Unanswered Questions
8,568 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Usage of some/any: how to grasp when to use them at all?
I'm a German ESL teacher. The distinction between "some" and "any" is a common grammar topic in every ESL school book I've ever used. I don't have any problems with the distinction,...
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3
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1
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708
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Present perfect for daily routine: Every day "by the time"
Present perfect talks about a time period that starts in the past and continues into the present. In the following sentence, however, the time frame doesn't continue into the present, the moment of ...
CommunityBot
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3
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2
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"such that", "so that" or "in a way that" in this sentence
I wrote:
The problem is that "can we cover the bigger rectangle with small rectangles such that no two rectangles overlap and no gap opens up"
Is it a correct usage of such that? Could I use "so ...
CommunityBot
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3
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272
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Can anybody explain the structure "to be for somebody to do something" in this context, please?
From this article on Bloomberg:
A BOJ spending gauge is also pointing to a recovery. Its real consumption activity index stood at 105.2 in June this year, compared with a record high of 108.6 in ...
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contractions: "I have been" vs "I have a"
I have been waiting here
a) I've been waiting here
I have a car
a) I've a car
When it's comes to the first one the abbreviation is corrrect but what about the second one? It seems to be odd but what'...
CommunityBot
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2
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Do I use the past simple or the present perfect after "I've been meaning" as in "I've been meaning to do something, but I've always forgotten/forgot"?
Could you tell me if I have to use the past simple or the present perfect after I've been meaning in the context below?
I've been meaning to watch the movie, but I always forgot to till now.
I've ...
CommunityBot
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3
votes
2
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"had + past participle " VS "could have + past participle " in conditional sentence
The following sentence is collected from cricinfo.com:
They were under a little bit of pressure then. If we could have carried on, we could have set them 220 or even more than that. So to get out ...
CommunityBot
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3
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Comparisons using "different" with noun phrases
Fallow deer have different antlers from red deers.
I am struggling to find a better way to form this sentence. I cannot tell if it is correct or sounds natural to a native speaker.
A small reordering ...
CommunityBot
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3
votes
2
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That movement right there, gets your back
I was watching standup of the comedian Bryan Callen on YouTube and his set was about how he always wanted to be a hero. He described what heroes are like and one of the aspects of them was the fact ...
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3
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2
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Are "I would rather I stayed home than go out" the same as "I would rather stay home than go out"?
I came across this sentence in the Grade 10 Vietnamese English grammar.
I would rather that it were not summer now.
My question is that that sentence does not have a main verb after "rather&...
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1
answer
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It got too much for him
"He tried to be supportive, but it got too much for him."
I was generating phrases using ChatGPT and it generated a phrase that
doesn't sound idiomatic.
When I questioned about this odd ...
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3
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769
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"If I knew what you want/wanted to eat tonight"
Context:
I am talking to my friend, trying to find out what she wants to eat tonight.
"What do you want to eat tonight?"
"You know what I want to eat."
"If I knew what you ...
CommunityBot
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5
answers
318
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Can "in percentage terms" change the ranking of subjects in a list?
Thailand spent 15% GDP on education--60 billion dollars
India spent 13% GDP on education--100 billion dollars
Georgia spent 14% GDP on education--80 billion dollars.
(Made-up statistics)
Are the ...
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3
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3
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558
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(In) no way? - She will agree to you leaving early in no way
A manner adjunct - (in) no way. It can move freely in a sentence.
(In) no way will she agree to you leaving early.
But when (in) no way change its position, we can't drop in.
She will agree to ...
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4
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Can "unless" be used in unreal past (with would have)?
I found conflicting information about the subject:
BBC World Service states that:
And we cannot use unless with would to talk about unreal future
situations:
If he didn't take everything so ...
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