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[ابو بيشو]

اقدم لحضراتكم اسئلة هامة لك معلم تم مناقشتها على موقع Longman
ما صيغة النفى من had better -would rather ?
The negatives are made with not at the end: had better not, would rather not.

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Why do we say:“Are you any good at painting”? (Sec 1 WB, page 9, Ex. 3)
Here, any is an adverb that means “to any extent, in any degree, at all”. When we ask if someone is any good, we are asking if they are even a little bit good. If we want to know if someone really is good, we ask simply “Are you good at ...?”

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.....
Sec 3, Unit 13, SB page 82. “These days women have as good an education as men.” Why does the indefinite article “an” come after the adjective here? ”?


. This is a very common structure in English: as (adjective) a/an (noun) as. Here it means that women have an education that is as good as men’s education.
Jane wore as beautiful a dress as any I’ve ever seen.
Henry made as delicious a pie as Sue did.

[ابو بيشو]

Sec 2, Unit 6. how to make the comparative and superlative form of the adjectives which end with "ly" like friendly, silly, lovely, kindly, motherly,etc.


For many two-syllable adjectives, both the -er/-est form and the more/most form are possible. For some two-syllable adjectives, only the more/most form is possible. Check a good dictionary to be sure.
For two-syllable adjectives that end in y preceded by a consonant, to make the -er/-est form we change the y to i and add the -er or -est ending. For example, tidy - tidier - tidiest. This rule works for the followng adjectives, and perhaps others. Check a dictionary:

tidy, busy, dirty, dry, early, easy, empty, funny, pretty, happy, heavy, ready, sleepy, ugly (also more/most ugly); also for opposites beginning with un- : untidy, unhappy, uneasy

However, the comparative/superlative of shy is shyer - shyest.

LDOCE does not give a comparative form of motherly, and I think it would be unusual to compare this adjective. I would use more motherly.

Kindly is old-fashioned. I would use kind - kinder - kindest. LDOCE does not give comparative/superlative forms, but Merriam-Webster Third New International Unabridged gives the comparative/superlative as -er/-est. (The y should change to i).

[ابو بيشو]

Nothing is more ugly than a street without trees. Is it grammatically correct to say "more ugly"?
.................................................. .................................................. .............
Yes, this is grammatical. Many two-syllable adjectives can form the comparative and superlative with either -er, -est or with more, most. In fact, the comparative/superlative with more, most is becoming more common.
See Comparatives and superlatives in the Archives for more.

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On a plane, was written : “Fasten your seat belt while seated.” What is the grammatical rule of “while seated”?


I don’t fully understand what you mean by a grammatical rule. This sentence is short for Fasten your seat belt while you are seated. Signs and headlines often use a style, called block language, that excludes pronouns, the verb be, articles, etc. You can read about block language and about abbreviated sentences in instructional writing in Quirk et al, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, pp 845-848.

[ابو بيشو]

Do we say "many" or "much" foods?


Food, like many other words, has both countable and uncountable uses.
When you have the plural foods, you use the determiner many. The plural foods means different things to eat, different kinds of foods.

Many processed foods have too much salt in them.
Some traditional Egyptian foods are fava beans (ful), falafel, and molokhia.

When you have the singular food, you use the determiner much. This means that you have a large quantity of food, whether one type or more than one type.

There was a lot of food served at the wedding.
I like to eat Japanese food.
We have to go shopping. There's not much food in the house.

[ابو بيشو]

How can I make comparisons with these adjectives: "right", "dead", "wrong" and so on?


In short, you can't. These are non-gradable or non-comparable adjectives. In most usages, you either are or are not right, dead, or wrong. Other such adjectives are alive, pregnant, daily, medical, perfect, extinct.
Most non-gradable adjectives can sometimes be compared. Dead is sometimes used as a comparative in the idiomatic phrase deader than a doornail (or dead as a doornail). In a complex moral or ethics issue that has no clear-cut answer, one might say that one position is more right or more wrong than another, without saying that one position is (absolutely) right or wrong. Informally, we can say that a woman who is 8 months pregnant is more pregnant than one who is 3 weeks pregnant, but in more formal usuage pregnant is a non-gradable adjective.

[ابو بيشو]

"It's hot in here." Why don't we say "It's hot here"? Is there a difference?


(1) It's hot in here.
(2) It's hot here.
In sentence (1), here is a noun (meaning "the present pla
ce or juncture"). You would say It's hot in here if you're talking about an enclosed place such as a room, tent, or building. In sentence (2), here is an adverb. You would say It's hot here if you're talking about an open place such as a garden, city, or country.

[ابو بيشو]

When do we use a comma before "but"? Is it optional or obligatory to use it before "but"?


This question is too general because but has different functions. It is usually a conjunction but it can also be a preposition, as in this sentence:
I saw everyone but John at the party.

And as a conjunction, but can join words, phrases, or clauses.

I like apples but not bananas.
Jack washed the dishes but left them for Jill to dry.

When but is used to join independent clauses (sentences), we usually use a comma at the end of the first clause. However, if the two clauses are short and closely related, the comma is optional. In modern usage, it is preferred to omit the comma in this case.

Hilary grabbed her books and rushed to the door, but she caught her foot on the carpet and tripped. (long clauses; comma is needed)
Our team is strong but theirs is weak. (short, closely related clauses; comma optional but preferred omitted)

[ابو بيشو]

Is the word “goods” countable or uncountable? Do I say “how many goods” or “how much goods”? The same question with the word “clothes”.


Both of these words are a bit unusual. They are plural in form and take plural verbs, we say “how many goods” or “how many clothes”, but they are considered uncountable. We answer in the form of items or quantities. We don’t say “I have three clothes” or “the factory produces 4,000 goods.” We give a number with a name of the goods or we give a quantity in weight, cartons, or another measure.
How many goods does this factory produce?
It produces 500 kilos of nails each day.
It produces 200 pairs of jeans a day.

How many clothes are you taking on your trip?
Just one suit and two shirts.
Three suitcases full. Do you think that’s too many?

[ابو بيشو]

What is the difference between “die of” and “die from”?


In current usage, these two are used interchangeably. There is no difference. See LDOCE.

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In the Prep 3 novel "Journey to the Centre of the Earth," why is the title of the novel "Journey..." and not "A Journey..."?


In titles of books we often use a special type of language called block language. We also use block language in other discourse functions such as labels, titles, newspaper headlines, headings, notices, and advertisements. These messages are usually not sentences but consist of a noun, noun phrase, or nominal clause. We rarely need verbs and words that have low-information value, such as the articles, so these are often omitted. Not all book titles omit the article, but it is commonly done.
You can read more about block language in A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (Quirk et al.) pages 845ff and about the language of headlines in Practical English Usage (Michael Swan) pages 211ff.

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Prep 3. I noticed some differences between the following sentences concerning the position of "neither … nor". Please clarify these points. Prep 3. SB Unit 17 page 42, Ex. 7: (a) Pam saw neither people nor cars. Practice test 1, Q6: (4) I saw neither Ali nor his brother. / I neither saw Ali nor his brother. WB Unit 17, page 27, Ex. 5: (b) Ahmad has visited neither India nor China.


The answer for the practice test item should be revised. Neither and nor should go before the elements they are modifying.
I didn't see Ali and and didn't see his brother.
I saw neither Ali nor his brother.

Ali didn't write and he didn't phone.
Ali neither wrote nor phoned.

Bach wasn't French and Beethoven wasn't French.
Neither Bach nor Beethoven was French.


Prep 3. I noticed some differences between the following sentences concerning the position of "not only ... but also" Could you please clarify these points? Unit 16, WB page 23, Ex 2: (b) Carl Kunth didn't only study animals, but he also studied plants. (c) Paul Von Wurttemburg didn't go only to Sudan, but he also went to Egypt. (d) The English travellers weren't only crossing deserts, but they were also crossing jungles. But in Practice Test 2, Q6: (1) The English travellers were crossing not only deserts, but also jungles.


The answer in the TG should be revised. As it was taught in the book, an acceptable answer is The English travellers were not only crossing deserts, but they were also crossing jungles.
However, it actually is more common to make the answer as in the TG: The English travellers were crossing not only deserts, but also jungles.

In this case, not only and but also can go immediately before the words they modify. They can also go in mid-position with the verb (generally without do) if the verb is the word to be modified.

The English travellers ate ***hri. The Italian travellers ate ***hri too.
Not only the English travellers but also the Italian travellers ate ***hri.
Not only the English travellers but also the Italian ones ate ***hri.
Not only the English travellers ate ***hri but also the Italian travellers.
Not only the English travellers ate ***hri but also the Italian ones.

The Russian travellers ate ***hri. They also ate kufta.
The Russian travellers ate not only ***hri but also kufta.

The Swedish travellers ate ***hri. They also took it home.
The Swedish travellers not only ate ***hri but also took it home.

[ابو بيشو]

nei‧ther1 W3

not one or the other of two people or things [↪ either]: 'Would you like tea or coffee?' 'Neither, thanks.'
It was a game in which neither team deserved to win.
neither ofNeither of them can cook.
Thompson had two strategies, neither of which seems to have worked very well.

We asked both John and Jerry, but neither one could offer a satisfactory explanation.
➔ see usage note none1
WORD CHOICE: WORD CHOICE:

none, neitherUse none to talk about a group of three or more things or people • None of my friends came.To talk about two things or people, use neither • Neither of my parents wanted me to marry him.GRAMMARnone of can be followed by a plural noun or an uncountable noun • None of these diets worked. • None of the money was missing.neither of is followed by a plural noun • Neither of the rooms was free.After the plural noun, you can use a plural or singular verb. You should use a singular verb in formal writing • None of us care OR cares what happens to him. • None of us is able to escape the consequences of our actions.!! Do not use another negative word (eg 'not') with none • We got 3 points and they got none (NOT they didn't get none). • I didn't want any of them (NOT I didn't want none of them). ➔ See also none



neither

3 conjunction


neither3


1 neither ... nor ...

used when mentioning two things that are not true or possible: Neither Oleg's mother nor his father spoke English.
The equipment is neither accurate nor safe.
! Do not say 'neither ...or ...'. Say not ...or ... or neither ...nor ...: We don't know or care where he is. | Neither he nor his wife eats meat.

2 be neither here nor there

spoken used to say that something is not important because it does not affect a fact or situation [= irrelevant]: The fact that she needed the money for her children is neither here nor there - it's still stealing.


3 be neither one thing nor the other

spoken used to say that something or someone cannot be described as either one of two types of thing or person, but is somewhere in the middle of the two: The New York Times is neither one thing nor the other. It's not really a city newspaper and it's not really a national newspaper either.


4 formal used to add another negative statement about someone or something [= nor]: The authorities were not sympathetic to the students' demands, neither would they tolerate any disruption.