english grammar questions , please help

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I have some questions which i can't answer by my self . Please help me to answer . May I ask more than 1 ?
1. What is the difference between BANDIT AND ROBBER ?
2. do you know the difference between COULDN'T HAVE DONE and CAN'T HAVE DONE ? I can't discriminate them clearly .
3. TO BE DELIGHTED + ? PREPOSITION ?
4.MUTIPLE CHOICE :
The origin of something is ......
a. condition b. ending c. source . d . root .
I think root but my teacher says it 's source . What do you think ?
5. Fill in the blank with correct preposition
Who 's invited .... us ?
Is it possible if i don't put any prepositions there ?
thank you all so much .

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Re: english grammar questions , please help
1. What is the difference between BANDIT AND ROBBER ?

A bandit is someone who lives outside the law completely. Bandits live in the forest or the mountains, they live in groups called gangs.

A robber is just any thief who steals from people in person face to face by threatening them or assaulting them.

2. do you know the difference between COULDN'T HAVE DONE and CAN'T HAVE DONE ? I can't discriminate them clearly .

Couldn't have is further back in the past, can't is the recent past

3. TO BE DELIGHTED + ? PREPOSITION ?

To be delighted

with

at

because of

4.MUTIPLE CHOICE :
The origin of something is ......
a. condition b. ending c. source . d . root .

I think root but my teacher says it 's source . What do you think ?

Source is more grammatic. Everything has a source. Plants have roots literally. Other things have roots metaphorically.

5. Fill in the blank with correct preposition
Who 's invited .... us ?
Is it possible if i don't put any prepositions there ?

Who 's invited us ? Or better, who has invited us?

Yes invite does not have or need a preposition.

thank you all so much .[/quote]

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With respect to #5, leaving out a preposition changes the apparent meaning intended by the question. "Who's" can mean "who has" as demonstrated, but it can also mean "who is" which will require a preposition. "With" would be a suitable preposition; however it reads better if you use "along with" or better yet "in addition to" us. Who's invited in addition to us. Another answer would be "Who's invited besides us."

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flyboy804 wrote:

With respect to #5, leaving out a preposition changes the apparent meaning intended by the question. "Who's" can mean "who has" as demonstrated, but it can also mean "who is" which will require a preposition. "With" would be a suitable preposition; however it reads better if you use "along with" or better yet "in addition to" us. Who's invited in addition to us. Another answer would be "Who's invited besides us."

Good point, flyboy, well spotted!

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thank you for explaining to me . You are so kind !!! But there is one thing i don't understand
I mean the meaning of COULDN'T HAVE DONE and CAN'T HAVE DONE ? Can you explain ?
And i also have one more question .
Does MISS + TO VERB exist ?

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contrex wrote:

flyboy804 wrote:
With respect to #5, leaving out a preposition changes the apparent meaning intended by the question. "Who's" can mean "who has" as demonstrated, but it can also mean "who is" which will require a preposition. "With" would be a suitable preposition; however it reads better if you use "along with" or better yet "in addition to" us. Who's invited in addition to us. Another answer would be "Who's invited besides us."

Good point, flyboy, well spotted!

you are correct . The key my teacher gave is BESIDES

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silverrainbow wrote:

thank you for explaining to me . You are so kind !!! But there is one thing i don't understand
I mean the meaning of COULDN'T HAVE DONE and CAN'T HAVE DONE ? Can you explain ?

If I can't or couldn't have done something, that means that it was not possible for me to do it, that the possibility is excluded.

Use can't or cannot for the very recent past, and couldn't or could not for the more remote past.

I couldn't have stolen the money six months ago, I was in another town that day.

I can't have eaten all the cakes this morning, I was still in bed!

John can't have eaten his breakfast. He is gone, and the food is still on the plate.

Mary can't have taken her car. The keys are still on the table.

And i also have one more question .
Does MISS + TO VERB exist ?[/quote]

What, like "In winter I miss to see the sun"?

No, with the verb to miss, you use a participle "In winter I miss seeing the sun" (Or just I miss the sun)

I love to see the sun. I miss seeing it. I love to kiss pretty girls. Now I am in jail, i miss kissing girls.

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thanks again , you may be right about MISS + VERBING , but i'm sure you are not right about LOVE + TO VERB

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silverrainbow wrote:

thanks again , you may be right about MISS + VERBING , but i'm sure you are not right about LOVE + TO VERB

LOVE + TO VERB is correct English! I am a native speaker and also a teacher.

LOVE + TO VERB is CORRECT
LOVE + VERBING is CORRECT

In general they are interchangeable. Same with HATE and LIKE

But
MISS + VERBING is CORRECT
MISS + TO VERB is WRONG

These are all correct:-

I love to ride a horse
you love playing football
she loves to swim
We love being in England!

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Silverrainbow, perhaps terminology has changed in recent years. If not you should refer to "to verbs" as infinitives and "verbing" as participles or gerunds depending upon whether they are used as adjectives or nouns.

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flyboy804 wrote:

Silverrainbow, perhaps terminology has changed in recent years. If not you should refer to "to verbs" as infinitives and "verbing" as participles or gerunds depending upon whether they are used as adjectives or nouns.

I was going to mention that, but I was in a rush, so I framed my reply to be quickly comprehensible. I think the concept of the gerund is a bit advanced, judging by the level of the questions being asked...

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You're probably right, contrex. Maybe silverrainbow can shake up his teacher.

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Thank you so much for your enthusiastic help . Now I have another question .
Do you know the difference betweent the use of DUE TO and BECAUSE OF ?

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and if LOVE TO VERB exists , is it different from LOVE + VERBING ?
The same question with LIKE TO VERB and LIKE + VERBING . thank you

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> Do you know the difference betweent the use of DUE TO and BECAUSE OF ?

Is there a difference? They seem interchangeable.

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silverrainbow wrote:

and if LOVE TO VERB exists , is it different from LOVE + VERBING ?

No. I love to swim / I love swimming are equivalent

silverrainbow wrote:

The same question with LIKE TO VERB and LIKE + VERBING . thank you

The same with I like to eat / I like eating

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really ? So how can you do this exercise ?
VERB FORM AND TENSES ( ONLY ONE ANSWER AVAILABLE )
I DON'T LIKE ( GET ) ... BILLS BUT WHEN I DO GET THEM I LIKE ( PAY ) ... THEM PROMPTLY .

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Infinitives (to verbs) and gerunds (one form of "ing" verb) are almost always interchangeable. I can't think off hand of an example where they are not. One normally choses whichever sounds better. I know of no way to teach which is preferable. As a general rule however, when you use two of them in a sentence, they should both be in the same form- getting bills and paying bills or to get bills and to pay bills.

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thank you for your explanation

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flyboy804 wrote:

Infinitives (to verbs) and gerunds (one form of "ing" verb) are almost always interchangeable. I can't think off hand of an example where they are not. One normally choses whichever sounds better. I know of no way to teach which is preferable. As a general rule however, when you use two of them in a sentence, they should both be in the same form- getting bills and paying bills or to get bills and to pay bills.

I think there might be a subtle nuance of difference possible.

(1)
I like to eat wholemeal bread because it is healthier.

I don't like to eat GM foods because I am not sure they are safe.

(2)
I like eating ice cream because it feels good in my mouth.

I don't like eating crisp apples because they loosen my dentures.

The examples in (1) refer to eating generically while those in (2) focus on the actual devouring of food.

This sort of thing illustrates how important it is to examine context as well as performing dictionary and grammar-book work on isolated phrases and words. That is language-by-formula and it is not the best way to seriously approach language learning.

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english grammar questions , please help

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