The gross NPA ratio as of end Dec. was  13 % as compared with 8 % a year earlier .   What would be the difference if I wrote compared to in this sentence?   Please explain the use of compare to and compared with.
6167
Is only one of them correct? Are they used in different situations? Or are they interchangeable?
121126
We adopt the approach under which the ...   We adopt an approach under which the ...   We consider the scenario where ...   We consider a scenario where ...      Suppose that I say nothing about the approach or the scenario before there corresponding sentences. However, suppose that the scenario is known in the literature.  I am a bit confused about the article usage here since I am explaining/clarifying things about the approach (resp. scenario) after under which (resp. after where)  Question: (a) which one between 1 and 2 is correct ?            (b) which one between 3 and 4 is correct ?
55559
PLease, dear native English speakers, help me to understand the meaning of the expression "a year on" within the context "The reality is that, a year on, a true 4K standard is still very much a work in progress..." Thank you a lot!
122037
Could anybody clear it to me whether these two sentence are grammatically equal? If not, what is the difference?     1) They must use some methods...    2) They are to use some methods...
65097
a. His two previous books  b. His previous two books   .............   His 2 latest previous books His 2 previous latest books His previous latest 2 books His latest previous 2 books His previous 2 latest books His latest 2 previous books  I am wondering what is the difference could be between these in meaning?  Which one do you use? which one you don't use?  I think just especially native speakers or learned ones in English can provide the most proper answer.  Thanks
69603
The new service was expected to be a success; ____very few   customers upgraded their accounts.  A. yet   B. just   C. moreover    D. although   In this sentence, I am confused between “yet” and "although". I think although is more correct, but the answer is yet. Please help me make clear about the usage of yet. Thank you very much
121379
What is the difference between  and ?
110501
I read this  and this one is different because the second clause is in present tense.  I'm born and brought up in India. - too commonly practiced in India.  I was born in India is correct over I'm born in India. I am pretty clear on that, but then if I want to include brought up which is still effective (present), how do I say that?  I was born and brought up in India. - does not relate the sentence to the present time then. As both are in past I was born in India + I was brought up in India. - no. I AM brought up in India, I'm still here.
70529
I usually say “It’s a quarter past” (for instance) “five”.  But I think I’ve heard (or read) “It’s quarter past ...”, too, with no indefinite article: is that correct?  Which is more common (if both constructions are in use)?  Is the omission of the article more colloquial (informal, popular, whatever)?  Is there a difference between British and American English?  Thank you very much.
76361
What's the difference between these two phrases?
47994
I gave him the money by 6 PM.   I had given him the money by 6 PM.   I can't spot the difference between them and both seem right, but I was told the first one is wrong. Can anyone say, why?  Here is a another set of sentences with the same issue:     By 5 PM I gave him the book.   By 5 PM I had given him the book.   In both the sentences the book was given before 5 PM and no later than 5 PM. But I can't understand then what the difference between them is.   Is it right to use simple past with 'by' at all? If yes, then why and if not, then why is it incorrect to use simple past with 'by'?
20231
I was reading this today:  We look forward to following your progress.  Am I correct in thinking that it is missing a be or that -ing should be removed?  So  We look forward to be following your progress.  or  We look forward to follow your progress.  Interestingly I get the same jarring feeling when reading the examples here
72201
I would like to paraphrase a sentence:     "This is how the costs of each course should be."   So my idea was:     "This is how the price/prices per course should be."    What are the differences between singular + per vs. plural + per?  Or  If you have better paraphrases, you're very welcome to share them.  Thank you very much :)
24964
What is the difference between these two:     Suzuki was nearly close to go out of business just after the World War period.   Vs.     Suzuki was nearly close to going out of business just after the World War period.(from a video)   When talking about the past, do these two sentences different from each other? Like, if you use verbing(going) with infinitive(to) in the past, does it mean that there is another event happening? Or none.
98909
I'm looking for a noun to use in place of "comparable object," which would make sense in the following context:     Four "comparable objects" were ranked based on their performance in a recent comparison.   I keep thinking of the word "competitor," but I'm not satisfied with it, which made me think of the following analogy:  competitor : competition :: ??? : comparison
3027
When someone uses the phrase "percent increase" what does that mean?   For example, if something took 4 seconds before and now it takes 1 second, would that be a 400% increase?
59339
Lately I've been hearing and reading statistics that are communicated in wording that, frankly, confuses me.  Forgive me for not citing specific instances, but I can give a hypothetical statistic that exemplifies the kind I'm referring to:     Comparing the number of tax returns the IRS audited in 2002 and 2010, the number of unlucky folks who had their returns audited in 2002 was ten times fewer than the number in 2012.    There is something about that wording that bothers me, and I'm not sure why.    After a fruitless search on the internet using numerous combinations/permutations of words and phrases such as "X times fewer," "X times less," "mathematical expressions of 'times fewer' as opposed to 'a fraction fewer,' or 'a fraction less,'" and more, I came up empty. Perhaps this question is more appropriate on a math website, but in the off-chance members of EL&amp;U might give their imprimatur to this question, here goes:  Here's a second hypothetical example.  Is it grammatical—not to mention mathematical—to say the following?:     There are ten times fewer pollinating honeybees worldwide today than there were in 1912.  [Though this is a made-up statistic, there has been a dramatic reduction in the number honey bees in America of late!]   Should not the expression be:     There are one-tenth fewer honeybees worldwide today than there were in 1912.     On the surface, the "ten times fewer" locution seems to me to be a contradiction in terms.  How can something less be 10 times fewer?    I can understand readily how, for example, 2012's bee population of, say, 90 million can be one-tenth (point one) less than 1912's population of 100 million, but ten times fewer?   I'm confused.  Which expression is "more" correct?