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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Are the following sentences proper and correct?
“The weather is getting worst.” “The ten best clients and the ten worst clients.”
My wife insists that it should be worse and not worst.
Thanks.
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?
I have never understood why people say stuff like “Can my car be repossessed _without my being warned_?”. In my ears it should be “without me being warned”. Heck I would even prefer “without I being warned”. The only explanation I can come up, given that “my” is possessive, is that “being” is a noun which refers to you as a mortal being. But that doesn’t make much sense in the sentence since “being” is used as the verb. For it to work it would have to be “without my being getting warned”, or “without my being being warned”.
Am I right that this is just badly evolved english (although seemingly legitimate today) or am I missing something here ?
I came across a question as I was writing some ELT material. What are the pragmatic implications when choosing between the verbs “to eat” or “to have” (breakfast)?
I might be off base here, but it seems to me that when choosing 1. “to eat breakfast” the real question is whether or not one had breakfast. While 2. “to have breakfast” seems to evoke the act and time of having breakfast itself and everything that goes with it.
For instance:
1. Did you eat breakfast today? 2. I always have breakfast before lunch.
What do you all think?
Sentence in question: “The coursework for this assignment is differentiated and dependent on grade level and ELA designation.”
on or upon? Does it matter? Does it ever matter?
Which statement is correct?
1. The patient has never undergone a colonoscopy.
2. The patient has never underwent a colonoscopy.
Hi, I’m editing a brochure and know Internet is in caps, but is Web for Web site? and is Website one or two words? I’ve seen it both ways.
The brochure is speaking about a specific government website, but says “the county web site”.
Thanks, Freezing on the Hill
As a non-native teacher of English as a Foreign Language, I have always frowned on my students’ use of the sentence “I have a doubt”.
Judging it a typical case of language transfer, I promptly tell them that they should instead say that they “have a question”.
After coming across the sentence “if students have doubt” in a teacher’s guide, I don’t feel so self-assured as to jump on my students’ phrase anymore.
Any comment on this usage will be greatly appreciated.
Eduardo
Is the expression “Sunday best” (=one’s best clothes) still used currently?
“I am home.” Does “home” function here as a noun or an adverb?
