When can a singular verb be used for multiple distinct subjects?

I've read "Are" vs. "is" with compound subjects and http://www.grammar.cl/Present/ThereIsThereAre.htm, so this doesn't duplicate, because here, the subjects are disparate. > " **The arrest and suspension of my client is** completely absurd and > further erodes the confidence parents and taxpayers have in our teachers and > administrators who are tasked with educating our children and preparing them > for higher education or entering the work force," said Aylor. (Source). Is this a grammatical mistake? In general, is it possible to write 'X is Z, Y is Z' = 'X and Y is Z'? Does ths differ from 'X and Y are Z'?


Plural or singular after uncountable noun connected with "and"?

What is the correct use? > His stool and urine ARE normal. > > His stool and urine IS normal.


have or has following a list

In the following sentence, should I use "have" or "has?" > Your generous support, trust and commitment has sustained us over the years > and is more important than ever in the coming year.


Singular or plural verb when referring to an individual and then a group

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Singular or plural following a list   >  Mixing plural and singular list items with a single verb Which is correct? > The Mayor and City Council has... > > The Mayor and City Council have...


Is it “James and Paul come” or “James and Paul comes”?

Which is the correct way of writing: > As an appointment, James and Paul **comes** tomorrow. Or > As on appointment, James and Paul **come** tomorrow. I would also like to know why.


Singular verb for two subjects?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  [Singular] Is/Are [Plural]?   >  Singular or plural following a list   >  Verb agreement in “Where is the Messiah and his Kingdom?” I am having trouble with the following sentence: > "The complexity and diversity of the new platforms is worrying us." If "complexity" and "diversity" constitute two subjects, then the verb should presumably be "are"; however, the sentence feels more natural with "is". Is this correct? Is there a linguistic term for this occurrence?


Using "there're" to abbreviate "there are"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Is "there're" (similar to "there's") a correct contraction? Since using **there's** for a plural object would be incorrect, would it be possible to use **there're** to abbreviate **there are**? e.g. > I've been told there're many different ways to solve this problem.


Which variation of this sentence would be correct? Are vs. Is

I'm curious which I should use of the following:   1. If you or someone you know **are** having troubles logging on to VMware, please ask Bob Smith for help.   2. If you or someone you know **is** having troubles logging on to VMware, please ask Bob Smith for help. Where VMware is the name of a computer network system / software.


"First part are [plural]", or "first part is [plural]"?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  [Singular] Is/Are [Plural]? I'm currently writing my master thesis on Bitcoin and I'm not sure which version of this sentence is correct: "The first most important part of the Bitcoin infrastructure **are** all applications that communicate with the Network." "The first most important part of the Bitcoin infrastructure **is** all applications that communicate with the Network." Or perhaps both of them are wrong? EDIT: Finished sentences.


Singular vs plural: the effect of conjunctions

Consider:   * Please check that the username and password is correct.   * Please check that the username and password are correct. If I had to break the statement into its parts:   * Please check that the username _is_ correct.   * Please check that the password _is_ correct. I feel that _username and password_ can be seen as a single noun and therefore the correct form is _is_. Based on this answer, I'm confused: _the number of the verb is determined by the number of the verb's subject_. Is _username_ the subject or object? Can someone please advise? * * * This question was marked as a duplicate but the duplicate tagged isn't quite related. Rather, based on @user2370114 response, this question is a better match. Furthermore, it doesn't address my concern about the subject vs object distinction (as answered by @RegDwigнt♦). To summarize:   * If you are speaking of multiple things, and even if both were singular, the copula (verb of being) would still be plural.   * Both `username` and `password` are the subject. Interestingly, in my use here, `are` felt more natural :) * * * So can I rather ask: is there ever a time when items can be seen as a single subject and therefore take the singular form of the verb?


"There is people coming" - Game of Thrones last trailer

I was wondering why you would say "There is people coming" as you can hear in the last trailer of Game of Thrones. English is not my native language but I'd think that you have to use plural in this sentence such as "There are people coming". Is this "urban"-talk or am I missing something?


"There is an apple and an orange" or "there are an apple and an orange"?

>   * There is an apple and an orange on the table. >   * There are an apple and an orange on the table. > Which is grammatical?


"Need" vs. "needs" after a list

Is it _need_ or _needs_? >   * Highway 68 and Robinson Canyon Road need your support. >   * Highway 68 and Robinson Canyon Road needs your support. > I voted _needs_.


Usage of 'is' and 'are'

I've just finished watching an episode of an american tv series. At the end of the episode, the narrator said, 'there **is** only two episodes left'. My question is: because _two episodes_ is plural and countable, oughtn't it be 'there **are** only two episodes left'? I find this a bit of confusing, maybe because english isn't my first language, but until now, I thought that the language rules regarding this case aren't that complicated... Thanks!


What is the meaning of "say S1"

In http://research.google.com/archive/gfs-sosp2003.pdf Section 3.2: > Suppose the client is pushing data to chunkservers S1 through S4. It sends > the data to the closest chunkserver, say S1. S1 forwards it to the closest > chunkserver S2 through S4 closest to S1, say S2. Also,I can't understand this:`through S4 closest to S1`.


What benefit was there by replacing “chart” with “tabulate”, then with “tally” in the NYT headline: “Bank charted business linked to China hiring.”?

I was drawn to the changes of the headline of today’s New York Times’ article reporting JPMorgan Chase established a program to hire a lot of sons and daughters of Chinese dignitaries. The headline I saw first in this morning in its online edition was “Bank **charted** business linked to China hiring.” It was “Bank **tabulated** business –” in 10 minutes later, and now the final version (6:40 PM ET) is “Bank **tallied** business linked to China hiring” followed by the lead-copy: > “Confidential documents offer the most detailed account yet of JPMorgan > Chase’s “Sons and Daughters” hiring program in China, which has been at the > center of a federal bribery investigation.” > http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/12/07/bank-tabulated-business-linked-to- > china-hiring/?hp I understand “chart “and “tally” are different in meaning. But I wonder what is the intent of deliberately changing the verb in a short headline from “chart” to “tabulate” to “tally” in a few minutes to a few hours? Isn’t the headline saying the same thing after all, or is it making any improvement of wording or articulation by making these changes?


free soul vs free spirit

I created a twitter account and put this in the bio: > free soul, dreamer.. adventurer. forever young! but someone told me that more correct it will be: > free **spirit** , dreamer.. adventurer. forever young! but he is not a native English speaker, so I need your advice.


Is there a word for an intentional misnomer?

Is there a word that describes that something has been named "incorrectly" on purpose (a sort of _intentional misnomer_ )? For example, calling someone who is very tall Shorty (or something to that effect).


What is the style of art in which small numbers are used to paint pictures called?

We know that, for example, > _impressionist painting_ is a style of art which uses small, thin, yet > visible brush strokes,   >  _cubist painting_ is a style of art that stresses abstract structure,   >  and so on. So, my question is, **what is the style of art in which small numbers are used to paint pictures (as in the picture below) called**? ![](http://i.stack.imgur.com/LRGPa.png)


Is there a word to describe "one who is in passive opposition to an established order or government?"

I read that malcontent, a _noun_ in grammatical sense, is "one who is in active opposition to an established order or government," but is there a word to describe "one who is in **passive** opposition to an established order or government?" A bit of searching last turned to _disillusioned_ , an _adjective_ -- "She became more and more _disillusioned_ with politics" --, but I'm looking for a _noun_ and _disillusioned_ is not, whereas _malcontent_ is. Thus, my question is, is there a word to describe "one who is in **passive** opposition to an established order or government?"


Is it right to say "to help learning"?

I am comparing two products and want to say:               Inter-comparisons of FGH products with other products at the global scale help to      learning the regions where they agree or differ      I wonder if help to learning is correct.


A term for someone who demotivates

What do we call a person who constantly demotivates others? For context: someone who thinks he is so brilliant in English, keeps discouraging me about the questions/answers I post.


Why does the word "budge" always come in negative form?

I came across the word "budge" in a dictionary, and it said about this word: "Usually used in negative". Why does this specific word always come in negative form?


"Typed," vs "typed in"

For example: > I opened Google. Then, after giving it some thought, I typed (in): lolcats. Should I include the **in** in cases like this. Why?


"All in a day's work"

What does "All in a day's work" mean? The online dictionaries aren't very detailed on that. How did this idiom come to be? Was there some meaningful context to it originally?


A better verb for "cement" in "cement one's interest"

Is there a better word for _cemented_ in the following sentence? > All the experiences I went through have **cemented** my interest in this > field. I was told "cemented" doesn't quite fit in and I was asked to find a replacement. Any synonyms, anyone? I know this question sounds vague, please comment if you need additional details.


A word for "nobody depends on me"

If I do not depend on anybody, I can say: > I am independent And if nobody depends on me. Is there a _monoword_ to describe that?


"What day is it today?" vs. "What day is today?"

Which of the following is grammatical? >   * What date/day is it today? >   * What date/day is today? >


A question about date

A standard date question would be: > What date is it today? But is > What date is today? acceptable?


What are the correct titles for the attendee/guest relationship?

Apologies for the horrible title. If I'm invited to an event and I bring a plus one, they're are my guest and I am a guest of the event's host. But what am I to my guest? I've tinkered with 'invitee' or 'attendee' and even had 'host' suggested to me. Are any of these on the right track? If not, what are my options?


Is there a word to describe "being formal for the sake of being formal"?

I was recently chastised at work for using the word " _cool_ " in an email chain--an act that I attribute to _being overly-formal for no other reason than to uphold an unnecessarily perceived "law" of formality._ Is there an English word that would better describe this?


Does the sentence "I'm on my knees" mean "I'm down" or "I'm sad"?

I have seen this sentence in a few English songs. But I am not sure what it means. Does the sentence _"I am on my knees"_ mean _"I am down"_ or _"I am sad"_?


About suffix -e

I found that there are some adj. words that can be modified to be nouns by adding "e" at the end. For example, chorale and morale. Etymonline said in the case of chorale, "-e" indicates stress. So I wonder if it is the same for morale? What other examples with suffix "-e"?


Is the word "indeed" being properly used in the following passage?

**Scene 1** > Yuki laughed. "You know, sometimes I wonder if you live in the same city as > the rest of us." **Scene 2** > "That's right," Takeshi suddenly said. "Did you feel the earthquake last > night?" > > Eri stared at Takeshi with her lips slightly parted. _You too?_ She could > barely believe it. It was the second time someone had asked her the > question. _Am I the only one who didn't feel the earthquake? she wondered. > Am I **indeed** living in the same city as everyone else?_ As you can see Eri is repeating what Yuki told her on **Scene 1**. Is it correct to use **indeed** in this case?


Usage of "withal" to mean "in addition"

I understand that 'withal' can be used as a preposition at the end of a clause to mean 'with' or 'therewith' but it can, I think, also be used to mean 'in addition' or 'together with'. Concerning the latter meaning, I'm trying to write a poem and wish to use something like the following: > He wax'd in stature great withal. to mean "He additionally waxed great in stature". However, does this make any sense?


Pronoun immediately following its antecedent

Is placing a pronoun immediately after its antecedent in a sentence valid grammar? Is there a term for this construction? Some examples are:   * President Obama, he gave a speech last night.   * The speech, it was about the financial system. I hear this on the Planet Money podcast at least once per episode.


A word used to describe someone who loves to be photographed

I am trying to figure out if there is a word to describe a person who loves to be photographed.


What is a "balad"?

What is a balad as use in this blog entry? > You get an interesting feedback when you consult the elevation data on your > Pulse. After a balad or a race you can instantly see how many feet/meters > you’ve moved vertically. You can even try to guess it with your friends!


What's the connotation of virility?

What is the connotation of "virility"? Is virility usually used in a bad derogatory sense? Thanks. -K


what do you call a book containing questions?

what do you call a book that only contains questions and answers, no other stuff. Maybe "questionnaire" is one but I think questionnaires only contain questions.


Finding out the names of symbols

Is there a comprehensive list on the web where I can find the names of common symbols? Google unfortunately doesn't search on symbols, so it is pretty much useless there. Specifically, what is ``` called (the symbol to the left of `1` on US keyboards)?


How do the tenses and aspects in English correspond temporally to one another?

Non-native speakers often get confused about what the various tenses and aspects mean in English. With input from some of the folk here I've put together a diagram that I hope will provide some clarity on the matter. I offer it as the first answer to this question. Consider it a living document. Input is welcome, and good suggestions will be incorporated into the diagram. * * * Nota bene: What this is _not_ is a discussion of whether there are more than two tenses in English. We have a dedicated question for that, to which this question is not intended to supply arguments one way or the other. Here, the aim is to provide an overview of what constructions English-speaking people use for conveying information about actions referring to past, present, and future, and to provide it first and foremost to precisely the people who are likely to use "tense" as a catch-all term in their search, rather than to linguists who know better.


Which tense is more appropriate in the clause of this sentence, the simple past or present perfect?

Sentence 1: > It is quite disappointed that I **was not able to pass** the exam even after > having worked hard for three months. Sentence 2: > It is quite disappointed that I **have not been able to pass** the exam even > after having worked hard for three months. Which tense is more appropriate in the context above? Please explain the reasons.


What is the difference between following 2 sentences? Can you please explain me the meaning of both?   1. "I have eaten my lunch"   2. "I ate my lunch" Thanks a lot for helping.


Can Past Progressive Tense be used for habitual past?

I ran across the following sentence in an ESL textbook (by Jack C. Richards): "I was going to auditions" which was used to say what the subject would do for some time after college. However, almost every grammar source I've seen claims that only "Simple Past", "used to" and "would"r can be used fo habitual past. Can anyone explain the use of Past Progressive in the sentence above?


Past tense vs Past participle tense

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Present perfect tense versus past tense Here is the example: > I haven't spoken any English for more than 3 years. vs. > I didn't speak any English over the past 3 years. Which sentence sounds more natural and appropriate? Are there any grammatical problems here?


"He made a picture" vs. "he has made a picture"

Which form is better to use? >   * He made a picture of his sister. >   * He has made a picture of his sister. > And why? The situation in which I want to use it is as follows. This is my first sentence. No background or conversation was done before. I don't know the person I am talking to and neither does he. We see each other for the first time. Also he doesn't know my sister or anything like that.


What is the difference between has gone and went in this context?

> A: Is Mr. Bob at home? > > B: Sorry, he isn't at home. He_ ** ___** _to Hong Kong for vacation? > > A. went   >  B. has gone   >  C. is going Which one is correct answer? and why it is not the other ones?


Past or present perfect tense for event happened last night

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another? Since watching TV is a completed action which happened last night, which one is correct? >   * Last night I have watched TV. >   * Last night I watched TV. >


"The predecessor of company A is B" vs. "the predecessor of company A was B"

I'm working on some company profiles. I am wondering about the tense of verb in this sentence: >   * The predecessor of company A is B. >   * The predecessor of company A was B. > Which is the correct one?


Difference in meaning between did you speak to... and have you spoken to...?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another? What's the difference in meaning between "Did you speak to the landlord this morning?" and "Have you spoken to the landlord this morning?"


what are the correct tenses "very different from what he ... do"

I were talking with a person about certain musician and was going to mention a song, that was very different from what the musician... say, ever did. But then I wondered what is the correct tense to use, are there more than one tense applicable to this phrase (has done so far, has been doing so far, etc.), and what are the differences?


I still wished I could have done more

In this sentence, _"I still wished I could have done more"_ , why isn't it saying, _"I still wished I could do more"_? Beauty and the Beast season 2 episode 16: http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv- show=beauty-and-the-beast-2012&episode=s02e16 > You okay? Yeah. _[sic]_ > > I don't know, it's a little bittersweet, though. > > Yes, we finally stopped Sam, but, I don't know, it feels a little hollow, > don't you think? We broke up their secret society. > > Just take a little bit of digging. > > We can put them away for a long time. > > Yeah, **I still wished I could have done more,** though. > > That's the old you talking. > > The one that used to take the law into his own hands. > > I like the new you better. > > Oh, you do, do you? Six years is a long time to hold onto all that pain and > anger. > > Can't even imagine. > > I can. I know the difference in meaning between 'could' and 'could have', but here, I can't seem to get the grammar.


"I [had] visited them two months ago"

> A. I had visited them two months ago.   >  B. I visited them two months ago. Which one is correct?


I copied or I have copied?

As I speak, I noticed that I use the word "have" a lot! Also, I was wondering whether this over-usage is right. For instance, > I have copied the file to your computer where I could've used > I copied the file to your computer instead! Am I right or do they differ subtly?


Past tense usage in a formal email

During the period between January and today, I have added many changes to my resume that i want to make an employer noticed of. I doubt between 'have done' and 'had done'. > " I would like to inform you that some changes have been brought to my > resume from the first time I had contacted you through your website(January > 2014) " > > Or > > " I would like to inform you that some changes have been brought to my > resume from the first time I have contacted through your website(January > 2014)" Please to help me resolve the problem i have with past usage once and for all, any link or doc is highly appreciated.


When do I use present perfect tense instead of the simple past?

> I've finished my work.   >  I finished my work. When do I use one or the other?


"Asked" vs. "have asked"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When is the present perfect tense used instead of the past tense?   >  When will “Present Perfect vs. Past Tense” cases be affected by culture? I feel like I often misuse Simple Past and Present Perfect. For example, given this sentence: > I already asked her. Asking her is something I have done... but it's also something I did. So would it be more correct to use Present Perfect, as in: > I have already asked her. Or are they interchangeable?


"have been" versus "had been" in questions

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another? "I can tell that he's not English, but I wouldn't had been able to tell that he's french if you didn't tell me first" it was told me that this kind of usage is wrong, and that I should have used "I wouldn't have been able to tell that" When should I use "had been" and when "have been"?


The form of "to be" verb in passive sentences

I don't know how the right way to use _to be_ verb in the passive sentences. For example, I have two sentences: > The foundation is supported by enormous floating caissons and > They were constructed by workers half submerged in the murky waters The question is: Why in the second sentence, they don't use _are_ instead of _were_?


have worked vs had worked

> I have worked here for five years.   >  I had worked here for five years.   >  I worked here for five years. Which one is gramatically correct. Does the first sentence mean that he worked here and is still working? And the 2nd and 3rd indicate something happened in past. And when to use these. Is there any difference between these two?


When will "Present Perfect vs. Past Tense" cases be affected by culture?

Regarding actions taken in the past, besides the differences those two tenses have semantically, my teacher shared that it could be a British vs American English case. When talking about past action, British prefers present perfect because they take into account that the effect from their past action still happens until now. As for American, they prefer to state the action only. It happened in the past, so past tense it is. > I have had dinner. [British] vs. > I had dinner. [American] I hope to hear it from the native speakers, both British and American. What do you think about this? Is it true? If it is, I don't think it can apply to all cases of past actions. There have to be cases when both style agree to use the same tenses. Could you please help me define the situation when this kind of difference applies and when doesn't?


When is "is being:" used ?

This is being sent back to you \- kindly explain the usage of "is being" in this sentence


I only watched or I have only watched

If someone ask me "Do you like Indian movie?" Which tenses would fit the answer to the question ?   1. "yes I do. But I watched only some of them"   2. "yes I do. But I have wathed only some of them"   3. "yes I do. But I had watched only some of them" thanks in advance budi


Difference between I've cut and I cut

First good morning everbody I'm not a native english speaker and I want to learn english, so I wanted to know the difference between I've cut my hair and I cut my hair, in every grammar lessons we learn this : The present perfect is used when the time period has NOT finished for me the action is finished and we learn that the simple past is using for something with a factor time without links with the present time I planted tulips they are late to bloom for me the action is not dated in advance thank you very much


"How long have you stayed there?" vs "How long did you stay there?"

I have a doubt about the difference between those two questions. Could you guys give me an appropriate examples and explanation? Thanks in advance!


built vs had built

What is the difference between the two sentences below > A: He learned about good design from the house where his family lived. An > architect called John **had built** it.   > > > B: He learned about good design from the house where his family lived. An > architect called John **built** it.


Simple Past vs. Present Perfect: "was" vs. "has been"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "Did it close" vs "Has it closed"?   >  Which is correct: “has died” or “died”?   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another? As a English non-native speaker it is difficult for me to understand when I must use present perfect or past simple because in my official language there isn't the present perfect tense.   I know that present perfect is related to something that happened in the past but its result is important now. But for instance: >   1. The message has been sent. >   2. The message was sent. > Please help me point me out any examples/contexts where I should use 1. instead of 2.


Differences between ways to express future actions

I asked this question on a different site but I haven't gotten a useful answer. Could you tell me the difference in meaning between these sentences? >   1. Do you think you will visit them next week? >   2. Will you visit them next week? >   3. Are you going to visit them next week? >   4. Are you visiting them next week? >   5. Are you going to be visiting them next week? >   6. Are you planning to be visiting them next week? >   7. Do you plan to visit them next week? > Will there be any difference in the answers? >   1. I think I will visit them next week. >   2. I will visit them next week. >   3. I am going to visit them next week. >   4. I am visiting them next week. >   5. I am going to be visiting them next week. >   6. I am planning to be visiting them next week. >   7. I plan to visit them next week. > Can I use "planning to" instead of "going to"? (E.g. "Are you planning to visit them next week? — Yes, I am planning to visit them next week.") Which of these sentences show that the subject of conversation has already been discussed? For example, I talked with a friend of mine about my plans to visit somebody. So my friend is aware of my plans. And my last question. Which of these seven sentences express that the action will certainly take place?


'I was using', 'I have used', 'I have been using', 'I had used' - what is the difference amongst these?

First, is my question right? Does _amongst_ fit here? Please differentiate the above phrases.


They've insist or they insisted

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another?   >  When is the present perfect tense used instead of the past tense?   >  When will “Present Perfect vs. Past Tense” cases be affected by culture? I'm having hard time to understand when do we use "They've insist" and "They insisted". As I'm aware of, you can't say "They've insisted". For example, I would like to say, "They have insist to take a picture with me" sound same as "They insisted to take a picture with me". On which situations I should use one of this sentences? This is probably very often question asked here but nobody can't tell me straightforward answer.


When should I use: I did, had done or have done?

Please explain when I should use:   * _I did_ vs. _I had done_ or   * _I had done_ vs. _I have done_? Sometimes I tend to get confused about which one to use. Thanks.


Grammar: Had been + vb or has been + vb

Should I use '' I **had been listening** to this concert since it started snowing, at seven.'' or ''I **have been listening** to this concert since it started snowing, at seven.'' I never know when to use present perfect or past perfect.


could be or could have been stolen?

Please consider the following. Supposing the context is such that the frame was never stolen, is it acceptable to use "could have been stolen" instead of "could be stolen"? What would be the difference? The original frame, which was made of gold, was replaced with a marble one before it could have been stolen


When to use "have"/"has" and when not to use "have"/"has" in a sentence

1. I heard about it. I have heard about it.   2. I knew him. I have known him.   3. He has played really well. He played really well.


> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another? Mira is wondering what is the correct way to say: "Once the client has replaced the songs" or "Once the client had replaced the songs"? this describes an action that will take place in the future, and the question is regarding the result of this action.


Tenses in the sentence

"On occasion **he had even been entrusted** with the rectification of ‘The Times’ leading articles, which **were written** entirely in Newspeak." Why can't we say: "he was entrusted"?


I wish I were versus I wish I had been

Is there any difference when I say I wish I were rich or I wish I had been rich?


Was + past participle

Is such phrase is correct? > A request was sent to somewhere. Something is telling me that sentence below is correct one. > A request has been sent to somewhere.


is vs was vs has been

One of my friend got job and I want to tell this news to my other friends. How should I say it? He is selected for a job. He was selected for a job. He has been selected for a job.


How to understand perfect tense?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another? I have a difficult time to understand perfect tense. I don't see the different for the following two sentences. 1) He kicked the ball. 2) He had kicked the ball. Is perfect tense used to tell is an action completed or not?


Has or Have +had in one sentence?

I know this question might be duplicate. I am not able to getting the usage of have had from another answers which is exist in Stackexchange. So I asked this question again. I have examples.   1. Ann had a red bike for two years.    2. Sue has had a red bike for two years.    3. I had a wonderful bicycle.    4. I've had many wonderful bicycles.    5. In his lifetime, Uncle Alex had several red bicycles.    6. In his lifetime, Grandpa has had several red bicycles. Explain the difference between 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6.   It would be better if you will take time to explain my examples.


Do I say "I am going" or "I will be going"?

Which sounds more correct?   1. I am going to the post office in 2 hours    2. I will be going to the post office in 2 hours Is there any difference between the two sentences?


Why is “has not had” wrong?

This is the sentence that needs correction: > Peter realized that he **has not had** any experience with the extremely > complex mechanisms of the mortgage industry until his father took him to > Blue House Realty. Why is _had not had_ here considered wrong, and how should one best correct it?


Grammar: "They have been playing tennis" vs. "They were playing tennis"

What's the difference? If anything, the former is correct.


"Did you wash your hands?" or "Have you washed your hands?" and why?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another?   >  When do I use present perfect tense instead of the simple past?   >  When will “Present Perfect vs. Past Tense” cases be affected by culture?   >  “Did you find” versus “have you found” The first sentence hasn't specified time, but I have seen it.


When is the present perfect tense used instead of the past tense? I know that the present perfect tense is used when some adverbs (e.g., _never_ , _ever_ ) are present in the sentence.


"has lived in" or "has been living in"

Mr. ABC has lived in California since 2010, and he resides with his wife and two children. Please let me know if "has lived in" in the above sentence is correct? Should it be " has been living in ...." since he still resides in California. ....................... Since graduating from the University in 2009, Mr. ABC has resided in Las Vegas. Same question as above. _*_ Should it be " has been residing in ...." since he still resides in California. Thanks & Regards


Is present perfect necessarily definitive action in past

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another? If I say "I have worked in a supermarket." does it mean that all the work is in the past and that now, I definitely do not work in a supermarket?


Present perfect: Have turned vs turned

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When do I use present perfect tense instead of the simple past? In the quoted sentence I'm in doubt about the usage of Present Perfect, I think here is appropriated the use of _have turned_ because that change is important at the present, that is, now the above refered scroll bars are not visible on the screen due to the changes we made into the function, am I right ? > Having commented this function we have turned the reload function quite less > demanding in terms of CPU load, and consequently, that scrolls bars are not > appearing anymore.


Difference between "I reached home" and "I have reached home"

I often confuse these two things:   "I reached home" and "I have reached home".   Once my friend asked me, "Where are you? " I messaged him: "I have reached home".   He told me not to use "have reached "... > reached = past tense, have reached = present perfect Can someone please clear this doubt so that I don't make the mistake again.


Present continuous and simple future

What is the difference between: > I am leaving at 6 o´clock and > I will leave at 6 o´clock? Do these serve any different function?


"I stay in Canada" vs. "I will stay in Canada"

Situation: I am in Canada and will go back to Hong Kong next week. So, I want to tell my friends that " _I **will** stay in Canada until the 6th of March_". Question: I do not know if the word **will** should be used here. I am still in Canada, so, I think here _present tense_ should be used, therefore, it should be written as " _I stay in Canada until the 6th of March_ ". However, a future time "6th of March" is also mentioned in the same sentence. Therefore, _future tense_ seems also reasonable. So, the correct one should be " _I **will** stay in Canada until the 6th of March._" So, what kind of tense should I use here? This is very simple sentence structure for any native speaker, but for me, I still get confused.


"Did it close" vs "Has it closed"?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another? What's the difference between the following?   * Did the shop close?   * Has the shop closed? I suspect the second one to mean that the shop could still be opened but I'm not sure If I'm right.


"I ran some tests" or "I've run some tests"?

I'm a Software Engineer and English isn't my native language. Today I was writing an e-mail where I wanted to state that I had run some tests overnight but I started to ask myself which one of the following sentences is the right one to use: > I ran some tests and I found a problem > > I've run some tests and I've found a problem AFAIK the present perfect form should only be used for actions still in progress (the tests are finished) but I'm not sure if this might refer to the results of those tests (perhaps a better alternative could be ' _I ran some tests and I've found a problem_ ' ? I'm unsure of this one)


"I ordered" vs. "I have ordered"

> **A** I haven't received the book I ordered. > > **B** I haven't received the book I have ordered. Which one would you say is more often used / colloquial, and which one is more formal / more grammatically conservative?


Grammar used in have been and had been in sentence

When we are going to use have been and had been ? Especially in Past tense and Past participle ?


I have bought and will buy another or I'm going to buy

Is this sentence ok or should it say I have bought one and will buy another. The first sentence seems to lead the reader into the idea that I have not bought any music yet. > i'm going to buy the two songs he wants me to memorize for $6 a piece. I > already have one purchased and I'll practice it.


"Did you find" versus "have you found"

What is the difference between "Did you find?" and "Have you found?" When should I use the first sentence, and when the second one?


"What I've" vs "What I"

I'm titling a post I'm writing as: > What I've Learned At {company name} I'm struggling, however, with trying to figure if I should drop the `I've` for just `I` to make it: > What I Learned At {company name} They both sound correct out loud and they seemingly mean the same on paper. I'd like to know which is correct and why.


Which one is correct "Rode" or Has ridden"?

He rode a bicycle to work every day last month. OR He has ridden a bicycle to work every day last month.


The email which was sent or that has been sent?

Which is correct? When do you use has been and was?


I hope you enjoyed/have enjoyed staying in Italy

A friend has written me a message in which she tells me that she is leaving tomorrow from Italy. I want to say that I hope that she had/ has had a great time here in Italy. What is the right way to say it? "I hope you enjoyed staying in Italy" or "I hope you have enjoyed etc.." Thanks.


Difference between future and present cont. in "going"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another?   >  Differences between ways to express future actions Does the below sentence indicate future tense or present continuous: > I am going to school now. Has the action started and the speaker is on his way to school or has the action not started yet but is going to start right after the speaker finishes his statement?


'Has found' versus 'found'

When would one say "she has found her keys" as opposed to "she found her keys"? Are they equivalent, or at least partially equivalent? I'm not a native speaker and have been unable to find a pattern regarding the use of "have" in this context.


You "had left" or "left" a message?

I heard a voice mail message in the evening. What should I say: "You had left a message for me" or "you left a message for me"?


Simple past vs. Past perfect

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another? What's the difference between the following two sentences? > I had finished reading the book yesterday.   >  I finished reading the book yesterday. I also want to know that in general, when do we use simple past over past perfect?


Materials on proper use of English tense

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another? Could anyone suggest to me a good online source to help me with the concepts of English tense? I've tried searching with Google but haven't found anything. I'm looking for material which starts from the basics and gives a comprehensive review of the subject. I am looking to learn about the correct usage of "have," "has," "had," "do," "does," "have been," "had been," etc.


how to use "has been"

I had been preparing for a tennis event since March, but it has been postponed until next year. Question: Can "it has been postponed" be replaced with "was postponed" grammatically without changing its meaning? One of my friends (Canadian) received this question from a Chinese learner, and she asked me for help.


"Your message was deleted" vs. "your message has been deleted"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another? I don't know which form is better to use, when telling a user that his message was/has been deleted (in the sense that the message was not appropriate/against the rules e.g. in the comment section etc.).


"Do you ever do something" vs. "Have you ever done something"

In "Pragmmatic Programmer" by David Hunt and Andy Thomas, there is a sentence: > Do you ever watch old black-and-white war movies? To my best english grammar knowledge, present perfect tense should be used here: > Have you ever watched black-and-white war movies? Is the version of the authors correct? If so, what's the difference between these two variants and what is the appropriate way to use each? PS. I checked this sentence in the translation of the book in my native language and it was translated exactly as if the orginal sentence was in present perfect form.


Communicate via written notes - although native speakers?

In another forum I read the following amazing thing: "In the middle 1980s, when I was in the Navy, the submarine I was in operated out of Holy Loch, Scotland. Our Xerox copier needed maintenance and the American Xerox tech was on leave. So a tech came out of Glasgow. I had a junior yeoman, an Alabama Black, escort the Glaswegian. The two of them were reduced to writing notes to each other. They had no trouble reading the other's written English, but the two accents were so strong that their spoken English was mutually incomprehensible. However, if you had asked either of them, they would have told you that they were speaking their native language, English." Have you had similar (comparably extreme) experiences? Please, _only native English speakers_ (obviously there are many examples from or with non-native speakers)!


"If I was" or "If I were". Which is more common, and which is correct?

My question of whether to use _if I was_ or _if I were._ Which one is incorrect or nonstandard?


"Wasn't" vs "weren't"

Which one would be correct?   1. I wish it weren't raining today.   2. I wish it wasn't raining today.   3. I wish it were raining today.   4. I wish it was raining today.


"if it were possible" vs "if it was possible"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "If I was" or "If I were". Which is more common, and which is correct? " If it were possible, and it were possible to do..." that sounds wrong, shouldn't we have **was** after it?


"She laughed as though there (was/were) a chance he might have said anything else."

Would I use 'was' or 'were' here? > _She laughed as though there **was/were** a chance he might have said > anything else._ (I read about the difference between was and were, but I can't apply it to this sentence because it seems like both a past possibility and a hypothetical, like a past hypothetical. Could someone explain the answer to me please?)


Which is correct? If I was or If I were for this particular sentence

Which is correct? 1) If I **were** a little taller, I would be able to reach the top of the shelf. 2) If I **was** a little taller, I would be able to reach the top of the shelf.


"If it was" or "if it were"?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "If I was" or "If I were". Which is more common, and which is correct? Should I say "If I _were_ [something]" or "If I _was_ [something]?" This came up because I am writing a comment above a function in some code. Here's the comment, basically:               // Shuts down everything     // Will stop the process if it was running     function Shutdown()      So should that say "if it _was_ running" or "if it _were_ running?" Also, why?


"If something were" or "If something was" in the 2nd conditional?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which is correct: "what if there was" or "what if there were"?   >  Correct usage of was/were on the object of a sentence   >  "Was" or "were" in subjunctive clauses I have the following sentence in the draft of my latest paper: > No arbitrage would be introduced if the project were traded. Is this version correct? Or should it be: > No arbitrage would be introduced if the project was traded. What are the rules here?


“If I was to” vs. “If I were to”

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  “If I was” or “If I were”. Which is more common, and which is correct? >   1. **If I _was_ to** sum up my computer knowledge in one word, it would be > _“destitute”_. > >   2. **If I _were_ to** sum up my computer knowledge in one word, it would > be _“destitute”_. > > Which is correct?


"If we were going outside" in polite requests

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "Was" or "were" in subjunctive clauses Can we use "if you were going outside, please let me know" or "I was wondering if you were going outside" in a polite request? If yes, do you think changing it to "if you are going outside, please let me know" makes it less polite?


Is the indicative "correct" when dealing with a conditional future?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which is correct: "what if there was" or "what if there were"? Someone recently posted to meta.stackoverflow.com about a plural bug on Area 51, writing > ...it doesn't effect [sic] the functionality of the site, but it'd be nice > if the grammar was correct... I jokingly pointed out that he meant _"It would be nice if the grammar **were** correct."_ The user Gilles commented > ...you picked something that's actually not an error... you don't have to > use the subjunctive, the indicative is also correct. That's not my understanding at all, but I've never _studied_ grammar. We're dealing with a speculative/conditional future, the subjunctive is required, isn't it? I recognize that language is a living thing, and that in English our use of the subjunctive is decreasing. But surely the indicative is not correct in this case? At least not yet?


Correct usage of "were" or "was"?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "If I was" or "If I were". Which is more common, and which is correct? I am unsure whether to use "were" or "was" in the following instances               Instance 1:      > If I **were** you or > If I **was** you               Instance 2:      > If I **were** her or > If I **was** her               Instance 3:      > If I **were** a monkey or > If I **was** a monkey Does it differ between forms of English (British, American)?


A weird usage of "were" instead of "was"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "Was" or "were" in subjunctive clauses   >  "If I was" or "If I were". Which is more common, and which is correct?   >  Why have the subjunctive and indicative converged in Modern English? I've been reading _Warrior's Apprentice_ by Lois McMaster Bujold and there is a strange phrase in chapter 2: > "Not much." She shrugged. "He just mentioned it. I wish—I don't know. I wish > my mother were alive." That "I wish my mother were alive" really confuses me. Why is "were" used instead of "was"?


"If I was really ugly" versus "if I were really ugly"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "If I was" or "If I were". Which is more common, and which is correct? I tweeted a little earlier today: > I mean, if I was really ugly they would probably run me down, right? A friend called me out on my incorrect grammar: > if you WERE really ugly. Grammar, Ryan. So this begs the question, who's right here? Is it correct to say "If I was really ugly" or "If I were really ugly"?


"was" or "were" in the context of "X wishes that he [was / were] Y"

If you are saying that somebody wishes that they could have been somebody else, which would be more correct: E from the eels wishes he **was** Elliott Smith or E from the eels wishes he **were** Elliott Smith?


Which one is correct: "wish I was here" or "wish I were here"?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "If I was" or "If I were". Which is more common, and which is correct? Which one is the correct form: "Wish I was here" or "wish I were here"? I've heard both of them many times but I don't know which one is correct.


"If I were" or "If I was"?

> **Possible Duplicates:**   >  "If I was" or "If I were". Which is more common, and which is correct?   >  "Was" versus "were"—word usage in Stack Overflow Ad Image Which one is correct: "If I were a cop, I would wear a uniform" OR "If I was a cop, I would wear a uniform"?


Checking the grammar of the following sentence

I need to check the grammaticality of the following sentence: > If I __ a doctor, I would serve the poor. (a) am (b) had been (c) were (d) > was I am confused with _were_ and _had been_ since there is _would_ in the sentence too.


"Was" or "were" in subjunctive clauses

I'm not a native english speaker, so even though I'm decently proficient at it, I don't really "know the rules" sometimes, and this is one that's been confusing me for a long time. Which one is correct in each sentence? > If the movement **[was/were]** to continue uncorrected, the tower would one > day topple. > > If I **[was/were]** rich, I would buy a yacht. NOTE: I care not only about the case of "I", but also "she", "them", "it", etc, as in the example of the tower. Would it be any different if instead of the tower, it'd be me who'd topple if uncorrected? I'm pretty sure it's "were" in both cases. That's what they taught me, I think.   I started to doubt when I saw a lot of "was", but it sounded like the typical intentional mistake used "stylistically". ("If I was a rich girl...") Then I saw it some more and thought it came down to an American/British English difference (I was taught British, in theory, and most of what I read is American). But that tower sentence came straight from "The Guardian"... When do you use _was_ and when do you use _were_?


I'd be honored if it was/were you

I've been reading a lot about the subjunctive mood lately, and everything seems clearer than it did some time ago, but I still have doubts regarding this mood. The other day I read the following sentence: > It's about time someone took my place. And I'd be honored if it was you. So now I'm confused as to whether was or were is correct in this sentence. I read that the subjunctive mood only exists in the present and past tense. I think that the troublesome sentence describes future: He would be honored if it was he who took his place. If this is the case then the subjunctive mood wouldn't apply here, and therefore "was" would be correct. I would appreciate any help.


Behave as if it was or it were

> You can place the script in the head or body as you like. The script will > behave as if it was located exactly where you put the script tag in the > document. The sentences above are taken from this JavaScript tutorial (at the very bottom). I think they made a grammatical mistake here: it should be **behave as if it were** rather than **it was**. I'm not 100% sure, so want to confirm it.


"If I was"/"If I were": what's the right usage and why?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "If I was" or "If I were". Which is more common, and which is correct? From what I have read so far both are correct and _was_ is used in an informal way. But somehow statements like "If I was to lose my mind" sound incorrect. Is the above sentence correct? Why is this the case?


Correct usage of was/were on the object of a sentence

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "Wasn't" vs "weren't" On a Tuesday morning, which of these sentences is the better way to express that I already want it to be Friday? > I wish it were Friday.   >  I wish it was Friday.


Which is correct: "what if there was" or "what if there were"?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "If I was" or "If I were". Which is more common, and which is correct? Is this correct grammar? > What if there was a Stack Overflow on… Shouldn't it be "what if there **were** a Stack Overflow on…"?


I need this question about a conditional clause answered

Today, I Tweeted the following: "If today wasn't a good day, tomorrow is a new day." My friend Tweeted me back, saying, "You should have used 'weren't' instead of 'wasn't'." Which one is correct?


was or were in Subjunctive Mood

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  “If I was” or “If I were”. Which is more common, and which is correct?   >  Which is correct: “what if there was” or “what if there were”? Which of following sentences is formed properly? Why? > Although Reza has a successful career as a lawyer, he still wishes he > **was** a rock musician. or > Although Reza has a successful career as a lawyer, he still wishes he > **were** a rock musician.


if it wasn't for or if it weren't for?

I don't know what should to write with I would think you were bluffing if it, should it be wasn't or weren't for?


Missing articles?

Aren't some articles missing in the following sentence? > ... when traditional pattern of landscape became established. Or is it something else that is wrong with this sentence? Context.


Name for relation between a man’s two wives?

What is the relation between the two wives of a man called?


Is this an appropriate use of "to whom?"

Is the following sentence grammatically correct? > With the exception of a few members of my family, you are the only three > people to whom I actually care what happens.


'Eo ipso' vs 'Ipso facto'

Are these entirely interchangeable? Or is there sometimes reason to use one but not the other? (Other than, as one website says, to use 'eo ipso' rather than 'ipso facto' if you really want to be pretentious and obscure.) Wiktionary says: 'eo ipso' = Through or by that very act or quality; thereby. 'ipso facto' = By that very fact itself. I came across 'eo ipso' in this sentence: > It is one thing to say that I know what is good for X, while he himself does > not; and even to ignore his wishes for its - and his - sake; and a very > different one to say that he has _eo ipso_ chosen it, not indeed > consciously, not as he seems in everyday life, but in his role as a rational > self which his empirical self may not know - the 'real' self which discerns > the good, and cannot help choosing it once it is revealed.


How can I optionally pluralize the word "diagnosis" in writing?

I'm building a web form and am looking to label a check box list used to select one or more diagnoses. I want to label this list in a way that indicates to the user that they may select one or more items. If it were a list of cars, the label would read "Car(s)". The 's' in parentheses indicates that they may select multiple cars but it's not necessary. How would I do the same for the word diagnosis? My first thought was "Diagnosis(es)". Is this correct?


What is the term for pricing items just below a significant value (e.g. $19,995)

What is the name for the pricing strategy where the item price is just below a psychologically significant amount? For example $199 instead of $200, $2.95 instead of $3, $49,990 instead of $50,000.


Job or work history. How correct?

I have a problem choosing the right combination of words for naming a variable in my program. I have to choose among the following values:   1. job history   2. work history Which is correct? This variable describes the companies in which a person has worked and his work history.


"Take on responsibility" vs. "take up responsibilty"

> I now have to take ___ additional responsibility. Are both _on_ and _up_ grammatically correct? Is there a difference in meaning? When to use which one?


Meaning of art in this context

A line from Kipling's The Last of the Light Brigade reads thus: They felt that life was fleeting; they knew not that art was long, What does _art_ mean in this context?


Can this sentence be switched around like this?

> I kept studying to the point that I became dizzy. Can that be switched around to become this and still be grammatically correct? > To the point that I became dizzy I kept studying. Is there anything wrong with that sentence?


"It's getting close to goodbye"

Is this grammatically correct? Is there anything wrong with that sentence?


Movies 'based on' v. 'inspired by' true events

I have heard there is a difference between movies 'based on' verses those 'inspired by' true events. Does one relationship with the 'true events' have more license than another, or is it just the director's discretion as to which phrase to use?


lying down and then sit up/down?

If your child is lying down and you want them to get in the sitting position, how do you ask them to in an informal/everyday language? If you could provide more than one way, it would be appreciated.


Is there a name for this literary device?

Is there a term that describes the act of giving tangible qualities to an intangible noun? > I **stumbled over** a metaphor or > I felt sadness **condense** on my skin The first one might just be "figure of speech", but perhaps there is a more specific name.


Why do we use the gerund of begin but not end when discussing a range?

In colloquial speech, one often hears the use of `the beginning and the end` to denote a range, but you rarely hear them paired in the same form or or the opposite pairing: ie begin and ending, begin and end, beginning and ending.


Not to Mention ≈ [Let Alone ≈ Much Less ≈ Still Less]

According to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/let+alone, the following are synonyms, which I denote with ≈: **not to mention ≈ let alone** According to http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/let%20alone:   **let alone ≈ much less ≈ still less**. I understand the meaning of " **not to mention**." However, could someone please expound how the structure in each of the other four averred synonyms means " **not to mention** "? Put differently, how does the continguity of two popular adjectives in each of the four cases result in **"not to mention"**? At present, I am only taking as gospel these synonymities, contingent upon the thesaurus. Without a thesarus, I would probably have never divined to couple each of the two of these popular adjectives to derive (near) synonyms of **not to mention.** I referenced The phrase "let alone".


Verb for "try to account for something"

In my writing I have the following statement: > We tried to account for this issue by doing this and that. Is there a single verb that be substituted for " _tried to account_ "?


"Not empty" set in one word?

Is there a single word which means "not empty"? That is, a word which one might use to describe a field with one or more cows in it, as opposed to an "empty" field with none? _Full_ or even _partially-full_ are not appropriate, because the number of animals is indeterminate, and the final count could be a single bull [which are best kept on their own] or fifty cows. Or three sheep. And the field is really only _full_ when there is no more space available. I'd prefer a single word, to go with the single word "Empty". Currently I'm using "has animals" which I feel is not particularly succinct. _[This is an edit of the original question reproduced below, in an effort to keep it on-topic]_ * * * I'm trying to figure out the names for different states of a set of items, empty or non-empty.   What I came up with so far:               EmptyAndFetching,     EmptyAndReady,     HasItemsAndFetching,     HasItemsAndReady,     Error      `HasItems` seems awkward, I would rather use one word than two.   How do you call a set that is not empty, i.e. has at least one item, in a common language?


Is it "Greetings from The sunny Hague" or "Greetings from sunny The Hague"?

If I were writing a postcard home from a sunny city, I would normally put the adjective just before the proper noun like "sunny Berlin". What should I do when it's The Hague?


What does "pleasant to a fault" mean?

Googling didn't help. Thanks in advance for your help.


`at all` posposition

I assume that > *He didn't say he enjoyed the party at all. is ungrammatical. But what about > He didn't think he enjoyed the party at all. Is this analysis correct? And if yes: What's the difference?


What's the meaning of the word "Roger". Over and out

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What does "Roger" mean in war movies? In some movies, when they are talking from base-camp to a plane for instance, they end their sentences with "Roger" (I hope it's written like this). In french, we are using "à vous", meaning that it is your turn to speak. From where does this surname (if it this) come from ?


What is it called when a non-verb is used as a verb?

This is in very common use on the internet. I just read this: > "[The] hotel employee walks in, I say "uh, puppy" and she just **NOPEd** the > [heck] out of the room." This is often done by adding _'d_ to the word.


What is origin of the word 'do'?

What is origin of the usage of the word 'do' when in reference to a social event (primarily in Britain)? For example a 'Stag do' or 'Christmas fundraiser do'.


What is a "BEA bag"?

I read this in an Agatha Christie novel from 1965: > He certainly left here on Thursday evening carrying his BEA bag. What is a BEA bag? Is it a brand or a specific type of bag? Googling doesn't yield very specific results.


Female equivalent of "bachelor"?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the word for an unmarried female? What is the word for an unmarried female? The above closed question is unanswered as _bachelorette_ implies both unmarried and divorced/widowed. _Spinster_ is for old women. _Bachelor_ is a never-married man. Is there no such female equivalent of _bachelor_?


Can you use "the legislator" as a general term to refer to the legislative power?

In Dutch, the term "de wetgever" (literally "the legislator", "the lawmaker") is often used to refer to the legislative power, the legislature. This is very often translated in English as "the legislator". E.g.: "A new ruling by the Constitutional Court will force **the Belgian legislator** and social partners to harmonise the employment statutes for blue-collar and white-collar workers by 2013, ..." (source: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2011/12/articles/be1112011i.htm) However, I cannot find good examples of this English term being used this way on UK websites. So, I was wondering if this actually correct.


What is the difference between "urgent" and "critical"?

When it comes to "the level of importance", what is the difference between "urgent" and "critical"? I have my own idea, but I recently came upon a scenario where the relative level of importance was reversed from my expectations. Thus, I'm looking for a standard/objective difference between the two.


order of the clauses linked by the conjunction 'while': why does it matter some times and at other times not?

Taken from _First Certificate Language Practice_ , by Michael Vince, page 78, exercise 7, sentences 2) and 7): 2) John has done well in French, but not so well in Maths. (to be rewritten as, says the key:)   * While John has done well in French, he has not done so well in Maths. (could also be written as:)   * John has done well in French while he has not done so well in Maths.   * While John has not done so well in Maths, he has done well in French.   * John has not done so well in Maths while he has done well in French. 7) I'm not going to pay, although I know that I should. (to be rewritten as, says the key:)   * While I know that I should pay, I am not going to. (could also be written as:)   * I am not going to pay while I know I should. (but not as:)   * *I know that I should pay while I am not going to.   * *While I am not going to pay, I know I should. So, in this case, the order of the clauses matters, whereas it did not in the previous case. Why?


Possessive pronouns vs possessive determiners

If my understanding is correct, the **possessive personal pronouns** (which are _mine, thine, yours, his, hers, its, ours,_ and _theirs_ ) are used in place of nouns, whereas the **possessive determiners** (which are _my, thy, your, his, her, its, our,_ and _their_ ) are used as adjectives. If this is the case, then why is example 1 below correct, as opposed to example 2?   1. Whose book is this? It is **mine**.    2. Whose book is this? It is ***my**.


Which words in a title should be capitalized?

Are there any concrete rules that say which words (parts of speech) in a title should start with a capital letter? What would be a correct capitalization for the title of this question?


What is the Rule for Capitalizing Titles

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which words in a title should be capitalized? First of all, after knowing the answer, I may need to edit the title of this post as the very first thing :) Moving to my actual question, which groups of words in the title should be Capitalized. I know, all nouns have to be, any other parts of speech?


What words are commonly lowercase when using Chicago Style Title Case?

My father has a website with over a thousand posts with the titles in UPPERCASE. We'd like to change the post titles to follow the Chicago Manual of Style Title Case rules. To speed things up I am going to run a script that will automatically capitalise all of the title words, apart from those words where lowercase would normally apply. We will then go through and manually check all of the posts for acronyms etc. So far I have identified the following words to be automatically changed to lowercase:                 'a','an','the',       'and','but','or','nor',       'if','then','else','when',       'at','by','from','for','in',       'off','on','out','over','to','into','with'      If we want to get as close as possible to the Chicago Manual of Style Title Case rules what additions/ deletions should I make to this list?


Rules for capitalization in presentation titles

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which words in a title should be capitalized? Hi everyone, I am German and the German language follows very strict rules of capitalization: A word starts with an upper case letter if its a noun or at the beginning of a sentence. In the English language however, nouns are usually written with a lower case letter at the beginning. But right now I am working on the slides for a presentation and I wonder what the rules for capitalization are in titles? I do have a template here and on that it looks like in titles all nouns are written with an upper case letter in front. Is this true? What is the general rule here?


Why Start Each Word in a Title with an Uppercase Letter?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which words in a title should be capitalized? I'm not a native speaker of English, and I've asked myself a lot why on many (most?) blogs, all words in an article’s title (except some little words like "of", "for", "with", ...) start with an uppercase letter. From my point of view it makes it less readable. But maybe it's a grammatical rule I don't know. Example: http://nytimes.com/


Confusion about book title capitalization

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which words in a title should be capitalized? Why are some book titles written with all letters in all words capitalized, while others choose to capitalize some words in the title? I mean, for example, when it comes to publication, what is the difference between "THINKING IN JAVA" and "Thinking in Java"?


When using initial caps, which words should be left un-capitalised?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which words in a title should be capitalized? Initial caps, otherwise known as title case, e.g. "When Using Inital Caps, Which Words Should Be Left Un-capitalised?". Which words should be un-capitalised? **Edit** I gather this differs between UK and US ...


Title Capitalization Doubt: "If" or "if?"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which words in a title should be capitalized? Suppose I'm going to write an article/essay with the following title: _**"What To Do If You Believe Space Aliens Shot JFK"_** Does the word "if" get capitalized, like above, or not?


When to write two-lettered words with capital?

Let's say I have a few titles here: > Fire _in_ Our Hands   >  Who _am_ I   >  Land of Dreams   > Do I write the _italic_ words with capitals like the other words,   or is it properly written the way it is?


What words are not capitalized in titles?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which words in a title should be capitalized? For instance: _The Story of a Boy who Likes Pancakes and is Hungry_ <\- (completely random made-up title) In this example "of, "a", "who", "and", and "is" are all not capitalized. I'm fairly sure this is correct but I'm not 100% positive about "who". In any case, is there some kind of list of what words are not capitalized in titles, or how do you know when not to capitalize specific words?


Capital letters in "That Someone that I Love"

In "That Someone that I Love", would "that" be capitalized?


Capitalization of idioms in titles

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which words in a title should be capitalized? If I'm using an idiom in a title then should all the elements of the phrase be capitalized or just the ones that are usually in capitals? For example, which of the following should be used? > be up and Running > > be Up and Running > > be Up And Running


Section titles capitalisation: in text and in table of contents

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which words in a title should be capitalized? Could you please tell me: What is the recommended capitalisation style for the section titles of a business document and a scientific text (PhD thesis)---first caps or sentence style? And if I use the first caps in the titles in the document, should I also use first caps in the table of contents?


Capital letter in the word "one"?

Suppose I have a headline for a subsection of a book or article that goes something like: Everything Collected in One Place. Is this correct or should it be: Everything Collected in one Place. ?


Should "the" be capatalised in this situation?

My friend is starting a blog, and the name she is planning to use for it is based in this structure: "Becky" the "Foodie". Should "the" in the name/title be capitalised? Becky The Foodie? Or Becky the Foodie? Thanks so much!


How to capitalize first letters in titles?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which words in a title should be capitalized? Often words in titles has its first letter capitalized, but some don't (such as "The Title of This Question"). What are the rules for which words to capitalize?


What to capitalize in a title?

I understand that you should not capitalize prepositions in titles but the following looks a bit funny: "Accept Changes into a New Space" To me, capitalizing 'into' looks more right, "Accept Changes Into a New Space". Is this still acceptable?


When writing a title, do you capitalize "the" in names like "Boris The Animal"?

When writing a title, do you capitalize "the" in names like "Boris The Animal", "Mike the Bike Guy" or "Tom The Dancing Bug"?


The grammatical strangeness of "done me wrong" and "did me service"

Why are "done me wrong" and "did me service" established phrases instead of the more standard "He wronged me" and "He serviced [helped] me"? **EDIT** : I just realized whatever connection I saw with French was spurious. The curious thing is why _do_ takes the object "me" here, which PLL has amply answered.


"Translated in" vs. "translated to"

Both of these seem very similar to me. Is there any difference between "books translated **to** English" and "books translated **in** English"? Google search returns many results for both (> 400,000), though "translated _to_ English" gives more results than "translated _in_ English". If only one of them is correct, then why the confusion?


Best word for "Dr. Einstein, <blank> of the theory of Special Relativity."

What is the best word to describe the creator of a scientific theory? As in: > Einstein was the `_____` of the theory of Special Relativity. _Creator_ , _author_ , _originator_ , and _inventor_ are possibilities, but which is the most appropriate/accepted term? * * * **EDIT:** “Father” seems to be the best fit for the example I gave, but is less apt for theories not as widely recognized as relativity or evolution. What would be the term for a less renowned scientist who has proposed a more controversial theory?


Do all words have a part of speech?

Do all words have a part of speech? The closest counterexample I can think of is _yes_. The dictionary says its supposed to be an adverb but it doesn't really strike me as something that modifies a verb. Are there any words in common use that simply don't have a part of speech? Or, alternatively, are there any parts of speech that they just don't teach in school because they're too abstract to the children learning their parts of speech?


Where/when did the *idea* of bad words come from in English?

**Bad Words:**   * f*ck    * sh*t    * *ss    * d*mn    * b*tch   * ... Ok, so there's no point in listing them all. The thing I'm interested in is this: Why is it that in English we have a strong sense of a _group_ of words that are bad, while in other languages/cultures, this distinction does not exist? Maybe this is a Western thing; for example, in Japanese they have _impolite_ words, but these words aren't segregated into their own fixed group. Their notion is much more vague and situational. Was English always this way? Was Old English _arse_ for example a "bad" word? When did the change happen? Did we inherit this more from an earlier language?


What's a word that suggests having very long ears?

I'm looking for an adjective that describes a living being as having very long ears (rabbit, donkey, etc.) preferably ending in "-uous".


Is there a more abstract word for infrastructure?

I am thinking a lot about infrastructure these days. My definition of infrastructure is "something, which facilitates other things, but does not by itself fulfill the need of a person". An example is the fiber-optics combined with the TCP/IP protocols and a bunch of other technologies, facilitate the creation of the internet, which again facilitates creation of services, which in the end fulfill the need for people to for example communicate. The word infrastructure can certainly be used for the fiber-optics and I believe also for the internet. Another example, is pure research, which "is research carried out to increase understanding of fundamental principles. Many times the end results have no direct or immediate commercial benefits". I believe that one cannot use the word infrastructure for pure research, even though I believe it is conceptually the same thing. Is there any other expression than infrastructure one can use for these things (Social Capital is another example)?


Trouble coming up with a good starting sentence for an essay

I am writing an essay for class and I want to write something about my power- lifting regimen. The problem is that I can not come up with a good starting line. Every thing I come up with seems clumsy and flawed.   So after some thinking I've come to decide how to start but I am having trouble with certain phrases. Here is what I have come up with so far   > The bar sits ever so stubbornly in the **palm of my hands** , **waiting for > that one chance to bring me down** , both literally and figuratively. I am a non-native English speaker and I am struggling with making it sound right. Can you help me in making this sentence better-sounding.


What's the word for "preferring this option/choice"

Context: I have two options to spend the coming summer, one would be to find a internship job and the other one would be to just relax and maybe try to do one of my projects that I have been telling you about lately. Honestly, I am **___ __** to/for taking a break and start a project or two - I feel that I need it. The word I'm looking for is similar in the sense to "leaning" or "biased", but both of these words can't be used here.


Hyphenation of "balaclava"

_Balaclava_ is hyphenated as:   * bal-a-cla-va, according to the online edition of Merriam-Webster    * ba-la-clava, according to the 1989 printed fourth edition of Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, p. 77  Which one is correct in British English? If there is a difference with the American English, which one is correct in American English?


Word for a strong election win that grants a candidate a referendum

I'm in search of the word that describes the strong referendum that a candidate receives upon a strong election win that grants him or her vast leeway in enacting policy reform. I can't quite get it; referendum is close, but I believe that there's a more specific word for this, perhaps 3-4 syllables and starting with a 'c'.


How should I understand this inversion?

I'm confused with the following sentence: > In this section, we look at how the shuffle works, as a basic understanding > would be helpful, should you need to optimize a Map-Reduce program. How do I understand the grammar and the meaning of this sentence?


Is "Far East" politically incorrect?

In the United States I think it's considered politically incorrect or culuturally insensitive to refer to China and other Asian countries as the "Far East". That's because calling it East of anything suggests that Europe is somehow the center of everything. But did you know in Chinese, the name for China is literally translated as "Central Country" (http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/phpbbforum/why-is-china- called-zhongguo-t81787.html). Pretty ironic, eh?


Biochemistry vs. Molecular Cell Biology

What is the difference between Biochemistry vs. Molecular Cell Biology? Is the former from chemists who became interested in biology and the later from biologists who became interested in chemistry? Why can't we all just get along...


Use of word late

situation; Mr. Peter Smith is died is the below sentence is ok for his wife, Mrs. Peter Smith (late)


What does "everything's gone pear-shaped" mean?

I've recently heard this phrase spoken twice on a British television show, and I assume it means something along the lines of, "everything's fallen apart," generally meaning, things are bad right now. Is this correct? Two follow-up questions: 1) What is the history of this idiom? 2) Is it commonly used in other countries?


What is the error called when numbers are confused with letters?

In serial numbers etc., there are many cases where you can't tell if the intended character is a number or a letter. For example, the number `0` and the letter `O`, the number `1` and the letters `l` or `I`, and so on. Is there a name for this concept/problem? Background: I'm writing a spell corrector for my search engine that handles this situation. I'd like to know what this concept is called so I can document it properly.


Is there a word for the action of lifting the mouse to go further?

Using a computer mouse to point to a far away target and running out of table surface (or hand range), one typically lifts the mouse, moves it in the opposite direction, puts it back down, and continues the movement. Is there an English word or expression for this action? If not, how would you concisely refer to it in a text? (I thought of _rowing_ or _scraping_ with the mouse.)


"At least make this" vs "make this at least" - which is grammatical?

Which one of the following sentence is grammatically correct?   * Can we at least make this predictable?    * Can we make this at least predictable? What is the grammar rule?


Term for competitor that is not the favourite

In a betting sport such as horse racing or boxing, the competitor for whom the odds are lowest is known as the _favourite_. Can the other competitors be termed something in contrast?


Compare 2 factors among others

I am trying to polish the following sentences: > The analysis time of an image depends on many factors. The size of an image > is not as primary as its nature, because... The context is:   1. There are many factors which determine the analysis time of an image.   2. Among them, we can think of "the size of an image" and "the nature of an image" (but there are still other factors).   3. For these 2 factors, our remark is that "the size of an image" is not as important as "the nature of an image". So my questions are:   1. I'm not sure if "nature" is a good term to use for "image"...   2. is "primary" a good word here? or maybe we can use "decisive"? Hope someone could help me write this sentence well, because it is a conclusion and quite important.


Using "in" in Present Perfect Tense

I remember my grammar teacher saying that: > If we want to tell the length of time a person has **not** done something, > then we can use either **_for_** or **_in_**. As in: > I haven't written a single line of code **in** two years, but I'm back at > business again. or > I haven't written a single line of code **for** two years, but I'm back at > business again.> However, I couldn't verify this from another source. Can somebody confirm it? I ask because this statement "looks" valid: > I have read at least nine books in nine months.


Questions beginning with "How to"

(particularly related to question/answer sites such as this) Quite often people want to ask _"How do I/you... ?"_ Maybe to be less personal or to have a generic title, _"How to... ?"_ is chosen instead. To me this feels quite jarring/incorrect (discussed here: Is a question beginning with "How to" grammatically correct?). Why is this wording so common? _"How does one... ?"_ might be more appropriate, but could be regarded as too formal or pompous. Is Is there another, better way to ask?


source for "buff"?

what's the derivation of the term buff for a physically well built, attractive male? Is it simply it simply shorthand, since buff means polished and therefore a man's torso that resembles a marble statue (think Michelangelo or the ancient Greeks) resembles this fantastical image of a man's torso? Is it now becoming popular to describe women also?


Is the title "Total Superleague" too much?

I'm not a native English speaker. So, I was wondering about what you might think of a title like this. It sounds a bit too much to me. Calling something that's already "super" as total.


Do I <verb> ....?

> Do I get all my packages?   >  Do I get any food for supper?   >  Do I have ....? Does this kind of sentence pattern starting with "Do I " when said as expressions for querying information sound more like kind of interrogation or challenge, for native speakers? It does for me sometimes, but then I don't know if my sense of the tones in oral English is accurate.


Why did the KJV use "thou" toward God?

The word "thou" (and similar variations of the Latin _tu_ in other languages) was used between people for informal speech, and talking to people of lower standing. So why did people use it (most prominently, in the King James Version of the Bible) to address God? If anything, I'd think speaking in humble deference to one's deity would _definitely_ require one to use "you".


Is there an old, rarely used word which means "an archaic word"?

I seem to recall from my youth, when my vocabulary was many times what it is today, learning a word (started with an 'a' I think) whose meaning was "an old, unused, or archaic word" or something roughly to that effect. I believe it was an adjective though it might have been a noun. This would be quite fun as an autological term. Does anyone recall such a word, or am I deceiving myself?


"Sought" vs. "searched"

Can _sought_ and _searched_ be used interchangeably? As in "we searched for an article" versus "we sought an article". (Or if I got those two examples wrong, but there are correct examples where sought and searched have the same meaning, please correct me.)


When should I use "a" vs "an"?

In the following example, is it appropriate to use _a_ or _an_ as the indefinite article, and why? > He ate __ green apple. I know that in the case of just "apple", it would be "an apple," but I've heard conflicting answers for "green apple," where the noun is separated from the article by an adjective. Also, which is more appropriate in this case: > He ate __ enormous Pop-Tart.


"An SQL Server database schema" or "a SQL Server database schema"?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Do you use "a" or "an" before acronyms? I got the following sentence from the book I'm reading: > You can take a database-first approach by first creating a SQL Server > database schema. From what I learned, I think it should be " **an** SQL Server database schema", not " **a** SQL Server database schema". So which one is correct?


Usage of A/An dependent on preferential pronunciation?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "An SQL Server database schema" or "a SQL Server database schema"?   >  How is SQL pronounced? I'm looking at a splash screen for a Structured Query Language interface, and the use of the word "an" on the page bothers me. It states "An SQL yadda yadda". Now, SQL to a large portion of users is pronounced "EssQueEll", where others pronounce it "sequel". The an is correct if you pronounce it the first way, but sounds wrong when pronounced the latter way. Is there a determinant factor when using it, or is it just the preference of whoever is writing at the time?


which one : A or An European?

It seems like "A European" is the correct one but why ? Is this a general rule about Capitalized words?


an SQA or a SQA?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Do you use "a" or "an" before acronyms? Although I am clear about the usage of 'an' and 'a' on most cases, but I am not sure how they are applied in front abbreviations. I heard that, whether vowel or consonants, abbreviations are always used with the 'an' article. Can someone confirm this?


Indefinite article doubt preceding "one-to-one"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When should I use "a" vs "an"? While I was reading a book, I faced the following sentence: > There is a one-to-one correspondence between the two sets of quantities. So, my question is: why the indefinite article "a" is not "an" in this phrase? The following word starts with a vowel, so shouldn't it be "an"?


Do you use "A" or "An" before an acronym that starts with L?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Do you use "a" or "an" before acronyms? We are making a banner for our LGBT running club. Is it An LGBT Running Club or A LGBT Running Club?


When using "an" before a vowel sounds wrong

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When should I use “a” vs “an”?   >  Do you use “a” or “an” before acronyms? Consider the following sentence:   "This is a one-time deal" sounds right   "This is an one-time deal" sounds wrong "One" is pronounced the same as "won", which wouldn't require an "an". Is it proper/required to use the 'an' before a vowel rule when it just sounds wrong?


Why "an FT op-ed"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "A" vs. "An" in writing vs. pronunciation In an article in The Economist, it is written "That was raised in an FT op- ed...". Why is it "an FT op-ed" and not "a FT op-ed"?


Correct English: "An L.V." or "a L.V."?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  “a” or “an” for words that don't start with vowels but sound like they're > starting with a vowel   >  Do you use “a” or “an” before acronyms?   >  Does one use 'a' or 'an' before the word X-Ray?   >  Use of “a” versus “an” I understand that "an" has to be used whenever the next word phonetically begins with a vowel. But in this case _L.V._ is an abbreviation.


"A" or "an" for symbols that start with @

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When should I use “a” vs “an”? I'm writing about concepts in programming languages, and for instance in the Java language, so-called annotations are declared with an "@" sign in front of them. When such annotations are referred to in the text, is the "@" typically "pronounced" by the reader, or is it silent? That is, would you write > Use an @SuppressWarnings annotation or > Use a @SuppressWarnings annotation My gut feeling is that the latter variant is better, but then again, I'm not a native English speaker (nor a native Java programmer). I would prefer to be explicit, and thus not to write > Use a SuppressWarnings annotation


An or a in given sentence scenario

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When should I use “a” vs “an”? Sorry I couldn't think of a better title, but I don't know how to explain my problem using terminology. I have this sentence: "Aside from that I'm **an** Irish Setter loving, Frank Turner junkie." I understand you should use the word "an" over "a" when the following word begins with a vowel. In this case, it does. However, the sentence is meant to flow through to the word "junkie" – if that makes sense. And if you read it like this, it doesn't make sense to use "an": "I'm an … Frank Turner junkie." Should I be using "a" or "an" in this sentence?


Indefinite Article for "s-t-path"

I am currently writing a (mathematical) paper, which considers so called paths in graphs. The start of a path is usually denoted by the letter s and the end of the path is denoted by t. The whole path is then called "s-t-path" and my question is about which indefinite article to use with it. The selected answer in Indefinite article before symbols says to just use 'a' or 'an' according to how you pronounce what follows. This would imply that one should write "a s-t-path", because the s goes with a (a superhero, etc.). When I am actually using the construct in a spoken sentence, however, what I would be saying is "an s-t-path". There are 39,700 google search results for "an s-t-path" versus 41,900 results for "a s-t-path", which is to show that this topic truly divides the nation ;-)


Is there a name for the "a"/"an" exceptions?

"A person" or "an ornament" are normal instances of 'A' being followed by consonants or vowels. However the rule seems to have exceptions when a word sounds like it starts with the opposite, such as "an hour" or "a url" (when url is pronounced letter by letter). Is there a name for this kind of exception?


a vs an before an noun starting with x

Im a programmer and I was writing a comment today that read: > Finds a XPath relative to the Node From what I understand you should always use 'a' over 'an' when it proceeds a word starting with a vowel. such as > I ate an apple > > I ate a orange It sounds weird to me the way "Finds a XPath" reads. It feels more comfortable reading "Finds an XPath". I know English is full of weird rules and I am wondering if this is one of them. What is the correct usage here? In case it is relevant heres a link to what XPath is.


"I drive an car" vs "I drive a car"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Use of "a" versus "an" I'm confused, when do I use "an" and when "a" ? I see some people are correcting my questions and changing `a` with `an`. `I drive a car` sounds much better than `I drive an car` :|


"a" or "an" for words that don't start with vowels but sound like they're starting with a vowel

Is it correct to say or write _an student_ or _an store_?


Is it "a SSD" or "an SSD"?

> **Possible Duplicates:**   >  an SQA or a SQA?   >  Do you use "a" or "an" before acronyms? Since SSD (solid-state drive) is pronounced es-es-dee, I'm wondering whether one should write "an SSD" or "a SSD".   Saying "a SSD" out loud feels a bit off...


A becomes an before a word beginning with a vowel, does this apply to u?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Use of "a" versus "an"   >  Is it "a uniform" or "an uniform" In spoken English we do say: > He is _an_ unhappy person But I never hear anyone say: > He has _an_ user account I have a lot of exposure to overseas students in Australia, and I am thinking that it is because of textbooks and lack of spoken English that this is now becoming a trend. Can anyone please tell me if this is correct or not? It makes me so mad I want to ride away on an unicorn.


Why shouldn't we say "an user"?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When should I use "a" vs "an"?   >  Does one use 'a' or 'an' before the word X-Ray? As far as I understood, you prefix "an" instead of "a" before any proceeding word starting with a vowel when you wish to speak about an object (there's probably a correct term for this), but ie. a towel, a tree etc. So why is it so common to say " **a** user clicked this" or "please enter **a** username" and not "an" instead of "a" like "an umbrella"?


"A" or "an" before a word starting with a fraction

Which of the following is correct?   * a ½-approximation algorithm    * an ½-approximation algorithm What is the rule? I have tried to find the rule for numbers, but I don’t know how to apply this to fractions.


The use of indefinite article with initials

Can you explain why we say AN NHS provision but A National Health provision. Or A UFO but An UNIDENTIFIED Fly Object. Are there any rules regarding the use of A or An when using initials such as ! In business FME ? Thanks


Do you use "a" or "an" before acronyms?

99% of the time, I'm clear on when I should use "a" versus "an." There's one case, though, where people & references I respect disagree. Which of the following would you precede with "a" or "an," and why?   * FAQ   * FUBAR   * SCUBA [Note: I've read the questions "A historic..." or "An historic…"? and Use of "a" versus "an", but the rules given there don't necessarily apply here.] * * * [Edited to add] Here's a shorter (and hopefully clearer) version of the question… In written English, which is correct (and why): "a FAQ" or "an FAQ"? Some references with differing opinions:   * _an_ : the UC San Diego Editorial Style Guide and Apple Publications Style Guide (page 69)   * _a_ : the _Microsoft Manual of Style for Tech Publications, 3e_   * either: the alt.usage.english FAQ and Yahoo! Style Guide


Indefinite article for words starting with "E" An/A Ensemble

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When should I use “a” vs “an”? which article should be used with the words which start with the letter "E" such as "Ensemble" ?


Should I use `a SSTP` or `an SSTP`?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Do you use "a" or "an" before acronyms? First of all let me clarify that _SSTP_ is an abbreviation of a technical term.   I want to know, when using in a sentence, should I use _a_ or _an_ before _SSTP_ and such terms? If I'm right when letter _s_ is at the beginning of an actual word, it is a consonant. But what about the abbreviations?


When using "HR" for Human Resources, should "a" or "an" be used in front of it in a sentence?

IS HR an acronym? Should "a" or "an" be used in front of it in a sentence, such as: Do you have an HR question?


Does one use 'a' or 'an' before the word X-Ray?

I was asking this question on Area 51: "How do I tell if an airport scanner is a X-ray scanner?", but I keep wanting to put an 'an' in front of X-ray because it starts with the 'eh' sound. So is it 'a' or 'an'?


"A user" or "an user"?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Use of "a" versus "an"   >  "A" becomes "an" before a word beginning with a vowel, does this apply to > "u"?   >  Is it “a uniform” or “an uniform”?   >  Which is correct — “A Year” or “An Year”? I noticed an ad on Stack Overflow featuring another StackExchange site and the title of the question had this in it: > Allow an user to... But shouldn't it be > Allow a user to... Am I wrong or is this just one of those exceptions?


Should I use "a" or "an" before nouns starting with W

I have seen people saying "I am an Web developer", but by googling it, we can see that "A web developer" is much more common, and probably the right way. What is the rule here, since the W from "Web" is pronounced like a vowel?


Is the "an" rule applied when a sum of money is in between?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When should I use "a" vs "an"? I have recently seen this image: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/9QaC6.jpg) Should _"a"_ have been used instead of _"an"_ in the _"...an $100,000 apartment"_ part?


Acronyms: "a" vs "an"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Do you use "a" or "an" before acronyms? When there is an acronym such as NSFW (Not Safe For Work) as in the following example > This is an NSFW link > > This is a Not Safe For Work link Is it correct to use "a" or "an" when using the acronym? I've assumed that it was dependant upon how you're going to pronounce the acronym when speaking (spelling it out "N-S-F-W" or just saying what the letters stand for "Not Safe For Work"). I see in print > This is a NSFW link which to me is incorrect because I pronounce the acronym letters.


What article do we use before a symbol? Is it "an @" or "a @"?

I got a doubt when reading this text: > The name of the decorator should be prepended with an @ symbol. Should we write "a @ symbol" or "an @ symbol"? As "@" is in fact "at", I would think "an" should be used to avoid the coexistence of two vowels one after the other. More generally, what is the general rule to know if we have to write "a" or "an" before other symbols like "€", etc.? Is it based on how the symbol is read?


Which article would be correct in this instance?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Do you use "a" or "an" before acronyms? What article should be used directly in front of an acronym that begins with 'N?' Since the pronunciation of the letter 'N' begins with a vowel sound, would 'an' be correct?


What indefinite article ("a" or "an") should be used before "x"

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Does one use 'a' or 'an' before the word X-Ray? I understand that the decision between "a" and "an" is generally based on what vowel sound the following word begins with. In the case of "x" I am not sure, it could be either:   * An ehcks   * A ecks


> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Do you use "a" or "an" before acronyms? Why do we write 'He has an MA' and not ' a MA' even though MA does not begin with a vowel? Can anybody give me anymore examples like it?


Using 'an' before a consonant

Depending on the word, using `an` before a consonant is not right. What about in this phrase, "David has just gotten an SX250". To me, it does sound a lot better than "David has just gotten a SX250". I saw a similar phrase in a book the other day, and it did not sound/look right at all! Don't know if I'm going crazy or what..


An 'x' or a 'x'?

Suppose that 'x' is a variable in a Mathematics text. What is more correct to say: a. Pick an 'x' _or_ b. pick a 'x'?