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Hello, Moon Le—I strongly prefer (2) to (1), but do not find (1) outright incorrect. I recommend using one of the following variations instead of either sentence: 3. The graph illustrates figure changes over a 10-year period. 4. The graph illustrates how figures changed over a 10-year period.Read More...

Hi, Ray—It's a little odd, but it isn't a grammatical disaster. We may infer that the speaker currently lives on this street and that the speaker began knowing her at some point in time after he started living on this street; otherwise, he ought to have used "since I started living on this street" or "since I moved here."Read More...

Hello! "In your example, the present simple would be more likely if the verb 'have' were used instead of 'take': - I have an algebra test next weekend." Does this mean that there is some group of verbs that can be used in Present Simple for Future? We find out in " Understanding and Using English Grammar" by Betty S.Azar: The simple present can also be used to express future time in a sentence concerning events that are on a definite schedule or timetable. These sentences usually contain...Read More...

Hi, Salma Mohammad, It is well known that speaking to native speakers improves one's fluency, so, with no further context, ' s hould ' should work better than 'could' and 'might' here. It is used to say that we know something is probable (because it is logical or normal in the circumstances ). If there is more context that shows that the speaker is giving a solution to a problem, 'could & might' could work. In brief, there is more than one possible answer here.Read More...

Hi, Duaiekan, 'Help' requires either 'find' or 'to find'.Read More...

ok thanks🌸Read More...

Hello, Meriem—While I agree with f6pafd that your sentence is acceptable, I do find it awkward. I recommend changing from "seeing you" either to the informal " seeing as how you" or to "given that you." Seeing as how you haven't got much time, it might be better to do this tomorrow. Given that you haven't got much time, it might be better to do this tomorrow.Read More...

Hello, Tony—Are you trying to say "when you have a sec "? If so, it means "when you have a second ," i.e., "when you have a spare moment ."Read More...

Hello, Tony—You could say, "It was a pleasure to speak with you."Read More...

Hello, Ahmed Imam Attia—Both answers are awkward but possible. Some employees will have recently graduated, and some applicants will have, too. I recommend saying this instead if you're not talking about an employee: "The best recent graduate who has applied will be chosen for the new position." I recommend saying this instead if you are talking about an employee: "The best recent graduate who is employed here will be chosen for the new position."Read More...

Hello, Ahmed Imam Attia—Yes, all of the answer choices are wrong: none of them means the same thing as "My dearest wish is to be a pilot." You could say: I wish to be a pilot. What I wish most dearly is to be a pilot.Read More...

Hello, fromvn—You have not provided a situation. With the past simple ("Carla didn't see snow before coming to New York"), the sentence could be used in a situation in which Carla came to New York repeatedly, perhaps every year, and never saw snow before she did. With the past perfect ("Carla had not seen snow before coming to New York"), the sentence would naturally be used in a situation in which Carla came to New York at a certain time in the past, and had not, prior to that past time,...Read More...

Hi, Meriem, Sorry for my late reply. I understand your first assumption, but I don't get what you mean by the second one. In the following part from 'The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language', page 998, I think you will find the answers that you want. [ 11 ] i They demanded [that he should be freed ] [should-mandative] ii She insists f that I should have told her ] . [non-mandative] iii they insisted [ that all murderers should be hanged ] . [ambiguous] iv They suggested / recommended [...Read More...

Hi, Tony, No. Grammatically speaking, a staggering process is a process that is staggering. A staggered process is a process that is staggered. I think what you mean is an organized / arranged process, which goes with 'staggered', not staggering.Read More...

Hello, Meriem—I'm not sure why you have included the term "Cleft sentences" as part of the title of this thread; you have not asked about any cleft sentences. Examples (1) and (2) are simply sentences that contain a relative clause. You are right that, in restrictive (or essential) relative clauses, we can use "that" or "who(m)" interchangeably when the antecedent is human, and "that" or "which" interchangeably when the antecedent is nonhuman. Both of the options you have given in each of...Read More...

Suggest saying: "Please feel free to come up with a proposal that suits you better."Read More...

Thank you so much for your input. A big help for me. Could you give me some time to think about the following? (A) make the animal characters appealing more emotionally" vs. (B) make the animal characters more emotionally appealing" ================================================ I would agree (B) is more natural, but syntactically, not semantically, isn't (A) also possible?Read More...

Yes, this is what my ESL teacher said. Thank you David.Read More...

Hi, Fromvn, The past tense of 'rewind' is ' rewound '. I have never heard or used ' rewinded ' before. In your sentence, both 'rewound' and 'had rewound' are grammatically correct.Read More...

Hi, Subhajit—I agree with Ahmed that "can" works well in your examples. "Couldn't" does not. We would normally use "that couldn't be true" when referring to the past—e.g., "He said that he was there, but I knew that that couldn't be true: he was calling from a different location."Read More...

Hi, Andrew—I don't find (1) or (2) reader-friendly, and recommend (3) instead, which has the same number of words: (3) Bob says the following about World War 2 in the interview (I'm transcribing): A, B, and C.Read More...

Hi, Subhajit—I recommend using "may have V-ed" when it is possible that the situation did indeed come to pass, and "might have V-ed" and "could have V-ed" when the situation did not come to pass but there was nothing to prevent it.Read More...

Hello, Bernie045, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange. Your question is unclear. Which video clip are you talking about? What is the precise quote? Do you perceive your question to be about English grammar?Read More...

Hi, Meriem—Most comprehensive grammars contain that information.Read More...