Questions tagged [grammaticality]
This tag is for questions about whether something obeys the rules of grammar in English. The question must INCLUDE THE SPECIFIC GRAMMATICAL CONCERN. If your question is about grammar itself, please use the "grammar" tag.
6,146
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"in the Hebrew it ..." vs "in Hebrew it ..." - what is the difference of meaning in this paragraph of Milton and in general?
In book one of The Doctrine & Discipline of Divorce, it is written:
The cause of divorce mention’d in the Law is translated some uncleannesse, but in the Hebrew it sounds nakednes of ought, or ...
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0
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15
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Can we use "the other" here? [closed]
Unlike the other big cats, cheetahs purr, they can't roar.
Is it grammatically correct to say "the other"?
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2
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42
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Missing word? "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's"
Consider the following sentence
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's.
When I put it into a few grammar checkers like Grammarly, I get no errors. But I feel that there should ...
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0
votes
2
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37
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Conditional clause within a relative clause
Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
The word "if" is not used in this sentence, which I'm not sure is a mistake or not.
And if anyone has a link to a reference on conditional ...
0
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0
answers
22
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Why and when 'than' can have same meaning as 'rather than' without the meaning of comparatison? [closed]
Tastier sweets are available in Kalayani than in Purohit.
= Tasty sweets are available in Kalayani rather than in Purohit. [INCORRECT: Tasty sweets are available in Kalayani than in Purohit.]
Richer ...
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0
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0
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31
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Which one (if any) of the two sentences is correct? [closed]
Which one (if any) of the two is correct?
The King of Rome (Napoleon II) died at the age of 21, a relatively young age even at that time, an epitome of the futile effort to unify Europe.
The King of ...
0
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0
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23
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What is the best way to phrase "Why do our services interest you?"? [closed]
We are writing a commercial email that will be sent to our prospective clients. In the email, we have one section we currently name "Why do our services interest you?" describing why we ...
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0
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25
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SImple present to talk about the future [duplicate]
Here is my question, are both of the following acceptable?
I start dieting after Christmas.
I will start dieting after Christmas.
This is the task from Oxford English Grammar Advanced.
Note: I know ...
2
votes
0
answers
48
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"What's it worth"? [duplicate]
Recently I encountered the sentence "What's it worth?" in a book.
I cannot understand the structure of this sentence.
From my perspective, "worth" means "value" in this ...
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1
vote
1
answer
60
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When can compound verbs be split? [duplicate]
Is it wrong to say:
He took the hat off.
when you could keep the compound verb “took off” together?
He took off the hat.
And is the rule changed at all by more words being placed in the phrase?
...
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0
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0
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23
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Can we not use to be + v3 negatively [duplicate]
To be + v3
These clothes are to be washed.
These clothes are not to be washed.
Likewise,
These clothes have to be washed.
Now If I have to say it negatively, how can I?
These clothes have not to ...
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0
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1
answer
49
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Be ambigious about "which" relative pronoun
I have seen an example referring to "on a par with something" at Cambridge Dictionary:
"At this rate, they'll have 600,000 visitors to the exhibition, which will put it on a par with ...
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0
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Can a series unite independent clauses with other fragments?
It's common to unite multiple independent clauses with an "and" in order to form a sentence. For example, consider a sentence that says, "The weather is warm, campsites are abundant, ...
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"I woke up to be famous". Is "woke up to be" in this sentence an adverbial modifier of consequence, or a declaration of intent? [closed]
In the first case the sentence would be equal to "I awoke from sleep to find myself famous".
Could this sentence mean this in some context? Would it be grammatically correct?
In the seconds ...
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0
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53
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Similar to how/what/why structure
I see the statement that:
Similar to how a car needs fuel to run, a computer needs electricity to power it.
In this case, I comprehend its meaning. However, I don't really get why "similar"...
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1
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75
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Is “if they are still not…” right and what is an alternative way to phrase this? [closed]
The sentence was this:
In his process of dying; the children, if they are still not independent of his guidance, shall perish.
The expression 'are still not' does not seem grammatically correct.
...
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1
vote
1
answer
24
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'The power is out' vs 'The power has gone out' [closed]
Suppose a person is using an electrical appliance and suddenly there is a power outage- would it be correct if that person immediately said to their family members that 'the power is out'? Or would it ...
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2
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54
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Is using ‘down’ with ‘descend’ acceptable?
Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
A cascading silence that descends down the phone line.
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0
answers
49
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Is this sentence grammatically correct? "We are supporting troops that we don't even know who they are." [duplicate]
Is this sentence grammatically correct?
We are supporting troops that we don't even know who they are.
I hear it from a video on Youtube, where Trump was debating with someone.
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1
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0
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17
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Definite article in attribute object sentence [closed]
Is that true that example (2) is incorrect? Or are the both correct but example (1) refers to a single incident, act of honesty?
I admire the honesty in him.
I admire honesty in him.
If we change ...
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1
answer
33
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Is this sentence correct? "Adele says new album will explain her divorce to her young son." [closed]
So there's this debate ongoing on one post that this phrase is incorrect. People are getting confused and wondering how can Adele take a divorce from her own son. The sentence is:
Adele says new ...
0
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0
answers
9
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Why should we say "watch it go"? [duplicate]
Why is "watch it go" correct? Why can't we say watch it goes? And it is like watch, it go? Or watch it, go?
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3
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2
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552
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Is "The good food keeps us healthy and adds pleasure to our lives." grammatically correct? [closed]
Is this sentence grammatically correct?
The good food keeps us healthy and adds pleasure to our lives.
I believe that the article "the" is incorrect, but why is it?
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1
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48
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Does word order matter in “…(that) we do in the same manner” vs “…in the same manner (that) we do”?
Are both these sentences grammatically accurate and can they be used interchangeably?
It is dangerous for ecologists to assume other species sense the environment we do in the same manner.
It is ...
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2
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Logical entailments of the verb frighten
Are the following entailments (examples 1-2) and sentences (examples 3-4) possible and well-formed?
Tom frightened Mary and he still frightens her.
Tom frightened Mary and he didn't stop frightening ...
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votes
1
answer
73
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Using the word ‘had’ four times in a row is it grammatically correct?
The man that willed me all he had had had had my name on his will since I was born.
My mind is broke trying to figure it out.
0
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1
answer
30
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Why can say "diminishing weakened"? [closed]
The resource as:
However, the ability of the rainforest to pull in more carbon than it releases is diminishing weakened by changing weather patterns, deforeststation and increasing tree mortality, ...
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3
votes
1
answer
66
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"I don't know what the story is about, except that it's about a basketball team." Do you reply to first or second clause; me neither / me too?
I am a native speaker, but I know that natives often use incorrect grammar.
"I don't know what the story is about, except that it's about a basketball team."
Do you reply to first or ...
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1
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1
answer
37
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Is it grammatically correct to say "I have just wanted to say that..."? [closed]
Is it grammatically correct to say the following?
I have just wanted to say that...
Considering that just=only and I have been waiting for my turn for some time before saying it.
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0
answers
17
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Participial phrase with a subject unomitted [duplicate]
I wonder this sentence is both grammatically and idiomatically correct.
"That movie having a pretty big budget, filmmakers did not need to have one in order to succeed."
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1
answer
41
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Possibility of omitting preposition phrase
I wonder if I can omit the parenthesized part here?
Extraordinary success is achieved by working on commissions one after the other rather than (by doing all of them) simultaneously.
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vote
1
answer
70
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Is it grammatical to use a participle phrase with a different subject from the preceding clause? [duplicate]
As I understand it, the standard use of a participle phrase is something like,
The man walked into the room smoking a cigarette.
In this case, the subject for the participle phrase smoking a ...
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1
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Does "It would be the last time..." refer to the past or the present?
From my understanding, in direct speech/conversation (not as a narrative), "That would be the last time..." refer to the past event, and "This would be the last time..." refers to ...
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4
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120
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Meaning of "I was never meant to be..."
I don't clearly understand the meaning of "was never meant to be" in sentences like this:
"I was never meant to be your friend."
Can someone explain it to me?
For the example in ...
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1
answer
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Can later be used for expressing distance?
I was wondering if " Can you stop at the later gate?" when trying to ask a cab driver to stop at gate 8 instead of 4 was a valid way of saying it?
0
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2
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Is the use of the phrase 'There is no woman like me' for this content correct?
If someone wants to say that no one looks as beautiful as her, is it correct to write it like this?
"There's no woman like me."
For example, if I write a dialog like this, does that reply ...
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2
votes
2
answers
63
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Singular vs plural after "One example of such"
In sentences like "One example of such X is Y" should X be singular, plural or can it be either?
For example:
Some methods are {description of this group of methods}.
One example of such ...
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0
answers
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"who/what should ... but" structure, examples with different tenses?
Here's an example sentence with that structure:
I looked under the bed, and what should I find but the keys I lost last week?
Are the following sentences correct in different tenses?
I was looking ...
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0
answers
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"Aren't your hair long enough to be washed often?" [duplicate]
Is this statement grammatically correct?
Aren't your hair long enough to be washed often?
Should I say "Isn't your Hair...?"
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1
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0
answers
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Is " A friend of his dad " a correct sentence? [closed]
A whole sentence is
He remembered that a friend of his dad's regretted not doing what he wanted to.
Which is from my textbook.
I am wondering if changing "a friend of his dad's" to "a ...
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4
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Is "The heart wants what the heart wants" grammatical? If so, why?
Normally one would say (as Emily Dickinson did) "The heart wants what it wants." But consider these few examples from professional writers (screenwriters in this case).
"The heart ...
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0
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Is "make a queue/ line" correct? [closed]
I was in a meeting with my colleagues here in Canada and we went for coffee...more and more people joined and there was only one coffee machine. So, I said "let's make a queue"...then a ...
0
votes
1
answer
52
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"Set in" vs "Set to"
I came across a sentence while proofreading, and it sounds wrong to me but I don't have the knowledge to understand why.
Set it in the OFF position
The following sounds more natural to me:
Set it ...
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1
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Is the sentence grammatically correct and natural? If not, how could I correct it? [closed]
Education is not all about illuminating the truth, imparting knowledge and answering questions, but requires encouraging students' curiosity and imagination, boosts creativity and critical thinking, ...
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4
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Is the phrase "very delighted" ever "wrong"?
I was just browsing the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English and stumbled on this peculiar note under the entry for delighted:
Delighted is not used with ‘very’. You say:
I’m absolutely ...
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2
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36
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Have on + whether or not
Q: Is this sentence correct? (see image).
If so, how? I know that have on [something] would make sense, but have on whether ... or not? This, I'm not sure. Please someone explain this to me.
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1
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Why are they grammatical, "those things a thought," those a thought"?
It's a script from the book Metaphysics by Aristotle.
I wonder about grammaticality. In what way are "those things a thought" and "those a thought" grammatically correct? I ...
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5
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Grammatical structure of "The one thing we know how to measure best is IQ."
The one thing we know how to measure best is IQ.
I was not able to understand this sentence's grammatical structure.
I think, in this sentence, the noun clause is "the one thing we know how to ...
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1
answer
32
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Is something like "the number of items selected with a certain property" correct? [closed]
I am wondering whether the following sentence is correct.
The algorithm counts the number of items selected with a certain property.
To me, this sounds somewhat incorrect. It's hard to pinpoint why, ...
2
votes
2
answers
80
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Use of "need" as modal auxiliary verb
I have a sentence which is, admittedly, a bit old-fashioned... however, I am wondering if it's a reasonable use of "need" as a modal auxiliary verb
Note that, because H is real and ...
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