I am an indian. Today I called a receptionist. She told me that I must submit my form by today. I was shocked and so I said “What?Today itself?” She said “Yes today only” I know both of us are wrong grammatically.Natives dont say today itself/today only.So what I(and She) should have said? Answer “Today … Read more
The scene was not without a mixture of awe, such as must always invest the spectacle of guilt and shame in a fellow-creature, before society shall have grown corrupt enough to smile, instead of shuddering at it. (Nathaniel Hawthorne,The Scarlet Letter) ‘As’ seems to take the role of relative pronoun, and as-clause modifies ‘a mixture … Read more
When I read about the two famous grammar books – The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, I happened to across a very interesting sentence below. What are you doing in there? (source) The questioner wanted to know what part of speech is there,adverb or noun? Which is … Read more
You might belong in Gryffindor, Where dwell the brave at heart, Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart; (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) It seems somewhat awkward that we say both ‘at heart’ modifies the previous noun, and it functions as an adverbial. What does it mean, and what role does it take? … Read more
Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) Is this a subject-complement inversion, or some other construction? Answer Let’s strip out some structurally irrelevant parts… 1: Atop the mountain was a castle … Read more
Which of the following is correct? I will update you once I reached my home. I will update you once I reach my home. I will update you after I reaching my home. Answer Among the three samples you have provided, the middle one is correct: I will update you once I reach my home. … Read more
so soon they were all seated at Beorn’s table, and half had not seen such a gathering for many a year. Why is many a year used? Should not many years be used? What is the difference between many a year and many years? Answer “Many years” has always been the preferred and more grammatical … Read more
