Tagged Questions
3
votes
4answers
99 views
Can the word “facing” be used both ways?
Can the word "facing" be used both ways?
To write
major water problems facing the world
or
challenges and opportunities facing low- and middle-income countries and their citizens
...
2
votes
2answers
98 views
Is it ok to use “Why” as “Why do you ask?”
Is it grammatically correct to use one-word sentence "Why?" as "Why do you ask?", for example in such context:
– Did you visit that shop yesterday?
– Yes. Why?
1
vote
1answer
280 views
Is it correct to say “I would like to inquire about something?”
When I make a call to get some information regarding a matter, I generally start the conversation with "Hello, I would like to inquire about something."
Is this a correct usage? If not, what would be ...
1
vote
1answer
123 views
“Oblong to Allantoid” — is it valid? [closed]
I read in a paper:
One such genus is Dinemasporium which ... characterised by superficial, cupulate to discoid conidiomata with brown setae, and phialidic conidiogenous cells that give rise to ...
2
votes
1answer
136 views
Usage of “accrue” in “it accrued to me to gently ask” [closed]
A newage hippie Facebook friend just sent me this. I was just wondering if it was syntactically correct,
It accrued to me to gently ask if you could consider extending the same respect, you would ...
-1
votes
1answer
146 views
Correct use of “happen”
A friend of mine told me that the following sentence is incorrect (copied from an exercise)
Do all sentences tell us what the speaker would like to happen?
He claims that it should read:
Do ...
-4
votes
1answer
65 views
Do I use a comma before “that” or “which” here?
Let's say I'm describing what some person is currently doing, and I say:
He is reading articles which he is summarizing in his blog.
Is this sentence (and specifically, this usage of "which") ...
1
vote
1answer
107 views
“Choices” vs. “options”
Are the two words synonyms? Is it grammatically correct to say "you have two choices, this or that?" Isn't that one choice? Should it not be "you have one choice, this or that" or "you have two ...
-1
votes
1answer
65 views
Is “along” correct in “You were the best along with person X and Y”?
You were the best along with person X and person Y.
When I want to tell someone that he was one of the best in the group of people, but not the only one, can I use the word along? Or is together ...
-2
votes
1answer
113 views
If I am saying “Someone and Myself's (possession)”, what would the correct usage in this phrase be? [duplicate]
I was just wondering how to properly use the phrase, I am trying to talk about something that belongs to both my friend and myself so how would I say that? My friend and myself's? or a different way?
3
votes
3answers
86 views
Parallelism with “in order to”
Which of the following is grammatically correct, or are they both gramatically correct?
We use this product in order to increase work efficiency and to streamline testing.
We use this product in ...
4
votes
3answers
76 views
Can we say “front of spring” or merely “beginning of spring”?
In an answer to a Writers SE question, I used the phrase “a bright morning at the front of spring”. John M. Landsberg commented:
Nice revision, but note we wouldn't say "the front" of a season. ...
5
votes
4answers
273 views
Indian English use of “only”
I am from Bangalore and people here tend use the word only to emphasise something in a sentence. For example:
We are getting that only printed.
What is the proper way to put it?
2
votes
1answer
79 views
“They perform” vs. “they are performed” in specific context
Our experiments include simulated falls by several subjects. They
perform in a user-independent setting, where, for each test video,
the subject appearing in the test video does not appear in ...
0
votes
2answers
498 views
With “I bid you farewell” being a normal phrase, would the phrase “I bid you sleep well” also be correct? [closed]
I'm trying to pinpoint the correct application of the verb "to bid" in order to use it in unconventional situations
0
votes
2answers
3k views
Grammatically incorrect sentence?
I just appeared for GATE 2013. In its aptitude section, I was totally confused. The question was to identify the grammatically incorrect sentence. The sentences were:
1. He is of Asian origin.
2. ...
2
votes
1answer
214 views
“situation where” vs. “situation in which”
In my mother tongue I can use the word where not only to describe something connected to a location, but also to substitute in which.
My question is: Is it correct to use where in a sentence like ...
2
votes
1answer
231 views
Correct usage of “yet” in the middle of the sentence [closed]
Is the following sentence a correct usage of yet?
I'm someone like you, and yet like no one.
I think it matches the last definition of OAAD, more importantly. But I also think the comma and and ...
1
vote
2answers
60 views
Using the word “deadbeat” as an adjective
BBC quotes President Obama:
America is "not a deadbeat nation", US President Barack Obama has said, as he warned Republicans unconditionally to approve a rise in the US debt ceiling.
It appears ...
2
votes
1answer
40 views
“To consolidate cost”
Is it correct to use the expression "consolidate cost" when you add cost figures in a specific period of time? The context is a description of what a piece of code is doing:
consolidate cost over ...
0
votes
2answers
205 views
Question regarding the use of “rather than” [closed]
Can you please tell me whether the following sentence is correct? Would you improve it (for example using appropriate punctuation)?
Hence several attempts have been made to cope with rather than ...
1
vote
3answers
81 views
Is it correct to use “but” as a positive connecting word?
I'm wondering if it is correct to use but as a positive connecting word. Below is a small example:
... is the perfect opportunity to improve my knowledge but also gain new experience with ...
Is ...
3
votes
4answers
115 views
Can we use “off-chance” in a scientific paper?
In an article that I'm writing, I would like to say that some special ideas are at a disadvantage concerning their consistency in producing results. In other words, we use those approaches in the hope ...
1
vote
4answers
349 views
“Planning for next year” vs. “planning for the next year”
I would like to start planning for next year.
In the above sentence, there is no definite article before the words next year. Should it be present, as in the following sentence which sounds far ...
0
votes
0answers
87 views
Meaning and usage of 'one John Doe' [closed]
In some recent reading, I have once again come across the language construct 'one John Doe', as in:
A notice was sent to one John Doe...
Of course I have seen and heard this before, but it never ...
0
votes
1answer
70 views
“Every” being used instead of “ever”?
Occasionally I'll see a comment on the internet along the lines of
I don't think I have every heard of such a thing.
Maybe not exactly that, but something equivalent where I would think that ...
-2
votes
3answers
323 views
where to position the preposition in the phrase: “not only… but also”
I have the following sentences, of which I don't know whether the prepositions are correctly positioned:
The solution depends not only on Condition A, but also on Condition B. But when C happens, ...
0
votes
1answer
260 views
Is there a software that can help my speech and grammar [closed]
Is there a software that can help me to improve my speech and grammar?...like learning the past participle,present participle and etc...also in constructing the sentences...or if there is no software ...
6
votes
1answer
132 views
Is “postchoice” a well-used word?
I came upon the word postchoice in the following sentence of Time magazine’s (May 28) article titled “The optimism bias,” dealing with the benefits of positive thinking:
According to social ...
3
votes
5answers
577 views
“He gave her a gesture while leaving the room.” - Is this sentence correct?
The intended use of the sentence is for a scenario where a guy gives a positive indication (with facial expressions) to an employee before leaving the presentation room.
Is "give a gesture" ...
5
votes
4answers
8k views
Correct use of will & would?
What would be the correct use of will & would in these sentences?
1) What will happen if I say to my boss that I will not come tomorrow?
2) What will happen if I would say to my boss that I will ...
2
votes
2answers
391 views
Is 'GRAND TOTAL AMOUNT' verbose? [closed]
After the subtotals and net totals, finally it comes to the grand total.
Should I say "the grand total amount is $100", or only "the total amount is $100", or "* grand total amount* is $100"?
4
votes
4answers
396 views
Definite article before scientific terms
I'm writing up my dissertation and I'm really confused where to use "the". Examples:
In this experiment, (the?) heat transfer coefficient was calculated, allowing to estimate (the?)frost ...
-2
votes
4answers
275 views
Can we use “use unfriendly” as an adjective?
I was wondering according to American English if this is a valid grammatical sentence:
This item is a little use unfriendly.
It sounds ok but I was wondering if "use unfriendly" (I mean without ...
6
votes
4answers
572 views
“Highest building of/in the world”
Which is correct?
The Chrysler building was the highest building in the world.
Today, it is the seventh highest building in the USA.
or:
The Chrysler building was the highest building of ...
6
votes
2answers
3k views
Correct usage of “viz.”?
Are these two sentences examples of the correct use of "viz."?
This book is dedicated to my family, viz. my parents and two sisters.
The purpose of this book is twofold, viz. 1) to show that [...]; ...
3
votes
4answers
735 views
Words that can be repeated and still make sense [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Are there other repeated single word sentences like the Buffalo sentence?
Are there words in English like had that can be repeated while still making sense?
For example,
...
3
votes
1answer
67 views
'Have both' -not sure I'm using this correctly
Is this correct?
Have both of today’s meetings been cancelled?
5
votes
2answers
1k views
Correct placing and usage of “yet”
Sometimes I see the sentence
Have you done something, yet?
Is it correct to write it that way? If not, what would be correct? If it is correct, why is it?
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Correct usage for “bad” v. “poor” adjectives
The way I was taught many years ago was that something like quality can be poor, but not bad.
The reasoning was that "bad" is a value/moral whereas poor applies to non-value qualities. In this case, ...
2
votes
2answers
188 views
Is “gets” the correct tense to describe a continuous process in “John gets mentored on a daily basis”?
John gets a mentor to guide him throughout his life. —
OR
— He gets mentored on a daily basis.
I believe this is just as acceptable as the simple past:
John got a mentor to guide him ...
4
votes
5answers
347 views
Using term “shot dead”
I'm curious about newscasters using the term "shot dead" in describing the death of a gun shot victim. Is this correct? They would never describe a survivor as "shot live".
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Which phrase is correct: “dependent on” or “dependent upon”
which sentence is correct?
my project is dependent upon your project completing
my project is dependent on your project completing.
5
votes
4answers
276 views
Proper use of “replete”
Is replete used appropriately in the following sentence?
His office was like a Hollywood museum, replete with an autographed photo of Marilyn Monroe.
Or should replete only be used with ...
