Verbs are words that express an action, occurrence, or a state of being.
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2answers
259 views
What's the meaning of “Gets me every time”?
I've heard people say this several times, in response to a funny video they watched,
Gets me every time.
This time I see this response the person put a laughing emoticon at the end. Does it ...
18
votes
5answers
872 views
“Infer” vs. “imply” — can “infer” imply “imply”?
Okay that's a crazy title, but bear with me. Got into a good natured discussion with someone on another stack exchange site, and I was "correcting" him on the use of infer vs. imply.
(The ...
6
votes
1answer
76 views
Which verb tense is used in OR compound objects?
For example:
We always get work done, regardless of what mood Bill or I is/am/are in.
Which tense of 'be' would be used here?
0
votes
0answers
41 views
Stipulated, mandated, ordained, required - w.r.t a law [closed]
Suppose a state's labor law requires that, say, every sign bigger than 1 square meters
Now, complete the following sentence: "The client shall obtain the necessary sign posting permit as ____ by ...
1
vote
1answer
64 views
How did “replace” come to mean “put something in the place of”?
Replace has several meanings, but a common one is "to put something in the place of," as in, "After drinking your cola, I replaced it with a beer."
The way in which replace, which seems to most ...
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votes
2answers
79 views
How do I use “Baby Steps” in a sentence [closed]
I want to convey that I am putting myself to something new to achieve a dream/goal. Hence I thought of using the phrase "baby steps" in a sentence as follows: "As I am laying my Baby Steps towards ...
2
votes
4answers
642 views
Single word for “inhale using your mouth with force or power”
I want to express the following: "Inhale using your mouth with force or power". It does not sound good to me. Is there any single word or a good phrase to express this?
2
votes
1answer
136 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
173 views
Achievement Verbs with the Progressive Aspect
I was reading a grammar and saw this.
Achievement verbs describe actions that occur instantaeously.
He solved the problem.
He spotted the airplane.
These verbs fall into two classes - one is ...
-1
votes
1answer
146 views
Correct use of “happen”
A friend of mine told me that the following sentence is incorrect (copied from an exercise)
Do all sentences tell us what the speaker would like to happen?
He claims that it should read:
Do ...
0
votes
1answer
130 views
What to do with a list of verbs with different prepositional needs?
For example:
The community was not supportive of, or happy with the result.
The community was not supportive or happy with the result.
So when using two sets of verbs and prepositions (listing) in a ...
0
votes
2answers
91 views
Determining sequence
I have a question regarding determining the sequence of events.
"It is taking her a bit longer than usual to get back on the game because she had come back from Germany last night. So I gave her a ...
1
vote
1answer
102 views
“Sent” vs “sent off” vs “sent out”
When do we use one over another?
I sent a letter.
I sent off a letter.
I sent out a letter.
Here I found a similar topic but I am still confused.
sent = sent to one or more people
...
0
votes
2answers
113 views
“I would like to go to a youth center to help and (to) work with teenagers”
Which is correct?
I would like to go to a youth center to help and work with teenagers.
I would like to go to a youth center to help and to work with
teenagers.
The question is whether ...
2
votes
2answers
69 views
“Starting with” vs. “starting from”
I would like to ask about the difference between the two phrases starting with and starting from.
Take the following two sentences for example:
Please give me all the names starting with A.
...
3
votes
2answers
74 views
Correctness of questions without inversion, relying on intonation
I hear and read them all the time. I mean stuff like:
You're just going to stay here?
Instead of:
Are you just going to stay here?
Then I write like this out of habit and get called out ...
-1
votes
4answers
64 views
What's a word I can use to describe “putting a collar on a pet” in a comical way? [closed]
I thought of something like "stick a collar on" but "stick" doesn't satisfy me. What are my other options?
Anything with some "edge" will do if comical is too hard.
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votes
2answers
44 views
Is it 'express shipped' or 'shipped express'?
Which one is correct?
He should have express shipped it to me.
He should have it shipped express to me.
0
votes
2answers
154 views
Plural or singular verb for collective term
Should the verb, in the following sentence, be singular or plural?
A series of samples was produced.
In a related question I found a reference. However the text in that reference seems to ...
2
votes
2answers
440 views
Not only X but also Y are (is?)
At first glance, sentence 1 below seems more correct because there are two subjects. However, something seems more natural about sentence 2. Maybe there is something abbreviated, elliptical, or ...
1
vote
4answers
265 views
Why should “be” come after “neither a borrower nor lender,” not before them?
I came across the maxim, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” in the following sentence of Jeffery Archer’s fiction, “The Fourth Estate” (P.54), and found that the maxim came from Lord Polonius’ ...
2
votes
2answers
111 views
For + verb-ing at the beginning of a sentece
Is the following sentence structure grammatically correct? I mean, I've found a lot of examples that have this structure but not at the beginning of the phrase but with a subject before. Here is an ...
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1answer
70 views
Can one massacre lives?
"Most were convinced that those responsible were of their own, silently waiting for another chance to massacre innocent lives."
Would you say that the above example is acceptable or unacceptable with ...
0
votes
1answer
141 views
Using 'will' vs. 'would' in this sentence
I'd like to know which one of the following is correct:
I would like to have a job which I will like and which will earn me a lot of money.
I would like to have a job which I would like and ...
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votes
2answers
72 views
How do you say “the test was redone”?
I'm documenting some test cases and this sentence in particular bothered me:
After the problem was fixed, the test was redone.
The thesaurus wasn't helping much.
Can it be reworded in a ...
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votes
1answer
127 views
“more people becoming increasingly xxx” or “more people increasingly becoming xxx”
I need a bit of guidance regarding the following sentence. Which of the three variants is grammatical?
Are more people becoming increasingly intolerant?
Are more people increasingly becoming ...
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votes
2answers
118 views
Is a bare infinitive acceptable as the object of a verb? [duplicate]
I came upon the phrase, "writing helps develop a child analytically thinking." Is this grammatically correct? Is it OK to use just develop instead of to develop?
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votes
4answers
160 views
What is the difference between “anticipate” and “expect”?
My understanding is the following:
I anticipate everyone will come here by 10.
= "I hope it's gonna happen, but I'm not so sure about the result".
I expect everyone will come here by 10.
= ...
-2
votes
1answer
65 views
The right usage of the verb “elaborate”
I'm writing a paper, please can you tell me which sentence is the right?
The Pseudo-code is outlined in Fig 2 and we elaborate it in the following section.
The Pseudo-code is outlined in Fig ...
0
votes
0answers
46 views
the placement of prepositions in phrasal verbs
In England today, "put your coat on" and "put on your coat" are in free variation. But was there an original dialectal difference in the placement of the preposition, and if so, which areas said ...
1
vote
1answer
30 views
“Curious X”: X is the subject or an object
When 'curious' is used as an adjective (e.g., in the construction "A is a curious B"), there is ambiguity as to whether the noun it modifies is:-
The subject: A feels curious (e.g., "Humans are a ...
2
votes
1answer
60 views
Is “to circuit” a common verb in colloquial language?
My boss asked me to have a look at a presentation he'll be giving next week; checking if he didn't forget anything.
While skimming over the document, the following sentence was somehow bothering me:
...
2
votes
3answers
115 views
Is it possible to use “Achieve” in negative sentences
I've noticed in IELTS reading that there was a sentence as below:
disappointing results were achieved by the Australian Academy.
I looked this verb up in Longman dictionary, It's been said that:
...
0
votes
1answer
119 views
“She got her first child” vs. “She had her first child”
I am not a native speaker and yesterday someone told me that "She got her first child" would be misunderstood and "She had her first child" is correct. Now I wonder if this is a 'local' thing here in ...
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votes
3answers
210 views
Can “predeceased” be used before any event?
When a person dies, it is common to say the person was predeceased by other people such as his parents, his brother, and others.
However, I am wondering if these statements are correct:
His ...
0
votes
2answers
58 views
What is the meaning of “contribute” in the following context [closed]
What is the meaning of contribute here?
Plug-ins can contribute actionSets extensions that define actions with an
ID, a label, an icon, and a class that implements the interface IActionDelegate.
...
0
votes
1answer
114 views
What is the difference between “toss” and “throw” [closed]
I want to know, what is the diffrence between toss and throw?
For example,
We must toss him out.
We must throw him out.
0
votes
1answer
91 views
Proper to add tense to acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms
What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? asked about pluralising acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms, but is there a standard way to add verb endings e.g. -ing and -ed (what are these ...
0
votes
4answers
196 views
What are the antonyms of “append” and “prepend”?
I need the antonyms for "append" (that is, I need a word that means "to remove at the end", since "append" means "to add at the end") and "prepend" (that is, I need a word that means "to remove at the ...
-1
votes
2answers
99 views
“He made a picture” vs. “he has made a picture” [duplicate]
Which form is better to use?
He made a picture of his sister.
He has made a picture of his sister.
And why?
The situation in which I want to use it is as follows. This is my first ...
-3
votes
1answer
101 views
“One blue ball and one red ball is” or “are”? [duplicate]
Which is correct?
One blue ball and one red ball is preferred.
One blue ball and one red ball are preferred.
-4
votes
1answer
130 views
“Haven't” vs. “hadn't”
Are there any differences in meaning between the two sentences?
We hadn't left the place yet; we will be there in 10 minutes.
We haven't left the place yet; we will be there in 10 minutes.
...
3
votes
2answers
97 views
To write or to write to?
Is it correct to say "I wrote him" or "I wrote to him"? My Mother was a stickler for English grammar and would say "I wrote your Uncle..." rather than "I wrote to your Uncle..."
0
votes
2answers
73 views
Is “Cutting Across the Afternoon of Life” grammatical? [closed]
I'm using this for a title of short story. The title has to reflect the last line of the story, which is as follows:
A long, dark shadow cuts across the countless cubicles.
I've thought of ...
-3
votes
1answer
141 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
1answer
77 views
How to reverse sentence so that their subjects and verbs agree? [closed]
How do you reverse the following sentence so that the subject agree with their verb............?
The president as well as his assistant have declined every comment.
The government’s reason ...
1
vote
1answer
101 views
Are These Words Interchangeable? [duplicate]
"The man was hung at dawn."
"The man was hanged at dawn."
Are "hung" and "hanged" entirely interchangeable?
0
votes
1answer
35 views
to know or know
One of my English friends has written to me:
A teacher can receive no greater gift than to know he has had a positive influence on his students.
Here is my question: Why has he written to know ...
0
votes
2answers
67 views
How to say removing redundancy and/or duplicate entries from a list of items?
How to say removing redundancy and/or duplicate entries from a list of items with a single word?
-1
votes
1answer
48 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 ...
