Hello, Ahmed Osman, I think the sentence above is correct. "Sundays and Mondays" is like a unit — the days of the week when the speaker doesn't go to school. The conjunction "or" would sound more emphatic, as if considering both days individually: We don't have school on Sundays, and we also don't have school on Mondays.Read More...

Yes. "email" as a verb does not take "to" ( I emailed you ), but the noun does ( my email to you ). Yes, you can say that.Read More...

Thanks Gustavo. 1. How many hours it takes to be considered as recent reporting? 2. Are you saying that, the sentence " You stated that he is crazy" is not considered as indirect speech, or are you referring to the sentence "you stated your opinion".Read More...

I got you, it is a degree of comparison, it's like The more money you have, the greater amount of food you will consume. Whereas matrix clause, it does not compare anything.Read More...

No, Tony. "$10K" is not a direct object. Not everything that comes after after is an object, for example: - You are Tony. ("Tony" is not an object, but a subject complement.) I will not refer to the verb "total," because I've already had my say on it here . There are more more usual verbs than "total," like amount to and add up to, which also link the subject with the corresponding value, not with an object.Read More...

Hi, Wael Shaltoot, What is your question? If you mean to say that "career" is the best choice by entitling your thread with that word, I agree with you.Read More...

Ah. Thank you, Gustavo. That makes sense, now.Read More...

Dear @ahmed_btm I am deeply sorry about type of "I" in each sentence. Please forgive me, If I make you feel uncomfortable. Thank for your precious time and answer. . Okay, regarding sentence aa) again, when there is appropriate context, do you think the following sentence aa-1) is okay? aa-1) If she finishes the project early, (and if she wanted) she would phone me. . For your reference) "If you have questions about other phrases, and (If I were you) I would open a new questions???" This is ...Read More...

Hi, Azz—Sentence (a) would only be correct and meaningful in a context in which the speaker regarded the patient's getting cured as highly undesirable.Read More...

ThanksRead More...

Hi, Winter, It is just a matter of style, not grammar. Many people would see that 1 sounds more polite. I wouldn't use 'myself' in your example above.Read More...

Hi, Tony C, 'In my mind' could mean 'in my opinion' or something that exists in my imagination like the common expression 'in one's mind's eye'. Also, you can use it when you are thinking about something or somebody without feeling worried about it/them. Another expression is 'keep in mind' which means 'remember'. 'On my mind' means to be constantly in one's thoughts; of concern to one. It refers to something worrying or distracting you. A similar expression is 'to weigh on one's mind'. -...Read More...

Hi, Language learner, The modal "could" is correct there, meaning that at the time it was possible for the speaker to understand the other person's feelings. For "lost" (rather than "had lost") to work, I think it would be better to say: - Yesterday I went to see my friend who lost her only son the day before yesterday in a car accident.Read More...

Hi, Language learner, (1) and (3) inform about a current requirement, while (2) and (4) inform about a future requirement.Read More...

Hi, Gustavo, Thanks a lot. I changed it because I am not used to this meaning of 'talent'.Read More...

Hi, Ahmed, See this thread: https://thegrammarexchange.inf...c/most-or-the-most-1 You will find the answer to your question in David's reply.Read More...

Thanks. This example is very convincing. Great. I think I've just learned how words like spoonful, handful etc. came into being.Read More...

Hi, David, much appreciate your clarification. Best RGDSRead More...

@ahmed_btm Ah ha, I see! Depending on the thing that the subject is animate or inanimate, "should have Past Participle" construction has two meanings or not. However as for my case, it is only used in one way - that is, expressing possibilities. Thanks~!!!!!!Read More...

Hello, David! You're such a great inventor who deserves my sincere thanks. Best RGDS,Read More...

Hello, May123—I assume you mean to ask about differences in meaning rather than differences in syntax. "He is a friend of mine" means he is one of my friends, and that is how "He is my friend" would also be understood. However, the sentence "He is my friend" would also be compatible with a state of affairs in which the speaker had only one friend. "He is a friend of me" is unidiomatic and not to be used. The construction works in other cases, though. "Friends of John" might be used at John's...Read More...

Hi, Cristi—Your sentence is a contradiction in terms. The time 3:20 a.m. is a time in the morning, namely, three hours and twenty minutes past midnight. If you wish to refer to "three hours and twenty minutes past noon," use "3:20 p.m." You can punctuate the numbers and letters in accordance with local custom.Read More...

Thank you so much for your replies. This was the first time I posted a question on Grammar Exchange, even without high expectation. While you guys really surprised me by warm welcome and detailed explanations. Now I have a better understanding of the sentence structure and really appreciate your attention and efforts. I will share the wonderful Grammar Exchange with other ESL learners!Read More...

Yes, Ilko, that sentence that uses the Acc-ing construction ( me being ) is correct. Alternatively, you could use the slightly more formal Poss-ing construction: - They don't care about my being in trouble.Read More...

I agree that "have" can be changed/backshifted to "had"; however, "have" works, too, assuming the speaker of the sentence " He called me up and said that they have all the rooms booked" believes all the rooms to still be booked. I do not view this as a passive causative. If it were a passive causative, a "by"-phrase could suitably be used at the end: "He called me up and said that they have/had all the rooms booked by their front-desk clerks ." But that does not strike me as the intended...Read More...

One meaning of "amazing," according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is "great beyond expectation." "I feel amazing" basically means "I feel wonderful": "I feel so good I could say WOW," "My feelings right now are amazing to me," "My feelings are amazingly good," "I am amazed at how good I feel." Although it isn't nearly so commonly used, it is possible to say "I feel interesting" with the meaning "I feel peculiar" or "I'm not really sure how I feel."Read More...

Although the other forms are possible, I agree with David when he said in that thread:Read More...

Hi, Azz, In my experience as a translator and a lecturer, I have only encountered "any" in the subject combined with negative verbs in legal texts. Sentences such as the ones you propose: are correct at least in legalese.Read More...

Hi, Subhajit—All three prepositions are correct. You can use whichever you like.Read More...

"Received" in "once received" is a past participle. It derives from the passive form "once it is received ."Read More...

Thank you, Gustavo. Sociolinguistics is also interesting. AppleRead More...

Second conditional. Note: Abo Hamza, although succinctness is a virtue on this forum, your bluntness is on the verge of impoliteness. Try to be more courteous next time. You should definitely go over our Guidelines, to which there is a link at the top of the page.Read More...

ThanksRead More...

Yes, that's right. Think of a timeline as a road along which one can travel far.Read More...

Thanks a lot Mr Ahmed and Mr DavidRead More...

Thank you Mr AhmedRead More...

Oh, yes! Within performance expectations for her age (group) makes much more sense! Within age expectations is too synthetic and does not convey the intended meaning clearly. I think this is because the preposition that links both concepts is "for" ( for her age ), and this is not a preposition that can be usually substituted for by placing a noun in attributive position. Instead, "of" is the typical preposition that enables this movement: expectations of performance ⇒ performance expectations.Read More...

Hi, Azz, As you know, we can also use full inversion in this case: c. Buried in the cave were the bones of dogs. d. Buried in the cave were bones of dogs. I think (a) and (c) refer to the discovery of the skeletons, that is, the complete bone structures, or to bones of dogs already mentioned in the context (e.g. the bones of dogs we were looking for). Instead, (b) and (d) refer to the discovery of separate, perhaps incomplete bones.Read More...

I have to say I had a faint suspicion about some wrong tense or mood correlation, but I quickly and foolishly discarded it. Could we say that the subject in (0), (2a) and (2b) is situated in a more improbable present or future (thus leading to the use of would ), while the one in (1a), (4) (if correct), (5) and (6) is situated in a more probable present or future (thus enabling the use of will )?Read More...

Thanks, David, for endorsing that usage.Read More...

I mean it is not mentioned who made the statement or the agreement. For there to be a matrix clause, there has to be a subordinate or dependent clause. In: - It was agreed / It was stated that .... "it was agreed / it was stated" is the matrix clause, and the "that"-clause is a subordinate or dependent clause. In: - It was eaten. there are no subordinate or dependent clauses, hence the structure is a simple sentence, not a matrix clause included in a complex sentence.Read More...

I agree with Gustavo that the name needs to be Mount Fuji ( Mt. Fuji ) in English, not the Fuji Mountain . The only mountain name that I can think of which follows the pattern "the ____ Mountain" is The Magic Mountain, but that is the title of a book, translated from German ( Der Zauberberg ), and "Magic" is not part of the real name of the mountain that goes by that epithet, even in the book.Read More...

Hi, Ilko, This idiom seems to be equivalent to "be nothing like" (which is much more usual) and can be used to refer to people: From LDOCE : nothing like British English not at all But she's nothing like her character in real-life . From Collins Dictionary : nothing like (in American English) not at all like; completely different from Luckily, these guys were nothing like the self-important rugs at university. Globe and Mail ( 2003 ) I don't know why each dictionary refers to the same...Read More...