Verbs are words that express an action, occurrence, or a state of being.
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Is it correct to use a single object phrase with multiple verbs, when the phrase only partially applies to each of the verbs?
In order to construct a shorter, more efficient sentence, I am combining multiple verbs with a single object phrase. Take the following sentence, for example:
"Sally discusses an automated system ...
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2answers
150 views
Can we determine a proper verb form of “exegesis” for Biblical scholars to use?
This is related to a conversation here in EL&U SE.
Apparently the noun exegete is being used as verb in religious circles.
For Biblical Scholars, the word exegesis carries with it a connotation ...
2
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1answer
105 views
I was sat thinking why you were stood there before I was took away by the word police [duplicate]
I know my sentence is dreadful but everyone now uses these words in this way, including my eight children aged 19—26. Yes, they are from Manchester but my husband uses he was took and he’s from ...
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4answers
253 views
Is “messaging” a noun, a verb, or an adjective?
In the cruel jargon of software, it is common to see the phrase "messaging system", as if "messaging" were an adjective. Yet if I am "brushing" my teeth, it's a verb. There is an act of "brushing", ...
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2answers
155 views
What tense is “have been are”?
Here are some examples:
Meanings have been are still in constant flux. (Source)
I'm afraid to say that in the past the police have been are too keen to caution people. (Source)
That's ...
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4answers
211 views
Religious use of “exegete”
I've noticed quite a number of religious professionals of late have used phrases such as "let's exegete this text" or "we need to exegete Paul's meaning here." Of course, an exegete is one skilled in ...
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2answers
113 views
X Shared Y's Something [closed]
I was looking up information about popes and then I found this:
found here
Pope Julius III (1550–1555) was alleged to have had a long affair with Innocenzo Ciocchi del Monte. The Venetian ...
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1answer
125 views
Do I use “be” or “is” in this sentence? [duplicate]
Which of the following is correct?
I request that my proposal is communicated to the team for necessary action.
I request that my proposal be communicated to the team for necessary action.
...
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2answers
150 views
“Let him wait” or “Keep him waiting” or “Make him wait” [closed]
There is someone I do not want to see. What can I say to my assistant:
Let him wait.
Keep him waiting.
Make him wait.
What is the difference among these?
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1answer
68 views
“Quench thirst” vs. “still thirst” when “thirst” is used figuratively
Do I say "quenched my thirst" or "stilled my thirst" when I speak of something that I desire and not actual thirst? E.g. a thirst for a new car or something.
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2answers
135 views
“Release”, “free”, or “delete allocated memory”?
release the allocated memory.
free the allocated memory.
delete the allocated memory.
What are the differences between them?
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2answers
81 views
What is the meaning of “gather way” in “The idea gathered way”?
As far as I know "gather way" means "to attain headway" in navigation. So I believe this is a kind of idiom or something like that.
I just found this sentence with no context, so I don't know if you ...
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2answers
108 views
Correct usage of the verb “to hock”
Sometimes I read/hear the verb "to hock" used as a synonym of "peddle/hawk", as in "The street vendor hocked his wares."
Is that correct? I always thought that "to hock" meant "to pawn". Perhaps it's ...
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1answer
87 views
What is the verb form of “quilt”? [closed]
I was asked by my teacher to turn quilt into a verb.
I don't see the corresponding verb in the Oxford Dictionary.
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5answers
679 views
“When I am 18, I will…” or “When I will be 18, I will…” [duplicate]
Should I say:
When I am 18, I'll take my driving test
or
When I'll be 18, I'll take my driving test
Which one is the correct sentence?
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2answers
327 views
Why don't “-use” verb-noun pairs obey initial stress derivation?
It's well known (and several past questions on this SE have covered) that to convert a two-syllable Latin-derived English verb into a noun, you shift the stress to the first syllable. This is ...
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3answers
80 views
What expression do you use in a CV if you have redone something?
I am writing my CV at the moment and I am at a tricky part.
I have redone a software for a company and I want to include this in my CV.
I have in my CV: "Erstellung eines Warenwirtschaftssystems ...
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1answer
195 views
Do “I guess” and “I would say” have the same meaning?
I often read sentences where the idea is "I would say" but it starts with "I guess". For example:
I would say he is not coming.
I guess he is not coming.
Do both have the same meaning?
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1answer
76 views
“They perform” vs. “they are performed” in specific context
Our experiments include simulated falls by several subjects. They
perform in a user-independent setting, where, for each test video,
the subject appearing in the test video does not appear in ...
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2answers
119 views
“hanging on the rope of”
I'm looking for two single words, a verb and a noun, with similar content, which could be best inserted in these sentences:
In some countries workers are entirely _______ 1 of/to/on their ...
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0answers
13 views
to be verbs using issue [duplicate]
My question is connected to this inforamtion below. I use different system for example dropbox and another where I can see phrase like this "File not found". But I have a question why we don't use ...
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1answer
70 views
What do you call the type of verb that by saying it you actually perform the action?
What do you call a verb that by saying it you actually perform the action?
Common example: Apologize -- "I apologize for hurting you." (You just apologized by saying that)
I vaguely remember hearing ...
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0answers
25 views
“The breast, along with the muscles [is/are]”? [duplicate]
The breast, along with the muscles [is/are] of normal size and shape.
Should the verb be is or should the verb be are?
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2answers
256 views
With “I bid you farewell” being a normal phrase, would the phrase “I bid you sleep well” also be correct? [closed]
I'm trying to pinpoint the correct application of the verb "to bid" in order to use it in unconventional situations
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3answers
331 views
“All you have to do is read” vs. “All you have to do is to read”
I was speaking to an English learner and said, “All you have to do is read a lot.” And they thought that sentence wasn’t grammatically correct because I dropped the word to between is and read.
They ...
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1answer
42 views
Usage of “flock” for a singular subject
Turned on by by his pheromones, she flocked to him.
Can we use flock when we have a singular subject?
What might be a better alternative to the verb? Something like ran, but with a connotation ...
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2answers
80 views
People referring to themselves with verbs with “-s”
Sometimes I see people on the internet saying something like "Me has a box" "Me does the job", or "I has a box" (or even "I haz a box"). And I'm sure they do it intentionally.
Why do people refer to ...
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0answers
19 views
“need to be washed”, “need washing”, or “need washed”? [duplicate]
The car needs to be washed.
The car needs washing.
The car needs washed.
What's the subtle differences between them?
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2answers
78 views
Meaning of “threaten”
According to Merriam-Webster, threaten has the following four meanings:
1: to utter threats against
2a: to give signs or warning of
2b: to hang over dangerously
3: to announce as ...
3
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1answer
65 views
Can something “hold a property”
In academic writing, it is common to refer to or prove properties about the main object of an article.
If I prove a property for (some object), I know I can use the phrase:
Property X holds for ...
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1answer
79 views
What is the meaning of “to tween”?
I recently stumbled upon the word tween but neither in the meaning as a contraction of between nor as little child. It seems to be similar to to tweak.
I found it in the context of programming like ...
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2answers
67 views
“Roll” vs. “roll up” [closed]
Are these two verbs the same? According to Longman, they are the same.
Here are some made up sentences:
I rolled this (up) into a ball.
Let's roll (up) our sleeves.
(I made up these ...
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1answer
149 views
'Has found' versus 'found' [duplicate]
When would one say "she has found her keys" as opposed to "she found her keys"? Are they equivalent, or at least partially equivalent? I'm not a native speaker and have been unable to find a pattern ...
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3answers
105 views
The difference between 'have mercy,' 'extend mercy,' and similar phrases
Is there a difference between 'having mercy' and 'extending mercy?' Are there other phrases that mean similar things?
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2answers
188 views
He was getting vs being beaten
I would need to understand the difference here:
He was being beaten.
He was getting beaten.
I know "get" + ppt can be either passive voice or a change of state. What is that in this example? I ...
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4answers
150 views
Install on, install in, install to
When I say "programs to install on a new PC" it sounds alright to me, but I'm not sure if it's the correct usage. Which one of the following should I use?
Programs to install on a new PC
Programs to ...
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1answer
79 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
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2answers
230 views
None have showed up? Huh? [duplicate]
Has the language really changed this much in twenty years? "None of your students have showed up" - a sentence supplied by this very website as a proper one - seems wrong on two counts to me.
Twenty ...
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3answers
105 views
Will be waiting - verb?
I have been trying to understand how to detect subject and predicate in a sentence. So, I stumbled on this page http://www.dailygrammar.com/Lesson-113-Review.htm
The ff. example was given:
Jim ...
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1answer
156 views
“Need to” as an English Modal
In my studies of both theoretical and applied English linguistics, we studied English modals more than once. So a question came up on this site earlier today. I explained that "need to" is a modal. ...
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2answers
188 views
Verb + not = do not verb ? What is the gramatical explanation?
I have long been puzzled by the usage of 'verb + not'. For example, Kennedy said, "... my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." The Bible ...
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12answers
804 views
“Sound” is to “mute” as “visuals” is to what verb?
Looking for a verb that would be the visual equivalent of mute as it would be used on an audio player. That is to say, the content is continuing to be played, but not being displayed on the device.
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2answers
50 views
“leverage 'x' with 'y'”?
I read through other questions regarding the use of "leverage" and wonder if you can "leverage one resource with another? For example "Leverage our resources with your own to help you gain market ...
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4answers
111 views
Verb to describe “to enable or to disable”
I'm looking for a word that describes "to enable or to disable". This related question found the hypernyms mode and state, but I am looking for a verb. I.e. a word for "(potentially) change ...
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2answers
138 views
Request for feedback on my EFL handout on using 'go' and 'come' in English [closed]
I have prepared the following hand-out for some intermediate EFL students. I am an English teacher in Tokyo. I mostly based it on Swan's Practical English Usage. I would be grateful for any feedback ...
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7answers
262 views
Is there a verb for 'to make heroic'? Something like 'heroicised'?
As per the title, is there a verb for 'to make heroic'? Something like 'heroicised'?
EDIT: For example, talking about how an author elevated a character in a memoir to heroic status.
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2answers
75 views
“Minify” vs. “minimize” in this NYT piece
I would like to ask for clarification to understand the meaning and the usage of the word "minify".
Let us read the following piece:
The New York Times “But by no means do I ever overlook or
...
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2answers
68 views
“Event is raised when maintenance occurs or scheduled” vs. “or is scheduled”
Which sentence is correct?
Event is raised when maintenance occurs or scheduled.
Event is raised when maintenance occurs or is scheduled.
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2answers
148 views
Noun phrase after “show”
The following sentences all involve the verb "show" followed by a noun phrase. Number 6 sounds a bit weird, and the last one is just wrong — but why is that?
The video shows the ...
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7answers
188 views
Proper verb to use with “test”
Assume that somebody has created a test/quiz like this one.
Has he developed the test? put it together? wrote it? something else?
What verb would you use?
