| Subject | Date Asked |
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| being definite is important when using? | 11/20/2009 |
Q: One of my friends told me that we can use “would, might, could” when we would like to be “less ...
A: You are referring to modals: can/could; shall/should; may/might; will/would, etc.. These can be ...
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| take & undertake | 10/12/2009 |
Q: Could you please explain the difference between the verbs take and undertake? i.e. take an exam & ...
A: The difference is that you don't undertake an exam. "Undertake" has an underlying sense of the same ...
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| grammar question; I have eaten / I have already eaten | 10/2/2009 |
Q: If somebody asks you "Have you eaten?", is there any difference in meaning between answers one and ...
A: Not really. In the end, all you are really saying is, "Yes."; the rest is just extra information. ...
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| grammar | 9/22/2009 |
Q: I`d like to know which answer is correct and why,if you please: The sentence is,I was thirsty.Iwas ...
A: English has two types of articles: definite and indefinite. "A" and "An" are indefinite, while ...
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| apostrophe | 9/19/2009 |
Q: What is the correct way to punctuate this sentence? I have three doctors' appointments. I have ...
A: The second is correct. Think of it this way; what are you doing? Going to some appointments. With ...
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| Is this sentence correct? | 9/13/2009 |
Q: How’s it going? I hope everything is fine!!! 1) Would you please help me to find out whether or not ...
A: There really is nothing technically wrong with any of the examples you have provided. You seem to ...
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| word formation | 9/13/2009 |
Q: sir please tell me when we add 'ing' with a word .does it change it's meaning. for example "help" ...
A: Any time you add anything to a word you change its meaning. In this case, "To help" still retains ...
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| grammar | 8/23/2009 |
Q: Hi I am Dane .How are you. Would you pleas help me in answering the followingWhat are the modals ...
A: While not all auxiliary verbs are modals, all modals are known as auxiliaries or AUX in semantics. ...
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| Related words | 8/15/2009 |
Q: I would like to ask a question about the following sentences, which involve related words: (a) He ...
A: I think you are getting hung-up on the word "success" which is a noun that has verbal qualities to ...
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| Is this sentence correct? | 8/8/2009 |
Q: The sentence below was said by David Beckham earlier this week. >>>> But if it HAPPENS again I ...
A: First off, unless you want to get into sociolinguistics (which this question really is about), ...
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| English | 8/6/2009 |
Q: You are kindly requested to answer myHow can I learn conversation in English? awaiting your ...
A: I am asked this question quite a bit by non-native English speakers, especially those in the Middle ...
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| grammer | 8/5/2009 |
Q: how do we distinguish between "ing"form and gerund?
A: English is an SVO, or Subject, Verb, Object language. A gerund is a verb that is acting like a ...
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| differences | 8/5/2009 |
Q: What is the difference between "continually" and continuously?? What is the difference between short ...
A: As to your questions regarding the differences between the similar words, I am going to refer you to ...
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| Modal Verbs with Probability’ and the ‘If Clauses – Type 2 / 3 (Unreal Past) with Probability’ | 8/2/2009 |
Q: I would like to ask you a question about the difference between ‘Modal Verbs with Probability’ and ...
A: Yes. And no. For the future, this is far too much information for a format like this. You seem to ...
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| Help with syntax | 7/30/2009 |
Q: Which is correct: "the balance of the funds is to be distributed" or "the balance of the funds are ...
A: Whenever you run across something like this and can't decide on subject/verb agreement, try to find ...
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| grammar questions | 7/30/2009 |
Q: I have two grammar questions. I know that you can say that you "grow bored with someone". Can you ...
A: The original definition of the verb, "to serve" meant literally, to attend to someone, to wait on ...
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| grammar questions | 7/28/2009 |
Q: I have two grammar questions. I know that you can say that you "grow bored with someone". Can you ...
A: 1) I don't see why not because you often say things such as; "I've become bored of doing this." or ...
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| until and by the way | 7/25/2009 |
Q: can we use until and by the time in present tenses like simple present?
A: Yes. Their use depends, contextually (usually), upon things happening in the future: "Until you ...
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| grammar question | 7/23/2009 |
Q: In the following sentence, what does "would" mean and why is "would" used instead of "will"? "I ...
A: "Would" in this case is being used as a conditional; IF the speaker wins the lottery, THEN they ...
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| want vs wish | 7/17/2009 |
Q: when someone wants someone else to do something, usually he will use verb "want" : "do you want me ...
A: The primary difference between the verbs, "want" and "wish" is that the latter has a connotation of ...
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| language | 7/16/2009 |
Q: I have heard about you from a friend. I would like to ask you some questions concerning English ...
A: Technically, all the words mean essentially the same thing as the other. For a better, semantic ...
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| English idiom | 7/15/2009 |
Q: What does "I feel naked without it" mean in the following sentence: I feel naked without my watch.
A: What would it feel like to be naked in public? That is the context in which the phrase is based. ...
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| articles(a-an-the) | 7/15/2009 |
Q: how can we use them?
A: All nouns usually require an article of some sort, however, if a word has an article in front of it, ...
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| countable and uncountable nouns | 7/15/2009 |
Q: How can we differentiate between countable and uncountable nouns?
A: As you probably know, nouns are persons, places and things. Count nouns are those which can be, as ...
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| Aspect | 7/8/2009 |
Q: I'm confused about the aspects of verbs. So far, what I think I know about the subject is this: all ...
A: Most languages "mark" aspect on their verbs in some way. English does this in two ways; ...
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| How do I begin teaching someone ESL? | 6/28/2009 |
Q: I'm spending the current summer in Eilat, Israel, a place with many Sudanese refugees. One expressed ...
A: Wow, what a question. Well, first, whatever is fundamental to English is fundamental to any ...
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| Take off | 6/23/2009 |
Q: One has put a wrong word in a sentence. Would it be OK to say " take that word off"? Or "take that ...
A: Again, it's all contextual. You may instruct someone, a child perhaps, to "Put your bag away", or ...
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| Take off | 6/23/2009 |
Q: One has put a wrong word in a sentence. Would it be OK to say " take that word off"? Or "take that ...
A: Yes. But, like anything, it's all contextual. Most times you would simply instruct someone to ...
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| the+family name+s | 6/18/2009 |
Q: In English "s" following a family name preceded by "the" refers to the entire family, e.g., the ...
A: Both the "s" and the apostrophe are part of the English lexicon and hold semantic value. However, ...
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| english grammar | 6/16/2009 |
Q: but how about this example:you [shouhd-must]be careful when you cross the road.also .....be careful ...
A: Again, the use of any word depends upon context and this is no different when selecting which modal ...
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| english grammar | 6/15/2009 |
Q: please I want to know the difference between should and must in advice[should] and strong ...
A: You are referring to the class of words known as modals. Modals are "helper" or auxilliary verbs; ...
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| english grammar | 6/13/2009 |
Q: hi I`d like to know the answer to this question I enjoyed watching the film as i saw many places ...
A: For the first example given, the correct selection is; "I enjoyed... I've never been to." We GO to ...
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| III conditional | 6/11/2009 |
Q: Could you be so kind and answer my question ? In the third conditonal if I want to use negative ...
A: Well, to be honest, it all depends upon context; conditionals are based upon what would have or ...
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| Some questions | 6/9/2009 |
Q: I have some questions. 1) Is a "dangling participle" wrong from a grammatical standpoint? 2) ...
A: 1) Dangling participles, or dangling modifiers as they are more commonly known, are abhorred by ...
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| Grammar | 6/6/2009 |
Q: Christopher, Please help me. What is the meaning 'The meeting was called to order.' Dinocatty
A: If you watch enough American movies or television, eventually you are bound to see one which has a ...
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| "about what" | 6/1/2009 |
Q: Is it a correct sentence? "About what is your question?" if not, how should it be corrected?
A: According to strict prescriptive grammarian rules, you can not end any sentence with a preposition, ...
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| correct sentences | 5/29/2009 |
Q: .!!!English is my Second Language and I would like to know if this sentence is correct: He wants to ...
A: Please, no private questions; it is not fair to me or to others who may have similar questions. ...
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| business communication email | 5/23/2009 |
Q: I need to know which sentence is the most correct and most polite: Please find the meeting minutes ...
A: First off, no private questions please; it is not fair to others who may have the same question as ...
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| What does "down to the discretion" mean | 5/21/2009 |
Q: First of all I appreciate for being as an expert here to solve other ppl doubts. Could you please ...
A: First, no private questions; it is not fair to others who might have the same questions and it is ...
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| Motivation | 5/21/2009 |
Q: How to get more motivation in order to acquire English as a second language ?
A: It's hard to "get" motivation; you either have it or you do not. If you don't want to learn ...
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| DOUBTS ABOUT ENGLISH | 5/20/2009 |
Q: "Dear sir, Could this sentence "This is the place in which children work in factories" be converted ...
A: No. "this" is an article and points to some noun, "this apple", "this house", etc.. In the example ...
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| Helping Verb BE | 5/20/2009 |
Q: Be and other forms of the verb is used as helping or auxiliary verbs in a sentence. They are also ...
A: The English "to be" is a very popular verb; every language has it; it is probably the first and main ...
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| English Grammer | 5/9/2009 |
Q: How many verb tenses are there in English? Is 'Future in the Past' a tense?
A: Off the top of my head, I'd say there are at least 12 tenses in English. Not sure what you mean by ...
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| Grammar-Adverb Phrases | 5/4/2009 |
Q: Can you please explain clearly what's an adverb phrase? Please give some examples of adverb phrases ...
A: An adverbial phrases, or adverb phrase as you refer to them, is any set of words, more than one ...
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| generation gap | 5/3/2009 |
Q: i'd like to know your viewpoints on the following: 1.Why is it hard to understand the other ...
A: First off, no private questions; it makes it unfair to others who might have the same question(s) as ...
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| Expression | 4/26/2009 |
Q: What does "spring his knee" mean? I came across this expression on a baseball game TV program when ...
A: Not sure without more context. I've never heard of this expression, but people do "sprain" things ...
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| the difference | 4/26/2009 |
Q: Is there any difference between "early nineteenth century" and "earlier ninteenth century"? cheers
A: Not entirely sure what you are getting at due to lack of context, but yes, of course there is a ...
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| englsih | 4/23/2009 |
Q: this smells like coffee. in this sentence why we have used smells instead of smell.
A: Not entirely sure what you mean by "we have used", but the article "this" refers to some object, a ...
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| negative transfer | 4/16/2009 |
Q: I apologize to you. My questions are many, but I just want you to explain several ...
A: 1) This is called immersion; it is always better to learn a language in that language's country. ...
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| Factors of Negative Transfer "2" | 4/15/2009 |
Q: you have taught me a lot in your last answer. pleas if you can Explain to me "Age - Focus - Limited ...
A: First off, no more private questions; I have written about this more than once; it's not fair to ...
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| " 's " | 4/8/2009 |
Q: why do some people put " 's " as plural for an abreviated nouns or nouns that have a hyphen, in ...
A: I don't know of any abbreviated words, as you refer to them, that have the "'s" after them unless ...
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| Auxiliary verb agreement | 3/30/2009 |
Q: What specific rule is applied in auxiliary verb DOES when uased as aDOES HE NEED TO BE THERE? Since ...
A: Ah, do-support... it's one of those little tricks of English. In this case, what is happening is ...
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| Grammar: future with "will" vs. present progressive | 3/29/2009 |
Q: Please, what's the difference between present progressive and future with "will" for scheduled ...
A: Well, as you probably are already aware, use of the present progressive always requires another ...
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| negative transfer factors | 3/29/2009 |
Q: Excuse me. Do can helped me about "negative transfer factors" I study English language as 2L. When ...
A: First off, no private questions; it's not fair to me or others who wish to know the same ...
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| Grammer | 3/27/2009 |
Q: What is the difference between Did you know or Do you know? ANSWER: Can you give me more context? ...
A: Essentially they both really represent the same thing; a question regarding what someone might or ...
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| question | 3/25/2009 |
Q: i got 1 question what does it mean when someone has said are you crazy? ANSWER: Could mean a lot ...
A: Honestly, I really can not answer this question as it is just not clear enough for me to do so ...
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| Follow up question | 3/24/2009 |
Q: Let me be brief: I've always refrained from using the word "before" as in "He did not care too much ...
A: In short, the use of both "before" and "in the past" in these examples really stand for and mean the ...
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| "before" vs "in the past" | 3/23/2009 |
Q: Let me be brief: I've always refrained from using the word "before" as in "He did not care too much ...
A: Yes. It's all conetextual, of course, but theoretically, when you are speaking with or writing to ...
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| Grammar | 3/19/2009 |
Q: I also read this sentence: "Water boils at a temperature of 100°C." Why do they use "a" and not ...
A: Good question and I am not sure I know the answer to this one. It might have something to do with ...
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| Grammar | 3/19/2009 |
Q: I read this sentence on this site http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/attract "I guess it was his ...
A: What is really being discussed is the attraction, not necessarily the eyes per se. What is it that ...
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| Adjective | 3/16/2009 |
Q: To say Wowful or Wow - is that an adjective or is it rather best said when you marvel at something?? ...
A: First off; in the future no more private questions please. It's not fair to others who might have ...
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| Pronounciation of "data" | 3/12/2009 |
Q: How do you pronounce DATA: DAH - dah? Or DAY - dah? I think I've heard both and I can never decide ...
A: It doesn't matter; people use both freely and as far as I know, region does not seem to have an ...
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| If you will | 3/10/2009 |
Q: I was just wondering if "if you will" and "if you like" are the same thing? Thanks for your answer ...
A: In this case, yes. But again, they mean slightly different things: Because in the one sense, you ...
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| If you will | 3/10/2009 |
Q: I was just wondering if "if you will" and "if you like" are the same thing? Thanks for your answer ...
A: No. Although they could presumably be used in the same context; "Will I be helping you this ...
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| Negative Question | 3/6/2009 |
Q: I have a question in regards of the "negative question" in English. For example, Q: Didn't you ...
A: You're right, this is tricky. Instead of truncating the sentence, let's examine it at length: "Did ...
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| Clause | 3/4/2009 |
Q: Why are the answers different for "number of..." and "list of..."? In "They will have to consider ...
A: Ok, you really need to be more clear in your questions in order for me to answer them as best I can. ...
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| Clause | 3/4/2009 |
Q: Why are the answers different for "number of..." and "list of..."? In "They will have to consider ...
A: 1) In "The number of goods sold has increased." "sold" relates/refers to "number of goods". Isn't ...
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| Clause | 3/3/2009 |
Q: Why are the answers different for "number of..." and "list of..."? In "They will have to consider ...
A: I am going to break your question down into several parts: 1) Why are the answers different for ...
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| Near | 3/3/2009 |
Q: I read this sentence but I did not understand it: "We are no nearer an agreement than we were six ...
A: I'm assuming it is the word "near" with which you are having an issue? "Near" is an adjective, ...
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| Grammar Tense enquiry | 2/27/2009 |
Q: i would be grateful if you could help explain why the second sentence uses the Past Perfect Tense, ...
A: You are correct in your understanding of what past perfect indicates; that is something which ...
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| english_grammer | 2/27/2009 |
Q: sir please tell me the use of "would have" in elglish grammer.sir please tell me.
A: Ok, first off; please, no more private questions. I have made that clear in my profile; it is not ...
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| elglish grammer | 2/26/2009 |
Q: sir please tell me the use "may have" in english grammer.sir please tell me
A: From the phrasing of your question, it is a little difficult for me to know precisely what it is you ...
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| Grammar | 2/23/2009 |
Q: In " The number of hours that we are allowed to work has decreased." To what does the clause ...
A: No offense, but you are asking the same questions, just rephrasing them. Everything, in every ...
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| The meaning of "an embarrassing question" | 2/23/2009 |
Q: I teach English in Tokyo, Japan. If you ask someone an embarrassing question, do you mean that the ...
A: Yes. You may have heard the expression, "I feel stupid for asking this..."? There are situations ...
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| The meaning of "an embarrsing question" | 2/23/2009 |
Q: I teach English in Tokyo, Japan. If you ask someone an embarrassing question, do you mean that the ...
A: This is a picture of me tapping the tip of my nose with my index finger. In other words, yes; you ...
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| Grammar | 2/22/2009 |
Q: In " The number of hours that we are allowed to work has decreased." To what does the clause ...
A: These are all basically variations upon the same theme; everything is referring to "number of ...
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| meaning | 2/22/2009 |
Q: I wonder what the meaning of “parade of language” and “busy scrutiny” is. I would be so grateful if ...
A: See there; context is everything! OK, for your first question, regarding the phrase, "parade of ...
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| BY + with or without (,) | 2/21/2009 |
Q: Christopher M Salisbury As far as I know that we use “by” (one of the ways of using it) to show ...
A: Please, no private questions in the future. Your assumptions regarding the word "by" and its usage ...
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| Grammar English language | 2/15/2009 |
Q: Could you please explain to me if the following sentence is grammatically correct and why " I should ...
A: To be honest, you could put it in any way: "I never should have..." "I should never have..." "I ...
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| Grammar English language | 2/15/2009 |
Q: Could you please explain to me if the following sentence is grammatically correct and why " I should ...
A: Yes it is grammatically correct. English is an SVO language, subject, verb, object; "I ate the ...
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| What's difference between the two? | 2/15/2009 |
Q: Karan may've gone for the trip. Karan might've gone for the trip. By the way, how should I ...
A: First, no more private questions please. Second, there really is no difference between may and ...
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| meaning | 2/12/2009 |
Q: Will you please paraphrase 'never be happy' in the last sentence? What does that mean here? ...
A: Although I'm pretty sure this is a homework question, I'll go ahead and answer it here because there ...
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| May or Might? | 2/1/2009 |
Q: Salisbury, I have trouble separating "may" and "might". I thought "may" means to have permission ...
A: Legally speaking, you are correct; "may" would denote permission, "might" would denote possibility. ...
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| confused from a along time | 1/31/2009 |
Q: when do we use modals would be, would have been , would have? can you explain me with suitable ...
A: Modals are like helper verbs; they can add emphasis. They are usually used with imperatives; "You ...
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| Grammar | 1/30/2009 |
Q: Please help me use the correct preposition below. 1. For three weeks we were in/on/from the book of ...
A: I think what you are trying to state is that you were reading the book of Romans for three weeks? ...
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| by some estimates | 1/25/2009 |
Q: Salisbury, -------------------- http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=vYW2SD-rHuM Time: 00:59 ...
A: Yes and no. Estimate is a guess, but it carries the conotation of more accuracy than a simple guess ...
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| treat | 1/24/2009 |
Q: Salisbury, Nice to meet you. ------------------------- ...
A: Yes. In English we use the word "treat" all of the time; we have treats for our pets, we buy our ...
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