The MacMillan Dictionary has the following definition for the phrase ‘there is no question that‘: used for saying that something is definitely true It gives the example: There is no question that she has a great voice. In other words: It is definitely true that she has a great voice. Therefore it appears that the … Read more
The paragraph: Our team conducts fundamental research in Philosophy, trying to push the boundaries of what is possible with new techniques, and also trying to understand and formalize some of the phenomenon observed in practice. Source My Greek instinct read phenomena instead of phenomenon… Am I correct? Or, in English it’s OK to use it … Read more
Can anyone provide some insight into the pronunciation of the word algae? Various dictionaries give either the /g/ version as in gear or the /dʒ/ version as in jeep. For example: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/algae https://www.macmillandictionary.com/pronunciation/british/algae Is there an American or British convention for pronouncing this word? Are these conventions the same on both sides of the Atlantic? … Read more
In the word “stressed” in the following sentence, is the -ed an Inflectional or a Derivational suffix? Would you please explain to me why? The sentence is: This is one of the stressed syllables. Thank you so much! Answer (Partial answer) It’s not clear to me. This seems like a rather advanced question. I think … Read more
The word it is a pronoun. When I add an s to it, does it change the word class? For example in the following sentence: The gift is still in its box. My questions are: Does the "S" change the word class? Is the "S" an inflectional or derivational morpheme? Answer Its is in your … Read more
I am currently reading the Gospel According to John in a King James Version of the Bible, and I cannot understand the use of the third person singular in some of the verses: 1:38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi (which is … Read more
What is the purpose of having different auxiliary verbs (“is”, “are”, “am”) for different pronouns (“He”, “You”, “I”…) instead of simply using “is” for all pronouns? It seems like the pronoun always exists in a sentences where the auxiliary verb that relates to it appears, so, to me, having different auxiliary verbs seems to serve … Read more
In most English verbs, there is a consistent pattern in the conjugation of present and past tense. For past tense, the same inflection is used for each grammatical person, but in present tense, third person singular stands apart from the rest. For example, with run: Past tense: I ran / you ran / we ran … Read more
Wikipedia says about English subjunctive mood: In Modern English, the subjunctive is realised as a finite but tenseless clause where the main verb occurs in the bare form. Since the bare form is also used in a variety of other constructions, the English subjunctive is reflected by a clause type rather than a distinct inflectional … Read more
We usually use only a verb’s past participle when we need to make an adjective out of it, not its past tense—but not always. Sometimes we even use both forms but assign these two different meanings! For example, even though using broke as the past participle for the verb break is now considered obsolete, we … Read more
