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Hi, wpc205, Sorry for not answering this question -- which you had published some time ago -- earlier. The point is I didn't have at the time -- and still don't have -- any source to support my reply other than my experience as a translator, which has allowed me to see and analyze different types of texts. In English there is indeed a strong tendency to capitalize nouns if they refer to a term of key importance within a text. The capitals will tend to be dropped if the noun is used in the...Read More...

Hello, Manaka, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. Actually, your question is not about grammar, but, being your first question, I'll help you all the same. In a library you can find poetry (lyric genre), plays (drama), fiction (narrative genre: novels and short stories), and non-fiction. In this Wikipedia article you can find a long list of different types of books. "subject" means an altogether different thing, being closer to "topic" or "theme." For example, you can find books of...Read More...

Hi, Subhajit123, As I told you in this other thread which you seem to have overlooked, the article "the" before postmodified plural nouns seems to have a totalizing effect ( all the students, all the people). Only in (1) is "the" actually required, and that is because the subject complement is quite definite: 1. The people who stand by you in your tough times are the best friends of yours (I prefer: your best friends ). When the article is not there, it may sound more natural to use "some"...Read More...

I know. This is the typical case where one has to find the rule by comparing examples. My first question is, why is this sentence incorrect?: a. The apples are fresher than were bought yesterday. I think it has to do with the lack of identity between the current apples and the ones bought yesterday. My first impression is that, for "as" and "than" to work in reduced clauses, there must be actual or potential identity between the two things being compared. b. lf you are overqualified for a...Read More...

Hi, Fujibei, This question: https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=77&t=11 does appear in U.S. EIA site and seems to be quoted by other scientific publications. "how much" refers to the volume of the emissions. "how many" could perhaps be used to refer to different instances or occurrences of emission, which is not the meaning that wants to be conveyed. I would definitely have used "is" instead of "are": - How much of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions is associated with electricity...Read More...

What is the difference between : link and connect ?Read More...

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Hi, Subhajit123, Before dealing with the article issue, please notice that "be aware" requires the preposition "of" if the object one is aware of is mentioned (in this case, the object is "one thing"). Also pay more attention to your spelling. In such cases, even if you refer to all the people or all the teachers (and not to some specific ones), you can use the definite article. I'd say that in this particular case the definite article makes the phrase more comprehensive than the zero...Read More...

Thank you so much for all the great feedback, DocV. I really appreciate it. I know what you mean about the two men in question, but I figured the reader would make the adjustment in her mind. I'll give it some thought. Thank you for "wrested"! I was indeed wondering about that. Re: "by some stroke of happenstance...", the word "manufacture" always felt too industrial to me. And perhaps "happenstance" isn't right either. I wonder if it was the words or the structure that you found...Read More...

Thank you. I will keep in mind about the title thing.Read More...

Hi, Ahmed, Use: 'interview'. For more information, See: https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/interviewRead More...

Ahmed, Do you think that the "no" could be omitted if we understand "the outside world" to mean the immediate natural setting, rather than the city from which we have momentarily escaped? Even if so, I agree that 'contact', 'communication', 'connection' and '[a] link' are all possible answers here. DocVRead More...

Hi David, Thank you for the reply - I appreciate and understand the explanation. One other thing, am I correct to say that there is no formal marker to indicate either one of the clauses ie. you need a context in order to determine the function of the clause (as well as a dictionary to determine whether the word can be adjectival). Many thanks, PhilipRead More...

That's not the way this website works. Each discussion thread should be devoted to one particular grammatical topic, and the example sentence(s) should relate to that topic, as should the title of the thread. Here you have simply asked for answers to a random set of test questions, each of which has nothing to do with the other, and issued a command ("choose the correct answer") as the title of the thread. If you start a thread like this in the future, please expect to have it deleted.Read More...

Thanks. I get it. In that construction , "with" introduces a tool. Sorry about the capitalization. I so address you because I remember you as "David" and "GUSTAVO", thinking you specifically made your name that way. But now I find that this website displays your name sometimes in all capitals and sometimes with only the first word capitalized. The "David" and "GUSTAVO" spelling was according to my first impression, sorry.Read More...

Hi, Kyle, No, that sentence isn't correct. The adverbial of duration, "(for) a long time now ," is incompatible with the past tense. One possible revision is the one you've suggested. Here is another possible revision, which gives a different meaning. Which you should choose depends on whether the teacher still teaches there. My science teacher was teaching there (for) a long time. My science teacher taught there (for) a long time.Read More...

Thanks a lotRead More...

Hi, Emad Ragheb, "him" is in the object case, so you need the infinitive: - I don't expect him to take part in the match tomorrow. (The pattern is: expect sb to do sth , where "sb" is an object .) "he" will only work as the subject of a content clause: - I don't expect (that) he will take part in the match tomorrow. The same rule applies with correlative conjuntions "neither ... nor": - I expect neither him nor Tom to take part in the match tomorrow. - I expect (that) neither he nor Tom will...Read More...

ThanksRead More...

I agree that (a) is ambiguous. I think the sentence parses differently on each interpretation. On the interpretation where there are two entrances at the east side of the building, "at the east side of the building" is an adjectival modifier, modifying "the other entrance." On the interpretation where there is one entrance at the east side, "at the east side of the building" does not modify "the other entrance." Rather, it is an adverbial modifier, modifying "use." Compare: "At the east side...Read More...

Hi, Azz and Gustavo, I agree with Gustavo that his example (e) says that all those who were fast got out in time. Regarding your four specimens, Azz, although none of them says that all those who were fast got out in time, (b) and (d) imply that idea -- cf.: b'. Some of them, namely those who were fast, managed to get out in time. d'. Some of the people, namely those who were fast, managed to get out in time. As for (a) and (c), they do not say or imply that all those who were fast got out...Read More...

Hi, Tracey, I can't think of a single term, but how about contrary-to fact (counterfactual/unrealistic) hypothesis ?Read More...

Hi, Freeguy, First of all, it's clear that we are comparing the orders, not the years: - This year the order was 75% lower than / (as) compared to (the one) last year. I think (as) compared to is stylistically a good option to substitute for than . There is no grammatical reason to prefer one over the other: it's just a question of choice, in my opinion.Read More...

Hi, Islam, Sorry for taking a long time to reply, but I have never given an answer without having a reliable source of information. Concerning your question above, I'll just provide my opinion. IMO, both are quite similar in meaning. When you focus on a habit or a repetitive action, especially over a long period of time, 'every day' sounds better. For example, you can say: - My grandfather used to go swimming every day when he was young. However, when you focus on each day individually ,...Read More...

Thanks very much DocV. You're right - the date should be December 31, 2018 and I forgot " this " in my second example. Both my bad, sorry! CatchanRead More...