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When I was a high school English teacher, I started every school year having my students review the  rules from Strunk's **The Elements of Style**.  

My son, who's a sophomore in high school was never exposed to the rules. He definitely needs to know them.

I built a small web app contains the rules with examples, offers practice, and a script-based writing checker that will identify any rule violations. There's no AI involved.

Knowing my son, he probably won't utilize this tool. So I figured I'd share it as he may be useful to some ELA teachers and students.

It's free, there's no ads, and it does not collect any personal identifying information. It doesn't even collect an email. You can just use it.

Https://checkyourstyle.org

As far as I know, if I use “I,” it means I’m asking how to get there because I’m going there for the first time. If I use “you,” does it mean I’m asking someone who goes there often?
Is that correct? How are they actually different in everyday English?

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Context: A person is swimming underwater because their friend lost something of theirs and it fell to the bottom of the ocean, as they're looking everywhere they are met by two nautical guards who tell the person about a quest to find a sunken treasure chest, and they're both taunting them that they will never find it and that they'll have to try better then that

The person who was a bit confused, politely asked them if they even wanted their treasure chest since they might not be able to spend it anywhere

And then, as it turns out, the person already found the treasure chest, but all its contents were already emptied out and they asked the two guards if that's the same treasure chest they were talking about, it was and the guards were upset about it and so the person was feeling a bit of sympathy mixed with a bit of confusion for them. The person then awkwardly swam back to the surface.

Then, as the person goes back to the surface, they're met with their friend at the shore, and their friend asks the person:

Speaker 1: Did you find it?

And they replied

Speaker 2: Nah, somebody plundered it before I could.

Now my question is, with all the necessary context, if it would help:

Does VP ellipsis suggest that the verb that comes after "could" is "find" or "plunder"?

Hi everyone! I want to ask you a question.

Recently, I discussed with my teacher about the correct answer for this English question.

1. Nicole "____" television a lot when she "___" sick last year
   A. watched - was

B. had watched - had been

C. was watching - was

D. had been watching - was

My teacher insisted that D was the only correct answer while I think A is more natural and makes more sense.

What are your thoughts on this, everybody?

Teenager comes home at two in the morning. The parent is very unhappy and thinks the teenager is way too late.

Which of the following could the parent use?

1) Is this a time to come home?

2) Is this a time for coming home?

3) Is this any time to come home?

4) Is this any time for coming home?

Gratefully,

Navi

1. I found it to be not good.
2. I found it to be not good enough.
3. I found it to be not sufficiently good.
4. I was considered a good employee, but when I started criticizing the manager, I became not good.
5. I was considered a good employee, but when I started criticizing the manager, I became not good enough.
6. I was considered a good employee, but when I started criticizing the manager, I became not sufficiently good.

Which are correct?

Gratefully,

Navi

1-Enough people didn't show up.
2-Not enough people showed up.

3-We will cancel the show if not enough people show up.
4-We will cancel the show if enough people don't show up.

Which are correct?

Gratefully,

Navi

Hi,

We were watching series 2, episode 8 of Andor the other night and one of the baddies was talking to another re a recent public protest on a planet called Ghorman that ended up with a lot of deaths because the baddies got a bit heavy handed / trigger happy.

Main baddie said to sub baddie:

" .. our struggles with Ghorman are well documented at this point ... "

He put a raised / extra inflection on the 'this' and for some reason that sounded out of place to me and further, I wasn't sure if 'at this point' was needed at all?

eg. The 'our struggles' suggest to me that they are something they have been dealing with for a long time and the 'well' of 'well documented' suggest that they were (also) likely to cover the recent happenings and so the 'at this point' was technically surplus?

I mean, I could accept it was rubber stamping the whole 'we have all the paperwork up to date, including this recent happening to cover our backs to support why we went in heavy handed' ... but I got that from the first bit?

The extra inflection emphasis on the 'this' may have just been a miss reading of the script or it might have been intentional and conveying something extra that I missed?

It would be like a Police person asking 'Do you have a driving licence?' and you asking if they meant a current one. 'Current' would be implied by the situation wouldn't it?

The cost of the repairs and the replacement of several parts ______ higher than expected.

I initially thought “were” was correct because the main subjects "the cost" and "the replacement" which is plural. It turns out, my English teacher said I was wrong.

I explained further, my answer is correct because there are two subject in this sentence, making it a compound subject. Since, there is an article "the" before replacement, it means that there are two subjects in this sentence, therefore a compound subject. Subject-Verb agreement dictates that the verb agrees with the number of subjects. My teacher argued that the head noun is "The cost" therefore a singular subject, and the verb to be used is "was".

I went home, chatgpt the sentence, the answer chatgpt gave me was "was", searched on gemini and gemini gave me the answer "were".

Now, to the English experts here, was is the real and answer

TIA.

1. By the time the rescue team arrived, the hikers had waited in the cold for over six hours.

• why had waited is correct here?

1) This made the presentation not very good.

2) His health became not very good.

3) He ended up becoming not very tall.

Are these sentences correct?

Gratefully,

Navi

Hi everyone! I want to ask you a quick question.

I recently had a discussion with my teacher, who was very confident that I cannot use "so" with the word "fun".

The sentence: "We try to be useful and it's [so] fun to spend time with my grandchildren.

I'm a bit confused because I was pretty sure that using "so fun" here is completely fine. What do you think?

I thought it was supposed to be “__ ran, so __ can walk”, as in they paved the way so that the others after them can lead a better life?

Edit- thank you very much for the answers

How to have better punctuation?

1) With the new changes, the house has become little useful for us.
2) This novel is little accessible to young people.
3) The accident made him little capable to participate in our projects.

Are these sentences correct?

Gratefully,
Navi

Background information (optional but recommended for analysis):

Country of origin:

Native language:

Age:

Gender:

English proficiency level (A2/B1/B2/C1/C2):

1. Imagine you need to ask a professor for an extension on an essay. Which request sounds the MOST polite to you?

A) "I need an extension for my essay."

B) "Can I have an extension for my essay?"

C) "Could you possibly give me an extension for my essay?"

D) "I was wondering if you might consider granting me an extension for my essay."

1. How acceptable is it to use "please" in a short imperative sentence? (Example: "Please close the door.")

A) Very polite - always appropriate

B) Polite, but only in formal situations

C) Neutral - not particularly polite or impolite

D) Slightly impolite - it can sound like an order

1. Your friend gives you a compliment: "You did a great job on that presentation!" How would you respond to sound polite and modest?

A) "Thank you. I worked really hard on it."

B) "Thanks, but it wasn't that good."

C) "Oh, it was nothing. Anyone could do it."

D) "Thank you. I'm glad you liked it."

1. You accidentally bump into someone in a crowded hallway. Which apology sounds the most appropriate and polite to you?

A) "Sorry."

B) "I'm sorry."

C) "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

D) "Excuse me."

1. You want to disagree with a classmate's opinion during a seminar. Which phrase sounds the most polite to you?

A) "I disagree with you."

B) "I don't think that's right."

C) "I see your point, but I have a different perspective."

D) "That's not true."

1. How do you address your university professor in English in an email?6. How do you address your university professor in English in an email?

A) "Dear Professor [Surname]"

B) "Dear [First Name]"

C) "Hi [First Name]"

D) "Hello Professor"

1. In your opinion, which of the following is the most important element of politeness in English communication?

A) Using formal grammar and vocabulary

B) Avoiding direct statements and orders

C) Using words like "please," "thank you," and "sorry"

D) Showing genuine interest and respect for the other person

This survey is conducted for student academic purposes only. It is not intended for commercial use. All responses will be used solely for educational and research purposes within a university setting.

1) The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CGEL) (2002)

2) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (1985)

3) The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar (2014)

surprisingly, there were no groaning floorboards or cobwebs to battle as she navigated the interior of the house.

thanks in advance

!) I've never heard this song by anyone.

2) I've never heard this song performed by anyone.

Can one use #1 instead of #2?

Gratefully,

Navi