Grammar Questions

I want to know how to write report with correct grammar.  I got confused when reading the following short article. Usually, the tense within the same sentence should be the same as told by my teacher. Can I use ...

Past Perfect or Simple Past  Is the past perfect needed in the following sentence?

The man was arrested because he stole a car.
Do you have to use /had stolen/?

Does the word ...

use of "would like you"  I want to know the meaning of "I would like you to concentrate on vocabulary." Does it mean that "I want to advice you to concentrate on vocabulary"? "would ...

Is it, "He did less work than me or than I?"   Is man the superior one or woman? This question is everlasting because it isn’t able to have a correct answer. Most women think they are superior and men ...

Enough Usage  Dear Diana,
Is this sentence correct grammatically and logically?
There is enough teacher. Sorry...but it isn't. You could say "There are enough teachers"...

Indefinite and Possessive Pronouns  I'm always a bit uncertain when I use an indefinite pronoun, what the correct corresponding possessive would be. As an example: "ONE should know, what ...

What did you say......?  Which is the correct form in the following case and why? what did you say your name is/was? or
What did you say is your name? (it sounds odd to ...

Most "correct" title for an essay  What difference is there between "Me and my computer" and "My computer and I" as a title for an essay. The first is incorrect and the second is grammatically ...

Some Clarification  Hi Diana,
I saw this sentence
"What if you had to work today" , I would like you to help me to understand why this sentence is made like this.

I ...

Eating Healthy?  I often see the term 'eating healthy' on the internet. Shouldn't it be 'eating healthily'? I think that there are many options here, because people have ...

Being Taught...what tense or voice is this?  In the sentence below I don't get the part," being taught" is that the object of the verb "Do" and if it is, is it in the passive voice? Is it a gerund ...

Can we use "the" with the word Taliban?  Can we use "the" with the word Taliban? I think we can not because we know Taliban and it is a known noun. Is this true or not? Thanks a lot in advance....

Difference between "other" and "another"  I have a problem when I use other and another. What's the difference? Hi Nelson, This is a good question. Many people have difficulty with these two ...

Difference between characteristic, character, personality and trait  What is the difference between characteristic, character, personality and trait? Ok, lets look at the definitions and then we can look at using them in ...

"How come" , "How did you come to" , "How "  Could you explain to me the difference between the following sentences?

-How come you broke your leg?
-How did you come to break your leg?
-How did ...

How to Use Frequency Adverbs  Is there a Grammar rule, to know how to sort adverbs?
Example :- I often go by car to school.
Could I say : (I go often by car to school.)

- Other ...

I always vs I am always  What is the difference between:
1) I always late for school.
2) I am always late for school.
And can you show me some examples where I can choose ...

The Difference Between Maybe and Perhaps  What is the difference between "maybe" and "perhaps". Also, between "city" and "town". Maybe and perhaps mean the same thing. You can use them interchangeably....

Wish vs. Hope - Possession - Report  I have a problem with these:

1. What is the difference between 'wish' and 'hope'? Please give me some examples.
2. How to teach possession to elementary ...

Help with Punctuation  I recently discovered your website and I think it's brilliant. People, now a days, re having difficulty have at hard time when it comes to English....

The difference between AT and IN  I have one question. Sometimes when I speak I wonder how can I can know when to put the correct word of use "AT" " and or "IN". I ...

The use of "Often"  Here is a question regarding the use of "often" and the "subjunctive" in English. What is the correct way to say the following in English? : - I hope ...

English Grammar in Use-2nd Edition DOUBTS  I am learning English self study/on my own, using "English Grammar in use-2nd edition by Raymond Murphy" . In this book I have a doubt about something....

When to Use the Verb "Get"?  Where can the word "GET" be used? This seems like a very simple question but there is no simple answer. I wish there were. The issue with get is ...

Gain, Earn, Win and Get. What's the difference?  What is the difference between Gain, Earn, win and get? This is a good question and requires a bit of explanation regarding the shades of meaning between ...

"Did + Infinitive" vs "The Past Simple"  When do you write “did + the infinitive” or simply “the past simple”.

-1- He did repair his car.

-2- He repaired his car.

Thanks a lot,
Danielle ...

Do I Capitalize all Words in a Title?  Do I capitalize all the words of a book title in a sentence? This depends on the "style" that you are using. For example...if you are writing an ...

Use of who and whom  I get confused regarding the use of who and whom. When are you supposed to use each. Also, which is correct: It depends on whom or who you ask?

I ...

Longest Word in English  What is the longest English word and what does it mean? Good question. Wikipedia to the rescue. I had no idea what the longest English word was and ...

Either vs Neither.  Could you tell me when I should use EITHER and NEITHER? What is the difference between these two words? Thanks in advance and congratulations on your ...

How to write the date in English?  Do we write "of" between the date and day? It depends on where you are from. For example: today is the 27th of March or today is March 27th. The first ...

Use of "Always"  The sentence "He always has been and always will be" is correct, although at school I learnt that "always" had to be put before the auxiliary: "He has ...

How to ask for a person's name?  Which of the following questions is correct? "May I please have your name in order to address you?" OR "May I please know your name in order to address ...

Apostrophe usage  I understand how to use the apostrophe in cases such as "it's", "don't", "she'll", etc. What I want to know is if you can use it for nouns?

e.g. The ...

When to use has, had and have?  I always have problems thinking about the use of has, have, had in a sentence. Could you please help me with this? Thanks - Nick Hi Nick. The difference ...

after post lunch  I will get back to you after post lunch.. is it correct sentence? You do not need to say post. It is redundant. All you need to say is, I will get back ...

how I can draw  which is right to say?:
I would like to know how I can draw.
Or
I would like to know how can I draw. The first is correct. The second is combining ...

Present Continuous Sentence  Hi Diana,
I would like to know if this sentence is grammaticly correct or not. The postman knocking at the door. I saw this sentence written like ...

Your "given" name   Is this the right way of asking someone what their name is? "What is your good name?" I am assuming that you want to know how to ask someone what their ...

Especially vs Specially and Particularly  Could you please tell me whether "especially, specially and particularly" can be used interchangeably in the following sentences
Here are some notes ...

Is "were" or "was" correct?  Which is correct? An Alert and Investigative Summary Report (were) (was) placed in the inmate's record. I see why you might be confused. It depends ...

How to write this sentence correctly?  What is the mistake in the following sentence? When I reached the station, the train left. This depends on a couple things Swetha. If you are trying ...

Asking Politely  Am I using correct grammar in this sentence: "I ask that you please review and reply to me with updates." Looking at your sentence we could change a ...

What is Grammar?  What is grammar? Well Carley, grammar is a field of linguistics that involves all the various things that make up the rules of language.

That is the ...

What tense is this?  What grammatical tense is the following sentence in? I mustn't speak so fast . This is the simple present. If you take away the modal verb and make ...

Difference Wish and Hope  I would like to know the shortest answer for the difference between hope and wish, when we cannot use wish? Hi Daud, You are in luck. I wrote an article ...

Why Learn English Grammar?  "Why do you need to learn grammar?" is a common question and one that has many answers for different people. Generally speaking we much learn grammar ...

"Will" versus "going to"  How are "will" and "going to" similar?

Hi Saif, I answered a question similar to yours previously which I think will show you how they are similar and ...

fall back asleep vs. fall back to sleep  Which is correct: I fell back asleep or I fell back to sleep? Hi Fitz, In this case we would use "asleep" because "to fall asleep" is an expression.

I ...

What follows "rather than"?  What kind of verb can we use after "rather than"? Do we use the Gerund or To+verb?

Thank you very much in advance.
Have a nice day/night,
Nafis Hi ...

What are Demonstrative Adjectives?  I don't understand demonstrative adjectives, or what the difference is between them and demonstrative pronouns. Hi Zahida, Here is the difference between ...

"Up to" or "down to"?  Some people seem to think that " down to me " is a trendy way of saying " up to me ".

I often hear expressions such as, "It's down to us to win the ...

Present Perfect Progressive  Why do we use the active voice in the following sentence, even though the subject can't do the action?

I'd like to know why the following sentence is ...

Make a Living  Hi Diana, Please could you correct me. We say: What do you do for a living , Or what do you do for living . Thanks a lot. Have a good day. Hi Abdou,...

get - become  Can I say: The distance between rich and poor is getting /becoming wider?

Fair trade is getting/ becoming more and more popular? Thanks for your ...

Usage of "there"  (1) "There is a dog and 2 cats." In this sentence, what kind of subject-verb agreement is this? Or it is just an elliptical construction!

(2) "There ...

"looking forward to".....  Is it appropriate to say: "I would look forward to seeing you, etc..." If you say "would" it sounds as if you are speaking hypothetically or that you are ...

"on the verge of" vs "to be about to"  Would you please tell me some sentences in which one of the following expressions is preferred over the other. (On the verge of...to be about to).
Take ...

Need versus needs  Someone asks for a list of features in a PC. I recommend a product based on the feature list. I offer a recommendation using one of the two following ...

Change to the Past.  I received the following sentences and from the title I am going to assume that Sunil wants me to put them into the past.

We mustn't take our jackets ...

to not play vs. not to play  What is the difference between "Mom asked John not to play the piano at night." and "Mom asked John to not play the piano at night."? Good question ...

How to ask for someones' name  Is it right to ask "What's your good name?" Hi Ana, Unfortunately no. Here are some examples of how you could ask for someone’s name. :)

What ...

irritating me and myself...  what exactly do these words mean? "Irritating me and myself..." Hi sing khan khai, these words might have different meanings depending on the context ...

English Grammar Tenses  I am trying to teach a gal, at my dentist's office the tenses we have in English. She gets confused about past, present and future tenses as to when to ...

Past Perfect  "...it was the first time I ever spent the night away from home." How can I correct the sentence using the past perfect? Hi Sunil, The above sentence ...

"I" vs "Me" English Grammar  We say: My husband and I went to the movie or Me and my husband went to the movie. Why do we use I in one sentence and me in the other ?
Please help me ...

Present Perfect  How do you find examples of the present perfect in a short telephone conversation? Hi Sunil, When you use the present perfect you are thinking about ...

Double Questions in a Question  (1) Do you know who the inventor of the camera is?
(2) Do you know who is the inventor of the camera?
Which of the above is/are correct? and why?

I ...

Can I say "pristine recipes" or "pristine masque"  I would like to use the word pristine in my natural cosmetic line. Can I say "pristine recipes" or "pristine masque" instead of natural or pure? Thank ...

I Wanna Start Learning Grammar  I'm Zaiver from Pakistan and I want to improve my grammar bcoz I know a little bit about it. Plz guide me. I want 2 learn & speak English with and American ...

When to Use the Present Perfect  How to Use Frequency Adverbs

Practical English Usage

I have a question and it relates with my writing. Please explain the difference between these ...

Grammar Questions  What is the difference between: toward - towards,
backward - backwards, while -whilst

Do we call U.S.A an abbreviation for the United States of America?...

"Though" vs "Even Though"  Could you explain what are the differences between "even though" and "though". I've found lots of sentences using these words, but I am still confused ...

How to Say the Date?  Which is right:
on Feb. 2, 2009 or in Feb. 2, 2009 Hi Waleed, your first option is correct. We always say on a date or day .

I was born on ...

English Grammar- Future Tenses  I have one question about English grammar.

*What are you doing this evening?
*What are you going to do this evening?
*What you will do in this evening?...

The difference between these Sentences  Hello!

What's the difference between the following sentences?

Whenever I see him, he stares at me.
vs.
Whenever I see him, he's staring at me....

Learn English Grammar: Past Perfect  Please explain how to use the "had had" tense. Thank you

Hi Sassy,

Here is a simple explanation to help you understand when and how to use the ...

Combining Two Sentences  Hi Diana, It is very nice to be your student!
I want to combine two sentences into one. The two sentences are:
(1) The man was very kind.
(2) I talked ...

Questions in English  I need some help. I want to learn how I can ask someone questions. Please suggest some books to help me. If you are looking to learn how to ask questions,...

Difference between "dangerous for" and...  What's the difference between, "Smoking is dangerous 'to' your health.

Vs.

Smoking is dangerous 'for' your health"? Hi Uthman,

My first ...

The Difference Between "Other", "Another" and "Others"  Hi Diana...thanks alot with for your clear answers.
Here i will ask you again is another question ... what's the differen ce between OTHER, OTHERS,...

Are these Words Synonyms?  Is there a ny difference in between using the following different words to describe the an action?

to build / create / foster / cultivate ...

Report vs Recount  I would like to know about "report" as a form of writing. We report something to others by writing them in a paragraph. Sorry. I didn't explain that ...

Main Difference between HOUSE and HOME  What is the main difference between "house" and "home"? Hi Anusharao, You are in luck! Marzouq asked me the same question last week. You can visit ...

The difference between HOUSE and HOME  I want to know the difference between 'House' and 'Home', please. One day, I was asked this question and my answer was, " a house has a physical meaning ...

Book tickets...Sell Tickets  One of my students whose mother tongue is not English asked me," At the bus station ticket counter, there is a sign which says "Tickets booked here". In ...

Who verses Whom?  Question: I get confused using who and whom (we now have to meet someone whom you talked to yesterday). Also, can you explain: at and in? Also I'...

English Prepositions  I have problems with English prepositions. For instance, using 'as’. I need to improve my preposition use. So, please give me a solution for my problem ...

Acquiring English Grammar  I'm thinking about grammar and how can I acquire it? Learning English grammar doesn't suit me, I have to acquire it as a native. Yeah, I know it's not ...

The difference between
"can", "could", "might", "should" and "ought"  What is the difference between can, could, might should, and ought? The difference depends on the context and situation. I will try to give you a very ...

How to use "along".  I'm learning English and I don't understand the meaning of the preposition or adverb, "Along"
How can I use this Preposition or Adverb?

Hi Nelson,

The ...