Questions tagged [verb-usage]
153 questions
6
votes
3 answers
Is it grammatically correct to say 'I've got Maths twice a week'?
According to Michael Swan and Catherine Walter in their Oxford English Grammar Course (2011) 'Got-forms are not generally used to talk about habits and repeated actions'. But I can't get rid of the feeling that I have come across the usage of…
Yukatan
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6
votes
2 answers
"join" vs "join in"
I've heard that you have to say "join someone" and "join in something". I am going to make up a few pairs of sentences below.
(1a) I will join you for John's birthday lunch tomorrow.
(1b) I will join in for John's birthday lunch tomorrow.
(2a) I…
ansonguy
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5
votes
2 answers
Usage of 'Recommend'
There is the following entry in the Oxford Learners Dictionaries
recommend somebody to do something
We'd recommend you to book your flight early
Is it correct usage of recommend with the infinitive?
Can that expression mean that one recommends…
user18856
5
votes
3 answers
I’d rather come or go with you
I’d rather come with you.
I'd rather go with you.
Is there any difference between them?
I think 'come' has the opposite meaning of 'go'
gomadeng
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5
votes
4 answers
"wasn't" or "weren't" with weather
Which is right:
"I'm fed up with this weather. I wish it wasn't so hot."
or:
"I'm fed up with this weather. I wish it weren't so hot."
Helen
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4
votes
2 answers
Difference between 'find out', 'discover', 'realize' and etc
For me all the verbs bellow mean the same thing. My dictionaries, confirm this fact. But I guess something is wrong with this belief of mine and their usages are different. I would be thankful if you could explain me how the following verbs…
A-friend
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4
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1 answer
The usage of "exploding" in "their batteries exploding"
The following is an excerpt from WSJ:
The world’s largest smartphone maker by shipments said it halted sales of its Galaxy Note 7 phone after customers reported their batteries exploding during charging.
Source
I wonders how "their batteries…
thegreentea
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3
votes
2 answers
Condemn or sentence someone
I don't know the difference between the words 'condemn somebody' and 'sentence someone' in court terminology ane making this question I am going to discover their right place of usage.
Which word sounds natural in the following sentence:
He was…
A-friend
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3
votes
1 answer
They built a wall to avoid soil being washed away. - Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
They built a wall to avoid soil being washed away. - Oxford Advanced
Learner's Dictionary
I think it is better to say They built a wall to prevent/stop soil from being washed away. “Prevent” is used when you want to stop something from happening,…
joy2020
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3
votes
1 answer
treat with the enemy for peace (is this phrase idiomatic?)
treat with the enemy for peace
'treat' is used like: treat people with respect
I wonder if the phrase above is idiomatic or not.
gomadeng
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3
votes
2 answers
is this correct usage of verb "be"?
Can I use this line in a song, addressing the fires and the winds:
You fires and winds, please, let the forests be
for them not to get angry anymore and let the forests exist and not destroy them anymore?
Thanks.
zenith3
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3
votes
2 answers
Can I use "were" in this sentence?
My sentence is,
"I thought it were your friends (that) you went out with."
I used the be-verb were in this sentence because it refers to your friends.
Am I right?
Marah
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2
votes
1 answer
A comparison between some structures of the verbs 'Supply' and the verb 'provide'
For me both the verbs "Supply" and "provide" work in all of the sentences bellow properly, but I doubt if AE native speakers use all of them to convey the same meaning in daily conversations. Though, I need to know which one of the following…
A-friend
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2
votes
1 answer
"Doing" or "finishing" one's military service
Which one of the following verbs sound normal to you:
Have you done your military service?
Have you finished your military service?
For me both sound idiomatic and natural.
A-friend
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2
votes
1 answer
Verbs that are used when you want to dress somebody else
In both of the groups below:
Group 1)
Could you dress the children?
Could you put on the children?
Group 2)
I bathed her and dressed her in her new clothes.
I bathed her and put her new clothes on her.
I think both the latter sentences of…
A-friend
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