Questions tagged [verbs]
This tag is for questions about verbs. Verbs are words that express an action, occurrence, or a state of being. Add this tag to single-word-requests if you are looking for a verb. Add the tag word-usage if you are asking about the usage of the verb.
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I know that "What do you here?" is a valid sentence, but I can't quite parse it to explain to others
I've always been bothered by how people say the translation of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is terrible and full of errors, and the number one thing they point to for the error part of the ...
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Which is correct? Suggest me the best out of it [closed]
I wish no human will ever get trapped like this.
I wish no human ever get trapped like this.
I wish no human ever gets trapped like this.
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Wind blew through the leaves of the tree.. other verbs? [closed]
what's the verb? The same as the wind brushed against her cheek, but for trees?
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In this sentence, should I use "hit" or "hits"? [migrated]
In this sentence, should I use hit or hits?
I threw a small stone, then I was worried about a car with a driver
inside; if the stone hit the car, I would be miserable.
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Word or phrase to describe bashing one's opponents to make oneself look good
Is there a word, phrase or expression that would describe the action of defaming or speaking ill of someone just to raise your own standing or reputation? I'm looking for something like what you ...
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Can resign be followed by a to-infinitive?
I was looking at Wiktionary's list of catenative verbs and noticed the list was far from exhaustive. I added "deign," and, having finished reading the list, I was trying to think of others ...
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What is the proper verb form to use after "a breadth of [plural]" [duplicate]
Which of the following sentences is the correct conjugation:
A breadth of organisms depends on water.
A breadth of organisms depend on water.
I believe the subject of the sentence is singular, "...
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1
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1
answer
59
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The phrase "belong to" in a question [duplicate]
Can we separate the words "belong" and "to" in a question like this?
To what language family does English belong?
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1
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37
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Restating preposition in a conjunctive phrase to avoid ambiguity
Take the following sentence:
This study analyzed how perceptions of poverty and welfare policies influence social movements in the US.
My first interpretation, and I suspect the first interpretation ...
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Why 'begun' instead of 'began' in the following sentence?
I read the following passage from the instagram account of a trans celebrity describing their romantic life pre/post-transition, and was a bit irked by the use of 'begun' (which is funny, because it ...
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Is there a term for "adverb verb"s and/or "redundant adverb verb"s?
This is a meta question of this one: How can I omit adverbs to impart a strong feeling? Like the original question, I'm trying to find some tool/list/book that helps one convert "adverb verb"...
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What's the meaning of 'couldn't make your car'? [duplicate]
It was a situation that the police were trying to stop a driver who ran two stop signs. The driver finally got out of the car and said "I couldn't make your car".
From a publication article ...
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2
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"The shadows born" is the use of "born" correct in this sentence? [closed]
I'm writing a story that will be published on a couple of websites. It is a fantasy story that talks about creatures called "The Shadows".
I'd like to title the story "The Shadows Born&...
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Subject-verb agreement when citing papers with multiple authors? [duplicate]
Suppose my in-text citation is Hu & Smith (2010).
Should I cite the paper, i.e. "Hu and Smith (2010) says"?
Or should I cite the authors, i.e. "Hu and Smith (2010) say"?
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36
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Are "close" and "open" verbs or adjectives? [closed]
I'm really hard stuck trying to comprehend whether these two words simultaneously have two natures.
I read:
The door is open
The door is opened
Difference?
The door is close
The door is closed
...
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36
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What does "You can step" mean?
It's from the movie Love Jones (1997)
Two black men talking about one of them bringing to a party a woman despite that he's married. Here's their conversation:
"But you're married and all".
...
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Comparative Adjective vs Noun; cleaner vs cleaner [duplicate]
I am curious if there is any reason that English converged to using similar suffix for both comparative adjective, and for noun. For example, as shown in the title, "cleaner" could mean both ...
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1
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Trying to explain grammatical error in fragmented compound sentence [closed]
It was a turning point that led us to discover the unique opportunity to apply the technology to aerospace, and the company rebranded as *****.
Could somebody possibly help me explain what is wrong ...
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Is "rid" a noun in "I want rid of him"?
The Oxford Dictionary regards rid as a verb only.
However, is rid a noun in I want rid of him?
If rid is a past participle, then, can it be followed by want?
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3
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26
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Commence from or Commence to? [closed]
How is "Commence" correctly placed in a sentence as below?
The holiday will commence from Monday 2nd of May to Wednesday 4th of May
(or)
The holiday will commence on Monday 2nd of May to ...
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Why isn't "witness" the third-person singular form in the example sentence?
The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary gives, for the word witness, an example sentence as follows:
(Original Version)
Authentic Italian cooking is very healthy —— witness the low incidence
of ...
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Is the word "lured" an adjective or verb in the sentence "I feel lured by the chance to start over again." [closed]
While I understand the verb "feel" is often followed by -ed adjectives when talking about emotional states, "lured" itself is not an adjective. So I am not sure what to make of the ...
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Practicing sentence structure exercises. Did I handle the verbal phrase correctly?
I'm a writer who was never really taught all that soundly the formal aspects of parts of speech. Basic public school education. Was an English major, but we focused on the act of writing moreso than ...
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30
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Can "coincide" be use transitively?
The New York Times today has an unusual use of "coincide":
NYT
Looking at common-cold coronaviruses, some researchers have predicted that SARS-CoV-2 will become a seasonal winter infection ...
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Why are write/wrote, ride/rode but strike/struck?
Why do write and ride change to o in the simple past (wrote/rode) but strike changes to u (struck)?
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363
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What does Jesse Stuart mean by "weaker devour the stronger"? [closed]
When I was reading the short story Love by Jesse Stuart, I came across this sentence,
the weaker devour stronger even among human beings.
Can the weak really devour the strong? I think it would make ...
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Is [the act of something] considered a verb or a noun?
For example, take "Teaching people can be difficult"
Is "teaching people" (the act of teaching people) a noun phrase and "be difficult" the verb phrase, as in being ...
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1
answer
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Why is the sentence structured this way?
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
I need a little clarification on ...
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1
answer
31
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Use of intransitive verbs [closed]
Would it be grammatically correct to say "a spoon is used to stir" or "a mouse is used to click"
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Do dictionaries disfavor "disfavor"?
A question on ELU asked for A word for making an event more likely or less likely and I proposed the verb pair favor/disfavor in an answer, with these examples:
For example, in the case of the Ising ...
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Do we have always to use the simple past with the verb "to wish"?
My question revolves around the verb "wish".
I am currently studying present continuous vs simple present, and there a section amongst the instructions entitled "verbs rarely used in ...
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2
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The reason why a transitive verb does not have an object
I found the following sentence on the internet. "I need money, and money, I need." It is what a young girl was saying. (She was talking to herself.) Her parent put it down in writing.
Since ...
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sign a contract, secure a contract, close a contract
Which verb comes before the noun "contract"?
Are there any differences between their formality or usage?
I have secured a contract for my company.
I have closed a contract for my company.
...
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2
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The verb "mark" with events in time
The 19th century was marked by the abolition of slavery.
The 19th century marked the abolition of slavery.
Which is correct?
The meaning is that the abolition of slavery was an important event in the ...
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Can the word "abstract" mean "to apply payment"?
I use a proprietary piece of software at work for entering AR payments and the user interface calls this process of applying payments to invoices "abstracting."
This term is commonly used in ...
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Can a Noun be an Action? [closed]
For example, in the phrase:
Yodelling is good fun.
'Yodelling' is a noun that refers to an action. Would it be correct to call this noun an action?
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Correct use of both for a pair of adjectives with a singular or an uncountable noun
I would like to know which of the following sentences is correct:
we investigate a new problem, where both a decisional and a switching variable is a control at disposal of the agents;
we investigate ...
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1
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Using respectively to define parameters in a math equation: Singluar or plural verb? [duplicate]
There are a lot of questions/discussions about using singular or plural verbs with respectively, and the answer is always a singular verb. Does using a singular verb also apply while defining the ...
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3
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A verb that means 'to run ineffectively or with difficulty' [closed]
What verb can be used in place of 'run' when describing the way an overweight character might attempt to race towards another individual? Because of his size, this person doesn't move very quickly or ...
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Is there one simple word which means the inverse of the word "apply"? [closed]
I am looking for a simple word which would mean the opposite of the word "apply". The first thing that comes to my mind is "unapply". But I am not sure if it is elegant and maybe ...
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The opposite of recline?
I'm aware of the difference between Prone vs. Supine vs. Prostrate, but I'm trying to find the opposite of the related word 'recline'.
Every web or dictionary search brings up 'upright' as the antonym ...
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What verbs can stand alone in "We _____ your time is valuable"?
While on hold today by phone, a recording regularly told me, "We appreciate your time is valuable". Is this correct English?
I know that there are special verbs, like "know" or &...
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Is there a term for a construction like "...can and has developed," where the omission ("develop") results in an apparent lack of agreement?
Perhaps I'm just overlooking the explanation in grammar references (and questions on ELU), but I haven't found a discussion of this construction (or its advisability): a verb is omitted after a modal, ...
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Descriptive vs Injunctive statement
"Residents in an efficient household take a five-minute shower per person per day"-- I think it is a descriptive statement. I want to know its injunctive counterpart.
mra343
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Verb: Using an item of a subscription with limited items included [closed]
Let's imagine that you buy a subscription ... for example, to get 2 Yoga lessons per month. What would be the right verb if I am using one of these lessons?
I am considering using something like '...
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2
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Word that means "to walk around a room" in the context of looking at things [duplicate]
Not with criminal intent (i.e. case, prowl), but curiosity, as in a museum or in a new friend's house. "Roam" and "stroll" seem more about the movement. Maybe there is no word that ...
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A Constraint <VERB> a Certain Value
In the context of software programming, I am looking for a verb which expresses a certain relation. Using Merriam Webster online, I have not been able to find what I am looking for, due to lack of a ...
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2
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Is "deabstractify" a word? [closed]
I'm currently working on an essay and in it I talk about how there's a computer program that allows me to do something and there was a time in my life where I worked very extensively with this program ...
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it is not inappropriate that risks be taken
Many outdoor experiences involve risk but that does not mean it is inappropriate that risks be taken, the report says.
(Source: Stuff, a New Zealand news media website)
I'm curious about the use of ...
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What is the difference between plan and plan out?
Apologies if I've posted this to the wrong forum, it seemed like an appropriate spot but not sure. My question is quite simply stated in the subject of the post. A coworker and I were editing one of ...
