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July 2021

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“Let his/him come in.”

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Hi everybody! Few days ago my mate attended to a job competition for a job in the technical office of Rome. Among the many legal questions there were also some English questions. The one I am asking your help for is: “Let ……. come in.” the possible answers proposed are: - his - him - he I am sure that all of you are thinking that the only right option to chose is “him”, that’s it. Initially it was confirmed “his” with correct answer and after few days was corrected with “him”. The english...Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Luluball, and welcome to the G.E, With no further context, what is more natural to use is the objective case 'him', and I guess it is the only one I'd go with in an exam. (See Swan, page '303'). I think if you want to use a possessive pronoun, this will need a very special context. Here's one I can imagine: The manager's son and the secretary's son are standing outside the manager's office. The manager: Don't let my son in now. Let yours in first.Read More...
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conjunction VS preposition

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I would rather go ou t than staying home . (x) This sentence was my previous question regarding whether it is O.K to use 'staying' instead of stay. I understand 'than 'is used as a conjunction, but my question is why not use 'than' as a preposition here like 'Rather than stay(ing) home I would go out'? Could you tell me the reason and difference, please?Read More...
Philip
Hi David - thank you very much.Read More...
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some people part II

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a. He had to beg before some people would help him. Is it possible that some people helped him without him having to beg? b. He had to speak publicly about his problems before some people would help him. Is it possible that some people helped him before his speaking publicly about his problems? c. He had to beg so that some people would help him. Is it possible that some people helped him without him having to beg? d. He had to speak publicly about his problems so that some people would help...Read More...
Posted
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for the wrong reasons

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a. I didn't like that movie and Betsy didn't like it either, but Betsy didn't like it for the wrong reasons. (Betsy disliked it for the wrong reasons.) b. I didn't go to the party and Betsy didn't either. But Betsy didn't go for you. (You were the reason Betsy didn't go.) Are (a) and (b) grammatically correct and meaningful? Normally, "Betsy didn't go for you." would mean she went for some other reason, but here it is supposed to mean "She refrained from going for you." Many thanksRead More...
Posted
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The world of "DO"

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Hi all In a world of "Do" , you aren't live on "...........". a) If b) Supposed c) Provided d) Imagined Is this a proverb? I can't decide the correct option. What do you think?Read More...
David, Moderator
I agree with Ahmed_btm. Whoever wrote that may have been trying to immitate a proverb he had heard, but the immitation is totally ungrammatical.Read More...
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the friend "recommending / to recommend" the video

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Hello, everyone, An interesting phenomenon that arose from social media is the concept of social proof . It’s easier for a person to accept new values or ideas when they see that others have already done so. . . . For example, a video about some issue may be controversial on its own but more credible if it got thousands of likes . When expressing feelings of liking to friends, you can express them using nonverbal cues such as facial expressions. If a friend recommends the video to you, in...Read More...
deepcosmos
Hi, Gustavo, always thanking for your nice answer.Read More...
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Punctuation

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What is the right punctuation for these sentences : 1- You are my cousin however I can't afford to lend you more money. 2- He said, "I am strong I am a monster."Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Emad, 1- You are my cousin; however, I can't afford to lend you more money. 2- He said, "I am strong; I am a monster." 2- He said, "I am strong. I am a monster."Read More...
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Plural Verb

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Hi Am I right in thinking that when referring to an organisation (with many employees and/or departments) one would use the singular verb? Eg. The SAPS (acronym of the organisation) is doing a great job ...Read More...
EM
Thanks, we use British English here, but I think the client's document is in American English.Read More...
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He Has Been Very Helpful

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(1) He has been a victim of fraud. (2) He has been a victim of fraud on several occasions . (3) He has been very helpful. (4) He has been very helpful on several occasions . What is the difference between (1) and (2), (3) and (4)? Here I'm trying to understand the difference between "has been + noun " and "has been + adjective ". Do they work the same way? I know that "has been + adjective" indicates a state. But does that state necessarily start at an earlier point in time and end now? Can...Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, LL, The difference between them is the addition of the prepositional phrase 'on different occasions' which indicates that that has happened on more than one occasion. It doesn't have to end now. It may continue. - He has been a teacher for 30 years. (It means he still works as a teacher.) It could refer to something that ended at some point in the past, but still affects the present. - He has been a victim of fraud. Now, he doesn't trust anybody. - He has been very helpful. That's why I...Read More...
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to be

0 likes · 73 views
Kochi city police on June 6 made the arrest of six men in Ernakulam district, accused of hacking a 32-year-old auto rickshaw driver to death. The victim, identified to be Krishna Kumar alias Kannan, a resident of Kunnumpuram in Edapally, was found dead in the wee hours of Monday (June 5) night. In the above sentence, why did use "to be" instead of " was" ? source : https://www.thenewsminute.com/...including-cop-151881 Thanks in advanceRead More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
No. "Being" there is not a noun. It is a present participle. This is advanced grammar. "As being KK" is the same as "as KK."Read More...
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comma in between sentences

0 likes · 128 views
Kochi city police on June 6 made the arrest of six men in Ernakulam district, accused of hacking a 32-year-old auto rickshaw driver to death. The victim, identified to be Krishna Kumar alias Kannan, a resident of Kunnumpuram in Edapally, was found dead in the wee hours of Monday (June 5) night. Why did comma (,) used in between sentences?Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Grammar Man, Your question above is ungrammatical. It should have been: Why was a comma used in the middle of the sentence? You have a pair of commas to set off what we call a non-restrictive or non-defining structure. The sentence would be complete without that modifier: - The victim was found dead in the wee hours of Monday (June 5) night. The modifier "identified to be Krishna Kumar alias Kannan, a resident of Kunnumpuram in Edapally" adds extra information that is not essential.Read More...
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some vs. certain

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a. We had to offer monetary incentive so that some people would cooperate. b. We had to offer monetary incentive so that certain people would cooperate. c. We had to offer monetary incentive for some people to cooperate. d. We had to offer monetary incentive for certain people to cooperate. Do these mean 1. that nobody was cooperating and after we offered monetary incentives some people did or 2. some people were cooperating but in order to get some (or all) of the others to cooperate we...Read More...
Posted
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The attempt “straightening” rivers

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Hello, everyone, Detailed study over the past two or three decades is showing that the complex forms of natural systems are essential to their functioning. The attempt to straighten rivers and give them regular cross-sections is perhaps the most disastrous example of this form-and-function relationship. The natural river has a very i rregular form: it curves a lot, spills across floodplains, and leaks into wetlands, giving it an ever-changing and incredibly complex shoreline. * source; p.34...Read More...
deepcosmos
Hi, David, thanks a million!Read More...
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Tense

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1. Why does the writer use "says ", present tense, in the sentence below? 2. This is an report, right? It is not at general statement, right? Why not the writer uses "said", past tense, in the sentence below. Around the time of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Devers says she had been running as slowly as she did in high school and failed to progress past the semifinals of the 100m hurdles, her favored event. ...Read More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Joshua—I agree with Gustavo that "says" (present tense) applies to the time of the interview. The adverbial "Around the time of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul" does not apply to "says" but, rather, to the verb phrase in the "[that]"-clause complementing "says." To illustrate: (a) Denver says (that) she had been running as slowly as she did in high school around the time of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul . (b) She had been running as slowly as she did in high school around the time of the 1988...Read More...
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favorite stories

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1) Is there a short story by Saki you like better than the others? 2) Do you have a favorite among short stories written by Saki? 3) Do you have a favorite short story written by Saki? I am not sure '2' and '3' mean the same. It seems to me that '2' means the same as '1'. However, '3' seems to be asking if among your favorite short stories there is a story by Saki. Is that correct? Maybe '3' is ambiguous? Gratefully, NaviRead More...
David, Moderator
Hello, Navi—I agree with Gustavo's answer and would like to remind you of a formulation that would commonly be used here if the normal meaning were intended, rather than a coerced, theoretically possible meaning. (4) Do you have a favorite Saki short story? There we have the meaning "Do you have a favorite short story among the short stories written by Saki?" without the possible alternate meaning you have raised for (3), which perhaps one in a million readers might be bothered by.Read More...
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Apes

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Why does the author use the verb of "apes" in the sentence below? What does it mean? Marshall's rhetoric apes that of the broader Republican Party, which has seized on criticism of law enforcement ...... https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/06/politics/crime-biden-2022-election/index.htmlRead More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Joshua, It means "imitates." From https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/ape: 1 to copy the way someone speaks or behaves in order to make fun of them SYN mimic He could ape his teachers perfectly. 2 to copy someone’s way of doing something, so that what you do or produce is not good or original SYN mimic cheap clothes which ape the high fashions of the dayRead More...
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Verb, adjective, noun clause

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1. May I know "disguised" is a verb or adjective? 2. Is "We should stand opposed to the practice of unilateralism" a noun clause? "We should stand opposed to the practice of unilateralism disguised as multilateralism and say no to hegemony and power politics," Xi said. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-07-06/China-calls-on-political-parties-to-jointly-address-global-challenges-11Glhxb8dvW/index.htmlRead More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
If you want to expand the past-participial modifier into a relative clause, you have to use be , and you have to add a comma at the end to enclose the relative: - We should stand opposed to the practice of unilateralism , which is disguised as multilateralism, and say no to hegemony and power politics. However, the sentence above does not mean the same as the original one. The original sentence refers to the practice of unilateralism disguised as multilateralism, that is, to acting as if you...Read More...
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antecedent

0 likes · 63 views
What is normal body temperature? How to know if you have a fever I am not sure whether 'where ' refers to between individuals' This kind of sentence is actually not easy to understand quickly. Could you tell me what 'where' refers to? Temperature can vary between individuals , where some members of a family are consistently warmer than others," says Charles Brantly, MD at Central Health. "This is not necessarily a bad thingRead More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, GBLSU, I interpret that "where" as synonymous with "in which case," so it refers to the whole clause preceding it.Read More...
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Question

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How............ is the question that the policemen are trying to answer? a. has the document been stolen b. has been the document stolen c.the document has been stolen d. the document been has stolen The answe is letter (c) but why there is a question mark at the end of the sentenceRead More...
David, Moderator
Interestingly, utilizing the type of ellipsis known as "sluicing," found with wh -interrogatives (embedded questions and root questions), we could have: The document has been stolen. How is the question that the police are trying to answer. The document has been stolen. The question that the police are trying to answer is how. In each case, "the document has been stolen" is elided after the wh-word, how .Read More...
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