If it's applied to an act of theft, then why is the last word of the expression 'grand theft auto' is 'auto' instead of 'theft'? It's constructed as if it's 'auto' modified with 'grand theft', i.e. an auto that has been "grand-thefted", so to speak. Why is the word order so unusual?
123046
There is a video game series called "Grand Theft Auto".  According to its :     The name of the series references the term used in the US for motor   vehicle theft.      [...]      Motor vehicle theft or, grand theft auto, is the criminal act of   stealing or attempting to steal a car (or any other motor vehicle).   I always wondered why this term sounds so strange.   Shouldn't it be "grand auto theft" or maybe "grand theft of auto" instead? Are there any other terms with strange words order and/or missing prepositions like this?
36837
For example,   If this van's a-rockin', don't come a-knockin'  (song title)   (song title)   I have a few related questions:   What is the "a-" or "-a" called? Is there a function beyond a rhythmic one? Why is "a-" attached to a word at all -- and why attach to a word at all?
59217
Possible Duplicate:          Which of the following is more correct? Or is there another form I'm missing?     We drove to the movies in one of my buddy's car.   We drove to the theater in one of my buddies' cars.   We drove to the theater in one of my buddies' car.   I suppose the fundamental question is: does this phrasing suggest "one of [the collection of cars owned by my buddies]" or "the car owned by [one of my buddies]"?
46399
In instructional videos I see on the internet, the teacher says "in the U.S and Canada, they automatically use police as plural noun", if it is already plural, then what's the singular of police?
71399
Lately, something has struck me.  I've been hearing several expressions in English, some clearly borrowed from French and preserving their noun-adjective form.  Some examples are:  Attorney General Secretary General Court Martial Notary Public   I suspect there are more that I have missed.  However, in each of the 4 cases listed above, I feel 'OK' saying them the 'English' way; that is, adjective-noun, which is the way we almost always do things except for these borrowed phrases.  One might receive a statement from the General Attorney, or be sent to a Martial Court.  My father is actually a lawyer and does indeed describe himself as a Public Notary.  Doing things this way makes the plural sound a lot more sensible in English, too; which sounds better: General Secretaries, or Secretaries General?  How common is it for people to flip these borrowed phrases around and say them the more standard English adjective-noun way?  Might it be clearer in the long run if we did so?
108618
Dear language professionals,  What are grounds for using shortish phrase "Life vest under your seat" on the warning sign on the planes.  Is it stylistically caused? If this style allows main verb omission? Or it is just an unmotivated verb omission?
13790
When someone is going to drive their car somewhere, I always used to say "drive safely" to them. Recently I was told I should say "drive safe."    (From: )   Which one is correct?  Similarly, is "do good" correct?
62296
In the following sentence, how would I indicate possession if the word "business'" were replaced by the name of the business: like "Fry's" or "Wendy's"?     Some business' employees are happy.   It seems strange to say that Wendy's employees are happy, since I'm referring to the business, and not just Wendy.
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I have been reading Men With Brooms for a few days. I read a sentence which did not make any sense to me, so I landed here to get some help on it. I have pasted the sentence from the novel. Please go through it and let me know your valuable feedback on it.  An excerpt from the novel (Men With Brooms: A Sweeping Epic, paperback 2002, a novelization by Diane Baker Mason):     Gordon was about to walk away from the Impala when he saw it stop and his son get out. So it was real the boy had come.   As per my opinion it should have been:     Gordon was about to walk away from the Impala when he saw it stopped and his son got out. So it was real the boy had come.   I have two questions here:   Why did the writer use stop and get instead of stopped and got? As she is telling us a story which happened in the past. Let's say the writer is telling us her mind's situation and she used the present tense for it but why did she use stop and get instead of stops and gets?
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For example, if I wanted to write the equivalent of  There are many automated teller machines in this city.  Would it be  There are many ATMs in this city.  or  There are many ATM's in this city. (could get confused with possessive form or contraction).  or just  There are many ATM in this city. (assuming the final s is included in Machines represented by M).  Maybe something else?
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Examples:   In a car, van, etc. On a bus, boat, motorcycle, etc.   How can one decide which preposition to use? Is memorization the only way or is there a better way?  Note: People generally explain this by either distinguishing between open and closed vehicles or between large and small vehicles. However, the examples I've given defeat both explanations.
67845
I've been curious about this for a while.  Generally, one uses "the" if they mean a specific object ("The copy of Lord of the Rings I bought yesterday") instead of any object that fits a description ("I have a copy of Lord of the Rings").  However I've seen "the" used in some cases where the phrase doesn't refer to a specific object. I've noticed it mostly being about technology, such as "This game requires the Classic Controller" (seen on some Wii Virtual Console games). While saying "This game requires a Classic Controller" seems to be correct as well, using "the" doesn't feel wrong either.  The controller's page on Wikipedia also uses "the":   What is the rule that allows the use of "the" in this context?  I presume it has something to do with "Classic Controller" being a proper noun.
32516
For various such sentences in many cases I get confused, it seems different for different cases. I want to know if someone left doing something for permanantly then what should be used? Also give some examples for different cases. Suppose... "I left my bag" means "I forgot my bag". but If I want to say the same for permanentaly "I left bringing my bag". Where should we use "stop" and "quit" then?
46009
Is it correct to say e.g. "I like your way of wearing" or "the way you wear looks perfect"?  Is it politely? Is it in use or not? May I use "the way you wear" referring to whole wearings including dress, scarf, hat, bracelet. jewellery, etc?  Thank you for your suggestions in advance.
24288
What is the correct relative pronoun for "government"? Which of the following phrases is correct? I am writing for an American [English] audience.     The Queensland Government, who licenses several casinos, ...   or     The Queensland Government, which licenses several casinos, ...
3615
Which is correct?        She was told that it was against the law to steal.      Or        She was told that it is against the law to steal.        Background information: The original context is that I was relating an incident via email, where my colleague told a customer that some of our actions were part of the organisation's policy. The policy is still valid, but the statement I used to relate the incident in my email went like this:    "Mr Jay was informed that it was our policy to do this."   And I received feedback that it should go like this instead:    "Mr Jay was informed that it is our policy to do this."
18900
very often we see the description like this:  Many people realize that they didn't do any wrongdoings, so they cannot understand why they have to be punished. or ...., so they cannot understand why do they have to be punished.   or we ask "why do you fight?" can we omit the "do",  say "why you fight?"  Thanks!!