Newest Questions
113,369 questions
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Usage of "they" as a singular pronoun
I've found not clear usage of they as a singular pronoun. As i think, there are two options here. It maybe simply mean the same as he, but more informal and colloqial. Or on the other hand, it may ...
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Using possessive s for more than one thing
Are these two sentences are right, and have the same meaning ?
This is Maher, George and Laila's house.
This is the house of Maher,Goerge and Laila...
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General truths with reported speech
Is it okay to use a present tense after a past verb if it refers to general truths?
They knew that the earth is round
Is it fine to keep "is" not "was" since it is a general ...
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"Suggest" to imply something
Is it common to use "suggest" not to recommend but to imply something? For isntance
He suggests that she will cause a lot of trouble in the future
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"Grandfather comes from way back." — Why does "grandfather" not have an article?
thefreedictionary.com:
(1) Grandfather comes from way back.
Why is the countable noun "grandfather" without any article or any other determiner?
For example:
(2) Our grandfather comes from ...
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1 conditional and be to do something
In 2 conditional I can use "be to do something" to make my sentence a little more formal and a condition a little less likely to happen
If it were to rain, it would be good-I don't think it'...
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60
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Why is the second "it" needed?
My editor, who is a native speaker, added "it" after "will" and she is so sure this is correct. So now the sentence contains two "it". I don't understand this usage. I ...
- 1,387
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211
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Canned food/foods
I'm a bit uncertain whether 'food' or 'foods' should be used in the example below.
I found a lot of canned food(s) in the kitchen. (I found several cans with food in them)
Could anyone help me out? ...
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shuttered stores vs. stores with closed shutters
Could a 'shuttered store' be a store that is still in business, but is shut at present and has its shutters down?
To me it means that the store has gone out of business.
If the shutters are down ...
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2
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37
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"Earlier" how long ago?
I did my homework earlier
When I say that I did my homework earlier can it mean from 2 minutes up to even hours? How does "earlier" work?
- 2,003
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Is it acceptable to say "So beautiful some flowers!", just as one can say "So beautiful a flower!"?
Is it acceptable to say "So beautiful some flowers!", just as one can say "So beautiful a flower!"?
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"I (have) tried it before/earlier" with perfect tenses
I think "before" and "before now" as adverbs always mean "prior to now" and that's why present perfect is so common with them. Let's imagine this scene I'm in the store ...
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Might someone please tell me what does he say after "proverb"?
I am studying very hard for my CAE exam and I came across this gentelman's video, but I cannot understand the word he says after proverb, so might someone please tell me what does he say after "...
- 1,138
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3
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Second conditional with the use of "could"
In a 2nd conditional if clause we can use "could". Does "could" refer only to ability or also to permission and probability?
If you could go out, we would have fun
is that equal ...
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2
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"Provided" positive outcome
"Provided" is used in conditional sentences if the result is good, desired.
Provided you get a good grade, I will buy you a game
What if the condition is negative?
Provided you break ...
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