Verbs are words that express an action, occurrence, or a state of being.
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5answers
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How to use “text” as a verb
–verb (used without object) Digital Technology.
15.
to send a text message: Texting while driving is an accident asking to happen.
Can I use:
I text to her but she didn't text me back.
...
6
votes
3answers
3k views
Should I say “Your order is now complete” or “Your order is now completed”?
When a user finishes an order on my website, what's the correct way?
Your order is now complete.
Your order is now completed.
5
votes
3answers
88 views
Verb agreement in “Where is the Messiah and his Kingdom?”
Where is the Messiah and his Kingdom?
I think it should be "Where are the Messiah and his kingdom"; it just sounds better!
But my friends and even a teacher claim that "is" would be correct.
5
votes
2answers
642 views
Hyphens in verb construction containing prefix such as “re”
In semi-formal business writing in the United States, I often observe that writers tend to add a hyphen between a prefix and the root infinitive of verbs. In many of the cases, the resulting verb ...
5
votes
2answers
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“Expected of” vs. “expected from”
It is expected of/from you to find the solution.
Such rude behavior was not expected of/from you.
I am quite sure that from is the correct usage in both cases, but of could be used in the ...
5
votes
6answers
2k views
“Told” vs. “said to” somebody
I told him that you hate him
I said to him that you hate him
I was choosing between these two options, and I can't help thinking about the subtle differences.
For example, "I told him ...
5
votes
2answers
381 views
What do you call a verb which accepts 2 nouns?
In English, there are intransitive verbs which can't used with a noun, or aren't being used with a noun (eg. listen, die, ...), and transitive verbs which can be (eg. almost all of them).
However, ...
5
votes
4answers
899 views
What is the difference between “horrify” and “terrify”?
When would I use one, versus using the other?
5
votes
2answers
2k views
What's the practical difference between “allot” and “allocate”?
I've noticed allot is usually used as an adjective (as in, "your allotted amount"), and allocate is more often used as a verb (as in, "I will allocate some resources"). Any other notable differences?
4
votes
4answers
223 views
The verb “to get” + particle …?
In the phrase "to get all crazy" am I correct when I say that the "all crazy" is a particle phrase? Example:
I'm up for tonight's party. I'm going to get all crazy.
4
votes
2answers
3k views
“The contents are” or “the contents is”
I have the following sentence:
The contents of those zip files are normally installed from the Setup.
I found I have to use contents instead of content in the sentence. However, do I have to ...
4
votes
3answers
294 views
Is “lay” in this sentence in the correct tense?
I'm making a description for an app, this strikes me as a bit awkward for some reason:
"I wanted to create an app that lay somewhere between an ecosystem and a musical instrument."
Is the word ...
3
votes
2answers
540 views
“Would you have liked to have been” vs. “would you have liked to be”
I was interested in the following sentence which appeared in an article titled “No Rest for the Weary” in The New York Times (February 15, 2008).
Would you have liked to have been president from ...
3
votes
1answer
177 views
Usage of “compensate” as a recompense for gain instead of loss [closed]
To keep this PG, I've changed the popular saying we've all heard:
"He has a huge truck to compensate for his small ego"
But I've recently been using a sort of counter to the joke, in one form or ...
3
votes
4answers
953 views
What's the difference between 'allow' and 'allow for'?
To be precise, I know that allow means to permit, and allow for is more like to make something possible, to enable, to make a provision for, but I'm still in doubt when I have to decide whether to use ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Correct use of “consist”
Which one of the following two sentences is correct?
We are only concerned with crystal systems which consist of an inversion center.
We are only concerned with crystal systems which consist ...
3
votes
0answers
290 views
“Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Is become” vs “has become”
This is a famous quote from J. Robert Oppenheimer after the successful detonation of the first nuclear weapon. The ...
2
votes
4answers
1k views
“Have got” — verb form and tense
In the following sentence, what is the main verb and in what tense does it occur?
I have got a car.
There are two possible explanations that I can think of:
get as the main verb in the present ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
“has been raised” or “was raised” in an academic journal [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Past simple and present perfect
The first line in my research is the following:
Since the May 6, 2010 ``Flash Crash’’ event, the following question
has been raised ...
2
votes
3answers
2k views
Difference between “think of” and “think about”
Is there a difference between "think of something" and "think about something"? I've also met "have heard of/about something".
2
votes
2answers
433 views
Using verb tenses correctly
I'm trying to keep this descriptive essay in the past tense. I bolded the words of my concern (and italicized the ones I believe are in the right tense) in the following passage:
As a result of ...
2
votes
4answers
874 views
Explain the verb tense in “I wish I never woke up this morning”
This is from a song by Police, Darkness:
"I can dream up schemes when I'm sitting in my seat
I don't see any flaws 'til I get to my feet
I wish I never woke up this morning
Life was easy ...
2
votes
0answers
107 views
“Could help avoid” vs. “could help to avoid” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Help to do” or “help do”?
Is it correct to say:
The right sitting posture could help you avoid back problems.
OR
The right sitting ...
2
votes
7answers
3k views
“Situated” vs. “located”
I found the following example in my vocabulary:
The town is situated on a plateau high up among the mountains of the north.
Can I replace situated with located for the example above? What's the ...
2
votes
2answers
8k views
“Will discuss the matter” vs. “will discuss on this matter”
I received an email with the following sentence:
The meetings will be discussing on this early next week.
I have two questions:
Should we use will discuss rather than will be discussing? I ...
1
vote
5answers
100 views
Sum up the users? Or sum up the number of users?
Let's say that there is a list of users and I want to know how many users are in the list.
Would I 'sum up the users,' 'sum the users,' 'sum up the number of the users,' 'sum the number of users,' or ...
1
vote
2answers
2k views
“I am going to bed” vs. “I will be going to bed”
What is the difference between saying the following?
I am going to bed in a few minutes.
I will be going to bed in a few minutes.
Or
I will be getting off here. Or, I guess, I will be ...
1
vote
1answer
157 views
We was gonna have some fun [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“You was trouble”?
In the movie "Thelma & Louise", Thelma says:
You said we was gonna have some fun, so let's have some!
So my question is why does ...
1
vote
0answers
84 views
Is it correct to say “John helps you talk with people”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Help to do” or “help do”?
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but English is not my first language.
For me it seems that it is incorrect and ...
0
votes
2answers
234 views
“Where am I?” vs. “Where I am?” [closed]
Which is more correct to say in a question? (For example a guy that wakes up in a train)
"Where am I?"
or
"Where I am?"
0
votes
5answers
262 views
“I am angry to die” or “I am angry to death”
I want to say that I may die because I am angry.
Can I say "I am angry to die" or "I am angry to death" to express the above?
0
votes
2answers
1k views
“Thank you for coming” and “Thank you for your coming”
Consider "Thank you for coming" and "Thank you for your coming".
Would the latter one be grammatical? Why? Is it possible to recognize latter "coming" as noun? Some say you need no pronoun because it ...
0
votes
2answers
224 views
Do I need to add “to” in every clause in a this sentence?
Working in the field helps us to learn how to apply theories to solve real-world problems, to apply […], and to […].
Are the "to" after each comma necessary?
0
votes
3answers
606 views
Which of these is the correct usage of the words “listen”, “hear”?
Which of these sentences is correct? Why?
You must hear to this song.
You must listen to this song.
Have you heard to this song?
Have you listened to this song?
27
votes
5answers
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Is it possible for a new irregular verb to appear in English language?
Consider these verbs in past tense:
faxed, emailed, googled
they are all regular verbs made out of new nouns.
Are there any new irregular verbs that I'm not aware of?
16
votes
4answers
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“Unselect” or “Deselect”?
If I want the user to revert their operation of selecting an item, should I say: "Unselect the option" or "Deselect the option"?
7
votes
4answers
1k views
“He has yet to” vs. “he is yet to”
He has yet to receive an appointment.
He is yet to receive an appointment.
Is there any difference in meaning? Is one more correct than the other?
38
votes
9answers
2k views
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 ...
30
votes
7answers
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“The Dude abides” — what does “abide” mean in that context?
I'm unfamilar with the word "abide" which is famously used the the movie quote "The Dude abides" (The Big Lebowski).
Looking it up in a German/English dictionary makes me believe it's "The Dude lives ...
12
votes
10answers
23k views
Is “errored” correct usage?
If "errored" is not a valid word, then how should I say:
The program errored at line 44
I guess I could say:
The program threw an error at line 44
But why is "errored" wrong? Is there a ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
“Postpone”, “delay” and “defer”
I'm Russian and in the Russian language we use one word if we want to say that something will happen later than it has been planned. So usually I have difficulty in choosing a proper word among ...
4
votes
3answers
5k views
“Seem”, “appear”, “look” — how to differentiate?
Are there any significant structural or semantic differences between seem, appear and look in the sense of "to give the impression of being or doing something"?
She looks unhappy.
He seems ...
27
votes
8answers
4k views
If someone is electrocuted, do they have to die or can they just be injured?
Is it correct to say I electrocuted my friend if he was only injured by electricity?
21
votes
1answer
990 views
How do you conjugate Early Modern English verbs (other than present tense)?
I was wondering how one might conjugate verbs in early modern English in various tenses. I am aware of the fact that for second person and third person singular specifically, the verb endings are -est ...
17
votes
5answers
8k views
Word meaning “to make more efficient”?
I think this question came up in a conversation with a friend...we were discussing how serving lunch could be made more efficient.
They could _____ the lunch line by doing this or that.
The only ...
15
votes
6answers
1k views
Friendlier way to express you paid for a person's drink/dinner and expect it to be paid back
In Dutch we have the word voorschieten. In English it translates — according to Google Translate — to "advance, lend, disburse". The Dutch word voorschieten is used in an informal setting between ...
14
votes
5answers
757 views
The difference between “take” and “last”
We say: "the meeting will last two hours". But we say: "how long does the flight take?"
Please let me know the difference between last and take and when we should use each.
12
votes
2answers
338 views
Which form of a verb should I normally use after “what you have done is”?
Which form of a verb should I normally use after "what you have done is"? Should it be present participle (option A), past participle (option B) or a base form (option C) :
A. I wanted you to clean ...
11
votes
9answers
2k views
Is there a word that means both opening and closing a door?
As in,
Please do not __ this door after midnight.
Operate? Move?
10
votes
3answers
3k views
“Haven't you?” or “don't you?”
What is the right question tag (in British English) when we use the verb have?
I have interviewed a few native speakers and none of them could explain why sometimes they prefer "haven't/hasn't" and ...
