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June 2022

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Punctuation with the direct speech

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Hello dears, I want to know when I should put the punctuation outside the quotations in the direct speech with examples, if possible. Thanks in advance.Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Carlos, This sometimes has to do with American and British English. See here: https://www.thesaurus.com/e/gr...ide-quotation-marks/ & https://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/quotation_(speech)_marks_punctuation_in_or_out.htmRead More...
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( shall) in indirect speech

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Dear sir, Some books say that " shall" in the direct speech is changed to "should" in the indirect in some cases. I think it is better to change it to " would" in all cases because changing it to "should" gives the sense of advice. James said," I shall travel tomorrow." James said that he would travel the following day. Do you agree with me?Read More...
ahmed_btm
Preferred form: I offered to help .... A possible form: I said that I would (more common) / should help ... A completely different form: He said that he would help .... (Notice that I have changed the original speaker) This is a suggestion. I would not use 'told' here. Natural form: We suggested going to the cinema. A completely different form: He suggested that we go / should go to the cinema. (Notice the change of the subject). From Longman English Grammar, under the subtitle 'shall':...Read More...
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New4 replies

Should "constitutional" ever be capitalized?

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Apparently you should never capitalize "constitutional", but look here: https://join.substack.com/p/the-concrete-steps?s=w “‘Congress has a historic opportunity to end crucial U.S. engagement in the Saudi-UAE-led coalition’s deadly and inhumane war against Yemen, and reclaim their Constitutional jurisdiction over war,’ Cavan Kharrazian, foreign policy campaigner at Demand Progress, wrote in a statement.” And note that in my piece I don't capitalize it myself:...Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Thanks! That makes sense!Read More...
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Do I need a hyphen on the bold if it's inside two em-dashes?

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The em-dashes eliminate ambiguity, so I'm not sure what the procedure is regarding hyphenation on the bold ( without em-dashes it would be "natural-rights theory of private property" with a hyphen between "natural" and "rights"): https://join.substack.com/p/could-we-democratize (B) the labor—or natural rights —theory of private propertyRead More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Thanks! That makes total sense! I appreciate the help!Read More...
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I am for

0 likes · 63 views
How do I use " I am for" to indicate that you are supporting. Is it grammatically correct to say: I am for that students should wear school uniform.Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
No, Tony, you cannot use a "that"-clause after a preposition (the only exception is "in that"). You could say: - I am for students wearing a school uniform.Read More...
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I have read this book since 2020

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Hello, I have played tennis since 2020. (I have played it on and off until 2020 but I may not continue) I have been playing tennis since2020. (I have been playing it on and off on a regular basis and will likely to continue playing) My understanding of the difference between sentences 1 and 2 are in the brackets. Is there anything else? You cannot say “I have read this book since 2020”, can you? You can say “ I have read this book 5 times since2020 because it’s a great book”, can't you? Is...Read More...
apple
Hello, I think I made a mistake in my first posting. I was going to write in the first bracket, I have played tennis since 2020. (I played it on and off between January 1 st 2020 and now and may not continue). appleRead More...
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Can we use passive present continuous to indicate future plans

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A new station is being opened or will be opened by the mayor next week. Thanks in advanceRead More...
Dr Sabry
Hi sir, The active sentence expresses something arranged, so It is: The mayor is opening a new station next week. Accordingly, when it is changed to passive, it will stay as something arranged not another thing: A new station is being opened by the mayor next week.Read More...
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New8 replies

size shoe

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Help me understand. 1 What size shoes do you wear? Clear. 2 What shoe size do you wear? I don't think that 2 = 1 in meaning. It seems to me that 2 sounds as if I am asked what "size" I wear without shoes. Is 2 an idiomatic question? If yes, why is 3 not idiomatic? 3 What size of shoes do you wear? - some people say that it's a wrong question because we don't wear a size as such. ******** 4 What model of car do you own? - sounds like I own a model not a car 5 What model car do you own? -...Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
No doubt it was a good shot! I have yet another reason to watch to movie now Your explanation, I think, is in line with the respective answers. Unidiomatic as they may be compared with the preposed versions your provided, while with "size" and "color" we can form postmodifiers formed by "of" + adjective + "size/color" ( shoes of medium size, shirt of blue color ), with "kind," "type" and "model," we will need an article, "of" + "a" + "kind/type/model" (shoes of a special kind/type, (?) car...Read More...
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Do I have the tenses right regarding the bold?

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See the bold ("might provoke", "wouldn't mean", "was somehow justified", "isn't guilty"): https://join.substack.com/p/are-we-uninformed?s=w But there’s a lot of confusion because people think that provocation somehow means justification —we should all understand that provoking something doesn’t mean that the provoked action is somehow justified , and you can imagine that Bob might provoke Jim into punching Bob in the face and yet that wouldn’t mean that Jim’s action was somehow justified or...Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
A famous linguist I know just told me this: "You’re demanding too much precision. Use of language is not a formalized axiom system". Also, what do you think about this issue? https://thegrammarexchange.inf...inside-two-em-dashesRead More...
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work or works

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Should I use the singular form in the context below? Let me know if you have any questions and I look forward referring work over to you. I mean to refer my clients to this partnerRead More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Tony, The phrasal prepositional verb is "look forward to ": - I look forward to referring work (over) to you. If you want to use "work," you should use it in the singular.Read More...
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Nice to speak with you

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Is it grammatically correct to say: "Nice speaking with you over the phone today"Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Tony C, Yes, it is. It is commonly used at the end of a conversation. Both 'nice to speak with you' and 'nice speaking with you' could have the same meaning. However, 'nice to speak with' is mostly used at the beginning of a conversation, especially if the adverb 'finally' is added, "Nice to finally speak with you."Read More...
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Is the part in bold ambiguous?

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Not sure if I need to calm down about the part in bold being ambiguous (I have clinical autism and clinical OCD, so I might be being too worried about ambiguity here); how serious is this issue really? Russia already has control over Crimea, but nobody else has recognized Russian sovereignty over this territory. So recognizing this would give Putin an “off-ramp”—it would give them the ability to say: “We achieved victory because we got Ukrainian and Western recognition of Russian sovereignty...Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Thanks! I think that you're right that the "ability to say" part disambiguates it! I really appreciate this help! Thank you!Read More...
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New2 replies

from around vs. around

0 likes · 31 views
Hello, Grammar Exchange members! I ran into the following problem while transcribing a short news clip. a. More than 150 students, parents and teachers from around the country repsoned. First of all, I'm not so sure whether the news host said "from" or not. Even though I listened to the sentence above so many times, I couldn't tell whether "from" was pronouned or not. He spoke too fast. I'd like to ask you guys this. Is there any difference in meaning between the sentence above and the...Read More...
KDog
Thank you so much for your reply. And you're right. I made a typo. I meant "responded."Read More...
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for staying in his house

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a. I paid him a lot of money for staying in his house. b. I paid him a lot of money to stay in his house. What is the difference between the meanings of these sentences? Can one say for sure that in (a) I had stayed in his house before paying him? Can one say for sure that in (b) I wanted to stay in his house after paying him? Many thanksRead More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Azz—My natural interpretation of (a) is that he had stayed in his house and the speaker paid him a lot of money for doing so. Sentence (b) is extremely ambiguous. Not only can it mean what you think it means, but it can mean that you paid him a lot for your previously staying in his house or that you paid him a lot so that he would subsequently stay in his house.Read More...
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New4 replies

Are of / is of

0 likes · 479 views
Dear Team While I was reading a book, the following sentence caught my eye. "Sincerity and courtesy are of desirable character traits.' I saw this kind of sentence before, but never fully understood why the preposition 'of' is used. If I remove the preposition 'of', the sentence become.. "Sincerity and courtesy are desirable character traits." To me, both sentences convey the same meaning. I have also seen sentences like.. "The man is of great importance." So do we really need a preposition...Read More...
Former Member
Knowledge is treasure. If someone imparts knowledge, I believe, we should put him in our prayers. Nothing more to say🙏Read More...
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New11 replies

Is "mostly entirely true" an expression?

0 likes · 68 views
Not sure if the bold is an error (it looks kind of weird to me): https://join.substack.com/p/we-can-achieve-peace?s=w The Ukrainians say—and it’s mostly entirely true —that the great majority of the Russian speakers and ethnic Russians in Ukraine have resisted the Russian invasion and have supported the Ukrainian state.Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Thanks for this incredible help! What a relief that there's no error!Read More...
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Multinational or multicultural

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Hi there. There is a lot of argument about this sentence. The suggested answer is multicultural, but my answer is multinational. Would you please help me? Thank you in advance. - Because this is a .......company, you can find employees from different countries. (multinational/multicultural)Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Mohamoud Jaber, This question has been answered here: https://thegrammarexchange.inf...nal-or-multiculturalRead More...
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New1 reply

receive or gain

0 likes · 57 views
When Mazen's father died, Mazen ( earned - won - best - gained) a lot of money as inheritance. I think none of the previous verbs collocate with the word ( inheritance ). It's better to use the verb ( received ) in this sentence. What do you think?Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Yes, Ahmed. People get, receive, or come into an inheritance.Read More...
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