December 2022

I am the first to acknowledge the utility, if not necessity, of having "an ear" for a language to act as a guide when initially gauging a structure's grammaticality. In German, " ein sprachliches Fingerspitzengefühl " captures quite nicely this feeling, this "certain inner something" that acts as a linguistic compass. However, I have come to tread very cautiously in this respect, for, as we all know, informal language can take a heavy toll on our sense of "cringeworthiness". How often does...Read More...

Hi, Sundaran. Wrinkle means "if you wrinkle a part of your face, or if it wrinkles, small lines appear on it. (From Longman Dictionary) wrinkled ... nose • He sniffed the breeches and wrinkled his nose . • She wrinkled her nose against it, then went upstairs and into Jessie's room. • He wrinkled his nose as if the smell was still in his nostrils . • He wrinkled his nose at the smells, thinking that the cowardly little wretches were trying to keep out of his way. • Stephen wrinkled his nose...Read More...

Hi, Andrew—How to force the equivalence reading of "or" is a punctuation topic that I myself have thought about numerous times. First of all, the passive–active distinction cannot be exploited to overcome the different readings of "or." Thus, your four approaches collapse into two. Sentences (1) and (3) will likely be misunderstood unless your intention to have the equivalence reading is already presupposed by your audience. Sentences (2) and (4) have a better chance of receiving the...Read More...

The answer given in the text book is ''could have travelled''.Read More...

Hello again, Ray—Yes, I do infer from that sentence that John is going to Boston, whether "John is going to Boston" is intepreted as the present progressive with factual present-time reference (John is on his way to Boston) or as the present progressive with factual future-time reference (John will be going to Boston).Read More...

Hello, Navi—Here is my solution set: (1) --> incorrect (2) --> (a) and/or (b) (3) --> incorrect (4) --> (a) and/or (b)Read More...

Hello, Navi—The only one that is totally ungrammatical is (4), and that's probably because you intended to type "it" where you typed "is." However, I dislike all the examples and strongly prefer these revisions: (1a) There are things that you cannot do without telling your family that you've done them. (2a) There are things that you cannot remain the same person after seeing. (3a) I did something that no man can remain the same after doing. (4a) I did something that changes a man forever...Read More...

What data points, if any, back up such a ridiculous notion? I respectfully suggest that the speaker is using what they deem to be an already present sexual bias against women, such outdated notions are neither correct, nor quantifiable, in fact, I REFUTE; Women are far superior surgeons; their congressionally lauded performances in Iraq and Afghanistan prove it is so.Read More...

Hi, Ahmed Imam, I don't know why this should be a problem, but it is quite clear that the correct answer is ' c '. All comp ound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine should be hyphenated.Read More...

I totally agree. Being abstract, singular "timing" refers to plural "elections." Something similar could be said of "the planning of elections."Read More...

So do I, similarly to what happens with "expectations" (which appears in the definition above) and "chances."Read More...

Thanks a lot AhmedRead More...

Yes. However, The correct way of saying it is "the passive form of the V-ing with its notional subject used as the nominal object of the preposition." As the main verb of the sentence is "REPORT," which is in the active voice, the sentence should not be considered a passive one. The prepositional phrase is used as an adverbial of time.Read More...

Thank you David for your support, as always...Read More...

Hi, Me_IV—Could you please add some context?Read More...

Hi, Andrew—A comma would be good after "line," since "ultimately" modifies the whole clause "that's the bottom line." If you wish not to use a comma, you could place "ultimately" after "is." With other placements, the comma is desireable: So , ultimately, I think that's the bottom line. So I think that , ultimately, that's the bottom line. So I think that's ultimately the bottom line. So I think that's the bottom line , ultimately .Read More...

Hello, Ahmed Imam Attia—Both are OK. With "had died," what they found was a dead man; with "was dying," what they found was a man about to die.Read More...

Thank you Gustavo and Ahmed🙏Read More...

Hi, ilko mitrikov, Yes, it is, but its meaning is different from the future perfect, which is normally used in examples like yours.Read More...

I’m so grateful. Thank you.Read More...

Both are correct. They are slightly different." Strictly speaking, I got my car broken" means that something was done to my car, but I was not to blame because the accident was someone else's fault; while "I had my car broken" means that I have caused the accident, and I am responsible for it.Read More...

Hello, Emad—Unless you have special reason to emphasize that the red dress is Italian, the normal position for country-of-origin adjective modifiers in a sequence of cumulative adjectives is right before the head noun modified: I bought a nice red Italian dress.Read More...

Hi, Gustavo, appreciate your comment. " If the people knew that they were being tested, ..." . Is my assumption below justified?; 1. ' knew is unreal and ' were ' is real. 2. However, you don't change ' were ' into ' are ' according to the rule of 'tense simplification in subordinate clauses'.Read More...