In my opinion, “Think badly of someone” is right. But when I was watching a Vietnamese film with English subtitles “Think bad of me” was used. Answer Certainly, think badly of is grammatical and idiomatic here. Macmillan has: think badly of someone PHRASE to have a bad opinion of someone or something Nobody will think … Read more
In this report news, there is a sentence about ports: Seven Chinese ports made it into the top 10 ports in the world in terms of container throughput in 2018. Why “it” is used? Should we use “them” because “ports” is plural? Answer To make it is an idiomatic expression meaning, as Macmillan has it, … Read more
I want to say something like, ‘Would many women, if asked, say they feel unsatisfied with the way they are treated? They would say that they /do/.’ A friend advised me to change ‘do’ to ‘did’. But I’m not so sure… Answer did is the past tense of do. If you say “They would say … Read more
Example 1: The weather is hot, isn’t it? vs.: The weather is hot, is it not? Example 2: Aren’t you going to study tonight? vs.: Are you not going to study tonight? Apart from convenience in pronuncation, how do the above versions differ (contraction vs. full form)? Answer It’s just extremely common to see tag … Read more
The phrase higher-priced products is very common, but isn’t it grammatically incorrect? The adjective higher is being forced to servce as an adverb here, so the phrase should instead be more highly priced. What’s the verdict? Answer Both are correct with long-established usage. You can say “more highly” if you like, but according to dictionary.com: adverb, … Read more
He is home He is at home He went home I know that in the sentence 1 and 3 the word home is considered an adverb and in the sentence 2, home is considered a noun. According to Rod Mitchell, a famous linguist and English expert who answers questions on LinkedIn, the word “home” is … Read more
I’m a graduate theology student, and I’m having some trouble with verb tenses. In my first chapter I explore the life and work of the author who is the subject of my study. I am often narrating in the past, but I also talk about particular things he wrote. I find myself saying things like: … Read more
I’m picturing ‘energy’ here in the context of holding a physical ball of siphoned energy. What is a good verb to encapsulate the overall, general concept of turning, or processing that vibrant energy, into something else? ‘Combust’ has too much of a fiery feel. ‘Transform’ and ‘process’ feel a little vague and lacklustre: they don’t … Read more
I have problems with this sentence. “Two weeks off work sounds great or sound great”. What form of the verb should I use in this case (and in similar sentences), if “weeks” is a plural noun? Answer The verb should be “sounds,” because the verb’s subject should contain the implied gerund “taking,” as in “Taking … Read more
I’m curious about the phrase “dearly beloved”. – It looks to me to be a phrase consisting of an adverb (dearly) modifying a noun (beloved). But I thought adverbs could only modify verbs or adjectives? So what am I missing here? What are the parts of speech of this phrase, and how do they go … Read more
