Wordwizard

Are these sentences correct:

1) He fights to be Italian.
2) He fights for being Italian.


I suppose the idea is that he fights to maintain his Italian identity, probably in adverse conditions. But is that the meaning of the sentences? And do they mean the same?

Gratefully,
Navi

Are these sentences correct: 1) I feel bad for you having to work in a place like this. 1a) I feel bad for your having to work in a place like this. 2) I feel bad for you doing all this work. 2a) I feel bad for your doing all this work. I think 'feel bad for' works a bit like a verb of perception he...

Thank you very much, Eric,

You are right! I hadn't thought of that, but the other version doesn't seem strange to me. I think that's the one I'd use.

Brilliant analysis!

Thank you very much, Eric, I don't know. Sometimes, for some reason a correct sentence sounds odd to me. In this case, '2' sounded odd. I thought that it should be correct, but it sounded strange. Hence, the question. Funnily enough, '1' didn't sound strange, and they have basically the same structu...

Are these sentences correct:

1) He was behaving very strangely, from which I concluded that he had taken drugs.

2) She suddenly became calm, for which I could find no explanation.


Gratefully,
Navi

1) All those who were rational and not fanatical began to have doubts about their ideas. 2) All those who were rational, and not fanatical, began to have doubts about their ideas. In which case the rational ones and the fanatics form two mutually exclusive groups? That would be the meaning one woul...

Which are correct:

1) That he was being followed was a secret.
2) For him to be followed was a secret.

3) It was a secret that he was being followed.
4) It was a secret for him to be followed.

Gratefully,
Navi

Which are correct: 1) He was killed to keep him quiet. 2) He was killed to be kept quiet. 3) He was killed to keep quiet. (meaning: He was killed so that he would keep quiet.) 4) He was killed in order to keep him quiet. 5) He was killed in order to be kept quiet. 6) He was kidnapped to toil in a mi...

-Why was his whereabouts a secret?

1) It was a secret to protect him from the mob.
2) It was a secret so that he'd be protected from the mob.
3) It was a secret for him to be protected from the mob.

Are 1-3 grammatical and meaningful in this context?
Are they idiomatic?

Gratefully,
Navi

1) Whoever hasn't done their homework is not allowed to go to the show tonight. 2) Whoever hasn't done their homework cannot go to the show tonight. 3) Whoever hasn't done their homework will not be allowed to go to the show tonight. 4) Whoever hasn't done their homework is not going to allowed to ...

Which are correct: 1) We don't know where he is. He might have left the country. 2) We don't know where he is. He could have left the country. 3) It was fortunate we didn't go mountain climbing. We might have died in that avalanche. 4) It was fortunate we didn't go mountain climbing. We could have d...

Are these sentences correct:
1) He used bones of a hen to make an amulet.
2) He used bones of hens to make amulets.

How are the different from:
1a) He used the bones of a hen to make an amulet.
2a) He used the bones of hens to make amulets.

Gratefully,
Navi

1) It would be good for him to lose. 2) For him to lose would be good. Can both these sentences have both of these meanings: a) It would be a good thing if he loses. b) It would be good thing for him if he loses. He would benefit from losing. I think that for '2' to have meaning 'b' we would need a...

Are these sentences both correct and do they mean the same:

1) That he should acknowledge that he has made a mistake will mark a moment in history.

2) For him to acknowledge that he has made a mistake will mark a moment in history.

Gratefully,
Navi

Is this correct: 1) Look at all the different chaos your daily life is made up of. There's the chaos at work, the chaos of your relationship with your kids and then there's the chaos of the news. My problem is that 'chaos' is a mass noun, and I am not sure that one could use 'different chaos' instea...