Grammaticality refers to whether something obeys the rules of grammar for English.
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2answers
73 views
“I didn't think of it [at first/before]” — which one is acceptable? [closed]
I like the idea of contract signing with my customers. I didn't think of it before.
Should I say at first instead of before, or is the sentence acceptable as it is?
1
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1answer
99 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
2answers
83 views
Is “in in vitro” acceptable?
Is it ok to use an "in" before "in vitro", or other Latin-derived phrases that start with "in"?
For example, could you say "there's been a lot of advances in in vitro fertilization lately"?
4
votes
4answers
112 views
Analysis of “There is something it is like to be us”
I found these similar phrases (bolded by me) in an article [1] and am wondering how they can make sense.
Ordinary human beings are conscious. That is, there is something it
is like to be us. We ...
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1answer
69 views
“We makes” vs. “we make” [closed]
Which is grammatical — "we makes you smarter" or "we make you smarter"? (Where we refers to an institution.)
0
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2answers
131 views
I am going to go?
My English teacher told me that "going to go" doesn't exist in English but I saw it many times. For example "The whole band is going to go to show their support". I'd like to know if it's possible to ...
0
votes
2answers
89 views
“Wanting” or “want”?
Lately I have noticed that a lot of people use "wanting" in sentences, or in books, but I don't get it because my English teachers have always said to me that with verbs like "love", "like", "want" ...
0
votes
1answer
66 views
“I'm very interested in.” vs “in which I'm very interested.” [duplicate]
You should sell me that book I'm very interested in
or is it better to write it as
You should sell me that book in which I'm very interested
I know that the former is more informal than the ...
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 ...
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votes
1answer
104 views
Usage of “I am afraid” [closed]
What kind of sentence should follow the phrase "I am afraid", assertive or interogative?
For example, is the following sentence grammatical?
I am afraid is it appropriate ask me a copy of it.
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votes
2answers
133 views
“The doors is closing” — correct?
A friend of mine tried to convince me that the expression "the doors is closing" is correct. It sounds completely wrong to me, but googling for it turns up some results.
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votes
1answer
53 views
“Read the values of a and b” vs. “read the values a and b”
Read the values of a and b.
Read the values a and b.
The context is programming. Do I need to use of? What is the rule to use of before variables?
0
votes
2answers
149 views
Should a photograph label read “you and I” or “you and me”? [duplicate]
I had a debate with my friend about this topic because he had a photo captioned:
Seth and I playing lion king
and I said it should be
Seth and me playing lion king
Which is correct?
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votes
1answer
56 views
use of articles [closed]
I am always unhappy when it's time for geometry class.
I am always unhappy when it's a time for geometry class.
I am always unhappy when it's the time for geometry class.
which one is correct? ...
3
votes
2answers
136 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
101 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 ...
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votes
2answers
61 views
“I am” vs “am” - When should they be used in a sentence? [duplicate]
So often, I find people using am instead of I am, for example,
am going to work
am okay
am sleeping
Is this grammatically correct and when should am be used in a sentence if it is ...
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votes
3answers
58 views
Which is correct, “does go to” or “does goes to”? [closed]
Which is the correct statement?
Does she goes to Gym?
Does Rita go to Gym?
Does Rita goes to Gym?
0
votes
1answer
57 views
Using stressed “the” to emphasize outstanding noun
I'm not a native English speaker and sometimes I encounter article "the" used in stressed form before some noun or name, mostly in movies, like "That's not the gun, that's THE gun" or "He is THE ...
1
vote
1answer
82 views
Prepositions used with “command line” and “shell”
I found the following variations on the use of "command line" and "shell" in computing and wonder which are correct and how to use them appropriately.
Command line: is it "at the command line" or ...
-5
votes
1answer
99 views
Grammar: did + past simple, is it correct? [closed]
I’ve noticed a few times where someone says something like “Did you made...” or “Did you worked...” when asking questions.
Is this some kind of unofficial talk or is it completely incorrect ...
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votes
1answer
84 views
Which sentence is better grammatically? [closed]
I want to search for food by name.
I want to search for a specific food name.
I want to search for a specific food.
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votes
1answer
45 views
Grammaticality of “help someone something” [closed]
A few times I've encountered phrases of the form "help yourself [something]", for example "help yourself some water". I consider this form to be ungrammatical, but I am not a native speaker. Is it ...
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votes
1answer
108 views
Can we use “from” after “stop”?
I want to know the difference between these two items:
She couldn't stop herself laughing.
She couldn't stop herself from laughing.
I assume that No. 2 is wrong, but it seems right!
1
vote
3answers
65 views
Grammaticality of the word “last”
I was handed an example of a formal letter, which was written in reply to an advertisement. This is the starting sentence:
Dear Mr Madrick,
With reference to your advertisement in "The ...
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votes
3answers
116 views
Is “the hopes of such plans of ever becoming a reality soon begin to fade” grammatical? [closed]
I'm trying to close a long sentence with the following phrase:
...the hopes of such plans of ever becoming a reality soon begin to fade.
Is this grammatically correct?
Update: The whole ...
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votes
1answer
80 views
What is ungrammatical about “that's them”?
I was reading 3rd short story in Agatha Christie's "Poirot Investigates" when I stumbled on following sentence:
"That's them," I declared in an ungrammatical whisper.
What is so ungrammatical ...
2
votes
1answer
114 views
What is the difference in meaning between 'nonchalant' and 'insouciant'?
OED defines them as:
nonchalant adjective (of a person or manner) feeling or appearing casually calm and relaxed; not displaying anxiety, interest, or enthusiasm
insouciant adjective showing ...
1
vote
1answer
102 views
Is “in about” grammatical in “I'll reach there in about 5 minutes”?
Is it correct to say "I'll reach there in about 5 minutes?" Is "in about" correct in this sentence?
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votes
4answers
79 views
“There is” vs. “there are” when contracted [duplicate]
Unless I am mistaken, when referring to a single thing or entity, one can say there is or there's (the contraction of the same). When referring to more than one of something, the correct wording is ...
0
votes
1answer
105 views
What is wrong with this sentence?
I do not even get the chance of show my skills in an interview.
Someone told me that this sentence is wrong and instead should be:
I do not get the chance of show my skills in an interview.
...
1
vote
1answer
107 views
Tense agreement after “if it means that”
I've read that in conditional sentences, tenses don't have to match. Is this true for sentences that contain "if it means"? In the examples below, I'm trying to say something like "I won't write to ...
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votes
1answer
94 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
157 views
Use of gerund without preposition “to”
Can I use gerunds with the word "concede" without using preposition "to" as in the sentence below?
He concedes killing his wife.
1
vote
1answer
58 views
comes to think of it?
Which of the expressions, "come to think of it" or "comes to think of it", grammatically correct? Or are they grammatical at all?
If it is a short form of,
When one comes to think of it, I would ...
3
votes
2answers
204 views
“Sites to see” or “Sights to see”?
A google search turns up results for either. The two are seemingly interchangeable. Which is it? Does one see sights or see sites?
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
“Pa. man bagged deer Wal-Mart lot deer” Is This Headline Grammatical or Sensical?
http://news.yahoo.com/charges-pa-man-bagged-deer-wal-mart-lot-145951272.html
I just cannot parse this headline. I understand the story - a fellow was standing in a Wal-Mart parking lot, saw a deer ...
0
votes
1answer
121 views
Singular or plural “set”?
I'm having some issues with a sentence that is part of the purpose in a report that I'm writing. I'm not sure if the word "communicate" (in bold) should be singular or plural.
The applications in the ...
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votes
1answer
128 views
“I am puzzled by conflicting opinion on [a] coffee.”
I am puzzled by conflicting opinion on a coffee.
I am puzzled by conflicting opinion on coffee.
These sentences are from a syllabus book. And I don't know which one is correct.
4
votes
3answers
215 views
“Italy-based company” or “Italian-based company”
When referring to a company that is based in Italy, I am never sure which of the above is correct. Logically speaking, "Italy-based" seems the most appropriate (since the company is based in Italy, ...
0
votes
1answer
134 views
What is the proper way to ask two questions in one sentence?
Every now and again I find myself writing a sentence like this:
INPUT in LPINPUT is some data structure I can identify — what does LP mean, array?
I don't know what to call this type of ...
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votes
1answer
82 views
“At step” or “in step”
When I searched I found many usages of both "in step" and "at step". For example, Google returns:
"at each step" — about 55,000,000 results
"in each step" — about 45,000,000 results
But which one ...
3
votes
3answers
148 views
Is using “she” when the gender is unknown ungrammatical? [duplicate]
I often come across the use of "she" not as an gender neutral pronoun as such but as the pronoun of choice when the gender is unknown. This is particularly common in scientific/technical documents but ...
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votes
1answer
108 views
“To have to” vs. “should” [closed]
I wonder which one to choose here:
My father should drive carefully when it’s raining.
My father has to drive carefully when it’s raining.
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votes
1answer
113 views
Please correct my grammatical mistakes, if any [closed]
we have done cams db setup.
After discussing with Mark we will do the pas db setup.
Please assist me correcting any grammatical mistakes.
1
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2answers
144 views
Can you say “within 90 days after”?
I understand that you can say, "within 30 days of receiving your application", but I am seeing more and more "within 30 days after your application is received". Is the latter grammatical?
0
votes
1answer
142 views
Tense agreement in reported speech
Jack didn't tell me that he __ my chocolate.
eats
ate
had eaten
has eaten
I have a hard time figuring out which one to choose and why.
2
votes
2answers
213 views
“Split in half” vs. “split in two” — which one is correct?
Does the "in" imply multiplication, in which case split in half is correct, or is it division? It sounds like the latter to me, but I've heard it used both ways.
2
votes
1answer
107 views
Relative pronoun verb agreement
In the sentence, “The dog gave me, who feeds him, a lick”, feeds does not agree with the person of the antecedent to who. I know that a verb used with a relative pronoun has the same number and ...
