Are these sentences natural? June 6

[musicgold]

Hi,

Are the following sentences natural to a native ear?

1. I am keeping my ears to the ground.

2. If my memory serves me correctly, this is not due until the end of the next month.

3. Nokia is at par with Samsung in terms of market share.

Thanks,
MG.

 

[SoothingDave]

1. Ear to the ground. Unless your head is shaped differently, it is not possible to have your ears to the ground.

2. I would say "...the end of next month."

3. On par with

 

[VeroHerrera]

To keep your ears to the ground is an idiom meaning "to stay alert", so depending on the context, you can use it.

Vero

 

[SoothingDave]

You could tell a group of people to keep their ears to the ground. One ear each. One person can only keep an ear to the ground. I am keeping my ear to the ground.

 

[musicgold]

Thanks folks.

2. I would say "...the end of next month."

SD, can you please elaborate a bit on this? Why 'the next month' and 'next month' are different to you?

Thanks.

 

[SoothingDave]

There is no difference in meaning. The "the" is optional in this example and I would not use it.

 

[musicgold]

Thanks SD. I know sometimes it is difficult to explain why you do a particular thing especially with languages.
I was hoping to understand how a native speaker think when it comes to the use of articles.

 

[SoothingDave]

It is difficult to learn and difficult to explain, because much of it has to do with what "sounds" good or what we are used to hearing. A native doesn't apply rules in his head, he just says what seems right based on his experience.

I would say "I hope to get my basement cleaned out sometime next month" but
"I hope to get it cleaned out sometime during the next month."