I have this doubt when it comes to sports and teams.  Is it England is playing or England are playing? Similarly, is it "Arsenal is playing..." or "Arsenal are playing..."?
1135
I'd say Microsoft have a way of bending the rules and I know that McLaren have won the championship. While this sounds strange, I believe it is correct English (sorry, I'm not native).   But when it's a small company, would you still use it this way? Is a company always plural, or are small companies singular? I.e., would you say Bakery Johnson makes fine bread or Bakery Johnson make fine bread? Is it My book seller, Woody's, have moved or is it has moved?
37806
I have heard someone say in a conversation, "Well, my point being,,,". As an English learner, I was puzzled but assumed that it was roughly the same as saying "My point is that..." or "Here's my point:"   Even if my guess was right, the phrase strikes me as a bit odd. Can anyone elaborate on the meaning/usage/gramatical explanation of this phrase?
101267
I'm not sure "Being away" is a present participle or a gerund ? If it's a gerund , according to the rule "possessive before gerund" ,then   "I'm used to his being away" should be correct. Am i right ?
108279
We have currently a hat called "Joga Bounito":    Bounito? Which language is that?  It is clearly a latin-derived language, so not English, German, Arabic, Chinese...   In Portuguese it should be "Joga Bonito" (which means "Plays beautifully"). I'm not sure about Spanish, but I guess that it should be then "Juega Bonito". I'm not sure about Italian either, but I guess that it should be "Gioca Bel". In French (not sure) it should be "Joue Beau". In Romen (really unsure) it should be "Joacă Frumos".   So, the best guess is that it is in Portuguese. Further this hat is basically a soccer ball, and in this year we had the FIFA World Cup in Portuguese-speaking Brazil, which is known for being a country where soccer is the main sport. So "Joga Bounito" would really be Portuguese.  But there is a small problem. It has a typo: It should not be "Bounito", it should be "Bonito".
85802
Quoting :     The girls' and boys' teams are both in the playoffs. (Both girls and   boys have their own team--both have their own apostrophe.)       The girls   and boys' team is excited about being in the playoffs. (One team of   girls and boys--one apostrophe.)   Is there a sentence that could be formed using      girls' and boys' team &mdash; i.e. plural boys with apostrophe; plural girls  with apostrophe but a singular team?
115684
Should I write 'I have been reading a book now' or 'I am reading a book now'? I started to read one week ago and I haven't ended yet. Thanks for help
4170
I am really confused.  Which preposition is correct?     She is in/at the park.   They are in/at the park.   I am in/at the park.   Should I use in or at in these sentences?
118586
When to use infinitive  and when to use present participle of a same word?  I like to play cricket. To play cricket is fun. I love playing cricket.
75271
I'm under the impression that the correct verb to use is "are," but my colleagues believe it to be "is."  And what about just: "over half our board [are/is] people of color" ?  Another case: "over half the stadium [are/is] people of color"  We're tripping over these examples, any help appreciated!
51684
While I'm aware of  it does not quite answer my question. I have a simple sentence:     If any of the devices was not switched off, do something.   Is there supposed to be was or were? I was thinking about was since it could be rephrased as:     If any one of the devices was not switched off, do something.   But maybe that does not make any sense at all. Also, this is for a technical documentation where more formal language is preferred, not sure if that makes any difference.
67222
I'm in an argument. To me "are" makes more sense. I understand the rationale for is because it's only one chicken, but chickens itself is plural. Help?
48968
I found a phrase, ‘the new tablet of iPad can sport at least one camera for video conferencing’ in today’s  reporting iPad 2. I guess ‘Sport’ here implies ‘chase (move) after plural objects' or ‘Catch' them, because it says 'at least one camera.' But I’m not accustomed to the word, ‘sport’ used in a such way.   COD at hand gives only two meanings of ‘Sport’ as a verb, - 1. to have or wear sth in a proud way so that everyone can see. 2. to play in a happy and lively way. In addition to the above definition, an English Japanese dictionary (Readers Plus Dictionary) provides ‘play with other sex’ and ‘give’ as  slang usages, and I can’t find the definition anything near to the context used in the following sentence.   What does ‘Sport’ here exactly mean? Is this common way of using ‘Sport’ as a verb?     A report from the Wall Street Journal says that Apple has begun production of the next generation of the iPad. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, claims that the new tablet will be thinner and lighter, will sport at least one camera for video conferencing and will have better graphics and a more memory.
87926
Why are these different?        We heard the news on the radio.   We watched the news on television.      In this , the author says we must use television without the. Why? It makes me crazy. Is there a valid reason?
33259
I have run into a conundrum.   When I go to get some friends cans of beer I say:     You guys want a beer?   When I am referring to going to a bar and drinking some I say:     Let's go get some beers!   When I go to a store to buy beer I say:     I am going to get beer.   How can I work this out? My friend is a native Chinese speaker and this is the sort of plural thing that trips her up. How is this explained?
103336
I want to use 'audience' in the following sentence. In what form should I use it? Is it a singular or plural noun?     How the audience demotivate players in the NBA.      How the audience demotivates players in the NBA.
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.
54391
Simple question:     My apples and orange are wrong   or     My apples and orange is wrong   I am not a native English speaker, and I am having some trouble choosing between plural are or singular is for that kind of example.