What is the grammar behind the expression "long time no see"?
I expect that you’ve come across the expression “have a look-see”, which is an English translation of the Mandarin Chinese "khan-khan". The existence of this would give support to the theory that it comes from "ho noi mou gin" (Cantonese) which means "Have not seen each other for a long time”. According to the (OED) it comes from an imitative speech of an native American. The oldest use in literature was recorded in 1901 in "31 Years on Plain" by W. F. Drannan. When we rode up to him (an American Indian), he said: "Good mornin. Long time no see you". Perhaps it’s just as well that we can’t be completely sure, as if we were to pin it down precisely we might be required to abolish it and apologise to the ethnic group concerned for our impertinence and insensitivity. After which “long time no hear”!
What's the grammar behind 言っといて?
I think it's an abbreviation of 言って + おいて. yes, you'right! wonderful! it means 'say hello to everyone.' or 'don't forget to say hello to everyone' おいて＝おく( basically, =put ,keep ) ＋ て form (te form is usually followed by other verb, but this is an imperative usage, so it stops here) verb + する ＋ おく becomes 'verb+shite oku' （verb + して おく) and when you say して おいてvery fast, it becomes しといて、or verb+といて and it basically means 'put something into a certain situation', and is used as a colloqual imperative phrase. ex) テレビ けしといて。=(don't forget to )Turn off the TV. (=keshite + oite) 放っといて＝Leave me alone. (=hōte + oite) I'm getting confused, but I hope this helped. and have a happy new year!!
What is the grammar behind the phrase 'as being'?
First, “Being As An Ocean” is not the same as “As Being An Ocean”.The former is a figure of speech called a Simile, where “as” is used like “like”. The latter is a Metaphor. I suggest you read up on similes and metaphors.Trump thinks of himself as being elected. But technically he is not elected until the Electoral College corroborates the election.Appointing a proxy is not the same as being present.A full-time student is not the same as being an exchange student.In these examples, being is the present participle of the infinitive (verb) to be. As is a comparator like like.That is the grammar behind as being. The meaning should be self-evident from the examples.See also: Lawrence Noronha's answer to How should I use a 'present participle' to join sentences with 'a comma'? Does it emphasize in writing?
What the heck is the grammar behind the wedding vow "'til death do us part"?
I'm a bit surprised that no one has yet corrected the word order. It is NOT "till death do us part" but rather "till death us do part". Yes, the order is unusual for English, but the original version of the expression, penned by Cranmer for the "Book of Common Prayer" in 1549, imitated the LATIN order, probably because at the time that sort of order was thought to "feel right" for formal, liturgical use. (Note, such services had, before this book, been conducted IN Latin.) As for the "do" rather than "does" -- that's the SUBJUNCTIVE mood, which in the 16th century was common used in subordinate clauses referring to something to happen at an indefinite time in the future. (Subjunctive mood is not understood by many English speakers, but it is still used for things like wishes and contrary-to-fact statements - "God be with you" and "If I were king of the forest"/"If I were a rich man") Actually, the ORIGINAL verb was not "do part" but "DEPART" (meaning "separate") --also in th subjunctive mood. But that sense of the word was lost in the 17th century, and substituting "do part" (rather than just "part") was an easy change, keeping the rhythm and feel that was familiar. (Knowing that it was originally "depart" might also make it easier to remember the correct order "do part".) For more details see: http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pp...
Can you explain the grammar behind the phrase "bringing me out the dark" in Adele's song?
The easiest explanation is that she needed to drop a syllable to make the rhythm of the line work, and she chose of after out. Doing that is called taking poetic license and it is normal within lyrics or a poem.There could, however, be a subtle word play here, based on the difference in meaning between bring out and bring out of.If you bring me out of the dark it implies you are bringing me into the light and this fits well with the next line, so the drop-a-syllable explanation makes sense.But bring me out the dark could also be poetic license for bring the dark out of me, in other words she is about to inflict the darkness inside her on you in the form of vengeance, for example. This also fits with the overall meaning of the song. There is an idiom in English, you bring out the worst in me, so she may be saying her worst, which you are about to experience, is the dark (meaning darkness of spirit) inside her.
What is the grammar rule behind quoting book titles?
A couple of details to add to the other answer:If it’s in handwriting, underline the title.Use a comma and the word by for the author: ABC Book, by John Smith.Shorter works, short stories, poems, songs: put those in quotation marks.Capitalization follows regular rules for titles.
Could you help me understand the grammar behind this sentence from the New York Times?
The prince volunteered for the deployment as part of the flight training needed to be promoted to squadron leader and take the command seat in the Sea King helicopters he flies.Volunteered is the verb. The prince volunteered. He wished to be deployed (sent) on a mission, which would provide him with the additional level of flight training needed to qualify him for a promotion to squadron leader, which would qualify him for the command position in the Sea King division.The only problem I see is that the sentence assumes that everyone knows what ‘deployment’ means. It is, however, a longish sentence with many phrases.Going backwards: to be in the command position, he would need a promotion to squadron leader. To get that promotion, he needed additional flight training. To get the additional flight training, he would need experience which he could get by accepting (or volunteering for) a deployment (usually that would be overseas, or perhaps in a hazardous region, or both).
What causes the grammar police to get behind their keyboards?
I have Asperger’s, and to me poor spelling and grammar are sensory overload. I’m not particularly well educated, only 6 O levels, and didn’t complete 6th form. But, I learned spelling and grammar in primary school, and it amazes me how badly some people appear to have never been to school for one day.I do appreciate that in this day and age, people have little time, and especially those using Facebook simply don’t care that they write their/there/they’re, your/you’re, to/too/two incorrectly. People just text type and don’t bother reading what they write to see if it’s written correctly or not. Whether they would even notice anyway if they did write things incorrectly is for another debate. They’re too interested in their cat photos, pointless memes, and selfies. A selfie with a duck face is even more important to them.I sit on my hands a lot and try not to be the grammar police, but at times it gets the better of me and I find myself correcting people.Apostrophes are particularly hard to get right, especially with it’s and its. Even I struggle to remember sometimes. It’s the same with who’s/whose etc.Th other one which drives me up the wall, is the increasing use of (in particular) Youtubers who start almost every sentence, or at least each new piece to camera, with the word “so”. This is like nails down a chalkboard to me, and if I think the person did an interesting enough vlog, but I can’t watch it due to their over use of “so”, I’ll say so in the comments. Sure I get flack, or just ignored, but hey I’m human too, just like the people who have no idea how awful their communications skills are, are human. I get sensory overload, they just get don’t give a f*** or call me the grammar police. I can live with it, I just won’t bother reading any more of your writing or watch any more of your vlog. My loss I suppose.