Grammar Questions and Answers Series (Part 1)

 1. When are "by" and "through" not used interchangeably? 

Answer: When the meaning of through is "by means of". For example, You can solve your issue through communication. I haven't heard the term "by communication but by communicating with each other instead.

Further Question that can be asked about this:
Why is it not okay to say by communication but okay to say by communicating? Why is it okay to say by bike or by car? Is the by communicating/ by communication thing idiomatic?


2. Can "much" and " a lot of=" be used interchangeably?

Answer: Both "much" and "a lot of" mean "a large amount" but I often hear from grammar lectures that much is often used in negative sentences and a lot of in positive ones.

3. What is the difference between indoor and indoors?

Indoor is an adjective (e.g. indoor sports) while indoors is an adverb ( played indoors).

4. Are New Year's resolution and New Year resolution both correct? Why is it possible to say user manual and user's manual?

This topic is about compound nouns with possessive adjectives and nouns as adjectives. 
 Both user manual and user's manual are correct. There is only a difference in the meaning of these words. The one with the possessive means the manual belongs to the user while the other one means the manual is for the user. In regards to New Year's resolution, New Year is a proper noun so it can't be New Year resolution. It's like Mimi's car versus Mimi car which doesn't make sense. In conclusion, if a noun is a common noun, it already has an established meaning so it can also be a noun that functions as an adjective. 

5. Which one is correct: I have gotten or I have got?


Both are correct. The first one just follows the present perfect tense of the verb (e.g., I have gotten used to it.) The second one is the informal form of "have" ( e.g., I have got a lot of money). Don't confuse it with "have got to" because this means "have to" (obligation)


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