October 2022

5 replies

[ Sit / stand / lie + expression of place + gerund ] verb pattern

Meriem 10/5/228:23 AM

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Hello, I have a question regarding the verb pattern [ Sit / stand / lie + expression of place + gerund ]. In my English book (Mac Millan Open Mind upper intermediate level) I've found some examples explaining the lesson, and this one was one of them: E.g. "The crowd just sat listening to the music all afternoon." It does not use the expression of place*. I found it a bit confusing since it has already been explained in the lesson that these verbs follow this pattern: [ Sit / stand / lie +...Read More...

Gustavo, Co-Moderator 10/7/228:47 AM

That's why I said "V-ing." I agree that, in traditional grammar, that -ing form was considered to be a present participle, not a gerund. Compare: 1. The crowd just sat listening to the music all afternoon. ("Listening" is adverbial.) 2. The crowd listening to the music love this band. ("Listening" is adjectival.) 3. Listening to music cheers them up. ("Listening" is nominal.) In traditional grammar, "listening" is a present participle in sentences (1) and (2), and a gerund in sentence (3).Read More...

Updated 10/7/228:47 AM

Last Reply By Gustavo, Co-Moderator · First Unread Post

2 replies

Why singular on the bold?

Andrew Van Wagner 10/6/2212:57 AM

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All organisms respond to their environment .Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 10/6/222:57 PM

Thanks!Read More...

Updated 10/6/222:57 PM

Last Reply By Andrew Van Wagner · First Unread Post

0 replies

semicolons, hyphens, and commas

Chop4lop 10/6/222:24 PM

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This type of credit is dangerous—it’s not always secured; it can have sky-high rates, and to add to that, you only have to tap a card reader in a store to use it. I've sometimes seen the double hyphen used stylistically similarly, but I don't know if it's correct. It seems like a colon could also work as it explains that the type of credit is dangerous, then lists dangerous things. This type of credit is dangerous: it's not always secured; it can have sky-high interest rates, and to add to...Read More...

Posted 10/6/222:24 PM

7 replies

’whatever the first impression you develop’

deepcosmos 10/5/2210:36 AM

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Hello, everyone, Anchoring bias describes the cognitive error you make when you tend to give more weight to information arriving early in a situation compared to information arriving later — regardless of the relative quality or relevance of that initial information. Whatever data is presented to you first when you start to look at a situation can form an “anchor” and it becomes significantly more challenging to alter your mental course away from this anchor than it logically should be. 　 A...Read More...

deepcosmos 10/6/222:24 PM

Hi, Gustavo, appreciate again.Read More...

Updated 10/6/222:24 PM

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1 reply

For or Since?

Omar Ahmed 10/6/223:44 AM

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...... the last two weeks, we have prepared for our graduation party. a. For b. Since c. Already I go for "a". Am I right?Read More...

David, Moderator 10/6/2210:25 AM

Yes, Omar, you are. Answer (a) is the only answer that works.Read More...

Updated 10/6/2210:25 AM

Last Reply By David, Moderator · First Unread Post

2 replies

as

GBLSU 10/3/2212:44 PM

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Could you tell me why 'just as' are inserted in this sentence? While I agree with you that some of the books on the list are of questionable quality and taste, I also feel just as strongly that no one person or organization has the right to determine what is ‘suitable’ literature for other people.Read More...

GBLSU 10/6/229:55 AM

Thank you.Read More...

Updated 10/6/229:55 AM

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6 replies

OK for bold ("it") to refer back to a previous paragraph?

Andrew Van Wagner 10/5/2212:50 PM

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Suppose that we put aside the politics and look at decarbonization in purely analytic and policy terms—from that nonpolitical perspective, it’s “entirely realistic” that we could get emissions to net zero by 2050. Pollin’s “higher-end estimate” is that it would take “an average level of investment spending throughout the global economy of about 2.5 percent of global GDP per year”. This investment would go mainly toward energy efficiency and making clean—and competitively priced—renewable...Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 10/5/229:52 PM

Thanks! Sorry for piling up a bunch of questions in this forum, by the way; I hope to be able to resolve them all eventually if you guys are generous enough!Read More...

Updated 10/5/229:52 PM

Last Reply By Andrew Van Wagner · First Unread Post

7 replies

Does the bold in each of these two cases link to "professor"? How does one know?

Andrew Van Wagner 10/5/221:11 AM

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he’s a professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Toronto who’s a professor of both philosophy and neuroscience at Georgia State UniversityRead More...

Andrew Van Wagner 10/5/228:51 PM

Thanks! I want to clarify that in this case (and other cases where I ask questions with the same basic gist) I'm not worrying about ambiguity so much as wondering if the ambiguity is resolved thanks to (1) common sense and semantic context or (2) grammar/syntax.Read More...

Updated 10/5/228:51 PM

Last Reply By Andrew Van Wagner · First Unread Post

5 replies

INTO or ONTO

Former Member 10/4/229:27 PM

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"A small , shiny metal or plastic disc sewn onto clothes for decoration ." Dear Sir Why did use "onto" in the above sentence? What are the major differences between "onto" and "into" in English? Thanks in advance SundaranRead More...

Former Member 10/5/2210:48 AM

Wowww!!! Gustavo, You hit the nail on the head! Both are masters in English grammar. I wish I had an English teacher like both of you in my schooling days!!! Thank you so much for a well explanation 🙏Read More...

Updated 10/5/2210:48 AM

Last Reply By Former Member · First Unread Post

1 reply

Should "But"/"And" sequences be turned into their own paragraphs?

Andrew Van Wagner 10/5/2212:23 AM

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See the two below examples of this; in each case, the bolded paragraph could be merged with the paragraph above. The issue in each case is that the bolded paragraph comprises a "But"/"And" sequence where the "And" sentence refers back only to the "But" sentence; the danger in each case is that included the bolded sequence with the preceding paragraph (1) makes things quite "busy" and (2) might create ambiguity as to whether the "And" sentence refers back only to the "But" sentence.Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 10/5/2212:25 AM

A related quick question too, if that's OK. Is it clear which sentence the bold "And" links back to? Pollin’s “higher-end estimate” is that it would take “an average level of investment spending throughout the global economy of about 2.5 percent of global GDP per year”. This investment would go mainly toward energy efficiency and making clean—and competitively priced—renewable energy abundant, but it would also go toward stopping deforestation and supporting afforestation . And this...Read More...

Updated 10/5/2212:25 AM

Last Reply By Andrew Van Wagner · First Unread Post

0 replies

Do I need semicolons to separate this list's units?

Andrew Van Wagner 10/5/2212:17 AM

0 likes · 42 views

See here: That’s the strategy—it’s much more effective than “reeling off distant facts”. Bond with them over a value that you already share that’s “already near and dear” to your hearts; connect “ who we are to why we care ”; and inspire them to take part in solutions. I currently have semicolons for two reasons. First, I feel like the nature of these units is such that it gets a little "busy" if you have only commas; the second unit says to connect X to Y...that preposition might get messy...Read More...

Posted 10/5/2212:17 AM

0 replies

How do ", and then" constructions work?

Andrew Van Wagner 10/5/2212:11 AM

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See the bold below: Enter the conversation with respect, bond over a value you genuinely have in common with them , and then connect that shared value to global heating. The reader doesn't see the ", and then" until they get to that part of the sentence . So is it all bad or odd if the ", and then" then retroactively signals to the reader that the previous units are all to be understood as a sequence ? Why not add the bold below? Enter the conversation with respect , then bond over a value...Read More...

Posted 10/5/2212:11 AM

2 replies

Subject-verb agreement

KDog 10/4/226:29 PM

0 likes · 45 views

Hi Grammar Exchange members! It's been a while since I posted a question last time. The following sentence is from an article in the Washington Post. a. Teen mental health is a major concern for today's parents, and for good reason: More than 1 in 3 high-schoolers say they've felt persistent sadness or hopelessness, and roughly 1 in 5 reports having seriously considered suicide. As far as I know, '3 high-schoolers' in the phrase 'more than 1 in 3 high-schoolers' is a subject in the sentence,...Read More...

KDog 10/4/2211:20 PM

Thank you for enlightening me! You're right in thinking that "in 3 high-schoolers" and "in 5 high-schoolers" are prepositional phrases. I didn't think about that. Thanks again for your reply! KDogRead More...

Updated 10/4/2211:20 PM

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2 replies

Is the bold things grammatically parallel?

Andrew Van Wagner 10/3/2210:02 PM

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But the basic idea is that human beings are able to talk and are therefore —unlike animals, which only have conflicts — able to have disagreements .Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 10/4/2211:43 AM

Thanks!Read More...

Updated 10/4/2211:43 AM

Last Reply By Andrew Van Wagner · First Unread Post

2 replies

Bold comma OK even though the comma-laden list follows?

Andrew Van Wagner 10/3/229:26 PM

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This work s, u nlike fear, guilt, and shame.Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 10/4/2211:42 AM

Thanks!Read More...

Updated 10/4/2211:42 AM

Last Reply By Andrew Van Wagner · First Unread Post

1 reply

usage of prepositions "after" and "before"

Norifuji 10/4/223:18 AM

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The following is an excerpt from The Guardian of Sept. 8. All four of her children 〈had rushed to Balmoral after Buckingham Palace announced〉 in a statement at 13.32pm that she was under medical supervision at Balmoral after her doctors said they were " concerned for her health". If what happened is Buckingham Palace announced… and then all four of her children rushed to Balmoral, I think the article should read “All of her children rushed to Balmoral 〈after〉 Buckingham Palace (had)...Read More...

Gustavo, Co-Moderator 10/4/2210:29 AM

Hello, Norifuji, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. Yes, the sequence is correct: 1) announcement, 2) rush, 3) death. What seems to be confusing you is not the use of "after" (they rushed after the announcement, i.e. (2) took place after (1)). The source of your confusion seems to be the use of the past perfect for the later event and the use of the past simple for the earlier event. After "after," you don't need to use the past perfect — the presence of "after" sufficiently clarifies the...Read More...

Updated 10/4/2210:29 AM

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2 replies

Plural or singular verb

Hossam_Elsharksy 10/3/223:27 PM

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A large number of people has or have watched the matchRead More...

Hossam_Elsharksy 10/4/225:20 AM

ThanksRead More...

Updated 10/4/225:20 AM

Last Reply By Hossam_Elsharksy · First Unread Post

1 reply

Which answer is correct and why?

Basant Al-Sayed 10/3/2210:38 PM

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Dear sir, I came across this sentence: It was an easy test and he should have passed, but he .......... . ( doesn't - didn't - haven't - should) I think the correct answer is " didn't"Read More...

ahmed_btm 10/4/221:10 AM

Hi, Basant Al-Sayed, Yes, ' didn't ' is the only correct answer. He was to blame for not passing the exam, i.e. he didn't pass the exam.Read More...

Updated 10/4/221:10 AM

Last Reply By ahmed_btm · First Unread Post

3 replies

Would you guys make a new paragraph starting at the bold?

Andrew Van Wagner 10/3/222:46 PM

0 likes · 57 views

I recommend that everyone read Emma Pattee ’s fascinating and thought-provoking 12 October 2021 piece about the need to challenge the standard ideas about how to stop global heating—one of the piece’s pull quotes says the following: “By promoting the carbon footprint as the single most important thing for concerned citizens to focus on, the fossil fuel industry ensured that we wouldn’t put our energy toward what truly matters: collective action and activism.” I have a threefold response to...Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 10/3/228:10 PM

Thanks! Do you recommend doing what you're displaying there? What you're displaying is a cool option! Not sure how to adjudicate if it's better, but it looks good!Read More...

Updated 10/3/228:10 PM

Last Reply By Andrew Van Wagner · First Unread Post

3 replies

Being open and honest even when it's hard to do.

raymondaliasapollyon 10/3/221:07 AM

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Hi, I'm wondering whether "it's hard to do" is used naturally. What does the "it" refer to? A: What are the qualities of a good friend? B: Being open and honest even when it 's hard to do. I'd appreciate your help.Read More...

raymondaliasapollyon 10/3/226:00 PM

Thank you, David and Gustavo. Somehow some natives think the OP usage is "very natural." https://forum.thefreedictionar...it-s-hard-to-do.aspxRead More...

Updated 10/3/226:00 PM

Last Reply By raymondaliasapollyon · First Unread Post

7 replies

What precisely does the bold refer back to?

Andrew Van Wagner 10/2/2212:26 AM

0 likes · 74 views

And does semantic context allow us to resolve such matters? I asked a famous linguist about one of these and they said that grammar/syntax doesn't give you a precise answer to what (e.g.) ", which" links back to when you have a ", which" construction...their point was that you just need to recognize that that's ambiguity and let semantic context tell you the answer. As far as I know, this is the first work that approaches meaning from an I-language perspective and that seeks to incorporate...Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 10/3/222:12 PM

I guess I'm looking for "permission" where the experts say that X is normal practice and that I'm not being sloppily ambiguous but rather I'm just being standardly/normally ambiguous.Read More...

Updated 10/3/222:12 PM

Last Reply By Andrew Van Wagner · First Unread Post

1 reply

had been writing - had written

Ahmed Imam Attia 10/2/223:08 AM

0 likes · 100 views

Hello. Could you please tell me which sentence is correct? If both are correct, what is the difference in meaning? 1- My brother had written short stories for three years before he published them. 2- My brother had been writing short stories for three years before he published them. Thank you. ReplyRead More...

mmaassuu 10/3/228:13 AM

As for 1, the tense is past perfect. It is supposed that the person wrote short stories for three years in total. It means the three years when he wrote does not have to be continuous. He might have started writing five years ago. He wrote for two years, and he didn't write for one year. And again he started writing and he finished. Totally, he wrote for three years and he published. But in 2, past perfect continuous tense is used. So, the three years must be continuous. We can find that he...Read More...

Updated 10/3/228:13 AM

Last Reply By mmaassuu · First Unread Post

0 replies

'in even the most common expression' or 'even in the most common expression

mmaassuu 10/3/224:08 AM

0 likes · 51 views

Please read the following first. Culture has a strong influence on non-verbal expression. The simple act of looking someone in the eye, for example, is not actually straightforward, varying in meaning from culture to culture. In the USA, people are encouraged to look directly at others when speaking to them. It shows interest in what they are saying, and it is thought to convey honesty. However, in Japan and South Korea, people avoid long eye contact. It is considered more polite to look to...Read More...

Posted 10/3/224:08 AM

0 replies

so much time and effort

azz 10/2/227:31 PM

0 likes · 31 views

a. There is so much time and effort that goes into this project. b. There is so much time and effort that go into this project. c. There are so much time and effort that go into this project. Which of the above sentences is grammatical? Many thanks.Read More...

Posted 10/2/227:31 PM

1 reply

When is it due?

Tony C 10/1/225:43 PM

0 likes · 61 views

Hello, Sometimes, I heard people saying: When do I have time until to submit this application? The speaker is trying to say when is it due? "When do I have time until to submit this application?" Is it grammatically correct?Read More...

Gustavo, Co-Moderator 10/2/227:06 AM

Hi, Tony, Unlike other "wh"-words, "when" does not usually take stranded prepositions. Being used only for time adverbials, the preposition "until" is therefore not usually stranded, that is, placed at the end. For some speakers, it will be more usual to say: - Until when do I have time to submit this application? However, there may be more idiomatic ways to ask that question: - What/When is the deadline to submit this application? - How much time/How long do I have to submit this...Read More...

Updated 10/2/227:06 AM

Last Reply By Gustavo, Co-Moderator · First Unread Post

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