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since + present perfect

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I have come across this sentence: 1 With this new job, since I've been in charge of the sales department, I've been working long hours and working at the weekend. Is this sentence grammatically correct? Wouldn't it be better to use the past simple instead? 2 With this new job, since I came to be in charge of the sales department, I've been working long hours and working at the weekend.Read More...
Gustavo, Contributor
Hi, Me_IV, Both sentences are correct. While (1) focuses on the position you have held all this time, (2) takes as a point of reference the moment when you were appointed to do that job.Read More...
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Determiners

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( All / Each / Every / Both ) of the musical band is wearing a hat.Read More...
Gustavo, Contributor
Hello, Islam Mohamed, Where have you taken this from? None of the possible combinations works. You could say: - All in the musical band are wearing a hat. - Everyone in the musical band is wearing a hat. - All the members of the musical band are wearing a hat. - Each / Every member of the musical band is wearing a hat. - Both members of the musical band are wearing a hat.Read More...
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Tenses

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Hi there, as a stand alone sentence, which one do you think is correct? 1- I worked for this company before but now I work for another company. 2- I have worked for this company before but now I work for another company. 3- I used to work for this company but now I work for another company.Read More...
David, Moderator
All three are correct, Subhajit, but you should consider using a comma before "but," a coordinating conjunction that here separates two independent clauses.Read More...
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Teach students like a flock of sheep?

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I was asked to talk about some mistakes Teachers make that make them less effective. While answering I said: "Teachers often fail to acknowledge the unique needs of each and every student. As if he's the shepherd and the students are his flock of sheep." Is it possible to say this or 'teach students like a flock of sheep' to mean that teachers treat students as if they all have the same capacity?Read More...
Peace
@Ashraful Haque Hello... Well, first of all, NOT every student can have the SAME capacity...I really don't know what kind of examples do you have in mind, but how about the following sayings (which I quite often use myself): “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know" (Einstein). "I know that I know nothing" (Socrates).Read More...
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Tense with 'in the past'

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What tense should I use with in the past ? 1- In the past, I worked for this company but now I work In another company. 2- In the past, I have worked for this company but now I work In another company.Read More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Subhajit—The past tense works better there, but the present perfect is possible. Specific past-time adverbials don't work with the present perfect. However, "in the past" is generic enough that it is not unacceptable.Read More...
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first conditional

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Hello friends, Does anyone have an intuitive explanation for why the present tense is used in the first conditional? Thanks in advanceRead More...
Gustavo, Contributor
Hi, Ben, You should provide examples. The present tense can refer to the present or the future time. - If you study (present), you will pass the exam. - If you see her (future), tell her I'm back.Read More...
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might want/need to

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1) You might want to consider quitting your barista job. 2) You might want to spend more time studying and less time playing video games. Q1): I know "you might want to ..." means "I suggest/recommend ...". Do we use "you might need to ..." to mean the same thing too? Q2): Can I use sentence (2), or rather "you might want to ...", in a different context where the speaker is not sure whether "you" intend to do the thing mentioned, and therefore just guessing " maybe you want to do X or maybe...Read More...
Posted
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Purpose or result?

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I found this sentence in the Oxford Guide to English Grammar, Ch. 14, p.144 I hope to see you again soon. Some infinitives express purpose (I went there to cure my condition), others result, (I came home (only) to find a gang of thugs on my doorstep). Is there a name for the type of infinitive in the above example with hope?Read More...
lagrange
Thanks very much DavidRead More...
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The use of 'are' followed by of

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I found a sentence like this: These benefits are of important values. I was wondering why there should be 'of' after are?Read More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Diana—Is the Ph.D. student who wrote this a nonnative speaker of English? The opening coordinate structure ("the positive externalities and non-financial") does not work: we don't coordinate noun phrases with adjectives (e.g., " the apple and yellow "). Also, I'm not sure what "at their consideration" is supposed to mean. Does "their" refer to "students and institutions"? In any case, despite the fact that seeing the whole sentence gives me little idea as to what the author is trying to...Read More...
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Terminology question

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I have a question about grammar terminology. There are some adjectives like cold-blooded, absent-minded, kind-hearted, old-fashioned . They look like past participles but very rarely, if at all, carry passive meaning as typical past participles do. Plus, the -ed part never works on their own i.e. blooded, minded, fashioned wouldn’t make sense. Do we have a name for this family of adjectives? Could it be “pseudo-past participles”?Read More...
lagrange
Maybe moneyed (as in wealthy)?Read More...
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-ed ending

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As far as I understood, the -ed ending is primarily used to put a verb into the past tense, or to make a past participle. Of course, the past participle can also be used as an adjective. But what is the explanation for -ed endings in adjectives such as open-mouthed, or big-bellied, which are not derived from verbs?Read More...
lagrange
Thanks GustavoRead More...
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Adjective or Complement? I am not sure

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Words which are grammatically categorised as adjective in a given sentence, also are found working as complement . Please look at the sentence below- John is good . If it's asked- what is the function of 'good’ in the sentence above ? May I say, it's an adjective or I should rather say, ‘good’ is a complement, more specifically subjective complement ?Read More...
David, Moderator
Hello, Narayan, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. In the sentence, "John is good," "good" is both an adjective and a subject complement. Adjective is its part of speech; subject complement is its syntactic function in that sentence. Do you know what a subject(ive) complement is?Read More...
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Synonym

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Why did companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google find success, whilst so many others disappeared? There is no concise answer, but one interesting coincidence is that many of them were started by two or more entrepreneurs working in conjunction with each other. At Microsoft, Bill Gates and Paul Allen complemented each other; Apple had Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak; and we owe Google to the rapport between founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Is rapport closer in meaning to intimate...Read More...
David, Moderator
Did you write this passage, Hendrix Le? If not, where have you taken it from, and why haven't you used quotation marks to show they are not your words?Read More...
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Literary devices

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Hi!. This forum may not be the right place to ask this question since it is not a grammar question but rather a question about literary devices. Feel free to remove/delete my question if you feel that it is not suitable for this forum. What I am wondering about is the use of anaphora and tricolon, and whether a part of sentence can be both an anaphora and a tricolon or not. The following can be found in one of the texts my students have worked with: “we defend the man in the street, the...Read More...
Gustavo, Contributor
Hello, EngTeach, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. Torgeir, we only delete questions that are offensive, or that disrupt the natural course of our forum exchanges (e.g. unsolicited advertising). I had never heard about tricolon , but it seems to me that it will tend to include the anaphoric device of repeating the same word at the beginning of each phrase or clause: In grammar, we generally speak about "parallelism," which is what I notice above — according to the definition I found, this...Read More...
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On which/for which/ in which

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Dear Sirs, I was just wondering the use of the following phrases: On which/for which/ in which For example in the sentence below, which one should I use? The details of the customers for which/on which/in which the late payment fee was imposed are as follows:Read More...
Tony C
Thanks Gustavo, what a great explanation, I have save them into my notes.Read More...
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any other

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1) If I acted that way, I would be similar to any other criminal. 2) If I acted that way, I would be similar to any man that has no moral principles. Does '1' say that I am a criminal? Does '2' say that I have no moral principles? Gratefully, NaviRead More...
Gustavo, Contributor
Well, in that case I think "I" is a criminal, though not the kind who would act that way, and has no moral principles, though not to the extent of behaving like others do.Read More...
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grammar

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I've found this sentence: "But if they were worried it's not safe and should not be made mandatory, why do two out of three Canadians say they'll get it?" I'm little confused with grammar. It shouldn't be correct: why do two ot of three Canadionas say they WOULD get it? Also shouldn't be correct: it was not safe?Read More...
Gustavo, Contributor
Hello, Tina22, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. The grammar of the sentence, which has been taken from this article , looks confusing because both the main and the conditional clause contain subordinate clauses. If we break it down into two separate sentences, we get: Conditional clause: They are worried it (the vaccine) i s not safe and should not be made mandatory. Main clause: Why do two out of three Canadians say they 'll get it? The author of the article disbelieves that they are...Read More...
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Correct position of 'prepositional phrase'

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Can I say the following? I mean in what positions I should use the preposition phrase. - I was not well for two days last week. - I was not well last week for two days. - Last week I was not well for two days. - For two days last week I was not well. - Last week For two days I was not well.Read More...
David, Moderator
All the variations are correct, Subhajit. You seem to have forgotten the 6th one: For two days I was not well last week .Read More...
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