September 2022

5 replies

Is the bold needed?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/27/223:55 PM

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I don't want "negate" to apply to "forms": Interest in MP doesn’t entail the suggestion that linguists shouldn’t study language-specific grammars or find novel generalizations that might reflect FL’s structure—MP enlarges the questions worth investigating but doesn’t somehow negate the value or relevance of earlier questions or of earlier forms of investigation.Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 10/8/221:36 PM

Am I am going overboard in keeping the extra "of"?Read More...

Updated 10/8/221:36 PM

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4 replies

Does the bold apply to BOTH of the preceding paragraphs?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/26/228:13 PM

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See the bold: https://join.substack.com/p/plato-and-darwin I think that most of the brouhaha is—as usual—more of a tempest in a teapot than an actual informed and serious disagreement. It’s a staple in the EvoLang literature that language emerged for communication, but this claim is often more ornamental than central—I suspect that EvoLang people usually have no idea what “communication” means and give little thought to how to define it. Further , if “communication” includes “communicating...Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 10/8/221:35 PM

Thanks! 1: I guess that I was just wondering whether the first paragraph about the "brouhaha" was necessarily a statement that the next three paragraphs are intended to support...isn't it also possible that the opening "brouhaha" paragraph is just a comment and then the three paragraphs that follow are not in fact intended to buttress or support it? 2: I apologize, since I know that I've raised this issue before, but I just get confused when you have a series of paragraphs and somewhere in...Read More...

Updated 10/8/221:35 PM

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5 replies

Should I split this paragraph in this situation?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/30/2210:55 AM

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The bold words could be the start of a new paragraph: https://join.substack.com/p/plato-and-darwin Regarding science in general, Chomsky is a methodological pragmatist —he thinks that there are several rules of thumb for successful inquiry. First, be ready for something to surprise you —inquiry probably isn’t for you if the capacity for surprise is beyond you. Second, always try to explain the phenomena you find puzzling. Third, always evaluate the current explanations to see whether they...Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 10/2/221:06 AM

Here's a situation later on in the piece where I have a new paragraph for "First,". But it's a different context. As for what Chomsky is excited about, we already discussed some of this. First, MP is exciting because it puts Plato’s Problem and Darwin’s Problem—and the apparent tension between them—at the center of inquiry, which is a very ambitious move, since these two antagonistic tensions won’t be at all easy to reconcile. And more exciting still is the fact that we seem to have actually...Read More...

Updated 10/2/221:06 AM

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2 replies

How to address someone

mitsuko 9/30/2210:38 PM

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Hello, We used to refer to someone as Miss, Mrs. Ms Mr, but this is not a preferred way to some people who are LGBTQ. I’ve heard that Oxford dictionary included Mx as a new way to call someone who is neither Ms nor Mr. Is it true? If so, how widespread is it? Has it become a norm for English speakers? appleRead More...

mitsuko 10/1/227:07 PM

Thank you for your reply. It made me feel better to know that you had never once used or encountered "Mx" in speech or in print. I made me feel better because I was worried about being left out of a recent trend. apple How can I change the display name from mitsuko to apple?Read More...

Updated 10/1/227:07 PM

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3 replies

been meaning

Tony C 9/6/226:35 PM

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Is the below sentence grammatically correct? My apologies for the delay in getting back to you, I have been meaning to get back to you but always got interrupted by something.Read More...

Tony C 10/1/225:41 PM

Hello David, Thank you! Here it is: My apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I have been meaning to get back to you. However I always got interrupted by something.Read More...

Updated 10/1/225:41 PM

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4 replies

drove him

azz 9/27/221:12 AM

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a. I drove John to the hospital unconscious. b. I drove him to the hospital unconscious. c. I drove John, unconscious, to the hospital. d. I drove him, unconscious, to the hospital. Which of the above are grammatical and meaningful? Obviously I couldn't have been unconscious when I drove him/John to the hospital, so John has to be the one who is unconscious. Many thanksRead More...

David, Moderator 9/30/2210:35 PM

Hello, everybody—Try as I might, I am not able to hear any of those sentences as indicating grammatically that he/John was unconscioius. I think that, from a strict syntactic and semantic standpoint, each of those sentences indicates that "I" (the driver) was unconscious as "I" drove him/John to the hospital. Now, "drive" is a versatile verb, and it can indeed be used in the object-complement pattern, as it is in the song title "She Drives Me Crazy." However, in that usage, the verb has an...Read More...

Updated 9/30/2210:35 PM

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1 reply

those who

navi 9/29/2210:46 PM

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1) They who have gone through a war know what to expect. 2) Those who have gone through a war know what to expect. 3) Those of them who have gone through a war know what to expect. Do all of the above sentences mean the same? I think '1' is grammatical, but unnatural, at least in modern English. I think '3' limits the sentence to a group within another group identified as 'them'. '1' and '2' seem synonymous to me and are more general. I think usually they could be used instead of '3'. Am I...Read More...

David, Moderator 9/30/2210:11 PM

Hello, Navi—I agree with your commentary about the sentences. The only semantic difference seems to be that (3) is about a group within a group, whereas (1) & (2) are just about the set of people who have gone through a war.Read More...

Updated 9/30/2210:11 PM

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3 replies

The meaning of "for"

David Toklikishvili 9/29/228:52 AM

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Does the word "for" make any difference between the following sentences: I've been in France four months. I've been in France for four months. ThanksRead More...

David, Moderator 9/30/2210:03 PM

Yes. Again, the meaning in that case will be that you have been there for a four-month period at some point during your lifetime up till now. For example, I've been to India many times, but I have never been there for a month. If I had been there for a month, then I could say that I have been in India for a month.Read More...

Updated 9/30/2210:03 PM

Last Reply By David, Moderator · First Unread Post

3 replies

Which answer is correct or both can work ?

Mohamed Hassan 9/29/225:19 PM

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My younger brother………three centimeters this month . ( grew / has grown )Read More...

Mohamed Hassan 9/30/224:16 PM

Is it a scientific procedure that a person grows many times through a month so if I am gonna say that at the last day of this month thanks in advanceRead More...

Updated 9/30/224:16 PM

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2 replies

Deleting the object in the verb pattern [Verb +Objet+ to + infinitive]

Meriem 9/30/224:45 AM

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Hello, I am wondering whether omitting the object in the following verb pattern would be considered wrong (grammatically speaking). Or it depends on the verb itself. [Verb +Objet+ to + infinitive] Examples: A1. The officers ordered their men to attack the building. A2. The officers ordered to attack the building B1. I warned him not to go there after dark. B2. I warned not to go there after dark.Read More...

Meriem 9/30/221:03 PM

Understood. Thank youRead More...

Updated 9/30/221:03 PM

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2 replies

Infinitival clause as a modifier

Meriem 9/28/226:09 AM

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Hello, Are the bold clauses modifiers? if not, what are their function? She was busy all day. She didn't have a moment to rest. He loved her but he didn't have the courage to tell her. My friend helped me to find a house to rent.Read More...

Meriem 9/30/223:29 AM

Thank you, Gustavo.Read More...

Updated 9/30/223:29 AM

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3 replies

Omitting "to" in [To + verb + and + "to" + verb] pattern

Meriem 9/29/224:35 AM

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Hello, Q1: Why don't we have "to" before the verb "dine" in the following example? Is it because it borrows it from "to come"? Q2: Is adding "to" before "dine" considered as wrong? Example (1): Whenever he feels lonely, he invites a neighbour to come and dine with him. In case the sentence is written in the following manner: Example (2): Whenever he feels lonely, he invites a neighbour to dine with him. I think we should keep the "to" since it follows the pattern: [Verb + object + to +...Read More...

Meriem 9/30/223:25 AM

Thank you David and Gustavo, that was clear.Read More...

Updated 9/30/223:25 AM

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2 replies

"Of the many attempts that ------- to regulate language one way or another, very few ------."

Sundaran 9/29/226:21 AM

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"Of the many attempts that ------- to regulate language one way or another, very few ------." Dear Sir, What answer is the correct one and why? And how to pick the correct answers from such questions? Is there any trick to find out to choose the correct answer from such questions? Thanks in advance! A were made / had succeeded B have been made / have succeeded C are made / succeeded D could have been made / will succeed E are being made / may have succeededRead More...

Sundaran 9/29/228:33 PM

Thank you, GustavoRead More...

Updated 9/29/228:33 PM

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2 replies

Reported speech

Carlos 9/25/2210:53 PM

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The teacher said to the girl, "If you are late to school, you will be punished." The teacher said to the girl, "If you are late to school, you will be punished". Should the period be inside the quotation marks or outside here?Read More...

Carlos 9/29/225:44 PM

Got it, my dear. Thanks for your usual supportRead More...

Updated 9/29/225:44 PM

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4 replies

‘just as common a problem is’

deepcosmos 9/29/221:53 AM

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Hello, everyone, “ We worry that the robots are taking our jobs, but just as common a problem is that the robots are taking our judgement . In the large warehouses so common behind the scenes of today’s economy, human ‘pickers’ hurry around grabbing products off shelves and moving them to where they can be packed and dispatched. In their ears are headpieces: the voice of ‘Jennifer’, a piece of software, tells them where to go and what to do, controlling the smallest details of their...Read More...

deepcosmos 9/29/223:53 PM

Hi, Gustavo, I got it. You mean that by inverting two elements the long subject clause could be located in the end, which works stylistically better. Appreciate.Read More...

Updated 9/29/223:53 PM

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2 replies

Collocations of adjectives and nouns

jiho 9/29/2212:24 AM

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Hello I have different types of collocation examples from my students. I'd be appreciated it if you confirm these items marked o and x in the following. 1) Tony reported why high school students should stop smoking. His explanation sounds adverse to me. (o) 2) Tony reported why high school students should stop smoking. His explanation sounds adept to me. (x) 3) The CEO is prominent at dealing with difficult customers . (o) 4) The CEO is plausible at dealing with difficult customers . (x) 5)...Read More...

jiho 9/29/227:52 AM

Sorry, I didn't notice that I had inserted "be" before "appreciated", incluidng other errors. Anyway, those examples were from my student writing. Of course, I looked them up in several dictionaris, but it was still confusing. In my case, naturalness is difficult to notice, dictionaries do not seem to be a great help. Would it be okay if I asked more? Which sounds natural to you in these sentences? 1) People don’t usually grant a signature until a problem is apparent. (o) 2) At first, the...Read More...

Updated 9/29/227:52 AM

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1 reply

Grammar question -the gerund

Sparky 9/28/224:09 PM

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Ghandi is the praying man- this sounds unatural The man praying is ghandi -thia sounds natural The laughing people are my friends- sounds unatural The people laughing are my friends -natural I would be happy if anyone can explain why we can use the gerund before the noun 'people '.in this sentence as follows - She could not leave her suffering people behind .Read More...

Gustavo, Co-Moderator 9/29/226:15 AM

Hello, Sparky, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. In traditional grammar, those V-ing forms functioning as adjectives were called present participles (the term "gerund" was reserved for nominal functions). Nowadays, we tend to use the term "V-ing forms" at all times. It's not that "praying man" and "laughing people" are unnatural — they refer to a usual or permanent (rather than temporary) condition. The sentence above refers to people who always suffered. You can make "suffering"...Read More...

Updated 9/29/226:15 AM

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2 replies

‘be told’ and ‘hear’

deepcosmos 9/28/224:04 PM

0 likes · 35 views

Hello, everyone, “ About 80 students were invited to participate in an experiment and were told they would be given some money after a series of tests. A researcher was hired and made the students dislike him by being rude to them. The students took the tests and were all awarded the promised money. They were then divided into three groups. . . . “ * source; from our local textbook While I understand ‘ be told ’ and ‘ hear ’ are frequently interchangeable in many contexts, but in this one...Read More...

deepcosmos 9/29/224:57 AM

Hi, David, I always appreciate your spot-on answers.Read More...

Updated 9/29/224:57 AM

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8 replies

What does ", which" refer to?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/26/2211:02 PM

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Am I correct in thinking that there are no rules as to whether or not the ", which" below refers to just the bold? We know semantically that it can't refer to just the bold, but it's not like there are any rules on this front...you just figure out what ", which" refers to based on semantic context, right? I think that the next big question is: How do brains embody linguistic computations? But we can’t advance that question until we have some solid Minimalist theory—assuming that MP has legs,...Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 9/28/2210:28 PM

Thanks! I appreciate those ideas, especially "(1)"!Read More...

Updated 9/28/2210:28 PM

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4 replies

Is the bold word important to keep?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/27/221:54 AM

0 likes · 32 views

You'd think that removing the bold word would be fine, since the structure is obvious even without the bold. And yet the sentence sounds bad to me when I delete the bold; any idea why I prefer to keep the bold? work that relates to the issue of “good design” and to the issue of why—or if—certain properties hold of a well-designed systemRead More...

Andrew Van Wagner 9/28/222:48 PM

Thanks!Read More...

Updated 9/28/222:48 PM

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2 replies

the first time I tried/had tried doing it since . . .

Basant Al-Sayed 9/27/2210:26 PM

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Dear sir, I came across this sentence: It was the first time I .......... doing it since I had been at university . ( have tried - tried - had tried - am trying) I think the correct answer is " tried" but I don't know the reasonRead More...

David, Moderator 9/28/2212:17 PM

Hello, Basant and Ahmed—For me, only "had tried" is correct. Although it is possible to say "It was the first time I tried doing it," the "since"-phrase renders the perfect tense necessary. The sentence "It was the first time I had tried doing it since I had been at (the) university" implies "Since I had been at (the) university, I had not tried doing it (until that time)." By the way, I've edited your title, Basant. Originally, it was "Which answer is correct and why?" One of our guidelines...Read More...

Updated 9/28/2212:17 PM

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2 replies

process, mechanism or operation?

Abdullah Mahrouse 9/28/228:37 AM

0 likes · 25 views

Hi all, In the following MCQ, the expected answer should be "process". It's OK. But what about "mechanism" & "operation" in such a context? Photosynthesis is the ………. by which green plants and other certain organisms transform light energy into chemical energy. a. process b. operation c. industry d. mechanism Thank you very muchRead More...

Abdullah Mahrouse 9/28/229:05 AM

Thank you very much, Gustavo.Read More...

Updated 9/28/229:05 AM

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5 replies

which saw/have seen/had seen their beak size increase by 4%

raymondaliasapollyon 9/27/2212:24 AM

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Hi, Which of the following boldfaced forms is okay? The biggest shifts in appendage size in the more than 30 animals they looked at in the review were among some Australian parrot species, which saw/have seen/had seen their beak size increase by 4% to 10% on average since 1871. Animals are 'shape shifting' in response to climate change | CNN I'd appreciate your help.Read More...

Gustavo, Co-Moderator 9/28/228:44 AM

That was a very clever observation. Thank you. Now that you mention it, I have to confess I find it puzzling too! Why should the rules governing the tenses used with "since" change depending on its position within the sentence? In any case, the original question concerning why CNN used "saw" instead of "have ( or had) seen" with a "since"-adverbial still remains a mystery.Read More...

Updated 9/28/228:44 AM

Last Reply By Gustavo, Co-Moderator · First Unread Post

2 replies

Verb (of perception) + objective + bare infinitive / gerund (verb patterns)

Meriem 9/26/2211:48 AM

0 likes · 25 views

Hello GE Community, I have a question regarding the verb pattern : [ Verb (of perception) + objective + bare infinitive / gerund ] Why in some cases we use a bare infinitive : "Do you like seeing people compete on reality shows? if so, which ones?" And sometimes we use gerund: "On reality shows, you often see people behaving badly. Do you think shows like that are a bad influence on society?" How should I know when to use a bare infinitive or a gerund? Thank you in advance.Read More...

Meriem 9/28/223:43 AM

Perfectly understood. Thank you so much for the explanation.Read More...

Updated 9/28/223:43 AM

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2 replies

En-dash or hyphen on the bold?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/26/228:36 PM

0 likes · 28 views

Government-Binding Theory (GB) was a huge step forward—it was the first comprehensive theory of FL’s fine structure that had the wherewithal to meet the gap’s dimensions. GB offered a decent outline of the sorts of properties FL innately contains—it also offered a decent empirically justifiable outline of the linguistic specificity of these properties, meaning that GB’s principles refer to structures, operations, and primitives that are narrowly linguistic and that aren’t special cases of...Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 9/27/224:38 PM

Thanks! I appreciate the help on this front!Read More...

Updated 9/27/224:38 PM

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