1,755 Answered Questions for the topic grammar

04/05/19

な directly after a noun (not a な-adjective)?
While reading a grammar book, I read the following explanation of な >**な** ***na,*** **a masculine** ***ne*** > Both sexes use *ne*, but male speakers often use *na* instead. There are... more
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04/05/19

Is there an order of difficulty for MSA?
Has an order of grammatical difficulty for Modern Standard Arabic been discovered (or proposed) similar to that found for L2 learners of English?
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04/05/19

Distinguishing between 'on' and 'above'?
> 世界のルールで、島は水**より上に**出ていなければならないと決まっています。 > World rules determine that an island must stick out above the water. In this sentence 水より上 clearly means 'above the water', but when I look in... more
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Grammar Chinese

04/04/19

How to say "unsurprisingly" as in "Someone unsurprisingly did something"?
I'm trying to figure out how to say unsurprisingly; I know that 果然 generally implies that you expect that something is going to happen, but in some contexts I'm not entirely sure if it is most... more
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Grammar

04/04/19

I don't understand how to answer questions like these:

Which sentence is written best? A While laughing, her throat got a chicken bone stuck in it B While laughing, the chicken bone stuck in her throat. C The chicken bone stuck in her throat while... more
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Grammar Chinese

04/03/19

Does an Alarm clock 吵醒 or 叫醒？
I'm trying to figure out whether an alarm clock 吵醒我， or 叫醒我。 I'd like to say the sentence my alarm clock woke me up at 5:30 today my translation so far is 今天早上五点半， 我手机的闹钟叫醒了我。 Can 叫醒 be done by... more
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04/03/19

How to say "to" as a linking word between verbs in Korean?
I've been learning both English and Korean, and as I know, we can use "to" to link two verbs in English. Ex: > Alex is lost. We must go to find her. > I would like to invite Kim professor to... more
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Grammar Chinese

04/03/19

求解释: "我有问题" 和 "我有个问题" 中英 | Chinese & English?
这个问题我找不到解释， 希望哪位高手可以帮下 ^^ 学生想说 I have a question, 常常会说成 "我有问题." 我会教他们用 “我有个问题” 或者 “我有一个问题。” 原因是听到 “我有问题”的时候， 我的第一联想就是 “我脑子有问题。" 可是我语法上面解释不来也查不到。 现在我自己都快糊涂了。 所以我想问： 1） “我有问题” 是正确的吗？... more
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Grammar Chinese

04/03/19

When you use 在 with a time, where does 在 go in the sentence?
So, if I wanted to say, "Last week I saw my friend in Japan," where would the location (Japan) go in this sentence? I thought it would go like this: 在日本，我上个星期看朋友。 Is that correct or does the... more
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Grammar Chinese

04/02/19

Which measure word should I use with 角色？
Nciku tells me the proper measure word is 类, but a quick search on Google garnered mostly results like "哪类角色更容易赢“小金人”？“ implying that for the most part 类 is used when inquiring about a particular... more
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Grammar Italian

04/02/19

Pensare che vs Pensare di?
I have doubts about when to use "pensare che" or "pensare di", this is in my opinion, specially difficult for Spanish speakers who would always use "pensar que" which is similar to "pensare che".I... more
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04/02/19

aver sceso le scale' versus 'essere sceso dalle scale'?
What's the difference between _credo di aver sceso le scale_ and _credo di essere sceso dalle scale_?
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04/02/19

What are reading comprehension tools that can generate or suggest plainer language?
I'm looking for ways to simplify a document for better comprehension after I have already gone through an editing process myself. It could include suggestions easier synonyms, grammar optimization... more
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Grammar Chinese

04/02/19

So technically, the correct usage of 得 for run very fast is 跑得很快 - why are there so many Baidu hits for 跑的很快 and 跑地很快?
Is there 的, 地 and 得 confusion among native speakers as well or am I missing some subtleties of the language?
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Grammar Chinese

04/02/19

What is the difference in usage between 以后 and 之后？
Today John Pasden linked to an old Sinosplice post in which he discussed how Chinese grammatical categories cannot be mapped neatly onto those of Indo-European... more
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Grammar Clauses

04/02/19

use A as B' equals 'use as B A' ?
I am reading "The Elements of Style"; the sentence below confuse me much: > A common fault is to use as the subject of a passive construction a > noun which expresses the entire action,... more
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04/02/19

What is the difference between 〜となる and 〜になる?
Is it a nuance difference? Is it formality? **EDIT** For example: > 請求書のお支払いは現金のみとなりますので、ご了承くださいませ。 > 請求書のお支払いは現金のみになりますので、ご了承くださいませ。 I just made that example up, but for some reason, my... more
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Grammar Hypercorrection

04/01/19

Is it ever worth the time and effort to correct someone else's grating grammatical mistakes?
Whenever I hear statements like "It was a great deal for he and I" and "Call Karen and I in the morning," I die a little. Such solecisms, as Twain said in another context (Cooper's prose style),... more
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Grammar Chinese

04/01/19

How to say "Catch a plane"?
I'm interested to see if there is a translation for "catch a plane". I know that 赶不上飞机 is an expression - but could you say "今天我有很多事。 最要紧的是赶上飞机“
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04/01/19

How can I translate "we are hundreds of kilometers apart"?
I am trying to say >I miss my mother everyday because we are hundreds of kilometres apart and I only get to talk to her on the internet.Can I say this?>Manco molto mia madre perché stiamo a... more
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04/01/19

Using "piace" in a "how-many" question?
I currently have a limited understanding of Italian grammar (I plan to take Italian when I go to college but as of right now I'm entirely self-taught [well, in a Duolingo-guided sort of way]) so I... more
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04/01/19

ない in つまらない and similar adjectives and their conjugation with すぎる?
The usual path for conjugation would be: 1. 高い　→　高すぎる　 (drop い, append すぎる) 2. ない　→　なさすぎる (drop い, append さ, append すぎる) Is ない in つまらない treated as the negative ない which conjugates as 2.? Or is... more
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04/01/19

When to use 欲しがる instead of 欲しい?
When does one use 欲しがる instead of 欲しい? For example, in phrases like: > 先生は野菜を食べて欲し｛いです・がっています｝。 My incomplete understanding is that the がる form is more formal/polite, but it can only be used... more
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04/01/19

Why are 'di' and 'dal' interchangeable in some cases, while they aren't in others?
> sono quasi morto ***di*** freddo> sono quasi morto ***dal*** freddoCan anyone explain what preposition I should prefer in the above sentence?And, always in reference to above sentences,... more
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04/01/19

Etymology of conjugation 2-person singular?
Have a good day everyone! I would be glad if you answer my question.If we take a look at the conjugation of many Romance languages, we will see that their forms come from Latin. However there are... more
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