Search results for 'tag:Images tag:Plurals' matching tags 'Images' and 'Plurals'

Re: gecko vs lizard

Tanit — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:40:41 GMT

Vincent,

For me it is really hard to answer on the basis of what you posted. They both eat insects.
Geckos are lizards, but not all lizards are geckos.

Cambridge Dictionary

Gecko noun [ C ] plural geckos or geckoes
a small lizard with wide feet, found especially in warm countries

Moreover, different species can be found in different parts of the world.
I post here two pictures, which show a gecko ...

... and a lizard:

These are both pretty common species where I live (they don't live in our houses, though!).
Do they resemble to the ones that live in your area? Do they differ from those you'd call "geckos" and "lizards"?

You might want to have a look to these two pages from Wikipedia: Lizards and Geckos.

Re: WORDS MEANING

Marius Hancu — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:05:08 GMT

Pls show some context ...

-----------
hausÂ·toÂ·riÂ·um

Inflected Form(s):plural haustoÂ·ria \-r\

: a food-absorbing outgrowth of a hypha, stem, or other plant organ: as a : a projection from various fungous hyphae b : a cell of the embryo sac or embryo in some seed plants c : an outgrowth of the stem or root in a parasitic seed plant (as dodder)

http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com
---------------

The other you will find in any dictionary.

Re: Which one is correct? (conditional clause)

Goodman — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:56:34 GMT

Yoong Liat wrote:
Hi Goodman
I searched for 'run into troubles' but found 'run into trouble' instead. The following is just one of the extracts.

Oxford University Google Search

Oxford University > Search Oxford University > Search Results

powered by

Search the Web Search ox.ac.uk

Web Searched pages from ox.ac.uk for run into troubles. (0.06 seconds)

File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
(If you run into trouble with this the simplest option is to abort the integral routine and try again!). You. may now have to adjust the slope of the ...
www.chem.ox.ac.uk/spectroscopy/nmr/PDFs/ac_user.PDF - Similar pages

Liat,

Fine, if you believe and insist that what you learned is true, I don't want you to change your opinion on my behalf.

I know you searched for "if you run into trouble...".Have you tried others? (when you..../ should you.../ in case you ...?

My point is, the book's answers don't always explain everything. In this case, "troubles" as in the plural context discussed, is just as valid as it's singular cousin.

One can have trouble with marriage, job and finance at the same time, so what is wrong with plurals, as in "having troubles"!

Re: Articles (a, an)

Hoa Thai — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:34:52 GMT

Hi Yoong Liat,

Following your advice that I should refer to dictionaries or English usage books to learn the correct thing, I found this:

From http://www.answers.com/topic/advice?cat=biz-fin&method=26&initiator=FFANS

THE AMERICAN HERRITAGE
adÂ·vice (Äd-vÄ«s') hapes="_x0000_i1025" align="middle" border="0" height="18" width="20">
n.

Opinion about what could or should be done about a situation or problem; counsel.
Information communicated; news. Often used in the plural: advices from an ambassador.

HOUGHTON MUFFLIN COMPANY (banking dictionary)
advice

noun

An opinion as to a decision or course of action: counsel, recommendation. See opinion.
New information, especially about recent events and happenings. intelligence, news, tiding (often used in plural), word. Informal scoop. See knowledge/ignorance, words.

Regarding others' replies saying mistakes seem to come from the majority of non-native English speakers, please visit the following web sites:

From the majority of American courts - for example http://www.almb.uscourts.gov/Forms/Forms/statement_payment_advices.pdf
"Statement Under Penalty of Perjury Concerning Payment Advices - Due Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. Â§ 521(A)(1)(B)(iv)"

From a webpage of Cambridge University International Education and Training Society, http://www.societies.cam.ac.uk/iets/
" ... Summarise general situations and common difficulties for students in graduate, undergraduate, A-Levels and GCSE courses, and provide advices and assistances to individual cases."

From the transcript of Senator Robert Hill in Australlia, http://www.minister.defense.gov.au/2004/AVF843F.doc
"Well I understand there were some questions arising out of Mr Downerâs comments regarding Turkey and the travel advices."

According to many gurus at this forum, advices should not be used.

Now, I hope you all understand why ESL learners can easily become confused.

Let's table this and go on to something else, shall we? (I will post another question, using a new thread later).

Thank you all,
Hoa Thai

Re: Articles (a, an)

Yoong Liat — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:18:28 GMT

Hoa Thai wrote:
Thank you all for your answers. With your advice and after hours of studying various sentences from Google search, I come to the following conclusions:

- Water takes a plural form, waters, to signify the water drawn from different sources. The same idea is apllied for satisfaction as pointed by Yoong Liat. So advice can actually take a plural form as many people believe it should be treated to separate thoughts from different sources (Google search shows almost 6,000,000 entries that use advices).

Yoong Liat - Do you think I am still confused? Yes.

Always refer to a dictionary or an English usage book if you want to get the correct answer. Don't depend on Google.

advice is never used in the plural: a piece of advice, some advice. (Times-Chambers Junior Dictionary)

advice

adÂ·vice (plural adÂ·vices)

noun

Definition:

1. recommendation about action: somebody's opinion about what another person should do
May I give you some advice?

2. official information: formal or official information about something, usually received from a distance ( often used in the plural )

(EncartaÂ® World English Dictionary, North American Edition)

Re: wish clauses

Goodman — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:52:34 GMT

Yoong Liat wrote:
Hi Goodman

You wrote: I have been labeled and called by many descriptions, hinted being âIgnorantâ is the first ...

I'm not hinting that you're ignorant. I say that if a learner tells me "informal" means "wrong", I'll understand that he says so because he is ignorant. But you are not a learner. You're one of the members who have a good command of English. So that's why I say it's not correct for you to say that a usage, which is classified as "informal", is wrong.

I've reproduced below what Michael Swan has to say about "I wish I was ... " and "I wish it wasn't ..." and let the members decide whether you're right to say "I wish it was not raining" or "I wish it wasn't raining" is a wrong usage.

We can use 'wish' to express regrets - to say that we would like things to be different. We use a past tense with a present meaning in this case.
I wish I was better-looking.
I wish it wasn't raining.

In a formal style, we can use 'were' instead of 'was' after 'I wish'.
I wish I were better-looking.

(Basic English Usage by Michael Swan)

Best wishes.

Liat,

With our differences in point of view, I appreciate your reply. For all intents and an purposes, I am still a learner on a different level but I perhaps have the advantage being in a completely English environment and therefore, I may appear to have better command. That said, I do feel there is a certain slight inconsistency among all the different English websites, particularly on the subjunctive. There should not be any argument that âIf I wereâ or âI wish I wereâ is a subjunctive mood. The difference of the agruement really lies in the defining of the rules and the mood expressed in the senstence. The early website quoted âI wish I wasâ as informal.

In reality, after reading this article, that is indeed incorrect. The bottom line, " I wish I was" is against the subjunctive ruels. Take a look at the explanation on this website then you may come to agree with what I said in my earlier threads.

Confusingly enough, in the "self test", some of of the answers are considered "acceptable" or "informal" by some. I should hope that this piece will settle all questions about indicative and subjunctive moods.

Subjunctive Mood

However, if a form of the verb to be were used in that sentence, all polished writers would agree that the subjunctive is necessary: "If he were [not was] ...
www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/073001.htm - 16k - Cached - Similar page



GIW Home		writeDate(); Mon Oct. 8, 2007 \| Tell a Friend \| Subscribe \| Order Our Book
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	Writing Tip: July 30, 2001 The Subjunctive Mood Examine the verbs in each of the following sentences: 1. If Harrison were chosen to be the next chief executive officer of the corporation, several controversial hiring practices would change. 2. If I were you, I would increase my weekly contribution to the company-sponsored retirement fund. 3. I wish that his report were longer. 4. We recommend that the trip be postponed because of violence in the region. 5. The finance department requests that he submit updated budget projections each month. All the above sentences are correct. Two terms apply to the mood of English verbs: indicative and subjunctive. An indicative verb makes a statement that is factual, whereas a verb in the subjunctive mood is used to indicate a situation or condition that is hypothetical, doubtful, or conditional. In the indicative mood, we would never write "Harrison were," "I were," "report were," "trip be," or "he submit," but these verbs are correct in the examples above because each of the sentences is written in the subjunctive mood; that is, in every case, the sentence is describing a situation that is hypothetical or conditional: 1. Harrison is not now the C.E.O., but hypothetically he could be chosen for that position. The conditional nature of the position is suggested by the word if. 2. Again, as the word if makes clear, I am not, in fact, you. So once again the situation is hypothetical and conditional: I would save more only under the condition that I became you. 3. His report is not, in fact, longer, so the sentence speaks of a hypothetical situation. 4. The trip is not currently postponed, so the subjunctive mood is appropriate to suggest a possibility, not an actuality. 5. He is not currently submitting reports monthly, so we use the subjunctive mood to discuss the possibility--not the actuality--of his doing so. For all verbs except to be, the present subjunctive mood is most often made by omitting the characteristic s ending on verbs with third-person singular subjects. Thus, whereas in the indicative mood we would write "man leaves," in the subjunctive mood we would omit the s on the verb leave: "The judge insisted that the man not leave town." For the verb to be, we simply use be for all present tense subjunctive mood verbs and were for all past tense forms, regardless of whether the subject is singular or plural. The Columbia Guide to Standard American English (New York: MJF Books, 1993) points out that while many subjunctive-mood phrases are commonly used in ordinary speech--"if I were you," "if need be," "far be it from me," and so on--strict use of the subjunctive mood is rare, even in the most formal speaking and writing situations (243). Very few people would write, for example, "If he arrive on time, we will have dinner before the show." However, if a form of the verb to be were used in that sentence, all polished writers would agree that the subjunctive is necessary: "If he were [not was] to arrive on time, we could have dinner before the show." The Harbrace College Handbook (13th edition) lists other common, fixed expressions that are stated in the subjunctive mood: "so be it," "be that as it may," "as it were," and "God bless you" (99-100). TEST YOURSELF Which of the following sentences need verbs in the subjunctive mood? 1. If I was Sam, I would hire an assistant now before the hiring freeze takes effect. 2. The committee suggested that Dr. Jones is chosen as the next chief of staff. 3. As August approaches, every school child wishes that his or her vacation was longer. 4. It is critical that every potential donor gives blood during this shortage. ANSWERS 1. If I WERE Sam, I would hire an assistant now before the hiring freeze takes effect. 2. The committee suggested that Dr. Jones BE chosen as the next chief of staff. 3. As August approaches, every school child wishes that his or her vacation WERE longer. This is almost the exact sentence identified as correct in your past post. 4. It is critical that every potential donor GIVE blood during this shortage. Copyright 2001 Get It Write More Tips \| Tell a Friend *Special Request:* Please share these tips with friends and colleagues and encourage them to subscribe. (If you post the tips to an internal distribution list of any size, please tell us the nature of the list and the number of subscribers. We would like to know how many people we are reaching with this service. We appreciate your positive feedback and excellent comments!)

Re: What's the difference between 'affair' and 'event'?

Marius Hancu — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 10:12:23 GMT

------
affair

2 a : any procedure, action, or occasion not clearly distinguished or only vaguely specified <an affair of honor> <one of the most brilliant social affairs of the season> <public life had become so discreditable an affair -- F.M.Ford> <the whole affair from start to finish did not occupy more than thirty seconds -- S.H.Holbrook> <if he knew anything about rain, this was going to be an all-day affair -- Hamilton Basso> -- sometimes used in plural <an attempt to end this sad state of affairs>

Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (20 Sep. 2007).

Re: their or its and why?

Maria (Maggie) — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 03:41:27 GMT

...as the band prepare to play its/their last final preformance of the year.

In my opinion i would use Its. If you analyze the grammatical structure of the sentence, "the band" would be replaced by "it". i would also think then that prepare should take a final s. So lets say that instead of the band we have this sentence: (of course in a context in which we know that we are talking about the band)

As it prepares to play ITS last final performance of the year. (would you use their ??? in that position...No!! because "their" would be used for the plural (bandS)...and the noun is not about the people who plays on the band...and its not about several bands neither....so i guess that now after reviewing all this...i would definitely use ITS...but i would also add an s in the word "prepare". I hope my explanation was clear...if not let me know and i will try to write it in a different way.

Re: thesis

Dominik — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:15:02 GMT

thesis plural theses [countable]

a long piece of writing about a particular subject that you do as part of an advanced university degree such as an MA or a PhD:

Cynthia's still working on her thesis.

graduate/master's/doctoral thesis

He wrote his doctoral thesis on contemporary French literature.

window or windows

Paarkere — Wed, 09 May 2007 12:44:45 GMT

Hello, I've had to edit your post to reply, as something in the format of your post has prevented normal replies.

Window is correct. Even though there are lots of individual windows in the world that these things might be used on, we still use the singular form when we are talking about them in this context. It's no different to, say, car seats, car engines, car doors, car technologies. It doesn't matter that there are lots of cars.

I have a really urgent issue:

please, tell me - which is the correct form: window technologies or windows technologies (taking into consideration the fact, that we speak about wooden windows, not Microsoft Windows).

if I look up, e.g., company's web page: Window Technologies, LLC, I see that tehy use window technologies, window awnings, window groups, window products - as if plural, but singular?

Thank you in advance.

Latvia



GIW Home		writeDate(); Mon Oct. 8, 2007 \| Tell a Friend \| Subscribe \| Order Our Book
		Resources: Writing Tips \| More Tips
	Writing Tip: July 30, 2001 The Subjunctive Mood Examine the verbs in each of the following sentences: 1. If Harrison were chosen to be the next chief executive officer of the corporation, several controversial hiring practices would change. 2. If I were you, I would increase my weekly contribution to the company-sponsored retirement fund. 3. I wish that his report were longer. 4. We recommend that the trip be postponed because of violence in the region. 5. The finance department requests that he submit updated budget projections each month. All the above sentences are correct. Two terms apply to the mood of English verbs: indicative and subjunctive. An indicative verb makes a statement that is factual, whereas a verb in the subjunctive mood is used to indicate a situation or condition that is hypothetical, doubtful, or conditional. In the indicative mood, we would never write "Harrison were," "I were," "report were," "trip be," or "he submit," but these verbs are correct in the examples above because each of the sentences is written in the subjunctive mood; that is, in every case, the sentence is describing a situation that is hypothetical or conditional: 1. Harrison is not now the C.E.O., but hypothetically he could be chosen for that position. The conditional nature of the position is suggested by the word if. 2. Again, as the word if makes clear, I am not, in fact, you. So once again the situation is hypothetical and conditional: I would save more only under the condition that I became you. 3. His report is not, in fact, longer, so the sentence speaks of a hypothetical situation. 4. The trip is not currently postponed, so the subjunctive mood is appropriate to suggest a possibility, not an actuality. 5. He is not currently submitting reports monthly, so we use the subjunctive mood to discuss the possibility--not the actuality--of his doing so. For all verbs except to be, the present subjunctive mood is most often made by omitting the characteristic s ending on verbs with third-person singular subjects. Thus, whereas in the indicative mood we would write "man leaves," in the subjunctive mood we would omit the s on the verb leave: "The judge insisted that the man not leave town." For the verb to be, we simply use be for all present tense subjunctive mood verbs and were for all past tense forms, regardless of whether the subject is singular or plural. The Columbia Guide to Standard American English (New York: MJF Books, 1993) points out that while many subjunctive-mood phrases are commonly used in ordinary speech--"if I were you," "if need be," "far be it from me," and so on--strict use of the subjunctive mood is rare, even in the most formal speaking and writing situations (243). Very few people would write, for example, "If he arrive on time, we will have dinner before the show." However, if a form of the verb to be were used in that sentence, all polished writers would agree that the subjunctive is necessary: "If he were [not was] to arrive on time, we could have dinner before the show." The Harbrace College Handbook (13th edition) lists other common, fixed expressions that are stated in the subjunctive mood: "so be it," "be that as it may," "as it were," and "God bless you" (99-100). TEST YOURSELF Which of the following sentences need verbs in the subjunctive mood? 1. If I was Sam, I would hire an assistant now before the hiring freeze takes effect. 2. The committee suggested that Dr. Jones is chosen as the next chief of staff. 3. As August approaches, every school child wishes that his or her vacation was longer. 4. It is critical that every potential donor gives blood during this shortage. ANSWERS 1. If I WERE Sam, I would hire an assistant now before the hiring freeze takes effect. 2. The committee suggested that Dr. Jones BE chosen as the next chief of staff. 3. As August approaches, every school child wishes that his or her vacation WERE longer. This is almost the exact sentence identified as correct in your past post. 4. It is critical that every potential donor GIVE blood during this shortage. Copyright 2001 Get It Write More Tips \| Tell a Friend *Special Request:* Please share these tips with friends and colleagues and encourage them to subscribe. (If you post the tips to an internal distribution list of any size, please tell us the nature of the list and the number of subscribers. We would like to know how many people we are reaching with this service. We appreciate your positive feedback and excellent comments!)