Questions tagged [word-order]
This tag is for questions about the correct order of words in a phrase, or a sentence.
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Word order in a sentence using 'that' [closed]
Can I change the word order whatever way I want? They all appear to make sense but are they grammatically correct?
It was so hot yesterday that I went swimming.
Yesterday, it was so hot that I went ...
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“Really is something” vs “Is really something” [closed]
Would you help me differentiate the nuances or subtle meanings if there’s any between these? Or do they comparably mean the same in this context?
And for the multiple attributes of the chip is it ...
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Modal verb and conjunction usage in a sentence [closed]
Consider the following sentence:
Forgiveness should not be granted but asked for.
Is this sentence grammatically correct? If not, is it possible to see the rules governing this type of sentences?
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Do you have to change the order of the words when not using an apostrophe? [duplicate]
For example:
Didn't you like the opera?
Did not you like the opera?
Did you not like the opera?
Which one, (1) or (2), is correct and why?
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2
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Is it correct to place the adjective before 'is/was'?
For example: "Shut were his blinds." vs "His blinds were shut."
Is there any meaningful difference between these two? Is the former even grammatically correct?
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Independent clause between commas?
In the following sentence, which is the independent clause?
Exercising four times a week, doctors claim, can help prevent heart disease.
Is it “Exercising four times a week can help prevent heart ...
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Leave X out OR leave out X? [duplicate]
What is the difference between "leave X out" and "leave out X?" Assuming both are grammatically correct, is there any difference in the message conveyed between using one over the ...
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1
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Is this ordering of words wrong "make transparent [object]"? [closed]
I was scrolling around and found the post Long sentence between "make" and adjective. The OP is concerned that in the following sentence the bolded part is too long as an object (I think), ...
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Is the word order in "know what's what" correct?
There's an expression: "to know what's what", as in: "He's been around for a long time - he knows what's what." (ref: Cambridge Dictionary).
But recently I started wondering: isn't ...
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Studies into OSV in English
There is a somewhat uncommon type of OSV form in spoken and literary English that I've noticed. This is also famously how Yoda talks, and there have been a few question here asking about it in other ...
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Term for getting "Depending on" the wrong way around
I have been trying for some time to figure out the correct term for a grammatical error that drives me up the wall. It is when people use the phrase "depending on" the 'wrong way around'.
...
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Can you end a sentence with "properly"?
What would be the most correct way of option from below?
"As the car's oil had not been changed properly"
"As the car's oil had not been properly changed"
Effectively they are ...
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The word "ornamental" : is it an opinion adjective, a purpose adjective, or part of a compound noun here?
Upon reviewing my notes on the order of adjectives, I saw that "ornamental" was listed as an opinion adjective. However, wouldn't ornamental be a "purpose" or "type" ...
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Why can you say “not only will I” but not “not only I will”?
Given:
Not only will I be skipping the breakfast, but the lunch too.
Not only ❌I will be skipping the breakfast, but the lunch too.
Why does sentence (2) sound so terribly wrong? Why is sentence (1) ...
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"Why [subject] is [property]" VS. "Why is [subject] [property]" in a title [closed]
I'm struggling to appropriately choose between these two alternatives. It will be a title in a presentation I'm making, where [subject] can be "dogs" and [property] can be "great" ...
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Does order of a conjunction also change its meaning? [closed]
Consider the following two phrases:
Just a phone call away if absent
vs
If absent, just a phone call away
Is one of them grammatically incorrect, or would the order change the meaning? Which is ...
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What does "they both can't be selected" mean? [duplicate]
The sentence "They both can't be selected", does that mean (1) None of them can be selected or (2) They both can't make it at the same time, only one of them can ?
If I, for example, want to ...
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Rearrange the sentence in a specific order [closed]
Sentence: Developers from 10+ countries are using our service.
I want to rearrange this sentence so that it starts with "10+ countries". But keep the meaning of the sentence the same.
I ...
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Does my Adjectle game make sense? [duplicate]
I've made a grammar game at https://adjectle.com
It is based on adjective order in a sentence; there is a puzzle once a day, and everybody gets the same puzzle.
Spoiler alert (if you were planning on ...
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Grammaticality of "Where go the hours"
In a recent comic by Poorly Drawn Lines, I came across the following sentences :
Where go the hours? Where go the days?
Son of a gun, where do go they?
Though the last sentence is clearly jokingly ...
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What should the order of date and place of a meeting be? [closed]
Which of these two sentences is correct?
The Ninth Session of the ABC Committee was held from 16 to 18 January 2022 in Madrid, Spain.
The Ninth Session of the ABC Committee was held in Madrid, Spain, ...
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Are there rules or style considerations to the ordering of adverbs as modifiers to verbs and adjectives? [duplicate]
When modifying a verb with an adverb, I noticed that you can swap the order in most cases without any loss of meaning. For instance:
She ran quickly versus She quickly ran
Is there any reason to ...
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Word order in a sentence with two question clauses [duplicate]
Which one is correct? And why?
Would you be so kind to inform me when should I expect a payment?
or
Would you be so kind to inform me when I should expect a payment?
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To which vs Which to [duplicate]
Consider the two sentences
To which journal should I submit it?
Which journal should I submit it to?
Which one is correct and why?
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496
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“Only use” vs “use only”
Would one say they “typically only use public transportation” or “typically use only public transportation” inverting the order ?
This is to settle an argument between my friends.
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My question is about clauses placement in past tense
In simple past, we tell the chronological order of events in which they have occured in clauses and in past perfect we tell which event or action has happened before in those two actions. So,I have 2 ...
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“for our teams and us” or the other way around
In a sentence is it correct to say “an inspiration for us and our teams”? Or “an inspiration for our teams and us”?
We usually put me, myself and I last so I’m not sure which one is correct ...
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Is "to calm down someone" acceptable? [duplicate]
I just came across an ESL student writing "to calm down your followers". I much prefer "to calm your followers down". Does anyone agree? If so, why? "Calm down" is ...
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English clause word order
I found this sentence:
I am convinced that not only could I control a group of people effectively, but the group would also benefit from my skills.
Why is this word order correct: "could I"...
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How can "How do you play guitar often?" be rephrased? [closed]
How can "How do you play guitar often?" be rephrased, and which is the likeliest interpretation:
"In what way do you often play guitar?"
"How do you manage to play guitar (so)...
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What's the difference between "really have had" and "have really had"?
In a sentence, what's the difference between "he must really have had a rough day" and "he must have really had a rough day"?
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Is there a reason titles sound better using 'of' instead of without 'of'? [closed]
For popular media, it's common to use X of Y in the title. Examples: Call of Duty, God of War, World of Warcraft, and so on.
In theory, these could be Duty Call, War God, or Warcraft World, right? Is ...
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Why do we use the specific sentence structure - it took me (time) to (do)? [duplicate]
What is the grammar behind using:
It took me 2 years to learn 'X' (to cook/read/write)
rather than
It took me to learn 'X' 2 years
Many thanks
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Help Fixing Yoda-like Sentence Structure? [closed]
I'm a native American English speaker and have noticed something in my speech/writing that I don't really understand. I've noticed my speech sounds "Yoda-ish" and have been trying to figure ...
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What's the reason for the word order of "would sooner have"?
I'm a native speaker from the UK, but after living for more than 10 years in a foreign country, I'm beginning to notice how my English is getting much worse.
The other day, I came across a phrase that ...
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Word order with interchange
Which sentence is grammatically correct when A and B are some states:
“The A-B gap can be controlled or states can even be interchanged depending on temperature”
or
“The gap can be controlled or even ...
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"Almost for nothing"?
My teacher said that there's no way to say "almost for nothing" (I wrote this in my essay), but I'm sure that I've heard this exact word order.
Which is correct: "Almost for nothing&...
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Why is "The older desktop computer," better than, "The desktop older computer"? [duplicate]
This could be a moderately pedantic point, however, as a native English speaker the word order of,
The older, desktop computer.
somehow "feels" more correct than
The desktop, older ...
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How free is basic English word order in poetry [closed]
I understand that basic English word order is strictly SVO, and alternate word orders are extremely rare, if not nonexistent, in regular speech and prose. In poetry, however, can this be broken? So ...
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To Only You or Only To You?
I need some native English speakers to answer this one.
Is it
"Alarms are visible to only you."
OR
"Alarms are visible only to you."
Thanks in advance!
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There is this sentence in the book "Fight Club" and I don't quite understand the verbs that are used, can you help me?
I'm reading a book called Fight Club and there is this sentence that got me confused:
Marla had started going to support groups after she found the first lump.
Now, past perfect is used in this ...
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Negation of probabilistic constructions
I came across the following sentence in an old Language Log post
"A recent New York Times article described the Japanese profession of hostessing, which involves entertaining men at ...
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Question about the word order [duplicate]
I know these two sentences are correct:
Europeans consider climate change to be the most serious problem facing the world.
Perhaps the most serious problem facing the environment is global warming.
...
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"lift/raise all up to" or "lift/raise up all to"
I know the rule with phrasal verbs and pronouns is that
If the object is a personal pronoun (me, you, him, us, etc.), we always put the pronoun before the particle:
Oh, I can’t lift you up any more. ...
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Placement of “anymore” with respect to other complements, as in "not possible anymore to …"
I often see sentences like this from non-native speakers:
?It is not possible anymore to cross the border without a passport.
To me, this sounds wrong, and I would write this instead:
It is no ...
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Word order in declarative statements
In these examples, why does the first sentence feel uncomfortable, compared to the second?
It's fascinating to use this camera to see how will be the back of my garden.
It's fascinating to use this ...
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Have I paraphrased a sentence without changing the meaning? [closed]
This is what I read:
"Neuroimaging of frequent internet users shows twice as much activity in the prefrontal cortex as sporadic Internet users during online tasks."
And this is how I ...
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Which sentence sounds better? Grammatical question about sentences
I seriously can't tell which sounds natural in English. Need some help.
a) From tomorrow on, she'll be coming to our place to work with us.
b) She'll be coming to ...
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"Will all be" or "will be all" or "all will be"?
Which one of these is correct, if I want to say something akin to "everything is going to be okay":
This will all be over soon.
This all/These all will be over soon.
This will be all over ...
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Word order of locations
Is there a rule in the English language that governs the order of location specificity?
Once my English lecturer stated that in English locations are written from the smallest level up to the highest.
...
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