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The same

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Can you please explain this sentence? My grandmother's cakes still taste exactly ( as good as _ the same _the same as _better than) when I was a child. Thanks in advance.Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Menem, 'Exactly the same as' is used to indicate that there is no difference. You can find your example with this explanation here: https://learnenglish.britishco...odifying-comparisonsRead More...
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at which time vs. when

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(a) Cupid rushed to her side, embraced her, and lifted the heavy sleep from her body and placed it back into the box. He told her to carry it to Venus and promised to return shortly, at which time all would be well. This excerpt was from Cupid and Psyche. Q. I wonder how "at which time" and ", "when" are different. Would it be okay if I understand " no matter which time it is, the time when he returns would be well.Read More...
f6pafd
"At which time" and "when" are different because the latter is a conjunction introducing a subordinate clause of time, while the former is a relative phrase introducing a relative clause. As to when one is more appropriate than the other, it is contingent upon the context, whichever comes in handy. Sometimes, it is more natural to go on with a relative clause, sometimes with a separate subordinate clause of time introduced by "when." In the sentence in question, the use of "at which time"...Read More...
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noted versus noticed

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Hello, What's the difference between noted and noticed? Can they be used interchangeably. For example: I noted/noticed that your face is getting redder and redder.Read More...
f6pafd
Both refer to the fact of being aware of something; "note" carries a stronger implication than "notice" of registering mentally one's impression. In the above sentence, based on the context, "notice" is more appropriate, meaning "merely being aware of "your face getting redder and redder."Read More...
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tag question

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From nowhere a young man in a suit appeared and walked over to the phone,........? A-is it B-did he C)didn't he D)was he E)isn't he A young man in a suit appeared and walked over to the phone,........? A-is it B-did he C)didn't he D)was he E)isn't he I wonder whether "From no where" in the first question affects which preposition to use.Read More...
f6pafd
"From nowhere" is only an adverbial of manner, showing how the young man appeared; the negation does not apply to the main verb, therefore, the use of the question tag is not affected by it. "didn't he" is correct.Read More...
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off as a preposition & conj

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It's known that "off" is used as a preposition and a conjunction, however , in oxford dictionary "off" is used as a preposition in the example ( I fell off the ladder" and it is mentioned as an adverb in the example ( He fell off a ladder and broke his arm. How can you explain this contradiction? In a sentence like " He took off his clothes" "He took his clothes off". Do we consider "off" a preposition or a conjunction?Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Ahmed, Actually, "off" can be a preposition or an adverbial particle. In: - He ran off . "off" is an adverb. In: - He fell off the ladder. "off" is a preposition because it is followed by a noun phrase. In separable phrasal verbs, "off" is an adverbial particle because it can be moved after the noun phrase, as in: - He took his clothes off .Read More...
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a sentence structure

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“I might as well inquire,” replied she, “why with so evident a desire of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character.” This excerpt was from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, for this part of which I wonder how I should understand. In other words, are there any omitted parts here in "why with so evident a desire of offending and insulting me", and also, " so evident a desire" is grammatically...Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Jiho, " So evident a desire of offending and insulting me" is a more literary way of saying " such an evident desire of offending and insulting me."Read More...
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... and you will believe him...

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a. How many times can he tell you the same kind of lie and you will believe him? b. How many times can he tell you the same kind of lie with you believing him? c. How many times can he tell you the same kind of lie and have you believe him? Which of the above are grammatically correct? I am pretty sure (c) works. I think (c) would probably work in informal English. (b) seems to suggest that the lying and the believing are happening at the same time, so I don't think it works. Many thanksRead More...
Posted
New3 replies

‘So many desks are’

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Hello, everyone, (1) There are so many desks in the office that it’s difficult to walk around . (2) So many desks are in the office that it’s difficult to walk around . Is the sentence (2) still grammatically correct, if I change (1) above into (2)? The point of my question is to find out if the noun phrase - “ so many(much) noun(s )” of “so adjective/adverb that ~ ” construction could function as a subject. Would hope to hear your valuable opinions.Read More...
deepcosmos
Hi, ahmed btm, appreciate your reply. Hi, David, appreciate and I'm wondering how many solutions you do have.Read More...
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Should "FAIR" be italicized?

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It's very annoying because they don't even italicize newspapers' names, so it's not like I can tell from their own website whether to italicize it or not: https://fair.org/about-fair/ FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting...Read More...
David, Moderator
Hi, Andrew—If FAIR were just the acronym of a company, italics would not be correct. But it seems also to be a publication, so it would be standard to use italics. It's really not a big deal, though, and it has nothing to do with grammar. All this concerns is stylistic conventions, which do vary from place to place.Read More...
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Must have versus would have

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What are the differences between must have and would have? For example: You must have received/ you'd have received a letter from the bank stating that…Read More...
David, Moderator
Hello, Tony—With that as the context, I recommend using "You should have received," which sounds more polite than "You must have received"; you could use the latter if you wanted to express frustration with the client. Please note that the contraction you have proposed ("You'd have received") would be understood as a contraction of "you would," not as a contraction of "you should." That's why, if you use "You should," you should write it in full.Read More...
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Welcome aboard

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Hello, Your supplier's has just replaced a new account manager and the new account manager contact you to introduce themselves. Should I say, welcome aboard as he is not actually in my team. If it cannot be done, what is the other way of saying this to welcome him.Read More...
David, Moderator
I agree with Ahmed that "Welcome aboard!" is a good choice and like his other suggestions. I've always been fond of "Welcome aboard!" as an congratulatory expression to someone joining a company or work force. It calls to mind welcoming someone aboard a ship. Metaphorically, the company is the ship.Read More...
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parallism-related referential

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Hello. I wonder what "him" in the sentence refers to. It was usual among “savages” for the man who had food to share it with the man who had none, for travelers to be fed at any home they chose to stop at on their way, and for communities harassed with drought to be maintained by their neighbors. If a man sat down to his meal in the woods, he was expected to call loudly for someone to come and share it with " him" , before he might justly eat alone. (A)If "come" and "share" are parallel,...Read More...
AVINO
Now I clearly understand what you say. Thank you so much for your clear and kind explanation. It really helps. Thanks again.Read More...
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Does this sentence imply that what to eat is a singular decision?

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See the bold (what to eat is many decisions, not a single one...if I'm implying a singular decision then how can I avoid that?): What we eat is one of the most important decisions we have to make.Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Is there any issue with my using "one"? I don't want to imply that what one eats throughout one's life is one singular decision!Read More...
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Rather than + ing or inf

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In Longman dictionary, the definition of " printing" is " a method of writing when you write each letter separately rather than joining the letters of a word" My question is: Can we use ( join) instead of ( joining) to be parallel with the verb ( write )? If we consider ( rather than ) as a preposition in this definition, how do we know that it is a conjunction in other sentences? In other sentences, we can use the infinitive or the gerund after rather than, can we apply this to the above...Read More...
Ahmed towab
Thanks, but still I want to know how I can differentiate between rather than as a conjunction or a preposition especially when followed by a verb. Is it a general rule that rather than can be followed by a gerund or infinitive in examples like : He watched TV rather than do the homework. He watched TV rather than doing the homework. ? It is important to meet him rather than phoning or ( to phone )Read More...
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Capitalize the first word in a phrase?

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Should the bold be capitalized? The media contributes to the sense that “ experts can't agree”—science is an incremental process where new studies add nuance and detail to a vast amount of existing data, but old news doesn't get clicks, so news pieces have to emphasize what appears “revolutionary”. You get lots of attention with exciting headlines—like “New Study Shows Everything You Thought You Knew About Nutrition Is Wrong”—that often misrepresent the research under discussion.Read More...
Gustavo, Co-Moderator
Hi, Andrew, No, that should not be capitalized. It would be capitalized after a colon: - I have often heard this statement: "Experts can't agree." However, when used "that," the capital is dropped (the quotes will only be kept if you want to make clear that you don't share that opinion, or that it belongs to somebody else): - I have often heard (the statement) that "experts can't agree."Read More...
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‘and all without leaving home’

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Hello, everyone, “ As for a new way of working out, using virtual reality technology, an Italian company has recently released an innovative product. It is an indoor bike combined with virtual reality. The rider mounts the bike, puts on the virtual reality gear, and starts riding. The rider then feels as if he is actually riding on a road of his choice, whether a street in a major city, or a calm mountain path, and all without leaving home .“ * source; from our local textbook for high school...Read More...
f6pafd
Hi, David. Thank you for your convincing explanation, giving me a whole new perspective on the question.Read More...
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reflexive pronoun after preposition

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Hi there, I want to find out when we should use reflexive pronoun after prepositions. I referred to Swan's book (Practical English Usage) but failed to understand correctly. The following sentence is the one I am confused with; "The children feel that they are never safe except when they have their mother around them/themselves." I would appreciate your help in clearing my confusion.Read More...
deepcosmos
Hi, David, it's such an impressive answer. Today I've found another difficult problem to solve by myself, which reads, " In 2014, a scientific study in the United States found that people tend to choose friends who are genetically similar to [ them / themselves ]." When I searched Google, I've found interestingly two different results with very similar pattern written by natives as follows; 1. " Finally, there is evidence that people choose friends who are genetically similar to them , and .Read More...
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Keith and Roger

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1) I can repair your car. Keith and Roger will make a mess of it. 2) I can repair your car. Keith or Roger will make a mess of it. 3) I can repair your car. Either Keith or Roger will make a mess of it. If the other option is Keith and Rober will try to repair it together then obviously '1' should be used. But what if we have three options: Either I will repair it, or Keith will try to repair it (and will make a mess of it) or Rover will try to repair it (and will make a mess of it)? Which...Read More...
ahmed_btm
Hi, Navi, Personally, I prefer the second one. I see that (Keith or Roger will make a mess of it) could be seen as an implied (first) conditional. - I can repair your car. Keith or Roger will make a mess of it (if either of them tries to fix it). IMHO, an implied (second) conditional may sound better here: - I can repair your car. Keith or Roger would make a mess of it (if either of them tried to fix it).Read More...
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paid for

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a. I paid for this car to be repaired. b. This is the car I paid for to be repaired. Are the above sentences grammatically correct? Many thanksRead More...
David, Moderator
Welcome to the Grammar Exchange, Jane. Yes, "I paid to have this car repaired" is a natural sentence. But there is nothing ungrammatical about "I paid for this car to be repaired." Azz's question is whether the two sentences are grammatically correct.Read More...
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'each taking one to three minutes'

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Hello, everyone, he explains that "hundreds of nuts are buried, each taking one to three minutes to conceal . When winter comes, buried nuts are the animal's main food source. Squirrels do not remember where they bury nuts ~ " (* source; 'Heralds of Spring in Texas’) About the underlined part, am I OK to parse as follows; 1. It’s a nominative absolute clause, which allows to put “ with ” before “each” optionally. 2. It can be paraphrased into “, and each nut takes one to three minutes (for...Read More...
deepcosmos
Hi, David, thanks for your comment. I wanted to have a chance checking if my recent understanding about 'participle clause' with your help could apply to the new sentence above. By the way, I would appreciate it, if you kindly share your opinion for the thread below, when you're convenient; https://thegrammarexchange.inf...theater-come-to-lifeRead More...
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Is the "2" here a subscript? And should it be?

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See the bold (I've copy/pasted it so I hope that it wasn't changed during that process): https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/10/09/carbon-capture-oil-gas/ An Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis study of 13 of the world’s biggest projects, accounting for more than half the global carbon capture capacity, found that 10 of them are either underperforming by large margins — trapping as little as half the CO 2 promised — or have shut down.Read More...
Andrew Van Wagner
Thanks!Read More...
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