Grammaticality refers to whether something obeys the rules of grammar for English.
6
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3answers
524 views
Is it incorrect to use a sentence fragment to answer a question?
In an English essay, I wrote:
What am I looking at? People enjoying themselves?
I lost points for using a sentence fragment. Is it truly incorrect to use a sentence fragment this way?
2
votes
1answer
128 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 ...
0
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2answers
90 views
Is it wrong to use “The Albatross is now on the sky”?
Is it wrong to use "The Albatross is now on the sky"?
Is it like we should always say "The Albatross is now in the sky"?
I would like to get an explanation for this. Thanks.
-1
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0answers
72 views
Final “ 's ” without object, ever correct? [closed]
Does the following statement mean anything?
TRACKER GRANTS YOU A PERSONAL, NON-EXCLUSIVE, NON-TRANSFERABLE,
RESTRICTED RIGHT TO USE THE SOFTWARE, FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL,
COMMERCIAL, ...
-4
votes
1answer
62 views
“Enter the password 1234” vs. “enter 1234 for a password” [closed]
Which sentence is correct?
Enter the password 1234.
Enter 1234 for a password.
0
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1answer
52 views
What is the appropriate question tag for sentences such as “I was born to be a doctor”?
What is the appropriate question tag for sentences such as:
I was born to be a doctor, __?
0
votes
1answer
63 views
“As good a car as it gets” — correct?
I need to understand if I could say "As good a [noun] as it gets". Would it mean "the best [noun]"? E.g.
You can buy as good a car as it gets in that store.
4
votes
3answers
317 views
Is “you’re the door on the right.” grammatically correct?
The you is Harry Potter. I’m really curious about the grammatical construction and the reason why JKR chose it.
”Mrs. Weasley, why – ?”
”Ron and Hermione will explain everything, dear, I’ve ...
4
votes
2answers
108 views
Parenthetic Apposition or not?
Please settle a debate for me. Here is the sentence in question:
Excessive, incorrect, use of the word "like" is unbelievably irritating.
The criticism is against the comma following the word ...
-1
votes
3answers
315 views
Is it proper to use “that” instead of “at which” to refer to speed?
On a physics assignment, I believe that these sentences are grammatically incorrect, but some other students disagree (especially on the second one).
What is the maximum speed that the mass can be ...
-1
votes
1answer
57 views
“How does two friends” vs. “how do two friends” [closed]
Which of the following is grammatical?
How does two friends become lovers so quickly?
How do two friends become lovers so quickly?
I was thinking does would be the correct choice, am I ...
2
votes
2answers
225 views
will be possible to be used
Is it (1) correct, (2) natural/wise to say the following in english: "[X] will be possible to be used here as [Y, ie. some function/role]"?
Are there any alternatives, and if there are, are they a ...
-2
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2answers
74 views
Is that grammatically correct? [closed]
I'm going to blog about each feature and progress I made in my book?
Is that grammatically correct?
1
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2answers
84 views
'Statistically significant associated to' — [Adv + Adj] as Adv?
Is 'XXX is statistically significant associated to YYY.' grammatically correct ? One of my friends says this is seen in many papers with statistics.
Shouldn't it be '... statistically significantly ...
1
vote
1answer
78 views
Should I use an apostrophe, when the possession appears before the possessive subject?
In the following (poorly written?) sentence:
You improve your co-worker's luck and your business's.
I want to say that the luck of your business will also be improved... How do I say this? By ...
-1
votes
1answer
124 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 ...
6
votes
2answers
142 views
Is “my something of choice” the same as “something of my choice”?
Would like to know if it's wrong to use "my something of choice"? Does the phrase have the same meaning as "something of my choice"?
0
votes
2answers
102 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 ...
0
votes
2answers
114 views
''didn't have'' versus ''haven't had''
Which of the following sentences is correct?
In the last two weeks I didn't have much time.
In the last two weeks I haven't had much time.
If both are correct, are they different in ...
-2
votes
0answers
59 views
“Аmple innocence”, “enough innocence” or something else? [closed]
Is the phrase "enough innocence" valid? Or is it "ample innocence" or something else? I am looking to translate the Russian "достаточная невинность".
0
votes
1answer
38 views
Pluralization rules for descriptions
Consider a sentence of the following form:
X, and the Y which comes with it, is good.
Assume X and Y are nouns, and X is singular. Should "is" be replaced with "are"? Is there some other ...
-2
votes
1answer
63 views
Usage of 'not different'
Take a look at this sentence.
Many apps are not good. Even some of Apple's
own apps are not different.
I intend to mean some of Apple's own apps are not good. Is this correct?
3
votes
3answers
22k views
Which one is correct, “favourite song of all time” or “… of all times”?
Which one of these sentences is correct?
That is one of my favourite songs of all time.
That is one of my favourite songs of all times.
I am not a native English speaker.
0
votes
1answer
65 views
mixed functional and non-functional requirement
Some background. Functional requirement of a web service is concerned with the correctness of the web service's function — say, the service will always return a number that is less than two.
The ...
0
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2answers
83 views
“Sometimes also” or “also sometimes”?
I have a sentence where I think I could use either of these two constructions. They seem very similar in meaning, so I'm not sure which I should prefer. There might be some subtle point of grammar ...
3
votes
2answers
151 views
“In the market” or “on the market”
I am trying to help a friend of mine proofreading an English email and she has a preposition there that I am not completely certain is correct. The original sentence was this:
[Name of the ...
-2
votes
1answer
90 views
“Any” followed by singular or plural countable nouns?
This question has troubled me for ages despite my several attempts of looking it up in dictionaries or usage books. Do we say, "Do you have any ideas" or "Do you have any idea"? I do see an example ...
0
votes
1answer
65 views
“Near St. John's church” vs. “near the St. John's church” vs. “near the St. John church” [duplicate]
When it comes to churches and so on, which one is correct?
Our hotel is near St. John's church.
Our hotel is near the St. John's church.
Our hotel is near the St. John church.
7
votes
6answers
18k views
Is “over-exaggerated” correct English?
Isn't "exaggerated" enough? Is it right to say "over-exaggerated"?
-1
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1answer
42 views
They give very less attention to the him [closed]
Ron gets inside room filled with people. They give very less attention to the him.
Here what I mean by "give very less attention" is - out of all the people in the room only few people looks at ...
30
votes
8answers
8k views
Is there a standard ordering for the question mark and the exclamation mark used together?
We've all wanted to express certain questions, rhetorical or not, with annoyance, excitement, surprise, frustration and so on. What better way than with both a question mark (?) and an exclamation ...
0
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0answers
53 views
How do you express a natural habit of a species?
I am curious to know about the plural/singular form of addressing a species. For example, which expression is correct or more appropriate:
Lion does not eat wolf
Lions do not eat wolves
Or ...
0
votes
2answers
109 views
A water circle of few radius is around the park
Look at the below image. Do you see the water in few feet radius around a land? How do you describe this? Let's assume that the land is a park and there is no fountain. Can I express it as "A water ...
2
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0answers
149 views
Are compound contractions proper grammar?
I've been told that compound contractions like couldn't've and I'd've are proper grammar. Are they?
0
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2answers
83 views
Passive voice for sentences using modals and "used to:
I always have some problems with changing an active sentence which contains used to into a passive sentence, for example:
Mr Green used to teach languages at school.
What is the passive form? ...
3
votes
1answer
92 views
Gerund preceded by a genitive?
Is this sentence actually grammatical?
You know your having a rough day when kittens don't even make you smile.
The writer of this sentence may intend to mean you're instead of your but I'm just ...
-1
votes
0answers
65 views
Punctuations and “tumbles down the hill”
He jump but hardly reaches the stone and tumbles down the hill. He tries to catch some other edge or stone as he falls and catches a small hole with his two fingers in the left hand.
Something ...
6
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2answers
235 views
Should the term “salutary” be used only in reference to physical health?
I'm considering using the term "salutary" in a technical document I'm writing to refer to something beneficial. Here's the context:
Salutary side effects of our model are to harness idle ...
0
votes
2answers
119 views
multiple adjectives next to each other [closed]
In low volume, a melody sad love song is playing in a mobile phone placed on the side table.
Do you see the three adjectives (melody sad love) together? Is that correct?
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1answer
36 views
The interior is in pure white color [closed]
The interior is in pure white color
The 'in' is really required in this case? Is there any alternative?
0
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1answer
48 views
“In the roads” vs. “on the roads” [duplicate]
He is driving in the roads of the mountain.
He is driving on the roads of the mountain.
Which is correct, "in the roads" or "on the roads"?
2
votes
3answers
2k views
“Definitely” vs. “absolutely”
What's the difference between absolutely and definitely? Actually which of the following sentences is correct?
You are definitely right.
You are absolutely right.
1
vote
1answer
80 views
our whole lives vs. all (of) our lives
Which one is correct or is preferable in this context:
We want to be free... and we wait/we've been waiting for that moment our whole life/our whole lives.
We want to be free... and we wait/we've ...
0
votes
2answers
62 views
Introducing a character [closed]
JOHN MICHAELSON, in his late 40s, is sitting in a couch, reading a
book. He is lean and hard. His eyes look tired and depressed, and
there is a vacuum in his life; we see that in his face.
I ...
-3
votes
2answers
105 views
“Many books” vs. “many of books”
Is it correct to say "Many of books are in English" or should we say "Many books are in English"?
0
votes
1answer
91 views
“I been” or “I’ve been”?
In the famous song Every Breath You Take by The Police, Sting sings:
Since you've gone I been lost without a trace…
I admit that I am not some expert in English Grammar, but this "I been" ...
11
votes
3answers
3k views
Which is correct: “bored of”, “bored by”, “bored with”?
I have been asked by a young friend, "Which is correct: bored by, bored of, or bored with?" My instinct is to say that "bored of" and "bored by" are fine, but "bored with" sounds like she is being ...
0
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1answer
69 views
Can one massacre lives?
"Most were convinced that those responsible were of their own, silently waiting for another chance to massacre innocent lives."
Would you say that the above example is acceptable or unacceptable with ...
3
votes
2answers
79 views
Wording an 'If-Then' Statement Tense
I need help phrasing the last part of this conditional sentence (assume I can't change the first conditional statement):
If I died tomorrow, I would have wanted to go skydiving.
or
If I ...
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votes
1answer
54 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") ...
