Is there a past tense of the verb "to wing," meaning to make up on the fly?
Inspired by a blog post of Wil Wheaton, quoted partially below.
"Is it from a recipe, or are you
winging it?"
"I've made so many different recipes
from so many…
I know that "past due" stamped on a bill is accepted, however I believe it should be "passed due". Does this mean that "past due" is vernacularly correct and "passed due" is grammatically correct?
I am writing about Don and Doris Fisher - founders of the GAP - and their love of modern art. The problem is that Don is deceased, yet Doris is alive. Writing that the Fishers loved modern art is awkward because then I am talking about both of them…
I understand that phrase:
"I have just bought a house".
is correct.
But I also saw, that sometimes people could say:
"I just bought a house."
Is it correct?
From this resource I find two situational explanations of Past Progressive:
"Interrupted action in the past." with an example
She was reading a book when the light went off, had a shower and left.
And for Past Perfect Progressive:
"To show that…
How different is (1) 'I thought they must be poor' from (2) 'I thought they had to be poor'? Does (2) emphasize David did think so but that he does not think they are poor any more now that the counselor told him they are not? I think with (1) you…
Which of the following is correct, and why?
I was an atheist till I realized I was God.
I was an atheist till I realized I am God.
Quite a few individuals have pointed out the ummm..., role of God in the sentence. The reason is simple. I bought a…
I want to say:
As someone who has recently become a father, ...
but I would like to use the shorter form:
As a recently ____ father, ...
What word could I use here? "Become", "becomed", "emerged", "materialised" and "born" don't seem to fit.
In…
When writing about an event that occurred in the recent past, how should one refer to people who held well-established positions for a short amount of time?
For example, if I am writing about a bill in United States Congress in 2005, and what to…
Possible Duplicate:
How to use “Text” as verb
If I sent someone a text on my mobile phone would I say I texted them?
We say I'll text you so now it's out there as a verb but the past tense sounds so clumsy.
Look at these two questions:
Has your brother graduated from college?
Did your brother graduate from college?
Now, both of these questions seem fine to me, but I obviously know they are a little different. However, I can’t seem to explain what the…
Jenny wished she hadn't been so careless
The answer key says that "wished" here is used for a hypothetical situation, but I fail to see how. Since the word isn't part of a conditional clause, shouldn't it simply refers to Jenny made this wish in…
Recently, one of my project mates corrected my writing, but I'm not sure if it has been corrected in the right way.
Would you be kind to read it and tell me if it's correct in the native English language?
I wrote the 1st one in my work, then my…
"He could not afford to be out of the public eye; it ____ the death of his political career".
The answer for this is either "would mean" or "would have meant" can be used. But I'm quite confused because "would have meant" meaning here is not…
He was ecstatic to receive an email from the company asking to come in for an interview. It was the dream job he had been working so hard for. With some luck, he might actually get hired. He could then work with some of the best engineers in the…
