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Grammar behind "Whatever what is is is what I want."
Here is the poem:
Prayer, by Galway Kinnell
Whatever happens. Whatever
what is is is what
I want. Only that. But that.
I came across this poem as an interesting example of English grammar and how it is actually possible to have three "is" in a…
Jay A. Little
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18
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9 answers
"Do the needful" -- Why is it used instead of asking a question?
Update: (Originally this was a comment, but I thought it was worth sharing here at the top.)
In the original question, I asked if there was a polite, socially-acceptable way to ask an Indian co-worker not to use the phrase "do the needful", as I…
inanutshellus
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18
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9 answers
What's the correct unit for homework?
Consider the case when a teacher has thirty students in the class. The noun "homework" is uncountable so he cannot say "I have thirty homeworks to grade every week." My question is that if there is any unit of homework so that the sentence "I have…
Chris Kuo
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18
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1 answer
'Referred to as' or 'Referred as'?
Which one is correct from the following sentences and why?
This is referred to as enterprise mobility.
This is referred as enterprise mobility.
Maulik V
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18
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4 answers
Can "staff" ever be pluralized?
I am under the impression that the word staff is uncountable/singular when referring to a collection of employees in a company. This is corroborated by some online sources I have found: Macmillan and this article.
However, I just heard this in a…
Eddie Kal
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18
votes
6 answers
What's the difference between "replication" and "duplication"?
What's the difference between "replication" and "duplication"?
According to Cambridge dictionary:
duplication (n): the act or process of making an exact copy of something.
replicate (v. but the same definition for noun): to make or do something…
Virtuous Legend
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18
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5 answers
anyone vs someone. Which one?
Has someone seen my bag?
Has anyone seen my bag?
Which one is grammatically correct and Why?
Which one should I use at this place?
Can you give some more examples?
hellodear
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18
votes
4 answers
What is the root word of "Refactoring"?
"Code refactoring" is an expression widely used in programming communities and is used to describe the work of changing or rewriting the program code without changing the code results.
What is the root word of "Refactoring"? Does it come from the…
AlexSC
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18
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3 answers
Conditional in the past -- "If Vietnam *would* fall..."
President Eisenhower had a strategic vision, the Domino Theory.
If Vietnam would fall, other countries in Southeast Asia would fall too.
A lecturer (native speaker) said it on a lesson. Using would confuses me. For me it should be at least "If…
mosceo
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18
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2 answers
What does 'a hairline crack where the grip meets the graphite shaft on my 3-wood' mean in this English joke?
Guys,
I have suspected for some time now that my wife has been cheating on me. I think deep down I just did not want to know the truth, but last night she
went out again and I decided to finally check on her.
Around midnight, I hid in the…
user239460
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18
votes
5 answers
"Who is you" – not "are"
Why do we say "who are you" when talking to a single person?
Related question: "Who is speaking with each other?" Is this correct?
Hector von
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18
votes
5 answers
"I told you DON´T go" vs. "I told you NOT TO go"
I told you don't go to see that movie because it was not good.
I told you not to go to see that movie because it was not good.
Can both be used? If the answer is yes, how do I know when to use "don't", or "not to"?
claudio sepulveda
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18
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5 answers
Can adjectives modify a pronoun like "rich they", "poor you" and "beautiful I"?
I want to modify a pronoun with adjectives like "rich he", "poor they" and "beautiful I". Can I do that?
For example, can I say "I saw rich him driving a supercar", "Poor you can't buy foods enough", "Smart they graduated from a famous university"?
Yuuichi Tam
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18
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3 answers
Why do we pronounce "the university" as "thuh university" rather than "thee university"?
English Club says that usually, we pronounce "the" as "thuh", but when it happens to be in front of a vowel sound, then we pronounce it as "thee".
Why is "the university" pronounced as "thuh" university rather than "thee university"? Isn't "u" a…
user48590
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18
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3 answers
Why is the definite article used in "I live in the city"?
Where do you live? -- I live in the city.
THE is used when talking about something which is already known to the listener or which has been previously mentioned, introduced, or discussed. But, the specific city where the speaker lives was not…
Zakiya
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