Questions tagged [descriptive-grammar]
Descriptive grammar is a set of rules about language based on how it is actually used. In descriptive grammar there is no right or wrong language. It can be contrasted with prescriptive grammar, which is a set of rules based on how people, mostly writers of style books and grammar text books, think language should be used. See https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/descriptive-grammar .
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“You should hurry up to catch a bus.” Is this sentence correct? [on hold]
You should hurry vs You should hurry up
Which one is better?
3
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1answer
17 views
Conjunctions, coordinators
I really know that for the levels of studying English language, we had always said that "for" is a coordinator. However, I would like to know what for serves in this sentence
For God so loved the ...
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2answers
40 views
Explain the difference between the following 2 sentences [closed]
They always eat in front of the TV in the living room.
They're always eating in front of the TV in the living room.
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4answers
28 views
Earliest I've been to work
I am supposed to clock in at 8 am every day to work. I was late today, just like every day, but today I was only late by 5 minutes, less than every other time. Is saying "earliest I've been to work" ...
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1answer
27 views
Which is correct work or worked?
Which sentence is correct:
It would be a good idea if you work hard.
It would be a good idea if you worked hard.
Thanks in advance for help
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0answers
32 views
Gendered nouns without real gender - examples and origins? [duplicate]
Why is it Mother Earth and not Father Earth?
Why is a ship a she and not a he?
Can you give more examples of similar phenomena?
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1answer
27 views
Finites in a conditional sentence
In the sentence below. How many finites are there?
'Interviewers ask respondents if they have been the victim of a crime in the past 12 months; if they have, respondents provide information about ...
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1answer
23 views
I named my company Higher Standard Service, is this proper english? [closed]
So i named my company Higher Standard Service because our company motto is to provide a higher standard "of" service. I want to be sure that by leaving out the "of" in the company name i don not sound ...
2
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2answers
45 views
Since 'few' is used for countable nouns and 'less' is for uncountable nouns
Since 'few' is used for countable things and 'Less' is for uncountable things then why do we say;
I have less than 2 days/months/years.
?
Yes, time is an uncountable concept but we sure can count ...
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3answers
109 views
Learning to end sentences with “hence”. Examples?
I dabble in creative writing here and there. Wordsmiths like Tolkien and Lovecraft are a pleasure to read for their sheer skill in sentence structure and plethora of words.
I'm now attempting to ...
2
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1answer
54 views
Avoiding use of double negatives
I teach an ESL Class for Spanish speakers. I've taught them the rules regarding "double negatives". Today, I had them translate the Spanish equivalent of "It isn't that he doesn't understand me." ...
1
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1answer
32 views
how to attribute a singular property to a plural noun?
Please consider the following examples:
The size/sizes of the planets is/are written here.
The door/doors of a 100 houses is/are 100Kg.
Men's nose/noses is/are bigger than that/those of women.
Which ...
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2answers
87 views
Is “The cat paws in the water to get the fish” a grammatically correct sentence? [closed]
Is this sentence, "The cat paws in the water to get the fish" grammatically correct?
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0answers
40 views
How can I describe a conjunction that ends a sentence (so, and, or, but …)?
Recently I (American English speaker / academic / raised in Appalachian and Southern dialect household) noticed myself falling into a conversational pattern with coworkers where I would end a spoken ...
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1answer
25 views
Clarity on the definition of the word “predict” [closed]
When someone says "I look forward to your predictable path" and "please continue down your very tired and predictable path" and "your arguments are right out of a playbook", what's the meaning of '...
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1answer
24 views
Type of usage in these examples? Clauses/fragments
Peter senses his father's danger and tries to reach him,
but is forced to watch helplessley as his father is driven away.
Her father struggles with complex emotions about the child he raised as his ...
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1answer
39 views
Using commas around names that specify relationship
I've been getting conflicting information on this problem. If I write:
"My brother Sam loves to eat cake." OR
"My brother, Sam, loves to eat cake."
OR to be REALLY clear
"One of my brothers, Sam, ...
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0answers
86 views
“fresh and relaxed”
I have to identify the syntax used in these two sentences and explain.
A. After a short vacation in Japan, Mr Chang appeared in my office, fresh and relaxed.
B. After a short vacation in Japan, Mr ...
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2answers
43 views
Degrees of comparison - “is the” vs. “is more”
Can we say "John is the stiffest of Rachel and Mark.",
OR
"John is more stiffer than Rachel and Mark."?
Which one is better?
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2answers
57 views
How do we grammatically describe 'thing'
There's a thing I'd like to ask, it's something you might know.
When we say "bring me that thing over there" or "it's with my things", how do we grammatically classify this use of thing in English? ...
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2answers
568 views
Take an umbrella in case it may rain?
Take an umbrella in case it may rain. can anybody tell me why this statement was wrong?
and the right one is
Take an umbrella in case it rains.
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1answer
60 views
What do you call someone who is ungrateful, only sees things negatively and never acknowledges you
I am a team player and like to contribute.
When asked to take on a task. I always say yes and I never get a thank you. He never provides all the details to what he wants and then asks why I didn’t ...
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3answers
47 views
“Some of the [superlative adjective] I've ever been” — another way to phrase this?
I can't seem to find a non-awkward way of expressing this sort of sentiment: suppose you want to tell a friend about some time you were really, really cold, but it wasn't the coldest you've ever been. ...
3
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1answer
41 views
Is there a term for using “or” to introduce something like an appositive?
Recently someone was trying to explain to me that "or" can have a non-disjunctive function, and this came to mind as a possible example but I can't figure out the terminology to describe it. I know ...
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1answer
73 views
In a world of descriptivist dictionaries, how is linguistic relativism avoided in discussions?
“If you wish to converse with me, define your terms.”
—Voltaire
During discussions and debates, especially those of a more academic or technical nature, it is important to establish agreed upon ...
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2answers
544 views
We are a group of people who/which/that..?
Which of these three is correct?
We are a group of people who meet..
We are a group of people which meets..
We are a group of people that meets..
This is different from the case when "People" is the ...
1
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1answer
22 views
Defining and Non defining Relative clauses
Is the following sentence a define or not defining relative clause. Since, when we remove the part enclosed in commas, the remaining part doesn't make sense, I think it is a defining relative clause ...
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2answers
53 views
Alternative to “less good at” [closed]
Is there an alternative, yet polite way of saying:
"For those less good at English"
I know it's technically correct but it doesn't sound right to me. The context is that we are offering a service ...
0
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3answers
93 views
Pronoun: what does it refer to here?
In the following sentence, what does the pronoun it refer to?
A differs from B in that it is....
I read before that a pronoun refers to the closest name (B in that sentence); however, here it ...
13
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1answer
2k views
He discovered that his father had a special box in the basement
He discovered that his father had a special box in the basement
I was told that I should not use "that" in the above sentence although it is grammatically correct to use it. Why I shouldn't use "that"...
1
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0answers
27 views
parts of speech of a word in a sentence
What is the part of speech of before in the following:
Long before anyone coined the term sci-fi?
I am wondering whether it is an adjective, an adverb, or a preposition?
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0answers
151 views
Using 'by + -ing' form in a sentence and it's difference without 'by'
I've come across several (scientific mostly) literature where the use of by+-ing was present.
However, every time I do, I just get the feeling that is redundant. (I actually once thought that it was ...
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2answers
56 views
Is “Provincial Centre for Public Administration Services” correct phrase?
My little province in Vietnam has just established a center, which is meant to be a central place for all services provided by the local government that the provincial citizens can come and deal with ...
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0answers
54 views
Cohesion in English writing using antonyms
Can someone help me to understand how antonyms can be used effectively to achieve cohesion in English writing along with some simple examples? I have tried to search the relevant information a lot on ...
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2answers
2k views
of the highest quality vs high quality
Which sentence makes the most sense:
...produce the most sophisticated tool and of the highest quality to perform the job
or
...produce the most sophisticated and high quality tool to perform ...
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0answers
30 views
Omission of repeated components in the sentence
Is it correct to say:
"The A ratio is increased by 20%, and B ratio by 30%"?
I feel the omission grammatically correct and more natural in:
"The A ratio has increased by 20% and B ratio by 30%,"...
1
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0answers
44 views
What is the phrase called when a noun is either given an article or doesn't need one? [closed]
As I understand it, there are singular nouns such as cat and spaceship that need to be preceded with some kind of specifier like an article (a, an, the) or a possessive word (my, Jane's, etc.) or the ...
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1answer
60 views
is “all” implied in a list?
If I have a list that begins with:
"Cars He Wants to Buy"
Is it implied that that list contains ALL the cars he wants to buy? Or is it implied that it is just some?
My thought was that an "all" is ...
2
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2answers
444 views
Why do we say “eat healthy” instead of “eat healthily”? [duplicate]
Why do we say "eat healthy" instead of "eat healthily", even though the latter is the only "correct" one, according to the comments in
"eat healthy" or "eat healthily"
What ...
1
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4answers
152 views
I am looking for a word that can be used to describe a person who can switch bodies with another human
Not to be confused with a person who can morph themselves into someone else or a creature by will, but someone who has an ability to body swap - without necessarily having control over it. I am ...
1
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2answers
58 views
When describing an action by two persons is it ever correct to name oneself first? [duplicate]
When describing an action by two persons and that action has a negative outcome or nature, is it correct to name oneself first? As in I and he played poorly.
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2answers
64 views
“you is” in place of “you are” [closed]
Recently I listened to this song "You is smart, you is important ..."
This is the link for this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H50llsHm3k
Can I say "you is" in place of "you are"?
Thanks ...
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1answer
185 views
Harry Potter grammar question
In the book Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 2, page 14, last paragrapgh appears 2 sentences like this, "They lets Dobby get on with it" and "Sometimes they reminds me to do extra ...
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1answer
64 views
Difference between “as” and “like”
Can anyone please tell me what the difference between as and like in the following sentence is. And which one is correct?
Here's the example:
None of the other students helped the old man across the ...
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0answers
15 views
Proper wording for health assistance
Is the following correct?
Psychological counselling, as well as support from a health assistance team during recovery.
We are unable to use the phrase medical assistance team.
1
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1answer
196 views
Multi-colorful or multi-colored? [closed]
Is multi-colorful a word? Or is the correct word multi-colored?
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1answer
1k views
“no one” vs “no one else”
Can anyone please tell me if I should use no one or no one else in the following sentence?
Here is the example:
John is a very good friend of mine. No one (else) likes me more than he does.
I think ...
1
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1answer
126 views
The usage of “…that one might assume” [closed]
I have a question about the following sentence. In the (A) option, I'm aware that's a classical "as .... as you assume". But my main confusion is that (B) option seems really legit to me gramatically. ...
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2answers
103 views
Would a drinking straw, made out of natural straw, be called a 'straw straw'?
Significant efforts are afoot to reduce plastic waste and one way of doing so is to revert to using natural straws as drinking straws.
This example uses wheat straws but it doesn't matter which plant ...
1
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2answers
50 views
Term for noun phrase containing contrasting things
For a sentence along the lines of "There were celebrations and not-so-celebrations among the people." what would the correct term for a this phrase? I thought it may be a comparison or something along ...
