September 2022

1 reply

by the time

ilko mitrikov 9/23/229:26 PM

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By the time I was gone , She cooked a meal . Is this sentence correct ?Read More...

David, Moderator 9/23/229:45 PM

Hi, Ilko—No, the sentence is not correct. We don't use spaces before commas or capitalize the first word of the main clause when it follows an introductory phrase like "By the time I was gone." Apart from the incorrect punctuation and capitalization, the sentence doesn't have a clear meaning. Are you trying to say this? " By the time I left, she had cooked a meal ." If so, say that instead.Read More...

Updated 9/23/229:45 PM

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1 reply

Which answer is correct and why?

Shahd Elaskaryy 9/22/2211:48 AM

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Dear sir,My regards I have came across this sentence in my textbook, second year, secondary school Egypt. it says, "I have became more independent since I have been away" From a listening text about a girl who went to live abroad. My question is that can we use arrived instead of have been so we say "I have become more independent since I arrived her" As there is a difference in the meaning between have been and arrived. I think arrived would be correct as It means that the action finished...Read More...

ahmed_btm 9/23/229:40 AM

Hi, Shahd Elaskaryy, I did answer this question two days ago. https://thegrammarexchange.inf...7#702627341523278717 If you want to ask any further questions relating to this topic, you can ask it there. You don't have to start a new thread.Read More...

Updated 9/23/229:40 AM

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3 replies

was supposed to have been

Former Member 9/21/2211:36 PM

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"Leela was also supposed to have been with him, but no one knew about her either." Dear Gustavo Sir What is the meaning "was also supposed to have been" in the above sentence? Source : https://www.sahapedia.org/mt-vasudevan-nair-conversation-dr-sudha-gopalakrishnan-lifetime-writing Thanks in advance 🙏Read More...

Former Member 9/22/228:06 PM

Both Gustavo and David are legends 🙏Read More...

Updated 9/22/228:06 PM

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2 replies

‘we act as if ... , and <that> ...’

deepcosmos 9/22/227:28 AM

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Hello, everyone, “ Sometimes we act as if our human intelligence and self-awareness is the only kind worth having, and that other beings must be and behave like us .” While recently I’ve found ‘ as if ’ clause is followed by ‘ that ’ clause, I feel ‘ and ’ by itself would be enough without ‘ that ’, because I think the conjunction ‘ as if ’ solely is covering the whole two sentences here to make likely comparisons. I would appreciate if you kindly explain me why the author added ‘ that ’ in...Read More...

deepcosmos 9/22/223:52 PM

Hi, David, sincerely thanks for your supports as always.Read More...

Updated 9/22/223:52 PM

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4 replies

to stay up all night and write

azz 9/21/225:49 AM

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a. This was the paper he wanted to stay up all night and write. b. This was the paper he planned on staying up all night and writing. Are these sentences both grammatically correct? Many thanksRead More...

TheParser 9/22/2212:31 PM

Many thanks to Azz for the thoughtful question and to Gustavo for his great sentences and to David for the beautiful diagram.Read More...

Updated 9/22/2212:31 PM

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2 replies

I have gone to

Ahmed.A.A 9/21/2211:21 AM

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Hi, Is the following sentence OK? "M anager: Where are you? I can't find you in your office. Clerk: I have gone to the restaurant.''Read More...

Ahmed.A.A 9/22/224:18 AM

Thanks a lot AhmedRead More...

Updated 9/22/224:18 AM

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1 reply

Does "actually" apply to ALL of the bold?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/227:06 AM

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It’s very common for a young kid with ADHD to get misdiagnosed with autism. And then the kid will get older and develop more language and it’ll become clear that actually they’re struggling socially as a result of ADHD and not as a result of autism .Read More...

TheParser 9/22/224:08 AM

Yes, in my opinion. "Actually" seems to mean "in fact." Actually, I think that some people would prefer to put that word after "they're" in your quoted sentence.Read More...

Updated 9/22/224:08 AM

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4 replies

would be + V ing

Former Member 9/20/2210:41 PM

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Dear Sir I learnt the use of "will be + Verb ing" in English that something going to happen in the very near future. For example : "I will be doing it very soon" OR "They will be coming here within five minutes." But what is the meaning of the "would be + V ing" in the below sentence? "I did not know if anyone would even want to publish my writing. Then I saw an ad saying a big magazine called Chitrakeralam was coming from Madras. Many eminent writers would be writing for it." Source :...Read More...

Former Member 9/21/2211:34 PM

Oh...Sorry, Thanks a ton Gustavo😄Read More...

Updated 9/21/2211:34 PM

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1 reply

Have been or will have been

Treasure 9/21/224:17 PM

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When John goes to America next month, he_________ to four of the world‟s continents. a) has been b) will go c) will be going d) will have been I think a and d can work because he specified (four)Read More...

ahmed_btm 9/21/225:33 PM

Hi, Treasure, I see that ' will have been ' is the only correct answer and the most natural one to use. In time clause, when the subordinate clause refers to the future, the future is normally indicated in the main clause by using one of the future tenses.Read More...

Updated 9/21/225:33 PM

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3 replies

Conditionals

Zeref 9/21/228:51 AM

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If he had checked the map he ______________ lost (A) WOULDN'T BE (B) WOULD NOT HAVE BEENRead More...

ahmed_btm 9/21/224:42 PM

Hi, Zeref, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange, Both a and b are correct. The third conditional is correct if you relate the results of this imaginary situation to the past. The mixed conditional is correct if you are thinking about the present results of this imaginary situation. There are three possibilities here: 1. If I were a good cook, I would invite them for dinner next week. (That means I won't invite them for dinner tomorrow) 2. If I were a good cook, I would have invited them for...Read More...

Updated 9/21/224:42 PM

Last Reply By ahmed_btm · First Unread Post

2 replies

Can "any time" always be written as "anytime"?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/2212:31 PM

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David (the moderator of this forum) said that you can always write "any time" as "anytime": https://thegrammarexchange.infopop.cc/topic/should-any-time-be-two-words-or-one-regarding-the-bold Hi, Andrew—Please refer to our earlier discussion about "any time" vs. "anytime" ( here ), in which you learned that "anytime" is regarded by usage authorities as perfectly fine nowadays. You can write "anytime soon" like that or as "any time soon." On the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA),...Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/221:26 PM

Right! Sorry about that! Thanks! It's still good to be able to merge the two words whenever it's an adverb, though!Read More...

Updated 9/21/221:26 PM

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8 replies

How can I rewrite this so that it's clear that the two bold parts do NOT attach to each other?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/20/226:27 PM

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3) What do you make of Barkley’s emphasis that it’s not only scientifically inaccurate to say that ADHD confers some benefit on people but that it’s also harmful and counterproductive because we need society to help these people and not regard these people as merely different or even as gifted?Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/2211:47 AM

Sorry about that; missed that. Thanks!Read More...

Updated 9/21/2211:47 AM

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8 replies

Any issue with ambiguity on the bold?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/228:15 AM

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See the bold (you could say that there are questions that Bob was "asked about" but you could also say that Bob was "asked about plumbing"...there are two ways for "asked about" to be used): These are similar questions to the ones that the seizure specialist gets asked about whether a given patient has been seizure-free long enough that they’re safe behind the wheel.Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/2211:44 AM

Thanks!Read More...

Updated 9/21/2211:44 AM

Last Reply By Andrew Van Wagner · First Unread Post

1 reply

Which answer is correct and why?

Shahd Elaskaryy 9/21/223:15 AM

0 likes · 57 views

Dear sir, M y regards I have came across this sentence in my textbook, second year, secondary school Egypt. it says, "I have became more independent since I have been away" From a listening text about a girl who went to live abroad. My question is that can we use arrived instead of have been so we say "I have become more independent since I arrived her" As there is a difference in the meaning between have been and arrived. I think arrived would be correct as It means that the action finished...Read More...

ahmed_btm 9/21/2211:25 AM

Hi, Shahd Elaskaryy, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange, 1. I have become independent since I have been away. 2. I have become independent since I arrived here. Both are grammatically correct. Please, try to focus more on your punctuation, grammar and spelling.Read More...

Updated 9/21/2211:25 AM

Last Reply By ahmed_btm · First Unread Post

2 replies

Is there a less awkward way to phrase the bold?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/227:02 AM

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The bold reads a bit awkwardly to me: The profound irony is that I judge others for their awful behaviors even when I know full well that I myself shouldn’t be judged for my own awful behaviors. And it’s not even impossible that these people I’m judging themselves have ADHD.Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/227:58 AM

Thanks!Read More...

Updated 9/21/227:58 AM

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1 reply

Why hyphens on (1) but not (2) and (3)?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/227:11 AM

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Just curious. (1) developmental-behavioral pediatrician (2) behavioral health conditions (3) behavioral health care systemRead More...

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/227:37 AM

Also I'm not sure about this one: Am I correct in thinking that soon it’ll be totally normal to talk about mental-health issues?Read More...

Updated 9/21/227:37 AM

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5 replies

Past tense or past participle

Robby zhu 9/20/2212:44 AM

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Hi, Could you tell me whether the "had" is the past tense or past participle? 1. I'd never questioned a teacher about a grade before—never had to. https://silo.pub/chicken-soup-...he-college-soul.htmlRead More...

Robby zhu 9/21/226:45 AM

LOL, Thank you, Gustavo. Once again, I confused expel with dispel.Read More...

Updated 9/21/226:45 AM

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2 replies

How would bold be interpreted? As Bob's assertion or Chomsky's or...?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/17/221:35 PM

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Bob: "Scientists like to claim that it’s not possible to beat something with nothing. But Chomsky’s point is that sometimes nothing actually is better than something, since postulated somethings that don’t do any explanatory work actually blind us to our ignorance— knowing how little you know is critical to moving forward ."Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/226:36 AM

Thanks!Read More...

Updated 9/21/226:36 AM

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2 replies

Difference between these two cases in bold?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/18/225:34 PM

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One has hyphen and one doesn't: https://join.substack.com/p/how-little-we-know Consider a better-defined domain, namely computation theory ... Questions in the computational domain are much better formulated than the more general and open-ended question about what lies beyond humanity’s cognitive scope.Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/226:36 AM

Thanks!Read More...

Updated 9/21/226:36 AM

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4 replies

Am I correct or wrong about prenominal genitives?

Andrew Van Wagner 9/20/2212:17 PM

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Someone said to me: "Prenominal genitives read weirdly when they are long. Better postnominal." Compare this (my preference): And in that time linguistics has made innumerable discoveries about linguistic competence’s nature and FL’s structure. To this (their preference): And in that time linguistics has made innumerable discoveries about the nature of linguistic competence and the structure of FL.Read More...

Andrew Van Wagner 9/21/226:34 AM

Thanks!Read More...

Updated 9/21/226:34 AM

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0 replies

the book he wanted to write

azz 9/21/225:32 AM

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a. Tom proudly handed me the book he had written. So this was the book that he had been so anxious to get away from his family and write. Is the second sentence grammatically correct? He had been anxious to get away from his family and write this book. Now he handed me the book and I thought that this was the book that he wanted to write after getting away from his family. Many thanksRead More...

Posted 9/21/225:32 AM

0 replies

infinitives

azz 9/20/2211:29 PM

0 likes · 21 views

a. I brought this book with me to read. b. I brought this book with me to read it. c. I brought this book with me in order to read it . d. They took John to imprison. e. They took John to imprison him. f. They took John in order to imprison him . Which are grammatically correct? Many thanksRead More...

Posted 9/20/2211:29 PM

0 replies

"love" as a punctual verb?

raymondaliasapollyon 9/20/2211:08 PM

0 likes · 14 views

Hi, Is the following sentence okay? Does the "love" mean "fall in love with"? I normally take "love" to be a stative verb. I loved her when I first saw her. I'd appreciate your help.Read More...

Posted 9/20/2211:08 PM

2 replies

Since or for?

Omar Ahmed 9/20/222:17 AM

0 likes · 32 views

I haven't seen you........... a. since summer b. since the summer c. since the last summer d. for the last summer I think all choices are OK. Am I right?Read More...

David, Moderator 9/20/2210:48 AM

Yes, answer choice (d) does not work (except with the very special interpretation "This is not the last summer that we shall see each other"—and surely that is not the meaning that Omar has in mind). But you can say, "I haven't seen you for the whole summer" or "I haven't seen you all summer ."Read More...

Updated 9/20/2210:48 AM

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1 reply

have lived, have been living

Ahmed Imam Attia 9/20/221:34 AM

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Hello. Could you please help me choose the correct answer? Why? - We (have lived - have been living) here for 6 years now and we don’t intend to move. Thank you.Read More...

ahmed_btm 9/20/227:08 AM

Hi, Ahmed Imam, The present perfect continuous ' have been living ' is the better one to use here. The second part lays more emphasis on the continuity of the action in the future. This meaning works better with the present perfect continuous.Read More...

Updated 9/20/227:08 AM

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