This tag is for questions about the correct order of words in a phrase, or a sentence.
2
votes
5answers
509 views
“Rather quite” or “quite rather”?
I'm a bit confused about this. They both sound correct to me.
Quite rather weird
Rather quite weird
Which of the two is correct?
0
votes
2answers
633 views
When to use inverted word-order like “great an option”? [closed]
I heard this in a movie yesterday:
That is great an option!
Why didn't he say:
That is a great option!
How does grammar desribe such inverted phrases? Where should I use this inverted ...
4
votes
3answers
269 views
Is there a difference between “Joe said” and “said Joe”?
Does the subject/verb order make a difference when writing a dialog tag?
"The sky is blue," Joe said.
"The sky is blue," said Joe.
Is one preferable over the other? Does one emphasize the ...
4
votes
4answers
633 views
“The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything”
Yes, this is the original quote from Albert Einstein.
I tend to put it this way:
The world is dangerous not because of those who do harm but because of
those who look at it without doing ...
2
votes
2answers
202 views
Is this correct grammar — “which feature in C/C++ don't you like?”
The question in question is this:
Which feature in C/C++ don't you like?
Just wanted to know if that is proper way of asking. Not sure if "don't you like" is the right way there.
7
votes
3answers
1k views
Differences between “just might” and “might just?”
Can someone help me understand more precisely the connotative differences between "just might" and "might just
I came upon this dilemma while working on a short comic strip. In the first panel, a ...
10
votes
1answer
241 views
Why is it “grand theft auto”?
I'm not a native speaker so it might just be me finding this strange, but why is the auto in grand theft auto at the end?
Shouldn't it be grand auto theft or something like this?
I thought the ...
-3
votes
4answers
375 views
“Free bacteria!” on mineral water bottles [closed]
When I was traveling in Vietnam 15 years ago, I had great fun discovering on mineral water bottles the proud advertisement Free bacteria!.
Is it common in English that the position of the adjective ...
0
votes
1answer
191 views
How to properly use “reference database”?
Does it make more sense to say
a reference database of [somethings]
or
a [something] reference database
For example, by replacing [something] with "library" we get:
a reference ...
7
votes
3answers
263 views
Word order, e.g. in “Hotel California”, “Brothers Quay”
This is a question about the order of words when a common name is associated to a proper name. Does it matter to say "California Hotel" rather than "Hotel California"? Similarly, there are two ...
5
votes
1answer
186 views
Do you find somebody something?
You do 'find something for somebody', but is 'find somebody something' equally correct English?
5
votes
1answer
96 views
How to use “social disparity”
How should the phrase social disparity be used in a sentence?
There was great social disparity between A and B.
The social disparity was great between A and B.
3
votes
3answers
112 views
Difference between “advantages of a car lease” and “car lease advantages”
It is hard for foreigners to understand the meaning of different English sentence constructions.
Do the phrases below mean the same?
advantages of a car lease
car lease advantages
When do ...
5
votes
3answers
572 views
Word order in imperative sentence
What are the correct possibilities for word order in the following sentence?
Is there any general rule for imperative sentences? (Like SVOMPT?)
Please, check regularly the updated information about ...
0
votes
2answers
152 views
Words order in a question
Which is better (and why)?
Which feature should I attach this task to?
or
To which feature should I attach this task?
0
votes
3answers
150 views
Order of words and using of “of” [closed]
Which phrase is better: "software developer life" or "life of software developer"? First one sounds better but I would like to get why in a rather formalised way.
12
votes
5answers
2k views
Can “already” be used after a simple past verb in American English?
A British colleague asked if these two sentences are grammatically acceptable in American English:
They found already high recognition in Europe and we wish to carry
that further.
...
0
votes
2answers
516 views
“always be” vs “is/are always”
Are the following sentences grammatically correct? I think #2 is correct, but I'm not sure.
My room always be clean
My room is always clean
2
votes
1answer
234 views
What's it called when you make an adjective post-positive? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why do some adjectives follow the nouns they modify?
In English, adjectives usually precede the nouns they describe, as in "organic carrots".
However, in some cases ...
4
votes
3answers
239 views
“Today is Joe's birthday” or “Joe's birthday is today”
Perhaps some of you have already observed that Facebook reminds one of friends' birthdays using
[xyz]'s birthday is today.
To my ears,
Today is [xyz]'s birthday
sounds better. I guess both ...
1
vote
1answer
297 views
How do you format a sentence to avoid or use “to to” correctly? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Rules about prepositions and duplicating 'to'
Where did you travel to to get that?
Using to, to has always looked/seemed awkward to me. What is the proper ...
7
votes
4answers
266 views
“The ^ character indicates… ” or “The character ^ indicates… ”
Which one is correct?
The ^ character indicates the beginning of the string.
or
The character ^ indicates the beginning of the string.
Or both?
I ask because in my native language ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
Why do some adjectives follow the nouns they modify?
Right now I can only think of one instance in which this regularly occurs. The adjective proper is sometimes placed after the noun it modifies, e.g:
Reptilia: A class of cold-blooded oviparous or ...
0
votes
1answer
826 views
Starting a sentence with “In Winter 2010,”
Would that be permissible? It just sounds awkward.
Use Cases:
In winter 2010, two penguins, named Jony and Rony, were born.
In winter 2010, five ice-skaters , each in the 130 lb category, ...
8
votes
4answers
450 views
“Back up data” or “back data up”?
Which is correct?
To back up data.
To back data up.
The context is the following:
He was careful enough to perform tests and [back up data | back data up] to avoid any problems.
2
votes
1answer
535 views
Phrase and word-order meaning
I know that "only" and "just" and word-order are oft-mentioned topics on here, but word-order for phrases and meanings - don't both of these mean different things?
Here is an example of how word ...
1
vote
1answer
282 views
Why do we write the name of Judges in a strange way?
I did a bit of law when I was in school, and recently, I recalled a unique feature of the law system regarding the way the names of judges were written, especially those with the title of Justice. ...
3
votes
1answer
317 views
Adverb placement in “Let's simply share”
To me the expression
Let's simply share
seems wrong.
I've always thought the adverb should come after the verb. Is that correct?
0
votes
2answers
152 views
What does “From Twitter came” mean? [closed]
Is this sentence in italics correct grammatically? Is it written in inverted order? If we rewrite this sentence, is it Came from Twitter?
From Twitter came, "@dannyhakim Pictures of flooded ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
Usage of “just”, “only” and word-order [intended meaning]
I've got these sentences, which meanings are correct (my interpretations are in brackets):
Use of only:
(1) Only in 1996, Ford sold a rebadged Mazda 626 GV over here as its rebranded Japanese ...
0
votes
3answers
217 views
Why are some adjectives placed after a noun?
How would you explain these words: Corporate America, Revenue Canada, ServiceOntario, etc.?
Edit: To clarify my question, why is corporate America more popular than American corporate or American ...
2
votes
2answers
203 views
Correct order of multiple possessive words
Which is correct:
Myrtle’s party took place in her and Tom’s apartment
Or
Myrtle’s party took place in Tom's and her apartment
Or neither?
10
votes
2answers
436 views
Word order in fractional quantities
Is the word order in the quantity correct in the following sentence?
The boy is 3 years and a half old.
If not what would be the right way to say it?
1
vote
1answer
395 views
Word-order and meaning - which is correct for this notice? [closed]
I'm creating some signs for the office car park, and one of these signs is to control access. What I'm trying to get it to indicate is that cars aren't permitted between 10 am and 4pm except for ...
5
votes
2answers
622 views
How to distinguish between positions of prepositional phrases?
Is there a name for where prepositional phrases are in a sentence? For example, is there a name to distinguish between the following sentences?
There has not been a queen on the island.
On the ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
“I finally was able” or “I was finally able”?
Is one form wrong or more correct than the other? Or do they have different meanings?
I'm a non-native speaker trying to figure it out.
7
votes
3answers
504 views
Is there a name for inverting word order to accomplish a different meaning?
There are many sayings that invert the word order to convey a different meaning.
e.g.
"Do you live to work or do you work to live?"
"He who fails to plan, plans to fail"
Is there a name for this ...
4
votes
1answer
6k views
“unless stated otherwise” or “unless otherwise stated”?
Convention: R^n is always assumed to carry the Euclidean
topology, unless stated otherwise.
Convention: R^n is always assumed to carry the Euclidean
topology, unless otherwise stated.
Which ...
1
vote
3answers
120 views
Oh, Say Can You See?
In the Star Spangled Banner, the opening line/question is "Oh, say can you see..."
Is that grammatically correct? Why isn't it "Oh, say you can see...?"
1
vote
1answer
382 views
“Done soon” vs. “soon done”
There are a number of colloquial expressions common to my area (see here, for example). I'm relatively recent to the area, so there are a number of expressions that just sound unnatural to me. ...
2
votes
2answers
133 views
How to express a chronological dependency?
How do I express a chronological dependency between two events? Is it alright to say :
"Event A must be chronologically after Event B"?
Any suggestions are welcome.
7
votes
3answers
525 views
“You're not the boss of me” vs “You're not my boss”
For some years now I've heard You're not the boss of me increasingly more often relative to the more "correct, natural" (to me, at least) You're not my boss. Thanks to the magic of NGrams, I've ...
5
votes
3answers
416 views
Which comes first: cat or dog?
Which comes first in a sentence?
I know some word pairs such as bacon and eggs, where bacon always comes first. E.g:
Make me bacon and eggs for dinner, honey.
Cats and dogs are the two most ...
2
votes
2answers
91 views
Choosing the better word order
In these two examples, what types of reasons (assuming the writing is generally about both characters) make a particular style a better choice? Or is this just an arbitrary choice that doesn't really ...
3
votes
5answers
3k views
Why do courts use “What say you?”
... instead of "What do you say?"
I am not sure if "What say you?" is even grammatically correct.
2
votes
1answer
6k views
Should I say “I’ve been also” or “I've also been”?
Where should the word "also" appear in the sentence:
I've been in Paris.
Google result count:
"i've been also" 2,090,000
"i've also been" 76,000,000
It seems like the second is more common, ...
2
votes
4answers
305 views
“Please explain” or “explain please”
Which one is correct in this context?
Person A: I think Apple will displace Google.
Person B: Please explain.
Should he say/write "Explain please"?
4
votes
1answer
427 views
“Experimentally determined” vs. “determined experimentally”
Which of the following sentences is correct?
The numbers are experimentally determined.
The numbers are determined experimentally.
Are both (not) correct and if only one of them is ...
3
votes
2answers
591 views
Can “I wonder” be put at the end of a sentence?
Usually sentences with "I wonder" are of the following form:
I wonder why _______.
But what about this?
Why is it that _______ I
wonder.
It seems relatively unnatural. Why is that? Is it ...
12
votes
5answers
593 views
Is “The City Beautiful” (Orlando's motto) grammatically correct?
I have always wondered why the motto of the City of Orlando, FL (USA) is worded as The City Beautiful instead of The Beautiful City:
Is The City Beautiful grammatically correct? If so, do you have ...
