Dear Navi:

You wrote:

 Are these sentences correct:

1-He is as hard-working as ever, just changing his job. (Meaning: He is as hard-working as ever. He is just changing my job.)

I think you mean “his job.” Yes, that would be what it means.

2-John was really happy, just standing there listening to the waves.

This is fine.

3-John had a smile on his face, just standing there listening to the waves.

This is fine.

4-John was not doing anything, just standing there listening to the waves.

This is fine.

I do not like ‘1’. I think the “meaning” sentence is better. ‘1’ makes it sound that he is hard-working AS he is changing his job.  

No, remember that in English participial phrases are usually very literal. He is merely changing his job, not his work ethic.

I believe in spoken English, a full stop instead of a comma would solve the problem.

I am as creative as ever. (I am) Just changing my job. In written English, the second ‘I am’ has to be there.

Either way is fine.

I think ‘4’ also could use a full stop instead of the comma. It would then be equivalent to:

4a-John was not doing anything. He was just standing there listening to the waves.

Either one is fine and says the same thing.

I might sound as if I think I know what I am talking about. If I did not have strong doubts about what I was saying, I would not ask the question!!

I hope this helps.

Dear N T:

You wrote:

 1-We only did not open the front door.

Is this sentence correct and does it mean:

We did everything else, but we did not open the front door.

Or:

We opened all the doors except the front door.

This totally depends on context. Either makes sense. You are saying that the one action you did not do was open the front door. If the context is talking about opening doors, then the second one would fit. If the context is speaking of a number of activities then the first one could make sense. What this says is “The one thing we did not do was open the front door.”

If you think about it, “only” as an adverb is the adverb form of  ‘one.”

2-We did not open the front door only.

Is this sentence correct and does it mean:

We opened doors other than the front door as well.

Since this follows “front door,” that is what “only modifies.” This would mean that other doors were opened, too.

Usually when a sentence ends with “only,” that add emphasis. You could also say “We did not open only the front door.”

Dear N T:

You asked:

1-You do not have to go to only one of these cities.

2-You do not have to only go to one of these cities.

3-You do not have to go to one of these cities only.

4-You do not only have to go to one of these cities.

Which of the above mean:

a-You can go to more than one of these cities.

and which mean:

b-You have to go to more than one city. Or maybe, you have to do something other than going to one of these cities?

The words “just” and “only” are notorious for being difficult to manage without context. However, what is important is that the “only” normally modifies the word that follows it. (Obviously, #3 is different.)

Therefore, #1 means that you must go to more than one city (i.e., not only one).

#2 means that you must do more than just go to one of the cities (i.e., not only go, but do something else).

#3 means that your choice of cities is not limited to these cities (i.e., not only these cities but others, too).

#4 means that you must go to one of the cities and do something else (i.e., you not only have to go, but do something else). Because “have to” is modified by the “only,” this means the only is modifying something that is imperative.

Having said all that, occasionally in everyday speech people will put an “only” where it technically does not belong, but it is understood because of the context.

Dear N:

You wrote:

1-How much will it cost to go to each of these museums?

Can’t this sentence mean two things:

a-How much will it cost to go to ALL of these museums?

No. It could be asking for an itemized list, but the question is about EACH museum. This question is asking for a TOTAL only.

b-How much will each of them cost? (In this case we would be asking for a list of prices.)

Yes, this is what it is asking.

If the sentence cannot mean ‘b’, how can one formulate ‘b’?

2-How much will each of these museums cost to go to?

This is asking the same thing. #1 is a bit more direct and clear.

Dear Prof. C:

You wrote:

 You write, “In standard English lend is a verb, and loan is a noun.” But “loan” is the standard verb in a banking context, used by the most literate of bankers and banking lawyers—people who write well and care about good usage. I’m not sure why “loan” is preferred. Perhaps “lend” has overtones of a brief, informal loan (much as I might lend you a pencil) rather than a formal, structured transaction that could last for years.

I understand the common usage of “loan.” The style preference from a number of sources likely has to do with the original meaning, where “loan” was the noun form of  the verb “lend” (or vice-versa). Even bankers, though, call themselves “lenders.” A “loaner” is what you get from the repair shop if they are working on your car for more than a few hours.

This is more a question of style. Your observation is worth a follow-up. Thank you.

Dear Navi:

You wrote:

 The war taught us how to survive, and it was worth it. What do the two its stand for? What does the sentence mean?

This is a very good question. There are two things going on in this sentence, both are idioms.

The first it is usually seen as referring to the previous sentence—in this case the lesson learned from the war. It is not referring to just a single noun, like war, but rather the whole clause, that is, the experience of survival.  English often uses it that way when there is an expression of value. Sometimes, of course, it can be completely idiomatic as in “it is raining.” Pronouns are used that way in many of the European languages, not just English.

“Worth it” is also an idiomatic expression. Most literally “worth it” refers to the price of something. It means “worth the price.” Usually it suggests something that appears to have a high price  but is a good value nevertheless. “The extra cost for flood insurance was worth it. We would not have been able to pay for the restoration of our basement after the hurricane if we did not have that insurance.”

But many times “worth it” can refer to an experience—usually one considered difficult or costly in some way. That is what the person is saying here. “Surviving the war was difficult, but the lessons we learned from our survival experience were quite valuable. They were worth the price we paid.”

I hope this helps. (I could even say to myself—“I hope my explanation was worth it!”)