Questions about repeating a given word in a phrase, sentence, or short passage of text.
2
votes
1answer
48 views
Does this sentence call for an additional “for”?
I'm confronted with two compelling options:
I want to be at least partially responsible for getting them to think differently, or inspiring them to earnestly investigate new topics.
I want to ...
0
votes
1answer
86 views
Avoiding repetition — “hallway” [closed]
In many forums, I have seen people keep saying to avoid repetition of the same word in a paragraph. But in the sentence like below, how do you avoid the repetition?
Suddenly, the dog stands up and ...
1
vote
2answers
116 views
“Talk to you then then”
I am talking to a friend on the phone and the conversation is somewhat incomplete but we decide to hang up. Before hanging up, he says "I'll see you tomorrow". Would it be grammatical to reply,
...
0
votes
0answers
64 views
“An A and B” vs. “an A and a B” [closed]
Which one is correct if both A and B are singular — "an A and B" or "an A and a B"?
I am confused because I have seen both cases.
-2
votes
1answer
79 views
Preposition repeated twice
For your perusal and evaluation, I have enclosed my curriculum vitae for further information.
My main problem with this sentence is the double usage of the word for. My idea was to replace it ...
-1
votes
1answer
139 views
How to avoid that “that that” that is so very awkward
In all seriousness, are there any common patterns or strategies people use to avoid having to write a sentence in which "that that" appears?
For example:
Evidential decision theory recommends ...
-2
votes
2answers
79 views
Is this ellipsis grammatical?
Which of these sentence constructions is correct? The only difference is the last word.
Sometimes questioning others' assumptions is not the hardest part of being an activist; the hardest part ...
3
votes
2answers
179 views
Too many “and”s? Is it grammatically correct?
A friend of mine (a non-native speaker of English) has asked me to check her CV and I'm afraid / ashamed to say, I'm having trouble.
Are there too many "and"s in the given sentence? It seems OK to ...
-1
votes
1answer
70 views
Word-Grammar choice improvement [closed]
I have an example:
I have two bikes. Both of them are expensive models. The first one has a red color and the second one has a green color. One of them is damaged because of its old age. And one ...
0
votes
1answer
102 views
Enumeration that starts with “in the”
What is grammatically correct?
I participated in the math club, in the cycling club and in the computer game design club.
or
I participated in the math club, the cycling club and the ...
0
votes
0answers
23 views
How to get rid of too many “of”s [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Where can I find a list of ways to get rid of the preposition “of”?
How can we paraphrase the following to get rid of too many "of"s?
The parameter of determining ...
8
votes
4answers
837 views
Can you use two “and”s in a sentence?
For example,
I like chocolate, vanilla, and lemon and orange ice cream.
Indicating "lemon and orange" is a combined flavor, as an item in the list needing an initial and.
7
votes
4answers
278 views
Transcribing long repeating phone numbers
I always have this problem of telling people my phone number which consists of a series of repeating numbers:
184 555 5555 (DO NOT CALL, this is just as an example)
I can tell people it is:
...
-1
votes
1answer
132 views
How to avoid repetition of “due to” [closed]
I want to say that something has happened due to several reasons. So I used word due to to say the reason but due to comes respectively. I avoided it in my 2nd sentence. Would it be ok?
Missing of ...
0
votes
1answer
119 views
“That that” vs. “that” [closed]
Is "that that" or "that, that" redundant in sentences such as this:
The reason we are late is that that we had an accident.
or
The reason we are late is that, that we had an accident.
Is ...
0
votes
1answer
430 views
Repetition of articles in a sentence
The following sentences use more than one adjective for a single noun.
She has a black and white cat.
It implies that the person involved here has only one cat which is black and white coloured.
...
-1
votes
1answer
63 views
“Try forming this shape using [that/it]. [It/that] will match any virus!”
I'm working on a mobile game, and I was wondering about the best way to say the quote below:
You see that shiny ball full of colors?
Try forming this shape using that.
That will match any ...
1
vote
1answer
157 views
Multiple “in”s in a sentence [closed]
I always wonder whether the sentences which contain multiple *in*s are proper / a good practice. For example,
Edit
Ok. May be it was a bad example. Sorry about that. But it's a real question.
I ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
using had had in a sentence [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What does “had had” mean? How does this differ from “had”?
I had had so many interruptions this morning that I scarcely had done any work
or
I ...
7
votes
1answer
205 views
What do we call the “repetition” construct (if it's even proper English)?
I've sometimes seen this construct, used to avoid repetitive handwriting, but I don't even know if it's proper English.
If it is, what is the name of this construct? I have no idea what to search for ...
2
votes
4answers
777 views
How can you use “either… or” twice in a sentence?
I want to be able to say something like:
There either needs to be X to do either Xa or Xb or there needs to be Y.
(edit: since from some answers it doesn't seen to be clear, I mean that that Xa ...
0
votes
0answers
46 views
Grammaticality of “that that” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do you handle “that that”? The double “that” problem
“I don't think that that can be done”
Better use of “that that” — or not
...
2
votes
2answers
608 views
Double words in a sentence, what is this called? [closed]
Trying to find out what double words in a sentence are called. I know there's got to be a word for it. There is for everything!
Examples:
I had had a good day, until you arrived.
We know ...
-1
votes
1answer
536 views
Overuse of “that” [closed]
I too often use the word "that" in sentences. Examples: "Pinker asserts that little evidence exists for group selection theories" or "How would you respond to a client who tells you that one of her ...
0
votes
1answer
116 views
Best way to represent comparative information in paragraph form?
Let's say normally I have a table, and the left hand column has a requirement in it, and the right hand column has how the requirement is fulfilled. But because of a lack of support for tables, I ...
2
votes
2answers
428 views
How to avoid needless repetition? [closed]
In German, repetition is frowned upon. For example:
Instead of the disfavored repetitions
Der Professor betreut die Studenten bei der Ausarbeitung der Bachelorarbeiten und Masterarbeiten.
...
6
votes
3answers
277 views
“Are you sure sure” — is this repetition grammatically correct?
A typical conversation among members of my age demographic could go like this:
Person 1: Did you know that x > y?!?
Person 2: Are you sure?
Person 1: Yeah, I'm sure.
Person 2: Are ...
0
votes
1answer
197 views
Two consecutive “that”, “that that” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do you handle “that that”? The double “that” problem
I've encountered this sentence in a technical book:
A browsing context has a session ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
How to properly write sentence with double words
I commonly come across sentences where I have to write the same word twice such as,
This is what I've been looking for for a long time.
and in these cases I just try to rewrite the sentence to ...
10
votes
2answers
1k views
Using “to” twice in a row
In the sentence "Who should I talk to to learn about that?" my grammar checker says I have a repeated word. I admit that it sounds a little awkward, but I'm not sure it's incorrect.
I realize I could ...
0
votes
1answer
559 views
Better use of “that that” — or not [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do you handle “that that”? The double “that” problem
I sometimes seem to write myself into using 2 thats in succession, as in:
"Now that ...
0
votes
1answer
597 views
Using had twice [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What does “had had” mean? How does this differ from “had”?
Is this correct usage?
I had had enough food?
4
votes
2answers
638 views
Rules about prepositions and duplicating 'to'
On occasion, I end up writing sentences that contain a duplicate word, often what is probably a preposition (or better yet, an adposition). The specific example that I just ran into involves a ...
6
votes
3answers
618 views
Is it proper to start a sentence with the word that ended the last sentence?
For example:
Instead, you’ll use a higher-level model called ASP.NET AJAX. ASP.NET AJAX gives you a set of server-side components and controls that you can use when designing your web page.
This ...
22
votes
7answers
3k views
How do you handle “that that”? The double “that” problem
Have you ever had a case where you felt compelled to include strange things like a double that in a sentence? If so, then what did you do to resolve this?
For me, I never knew whether it was ...
7
votes
7answers
9k views
What does “had had” mean? How does this differ from “had”?
For example, what is the difference between the following two sentences:
I had a bad day
I had had a bad day
