Discussion Forum
This is a forum to discuss the gray areas of the English language for which you would not find answers easily in dictionaries or other reference books.
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Latest Posts : Grammar
Which of the followings are grammatically correct? I told him what happened and he examined me. I told him what had happened and he examined me. I had told him what had happened and he examined me? Thanks.
Recently, I came across a problem. Should we say “anyone of us” or “any one of us”? My teacher says we can only say “any one of us”, but I remember a Gareth Gate’s song named “anyone of us”? Which one is right? Thank you very much.
I wrote the following in a book review:
“How about a return to the days when women were in such vulnerable and inferior positions, they were easier to take advantage of by powerful men who knew they could get away with it?”
That bit “they were easier to take advantage of by powerful men ...” doesn’t sit right with me, but I can’t figure out why. Am I just imagining it, or is there a problem?
“He spoke to his teacher before the examination began.” Why wasn’t past perfect used at the begining of this sentence? Shouldn’t this sentence be like this?: “He had spoken to his teacher before the examination began.” I need your help. I am so confused.
A sentence such as, “The Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra entertained a crowd of over 500 Saturday evening,” makes perfect grammatical sense in American English, and the construction is commonplace in newspapers. An alternative would be: “...crowd of over 500 on Saturday evening.” (addition of “on”)
Since I am British-Canadian, and am doing copy for local press now, I have to be careful to use British English consistently, and I am unsure whether the former construction is standard British English. Certainly the latter is.
Any opinions?
Could you please tell me which sentence is correct? “I am sorry for not bringing your package yet or I am sorry I have not brought your package yet”. Thank you in advance.
I was asked - What could your past employers count on you for? I replied: “I can be counted on to show up, to be on time, to get the job done, and always to be possessed of integrity, loyalty, honesty and commitment.” I think that’s correct - vs. ...possessed by integrity, etc.
The package of Life Savers says, “5 Flavor”. Shouldn’t it be “flavors” (plural)? Why do you think it was left singular? The plural would make it rhyme better too. It’s a peculiar thing.
What, do you think,is a better passive construction for the following sentence? ‘’They took no notice of her rude remarks.'’ A) ‘’No notice was taken of her rude remarks.'’ B) ‘’Her rude remarks were taken no notice of.'’
I know that the ‘B’ option is correct, at least it should be, but I wondered if ‘A’ is possible at all. Does it sound natural to you, the English people? Can’t we treat the word ‘notice’ as an object of the active sentence and then make it a subject of the passive one?
I’m an unfortunate high school student who had to take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills today, and an interesting problem came up. Is it “none are” or “none is”? (I’m leaning towards “none is,” even though I normally say “none are”).
Are there circumstances when both are correct?
