Questions tagged [omissibility]

For questions about leaving out words or punctuation marks and how such omissions affect the meaning of clauses or sentences.

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Is it true that "all the" means "all of the" and "some" can mean "some of the"? If so, why are they omitted in different ways? [closed]

As far as I know, "all the" is actually an informal version of "all of the", see, e.g., all + noun, all + the noun, all of the + noun, all of + noun, which one is right?. Also, in ...
Vezen BU's user avatar
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2 answers
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Can I omit the following words in order to make sentence shorter or concise? [closed]

A is a literary word but B is casual and everyday word.
Kaveh Behnia 's user avatar
4 votes
4 answers
197 views

Can the second auxiliary be omitted in sentences like "...but she may (have)"?

a. I don’t think she has seen it, but she may (have). b. This one needs to be repaired; the other already has (been). Can you omit the second auxiliary? If so, is it more natural to omit it? These ...
listeneva's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
58 views

Why is it OK to drop articles in “Leopard Rock is fortress and home”? [duplicate]

In episode one of the National Geographic documentary The Savage Kingdom, there is this line which you hear said (and see in the subtitles) there: Leopard Rock is fortress and home. The line reads ...
tinlyx's user avatar
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2 answers
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Why are quotation marks omitted from this passage from a book from 1897? [duplicate]

In William James's The Will to Believe, he writes: After all, though, you will say, Why so much ado about a matter concerning which, however we may theoretically differ, we practically agree? Later, ...
jrpear's user avatar
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1 answer
133 views

Capitalization after an ellipsis beginning a paragraph midway in a multi-paragraph quotation

If midway in a multi-paragraph quotation, a paragraph begins with one or more prior paragraphs omitted, and the line starts mid-sentence with preceding words omitted, is the line capitalized after the ...
Typothalamus's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
64 views

"The exam sheet should only be used to write answers (on)"

Do I need the prepositions in these sentences? The exam sheet should only be used to write answers (on). The blanks should only be used to write answers (in). The equipment should only be used to ...
desmo's user avatar
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Omitting the verb in non-parallel clauses

I've seen this sentence in a textbook and it sounds unnatural to me. It was the Ottomans who were developed and Western Europe underdeveloped. I feel like the omission might have been correct If the ...
Kaan's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
548 views

Is it grammatical to leave out the "and" in "try and do"? [closed]

The motivational example sentence for this question turns out to be a typo. Nonetheless I think it triggered valuable discussions. I came across this sentence from NYT today: ... Mr. Xi met with ...
magni's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
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When is it appropriate to omit both articles and prepositions together?

I am working on a localisation issue within a project, but I cannot figure out through any of my searches and reference texts if there is a particular set of rules surrounding the omission of articles ...
George R's user avatar
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Omitting a pronoun from a cleft sentence

I believe this is a cleft sentence: It was 10:18 ᴀᴍ when it happened. However, I cannot explain why the pronoun when can’t be removed when you rewrite that sentence into this one: When it (=the ...
user451909's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
69 views

Is "why" implied after "explain" in this context? [closed]

Suppose that we asked to "explain the trend" in the following graph: Would it be appropriate to just describe the trend (i.e. something along the lines of "it first increases, and then ...
Utkan Gezer's user avatar
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2 answers
71 views

“The difficulty is we need” vs. “The difficulty is ᴛʜᴀᴛ we need”

Is there a right or wrong answer in the following construction? Am I missing a more elegant way to say this? The main difficulty in the hiring process is we need a fluent French speaker that also ...
fourierwho's user avatar
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3 answers
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Is "personal usage requires the user provision the device" correct? The bare infinitive v the to-infinitive

I've come across this sentence in a piece of technical documentation: Disabling personal usage requires the user provision the device as a fully managed device. In my opinion this sentence is ...
Markus's user avatar
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Could "being" be omitted in "spend time (being) someone"?

I came across a sentence in Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence that I don't quite comprehend: They may spend their whole lives aliens among their kindred, and remain aloof among the only scenes they ...
Sophie's user avatar
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1 answer
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The "-ing" form of a verb and indefinite article [closed]

If celebrities visit public places, such as malls and bars, people will crowd them demanding for a picture or autograph. 1: Why did the writer use the "-ing" form of the verb "demand&...
olivia's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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"They are" or "that they are"? [duplicate]

It's clear they are honest. vs. It's clear that they are honest. Is there a difference? Is one more correct than the other?
Stilez's user avatar
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'Ordered' + object + past participle

Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage, page 852 reads The construction ordered + object + past participle (often expressed in the passive) is first recorded in 1781 in AmE ( These things were ...
GJC's user avatar
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1 vote
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Is the sentence "we don't need to be what they want us to" correct without the "be" in the end?

The formal way to say the sentence would be "we don't need to be what they want us to be", but would it be acceptable and understandable in colloquial language (eg in a song) to say "we ...
Pedro Henrique Quiste's user avatar
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Comparing/Contrasting Adjectives with/without "the" and "one"

In terms of American English, I'm considering the following 3 options of comparing/contrasting adjectives. Are all of these okay? The red dress is better than blue. The red dress is better than the ...
gene b.'s user avatar
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2 answers
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Adjective-Denoted Nationalities without "the"

I came across the following in the Wall Street Journal, as part of the main story (not the headline), ... Swiss voted narrowly against more hunting, by 52% to 48% ... ... Last year, Swiss voted on ...
gene b.'s user avatar
  • 197
4 votes
1 answer
344 views

Omis­si­bil­ity of the defi­n­ite ar­ti­cle “the” be­fore at­tribu­tive mod­i­fiers of per­sonal names in Amer­i­can English

Are both in­clu­sion and omis­sion of the defi­n­ite ar­ti­cle the be­fore per­sonal names that have at­tribu­tive mod­i­fiers (nom­i­nal or ad­jec­ti­val or both) con­sid­ered gram­mat­i­cal in Amer­i­...
gene b.'s user avatar
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When is the omission of relative pronouns acceptable? [duplicate]

So I learned that I tend to forget and unconsciously omit relative pronouns from my sentences, because apart from the fact that the meaning of some clauses without them remain clear and obvious, I ...
telltaleyes's user avatar
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0 answers
28 views

Could articles be omitted in descriptions of art?

Compiling brief descriptions of art objects, is it okay to make do mostly without articles? For instance (about an old coin), Eagle under crown; shield featuring Moscow’s coat-of-arms on eagle’s ...
Smirina's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
39 views

omitting auxiliaries and articles in logs [closed]

Is it a widespread practice in logbooks and in written accounts of events in general to omit articles and auxiliaries? E.g.: "Message received. Information read. Crew instructed. Complaints ...
Robb's user avatar
  • 35
0 votes
1 answer
29 views

Dropping "when" in an adverbial clause renders this sentence ungrammatical?

Please consider these sentences side by side: When walking in a dark alley, you should be cautious. When walking in a dark alley, be cautious. Walking in a dark alley, be cautious. Walking in a dark ...
Yeti Ape's user avatar
  • 133
0 votes
1 answer
763 views

Have difficulty/difficulties (in) doing something

What is syntactically the -ing-phrase in both the versions with and without the preposition? For example in He has trouble [in] keeping things in perspective right now. Secondly, does the latter ...
GJC's user avatar
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1 answer
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Why in "think about/of" and "talk about" the "of" and "about" sometimes are omitted?

I sometimes see, more often of late, that in sentences like this: There're less known but high performing currencies: think of Georgian Larry, Armenian Dram. "of" or "about" get ...
kosmosu05's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is it correct to omit "be" verbs and conjunctions when reporting a sentence? [duplicate]

Can you say "Actor dead aged 44" instead of elaborately saying "Actor dies at age 44"?
bestmelon's user avatar
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0 answers
36 views

When two "be" verbs are used in one sentence, should the second be omitted?

For example He is a teenager and [is] from South Sudan. Is it necessary to delete the second "is" in parentheses?
Stupidwart's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
480 views

Do I need to repeat a verb in a second clause?

He will not only pass the exam but will also excel in sports. He will not only pass the exam but also excel in sports. Which one is correct?
Ashish's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
112 views

Omitting pronouns in conditional clauses

I have a dispute with an acquaintance over this sentence: If [you're] looking for aliases that will be displayed in the help message, see the link above. ("you're" is omitted) I'm pretty ...
CreepySkeleton's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
96 views

omission of semantic subject

Toni Morrison began writing when she was in college, but she did not produce anything good enough to publish for many years. Her troubled marriage, divorce, and life as a single mother made it even ...
jinku's user avatar
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0 votes
3 answers
4k views

"The place I was born" vs. "The place I was born in"

This is the place where I was born. [1] I can omit where & keep the antecedent place : This is the place I was born. [1a] I can omit the antecedent place and keep the relative word where : ...
Sandip Kumar Mandal's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
44 views

Omission of subject in tensed clause

I know the subject can be omitted in untensed clauses. But I've encountered with the following: You spent more money than was intended to be spent. Here, 'than' seems to be functioning like a ...
Sandip Kumar Mandal's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
94 views

Go fun the world - is it correct?

I want to know if 9Gag slogan "Go fun the world" is correct or not. I know that it is ok to say "Let's go have fun" but the slogan above misses "have". Is it ok? One more - is "word" addressee there? ...
Grgor's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
59 views

How do I omit part of part of a legal definition with an ellipsis?

I need to contract the below sentence (it was legalese that I have simplified) to just present (b), but need to indicate that (b) is not the only condition: Ending on the earlier of (a) [occurrence]...
tom982's user avatar
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13 votes
3 answers
1k views

What’s the long form corresponding to the short form “English Language & Usage”?

Am I right that ①English Lan­guage & Usage is the short form ei­ther for ②English Lan­guage & Its Usage or else for ③English Lan­guage & The Usage of It, rather than for ④English Lan­guage ...
Ben A.'s user avatar
  • 298
1 vote
1 answer
380 views

When can I omit the auxiliary verb in Past Perfect...?

I've come across two examples of past-perfect in the textbook and was wondering if someone could please explain why the latter sentences still use 'had' and why it shouldn't be omitted: 1) When I ...
Amethyst11's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
309 views

Omitting Relative Pronoun and verb "be" [duplicate]

Could someone please explain, why the pronoun and the verb "be" are omitted in the following sentence? "it allows communication even for people far away from each other" Shouldn't this sentence be "...
Nick's user avatar
  • 11
5 votes
2 answers
542 views

What do you call the sentence structure of “The X-er __, the Y-er __”?

Is there a term for a sentence in the form of "The ___, the ___"? For example: The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear. Further, is this a proper sentence? Is there an implied verb?...
seth10's user avatar
  • 153
4 votes
2 answers
216 views

Omission of "is" in "She thought the study of Latin a waste of time."

In The Elements of Style, the authors give this example: She thought the study of Latin a waste of time. I cannot understand why the verb is has been omitted. Should not this sentence be as: ...
SamPam's user avatar
  • 49
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

If it isn't [someone's name]!

"If it isn't [a name]!" can be used to show surprise when you bump into someone, but it is not a complete sentence. What is omitted (and understood) here? I'd appreciate your help.
Apollyon's user avatar
  • 1,881
0 votes
3 answers
129 views

What is the grammatical topic of this shortening technique?

Extracted from an English cloze test: .....these virtual selves exist in the same online spaces that many people use every day. And this is a new and unfamiliar phenomenon that some people might ...
A.P's user avatar
  • 44
0 votes
0 answers
109 views

Can you omit only a subject following “as long as?”

Can you leave a subject following “as long as” out, keeping the verb followed alive? I can read it aloud for you as long as it is in English. So you can watch any movies as long as they have ...
Константин Ван's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
88 views

The "that" elimination problem

The sentence I marveled that you chuckled that I said "juxtaposition". suffers from "that" overload. We'd all agree. It's easy to slim either 'that'. Hence either I marveled you chuckled that I ...
Calaf's user avatar
  • 121
5 votes
1 answer
160 views

Since and for, where can they be omitted?

I’m well aware of the difference between ‘since’ and ‘for’. However I have a question. Imagine I say ‘I’ve been working on the essay since Saturday’ or ‘I’ve been working on the essay for two days’. ...
Camilla Stefanini's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
111 views

commas/ omitting "which is"

In the passage below, shouldn't the writer have included which is before the word championed, since it is in a non-defining clause? In seeking to describe the origins of theater, one must rely ...
Adam Jordan's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
398 views

Article before nouns in the appositive phrase?

Here are two examples: Nobody creates post-apocalyptic flicks better than George Miller, the director of the Mad Max series. Is the necessary before director, and can it be omitted? The business ...
MilanNovakovic's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
48 views

differentiate `to+verb` from `verb` in the context of a list

He gives wisdom and knowledge to enable his children to understand and see the invisible. He gives wisdom and knowledge to enable his children to understand and to see the invisible. Sometimes I ...
Black Death's user avatar