Questions tagged [grammar]
This tag is for questions about morphology and syntax, the two elements of grammar. DO NOT USE THIS TAG IF YOUR QUESTION IS ABOUT WHETHER SOMETHING SPECIFIC IS GRAMMATICAL. For such cases use the 'grammaticality' tag. Also do not use this for punctuation or spelling (orthography); those are not about grammar, and they have their own tags.
1,543
questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Non-standard grammar feature in British dialect?
I moved from Worcestershire in the UK to a non-native English speaking country when I was a child, which has made me very aware of my accent. Unlike my parents, I used to have a regional accent. I ...
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'To lie' and 'to lay' / 'to rise' and 'to raise' / 'to fall' and 'to fell' <-- Did English used to have more pairs like this?
My understanding is that there aren't many pairs of intransitive and transitive verbs in modern English. Off-hand, I know of three (though I think there are more):
lie vs lay
rise vs raise
fall vs ...
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How can I distinguish between supplements and modifiers as proposed in The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CGEL)?
In CGEL, the authors use the term 'adjunct' as an umbrella term to cover an element that is either modifier or supplement. On page 1350, the authors explain the properties of supplements to ...
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4
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1
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What does one call the noun a preposition relates to its object?
With minimal research online one can easily find that a prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and an object. Most online and paper resources will describe a preposition as a word that ...
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"She talked about how..." Grammar Rule
I'm trying to find the grammar rule or name that explains these types of sentences:
The movie was about how we all need to love each other.
She talked about how there is a great fear of technology.
...
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4
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2
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"With probability", "with a probability", "with the probability"?
As a mathematician, I often write and read about probabilities. In the literature, I've seen versions of all the sentences below. Which one is correct?
This happens with probability (of) 30%.
This ...
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3
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2
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87
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Comma before a moved verb
I can't seem to find a definitive answer for this, and my colleague and I are disagreeing on it:
Your next obsession, found.
Your next obsession found.
It was an advertisement, as in something like ...
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3
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Commas in an introductory phrase for both a time shift and a new setting
So let’s say I’ve got an introductory phrase that introduces both a new setting and a new shift in time, sort of like a “scene change” phrase. For example, let’s say those two elements are “later” for ...
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if only usage: leave out the 'was'
When 'it' refers to a letter or a complex situation projected to be caused by a letter, is it okay to use 'if only' in the following way? Why or why not?
"It'd all be appropriate if only written ...
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Structure and usage of the construction - BE of
I have seen various sentences like this:
The availability of two reasonably complete mammalian genomes is of great help to gene finders. - The New York Times
I do my utmost to dress the actors very ...
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3
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886
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Synthesis and Transformation
Give the task of synthesizing and transforming these two sentences:
John ran after the snatch thief.
John tripped over a stone and fell.
Into just one of this form:
While ____________, ____________....
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when can i omit the subject in comparative sentences
I recently encountered two sentences -
Cars made in Japan are better than those made in Korea.
here, "those" cannot be omitted
Prices of mangos in Thailand are much lower than (those) in England.
...
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3
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546
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Usage and origin of the expression “nice and”
According to the following dictionaries the expression nice and is an adverbial locution which is used to give more emphasis to the adjective that follows:
According to M-W nice and is synonym of very
...
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3
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321
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How to determine ergative verbs
As a non-English speaker, it's sometimes hard to determine what style of a verb is meant in sentences written/said by native speakers of English.
For example, there are ergative verbs in English.
...
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3
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1
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Function of Else
In the sentence, "Do you study anything else besides English?", what is the function of else? Is it an adjective? An adverb? And if it is an adverb, what does it modify? Thank you!
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Words/phrases like "kindred spirit" that refer to both the speaker and the subject of the sentence
The google definition of kindred spirit is "a person whose interests or attitudes are similar to one's own."
That means that if I were to say to someone "You are a kindred spirit", I am describing ...
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3
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1
answer
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In which context should I use reduced relative clauses?
As I should write essays and other kinds of writings in an academic style, I was wondering whether reduced relative clauses are formal or I had better opt for a non-reduced relative clause so that I ...
3
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1
answer
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Are “Get” or “Grasp” stative or dynamic verbs?
In Merriam–Webster, the definition of understand is as follows:
to get the meaning of something / to grasp the meaning of something.
Now my questions are regarding a sentence like:
I don’t ...
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3
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1
answer
555
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When do present participles shift from being "gerunds" or "verbal nouns" to become non-finite clauses?
Note: This is not a question about what is the difference between a gerund, verb and participle, interesting as that polemic may be. It is about non-finite clauses, which does bear upon these ...
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1
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Does “The father regretted to tell his children something embarrassing” make sense?
I came across this question in a test:
The father regretted _____ his children how he regretted _____ hard when he was young.
A. to tell; not to study
B. telling; not studying
C. to tell; not ...
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3
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1
answer
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Grammatical form of "except in"
The sentence is this, "English is not spoken anywhere except in the highest echelons of local government."
Does "except" function as the preposition and head of the prepositional phrase, with "in ...
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3
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1
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use of the conjunction "nor"
"She didn't get married nor had children". Is the use of "nor" correct? I know we can use "nor" without "neither" but I'm doubting in this case.
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Past Perfect Tense Used Instead of Past Simple in 'The Kite Runner'
I'm currently reading 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini, and notice that in some place in the book, i can't really comprehend the use of past perfect tense instead of simple past tense. Consider ...
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3
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Proper ellipsis [linguistic] for "Yes/No" questions/answers containing "do + like"
Is it grammatically correct to say/write the following
Q: Do you like to eat ice cream/apples...?
A: No, I don't like [to eat apples]./ Yes, I like [to eat apples].
Is it necessary to include the ...
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2
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2
answers
91
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past tense vs. present perfect?
In his last game, his mistake (caused / has caused) his team to lose.
which is grammatically correct?
Is the answer the simple past tense because of the word "last" ?
Then is it impossible ...
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2
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0
answers
46
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How do I add able to a word ending in a consonant?
How do I add able to a word ending in a consonant? For example, fret with able added will become fretable or frettable as an expression of the possibility of playing something on guitar.
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3
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"to" + infinitive vs. "for" + gerund after noun
In technical writing, we often need to describe things that have a certain purpose: the menu item whose purpose it is to save a file, the code whose purpose it is to send a message, and so on. A ...
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0
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109
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Grammar of “In Meditations, Aurelius wrote about ways to live a Stoic life, asserting that humans should aim to live a virtuous life to be happy”
Below: a photo of a learner's textbook exercise page with a reading passage about a Stoic Roman emperor, with punctuation issues – and a question about punctuation, with rejoinders. "A" (the ...
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"Greenland may not be as "green" as the name suggests". Is the second "as" a comparative conjunction although there is no object after "suggest"?
In the sentence below,
Greenland may not be as "green" as the name suggests.
The verb "suggest" should preceed an object as it is a transitive verb, but in the sentence, there is ...
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2
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Are "the roof of the building" and "a house of stone" grammatically the same constructions?
Are "the roof of the building" and "a house of stone" grammatically different prepositional phrase constructions? Or are they both understood to be possessives with the latter not ...
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130
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What is this way of speaking called?
I was having a conversation with my friend the other day. At one point, we were talking about a very wealthy individual that has amassed a significant amount of wealth. I told my friend that this ...
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2
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Why should the past simple tense be used in this case?
In the following sentences, the past simple tense is used after the present perfect tense. Both sentences are connected with each other:
I have been hit by a baseball bat in the past. It felt awful!
...
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693
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Collective term for uncountable nouns for places, like "hospital", "school", "prison", "court", "church"?
Certain nouns for places, locations or buildings seem to have idiomatic uncountability.
This blog lists a couple of those.
Idiomatic uses:
Home / town: No article precedes ‘home’ unless you add ...
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0
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Is "vary" a stative verb? Can it be used in Continuous?
Is "vary" a stative verb?
According to Merriam-Webster it has both intransitive
vary [intransitive]
1: to exhibit or undergo change
the sky was constantly varying
and transitive usages
...
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2
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1
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How can you 'test' for grammatical properties in A Student's Introduction to English Grammar?
According to the book, grammatical terms, e.g., subject, object, noun, verb, adjective, etc. should not be defined by meaning, but by grammatical properties.
For example, an adjective has combinations ...
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What is the difference between these constructions?
I just came across these four sentences on a worksheet my son is doing. We are in Japan - so this is from English class at his Japanese school.
It’s surprising that he should be an actor.
It’s ...
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68
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What is the term for repeating non-restrictive clauses?
I came across the following quote:
Scientists would soon find themselves adrift in a bewildering realm of
particles and antiparticles, where things pop in and out of existence
in spans of time that ...
2
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0
answers
211
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Can I really follow the theoretical framework proposed in the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language?
In the book 'the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CGEL)', the authors propose the theoretical framework used to describe the English sentences as shown below:
Text version:
Clause:
...
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0
answers
51
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Is a report used to report, or does a report report? Active vs passive
PASSIVE VOICE - The Random Name Report (RANAR) is used to report the randomness and effectiveness of names.
vs.
ACTIVE VOICE - The Random Name Report (RANAR) reports the randomness and effectiveness ...
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Regard somebody as (being) as holy as a saint
Regard someone as (being) as holy as a saint
Is being here optional, and why is it so in syntactic terms?
Secondly, is it similar to the following? It is promoted as a leisure activity, as well as as ...
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Why use "Team" while voting?
While I'm surfing the online forum and social media about Godzilla VS Kong movie, I found lots of people said Team Godzilla & Team Kong to mean Support Godzilla & Support Kong.
I want to know ...
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What does "one more step from the future" mean?
I'm not sure it's a correct English sentence.
Can it be interpreted as "bringing something back from the future and advancing the present"?
Maybe it would be better to use "one more ...
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0
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68
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Prepositional verb and non-prepositional one of a same object
If a prepositional verb and a non-prepositional one have the same object, should I put first the non-prepositional one, or it's not necessary ?
The sentence is
"You should reflect on and examine ...
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Difference between "prior to" and "before"
I have read on the internet that prior to is a formal term for before and "prior to" is used when a past moment is relevant to the present one. However, I didn't understand the meaning of ...
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“Fools that they are”
I have a question about the interposition “fools that they are” in the following:
“Fools that they are, they never knew thy guiltless pride, thy true spirit.”
Using Google’s Ngram Viewer, I found ...
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Why do I have to use "what" in this sentence? What role does "what" play here?
I know this sentence is correct:
In the 1980's the rate of increase of the minority population of the United States was nearly twice what it was in the 1970's.
So the part of the sentence I'm ...
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Lists. To colon or not to colon?
As a Spanish translator, I struggle with MANY Spanish sentences that include a preposition followed by a list of numbered (e.g.) activities. The lists can be long or short. An example would be:
The ...
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"I was going to do,but something happened", "I was to do,but something happened" and "I was about to do,but something happened"have the same meaning?
Do "I was going to do,but something happened", "I was to do,but something happened" and "I was about to do,but something happened"have the same meaning?.I'm so confused right now.
Please give me some ...
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364
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When is it not possible to reduce relative clauses to participle phrases?
While "The woman who lived next door was a doctor" can be reduced to
"The woman living next door was a doctor",
the sentence
"The woman who called me was a doctor"
cannot be reduced to
"The ...
user323595
2
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0
answers
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Why is this a complete sentence?
"Another organization, the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, offers writers from around the world a three-month residency in which to share not only stories and poems but also ...
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