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July 2022

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I need to relax about this ambiguity here, right?

0 likes · 40 views
See here: You get used to the Hill after a while, but it’s overwhelming when you walk around and lobby for the first time —nothing can prepare you for the insanity. Technically "for the first time" is unclear; it could modify ONLY "lobby" or it could modify "walk around" as WELL as "lobby". But everyone knows that it obviously applies to BOTH, so I need to relax, right?Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Nice! I will do that!Read More...
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Hyphenate "special interest groups"?

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I'm not sure https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/opinion/david-brooks-capitalism.html Over the years special-interest groups had clogged up the economy https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/nyregion/kathy-hochul-fundraising.html Behind the stunning sums were a cast of New York’s most well-financed special interest groupsRead More...
David, Moderator
The NYT and syntax are two separate things.Read More...
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Question about speech/quote mark use in an article I'm writing

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Hi all, I'm currently writing an article on the difference between the terms 'refugee' and 'migrant' and how conflating the two can have a negative impact on both groups. Given the subject of the article, it necessitates me writing the words 'refugee' and 'migrant' a lot, for example: "The same study also found that labels conveying a degree of agency or opportunity - such as ‘migrant’ - are viewed more negatively than those describing people displaced by adverse situations - such as...Read More...
Cameron Boyle
Thanks very much! That’s very helpful.Read More...
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have or has

0 likes · 47 views
Hi, please assist. This is my sentence: "Over the last decade, our expertise and customer-centric approach have secured our position in the frontlines of the industry." Why does it feel like 'has secured' is more correct - as if 'our expertise' and 'customer-centric approach' is one construct. Kindly advise.Read More...
Renier
Thanks DavidRead More...
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Is it correct to use "more expensive as"?

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Hi everyone, What do you think of the following sentence? Is it grammatically correct? At the same time, some countries announced that they would send products by air, but this is about three times more expensive as sending it by ship. Thanks in advanceRead More...
Mr Galal Hasanin
Thanks DavidRead More...
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In/on Ireland

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Hello, When discussing the country, Ireland would you use in or on in this case- There is war in Ireland There is war on Ireland Best wishes BabosRead More...
David, Moderator
Hello, Babos, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. I would use "in Ireland." However, since Ireland is an island, "on" is also OK. The smaller the island nation, the more natural "on" would seem to me. There is war in/on Bali.Read More...
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Being

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"W ould you go at any other meeting without being prepared or become emotional?" What was "being" used in the above sentence? What is the issue if we dont use "being" and say "without preparing..."?Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
"Be prepared" is the same as "be ready," where "be" is a copulative verb introducing a certain state or condition.Read More...
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Which answer is correct?

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Dear sir, The following item is from third year English Exam ,Egypt,2022 . Don't worry. Your phone ....... by tomorrow morning. ( a- will have fixed _ b- is going to be fixed _ c- is going to fix _ d- will have been fixed ) For me , I think the correct answer is: is going to be fixed ,yet the model answer is " will have been fixed " I think the native speaker will say " is going to be fixed" ; will have been fixed is awkward yet technically correctRead More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Basant—Both answers ("is going to be fixed" and "will have been fixed") are grammatically correct. You are right that native speakers would be inclined to use "is going to be fixed" instead of Egypt's model answer here. "Be fixed" can be parsed in two ways. It can be a linking verb followed by an adjective, as in "Your phone is going to be fixed by then," or a passive verb phrase, as in "Your phone will have been fixed (by us) by tomorrow morning."Read More...
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"a ten-minute break" Vs "a ten minutes break"

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Is / Are any of the following sentences structurally incorrect? 1. We have a 15-minute break after the third lesson. 2. We have a 15 minutes break after the third lesson. 3. We have a 15 minutes' break after the third lesson. 4. We have 5 minutes breaks between lessons. Thank you very muchRead More...
Abdullah Mahrouse
That's it! Thank you very muchRead More...
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Is these 2 cases same meaning?

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A. It is interesting not just because it is fast but because you do it for yourself. >>>The reason of being intersting is two: fast and that you do. B. It is interesting not because it is fast but because you do it for yourself. >>> The reason of being intersting is just one: you do. so A is not same with B. Is it correct?Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Sly, You should have said "the reason(s) for it(s) being interesting." In (A), "not just because" is the same as "not only because," so "but because" introduces a second reason . In (B), "but because" introduces the only valid reason .Read More...
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Capitalize the bold? Not sure about each instance.

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See these instances (I'm talking about Sri Lanka...note that " P rofessor at York University" looks weird but that's how her webpage does it even though you would lean toward lowercase on that front...and note that "parliament" might be a general common noun thing or might refer to Sri Lanka's specific parliament, so that's tough because the latter seems to take a capital letter on Wikipedia): The protests reached a fever pitch on 9 July—protestors occupied government buildings, broke into...Read More...
Posted
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Is it silly to worry that the bold might be interpreted as a verb?

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See the bold (I want to start the predicate ASAP, so I don't want a big fat subject): https://join.substack.com/p/danger And it’s not like voters would’ve taken seriously any promises about infrastructure and health care after Trump’s first term—he had limited strategic options.Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Thanks so much!Read More...
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Can I say "firstly"/"secondly"/"thirdly" here?

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See the bold...and I wonder if it's ALWAYS OK to substitute "firstly"/"secondly"/"thirdly" for "first"/"second"/"third": https://join.substack.com/p/danger Firstly , Baker points out that the Secondly , Baker observes that it was good to see the And thirdly , Baker lays out —in response to a question that I myself tweeted—that theRead More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Thanks so much! That's interesting...I'm happy to go with Garner's recommendation...I also wonder what other people on the forum might say and whether they'd concur with Garner's recommendation on this front!Read More...
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Is the bold an excessive "buffer" to prevent potential confusion?

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What follows the colon is about what Baker says, not what the newspaper says, but I don't know if the "buffer" in bold is excessive or not: https://join.substack.com/p/danger First, Baker points out that the Washington Post ’s 21 July 2022 piece engages in a shameful and silly and bizarre distortion— Baker comments as follows:Read More...
Posted
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Should I use ?

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Hello, Should I use "?" in the below sentence or a full stop: Could you please advise whether this was related to the invoice #123.Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Tony C, This is a firm request in which you don't give the addressee an option to say 'no' (refuse). It is like an order, so I see that a period sounds better. Of course, if you want to sound nicer, a question mark is the one to use. https://www.merriam-webster.co...n-imperative-requestRead More...
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‘enough to do’ vs. ‘so ~ that ~ ’

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Hello, everyone, A. The street food was cheap and delicious enough for workers to eat it . B. The street food was so cheap and delicious that workers could eat i t. C. The street food was so cheap and delicious that workers ate it . While I have two questions below, I would much appreciate on your opinions; 1. Which has closer meaning to A between B and C? 2. Since I feel A and B are ambiguous with following dual meanings so B could be close to A, when transforming ‘enough to do’ phrase into...Read More...
deepcosmos
Hello, David, really appreciate your lengthy explanations. Meantime, I've engaged in company work, which caused belated reply. Fully noted. Noted. Ah, first of all, I made typo, which should have read, " The street food was so cheap <with the result that> workers bought it . (✘)". However, I've come to learn the new fact below; 1. Both "enough to phrase" and "so [Adj/Adv] that -clause" constructions have two meanings - either "modal"(to such a degree that) or "cause/result" depending...Read More...
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How should I fuse things here?

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There are 3 sentences; I can use an em-dash to fuse the former 2 or to fuse the latter 2, so the issue is where the "logical gravity" is stronger...logic might pull the former 2 together more strongly than the latter 2 or vice versa. https://join.substack.com/p/hidden-skeletons But I would recommend the 2017 documentary Finding Oscar —it looks at the 1982 Dos Erres massacre in Guatemala and traces the story of two people who survived the massacre at a very young age. I think that it’s a...Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Thanks so much! And if I wanted to fuse over the first two or the latter two then which of the two options should I go with? It depends which option has more "logical gravity" pulling its elements together.Read More...
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To finish or to be finished

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1- The report is about ( to finish - to be finished) 2- The meeting is about (to finish - to be finished) In no.1 I think the answer must be( to be finished) In no. 2 I think both choices can work. What do you think? Thanks in advanceRead More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Ahmed Towab, I agree with you. 1. The report is about to be finished. = The report is about to be ready. 2. The meeting is about to be finished. = The meeting is about to be over. 3. The meeting is about to finish. = The meeting is about to come to an end. BTW, concerning 1, Gustavo has given the following answer: https://thegrammarexchange.inf...o-finish-be-finishedRead More...
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[Warning: Example is very graphic.] Is there a way to eliminate ambiguity here?

0 likes · 67 views
See here (the issue is that "about infants" and "about heads" might be thought to modify "read" because you can say "read about X"): https://join.substack.com/p/hidden-skeletons You can read stories about pregnant women’s bellies being cut open, or about infants being bayoneted, or about heads being hung from trees—I mean, it just goes on and on.Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
I think that the commas serve a good purpose here; it gives the sense of things going on and on.Read More...
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Print or printed

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In dictionaries, we find ( print & printed) used as adjectives. Print version / print ads Printed document/ publication Are they the same? Are they interchangable with some words? While not with others? In other words can we say: Print version or printed version ? I know that ( print ) means ( related to printing such as: Print journalism But what about ( a print publication or a printed publication. Thanks in advanceRead More...
Ahmed towab
Can we say : The book was issued in a printed version not a digital oneRead More...
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Best place to put the dashes?

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See the bold (not sure if the bold should go after "have" or should be shifted to elsewhere in the sentence...e.g., it could be moved so that it comes after "involved"): https://join.substack.com/p/hidden-skeletons And the US military and the US government have —through dollar diplomacy , through long occupations, and through repeated interventions— been deeply involved in making sure that the Central American countries were protecting US corporate interests.Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Thank you so much! I will cut the extra "through"-constructions; great idea on that front!Read More...
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had been broken or had broken

0 likes · 947 views
The police said just now that the windows ( had been broken - had broken) before the thieves went into the building. I think ( had been broken) is more appropriate than ( had broken) because we understand from the sentence that it was the thief who broke the window, however, I think ( had broken) can work ,too.Read More...
David, Moderator
Hello, Ahmed and Ahmed—I agree with Ahmed_btm that both choices are grammatically correct, and with Ahmed towab that "had been broken" is more appropriate in this particular sentence or context. The ergative, or middle voice, construction ("The windows had broken") represents the windows as having spontaneously broken of their own accord, as it were, even though we know that windows are not conscious agents. However, the point of what the police said is that the thieves did not break the...Read More...
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deeply, deep

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Hello. Could you please help me understand the difference between "deeply-rooted" and "deep-rooted"? Thank you.Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Ahmed, "Deep-rooted" is a compound adjective and is always hyphenated. It appears mostly in attributive position (before the noun, as in deep-rooted belief ) but can also occur in predicative position, i.e. after be or some other copulative or intransitive verb. "Deeply rooted" is not a compound word and therefore not hyphenated — it is a phrase formed by an adverb and a past participle, mainly appearing in predicative position.Read More...
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