Tagged Questions
1
vote
2answers
125 views
A better, more academic way of saying 'whether or not'
This is my sentence, and I was hoping to make it sound more academic:
The aim is to ascertain whether or not the actors from the two films analysed can be considered to be heroes
Is there a ...
3
votes
1answer
134 views
Does this stylistic guideline have a name?
The principle would be something like: Avoid a long modifying clause that creates distance between your subject and verb
For example, according to this guideline, the sentence
One of his uncles ...
2
votes
1answer
104 views
Where do I use (and not use) “that?” (not a vs. “this” question)
Given this sentence, the that feels unnecessary:
If I believed that I were in a position to do so, I would.
I find these seemingly spurious instances of that working their way into my prose all ...
3
votes
1answer
146 views
What do you call “to be to” constructions and are they proper/good English?
Consider the following examples:
You have to be really patient if you are to go shopping in the afternoon.
It must be active if it is to record the film.
What is the construction in bold ...
3
votes
3answers
179 views
Sentence with two not-so-related parts
Quite a lot of articles in Wikipedia, especially about people, have sentences like this one:
Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first ...
0
votes
2answers
236 views
Mixed tenses in a sentence [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
‘Had’ or ‘has’ to describe a past condition which is still present?
Tense change: previous actions on something that's currently true
The employee was injured while ...
2
votes
1answer
151 views
Are general questions formed in plural or in singular?
When asking a general question about something in English, should they be formed in plural or in singular? Or rather what is a good way of forming it?
How are articles used in English?
Or
...
1
vote
1answer
185 views
“30 year” vs. “30 years” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Pluralization rule for “five-year-old children”, “20 pound note”, “10 mile run”
Reading a report online, I read something like this.
...
3
votes
3answers
200 views
Can one suppress the pronoun “one” in a list?
On another site it sometimes happens that I give answers like:
The first formula is correct but not the second one.
This is probably grammatical, but I find the formulation a bit clumsy, ...
1
vote
1answer
758 views
Is it correct to combine multiple clauses into one sentence?
Is it correct to combine multiple clauses (sub sentences) into one?
For example, let us consider this sentence:
On managerial side, I am experienced in accounting software, have been working ...
5
votes
1answer
228 views
Is it acceptable to use 'that' followed by a direct quote?
New York Times:
Even before President Obama declared this month that “I have Israel’s
back” in its escalating confrontation with Iran, pro-Israel figures
like the evangelical Christian leader ...
0
votes
4answers
4k views
“Has not been updated” vs “Doesn't seem to be updated”
I was talking to the computer guy at our school about my grades, and I came across the following two options:
I hadn't received my grades for one of my courses until last week. But it doesn't seem ...
8
votes
5answers
368 views
'How to' vs 'How do I'
This question is inspired by comments on a question on stackoverflow. The original poster wrote:
How to correct this error?
And comments say that it's an incorrect question. Better is
How ...
0
votes
1answer
950 views
Improving written English and Grammar [closed]
What is the best way to improve your Grammar and improve your writing style?
What would be the best online resource to improve my grammar?
I maintain a blog of my own, and I have reasonably good ...
10
votes
7answers
2k views
Is using passive voice “bad form”?
Whenever I create a document in Microsoft Word, it complains about a lot of my sentences being in passive voice. But, when I read that sentence aloud, it sounds fine to me. I am not sure if it is just ...
15
votes
6answers
637 views
What are the principles that make certain lists sound euphonious?
Has this ever happened to you: You write a question, include a list or two in the discussion, and then come back to edit that list because the order doesn't sound "right"? Off the top of my head, I ...
1
vote
2answers
140 views
How to modify “one-third” by an adverb?
Would it be correct to merge with hyphens one-third-contiguously in the following phrase?
I propose to elect by 3 quotas, each per one-thirds-contiguously of time-zones.
-1
votes
4answers
927 views
Usage of “What” + verb without auxiliary one
This is a subquestion to my "And lead raptivity captive" question.
As I understood from a comment by RegDwight, it was incorrect to ask:
What mean raptivity and phrase "And lead raptivity captive"? ...
1
vote
1answer
164 views
Choice of an agent to give an active voice - me or the computer program
Background
I am writing a scientific article that describes a computer program. Although it is common in the field to use a passive voice, it is also acceptable, and my preference, to diversify the ...
1
vote
1answer
564 views
“Recommend someone to represent…” vs. “recommend someone represent…”
Looking at the sentence below I have a feeling it is wrong, though I can't explain why:
I highly recommend Dave to represent you in Korea with your software.
I have thus rephrased it to the ...
