1,755 Answered Questions for the topic grammar

Grammar Grammaticality

06/24/19

Lists Without "And"?
I just came across this sentence:> Everyone has lost his country, his home, his equilibrium.I've seen such structure used numerous times but I'm not sure how this works. What effect does it have... more
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Grammar

06/24/19

Can you use "same" without "the"?
I've been racking my brain trying to think of a grammatically correct sentence that uses _same_ without _the_ earlier in the same (see!) phrase.> It is **the same**> It is **the** very... more
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06/24/19

Why do we say “Japan earthquake” and not “Japanese earthquake”?
Isn’t earthquake a noun and the preceding word an adjective? Isn’t “Japanese” the adjectival form of “Japan”?
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06/24/19

When do we use “had had” and “have had”?
I have seen several sentences in English where some writers have written *had* twice in a row. I am a bit confused about when the grammar calls for using *had had*.For example:> * I **had had**... more
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06/24/19

both the users or "the both users"?
I keep running into this debate with my thesis advisor. Are both of these forms correct?> It can be seen that *both the* users> are able to...or> It can be seen that *the both* users>... more
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06/24/19

Using "so" and "very" for ungradable adjectives?
We generally use modifiers such as "so" and "very" for gradable/normal adjectives (water can be quite/so/very HOT, but not quite/so/very BOILING (an ungradable/extreme adjective). Yet would you say... more
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06/24/19

What is the best way to explain how to choose between "its" and "it's"?
Probably one of the most frequent grammar mistakes in the English language is: > The dog sat on it's mat. Since spelling checkers don't catch it, and it is even logical, since you would... more
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06/24/19

What's wrong with "We hope you will find our Qualifications to be well-organized, concise, and most of all, to exceed your expectations."?
Why is the following sentence grammatically incorrect?> We hope you will find our Qualifications to be well-organized, concise, and most of all, to exceed your expectations.I've asked three... more
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Grammar Modal Verbs

06/24/19

Do serious grammarians endorse the "Can I"/"May I" distinction?
Just now, I wanted to ask a question that was something like, "Can I get a thorough list of all the parts of speech that a sentence can be broken down into?" But then a nagging voice appeared in my... more
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06/24/19

Is "et al." used as a singular or plural subject?
When referring to multiple authors by using the name of the first author and *"et al."*, is it correct to grammatically treat this as one person or multiple persons? > Gamma et al. **are**... more
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06/24/19

Punctuation for the phrase "including but not limited to"?
When using the phrase "including but not limited to", how should it be punctuated? When used in the following (no punctuation): > There are many activities including but not limited to running... more
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Grammar Subjects Clauses

06/24/19

What is the name of this grammatical phenomenon?
I have observed that many native English speakers (esp. American English, in my experience) tend, within the same sentence, to start a new clause whose subject is an element of the previous clause.... more
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06/24/19

Usage of "Don't remember"?
In my language I can say "I don't remember I've ever watched that film" or "Never in my life have I remembered watching that film" to suggest that as far as I can remember I've never done... more
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Grammar

06/24/19

comprise or comprise of?
I have found a similar topic addressing the use of "comprise" but my question is not exactly in line with that one. I did ask this question there to keep the topic related to the use of "comprise"... more
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06/24/19

Criteria versus "criterion"?
I came across several forums and articles saying that *criteria* is plural and *criterion* is singular. Some gave me the impression that *criterion* is used to denote a set of rules. What is the... more
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06/23/19

Grammatically correct sentence where "you're" and "your" can be interchanged?
Most grammar checkers are capable of detecting the the misuse of "your" and "you're"; providing the necessary correction. I'm curious though, is there any sentence that can be constructed where... more
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Grammar

06/23/19

How to use the words "to" vs "too"in a sentence?
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Grammar Grammaticality

06/23/19

Can a person happen? Is "Zodanga happened" correct?
I was watching movie *John Carter* where there was some dialogue like this: > — What happened here? — Zodanga happened. Here Zodanga was a bad guy in the movie. I don't understand how **a... more
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06/23/19

Writing and speaking duplicated words?
A recent workplace conversation prompted this question. Red Hat, the software company behind a popular Linux distribution, came by the office and everyone got some random trinkets, including a... more
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06/23/19

How to categorize this phrase. Relative clause, Interrogative clause, Adverbial clause?
What is "Where to go" in the sentence "Where to go is the question." Is it a adverbial phrase or a relative clause? And what is "Why go" in the sentence "Why go when you can stay?" - is it a clause?
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Grammar Idioms Parsing

06/23/19

Grammar parsing for "if need be"?
I have the following question. There is an idiom 'if need be'. The meaning is clear, but I can't comprehend it from a grammatical point of view. How should I parse it? 'if [smth] needs to be'? Why... more
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06/23/19

If or since, does it make a difference?
In these sentences below, does it makes a difference if I replace *if* with *since*? 1）*If you are unemployed, why did you leave your last job?* 2）*If you are innocent, why did you flee?* ... more
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06/23/19

Implied subject with "i.e."?
Is it required that an `i.e.` clause have an explicit subject? Preferred? *E.g.*, is the following sentence correct? >She was not amenable, i.e., turned him down. Or would it have to be >She... more
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06/23/19

Is "my hardest" a direct object in "I will try my hardest"?
> I will try my hardest.I am confusing myself by trying to figure out the grammatical relations in this sentence. It is not clear to me whether *my hardest* is a direct object here. If it is... more
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06/23/19

When should a verb be followed by a gerund instead of an infinitive?
Some verbs are followed by _ing_, e.g. _I enjoy swimming_. We can't say _I enjoy to swim_. Likewise, some verbs are followed by _to_, e.g. _I decided to make a plan_. Which particular verbs are... more
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