English Language Learners Stack Exchange
English Language Learners Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [syntax]

This tag is for questions regarding the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in the English language.

This tag is for questions regarding the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in the English language.

This is NOT about the structure of statements in a computer language.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntax

572 questions
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I hate mushrooms. How can you agree?

The verb "hate" sometimes is cofusing. If we form a tag question, for instance, we consider it to be negative, because it's negative semantically and that fact influences grammar. We say He hates mushrooms, does he? But what about agreement? If…
V.V.
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Are the questions of the form "A is B?" acceptable in English?

I wonder whether it would be grammatical to pose a question in the form "A is B?" in cases where it is obvious it is a question rather than a statement? To what extent such sentences perceived incorrect by the native speakers?
Anixx
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meaning of the sentence—It's easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than think your way into a new way of acting.?

It's easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than think your way into a new way of acting. What is the meaning of the sentence especially "act"? Is it a transitive verb?
Sam
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So had their sandy-brown dog, its dead body mangled in the remnants of a destroyed metal fence - where is the predicate?

Source: http://online.wsj.com/articles/many-ukrainians-flee-to-russia-angry-afraid-determined-to-stay-1404333568?ru=yahoo?mod=yahoo_itp An excerpt from that news article: Oksana Vasilieva was in the kitchen of her home on Comintern Street in the…
Michael Rybkin
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What this photograph is of: Why does it sound weird?

I know that the following sentences are correct: This is a photograph of me. This is a photograph of my Brother. This is a photograph of my new car. But can I use this as a question? e.g.: Can you tell what this photograph is of? Do you know what…
yannicuLar
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Can an object precede its verb?

The structure of "have one's heart set on something" idiom is strange for me. Isn't "heart" the object? So why it is not as "have set one's heart on something"?
Real Dreams
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"I decided the target for our firm IS TO BE TO provide better services."

Suppose I wrote the following: I decided the target for our firm is to be to provide better services. Would this be correct?
Anixx
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when should we use "being"

From an article in The Hindu: An Integrated Textile Park (ITP) being developed at Edlapadu on Guntur-Chennai National Highway is expected to give the much-needed fillip to textile industry in Andhra Pradesh. I do not understand the structure of…
Raj
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What's the syntax of this Bradbury sentence?

I don't understand the syntax of this sentence. Please help me figure it out. I begin to feel confused at "but what". It's from "There Will Come Soft Rains", a short story by Ray Bradbury (1950). There Will Come Soft Rains (pdf) For not a leaf…
Sergey Zolotarev
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Does the sentence "what do you like to do?" have a direct object?

In japanese the sentence "what do you like to do?" has the word what succeeded by the particle "o" which marks direct objects, meaning for japaneses "what" is the direct object of this sentence. Is this the same in english? Yes/No - Why?
Pablo
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What is the thing relative pronoun clause modify in this case?

There is a sentence like: It gives children a dream that is useful in life. There are three noun(It, children, dream(when including pronoun))that can be modified in the sentence above. How could I know the noun that is modified by relative pronoun…
박용현
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Comparing using rather

Suppose I want to say Follow this book not me Would it be the right if the sentence was Follow this book rather me
Manish Rai
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Please let me know how the phrase ''it being'' is rational?

I've read an article on the BBC news, and this sentence really makes me confused. ''And in this cool little video Aston has just released, you can see it very much being pushed to its limits by a real driver'' I know how it would be translated into…
Luong Vu
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How to use "there is" after "there is no reason for"?

Consider the sentence: There is nothing after the credits. How do I add that after "There is no reason for"? There is no reason for there being anything after the credits. There is no reason for there to be anything after the credits. Are those…
Teleporting Goat
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Shouldn’t “if pleasure be happiness” be written “if pleasure would be happiness”?

Why is there a simple form “be” after the subject in the following sentence? Isn't it that it should be like 'if pleasure would be happiness'? My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness. This is…
Hyunju Kim
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