Tagged Questions
2
votes
1answer
65 views
Is “grapple hooking” a correct phrase?
I want to say "using a grapple hook" as a verb. In context it would be like "sprinting, jumping, grapple hooking"—but that doesn't sound right. Is it correct? If not, is there a way to say it as a ...
1
vote
1answer
83 views
Differences in the Semantics of Three Tri-Part Phrasal Verbs
What are the subtle semantic differences in the following three tri-part phrasal verbs:
(1) be up against
(2) come up against
(3) run up against
1
vote
2answers
56 views
Can 'it' be used plurally?
Can 'it' as a pronoun refer to many different imperative verbs? For instance, in the sentence:
Abide by thy customs, thou excellent one: grind thy corn, drink thy water, praise thy cooking,-- if ...
3
votes
1answer
151 views
What is the present participle of “stop, drop, and roll”?
In a verb phrase, such as stop, drop, and roll, how do I conjugate this in the present participle? Stopping, dropping, and rolling? Stop, drop, and rolling?
0
votes
2answers
117 views
What does “to be caught in a controversy” mean?
Can I use something like "I am caught in a controversy" to express that I am witnessing and confused by the controversy between other entities?
1
vote
1answer
2k views
Is it “my passion lies in” or “my passion is”?
I have the following sentence in my résumé:
My passion lies in analyzing complex algorithms.
Someone pointed out to me that it is not correct, and that it should be:
My passion is analyzing ...
5
votes
4answers
230 views
What is the grammar behind “Thanks be to God”?
What is the grammatical interpretation of the phrase? I don't understand what verb tense or voice is used.
5
votes
6answers
351 views
“Do a shop” for “go shopping”
This has puzzled me for a few years now. When preceded by 'a', shop becomes a noun. Does "do a shop" even make sense then? The correct phrase for me was always "go shopping", or similar.
Can ...
6
votes
1answer
130 views
When was the word “scroll” first used as a verb?
We all know that a scroll is a roll of parchment used in ancient times. A scroll can be rolled up or down, and that must have been the metaphor the creator of the computer-term "scroll" had in mind.
...
0
votes
1answer
114 views
About two mutually related, future actions [closed]
Is it correct to say: "I will do that thing when I will talk to him."?
8
votes
2answers
378 views
“Try to save” or “try saving”
Are both try to save the file and try saving the file grammatically correct? If so, is there any difference in meaning?
3
votes
2answers
2k views
Is “give an exam” grammatical for “writing the answers to exam”?
Amongst North Indian Students, the phrase "give an exam" is very popular. These students use the phrase to describe the act of writing the answers to examination questions.
The reason being, in ...
13
votes
9answers
1k views
“Assign a variable to a value” or the other way round?
I was wondering which of these phrases is/are correct:
assign a variable to a value
assign a value to a variable
I'd say the second is correct, but I'm not a native speaker. A quick Google search ...
2
votes
3answers
251 views
How different is “Be rid of somebody” from “Get rid of somebody”? Are they interchangeable?
In the movie review article of Clint Eastwood’s “J. Edgar” in the New Yorker magazine (November 14) titled “the Man in Charge,” there was the following sentence:
“A single scene with Robert F. ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
Meaning of “course of the year”
I don't quite get the meaning of course of the year in the following sentence.
They search for food by moving over ice from island to island during
the course of the year.
What does course ...
2
votes
5answers
541 views
“A classmate and I was” vs “A classmate and I were”
I'm writing a resume right now targeted towards a specific company. My girlfriend (a classmate) and I were (see, I don't know if that's the right word, hence this question!) the first from our school ...
1
vote
2answers
80 views
About 'used to'
You used to have muscles.
You can use it to me.
Sometimes, "used to" means "often", sometimes use+to just means "use". How to diff those two situations?
0
votes
3answers
1k views
“There is” or “there are”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“There are so many” vs. “There is so many”
I know this is correct:
There's no problem.
But what if it was plural, i.e. problems? Would this ...
3
votes
2answers
236 views
Animalisms… What other terms derive from parts of an animal, like 'wing it', or 'hoof it'? [closed]
The question " Past tense of "to wing"? " got me thinking about terms we use in the English language that derive from parts of an animal, especially verbs or verb phrases, like 'wing it' or ...
0
votes
2answers
53 views
A machine spits out the product
So what's the opposite of feeding material to a machine? Are products ejected or discharged? While I think this may apply to a fast process where the product gets tossed out or dumped onto a ...
5
votes
5answers
5k views
What does “the D word” mean in the context of discussing the pros and cons of marriage over co-habitation?
I came across a phrase unfamiliar to me, the D word, in an article of Time magazine (November 18, 2010 Issue) titled Who Needs Marriage? How an American institution is changing.
The D word appears as ...
1
vote
3answers
2k views
“Which we discussed” vs. “about which we discussed”
Which one is correct?
I’ve added changes/fixes which we discussed yesterday.
or
I’ve added changes/fixes about which we discussed yesterday.
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Meaning of “flip the script”
I’ve heard the phrase “flip your script” or “flip the script” in various hip-hop songs. What does it mean?
6
votes
5answers
673 views
“Something that work” or “something that works”?
Googling both sentences I find many references with or without -s. Should I add the -s to the verb after "that"? Is it considered a third person singular?
I'm searching for a rule to apply to the ...
