I'm reading now "Inherit the Stars". In the book there is a expression like this:     "Make it round about eleven thirty hours," Gray advised.   Normally the "hours" is skipped, right?  Is this expression right English? Or is it just kind of SF language?
122308
I was reading a book and this sentence seemed a little odd to me:     At approximately 19.45 hours the two men rose, stretched and yawned. They picked up their gear and stood at the door, ...   What does the first part mean? If it's the exact time, shouldn't it be 19:45? And if it's duration, shouldn't it be "After 19.45 hours"?  (The story here happens at an airbase, if it's of any relevance)    Edit: The book I've quoted is this:   by John Creed.   The author is Irish and the text is set in northern England/Ireland.
113896
I first heard this phrase in an episode of Family Guy, and they're typically fans of referencing older shows and movies, especially from the 80s. So I'd assumed it was a fairly commonly known thing.  Then I came across it in a friend's novel. The novel is in a Southern American, older time setting, which is about where I'd expect to find examples of it.  Then I had a look online and couldn't find examples of the phrase or it's origin.  Is there such a phrase and origin? Or is this just a coincidence with people choosing something that sounds equally old-timey?
89724
The sentence is:     This is not some science fiction movie come to life.    Is this sentence grammatically right? If this sentence is right, please tell me what the grammatical rule about the word come is, why does it use form come rather than the others like to come.  Thanks in advance!
50990
I would write a couple of . I often read/hear a couple .  I assumed this was an American English thing (I'm British), and just a convenient shortening of the phrase for speaking. It's easier to say a couple minutes vs a couple of minutes.  On a side note, this doesn't seem to restrict the number of things to two, but just a small amount–less than a few, in my mind.
17421
A friend of mine, native EN speaker, told me that the following is correct written like this:      We met on the 1st of June.   Is that really true? I cannot see any reference that these are used in written text.
84505
I was googling but I couldn't find any answers:  What is the precise meaning of the words 'it is', when they are used in a way        Are we going to the cinema on Friday or Saturday?   I don't have any time on Friday.   OK, then Saturday it is.
97131
What is the correct way to express the following? The original meeting time was 9 AM. And it was later re-scheduled to 16 PM.  Is the following expression correct, if not, what would it be?      The meeting was re-scheduled for 16 to 17PM.
47507
An online retail store is asking its customers to construct a sentence beginning with them in order to win a voucher. I just can't believe there's  any such sentence, at least I don't know of any!   I've had enough laughs with friends coming up with Americanisms that fit, so that's not what I'm looking for.  I'm just very curious, is such a sentence grammatically possible or is this store just being mischievous?
120149
I was taught that I should use " at the start of a quote and if it carries on in subsequent paragraphs, I should put ' at the end of the first paragraph, then start the second paragraph with ' and close again with ' and so on, until the final paragraph which I close with ' ".  I cannot see any reference to this style.
53408
I had a grammar quiz at the university today.    One of the questions was:     "Great Expectations" ____ by Charles Dickens.      a) is written   b) has been written   c) was written    Undoubtedly, the c option isn't correct since the time (the publication date) isn't stated or implied.  I crossed the a option out because it is neither a general truth nor a law. It is not a well-known fact to use present simple here.  Finally, I have chosen b. I still have doubts if a is the only right option.   It is unclear to me. Could you clarify it? Any help would be appreciated.
58862
I know the rule is to use past simple when you specify the time when the described action happened, but I strangely dislike this sentence and I'm not sure if the rule applies:   "It's the best movie I saw this year".  Shouldn't it be: "It's the best movie I've seen this year"?  Please, could you justify your answers? Thank you in advance!  Cheers
34699
Possible Duplicate:          I have never seen this particular issue addressed; I looked around and couldn't see anything that specifically addresses this. (Is there anything?)  In a sentence in which we have this scenario: quotation marks, period and closing parenthesis, what goes where?  Any of these are possibilities:     I love Diablo Cody (Oscar-winning writer of 'Juno.')   I love Diablo Cody (Oscar-winning writer of 'Juno).'   I love Diablo Cody (Oscar-winning writer of 'Juno').   I know I could use a comma instead of parentheses, but what if I wanted to use parentheses? There has to be a way to do it correctly.
46791
For example, suppose that I'm going to travel London and will arrive at 10am, 1st December. And will stay a week, means will leave 10am, 8th December. Technically it's 7 nights, but also 8 days. Should I book 7 counts(nights) or 8 counts?
67875
I have a question about the phrase "to this day": (from Frederick the Great by Giles MacDonogh)        They started appearing even before his death on 17 August 1786, and they still crop up to this day.   Should "to this day" be read in the sense of "to a point in time" ("he worked from 1 pm to midnight") or "at a point in time" ("at this moment")?
66645
It seems to be a silly question but I was puzzled when somebody bid me good night, when I was going to sleep at 1:00 PM. If somebody goes to sleep in the afternoon, is it correct to bid him "good night"? I think this is wrong.
57923
I wanted to use this, but I don't know if it's actually valid in English:     The specified date is invalid.It points to a non-existing day.   I'm not a native speaker, and I just want to say that the input points to a date that does not exist, like 30th February.
18968
I am not a native speaker, and I find it very interesting that night is written with gh. Why is it spelled this way?