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March 2022

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used to do, would do

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Could you please help me choose the correct choice? Why? - In the past, people (would visit - visited - used to visit) a person on his or her birthday and give them valuable presents. It's still a habit. Thank you.Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
"Typical behavior" is how you expect somebody to behave under certain circumstances.Read More...
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Adverbs of Frequency

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Hello I came across this question, and I can’t understand the reason for choosing the model answer. Doctors...... work on weekends. A- always B- often C- never As far as I'm concerned, the sentence does not require a certain adverb, at least grammatically speaking. However, the answer key says (B- often) is the correct choice. Is there a reason for it being the answer?Read More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Boroj—The sentence "Doctors often work on weekends" does not express anything about how many doctors you will find at the hospital if you go there. The sentence is about the work habits of doctors. They often work on the weekends. They don't always do so. Sometimes they do other things.Read More...
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Why does "as well as" seem to work much better than "and" here?

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I can't think of any logical reason for this: Over 9000—or about 60%—of southern hamlets were destroyed. And 25 million acres of farmland were destroyed as well as 12 million acres of forest. If you replace "as well as" with "and", it should work just as well, but it doesn't for some odd reason; any idea why?Read More...
David, Moderator
Nice analysis, Gustavo. I'd go so far as to say that this ability of "as well as" to link two subjects is possible whenever the verb phrase has the auxiliary verb "BE"—passive, progressive, or copulative—"BE" being optional here: Five men were seen, as well as (were) three women. Five men were running, as well as (were) three women. Five men were European, as well as (were) three women.Read More...
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Would visit or Used to visit? Can we use either of them to speak about habit in the past which still exists?

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جيم الصف الثالث الثانوى In the past , people .... a person on his or her birthday and give them valuable presents . It is still a habit . Would visit Visited visit used to visitRead More...
ayman
You can find the answer here: https://thegrammarexchange.inf...8#692773705195550628Read More...
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restrictive?

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Their presence, in the eastern region known as Donbas that is home to Russia-backed separatist groups, raises concerns, given the group’s history. Source: What is the Wagner Group? (yahoo.com) Shouldn't it be ... the eastern region known as Donbas, which is home to Russia-backed separatist groups,... I am pretty sure the non-restrictive clause is correct here. I am not sure the restrictive clause is incorrect. Gratefully, NaviRead More...
David, Moderator
Hello, Navi—You are certainly right that the relative clause ("that is home to Russia-backed separatist groups") can be correctly represented as a nonrestrictive postmodifier of "Donbas," provided "that" is changed to "which" and a comma is added after "Donbas." Can the restrictive relative clause be regarded as correct, too, without the unwanted implication that there is more than one eastern region known as Donbas? I think that it can. We can suppose the "known as Donbas" phrase to be...Read More...
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Past simple or past perfect tense?

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London ................ ( damag) badly by fires several times before 1666, when much of the city .............. (destroy)Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Basant Al-Sayed, You haven't been kind enough to tell us the source of your question. However, I will give you my take. I think there is no need to use the past perfect here. The past simple sounds more natural to use. - London was badly damaged by fires several times before 1666, when much of the city was destroyed .Read More...
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What verb tense is this sentence?

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OverlyCurious
He would lose his job if he were identified. Hello everyone, I am trying to identity what tense this sentence is. I was thinking this sentence could be PAST TENSE because of the "were identified part". Could this sentence have more than one tense? Thank you in advance!Read More...
OverlyCurious
Got it! Thank you Gustavo for your response. It is truly helpful!Read More...
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Analysis of language coordination

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A temperature of 200 °C was selected for the experiments based on the dual reasoning of both having relatively short reaction times, enabled by high temperature, to generate dolomite at favorable time scales for lab experimental work to test the catalytic impact of zinc, and , because this temperature falls within the temperature range at which Mississippi-Valley type zinc-lead ore deposits are formed. This sentence is from a paper published in Nature Communications. As far as I know, The...Read More...
Posted
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Have to/ need to

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We might....change our plans and go to another place Have to or need to I couldn't find any difference between both of them as they both show that we might be obliged to do something. So I want to know if both can work in this sentence Thanks in advanceRead More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Salma, Both "have to" and "need to" can work there, with no difference in meaning.Read More...
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Meaning of should

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"Because I wanted to see it. Because I felt that I should like to look at it again." From Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens https://victorianweb.org/art/illustration/eytinge/86.html What is the meaning of should in this sentence? ThanksRead More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hello, David, It is the same as "would" but exclusively used with the first person. I find it to be different from the previous "should": which I find to mean "would have to."Read More...
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Used to or would

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For years, they....go on holiday to the Rockies, but then it became very fashionable and, hence, expensive Would/ used to / both At first I had chosen both, but I got confused when I found out that the answer key chose would only. So I want to know if both work here, and if not, so why? Thanks in advanceRead More...
ahmed_btm
I don't think so, but mostly 'used to' is not used with a specific period of time. - For two years, they used to go on holiday to the Rockies. (It doesn't sound natural). The past simple is perfect here.Read More...
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how to understand "criticism of"

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Hi, everyone, I learned something about using the preposition "of" the arrival of the police (= they arrive) criticism of the police (= they are criticized) I have a question about the second phrase. Why is "criticism of the police = they are criticized", NOT "criticism of the police = police criticized someone"? and Can I say "criticism to the police" or"criticism from the police"? thanks a lot!!Read More...
Modric
Hi, @ Gustavo I got it! thank you so much!Read More...
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Investigate vs find out

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Hello again! So I was thinking about the difference between find out and investigate. I know that investigate is more formal than find out, but I was wondering if there were other semantic differences? I tried to use both of them in context, but I'm still unsure whether or not to use them interchangeably. 1(A schoolgirl talking to her classmate) A: Did you see my jacket? I can't seem to find it, and I've looked everywhere! B: I don't know, girl. Maybe someone stole it? A: You think so? Then...Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Boroj Nouri, Finding out is more like discovering, and therefore the result of investigating. In your sentence: "find out" is clearly "discover." "Investigate" is used to refer to the process whereby somebody tries to find something out. A good phrasal is "look into" but, unlike "investigate," it is always transitive: You can say: We're sending some officers to look into the matter.Read More...
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Can you help me regarding the shades of meaning here?

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See this: So the US had “Americanized” the war—the US had taken over responsibility for fighting instead of leaving that to the AVRN. And the US military had been strongly warning against “Americanization” for a decade. I had (1) "had been strongly warning", but I could go with (2) "had strongly warned". I feel like (1) might be preferable, but I wonder what exactly the difference in meaning is and why (1) might convey a more desirable meaning in this case. Thanks so much! I greatly...Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Thank you for this excellent advice! This is very useful and helpful! I greatly appreciate! )Read More...
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Reported Speech

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When I teach my students about "Reported Speech", I need to give them a reason why we report. So,why do we report? ThanksRead More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Izzat Hannah—To add just a little bit to Gustavo's excellent explanation, I'd like to say that the topic of reported speech applies not only to indirectly reported speech but also to directly reported speech, that is, to quotations. I would imagine that the need to report the speech of others, directly or indirectly, arises cross-linguistically. No matter what language one speaks, one occasionally wishes to know or to report what someone else said. The topic of reported speech also...Read More...
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valid findings

0 likes · 52 views
Hello, everyone, “ Conflicts between the goals of science and the need to protect the rights and welfare of human research participants result in the central ethical tension of clinical research. The statement “Bad science is bad ethics” is true. Putting humans at risk if the study design does not permit a reasonable expectation of valid findings is never ethical. Even a study that presents no risk presents at least an inconvenience to participants and is in that sense disrespectful .“ How...Read More...
deepcosmos
Thank you for your support as always.Read More...
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used to, would

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Could you please help me choose the correct answer? Explain, please. - When I was young, as soon as I heard a voice, I (used to imitate - would imitate) it. Thank you.Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Ahmed, You should use "would imitate" there to indicate repetition or insistence: every time you heard a voice, you would imitate it. "Would" is better than "used to" to describe a typical behavior in the past.Read More...
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Taped off ? Taped from ?

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Hello everyone. Just get a question when I am practicing listening from a tape. And the tape just played a sentence "The area was taped off to keep people out". So, I wonder if I can say the sentence in another way like: "The area was taped from people coming in?" Thank you.Read More...
David, Moderator
Hello, Bluegrass, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. The sentence "The area was taped off to keep people out" works. The sentence " The area was taped from people coming in " does not work. But you can say: "The area was taped off to keep people from coming in."Read More...
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Tense

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Advances in human longevity make it possible to slow down and even reverse the ageing process. In 1900, worldwide life expectancy averaged 31 years. 1) By 1950, it was 48, and in 2010 it had reached 70. (source) 2) By 1950, it had been 48, and in 2010 it reached 70. I can't figure out why <had reached> was used instead of just using < reached>. I wonder if there is any reason for the tense. To me, <2> is easier to understand. Thank you in advance.Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, GBLSU, That's an interesting pair of sentences. Sentence (2) exemplifies the classical difference between the past perfect and the past simple, with the former expressing anteriority with respect to the latter. In Sentence (1), I see the past simple "was" as indicative of a past state and the past perfect "had reached" as the backshifted version of an action in the present perfect. Notice that, unlike (2), in (1) we can use "already": 1.a) By 1950, it was 48, and in 2010 it had already...Read More...
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