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March 2021

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The/ no article

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Dear Grammar Experts, Please, could you help me choose the right article: Researcher of Laboratory of Road Accident Analysis at IFE or Researcher of the Laboratory of Road Accident Analysis at IFE. Which option is correct? And what is the function of article in this case? I would go with the option: the Laboratory, as we specify the laboratory where Researcher worksRead More...
DoraD
Thank you very much for your clear explanation. Appreciate it a lot.Read More...
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The use of wonder

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Is my sentence below grammatically correct? Hello, In case if you wonder where I am. I am attending a training this morning from 11:00am to 11:30am.Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Tony C, "In case" and "if" cannot overlap. You have to say: - In case you wonder / are wondering where I am ... OR - If you wonder / are wondering where I am ...Read More...
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To/With

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The context is a 'Our Values' section on a website. Which is better: - Our values TO our clients / our colaborators / our team / our business ... - Our values WITH our clients / our colaborators / our team / our business ... Thanks a lot!Read More...
MartaBcn
Ok! That's perfectly clear. Thanks a lot!Read More...
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It has "long been known" v "always been known"

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Can anyone explain the difference? And why would the latter be wrong?Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hello, Qanda, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. Please check our Guidelines page, where under number (7) we stress the importance not only of properly entitling threads (which you have done) but of including the details of the question in the body of the post. Both "it has long been known" and "it has always been known" are correct but, according to the context, one may be preferred over the other. It is not a matter of grammar but of semantics. "Long" means "for a long time," and...Read More...
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inversion

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Windward
Hello. Please, help me here: Is it acceptable to apply inversion in you+yourself construction. Here is the sentence: A: How can you laugh at it? B: Ah, friend! Aren't yourself you laughing? Is yourself+you - abnormal? (I know that I can safely put yourself after you or after laughing ? but I'm interested exactly in the possibility of the inversion case.)Read More...
Qanda
Hi, No, it's not possible at allRead More...
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Using 'will'

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By the time I'm a father, students--------------much better schools. a- will attend b- will have attended c- will be attending I think that both 'a' and 'c' are OK. Am I right?Read More...
David, Moderator
Your reasoning about the meaning of the future perfect is correct; however, if a sentence's meaning does not correspond to the way you think the world is, was, or will be, that does not make the sentence grammatically incorrect. It just means that it's a sentence you will not want to use, because it does not communicate what you want to communicate. The meaning in itself is still valid. Grammatical correctness and factual correctness are two different things.Read More...
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What a (lovely) weather! VS What (lovely) weather!

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Hi All Do we say "What a (lovely) weather!" or "What (lovely) weather!"?? Most dictionaries and grammar books don't allow using the indefinite article "a" before the mass noun "weather" in all cases. However, few grammar books allow using it in such exclamatory sentences. One of these books is "Dynamic English Grammar & Composition 10 - By Krishna Prasad Regmi Would you please clarify this point? Thank you very much.Read More...
Omar Ahmed
It is not correct to say 'What a lovely weather!'. It seems that "Dynamic English Grammar & Composition" is not an authentic reference. The author of this book is not a native speaker. If I were you, I would depend on authentic references written by native speakers.Read More...
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"Interruptions in therapy and/or abandonment have increased significantly."

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Hi! I have a question about the underlined sentene below, which I came across when I was reading an article in VOA: “WHO surveys have found that 50 percent of governments have had cancer services partially or completely disrupted because of the pandemic," said Ilbawi. "We have also gathered data from the scientific community to understand the severity and the impact on cancer patients. Delays in diagnosis are common. Interruptions in therapy and/or abandonment have increased significantly. ”...Read More...
yasukotta
Thank you, David!Read More...
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Allergy or sensitivity?

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He has.................to milk products. a) allergy b) sensitivity I think both 'a' & 'b' are OK. I read that 'allergy' is only related to skin, while 'sensitivity' is connected with 'food'. I don't think this is true. That's why I think both 'a' & 'b' are OK. Am I right?Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Omar, This question is not related to grammar, however, I'll give you my take. The only correct answer here is (a) allergy. It is well-known that 'milk, fish and eggs' are the most famous foods that may cause allergic reactions. 'Sensitivity to food' has to do with the digestive system, not the immune system.Read More...
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"For" as a subordinator

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1. Attracting these would-be quitters is a reasonable strategy in the Netherlands, where politics is so fragmented that anything over 10% is a good result. But it is a weak foundation to rely on for those hoping to win more than half the vote, such as Ms Le Pen. From The Economist Mar 13, 2021. Hello, everyone! I think the bold part is semantically (maybe even syntactically) equivalent to " for those hoping to win to rely on", but CGEL tells me that "for", as a subordinator, can only occur...Read More...
Robby zhu
I thought the same way, but I wasn't sure. Thank you, Gustavo, David.Read More...
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Past perfect or past simple?

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Choose the best answer: - President Sadat died in 1980. Before that, our army ...............the Suez Canal in 1973. a) crossed b) had crossed I think both 'a' and 'b' are OK. I think the best answer is 'b'. Am I right?Read More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Omar—Yes, both answer are OK. Neither is better than the other. However, if "Before that" were not there, the past perfect would be better. He died in 1980. We had crossed the canal in 1973.Read More...
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at the bank

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1) Harry, at the bank, told the police that the robbers had three hostages. 2) At the bank, Harry told the police that the robbers had three hostages. Are those sentences ambiguous? I see three possible cases, although "a" and "b" can't really be considered to be different meanings. It is just that the context is unclear. a) Harry was at the bank and he told the police (probably by telephone) that the robber had three hostages. b) O nce he was at the bank (once he got into the bank), he...Read More...
Posted
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When to use the word 'had' (getting in a muddle over tenses)

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I have a passage in a story that I'm writing, which reads: Julie had tried to get him interested in some of her theatrical friends by holding a ‘wrap party’ at their house last year. It was for The Mikado . But before the first guests arrived, Austin fled to the pub. ‘There’s only one thing worse than comic operas,’ he shouted on his way out, waving air-quotes around the word “comic”, ‘and that’s actors talking loudly about themselves for hours on end.’ I'm just wondering if I need a 'had'...Read More...
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Should there be a comma after "photography"?

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Photography has its roots in the form of art. I devoted half my life promoting this art of photography which emanates beauty, simplicity and style. Should there be a comma between "photography" and "which"? Thanks!Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Yoongliat, I think it is "this" that makes the use or omission of a comma possible. The sentence above would normally have been written as follows: 1.a. I devoted half my life promoting this art (,) which emanates beauty, simplicity and style. 1.b. I devoted half my life promoting the art of photography , which emanates beauty, simplicity and style. In my view, the comma is optional in (1.a) because the relative clause can complete the sense of "this art," or the noun phrase can be...Read More...
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Should I use "being" here?

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The use the auxiliary "being"? Which of the following sentences is correct? A. The applicant, being the company owned a property and leased out to an entity for conducting a business? or B. The applicant, the company owned a property and leased out to an entity for conducting a business? or C. The applicant, being (the company) owned a property and leased out to an entity for conducting a business? Thanks!Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
To be able to answer that question, we need to know what follows. To be complete, the sentence needs a main verb, and there is not one there. Or is your text only an item on a list? If you don't give us more context, your question will remain unanswered.Read More...
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Question about prepositions

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I know ending a sentence in a preposition is incorrect: instead of saying “who are you talking to?” You should say “to whom are you talking?” But what about using “to whose?” Example: instead of “whose house are you going to?” could you say “to whose house are you going?” I’ve searched online but there is no use of whose in this way that I can find so I can’t think o a way to avoid ending on a preposition in certain cases.Read More...
David, Moderator
Hello again, Jess_C—Yes, it is a common misconception. I think that it has been many, many years since it was taught in American public schools, though. My parents seem to have been taught that misconception in the 1960s. The "rule" really was supposed to apply at the level of the clause, whether or not the end of the clause coincides with the end of a sentence. This includes all relative clauses in which the relativized element is the object of a preposition: (1a) This is not an idea that I...Read More...
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Necessity or obligation?

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I must wake up early if I don't want to be late for work. This means.............. a) I believe it is necessary to wake up early b) It is obligatory for me to get up early I go for 'a'. Am I right? Is this a good multiple choice question?Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Omar, Yes, you are right. Mostly the book connects 'obligatory' with 'have to'. This question should be directed to the author of the book.Read More...
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Which is the better sentence?

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Singaporean driver who made regular road trips to Malaysia, Lee Hon Sing, expressed surprise at how little money he had to spend charging his car during the trips. Singaporean driver Lee Hon Sing, who made regular road trips to Malaysia, expressed surprise at how little money he had to spend charging his car during the trips. Which is the better sentence? Thanks!Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, yoongliat, Sentence (2) (next time please number them for ease of reference) is the only one that is correct. There, "Singaporean driver" functions as a title. For sentence (1) to be correct, the indefinite article should be used and the comma before the verb should be eliminated: - A Singaporean driver who made regular road trips to Malaysia, Lee Hon Sing expressed surprise at how little money he had to spend charging his car during the trips. Another alternative to improve sentence...Read More...
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The use of the relative pronoun, 'that'

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Why do we use 'that', not 'who', in the sentence, 'It is the teacher that is important, not the kind of school he teaches in', while, in the sentence, 'it is I who did it', we use 'who', not 'that'?Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, May123, Both It is I that ... and It is I who ... are correct. The point is that in the quoted sentence "that" is used to link both "the teacher" and "the kind of school" with the statement about their importance, so "who" does not work: - It is the teacher that is important + It is not the kind of school he teaches in that is important = It is the teacher, not the kind of school he teaches in, that is important.Read More...
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The antecedent of 'that'

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What is the antecedent of 'that' in the sentence, 'In which play of Shakespeare's is it that Viola appears?' Shouldn't we use 'where' or 'in which' instead?Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, May123, "That" is not a relative pronoun in the sentence above but a conjunction used to join the two parts of the cleft sentence that the question above derives from: - It is in X play by Shakespeare that Viola appears ⇒ In which play by Shakespeare is it that Viola appears?Read More...
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