November 2019

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Capitalisation

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I have seen some grammar advice that suggests one should capitalise the name of a document even if the name is also a description of the document. For example, if I am writing a business plan and the title of the document written on the front page is "Business Plan", I should refer to the document as the Business Plan rather than the business plan. What are people's views on this? Does the need to capitalise change if we are referring to the document in the plural. For example if I was to...Read More...
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Can I omit "that" in this object-clause?

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Topic sentence: This book will show you (that) what you have observed can be used in other contexts. I understand that if that-clause serves as an object, the subordinator "that" can be dropped. But is it also optional to omit "that" in this case? Is it a little weird without "that"？Read More...
Robby zhu
Thanks so much.Read More...
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waking Peter up

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1) I shouted at Tom waking Peter up. 2) I shouted at Tom , waking Peter up. Are both correctly punctuated? Is the comma necessary? Does it change anything in any way? Does it change the meaning? Gratefully, NaviRead More...
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placement of "only"

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I have made up the two similar examples below. (1a) Yesterday, my friends came to my birthday party and ate most of my food. Now, I only have enough food for two lunches. (1b) Yesterday, my friends came to my birthday party and ate most of my food. Now, I have enough food for only two lunches. Which position of "only" is correct? Thank you very much for your help.Read More...
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backshifting: [... what he is (was) doing now]

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I have made up the example below. (1a) I have not seen John for a long time. Yesterday, I thought of him and wondered what he was doing now. My non-native speaking friends think backshifting the tense is not necessary because you are referring to his present state of life. Their revised example is written below. (1b) I have not seen John for a long time. Yesterday, I thought of him and wondered what he is doing now. Who is correct? Thank you very much for your time and help.Read More...
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for his birthday (present)

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(1a) I will buy a watch for his birthday. (1b) I will buy a watch for his birthday present . Is it wrong to add the word "present"? Thank you very much.Read More...
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what + infinitive

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This is the spice to season the rice with. This is what to season the rice with. Do you think the above two sentences are the same? （I'm not sure if even the second one is grammatical.）Read More...
Gustavo, Contributor
No, that sentence does not work because it does not express the future meaning you want to convey. However, in answer to your question: the answer is yes. Here is an example (I'll add others if they come to mind): - The patient left instructions as to how to be treated in case he was unconscious.Read More...
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It That

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Hello, Is dialogue A problematic, because "that " is used instead of "it"? Or does it sound natural because "that" is just more emphatic than "it"? Dialogue A A: What's that? Is that a ball? B: No, that's not a ball. That's a white kitten. Dialogue B A:What's that? Is it a ball? B: No, it's not a ball. It's a white kitten. AppleRead More...
apple
Thank you always, David. AppleRead More...
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how cute/ what a cute

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Hello, Suppose you are with a friend and looking at a kitten. You say, "How cute!". This sounds fine, but do you say "What a cute?" I don't think so, but do you? "What a cute kitten !" would be correct, I mean grammatically, but is "What a cute!" a colloquial expression? AppleRead More...
apple
Thank you , David. When I see strange, funny English I often say to myself? Do you really say this? AppleRead More...
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went there by bike

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Hello, Is there a problem with the following sentence? He went there by bike. I don't think there is nothing wrong grammatically, but does the sentence sound unnatural? Do native speakers use a more common, natural expression? AppleRead More...
apple
David, one more question please. So,do native speakers prefer sentences 2,3 to sentence 1? 1. He went there by car. 2. He went there in his car. 3. He drove there. AppleRead More...
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Tense with 'earlier'

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Hi there, Should I use the word ' earlier ' with simple past or present perfect in the following context? It is clear that utilising the period of President's rule, the ruling party will indulge in all the methods in its arsenal to manufacture a majority for itself as it has done/did in several states earlier. This is yet another assault on the Constitution by this government.Read More...
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had risen slightly

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1) However, his dosage of a cholesterol-lowering drug was reportedly increased after the check-up and Mr Trump’s weight had risen slightly to 243 pounds, pushing him over the line into obesity. Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/ white-house-forced-deny-trump- 111835003.html Shouldn't there be a comma after 'slightly'? Gratefully, NavRead More...
Gustavo, Contributor
Hi, Navi, I find the sentence perfect as is. Adverbs of manner are usually used without commas between verbs like rise, increase, grow, fall, decline , etc. and the number that follows: - rise slightly to xxx - increase sharply to xxx - grow moderately to xxx - fall gradually to xxx - decline abruptly to xxxRead More...
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very badly

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a. Tom was playing the guitar and Jack was banging on the drums, driving me crazy. b. Tom was playing the guitar, and Jack was banging on the drums, driving me crazy. In which case are they both driving me crazy and in which case only Jack's drumming is driving me crazy? Does the comma change anything? c. Tom was playing the guitar and Jack was playing the drums, very badly. d. Tom was playing the guitar, and Jack was playing the drums, very badly. In which case are they both playing badly...Read More...
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Help

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i am wanted to get my mom a piece of wall art the says “God willing” for Christmas. She would be the one that I would ask about punctuation so I am a bit nervous about placing my order. Can anyone help me please? Ive been looking online and I see God willing... God willing? ”God willing” “God willing?” God Willing.Read More...
David, Moderator
Hello, Leticia, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. "God willing" is not a sentence. What is featured in the wall art? Incidentally, * " I am wanted to . . . " is an incorrect use of the passive voice. You can say "Someone wants me to . . ." or "People have asked me to . . ."Read More...
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Time travel crossing my eyes

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In referencing an inaccurate 1934 recollection of a 1903 event, should I say "Joe's recollection is incorrect" or "Joe's recollection was incorrect?" The recollection was incorrect in 1934 and continues to be incorrect in 2019.Read More...
Gustavo, Contributor
Hello, Grammarsgrammar, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. In Merriam-Webster's dictionary, the term "recollection" is defined as: We can say that the action of recalling the facts was inaccurate in 1934, and that the result (his memory, or the story he narrated based on that childhood experience) was and continues to be inaccurate. "was" would be fine to refer to the action of recollecting, and both "was" and "is" could be used to refer to the facts being recalled (the story was...Read More...
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was / is

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She asked, "What is your name?" Do we have to change the tense when reporting this question? I think that both ways are possible since my name hasn't changed. So we can report the sentence this way: She asked what my name is / was. Any answer will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!Read More...
Mo.Anwar
Thank you so much, my prof.Read More...
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Question about sentence construction after em dash... help!

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I have been struggling a lot over this sentence! I like how it sounds, I just don't know if it is grammatically correct (specifically what comes after the em dash): Thanks so much for any help! Instead of going with the easy way out, the complex system uses an approach that is very sophisticated— right down to periodically pausing and inserting humming sounds as though it were deep in thought.Read More...
Gustavo, Contributor
Hi, Trig1968, Is this something you are writing? It'd be useful to have some more context. In particular, I don't undersand the "as though it were deep in thought" part. What does that "it" refer to? To "periodically pausing and inserting humming sounds"? Grammatically speaking, what comes after the em dash looks like a appositive conclusion that defines "an approach": an approach that consists of periodically pausing and inserting humming sounds as though it were deep in thought.Read More...
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"Yet" in a positive sentence, what does it mean?

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ceedhanna
- This is from WikiHow website: - Use “yet” in the middle of the sentence to discuss something unknown or unclear. This approach is often used in more formal discussions or conversations. “Yet” is often placed after “have,” “are,” or “has.”[2] For example you may say, “We have yet to determine if she is on board,” or, “Our guests are yet to arrive.” You may also say, “The price has yet to be announced.”Read More...
Gustavo, Contributor
Hi, ceedhanna, In Cambridge dictionary we can find a good explanation of this use of "yet": Have yet to and be yet to We use have yet to and be yet to in more formal contexts. We use them to refer to events which are necessary or which must happen at some time, but which have not happened at the time of speaking: "yet" is used in these cases to imply that something has not happened yet and, as a result, is a pending requirement or obligation . We still don't know if she is on board -> We...Read More...
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