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September 2022

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Back-shifting "must" in reported speech.

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Hello, I have a question regarding back-shifting “must” in reported speech. Why does the following sentence have "has to" as a second option of back-shifting ? Direct speech: “There is an important meeting I absolutely must attend” Indirect speech: He told me he had to / has to attend an important meeting. Source: MACMILLAN Open Mind upper Intermediate workbook.Read More...
Meriem
Perfectly understood. Thank you David.Read More...
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Last Reply By Meriem · First Unread Post
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Optional back-shifting in reported speech ( case of general truth)

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Hello, Could I consider the answer (2) as a general truth the reason for which the back-shifting is optional ? Man: Why is this award so special to you? Olivia: Well, every actress (1) dreams of winning this award . You know, this business (2) isn’t easy. I remember my family told me; (3) you’ll never be a star in Hollywood. But they were wrong! The interviewer reported his conversation: She told us that every actress (1) dreams / dreamed of winning this award and added that the...Read More...
Meriem
Great. Thank youRead More...
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A question about double comparison

0 likes · 70 views
I found the following sentence in Oxford Practical English Usage : (1) The more information that comes in, the more confused the picture is. The sentence above may be following the structure: (*) the + comparative expression + subject + verb My question: if we omit “that” in sentence (1), will it become grammatically incorrect? [Because my answer is “yes”, so I get confused with the next sentences (which are considered grammatically correct by some people I asked):] (2) The more people join...Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hello, Noel, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. I have found on the Internet an interesting article by Thomas Hoffmann, Thomas Brunner and Jakob Horsch called "English comparative correlative constructions: A usage-based account." Here is the link. The authors make a thorough syntactic-semantic analysis of this construction and reach some interesting conclusions based on a large number of examples found in BNC corpus. They call the first part of the construction, associated with the cause,...Read More...
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Usage of 'need' in active and passive voice.

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Hello there, can I use need in the following way? 1- Mahatma Gandhi was a great soul. He and his journey of life need to be researched into. 2- Mahatma Gandhi was a great soul. He and his journey of life need researching into. 3- Mahatma Gandhi was a great soul. We need to research into him and his journey of life.Read More...
David, Moderator
Hello, Subhajit—There is nothing wrong with saying that someone or something needs to be researched , or that we need to research that person or thing, or that that person or thing needs researching (though I find that a bit awkward). That said, all of your sentences are wrong, because you have used researched into . You should simply say researched . We use research with into when research is a noun, not when it is a verb. Gandhi's life needs to be researched. Gandhi's life needs...Read More...
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Redundant words

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Hi! Hope everyone is feeling great. I would appreciate it if you could help me with this. 1) He sped off quickly in order to get home before dark. Is quickly redundant in the sentence above? Thank you so much for the help you are going to give me.Read More...
gilbert
Hi, Gustavo. Thank you for your response. I asked for clarification thinking that 'sped' already indicated quickness. Thanks for your help.Read More...
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to buy curtains

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1) Tom is taking his wife to buy curtains. Is the implied agent of 'to buy curtains' necessarily Tom's wife? Could it be Tom? Could it be Tom and his wife? (I don't think grammatically that is possible) Gratefully, NaviRead More...
Posted
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Of

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"Rahul said Kohli’s form is of least concern to him, and the people shouldn’t focus only on the stats of a particular player.' Dear Sir, Why is "OF" using here instead of using "Rahul said Kohli’s form is least concern to him....." (without "OF", does this sentence make sense?) Thanks in advance🙏Read More...
Former Member
Thank you Sir for your time and effort!Read More...
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"was walking" or "had been walking"?

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There is a question in my grammar book. "John and I went for a walk. I had difficulty keeping up with him because he ___(walk) so fast" We can use "was walking", "had walked" or "had been walking" The answer is "was walking", but I think that "had been walking" is also a reasonable choice, isn't it?Read More...
Ben 536
very thankful, I got it now!Read More...
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New4 replies

would take, took

0 likes · 88 views
Hello Moderators. Could you please help me choose the correct answer? Are the two answers correct? - During his school years, my father (would take took) great interest in literature. Thank you.Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, everybody, I agree with all the answers mentioned above, but I'd like to refer to another possible explanation that Ahmed Imam got in 2021: "'would' can be used to talk about past habitual actions, but taking an interest in literature isn't really a habitual action -- it's more of a mental state. Now if by 'take great interest in literature' you mean, for example, that when a new literary novel was published your father performed certain kinds of actions -- for example, going to book...Read More...
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‘function of past perfect’

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Hello, everyone, “I was sitting outside a restaurant in Spain one summer evening, waiting for dinner. The aroma of the kitchens excited my taste buds. My future meal was coming to me in the form of molecules drifting through the air, too small for my eyes to see but detected by my nose. The ancient Greeks first came upon the idea of atoms this way; the smell of baking bread suggested to them that small particles of bread existed beyond vision. The cycle of weather reinforced this idea: a...Read More...
deepcosmos
Gustavo, you did share me a lot to learn, thanks.Read More...
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New6 replies

turn the light on vs keep the light on

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Hello! Please look at the following sentences: a. Turn on the light. b. Turn the light on. c. Keep the light on. d. Keep on the light. e. Keep on reading . f. Keep reading on. My questions: 1. Are (d) and (f) possible? 2. I'd like to know whether "on" is a preposition, adverb or adjective in (a), (b), (c), (e), and in (d), (f) if those are possible. I think that in (c) "on" is funtioning as an adjective modifying "light". But I'm not sure about the other variants.Read More...
alexey-86
Thank you, Gustavo!Read More...
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New3 replies

More valuable - degree of comparison

0 likes · 34 views
Is the sentence below grammatically correct? Please complete the form best you can and leave blank for the questions that you are uncertain. So that when we meet up, we will be having more valuable discussion.Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Tony, you can say "as best you can" or "the best you can." See, for example, this reference from "Common Mistakes in English Usage."Read More...
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New4 replies

So, as a pro-form

0 likes · 68 views
Hi, A survey by Barna research group found the top reason given by Americans for the fake news phenomenon is "reader error," more so than made-up stories or factual mistakes in reporting. https://www.businessinsider.com/fake-news-literacy-americans-2017-5 "So" is a pro-form, but what does it refer to?Read More...
Robby zhu
Okay, I got it.Read More...
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I have been to vs I was to

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Hello! Would you please explain to me why the preposition "to" can follow "have been" but not "was"? For example: a. I have been to Paris three times. (correct) b. I was to Paris three times last year. (wrong) "Have been" and "was" are different forms of the same verb "be". So, why is it possible to use "to" after "be" in the Present Perfect form and wrong when "be" is in the Past Simple?Read More...
Posted
New1 reply

Is it equal?

0 likes · 28 views
I need to put a moisturizer/cream on my 5 years old son's face. However, when I woke up, he already did it himself. I wanna make sure the cream is applied across his face not just a certain area of his face. Can I say, did you apply the moisturizer equally on your face? It sounds weird. Thanks so much!!!Read More...
David, Moderator
Hello, Tony—"Equally" doesn't work well with your intended meaning; it suggests he also applied the cream elsewhere. With your intended meaning, you can naturally say, "Did you apply the moisturizer all over your face?"Read More...
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Last Reply By David, Moderator · First Unread Post
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Past simple/ present perfect

0 likes · 34 views
What is the difference between I wrote the letter for two days last week. I have written the letter for the last week. I want two know if these sentences are correct in structure and what the difference in the meaningRead More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Poet20—Neither sentence works, assuming your intended meaning is (for the first) that it took you two days last week to write the letter, and (for the second) that it has taken you a week to write the letter. Because of the aspectual properties of the verb phrase "write something," what your sentences mean is that you wrote the letter over and over again, from start to finish, for the two respective durations of time (two days; a week).Read More...
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Last Reply By David, Moderator · First Unread Post
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Broke or was broken

0 likes · 34 views
Hello dears, The mobile (break)! My friend felt sad. Should it be broke or was broken and why? Thanks in advance.Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Carlos, Both are possible. 1. "The mobile broke" refers to the moment when the mobile, for example, fell and crashed. 2. "The mobile was broken" can refer to: 2.a. the moment when somebody broke the mobile (here "was broken" is the passive voice of "broke"); or 2.b. the preexisting broken condition of the mobile (here "was" is a copula and "broken" is a past participle functioning as an adjective).Read More...
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Last Reply By Gustavo, Co-Moderator · First Unread Post
New3 replies

Adjunct or modifier

0 likes · 56 views
Hi, One minute a Durban man was engaged in small talk with his father over the phone and the next, he heard his dad’s screams as he was being stabbed , allegedly by his gardener. https://www.iol.co.za/capetime...son-on-phone-7895266 About the bold part, does it modify the noun phrase "his dad's screams", or does it function as an adjunct, indicating the time of hearing the screams？ Thank you.Read More...
Robby zhu
Thank you Gustavo and David. Yes, we can know from the context that it was the father that was being stabbed.Read More...
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New3 replies

Smooth move / smooth moving

0 likes · 414 views
Supposedly someone told you that she just moved house and is very busy. Should I say to her: Hope you have a smooth move. or Hope you have a smooth moving.Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Sorry, "move" is indeed the right word. "Moving" will appear before other nouns: moving process, moving experience, moving day.Read More...
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Last Reply By Gustavo, Co-Moderator · First Unread Post
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