Grammaticality refers to whether something obeys the rules of grammar for English.
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Successfully submitted vs Submitted Successfully
When data has been submitted through a form online, which sentence below make the most sense to use? Is one grammatically correct more than the other?
Your information has been successfully ...
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1answer
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usage of “Made for”
eg. I would've made for a bad lawyer.
conveying the meaning that if I had been a lawyed, I would have been a bad one.
is it correct usage?
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4answers
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If the rule is “such (a) + adj. + noun”, why is “such fun” correct?
According to my Cambridge Grammar of English, 'such (a)' is used in noun phrases with attributive adjectives.
She's such a quiet girl. (such a + adjective + singular countable noun)
They're ...
3
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0answers
56 views
Is “who did what” grammatically correct?
Sometimes I wish to know what each person in a group of people did, or where each person went, or which book goes where. Is it correct to say,
Who went where?
Who did what?
Who told whom?
...
2
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1answer
57 views
Is it ok if I start an opinion composition with the word 'Indeed'?
I was just wondering, is it's OK to begin an opinion composition with the word 'Indeed' in the first sentence? For example:
Indeed I believe people's consumerism is one of the main causes for our ...
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15answers
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What are some examples of awkward sounding but grammatically correct sentences?
What are some examples of awkward sounding but grammatically correct sentences?
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3answers
81 views
“James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher” Correct Sentence? [closed]
How "James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher" is Correct Sentence?
Can anyone explain?
6
votes
1answer
16k views
“Would you mind to do something?”
Is it correct to say "Would you mind to do something?". I've seen this usage in a few places, but it doesn't sound right to me. I would guess that it's proper to use "Would you mind doing something?" ...
1
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2answers
90 views
Why does “for” sound more appropriate than “during” in “I couldn't do anything for the rest of the day”?
I couldn't do anything for/during the rest of the day.
I know that for sounds correct, perhaps because "the rest of the day" is a finite chunk of time like "one hour" or "one week".
However, I ...
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2answers
65 views
Is “more optimal” correct grammar? [duplicate]
As a math and computer-science person, I use the phrase "more optimal" quite often, such as "This algorithm gives more optimal results." However, I was recently corrected, and told that "more ...
5
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2answers
658 views
Which one is grammatically correct? Why?
I've a quick question about grammar within a sentence. I'd also like to know why it is like that if someone could provide an answer.
Which one is correct?
Along with fishing, I enjoy ...
29
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7answers
16k views
Are there rules about using “that” to join two clauses?
He will understand that I was not joking.
He will understand I was not joking.
Which of the sentences is correct? Are there any specific rules about the use of "that" in the sentences I ...
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0answers
16 views
Which one to use as general Personal Pronoun: he, she or it [duplicate]
The issue
On my mother language, Portuguese, we have a lot of little differences to English on Pronouns.
My question
Which phrase is correct? Since I don't know if user is a man or a woman (or a ...
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1answer
38 views
What's the meaning of “what am I to do” [closed]
Is "what am I to do" be commonly used in daily lives?
Also what do following sentences imply?
What should I do the next?
What am I to do the next?
Please.
3
votes
2answers
235 views
Can I use the “ll” contraction with proper names?
Can I contract "will" as "ll" when preceded by a proper name? For example:
John will visit you tomorrow
John'll visit you tomorrow
I am inclined to think this is not acceptable in standard ...
3
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2answers
8k views
Which past tense of “to light” should I use here?
I know that there are two ways to form the past tense of to light (i.e. lit/lighted). Which one is appropriate for the sentence below?
His thoughts lighted our way.
or
His thoughts lit our ...
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1answer
93 views
Reading dollar amounts
I have a question regarding reading dollar amounts. At this store, I saw some scrunchies on sale for $5 per dozen.
Should I say,
These scrunchies is a five dollar per dozen item.
or is this ...
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0answers
55 views
When to use “a” vs “an” [duplicate]
I know the general rule is to use "a" if the word following starts with a consonant, and "an" if it starts with a vowel. I found this page that lists some exceptions: ...
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1answer
60 views
Use of the phrase “it seems” vs. “it seems that”
On another stackexchange site, I used the following phrasing:
I want to do X. It seems I can only do so when Y.
Someone edited the second sentence:
It seems that I can only do so when Y.
...
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0answers
30 views
Please let me know what did you think of the new set of changes? [closed]
Is the question
Please let me know what did you think of the new set of changes?
a semantically correct rephrasing of the question
Are you OK with the new set of changes?
3
votes
2answers
52 views
Singular noun objects of plural subjects
What is the rule for singular noun objects of plural subjects? For example I and google N-grams agree that
They gave their word.
is better than
They gave their words.
To my mind, this is ...
1
vote
1answer
120 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 ...
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0answers
36 views
“Nowadays” in reported speech — convert to “these days” or “those days”? [closed]
I can't convert a sentence that contains nowadays to reported speech. Some websites say that it should be turned into "these days", while others say it should be "those days". Which is the correct ...
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4answers
111 views
“Lay on the bed” vs. “lay in the bed” [closed]
Which one is more grammatically correct?
I lay on the bed.
I lay in the bed.
1
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1answer
82 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 ...
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0answers
28 views
Check the grammar [closed]
However, I was able to convince the panel that with mutual effort I will learn and deliver what will be expected of me
is this sentence correct?
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1answer
62 views
Identifying the class of this word
I'm reading the Wikipedia page on garden-path sentences. One example is:
The government plans to raise taxes were defeated.
What class of word is government in this sentence?
I read this ...
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1answer
148 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.
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 ...
9
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2answers
784 views
Grammaticality of “Shoreditch station to permanently close”
I recently read an article on BBC titled Bad grammar and the people who hate it. In it, there is a photo of a train station sign which reads as follows.
Friday 9 June 2006
Shoreditch station ...
0
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1answer
34 views
who or whom in this context? [duplicate]
I am unsure which is the grammatically correct one in the following context:
...trying to find a programmer with who / whom I could collaborate.
Which one is the correct usage?
1
vote
1answer
81 views
Are “could I have been able to cope with” and "could I have coped with” the same?
I am a bit confused with the formation of this sentence. My lines are:
What if I were a girl? Would I have been able to cope with the ordeal that women and girls live through every day?
But I ...
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0answers
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's 's ?! Works or not? [closed]
If we are talking about hats for example.
Mine is blue.Tom's is white.
Can I use the contraction of is in the previous sentence.
So it'll be like this 'Tom's 's white' !!
Is it grammatically ...
0
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2answers
65 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
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4answers
131 views
Origin and correctness of “ain’t no”?
In contemporary American English usage, I come across sentences like:
I ain’t got no money.
Ain’t no man like him.
Saying ain’t no sounds incorrect to me because it is a double ...
3
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2answers
859 views
Is “could've” or “should've” standard English?
As the title says — is "could've" or "should've" standard English or is it slang and should correctly be spelled "could have" and "should have"?
2
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1answer
1k views
“Answer to the question” vs. “answer for the question” vs. “answer of the question”
The answer to the question.
The answer for the question.
The answer of the question.
Which is grammatical? What are the differences? And what is the preferred usage?
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votes
1answer
57 views
Using the possessive apostrophe in formal English [closed]
I am writing an essay and my teacher told us to use "Formal Academic English". Would using a possessive apostrophe like "Obama's decision to.." be considered informal? Don't tell me to ask my teacher, ...
2
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1answer
39 views
Should I use life or lives in the following question
Should I use life or lives in the following question?
I would promote prayer as a part of the pupils' everyday life
I would promote prayer as a part of the pupils' everyday lives
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0answers
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“Develop a process for” vs. “develop a process on”
Which one is grammatical?
Develop a process on handling incoming material...
Develop a process for handling incoming material...
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2answers
82 views
A question about date [duplicate]
A standard date question would be:
What date is it today?
But is
What date is today?
acceptable?
0
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0answers
15 views
A date and time that suit you? [duplicate]
Which of these is correct?
A date and time that suit you
A date and time that suits you
I have always had doubts about this.
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votes
1answer
89 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?
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votes
2answers
50 views
afterwards or forward on? [closed]
My question is very simple---
a: I will go with your confirmation forward on.
b: I will go with your confirmation afterwards
They seem have no mistake in grammar, so, both are correct?
8
votes
3answers
8k views
Should you use “who” or “that” when talking about multiple people doing something?
Which of the following is correct?
There were 10 people that went to the store.
There were 10 people who went to the store.
Edit:
Which of the following is correct?
There were 10 ...
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1answer
50 views
Can I say I landed at Boston? [closed]
I know the plane lands in Boston but can I say I landed at Boston ?
2
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3answers
490 views
Verb for “to make bold”
Consider the following:
Imagine that you are sitting at your word processor and you need to make a word bold.
Imagine that you are sitting at your word processor and you need to bold a word.
...
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6answers
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What is wrong with the word “performant”?
I keep getting the red underlining in Word whenever I write the word "performant". Here I intend to refer to something that performs well or better than something else (ie it's more performant).
Is ...
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 ...
