a flat adverb .Read More...

Hi, Cristi, Please remember to number your sentences. (1) means "you are expected to be here." (2) means "it was your intention to be here."Read More...

Thank you. That is a fantastic answer. This forum is the best.Read More...

Just did - and unlike me she understood that straight away I wish when I lecture on cybersecurity my audience had the same common understanding of the rule sets!Read More...

Hi, Joshua, "When compares..." is ungrammatical. "When comparing..." is usually followed by a plural object: - When comparing 2020 and 2019 , 2020 has been a difficult year. "When compared..." is usually followed by "with": - When compared with 2019 , 2020 has been a difficult year.Read More...

Hi, Cristi—In the United States, it's more natural to speak of going to a movie theater: " I went to a movie theater to watch Throne with my dad ." If a particular movie theater is given in the context, you would use "the."Read More...

Hi, David, I appreciate your time and consideration. Yes. It has clarified the matter.Read More...

Hi, Me_IV—That's close. You need "Starting on Monday" ("on," not "from"). I would much more naturally use "go back" rather than "get back" in that context, though "get back" is OK. I would also use "the normal schedule": Starting on Monday, we go / will go / are going back to the normal schedule.Read More...

"closed" is a participle in perfect tenses and in the passive voice: - They've closed the store. - The store has been closed . (Here, "closed" refers to the action of closing.) "closed" is an adjective with copulative verbs: - The store remained closed for a month. (Here, "closed" refers to the state of being closed.)Read More...

Thanks Dave. In the future, I will assist other people on this forum with their questions as well. I'm just under the gun right now applying to grad school for technical communication. I don't want you to think that I won't contribute around here.Read More...

Hello, Ahmed Imam Attia—I agree with Ahmed_btm about the answer, and he has correctly indicated that you cannot reduce "either one of you" or "either of you" to " either you ," which is ungrammatical as a reduction. However, this is not to say that "either you" is always impossible. It is possible in a totally different type of usage, namely, where "either" functions as the first element of a correlative conjunction. For example: Either you did it or he did. Nothing came for either you or...Read More...

Hi, Ahmed, The sentence above makes no sense. You can say: - She has met one of the two couples. - She has met neither of the two couples. - She has not met either of the two couples. "either" is equivalent to "any" but refers only to two, while "any" refers to more than two. We also cannot say: * She has met any of the three couples. (incorrect) We can say: - She has met one of the three couples. - She has met none of the three couples. - She has not met any of the three couples. The...Read More...

Hi, Ahmed, I agree with you that the use of the comparative and the superlative is not so strict when dealing with adverbs, so I agree with you that Which one of the three girls cooks better? can be equivalent to Which one of the three girls is the best cook ?Read More...

An excellent explanation!Read More...

Hi, Language learner, Short answer: yes. Possessions need not be physical or material, for example: I have a great sense of humor. I don't think that sounds idiomatic. You can say: I have an idea for you. (The meaning is not that you want to share a plan with the other person, but that you are proposing or suggesting a course of action to him/her.)Read More...

Thanks you so much.Read More...

Hello, Navi—I think all three examples would strongly benefit from changing "from" to "after," though that change is perhaps grammatically imperative only in (3), which I think makes no sense at all. Here's another way of revising (1): (1a) No person will survive this present hardship unchanged.Read More...