Student Stumper 45: Do “whatsoever” and “at all” have the same meaning?

QUESTION: Do whatsoever and at all have the same meaning? SHORT ANSWER: They can often be used interchangeably, so that suggests they have the same meaning. It might be more accurate to say we often use these words the same way. Both whatsoever and at all allow us to emphasize a negative statement. LONG ANSWER: This…

Student Stumper 44: How can an adjective follow THAN in “later than usual”?

QUESTION: I read a sentence with the phrase “later than usual.” I thought only nouns could follow the preposition than, and usual is an adjective. Is “later than usual” grammatically correct? ANSWER: Dictionaries list than as a preposition and a conjunction. To be honest, I sometimes find it tricky to make the distinction, especially with comparisons. I see it as a…

Student Stumper 43: Distinguishing between an Infinitive and a Bare Infinitive

My colleague Holly Dilatush from Learning English with a World Wide Perspective has invited my thoughts on a grammar point. A community member of LEWWWP kicked off January 1 with an interesting question (click here to read). I already offered my initial ideas, but I know there’s more to say. So thank you, Holly and Irina, for…

Student Stumper 42: Could do vs. Could have done

QUESTION: Which question is correct? “How could I have missed that?” or “How could I miss that?” ANSWER: If only I could easily and confidently answer that! Could we first look at other uses of this modal verb? We could look at a few examples together if you’d like. That wasn’t actually my initial reply to the…

Student Stumper 41: Would you want to be (a/the/Ø) king for a day? Which article is correct?

In my last post, I mentioned two recent grammar points that learners prompted me to reflect on. Here’s my discussion of the second along with a classroom activity. QUESTION: Does a singular noun always need an article? ANSWER: No. In fact, I could ask, “Do you want to be a king?” or “Do you want…

Student Stumper 40: Can I use “will” in a clause with “when”?

Often answers to grammar questions are easy to give, but occasionally a question really gives me pause. Even if I believe I know the answer, I find myself asking, ‘”Why is that correct?” The first rules that come to mind somehow don’t apply. Some choose to downplay the importance of studying grammar. I agree that language learning goes…

Student Stumper 39: Can “that which” be used together?

QUESTION: Can “that which” be used together? ANSWER: Hmm. It can, but why does is sound odd to my ears? That was my first reaction to a student’s question. My clue was his source.  He encountered the combination in a scholarly work. The statement he quoted also made use of “ofttime,” which is recognized as…

Student Stumper 38: The Grammar of Perception Verbs (Part 2)

Q: If you say, “Listen to Mona sing,” how is the word sing functioning in that sentence? A: It took some thinking and digging for me to decide on an answer. I had originally addressed verbs of perception in Student Stumper 14, but one thing I did not focus on in that post was labeling…

Student Stumper 37: How do you form a question tag with “I don’t suppose”?

QUESTION: I heard someone say, “I don’t suppose you like that, do you?” Is that correct? Why doesn’t the subject in the question tag match “I”? How do you form question tags with “I don’t suppose?” ANSWER: A YouTube viewer posted this question, and it took some digging and reflection to come up with an…

Student Stumper 36: Does “used to” change forms in the negative and in questions?

QUESTION: Does “used to” change forms? ANSWER: Good question. I thought I was sure of the answer until recently when I had to acknowledge the conflicting explanations and examples of sources I trust. At this point, I can only outline my thoughts and then turn to you, my colleagues, for a more definitive answer. Thankfully,…

Student Stumper 35: “As if” and “As though”

QUESTION: What verb forms can follow as if or as though? ANSWER: Hm. You’re asking as if I had all the answers! This question was posted on my community forum. The student wondered if we could say both “as if you didn’t know me” and “as if you don’t know me.” I felt stumped. Was…

Student Stumper 34: While or awhile?

QUESTION: Which is correct, for a while or for awhile? ANSWER: This question was posted on my community forum. It was easy for me to answer the spelling question.  I know that after the preposition “for” we write two words – a while.  That’s because we need a noun object after a preposition. The tricky…