Tagged Questions
1
vote
1answer
49 views
“A tool to do” vs. “a tool that does” vs. “a tool for doing”
I'm the curator of the Open Web Platform Daily Digest link. In the "Tools" section of each daily I write entries in this format:
tool_name, tool_description
For example:
hapi, a server framework ...
0
votes
2answers
63 views
“Committed to supporting X” vs. “committed to support X”
I'm trying to edit a speech and found a commonly used phase which I'm not sure if I should amend it or not. The sentence goes like this:
[a subject] is committed to supporting [a project].
...
0
votes
2answers
98 views
“I would like to go to a youth center to help and (to) work with teenagers”
Which is correct?
I would like to go to a youth center to help and work with teenagers.
I would like to go to a youth center to help and to work with
teenagers.
The question is whether ...
-2
votes
0answers
102 views
Which one is grammatical, “it's time for cooking” or “it's time to cook”?
Which one is grammatical?
It's time for cooking.
It's time to cook.
1
vote
1answer
102 views
Can object complements make any difference to sentences?
I'm reading a grammar book, and I have some questions.
A.
We ate the fish raw.
I want Sue drunk.
I prefer the music soft.
I like coffee black.
We drank the beer cold.
This type of ...
3
votes
3answers
145 views
Is “to practice volleyball requires stamina” grammatical?
Is the sentence "to practice volleyball requires stamina" grammatically correct? As opposed to the sentence "practicing volleyball requires stamina"?
Another example:
To ensure safety ...
-1
votes
1answer
98 views
“Had decided to call” vs.“had decided that we should call”
I have a question regarding using "had decided". I'm not sure if I can use either an infinitive form of a verb or a modal verb:
We had decided to call each other when we are in danger.
We had ...
-2
votes
1answer
58 views
“Some things will be known, but others will not”, or “… will not be”?
Which is the correct sentence?
Some things will be known, but others will not.
Some things will be known, but others will not be.
-1
votes
2answers
145 views
“I am full to die.” — Is this sentence correct? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“I am angry to die” or “I am angry to death”
I am full to die.
I meant to say, "I might die because I am full."
Is this a correct expression?
-1
votes
2answers
427 views
Is it “What should he have done?” or “had he done”?
What should he have done?
What should he had done?
Could you tell me which one is correct? (If any.)
0
votes
1answer
126 views
“Enables you to quickly and easily identify” vs. “enables you to identify quickly and easily” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Are split infinitives grammatically incorrect, or are they valid constructs?
I'm currently having a bit of a dispute and would appreciate your help please. Which one is ...
-1
votes
1answer
180 views
“Feel committed to [gerund/infinitive]”
Does "feel committed to" require an infinitive or gerund complement?
For example, which of the following is grammatical?
I feel committed to following up on that.
I feel committed to follow ...
1
vote
1answer
178 views
“Heard me [infinitive]” vs. “heard me [gerund]”
"Heard me [infinitive]" vs. "heard me [gerund]"
At that time, you wouldn't have heard me talk about it.
At that time, you wouldn't have heard me talking about it.
At that time, ...
-1
votes
2answers
196 views
Which is correct: “has yet to been applied” or “has yet to be applied”? [closed]
...in which it has yet to been applied.
...in which it has yet to be applied.
Although the first one sounds a little awkward, my hunch is that it's correct because it works when you ...
4
votes
5answers
203 views
“How best to handle” vs. “how to best handle”
Are there rules on the placement of 'best'?
They are deciding how to best handle the matter.
They are deciding how best to handle the matter.
Is one of them wrong?
0
votes
0answers
24 views
“It helps protect air” or “It helps to protect air”, which is correct? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb “help”: with or without “to”?
“Could help avoid” vs. “could help to avoid”
“Helping you do something” or “Helping ...
6
votes
1answer
139 views
Do I need a “to” for a second infinitive in a sentence?
It was common practice to first test and execute a program's source code by hand before using a computer.
It was common practice to first test and to execute a program's source code by hand ...
2
votes
1answer
57 views
“To be” or just “be”
Which of these two are more correct?
1) When clicking the Edit customer button, I would expect the changes be
transferred to the edit view.
or
2) When clicking the Edit customer button, I ...
5
votes
2answers
128 views
Should “portray” be paired with “to be”?
Is it acceptable to pair "portray" with "to be"? As in
The novel portrays life to be a...
Would it be better to use as?
0
votes
3answers
590 views
“He has to do it. Hasn't he (to)?”
He has to do it. Hasn't he (to)?
Is the 'to' correct/ incorrect/ unnecessary?
Is that a case of an infinitive in interrogative tail (question tag)?
1
vote
3answers
222 views
“thanks to (command)”
A friend who works in business says that she has been hearing a lot of polite commands worded as e.g. "thanks to ask any questions at the end of the presentation" (she has also seen this written a few ...
1
vote
2answers
440 views
“Ambitious to [infinitive]” vs. “ambitious about [gerund]”
What is the correct preposition to use with ambitious?
I am ambitious to achieve success.
I am ambitious about achieving success.
3
votes
3answers
700 views
Which of these sentences is correctly written?
Someone edited my message on StackOverflow, but it really bugs me out.
I'm not sure what's wrong with it:
As you see, the bigger the circle becomes, the more vertices I need for hiding the straight ...
4
votes
1answer
268 views
“Help rule out” vs. “help to rule out” [duplicate]
Duplicate of:
What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb “help”: with or without “to”?
“Could help avoid” vs. “could help to avoid”
“Helping you do ...
6
votes
2answers
286 views
“It is fun to write letters” vs. “It is fun writing letters”
Grammatically, "It is fun to write English letters." is correct. But is the following also grammatically correct?
It is fun writing English letters.
3
votes
2answers
537 views
“Would you have liked to have been” vs. “would you have liked to be”
I was interested in the following sentence which appeared in an article titled “No Rest for the Weary” in The New York Times (February 15, 2008).
Would you have liked to have been president from ...
2
votes
6answers
1k views
“Due to” at the beginning of a sentence
I tried to say this:
Due to it will have less features than the actual standard system, the performance will be better.
Basically, I used a sentence after due to, and one of my English friends ...
1
vote
2answers
152 views
“We do is to complain” or “We complain about it”?
I was just reading a News paper. and found this sentence:
Our impatient host could not understand that our security personnel are under
so mush pressure in such tense red alert situations. They ...
2
votes
2answers
135 views
Is the expression, “Romney will not to let Obama change the subject” grammatically right?
The article titled, ‘U.S. factors may spare Obama EU allies’ fate’ on Japan Time May 9 issue wraps up with quotes from Mitt Romney and his campaign spokeswoman, Amanda Henneberg;
“'The real question ...
3
votes
5answers
295 views
Is it grammatical to have “why” and “to” together?
Is the following sentence grammatical?
Why to use page-level permissions
From Google Support:
Why to use page-level permissions
Page-level permissions allow you to..
It sounds ...
1
vote
4answers
335 views
Is “go on +verb root” grammatically right?
I came across the line, "he went on explain (a metaphor) in the clip," at the end of the following sentence of the article, "How to insult your political opponents" appearing in New Yorker magazine ...
0
votes
2answers
96 views
“To know X is all I need” vs. “knowing X is all I need” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How does one know when to use a gerund or a infinitive?
Which of the following is the correct form?
To know you're interested in my book is all I need to go on ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
'To' vs 'in order to' in negative clauses
The answers to this related question suggest that to and in order to are pretty much interchangeable, the former being preferred in informal contexts. My question is about negative clauses.
...
1
vote
2answers
314 views
Why do we use “to” after “how”? [closed]
For example:
How to makes this?
Why do I use the to after how?
2
votes
6answers
408 views
“I have no story to be told” or “I have no story to tell”?
The former one is what I heard in Adele's song Rolling in the Deep, is this a common usage?
Or is it just for rhyme?
update: to make my question more specific:
Is the former one grammatically ...
0
votes
2answers
679 views
Grammatical complements for “allow”
Are any of these verb phrases grammatical?
allows the user of modeling and resolving
allows the user to model and resolve
Which version of the following sentence is correct/better?
"In ...
0
votes
1answer
433 views
Which of the following sentences is/are incorrect? (“Permit” vs. “allow” vs. “let”)
Which of the following sentences is/are incorrect? Why?
The visa permits you to study for two months.
My father would never allow me to study English
Let me to go. You're hurting me.
This is ...
5
votes
1answer
203 views
Why was _to_ verb_+ing_ used in this case? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How to use “to + V-ing”?
“To hear” or “to hearing”?
Samson had been a strong man prior to having his hair cut.
From a grammatical point of view, when ...
3
votes
2answers
357 views
1
vote
2answers
124 views
Is this usage of “know to be” correct — “They want to eat food they know to be good for them”?
In the following sentence, is the construction know + to + infinitive grammatical?
They want to eat food they know to be good for them.
The dictionary says that "know to do something" is a ...
4
votes
2answers
210 views
'Should've seen it glow' or 'should've seen it glowing'?
Which one of the following is the correct one?
I should have seen it glow.
I should have seen it glowing.
Or are both correct? Would you parse them please?
4
votes
2answers
335 views
Infinitive form in reported commands
I know that "I tried not to do that" and "I tried to not do that" are both valid sentences grammatically speaking. But can the second construction be applied to reported commands? Is it correct to ...
0
votes
3answers
544 views
How to understand “It takes a little bit of getting used to the idea…”?
The following sentence is from a mathematical lecture note here:
It takes a little bit of getting used to the idea of a function that cannot actually be evaluated at any specific point, but with ...
-2
votes
3answers
191 views
“The aims are promoting and protecting” vs. “the aims are to promote and protect”
Which of the following two constructions is correct? and why?
Some of the important aims of the UNO are to promote peace and protect human rights.
Some of the important aims of the UNO are ...
1
vote
0answers
84 views
Is it correct to say “John helps you talk with people”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Help to do” or “help do”?
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but English is not my first language.
For me it seems that it is incorrect and ...
3
votes
2answers
972 views
“has” or “have”? As in “X requires that Y have …” versus “X requires that Y has …”
To me, it seems that the following subtly differ in meaning:
X requires that Y have (occurred prior to blah-blah-blah)
X requires that Y has (occurred prior to blah-blah-blah)
Problem is, I can't ...
2
votes
3answers
303 views
“Need just [verb]” vs. “need to just [verb]”
I wonder if it's okay to use these interchangeably:
You need just accept it.
You need to just accept it.
4
votes
4answers
282 views
Do I have to use the auxiliary before all the verbs?
Which of the following is correct?
I will dance and sing at the concert tonight.
I will dance and will sing at the concert tonight.
Does it happen with to, too? For example:
I ...
10
votes
2answers
1k views
Using “to” twice in a row
In the sentence "Who should I talk to to learn about that?" my grammar checker says I have a repeated word. I admit that it sounds a little awkward, but I'm not sure it's incorrect.
I realize I could ...
3
votes
2answers
276 views
which is correct “to be as flexible as possible” or just “as flexible as possible”
On our website's homepage we have the following sentence:
We make our software to be as flexible as possible so you can maintain and visualize the data that is important to YOU.
One of my ...
