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Dear Grammar Exchange members, As we continue our grammar discussions, I want you to know that I am aware that we are all struggling in various ways as a result of the current pandemic and that my heart goes out to all of you. I hope that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. Although we may not know each other personally, we all know that there is much more to us than the English grammar issues we discuss here. This post is devoted to the dimensions of you and your lives that I know...Read More...

I attended at the lecture. I am writing this letter to request tha t you be our mentor. Should I use <at> or not? What I know is that I should not use <at>, but I can find <at> in a lot of sentences on the Internet. Also, can I use <solicit> instead of <request>? Can you confirm it? Thank you in advance.Read More...

Understanding doesn’t create use: only when you can instantly recall what you understand, and practice using your remembered understanding, do you achieve mastery. <source> Can I omit <do> here?Read More...

Hello Moderators. Could you please help me choose the correct answer? Why? - Which one of the following sentences isn't in the past continuous tense? a) My father was always criticising me when I was young. b) While driving fast, Ali had an accident. c) The film was interesting, so we waited till the end. d) During their stay in England, they learnt much English. Thank you.Read More...

When used nonrestrictively, a parenthetical can start with a coordinating conjunction. E.g.1, "I like bachelors, or unmarried men, because they are fun." However, I see writers using parentheticals with a coordinating conjunction that are clearly adding new information to the sentence and thus are restrictive. E.g.2, "These apples, and the bananas next to them, are delicious." The commas in e.g.2 look entirely unnecessary and incorrect to me. Are they?Read More...

"picked up six bodies" is the passed action after the action of "he told French ..."; why it was not using "past participle tense (had picked up)", instead of "simple past tense"? He told French radio station Delta FM he and his crew picked up six bodies that were drifting in the water. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59423245Read More...

Crowdfunding is a new and more collaborative way to secure funding for projects. It can be used in different ways: To request donations for a worthy cause anywhere in the world. To generate funding for a project with the contributors then becoming partners in the project. <Source> Is this paraphrasing grammatically correct? It can be used in different ways such as to request donations for a worthy cause anywhere in the world and to generate funding for a project with the contributors...Read More...

Taxing certain goods or services, and so increasing prices, should result in either decreased use of these resources or creative innovation of new sources or options. The money raised through the tax can be used directly by the government either to supply services or to search for alternatives. (Source) What is the subject of the sentence underlined? Thank you in advance.Read More...

Can replace "to put" with "putting"? Earlier, Ms Patel told Parliament there was "no quick fix" to tackle the issue but said she had spoken to her French counterpart to offer to put more officers on the ground and had continued to push for joint patrols of the Channel. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59423245Read More...

Hello, what's the meaning of “for that matter” in this sentence？ Prior to the late 1880s, most of us were so busy trying to make a living that we didn’t care what the Joneses were doing, nor did we know, for that matter. Thanks.Read More...

Hello! What's the difference in meaning between these examples: Two friends. One notices that the other is going to water his garden and says to him: a) You don't need to water the garden this evening. It's going to rain tonight. b) You don't have to water the garden this evening. It's going to rain tonight.Read More...

Hello, 1. She returned to her east London home to find her back door forced open . ( Collins dictionary ） 2. When they got home, Jane cooked their dinner in the microwave oven and without realizing it, cooked her fiancé's wallet as well. Imagine their dismay when they found a beautifully-cooked wallet and notes turned to ash! （ New concept English） Questions： How would you parse "forced open"? Is it an adjective phrase with open as head？ Is "turned to ash" a modifier of "notes", or is it...Read More...

"and Little Dorrit used to sit and muse here, much as she had been used to while away the time in her balcony in Venice." From Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens Is 'had been used to while away the time' correct grammatically?Read More...

Hello Grammar Exchange members! I've run into the following sentence while reading an article on the Internet. a. On the contrary, inefficient management of ESG erodes a company’s brand value and ends up bleeding the business needn't be reiterated through mere words.(https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/marketing/esg-risk-management-and-brand-identity-are-closely-interlinked/87516495) I don't understand how this part "needn't be reiterated through mere words" can be attached...Read More...

Hello. Could you please help me? in the following sentence, I think both choices are OK, right? - Ali used to like hot pepper in his food. This means he (doesn't like it now / no longer likes it). Thank you.Read More...

Hi, everyone, I read the sentence “Prior to the late 1880s, most of us were so busy trying to make a living that we didn’t care what the Joneses were doing, nor did we know, for that matter. ” in an English textbook. "for that matter" here is given the meaning "as far as...is concerned". I find such an explaination a bit awkward. I consulted the editor of the textbook and was told that "for that matter" meaning "as far as....is concerned" was proper and taken from the Oxford Advanced...Read More...

Hi, everyone. 1. It is fair to criticize and question the mechanism—that is the culture of research, after all—but it is the prize-givers' money to do with as they please. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik..._Fundamental_Physics Does "it" refer to anything? Or is the sentence just a variant of a cleft sentence: It is the prize-givers' money that they can do with as they please. Thanks in advance. Context: As much as some scientists may grumble about the new awards, the financial doping that...Read More...

How does "would" work in this sentece? Here is an explanation of my English grammar book about the word "rouse". To rouse somebody is to wake them up, make them interested, make them excited etc. It is extremely difficult to rouse my father in the mornings. (In an informal style, ...to wake my father up...would be much more natural. There is a 'would' here. So why does the writer use it rather than "is"?Read More...

Can "accompanied" be a substitute for "entailed"? Beauty, Ugliness and the Free Play of Imagination When we experience nature, we do not experience it as species, but as individual objects. And as separated into individual objects, nature can have aesthetic properties that are not entailed by its scientific description.Read More...

"Inside" a noun or an adverb? Can "adverb" be an antecedent of a relative clause? I appreciate your help. The Language of Houses: How Buildings Speak to Us Inside, however, where zoning does not reach, they often contain modern lighting and state-of-the-art kitchens and bathrooms.Read More...

Hi! I'm struggling to find out whether it's possible to to use a decade as an adjective. For example, '1920s New York' or '1980s Russia'. Thanks!Read More...

Do we say "what symptoms have you been having" in daily life? A : What symptoms have you been having？ B： I've been coughing a lot. / I've been having a fever.Read More...

Can I think of <be concerned with> as <be worried about>? I looked them up in the dictionary, but there is no mention about it. Can you confirm it?Read More...

Is "clean" an adjective or adverb? THE CONSTANTLY SELF-CLEANING LOTUS This property of the lotus led researchers to design a new house paint. Researchers began working on how to develop paints that wash clean in the rain, in much the same way as lotus leaves do.Read More...

Workers should be included in the planning for new factories or the introduction of robots into existing plants , so they can participate in the process . It may be that robots are needed to reduce manufacturing costs so that the company remains competitive, but planing for such cost reductions should be done jointly by labor and management. <source> What does <it> indicate? Thank you in advance.Read More...

Every time when I use "in order" for us, word document asks me to consider revising and I don't understand why. e.g. In order for us to provide a proper quote of our fee, we require more information from a client, unless it is a start-up business. I thought "in order for us" in the above sentence is perfect.Read More...