This tag is for questions about the correct order of words in a phrase, or a sentence.
5
votes
1answer
45 views
Indirect “be” question; word order
Caveat: There are a great number of similar questions I have found, but none has explained this specific thing. If the answer does exist and I have overlooked it, please let me know.
So, I was under ...
0
votes
3answers
95 views
“It can be safely deleted” vs. “It can safely be deleted”
Is there a subtle difference between the following two sentences?
It can be safely deleted.
It can safely be deleted.
If they mean the same thing, is one preferred for other reasons?
2
votes
3answers
211 views
One-letter word at the end of line of text [closed]
In English language, is a one-letter word (such as I or a) allowed to be at the end of line? (This question is about a single-letter word within a sentence, placed just before a linebreak.)
For ...
2
votes
2answers
49 views
Does 'which' refer to the noun immediately preceding it?
Is the 'which' in
Proposition 25 suggests a better definition of m-reducibility than given in Definition 23, which is also the one typically given in texts
ambiguous? It is a line from an ...
0
votes
0answers
58 views
Order of words in sentence and meaning of sentence [closed]
In English is it possible to have two sentences with the same words and grammar but the words are in a different order and the sentences still have the same meaning? I sometimes and uncertain about ...
-1
votes
2answers
72 views
“I bicycle” - “I ride bikes” - “I bike” [closed]
What's the best way to say it?
"I like to ride bicycles" is correct but pretty lame sounding...
Is "I bicycle" correct? Or is it too obscure to be good usage?
1
vote
1answer
78 views
If you place an ly adverb after the verb is the meaning different than if it were infront of the verb? [duplicate]
For example:
I did not respond physically
I did not physically respond
I can't escape the sense that #2 'strongly' leaves open the possibility (or implies) that the writer responded some way ...
-2
votes
2answers
54 views
Usage of have: “Could you please explain why have these invoices been cancelled” is correct? [closed]
Is it correct sentence:
"Could you please explain why have these invoices been cancelled?"
Or
"Could you please explain why these invoices have been cancelled?"
I heard that that have should always ...
-1
votes
1answer
37 views
Difference in the meaning of these two sentences [closed]
You yourself being a sportsperson must already know that sports is one of the few things that teaches discipline.
You yourself being a sportsperson must know this already that sports is one of the ...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
“The paper on Monday published X” vs. “the paper published on Monday X”
What would be the best position of Monday in the following sentence — before or after the verb?
The paper on Monday published what the artist called a blunt attack on people’s right to privacy. ...
1
vote
1answer
37 views
“Would of course be” vs. “of course would be” [duplicate]
I am not sure about the position of 'of course' inside a sentence.
Please consider these two versions and comment on that:
A comprehensive documentation would of course be highly valuable...
...
4
votes
5answers
196 views
“I kindly ask to” vs “I ask to kindly”
Let's take the following two sentences as examples:
I kindly ask you to send the letter to your boss.
I ask you to kindly send the letter to your boss.
It would be kind of you to send the letter to ...
-2
votes
0answers
45 views
Position of 'even' [closed]
Which sentence is correct?
He should have batted even before Ram.
He should have batted before Ram even.
My guess is it's the first one.
-1
votes
2answers
56 views
“I only have discovered today” vs. “I only today have discovered” vs. “I have only today discovered”
Since I am not a native English speaker it's hard to find anything related to this topic on google.
Which of the following word orders is grammatical?
I only have discovered today we have a ...
2
votes
3answers
72 views
Adjective + “of them”
My wife and I were discussing whether it is allowable to put an adjective in front of "of them". For instance, I could say "I want 5 cats" and "I want 5 of them". However, while it sounds perfectly ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Combining “only” with a second modifier
I would like to know which of the following phrases are grammatical.
administrative-only data
administrative only data
only-administrative data
only administrative data
1
vote
2answers
57 views
Does a name go before or after the noun it modifies?
The sentence
The user “John Smith” has been registered; go to the “User Profile” tab to view the user’s details.
reads more naturally to me than
The “John Smith” user has been registered; go ...
2
votes
0answers
22 views
“A question in a question” [duplicate]
I've got two questions for you.
Number one: I've always been confused about what I call "a question in a question" (maybe there is a technical term for that but I don't know it). What I mean is... ...
1
vote
1answer
55 views
A Revelation (?) from MS Word [duplicate]
So, I typed the parenthetic statement 'Asked why did he come here'. Microsoft Word suggested that I change the sentence to 'Asked why he came here'. I agreed with the correction, but when I had word ...
1
vote
1answer
178 views
Is it correct to start a sentence with “with” in English?
Is it correct to use with at the beginning of a sentence?
Here's an example sentence:
With the development of the economy, living standards improved.
To my eyes this looks unnatural; I would ...
-4
votes
1answer
68 views
“Enter the password 1234” vs. “enter 1234 for a password” [closed]
Which sentence is correct?
Enter the password 1234.
Enter 1234 for a password.
0
votes
0answers
69 views
How to describe an event happend in the same time? [closed]
It is the year of 2013,I want to describe a meanning that , [my classmates who graduated along with me in exactly the same year of 2010,have a better job than me now],how to say it in oral English(I'm ...
0
votes
1answer
84 views
Which is right: “what pants is he wearing” or “what pants are he wearing”? [duplicate]
Since 'pants' is one of those always plural words, I can't figure out which sounds right.
-2
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.
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’ ...
-1
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 ...
-1
votes
3answers
246 views
When I write any sentence in English every native reader can tell I am Europen, how? [closed]
Can you conclude that just by my writing the question?
1
vote
3answers
105 views
Does it matter where you put “only”? [duplicate]
Could you please tell me which one of these sentences is correct, or are they both grammatically correct?
This will only happen if you go with me.
This will happen only if you go with me.
0
votes
2answers
109 views
“Sometimes also” or “also sometimes”?
I have a sentence where I think I could use either of these two constructions. They seem very similar in meaning, so I'm not sure which I should prefer. There might be some subtle point of grammar ...
5
votes
4answers
167 views
Who vs whom in "Who is the right person to turn to?
Take the sentence:
Who is the right person to turn to?
I'm not sure whether who or whom should be used in this position.
0
votes
1answer
71 views
“Bring down X” vs. “bring X down” [duplicate]
I am unable to understand the difference between these two sentences:
I want him to bring down the opponents.
I want him to bring the opponents down.
Which is right and when should each ...
-3
votes
3answers
70 views
Positions of “of which” [closed]
I am not sure how to use of which here. I do know I could use whose, I would just like to understand this structure more.
Each bag contains a number of bank notes (bills).
And now:
Select the ...
-1
votes
1answer
52 views
“for which” usage
I am writing comments to my algorithm and I used this sentence to describe one variable. But I am not entirely sure if it makes sense and if I used commas right.
id of node, for which, program is ...
-2
votes
1answer
46 views
Not only & But also separated by full stop
Let's say we have the following sentence:
This powder is able not only to effectively wash your shirts and sweaters, but also to
clean out even the most terrible stains on your pants, ...
4
votes
1answer
190 views
What is the correct use of “even” as an adverb, with the verb “to be”?
http://www.onestopenglish.com/community/your-english/word-grammar/your-english-word-grammar-even/156431.article gives some examples of correct use of "even" as an adverb to indicate that something is ...
-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.
1
vote
0answers
84 views
Origin of actual order pattern in English [closed]
It is well-known, or better said, well-accepted, that the ancestral language Proto-Indo-European (PIE) was a OV language with a very limited (or nonexistent) use of subordinate clauses. In ...
0
votes
1answer
203 views
Which are the word orders that can be found in English?
Besides SVO, which are the word orders that can be found in English? Are there any that are peculiar to dialects such as Singlish or Indian English? Please provide an example sentence for each order ...
2
votes
1answer
208 views
Should I say “have only been . . . twice” or “have been . . . twice only”?
Will these next two sentences confuse you?
1.I have only been to London once before.
2.I have been to London twice only.
Now for a more complicated example, I want to express that I have ...
-1
votes
1answer
42 views
the Receipts page vs the page Receipts
Suppose there is a web application with several webpages, amongst them one with the title "Receipts". In the user's manual of this web application or a similar place, are both "the Receipts page" and ...
2
votes
0answers
68 views
Swapping the order in an idiomatic expression [closed]
I may have sounded general in the title but my question is very specific. Recently I was writing a poem and I needed it to rhyme this way
Some will stand to watch you go down quick
But no one ...
0
votes
3answers
172 views
Infinitive vs. Past Simple for short technical annotations [duplicate]
I use source control management software at work. When I commit some changes, I annotate them with the bare infinitive like this:
"add new feature", "fix bug #10012"
I note that some of my ...
-2
votes
3answers
83 views
Adjectival order of “National African weightlifting federations”
Which order is correct?
National African weightlifting federations.
African national weightlifting federations.
African weightlifting national federations.
0
votes
3answers
344 views
Use of “yet another” in the middle of a sentence
Is the usage of yet another correct in the following sentence?
This sentence might need yet another piece of work for you!
Where can I place yet another in a sentence?
1
vote
2answers
330 views
“A is followed by B.” What's the order?
So the English class teacher is teaching IEEE referencing style, and we have something like this as an example:
Chan [1] claims that...
The teacher said:
The referencing number is followed ...
0
votes
2answers
121 views
Usage of “but” in a sentence. [duplicate]
I'm reading Robinson Crusoe and came across many of these constructions with "but" in it. I can't help but thought they were a little unusual. I don't consider myself fluent in English, that's why I ...
-2
votes
1answer
201 views
“For what” vs. “what for” [closed]
Is there any difference in the meaning between for what and what for?
If they are different, could you explain to me both?
11
votes
6answers
492 views
What number bus is that? or What bus number is that?
Imagine you are at the bus stop. You see a bus coming, but you can't read the number, so you ask: "What number bus is that?"
However, usually the noun used as a determiner precedes the main noun, for ...
1
vote
1answer
123 views
Punctuation for lists
I have a sentence like this:
As you can see, there are two projects "project1" and "project2", where the latter uses the global wrapper functions defined in "project1" project.
My question is ...
-1
votes
1answer
207 views
Question about “Dedication” section in thesis [closed]
Is it correct to dedicate a thesis to my parents and my wife as follows? Can I put their names at the end?
To my mother and father,
who have blessed me with an admiration of nature.
-- ...
