Questions tagged [descriptive-grammar]
Descriptive grammar is a set of rules about language based on how it is actually used. In descriptive grammar there is no right or wrong language. It can be contrasted with prescriptive grammar, which is a set of rules based on how people, mostly writers of style books and grammar text books, think language should be used. See https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/descriptive-grammar .
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Is this sentence grammatically correct? Is there any way to condense the list (only use the preposition once)?
I am interested in knowing if this sentence is grammatically correct and if there is a way of preventing the repetition of “through” in the list.
Throughout the play, numerous characters evoke this ...
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What is it called when indefinite pronouns are used as determiner?
AFAIK it is correct English grammar to say something along the lines of
Familiarize yourself with everything Apple.
What is this use of "everything" called? Is it just a short colloquial ...
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More words to describe the action of thinking
My character is in the beginning stages of a life-or-death situation and he knows it. "Racking his brain for possible solutions" feels played out. But words like ruminating, fretting, musing,...
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there are many perks "to doing" readings
The sentence that confuses me from the reading is "...there are many perks to doing readings on a television show."
As an English learner, I was taught that "to + do" is the ...
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I'm looking for a word or phrase to describe a realization that a long held belief is wrong [closed]
I'm looking for a word or phrase to describe the realization that what you've always believed is not real. As an example: Let's say you grew up in a country that you where led to believe was far more ...
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A great use of the f-word
Can someone analyse this sentence for me please? I heard a trucker say this, in the workshop, when we told him the starter motor on his truck was knackered. To our amusement he said:
"Fuck, the ...
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Can I say "the US people"?
Is it fine to describe people of the USA as "US people"?
For instance: "the US people display different cultures and traditions."
What I want to ask is that can I use the word &...
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Capitalisation for emphasis?
Let's say we have a time card software system. In the help FAQ, is the second version grammatically correct, or preferable?
How can we locate time cards that had errors?
How can we locate Time Cards ...
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In what regions is "Do you work tonight?" clear and acceptable usage?
In my answer at ELL regarding a question of whether someone is working that evening, I suggested the alternative:
Do you work tonight?
There was a comment about this being incorrect usage, because &...
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Someone who denies talking about something but then indirectly drops hints
For example, someone had said something to me, obviously meaning something but then right after said that they weren't talking about that but then preceded to indirectly reference it, hint at it or ...
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Indefinite article + noun + that + be + adj [closed]
" On top of their fees, the famous have the potential to earn huge amounts of money from promoting luxury brands. A type of wealth that is possible because celebrities are often seen as role ...
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Usage of we instead of us [duplicate]
Lest they do anything before we.
Lest they do anything before us.
One of my students, for their creative writing coursework, phrased his sentence as shown in quote 1, but I have a confusion as to ...
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Is this grammatically correct? I am not sure of the sentence structure. "She saw two boys in white dresses standing by the road?"
I am kinda confused of the participial phrase in that sentence. Is that grammatically correct? Do I need to put a comma? Does the sentence make sense?
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Complex transitive complementation
Would it sound appropriately if to relay a sentence: "We expected him to make a good job of that" in the following ways:
We expected for him to make a good job of that.
We expected it for ...
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What is “what” in “what has been called“?
Climate change is thus a prime example of what people have called a "social ecological system" with factors from different domains interacting on different spatial and temporal scales.
The ...
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