In Nouns^x, Conversations^x

171 I think I have the advantage of being a native speaker 187 Indeed If you say a phrase is wrong then it s wrong and vice versa And thanks for sharing your knowledge 171 Maybe you feel a difference on the basis of whether the completing phrase is a subject or an object of the ing word 187...

A is often used with plural nouns when there is an adjective before the noun and an amount is thought of He spent a happy five days in Cairo An adjective becomes a plural noun when the is placed before it The illiterate can t read Illiterate people can t read The rich like money Rich people like...

Hi TYou may hear expressions like a little alterations in informal conversation but in correct English your sentence should be It didn t fit me at first so I had a few alterations made If the alterations were so insignificant as to hardly deserve a mention you could say I had some small...

Do you want cookies or chocolates The latter Yes It s acceptable However the former and the latter are usually reserved for expository writing in an essay for example and they are not used in everyday conversation very much Used in everyday conversation these expressions seem a little strange a...

Thank you all for your comments guys CalifJim wrote My observation is that learners find these nearly impossible to incorporate in their own conversations Any comments on that My opinion is that learners use contractions if they are used to them for example because they hear them often So maybe I...

Hi Ernest I think you may have misunderstood me I meant these as two separate examples EXAMPLE A I don t understand There is no object The sentence does not tell you what I don t understand I might not even have told you yet eg start of conversation I don t understand What exactly is Einstein s...

Thank you for your reply Clive I just have one question eg start of conversation I don t understand What exactly is Einstein s theory of relativity I don t understand that The pronoun that is the object I expect you the listener to know what it refers to So do you say I don t undetstand What...

Hi I wonder if there are any differences between I think that perhaps you don t understand and I think that perhaps you don t understand that Let s simplify the examples I don t understand There is no object The sentence does not tell you what I don t understand I might not even have told you yet...

Modal Auxiliary subject pronoun not V This is a lesser used grammatical pattern It is used for rhetorical effect It makes the speaker more like a teacher making a pronouncement rather than an ordinary person having a normal conversation It may give a haughty or pompous tone to the sentence or it...

Kooyeen wrote Hi I don t think grammar in writing is different from grammar in speech at all You can write the way you speak and speak the way you write So what is that QCA really doing Nothing I guess Playing cards instead of working LOL I agree in some part Kooyeen I think that spoken language...