Questions tagged [grammar]
Questions about the rules of grammar, and how to properly apply them to writing. Note that questions asking to improve or check grammar of a specific piece are off-topic.
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Which Is Clearer: 'Being pressed' or 'Pressed'?
Consider these two sentences:
[1] Being pressed against the wall, he struggled to break free.
[2] Pressed against the wall, he struggled to break free.
I've recently spent some time reading grammar ...
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Is there a smooth way to indicate that third person pronouns don't matter so much in my worldbuilding in English?
For context, I am nonbinary, and also East Asian.
My language of fluency is English, but I know other languages and also have an anthropology degree. (Japanese, Korean, a tiny, tiny bit of Mandarin, ...
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How Should We Implement the Given-before-New Principle in Fiction?
It's safe to say I've become a bit of a grammar nerd since I started writing my first novel. Three years after my first words landed on the page, I'm only now coming to the end of my final round of ...
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Avoiding ambiguity when using pronouns to refer back to different parts of the preceding clause
I have the following sentence
A Terminal Interface is used to interact with the Operating
System that acts as an intermediary between the user and the
computer hardware.
I want to make sure that ...
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Should this sentence use "might be" or "might have been"?
I am writing about a woman who has found an anonymous parcel on her desk, and she is talking to her colleague to find out who might have sent it...
The novel is written in past tense, and I am not ...
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Non finite (..ing) v finite (..ed) verb form correct usage
The rhythm of these 3 excerpts below are different, they read to me more or less the same though. Are any actually grammatically wrong? It's funny the sort of questions that pop up when you start ...
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a/the when talking about the company in a resume
In a resume, where the format is:
{Company Name} - {Title} - {Start Date} - {End Date} - {Location}
{Summary of the responsibilities and accomplishments at the company}
One of the entries is the ...
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Which one is correct grammatically concerning good and well? [closed]
If I am asking my child to close the door completely, should I say, "Close the door good." or "Close the door well."
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"we say x is a variable ... " vs "we say that x is a variable ..."?
I am writing a mathematical paper and many definitions include statements like "we say that c is a constant ... "
My question: Is "that" really necessary here?
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Do scientific papers use "minus N" or "add -N"?
Imagine scientific papers written in English. Is it common in this field to express the subtraction of values as "add -N"?
So for example instead of writing "Patient weight minus 2"...
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parenthetical... suggestion?
okay, trying to settle an argument. on my dating profile, one of the prompts says: "together we could.."
among other things, my response includes, "eat (spicy) food".
my friends ...
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Is this an extraneous preposition?
Is it correct to include the "on?"
Gap years are best for students to decide (on) their majors.
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Usage of semi-colon
Which one is correct? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the context matters. I've heard that "if the sentence cant stand on its own, the semi-colon isn't needed", but I frankly can'...
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How do I list a married couple when one of them is deceased?
I need to list a married couple as honorees on an event invitation. They are the recipients of an award, but the husband has recently passed. If I say the late Joe and Jane Smith, does that imply they ...
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Does it make sense to use the English language ungrammatically because the worldbuilding of your world tells you to do so?
Does it make sense to use the English language ungrammatically because the worldbuilding tells you to do so? I was thinking about writing a story in a world where gender pronouns don't exist and ...
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Can you switch from past to present tense to expound on an action?
If the text is primarily past tense, can you briefly switch to present tense to expound on an action? An example is as follows.
She took one step before the brass bell above her door echoed a sharp ...
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Can someone "have a moment of reprieve"?
I'm editing a friend's essay for graduate school. They use the sentence:
"I want to help patients have a moment of reprieve."
It feels odd to me, but I don't want to make an edit if it's ...
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Comparison of two categories over a specific period of time
Year: 2009 / 2019
Mobile use: 15% / 26%
Table use: 5% / 19%
what is the correct way to describe changes in two different years? I have tried to describe the changes in three different sentences,...
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"Through using" or "through use of"?
"Phishing entails collecting victim information through using social engineering."
Is this correct? It sounds better to use "through use of" to my ears, but would that be more ...
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Do I always need a comma after a person's name?
This is a big issue between my husband and me. He says always put a comma after a name, I say only when a break is needed. Example:
A review of the complaint filed by Andrew, shows that Linnea, and ...
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What is the 'it' doing in this sentence?
I don't like then sentence I have just written:
"If the mat is too thick, then it becomes difficult to balance."
I believe the meaning is clear, but is it bad grammar? Specifically, I can't ...
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Is it accurate to use hyphens after people's names? (John - , Hi John -)
I've seen a number of people especially in business settings use hyphens after names while writing or addressing other individuals. Is this accurate? e.g. John - I've been trying to reach you or Hi ...
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When the pronoun "I" occurs outside of quotes, is it always a narrator's voice?
When the pronoun "I" occurs outside of quotes, is it always a narrator's voice? If there are exceptions, I would be grateful for examples.
OldRoboCoder
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Question about present tense writing, and use of the words: have, and think
I am just beginning to get serious about the way I write, furthermore I’m a very cautious writer so I would just like to know if these simple paragraphs are correct. I am trying to clarify both my use ...
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Can "splooge" be considered a form of onomatopoeia?
I know I've heard that sound. I can't quite remember where. If you Google it, it refers you to ejaculation. I did find one reference that identified it as a verb and a noun, but no mention of ...
user55169
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What is the verb in Mark Twain’s sentence?
In Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad he ends chapter 31 with the following two sentences:
This saddens me. I will to bed.
I have never seen this grammatical form. What is the intransitive verb in “I ...
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Can "they" be used when it comes to a person and their animal companions
Yes, I know that an animal is referred as “it” unless the relationship is personal (like a pet that has a name). Then they'd be "he" or "she"
It's more on the context of: A person ...
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How to write a biography without pronoun repetition?
My question is similar to this one, but I am not happy with the answer. Also, my style and sample example are very different.
I am writing a biography and all the writing has become, ' he did this' '...
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Is there a resource (website, book, etc.) to learn the basics of novel/story grammar?
I'm interested in learning to write as someone that has been a reader my whole life. I'm aware there are many website for tips like "every time a different character speaks, start a new line"...
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This, that, these, those [closed]
English is not my first language. I am writing a more or less formal text (nonfiction).
When I am talking about something that I introduced in a previous paragraph or sentence, is it correct to always ...
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Whether to use settle "in" or "on"
I've been writing some flavor text for my next board game release, which is about settling a colony in/on different planets, and I am not sure if I'm using those two prepositions correctly, if I have ...
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When writing, should I describe a scream instead of having the character yell out "Ahhhh!"
Another writer was critiquing my story, and she mentioned that I should describe the scream and show the reaction of the character instead of having the character actually scream out "Ahhhh!"...
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What's the solution for "language being subjective" affecting readability? To write more concisely or what?
What's the solution for "language being subjective" affecting readability? To write more concisely or what?
To me it seems like knowing how to make a "well understood" text seems ...
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Is using non-sentences bad writing?
Consider the following extract of text (content not important, only sentence structure):
When the jump is made, from seeing a subject as vocational, to worthy
of study for the sake of knowledge alone,...
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Newbie needs help with hyphen confusion!
I'm new here, trying to sharpen up my grammar skills due to a new transcription job.
I have a question pertaining to one of the documents I'm typing right now. I use the Grammarly app as my word ...
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Using past or present tense when writing about an event occurring on that day
I was wondering which of the two sentences are correct:
The homework was due today
The homework is due today
My story is written in past tense, but character X says this in narration during the ...
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Interspersing German in English dialogue?
My situation is this: in the dialogue I’m writing, the characters speak primarily English but occasionally use a German word for lack of a proper English equivalent. German capitalizes all nouns ...
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Why do I lose focus and direction in my songwriting?
Today while writing my song, every line seemed to fight me. It seemed to wander without direction. I don't always have this problem but would like to figure how to avoid writing songs that wind up ...
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How can I avoid overusing "I" and "I'm" in a first person short story?
The story I'm writing uses 'I' and 'I'm' way too much, and it's really obvious. The problem is that I cannot find words to replace the two, and when I do, it always changes and bends what I'm trying ...
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Comma after colon, or just use hyphens instead?
Please read the following sentence:
My interest in learning and thirst to seek out information whenever I can: my curiosity, is what I would consider my greatest talent.
In this situation, is the ...
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Relapse or relapses?
I'm writing an academic paper on the topic of substance use relapse. I am wondering when it is appropriate to use 'relapse' without a preposition when used as a noun in a singular form. Two examples ...
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When is a colon recommended or more grammatically correct than a comma or semicolon when used mid sentence?
Please note I am posting as a UK English writer, I point this out as I know there are differences between American and UK grammar guidelines or accepted practices. I would also add that I am asking ...
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Can I link a dialogue tag to dialogue using a colon
Can I introduce dialogue as follows -
The headmaster entered the room: "Everybody sit down now!"
or -
"Everybody sit down now": The headmaster had entered the room
I know I could ...
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Trying to decide on writing style and format for dialogue. Looking for Grammatical advice and suggestions. Native British English spearker
I am new to this forum and writing and I am trying to decide on my preferred writing style. I am currently working on dialogue and looking for ideas and suggestions for grammatically correct and 'good ...
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Singular or plural verb after a list of single activities? [closed]
In the following sentence, which one is correct? "requires" or "require"?
Reading all recent papers, relating them together, and finally drawing a conclusion from them require(s) ...
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Any programs useful for writing?
Which programs would you recommend for writing? Whatever they possess general functions to correct your texts and grammar, and/or functions specific for storytelling/worldbuilding (characters, places, ...
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"Lack of [plural]": should accompanying verb be singular or plural?
In this sentence:
It’s not our lack of answers to these problems that causes us such pain.
My word processor tells me that "causes" should be in the plural form "cause", but I'm ...
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Is there any pronoun in English that can include both HE and SHE?
Some languages like Persian do not have gender for pronouns. For example, they use just one pronoun (Ou) to refer to he/she. This makes the language gender-neutral which to me it is more convenient in ...
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Best method to separate complex/multiple nouns and the verb? Semi-colon?
Would a semi-colon be appropriate separating a list of nouns all affected by a verb/or are all the agents responsible for said action? If not what do you all suggest without altering the structure of ...
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I am trying to find an online, free to use and algorithm-based grammar checker, that can reliably point out mistakes. Any suggestions?
I tried using Quillbot and Grammarly, but they sometimes give inappropriate edits, or not enough information to justify edits so I am often left confused. Any suggestion would be helpful.
P.S: If such ...
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