June 2020

I am sorry, I've missed the comma, it is present in the original text. I understand the text the way you say in the last paragraph also. Thanks.Read More...

Hi, Bassem—The answer is "for," but "every one" needs to be written as one word: "everyone." You could also use the passive in the infinitival clause: He is polite enough for everyone to respect him. He is polite enough to be respected by everyone.Read More...

Hi, Rady—If you look at definitions of the noun "time," you will see that in one definition "time" is equivalent in meaning to "time period" ("period of time") or "time interval" ("interval of time"), and "period" and "interval" are count nouns. Two hours can seem like a long time. I was there for a time. Have you been having a nice time at the Grammar Exchange?Read More...

Thank you very much. 'In' for direction. I'll remember that from now on. I think it's also possible to say " point the ac in your direction."Read More...

Absolutely! I copied and pasted and didn't realize that "old" was missing or that "years" needed to be eliminated (it was obviously a typo by omission). Thank you, David, for correcting that.Read More...

Hello, Bassem, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. I agree with Ahmed_btm that the answer is "so"; "too" is incorrect. In case you are wondering what the "too"-alternative would be here, it is this: She is too ill to go to school. That means the same thing as "She is so ill that she can't go to school."Read More...

Hi, Navi, In the passive voice, adverbs of manner are usually placed before the participle, so (3) can mean the same as (4) and refer to the way how the expression was used. I'm not so sure that "strikingly" can be used as a disjunct to modify the whole sentence in (3). In general, disjuncts are placed in front or end position, set off by a comma: 1') Strikingly, he used a very outdated expression. (It is/was striking that he should have used a very outdated expression.) Used before the...Read More...

Hi, Izzy, Actually, this is a philosophical rather than a linguistic question. I don't see "learners" and "learned" as opposites. Learners could be said to be in the process of learning, and the learned can be seen as those that have already acquired knowledge. My interpretation is that learners could be seen as inheriting the earth in the sense that there is still a lot for them to discover about that matter, while those who have already developed their knowledge will have to use it...Read More...

Hi, Toaha, Where have you taken this sentence from? Its punctuation is highly defective, and the way it is written is very poor.Read More...

Thank you, David. I thought that the song writer just made a deliberate mistake so it sounds like little children singing, who probably don't know the difference between singular and plural. However, even if my assumption can be true, I personally think they should still stick to the grammar rules. AppleRead More...

Are you the author of that passage, Toaha? If not, where does it come from?Read More...

Hello, Snow Lexpard, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. The original sounds better, because absolute constructions tend to be formal and the sentence as a whole does not strike me as formal. Anyway, the absolute construction would require the article: - The problem found, ... though I highly prefer: - The problem having been found, ...Read More...

Hi, tonyck 2, I think the ambiguity lies with "for you," as this phrase can be used to introduce a beneficiary or the person holding a point of view: 1. Nothing is good enough for you (Nothing satisfies you.) 2. Nothing is good enough for you (Nothing is good enough in your opinion.)Read More...

thank you! : )Read More...

ThanksRead More...

Hello again, ALH—Yes, it is correct to capitalize "everything," the reason being that it functions as the beginning of the sentence "Everything happens for a reason." The fact that the sentence can function in other ways in the context of a larger sentence does not change the fact that it is a separate sentence. If the sentence were clausally embedded within a larger sentence, "everything" would not be capitalized. For example, in the sentence "The fact that everything happens for a reason...Read More...

Hi, Dr Ahmed—All the answer choices are correct in the absence of context .Read More...

Hi, Dr Ahmed, Yes, it is. I've answered this question before. See here: https://thegrammarexchange.inf...9#631264215111561359 I still see that 'a hole' is the better choice . 'A hole' sounds more natural . 'A hole in the roof' means there is some kind of damage or something wrong with this roof, and that it needs to be repaired. You can see many companies offering their services to repair holes in roofs. See: https://doubled.builders/is-yo...you-need-roof-repair 'A gap in the roof' just...Read More...

Hello Caroline1992, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. It would be helpful to see the full sentences; however, based on the sentence fragments you've presented, I would suggest the following revisions: The "not your average games" piece is a collection of games that . . . The not-your-average-games piece is a collection of games that . . . The read-a-thon piece is a competition to see . . . There seems to me to be no need for the introductory "for"-phrase. Why say "For X, X is . . ." when...Read More...

Hello, Johnny, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. What you want to say and what your sentence says are two different things. I recommend that you go ahead and say what you want to say. Despite my supervisor's desperately wanting me to apply to X, I applied to Y.Read More...

Thank you Gustavo! It's great to get a clear explanation so quickly.Read More...

Thank you, it was very helpful.Read More...

Good point, Ayman. The sentence is pretty silly. It's grammatical, though.Read More...

Thank you very much.Read More...