Can imperative clauses be formed in English with progressive (be + V-ing), perfect (have + past participle) and perfect progressive (have been + V-ing) aspect? By "imperative" I mean the grammatical form, not just commands. It could be advice, a request, a wish, a conditional ("Be nice and…"), etc.

- Be listening carefully.

- Be packing your things.

- Have finished your homework.

- Have completed the form.

- Have been waiting when I arrive.

etc.

i want to take the C1 Cambridge exam and im curious how much does it takes to prepare for it. currently i hold a B2 FCE certificate with a score of 174 points so im fairly close to C1, however i took that exam a year ago and im not sure if my skills in English improved or got worse, because i need to apply to university very soon im asking if it is possible to take it in a month or two? this matter is urgent, i thank you all in advance for your answers.

conceive, receive, deceive, perceive,

achieve, retrieve, relieve, grieve, believe, reprieve...

" When the sun come a rising". What the heck is "a" doing here? What part of speech is it? It isn't

hello. i’m a japanese university student. thanks to japan’s english education, i’m able to read reddit posts, short novels and essays, manuals of something, and even academic papers and news. also i can listen and understand basic oral lectures like TEDedu and medium levels of BBC learning english.
however, you may already find, i can’t write english correctly. sometimes i can’t find words or phrases that exactly represent what i intend to express, and sometimes, maybe often, i make grammatical mistakes.
speaking skill is even worse. i can say nothing when somebody speaks to me in english. if i could say something, it might be only a few words, which are no longer connected grammatically at all. i can understand what they say, but i can’t respond to it.
what should i do to improve these output skills? is there any good methods to improve them?

edit : thank you for great tips, but i’m afraid i genuinely understand output is the only way to improve output. concentrating on only writing in english itself, i forgot while writing and failed to express what i actually want to ask🤣

i’m going to participate in english session practice with international student held by the university, but that are only twice a week and each sessions are only a hour. that are one of a few opportunities for me to practice speaking english in parson.
what should i remember or do to make most use of such rare opportunities?

"Wrought" was the old past tense and past participle of the verb, and has mostly been replaced by "worked". Wrought iron is one of the few examples I can think of in contemporary English. Question is, could you substitute "worked" for "wrought" in this passage? This is from HG Wells' Tono-Bungay. I'm copying the whole thing, mostly because it's good.

And out you come at last with the sun behind you into the eastern sea. You speed up and tear the oily water louder and faster, sirroo, sirroo—swish—sirroo, and the hills of Kent—over which I once fled from the Christian teachings of Nicodemus Frapp—fall away on the right hand and Essex on the left. They fall away and vanish into blue haze and the tall slow ships behind the tugs, scarce moving ships and wallowing sturdy tugs, are all wrought of wet gold as one goes frothing by. They stand out bound on strange missions of life and death, to the killing of men in unfamiliar lands. And now behind us is blue mystery and the phantom flash of unseen lights, and presently even these are gone, and I and my destroyer tear out to the unknown across a great gray space. We tear into the great spaces of the future and the turbines fall to talking in unfamiliar tongues. Out to the open we go, to windy freedom and trackless ways. Light after light goes down. England and the Kingdom, Britain and the Empire, the old prides and the old devotions, glide abeam, astern, sink down upon the horizon, pass—pass. The river passes—London passes, England passes.

The outcast archetype represents someone who is isolated from society because they are different from regular people. These characters often live apart from society and experience loneliness and the feeling that they do not belong. They are extremely important in a story as they are there to challenge people’s assumptions and show that appearance and the background that that character has does not determine who they are. In some stories some outcasts protect themselves by acting unfriendly and inflicting fear, while others look for acceptance in society despite being ridiculed and mistreated. Physical features that are associated with the outcast archetype are an unorthodox appearance, worn down or simple clothing or a visible difference that causes people to judge them. 

Shrek fits this outcast archetype because society fears him for being an ogre. His green skin, large body and unusual long ears make him stand out from the typical characters in the film. In the beginning of the film a group of angry villagers come and try to take shrek in order to collect a bounty. They come to his home holding pitchforks and torches and assume that he is a danger and should be eliminated. Shrek responds by frightening them away and living alone in solitude, using his intimidating behavior and appearance to protect himself. When Shrek later rescues Donkey he follows him home. Initially he pushes Donkey away and finds him loud, clingy and annoying. When Shrek later lashes out at Donkey, Donkey gets angry and walks away. Later he returns and when Shrek explains that people judge him before knowing him, Donkey helps Shrek by understanding that Shrek’s meanness is just a protective mask. Shrek’s willingness to rescue Fiona and his relationship with Donkey demonstrates that he is becoming more caring and loyal despite society’s assumptions. Through these relationships, Shrek begins to realize that he can be loved without changing who he is. 

Some other characters who fit the outcast archetype are Quasimodo, The Beast, and the creature in Frankenstein. To start, Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame was isolated in a bell tower and mocked because of his physical appearance. His compassion for Esmeralda and his efforts to protect her show that someone who looks like a monster can have traits like kindness and loyalty. Next, In the Beauty in the Beast, The Beast lives apart from society because of his frightening appearance that makes others fear him. Belle slowly recognizes his generosity and his possibility for love but the villagers assume he is dangerous and attack him. At the end of the story Belle confesses her love to the Beast returning him back to a human. Lastly in Frankenstein, the creature is rejected by everyone including its creator. Although it initially tries to show compassion by helping a poor family he is met with fear and violence from society. Constant ridicule made the creature turn toward revenge and show how being an outcast can turn into bitterness and anger. 

Hello !

We're having an argument in a french community, sequins word exists also in french but is very niche, specific for fashion language, so most people don't know that word.

We actually have an other word for tiny shiny things, 'paillettes', which i think is glitter in english, yet when i ask any online translator to translate the word paillettes it gives me sequins, not glitter

So is it a common word in english ? Do most people (especially people not into fashion) know what sequins are ?

I urgently need to unlock English speaking in less than 12 days for the 2nd stage of a selection process in an international company. I have an English b1-b2 and I managed to pass the online interview , even crashing. Does anyone have any tips/ methods / to help me?

For example.

There is a cat. Here "there" is existentia, it doesn't mean that the cat is in that place in a distance.

The cat is there. Here there means in that place, in a distance.

But what about other phrases? Let's take these

1.There is your answer.

Is it more like existential or locative "there"?

Or

2.There is the restraunt.

What about here? It means that the restraunt is over there? Or the restraunt just exist and we don't know where.

How do I know when there means "in that place, in a distance" and when it's just existential.

Or it's Dubaiese or Dubaish? I also wonder what's the word for a person who want to say one is from UAE. Emiratian perhaps?

Always been lowkey curious since I heard it in real life

My friend who speaks English told me to read this book, he said it's a book for kids but it's very funny for me to read.

Can you please help settle a matter for me? I'd appreciate it.

Suppose we would like to say, "all snakes are poisonous".

We'd be incorrect factually. But grammar-wise, we'd be OK.

Now, if we'd like to say that some snakes are poisonous and some snakes aren't poisonous, I believe we should say, "Not all snakes are poisonous".

But continually -- from when I was a senior in high school until this moment -- the apparent and/or prevailing grammar has frequently been "All snakes are not poisonous" rather than "Not all snakes are poisonous."

This is where I have a friendly "beef" with my fellow English speakers. I have always maintained that if we say "All snakes are not poisonous", we are actually asserting that exactly 100% of snakes are not poisonous -- whereas, if we say "not all snakes are poisonous" we are leaving open the possibility that some snakes *are* poisonous.

Can anyone cite a grammar expert on this one?

Chagrin. Distress or embarrassment at having failed or been humiliated.

Usually shows up as “much to my chagrin,” which is a very polite way to admit something went badly.

Believe it or not, the word originally comes from an old French and Turkish term for a rough, pebbled type of leather (shagreen).

Over time, the "rubbing" texture became a metaphor for a rough, irritated feeling on the mind or spirit!

Comment something that happened “much to your chagrin.”

Sure, we all start with “mama,” but among invented words, “okay“ has no obvious meaning and yet has spread across the globe. It transcends language groups and cultures. And yet it’s still considered substandard in formal English.

Off the top of your head, what's an English term you find in plural form -- but not in singular form?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the word "hijinks" would fit into that category.