Category: Questions From Students

Hi Jonathan, “Any school that does not is either relying on the student to know that it is necessary and that the student is responsible for it, or is providing entertainment, not education. ” This sentence is from your blog. Is “does not is” a new grammar pattern? It looks […]

Hi Jonathan, I wore out my running shoes from running a marathon. Running a marathon wore out my running shoes. My running shoes wore out from/after a marathon. Are these sentences all correct and commonly used? Let’s take them one at a time … #1. “I wore out my running […]

Hi Jonathan, Today when we were practicing sentences in class, you said that you couldn’t use “cozy” in place of “comfortable”. Why not? This is one of those times when the difference is best felt and understood by checking both words in Google Images. Look for the common things, and […]

Hi Jonathan, Can you help me understand the use of the phrase “so many” using some other word or phrase? Could you give me some example sentences? There are many bathrooms in the gym, so many people take a shower in the gym after exercising. There were so many guests […]

Hi Jonathan, Here is another sentence from Blinktrainer: “His grandfather has been dead for two years.” If I rewrite this as “His grandfather had been dead for two years,” is the sentence right? And what is the difference between the two sentences? The first sentence is correct. It simply means […]

Hi Jonathan, In the sentence, “There are many street vendors near the entrance to the night market.”, are the street vendors near the night market but outside the night market? There’s not really a grammar rule to tell us; it’s more about context and state of mind. If we’re inside […]

Hi Jonathan, A friend said, “rooting for you”, to me to cheer me up. Q: How genuine are people usually when they use “rooting for you” to cheer others up? Should I take it as a polite way to end the conversation, or are they telling you they will stand […]

Hi Jonathan, Here is another sentence from Blinktrainer: “He is not used to living in such a noisy city.” May I rewrite it as “He is not used to living in a noisy city.” Is “such” necessary? In this sentence, “such” is an adjective describing how noisy – the degree […]

Hi Jonathan, In the second paragraph [of the article from last week’s class], does the phrase “cognitive benefits” in the second line mean that the benefits are felt and real? The word you’re thinking of is “tangible”. This is one of those cases in which knowing the Latin roots helps […]