This tag is about how the grammar works: different grammatical usages, how they can be used, or what they mean.
4
votes
4answers
10k views
When to use “me” or “myself”?
Which one is correct:
Someone like me...
or
Someone like myself...
Is "like myself" ever correct?
4
votes
4answers
3k views
What is an “infinitive”?
I've heard that a verb usually follows the 'infinitive' but how does one define an 'infinitive'?
4
votes
3answers
6k views
Usage of 'much more'
Is saying much more grammatically correct?
For instance, some purists argue that this is wrong:
I'm much more comfortable with A than B
and that it should be:
I'm more comfortable with A ...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
Which one is correct? “has been taken already” or “has already been taken”
I'm creating a registration form. I want to display a message if a particular username already exists.
So which sentence is correct?
This username has already been taken by another user. Please ...
3
votes
2answers
175 views
Why is “I refuse running” wrong?
I got into a discussion with another user in the comments section of this question. We disagreed over the following phrases:
I refuse running.
I decline running.
To me, they are both ...
3
votes
2answers
553 views
Usage of “to be done” [closed]
The following is a transcript of the well-known recorded lecture by Prof. Michael Sandel of Harvard University (the cited portion starts at 43:36):
The only argument this painter makes is that the ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
Is the conditional a mood or a tense?
Is the conditional a mood or a tense? I've heard it described in both ways.
It seems more like a mood as it is often lumped with hypothetical constructions and the subjunctive mood. I could see it ...
3
votes
3answers
183 views
“Local crumbed scallops”, or “crumbed local scallops”?
Recently I was in a fish and chip shop in Mandurah, WA, selling local crumbed scallops.
Is local crumbed scallops the correct form?
Is crumbed local scallops more appropriate?
What if "nonlocal" ...
3
votes
4answers
25k views
Which one is more appropriate to use: “send you” or “send to you”?
Are both of the following sentences correct?
Let me know if there is still something I need to send to you.
Let me know if there is still something I need to send you.
Which one is more ...
3
votes
2answers
292 views
Can we say “Had Einstein used his spare time on something more useful for the society, …”
The complete sentence is :
Had Einstein used his spare time on something more useful for the society, the improvement of our knowledge of the nature of the universe would have been greatly ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
Which one is correct: “wish I was here” or “wish I were here”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“If I was” or “If I were”. Which is more common, and which is correct?
Which one is the correct form: "Wish I was here" or "wish I were here"? ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
“I am gonna have to” vs. “I have to”
What is the difference between "I am gonna have to" and "I have to"?
When would you use the first one?
update: I am specifically asking about situations like the one described here.
2
votes
1answer
588 views
“Compound nouns list” or “compound noun list”?
I couldn't help but wonder every time I saw such a noun phrase. I've seen both forms used equally often, so I guess both of them can be used interchangeably. But do I guess right?
Some examples:
...
2
votes
3answers
4k views
“will” vs “would” in this sentence
I am talking about events taking place in the known future:
Would it be okay if I'll confirm around 3 pm?
or should it be
Would it be okay if I'd confirm around 3 pm?
What is the ...
2
votes
2answers
468 views
Should the past perfect be eschewed?
The past perfect serves a purpose: When describing things that happened in the past, it allows us to discuss things that happened before (i.e., in the past’s past). However, a procession of had, had, ...
1
vote
2answers
633 views
Already vs. before in the present perfect
What's the difference?
Example:
I've already seen Terminator.
vs.
I've seen Terminator before.
0
votes
0answers
2k views
I would like to know if the following sentence is grammatically correct [closed]
For instance, if somebody helped you with improving your English and in return you want to thank that person, would it be correct to say something like this:
I find that a thoughtful act to ...
0
votes
4answers
13k views
“Recommend you [do something]” or “Recommend you to [do something]”?
Will anyone make a clear comparison between "recommend + subject + to infinitive" and "recommend + to + subject + to + infinitive"?
As an example:
We recommend you to buy a new car.
We recommend to ...
-1
votes
1answer
251 views
Can I say “Very welcome to talk to you”?
Scenario:
A friend wants to talk with me about something that makes her sad, but she's busy at the moment and wants talk later. I want to express that I'll be pleased to listen to her. Can I say: ...
18
votes
2answers
360 views
Pronunciation of 'host' in Shakespeare's time
Listening to the recent film production of Macbeth with Patrick Stewart, I noticed that Duncan says:
Give me your hand. Conduct me to mine host.
Obviously, it's in the text (Act 1, Scene 6). ...
12
votes
4answers
263 views
“Be” as an action rather than a state
I've heard, on rare occasion, a subtle differentiation between be as a state (to passively embody) and be as an action (to actively embody). The latter form often occurs in parallel with do to add ...
12
votes
3answers
323 views
BBC: “Man convicted of murdering his girlfriend and their 10-month-old daughter at Winchester Crown Court”
What do you make of the following BBC News headline:
Man convicted of murdering his girlfriend and their 10-month-old daughter at Winchester Crown Court
Is it just me, or does this read as if ...
11
votes
2answers
767 views
Answering “Have you got” questions with “I do”
For the question "Have you got any ice cream?" which is correct:
Yes I do
Yes I have
or inversely
No I don't
No I haven't got any
10
votes
7answers
7k views
Which is correct: “If it were I” or “If it were me”?
I'm fairly sure it's the former, but it sounds even more stilted than the usual cases in which "I" is less common, but more correct.
9
votes
2answers
312 views
Is it ever appropriate to mix up “I” and “one” in the same sentence?
In my last question on English L & U SE, I was strongly tempted to write the following:
Every so often I've thought I've chanced across most of them [literary Biblical phrases], but as one ...
9
votes
4answers
8k views
Is “Yesterday” a Noun?
Are words like "yesterday" and "tomorrow" considered nouns, adjectives, or even adverbs? I'm getting mixed signals from several references.
In a case like "I have an important meeting tomorrow," it ...
8
votes
5answers
1k views
Is “et al.” used as a singular or plural subject?
When referring to multiple authors by using the name of the first author and "et al.", is it correct to grammatically treat this as one person or multiple persons?
Gamma et al. are saying in their ...
8
votes
2answers
9k views
Possessive and plural of “Series”
I'm looking at the financial definition of series: a group of stocks or options that have common characteristics. Source
How would I form the possessive and plural of this term? I'm guessing it is ...
8
votes
4answers
246 views
“A force is acting on a box until t = 10 seconds”. Is the force still acting on the box at t = 10 seconds?
I have a difficulty to digest any sentence using the word until, especially when it is used to express something related to a point of time or space.
In the physics examination, I have a sentence as ...
7
votes
3answers
382 views
When to use nah or right in a sentence
When I was chatting with my friend, as a part of our conversation I used a phrase. "You have laptop nah." He replied, first try to change your English, it sounds ridiculous, using words nah, right.
...
7
votes
3answers
5k views
“It would be better if you drink/drank all the water”
Which one of the following is grammatically correct?
It would be better if you drink all the water.
It would be better if you drank all the water.
The question is, obviously, about the use ...
7
votes
2answers
426 views
Use of “never” in questions
I was taught that ever should be used in questions (Have you ever...?) and never should be used in negations (I have never...). But reading "A wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin I spotted such a ...
7
votes
2answers
3k views
Where should adverbs be placed?
There are two sentences:
I completely understand.
I understand completely.
Which one is correct and why?
Another example:
I slowly opened the door.
I opened the door slowly.
7
votes
2answers
199 views
The all-powerful “to have”
"To have" seems to fill a lot of different needs in the English language, apart from its literal meaning of possessing something.
It's an integral part of perfect and perfect progressive verb tenses: ...
6
votes
3answers
182 views
“What they are is x” — is singular “is” correct, and why?
Is the following sentence correct?
Such splendid isolation is the privilege of the giants of a discipline, and giants in the world of scholarship is definitely what the authors of this volume ...
6
votes
3answers
569 views
Why some questions are written in this funny way?
There, I did it myself. Instead of asking "Why are some questions written in this funny way?", I produced what strikes me as bad English ever so often: Questions that are formed by starting out with ...
6
votes
3answers
340 views
In “Enter John”, is John in the nominative or accusative case?
This question made me think about the structure of the sentence.
I'm familiar with the expression 'Enter Michael'/'Exit John' to represent Michael's or John's entry or exit, respectively, to a ...
6
votes
2answers
790 views
Does this sentence seem weird?
A line from William Golding's The Lord of the Flies:
All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat.
Is it just me or does the sentence seem grammatically off?
6
votes
0answers
248 views
Should “none” as a pronoun be used as singular or plural? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
None as plural indefinite pronoun
I was programming when it suddenly struck me that I did not know if "none" should be singular or plural.
Fore instance, should I write ...
5
votes
6answers
568 views
Which is grammatically correct: “woke up by the…” or “woke up to the…”?
Which is grammatically correct?
Sophia woke up by the rattling sound of her washing machine.
or
Sophia woke up to the rattling sound of her washing machine.
5
votes
2answers
244 views
Recent grammar additions
A lot of questions have been dedicated to how evolution of English got many constructs of the old either fall out of use, merge, or evolve into different forms but still with 1:1 relation to original. ...
5
votes
4answers
310 views
“Weekdays” used as an adverb
I found a sentence in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary:
open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The bookstore opens weekdays from 9 p.m. to 6 p.m. .
How do we understand the structure of ...
5
votes
1answer
240 views
Is it acceptable to use 'that' followed by a direct quote?
New York Times:
Even before President Obama declared this month that “I have Israel’s
back” in its escalating confrontation with Iran, pro-Israel figures
like the evangelical Christian leader ...
5
votes
2answers
270 views
How can you make “to be” explicit and simple in this future conditional sentence?
I can say "Jerry's been a bad pussycat this morning" or "Hey, Jerry, you be a good pussycat now" or "Jerry's been active all morning so he's being a good pussycat now". All these involve the use of ...
5
votes
3answers
3k views
“currently not” or “not currently”
What's the correct order:
Lessons are not currently being offered.
or
Lessons are currently not being offered.
5
votes
1answer
2k views
Is “Stick no bills” correct English?
'Stick no bills' sounds awkward.
Shouldn't it be something like 'Do not stick any bills'?
5
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the name of this system of proof correction marks?
I remember in English classes when my teacher had used this sort of system when correcting essays in the class.
I never asked her about what it was and just complied and made the revisions to my ...
4
votes
6answers
720 views
Present Perfect vs Present perfect continuous
Could you correct the comments in parentheses, please? Are they right?
I have lived in Los Angeles. (A completed action; the person does not live there anymore).
I have lived in Los Angeles ...
4
votes
3answers
244 views
'To swiftly go' or 'to go swiftly'? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Are split infinitives grammatically incorrect, or are they valid constructs?
One of my friends once told me 'to go' is considered a whole word and no word should be put ...
4
votes
4answers
3k views
Is “close proximity” a tautology?
I was rooting about in the OED and one definition is "The fact, condition, or position of being near or close by in space; nearness." Then in the citations for that definition they had:
1872 H. I. ...
