Grammaticality refers to whether something obeys the rules of grammar for English.
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Which is correct: “__ is different from __” or “__ is different than __”?
As someone who learned English later on in life, I was taught that different from is the correct grammar to use: this is different from that. However, it seems these days everyone uses different than ...
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When is it appropriate to end a sentence in a preposition?
Like many others, I commonly find myself ending a sentence with a preposition. Yes, it makes me cringe. I usually rewrite the sentence, but sometimes (in emails) I just live with it. To, with... ...
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3answers
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Is “believe you me” proper English?
I understand the phrase "believe you me" to be an emphatic version of "believe me" but how did it come to be? Is it a poor translation into English?
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Is it acceptable to nest parentheses?
Is it acceptable to nest parentheses (for example, if I (meaning myself) write like this)?
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“Email” or “e-mail”?
Which way of writing the word: "Email" or "e-mail" is correct? Both variants seem to be in wide use. If both ones are okay, maybe there is a difference in contexts they have been used (one is more ...
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What's wrong with “I'll open you the door”?
When I call the buzzer outside my girlfriend's flat, she sometimes says *"I'll open you the door". I correct this to "I'll open the door for you".
I've never heard a native speaker say it the first ...
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When should I use “a” versus “an” in front of a word beginning with the letter h?
A basic grammar rule is to use an instead of a before a vowel sound. Given that historic is not pronounced with a silent h, I use “a historic”. Is this correct? What about heroic? Should be “It was a ...
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Is “Just a friendly advice” grammatical?
I know that "advice" is uncountable and thus is incompatible with the article "a".
However, the phrase "Just a friendly advice" seems to be rather widespread.
Is it idiomatic, or incorrect? What is ...
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“If I was” or “If I were”. Which is more common, and which is correct?
My question of whether to use if I was or if I were. Which one is incorrect or nonstandard?
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Is “rather” shifting to become a verb?
In colloquial English, I constantly run across sentences of the form:
I rather my [noun] [verb]
A quick Google search returns tons of examples:
I rather my opponents don't find out.
I ...
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6answers
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When do I use “I” instead of “me?”
From some comments in the answers for common English usage mistakes, there's confusion around the usage of I vs. me:
While the sentence, "the other attendees are myself and Steve," is agreed to be ...
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Why do I instinctively want to use the present tense with a conditional?
My boss is not a native speaker of English, so he often asks me to correct his writing. The problem is, he wants me to explain why I make changes, and doesn't accept "it just sounds better that way" ...
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I can run faster than _____. (1) him (2) he?
Consider the sentence "I can run faster than 15 miles per hour." Its meaning is clear and to my eyes obviously grammatically correct. Now let me present some variations that have given me trouble for ...
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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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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 ...
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What is the correct way to use “neither” and “nor” in a sentence together?
Given these facts:
The tool cannot be found in the kitchen.
The tool cannot be found in the bathroom.
Which is the correct sentence to represent the situation above?
I can find the tool ...
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6answers
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Is it correct to use “their” instead of “his or her”?
Is this sentence grammatically correct?
Anyone who loves the English language should have a copy of this book in their bookcase.
or should it be:
Anyone who loves the English language should ...
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Can a sentence start with “Because”?
In my grade school days, I recall a teacher proclaiming to the class:
You should never start a sentence with the word "Because".
Of course, I've since seen lots of examples to the contrary, and ...
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3answers
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Can I use an “if” clause without “then”?
I have the following sentence:
If T had still been alive, there is the great possibility that either T or C ...
My teacher says that the word "then" must appear after the comma, but I think that ...
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6answers
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Is it ever acceptable for a period to come after a quote at the end of a sentence? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is it correct to use “punctuation outside of the quotations”, or “inside?”
I've heard that you should always place ending punctuation inside of quotes, no matter what.
...
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5answers
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Is it Web site or website?
Future Perfect's "Is it Web site or website?" states:
Since the World Wide Web is a proper
noun, we use initial upper-case
letters, as we would with your
surname, for example.
As for ...
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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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Why “it’s turtles” not “they are turtles”
It is a third person singular and is used to refer to a thing. If that’s the case, then why do we say:
A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on ...
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8answers
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Are collective nouns always plural, or are certain ones singular?
I'd say Microsoft have a way of bending the rules and I know that McLaren have won the championship. While this sounds strange, I believe it is correct English (sorry, I'm not native).
But when it's ...
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3answers
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“This question has been asked at Stack Overflow” vs. “on Stack Overflow”
How should I phrase it:
This question has been asked at Stack Overflow.
Or,
This question has been asked on Stack Overflow.
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“Sit in a chair” vs. “sit on a chair”
What is the correct usage? I know you sit 'on' a sofa/couch. What about chair?
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Is “May I have some drink?” incorrect?
This weekend, I took my family to Arby's to eat. My wife ordered us all some food, and filled the cups with some ice and some soda, then I got some sauce for my sandwich as well as some sauces for ...
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7answers
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Is it acceptable to start a sentence with “however”?
I have heard that starting a sentence with however is wrong. What are the grounds for this view and is it still held by a majority of pedants?
They would suggest changing
However, some people are ...
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10answers
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Is “fastly” a correct word?
Slow has the adverb slowly. I tend to use fastly as the adverb for fast.
However, it is underlined in most spell checkers I use, which makes me wonder about the existence of this word.
Is fastly a ...
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7answers
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Is “must” ever grammatical as a past tense verb?
I have seen uses of must that appear to be in the simple past tense. Sometimes these seem grammatical, but sometimes not. Examples that help illustrate my confusion:
He knew he must go to New York ...
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6answers
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Is there any valid rule discouraging the use of a certain word to start a sentence?
Is there any rule you think is valid that discourages the use of a certain word to start a sentence?
Because I suspect the answer is no.
But it would be good to have a blanket answer to this kind of ...
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2answers
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A number of questions “has been” or “have been” asked?
Formally, is it correct to write:
A number of questions has been asked here.
or:
A number of questions have been asked here.
As a non-native speaker of English, I would prefer the former: ...
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5answers
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Is there some rule against ending a sentence with the contraction “it's”?
I heard this lyric in a song the other day and it just sounded so wrong that I assumed it must be incorrect grammar, but I can't find any specific prohibition that applies.
That's what it's.
...
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5answers
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Is “might could” a correct construct?
I have a friend from the southern U.S. who uses the phrase “might could” quite often. He’ll say, for example:
I might could do that this weekend.
When I first heard him say this, it made me do ...
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5answers
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“My friends and I” vs. “My friends and me” vs. “Me and my friends”
I've always been taught to put myself last when referring to myself in the same sentence as others but the usage of "me and..." seems to be everywhere these days. The misuse of the word "me" instead ...
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6answers
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Which is correct: “what if there was” or “what if there were”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“If I was” or “If I were”. Which is more common, and which is correct?
Is this correct grammar?
What if there was a Stack Overflow on…
...
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4answers
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Correct position of “only”
Which is grammatically correct?
I can only do so much in this time.
or
I can do only so much in this time.
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10answers
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Ambiguity of “Dogs must be carried on this escalator”
In the words of the old joke, I wanted to go up to the next floor of a department store, and I saw an escalator with a sign saying
Dogs must be carried on this escalator.
But I didn't have a ...
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6answers
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Which is correct, “neither is” or “neither are”?
Bob: "Can I set the font color? Can I customize the text?"
Frank: "Neither of these options is available. Sorry!"
Is "neither is" always correct or should one use "neither are" in some cases and ...
17
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2answers
709 views
What is wrong with “Where should this car be parked?”?
Why does Microsoft Word 2010 show an error for the following sentence?
1. Where should this car be parked?
Word 2010 also suggests changing the sentence to
2. Where this car should ...
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6answers
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“Picking up your litter puts road-workers at risk” — is this strangely-worded road sign grammatically correct?
Yesterday I came across a road-sign (just coming onto the M40 at the Oxford services, if you're interested!) that seemed to read rather strangely. It read:
Picking up your litter puts road-workers ...
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3answers
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“Those who qualify will be awarded a certificate” or “those who qualify will be awarded certificates”?
All my life, I have been confused with choosing plural or singular form to represent one-one correspondence notion.
Only those who qualify will be awarded a certificate.
or
Only those who ...
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5answers
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What does “tell us know what you think” mean?
Is it even grammatical? A little bit of Googling returns quite a number of searches which lead me to think it is a grammatical sentence.
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4answers
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Usage of “And” in the beginning of a sentence
Since I first learned English, I have been holding this understanding that "and", as a conj. but unlike "but", can only connect two clauses, not two sentences ended with periods.
But recently, I ...
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Why prefix a request with “I'm going to have to ask you…”
Say you are in a nice restaurant and, at the table next you, a gentleman lights up the most offensive cigar you ever smelled.
You mention it to the manager and then the manager goes up to the ...
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What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb “help”: with or without “to”?
What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb "help": with or without "to"?
For example:
Please, help me to understand this.
or:
Please, help me understand this.
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Is it correct that “etc.” can not be used together in a sentence with “for example” and “such as”?
I just read an article from a Chinese website for English teaching which mentions that point. For instance, one can't say:
"I can play quite a few musical instruments, for example, the flute, the ...
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Is Apple's Old Slogan, “Think Different”, grammatically incorrect?
Not too long ago, Apple Computer used the phrase "Think Different" as an ad slogan. Is this a grammatical error (that is, it should be "Think Differently"), or are they trying to say something else ...
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“Who wants ice-cream?” — Should I say “(not) I” or “(not) me”?
With the enthusiastic question of "Who wants ice-cream?", what is the more correct response?
(Not) I.
(Not) me.
Neither response is a sentence. The first response of "(not) I" sounds ...
