Wordwizard

A says: We want to be free. B replies: 1) If you want to be free, the tyrant has to be overthrown. 2) For you to be free, the tyrant has to be overthrown. 3) The tyrant has to be overthrown for you to be free. 4) The tyrant has to be overthrown so that you will be free. Are all the sentences correct...

Thank you very much, Eric, It seems that I have messed things up with 'stepped up'. You are quite right. That phrasal verb does not belong to that context! How about: 5a) The scientific aspects of the book, which he accepted to make sense of for me, were important . 5b) The scientific aspects of the...

Are these sentences correct: 1) He made sense of the scientific aspects of the book for me. 2) The scientific aspects of the book were made sense of by him. 3) The scientific aspects of the book, which were made sense of by him, were fascinating. 4) The scientific aspects of the book, which he stepp...

Which are correct: 1) He is as much a writer as a journalist. 2) He is as much a writer as you are. 3) He is as much of a writer as a journalist. 4) He is as much of a writer as you are. 5) He is more a writer than a journalist. 6) He is more a writer than you are. 7) He is more of a writer than a j...

1) That is a hard question to ask. 2) That is the hardest question to ask. 3) That is a hard question to ask someone who has suffered a great loss. 4) That is the hardest question to ask someone who has suffered a great loss. Aren't these sentences all ambiguous? Is it hard to ask the question or t...

Thank you very much, Phil, Yes, this is an interesting topic. I think I read somewhere (maybe in The Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language by Quirk et al., ) that there was a difference between: a) I saw him before he saw me. and: b) I had seen him before he had seen me. I think they said th...

Are these correct and do they make sense: 1) John can perform as well as I do in small venues. But he gets nervous in big halls. I don't even know how I would do in small venues. I haven't played in one in a long time. Maybe the intimacy of a small venue would make me nervous. 2) John can perform ju...

Which are correct: 1) How can he win a gold medal and I not even win a bronze? 2) How is it possible that he should win a gold medal and I not even win a bronze? 3) How can he be invited to that party and I not be invited? 4) How can he be invited to that party and not I? 5) How is it possible that ...

Which are correct: 1) They stopped showing the movie before everybody saw it. 2) They stopped showing the movie before everybody had seen it. 3) They closed the fair before every one us took a ride on the rollercoaster. 4) They closed the fair before every one us had taken a ride on the rollercoaste...

I convinced him that it was a great watch, and he bought it. That was the plan. After he bought it, I stole it from him. 1) So you made him buy the watch, and then stole it from him? 2) So you had him buy the watch, and then stole it from him? 3) So you got him to buy the watch, and then stole it fr...

Which are correct: 1) He fell down the stairs and got his leg broken. 2) He fell down the stairs and had his leg broken. Meaning: He fell down the stairs and broke his leg. (He had no intention of breaking it. 3) He tried to rob a bank and got himself shot. 4) He tried to rob a bank and had himself ...

Which is correct: 1) It was Ken, not Steve, talking to Jane on the phone. 2) It was Ken, not Steve talking to Jane on the phone. It seems to me that '1' is fine and means the one talking to Jane on the phone was Ken, not Steve. The second one is strange. Maybe it would work in a context like this: W...

1) I have a student to teach to swim. 2) I have a student to whom to teach to swim. 3) I have a student to whom to teach swimming. 4) I have a student to teach how to swim to. 5) I have a student to teach him how to swim. Which of these sentences are correct and mean the same as: A) I have a studen...

Are these sentences correct: 1) He is alright to go home. 2) He is alright to drive. 3) He is alright to do the job. Can't '3' mean: a) He is in a condition to do the job. b) He is suitable to do the job. c) He has agreed to do the job. and also d) Seeing that he does the job, one can say that he is...

Are sentences 1 to 4 correct with the given meanings: 1) He is a man to lead. Meaning: He is fit to be a leader. He has a talent for leading. 2) He is a man to steal in such occasions. Meaning: He is a man who steals in such occasions. 3) He is a man to react violently in such occasions. Meaning: He...