In order of appearance “in” or “on” the chain

I want to say array that stores positions of nucleotides in order of appearance in (or is it on?) the S chain. I know it sounds too specific as a genetics kind of question, but is just for a comment, let’s say it was a chain of letters. I don’t know if I’m saying it … Read more

Prepositions and Noun Phrases

does a noun phrase followed by a prepositional phrase form another noun phrase? Example: The road to hell ‘The road’ and ‘hell’ form two separate noun phrases. Does, ‘The road to hell’ constitute as a noun phrase in its own right? if not why? What about something like, The road of power (i.e: using the … Read more

Is sentence “The artist I studied their art from is (name of the artist)…” correct?

And if it’s grammatically correct, does it have ambiguity to it? If so, how to rephrase this sentence to get rid of this ambiguity? Answer There are a couple of problems. Ways to express the idea of studying someone’s art: “I studied the art of Pablo Picasso.” “The artist whose art I studied is Pablo … Read more

Function of object of preposition

Consider the sentence “What is the probability of Bob winning?” What is the function of “Bob winning”? It’s certainly acting as the object of the preposition, but I don’t recognize this type of construction from any of my English courses. Is it even correct usage? Answer Some call it the “fused participle” because the participle … Read more

“Born in a City” or “Born at a City”? Uncommon Usage by Edward FitzGerald

I was reading Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, translated by Edward FitzGerald. In introduction, the translator writes: Khayyam was born at Naishapur. I always thought that we needed to use in in such a case. Am I wrong, or is the usage of at legitimate but perhaps old-fashioned? Edit: A similar question was asked before, which … Read more

Which preposition is correct with “settling”? The complete sentence is given below

This is the complete question which I came across during a competitive exam. Eager to control the South Atlantic, the British Navy had tasked Admiral Byron ________ (with/for) settling an island off the South American coast where ships could resupply, and then finding an alternative route to the East Indies. I am confused about which … Read more

Is this question ambiguous?

The following multiple-choice question was asked in an exam: Which one is the internal storage device that performs better than its predecessor with spinning disks inside? HDD SSD USB flash drive RAM I wonder if the question is ambiguous in regards to what with spinning disks inside modifies in it. Edit: As Prof. Shor had … Read more

“Although in poor health, she continued…” vs “No matter how poor her health, she continued…”

The following is grammar question from an English as a second language exam My girlfriend was showing me a copy of the exam she took several years ago after finishing high school. We were looking at the questions for fun, and one question was to pick the phrase that completed the sentence correctly. a. Although … Read more

Correct usage of the phrase ‘if any’

What is the best position for the phrase ‘if any’ for the sentence below?Please explain the rationale behind your answer? What could be, if any, the benefits or disadvantages of something? What could be the benefits or disadvantages, if any, of something? What could be the benefits or disadvantages of something, if any? Thanks! Answer … Read more