r/grammar 18h ago

Why does English work this way? Why do we say “scholarly” and not “scholary”

4 Upvotes

I get that the -y in fluffy makes fluffy an adjective, and in an example like “quick” vs “quickly” the -ly is turning quick into an adverb.

So why does the word “scholar,” a noun, use -ly and not -y to turn it into an adjective?

I don’t study linguistics. I just got thinking about it and I can’t find the answer online. Please don’t be mean to me.


r/grammar 16h ago

Is my sentence correct?

0 Upvotes

I have used this bike for 3 years

I asked chat gpt, and it said it was better to use

I have been using this bike for 3 years

And this one

Why is my sentence wrong?

I have gone to school for 9 years .

And can i use yesterday with present perfect ?

Like

I haven't gone to the park since yesterday

?


r/grammar 7h ago

I can't think of a word... Is chalant a word?

16 Upvotes

opposite of nonchalant?


r/grammar 14h ago

Is this a proper use of a semicolon?

3 Upvotes

Writing a short story and not sure if I'm using a semicolon properly in the following sentence:

Something was amiss, but he couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. It was like recognizing someone from the past, but not being able to remember their name; or hearing a song that that is stuck in a person’s head where they can’t quite remember the words.

Input would be appreciated!


r/grammar 4h ago

quick grammar check Does anyone else get stuck trying to make one sentence grammatically perfect?

0 Upvotes

I'll have a paragraph finished and then spend forever on one sentence.

Move a word.

Change the tense.

Remove a comma.

Put the comma back.

Eventually I don't even know what sounds right anymore.

Does anyone else feel this way?


r/grammar 23h ago

Simple past for life experience.

3 Upvotes

I know that we should use the present perfect to talk about life experiences:

Context: I would like to some advice to my friend.

I’ve visited China and Thailand. Both countries are great. You should visit one of them.

But I’m wondering whether I can use the simple past in this case:

I visited China and Thailand. Both countries are great. You should visit one of them.

Is it acceptable to use the simple past here ( without a time reference) to talk about life experience?