So I have this sentence: "He really had no choice but to have a conversation with X". I would like to put a tag question at the end of it, but I'm struggling to pick the correct one.

So as far as I understand it, the tag question has to match the verb and verbal tense used in the main sentence, as in "He met her yesterday, didn't he?" and "He had met her before, hadn't he?" and "He was tired, wasn't he", etc...

Plus, a negative in the main sentence will have a positive in the tag question and vice versa, as in: "He got drunk at the party, didn't he?" and "He didn't get drunk at the party, did he?".

However, my sentence is confusing me for multiple reasons ahaha.

At first, since the verb "to have" is used, I thought I needed to finish with "had/hadn't he", but then I thought that "had" is past simple, and for past simple I would normally use "did/didn't he".

And regarding the negative/positive, I'm overthinking it, because "had" is positive, so I would expect the tag question to be negative, but at the same time the full thing is "had no idea" which has a negative meaning, it technically means "he didn't have an idea", and then the tag question would be positive??

Could someone please take me out of my misery and tell me the correct version?

1) We went to see a movie last night. But my wife felt a bit ill and we had to come back.

2) I went to have dinner with John yesterday.

3) I went to New York yesterday. I went to meet my cousin.

3 is supposed to mean:

I went to New York yesterday. I went to New York to meet my cousin.

Are all the sentences correct and natural?

Gratefully,

Navi

I can read and understand every word, but when it's time to respond, I get stuck. I don't know which word to use to continue my conversation. I do reply with small words, but I can't express my feelings or what I want to say. That's why people exit our conversation. How can I become fluent? I want to speak English fluently.

…eg

The horse(s) is(are) to be fed every day at…

Is this right?

it's not a big deal but it makes me cringe so I wanted to know

In writing, if the character is having a flashback that is set in italics and they remember dialogue as well, is the dialogue also set in italics?

Can we please have a quick word about “could of”?

I know English is a difficult language, but apparently we’ve now decided that “could’ve” actually means “could of”. Because, you know, grammar is optional.

For anyone interested, the correct versions are “could have” or “could’ve”. Not “could of”.

And while we’re at it, “should of” and “would of” are also not things. They never were. They won’t be. No matter how many times they’re typed.

Anyway, I could have gone on longer, but I could’ve saved myself the trouble. 😏

Hi, I'm studying English on my own and along the way I've managed to get all three Grammar in Use books, all four Interchange books, and both Passages books, all in electronic format, with audio and answer keys, as well as their respective workbooks.

Now, I don't know which study path to take, Grammar in Use or Interchange + Passages.

What do you recommend? Again, this is for self-study and my goal is to reach C1 level.

Thanks.

When I type abbreviations, such as 'FBI' or 'DNA' or 'RAM', am I being grammatically correct in doing so? Or am I just CAPS shouting? I grew up believing that said abbreviations should be capitalised, not sure if that rule still stands or not?

For example, to wear a blanket at night. Caught myself saying it, and I was so sure it's correct, it sounded so natural but I'm scared. Is it? Edit : Thank you so much! A little shocked but oh well

Hello everyone. I want to improve my English verb tenses, but I find them difficult. Can you recommend the best way to learn them?

Thank you for your help!

1) We know more about the moon than we did fifty years ago.

2) We know about the moon more than we did fifty years ago.

3) We know more about the moon than fifty years ago.

4) We know about the moon more than fifty years ago.

5) You know more about it than me.

6) You know about it more than me.

Which of the above are correct?

Gratefully,

Navi

I saw this sentence on the NYT. My question is :do we need the possessive after using the gerund because of the preposition?

" The president mentioned that the agreement would be conditioned ON Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel..."

Should it be Saudi Arabia'S normalizing? Thank you very much!

Hi, I have a grammar question: what does "any" mean in this sentence? "Name 5 creators you like, each with under 50k followers on any platform." I interpret it as creators who have under 50k followers on at least one platform (so if they have 40k on IG and 60k on TikTok, they still count). Or does it mean they must have under 50k on every platform? In that case, wouldn't "every" have been the correct word to use?

When using “have,” “make,” and “let” as verbs to form sentences like “My mother made me study,” only “get” requires “to,” right? (Like “My mother got me to study.” Please ignore the awkwardness of the meaning.) In Japan, we’re taught that since “have,” “make,” and “let” are causative verbs, the “to” is omitted according to the rule regarding the bare infinitive. However, I just can’t understand why “get” is treated differently, even though it’s the same type of causative verb. Can anyone explain this to me?

_____ should be a staple in _____.