Generate the answer for a given question. The question requires common knowledge of English. Make sure that the answer is in detail, long, consistent with the context, and requires general knowledge of English. To be less repetitive, please vary your language for each question. Give a proper explanation to answer, and if necessary, provide the definition of various terms. And conclude your answer if it's long. If you have used other resources (e.g., Merriam Webster's.) to answer the question, include citations in your answer. You don't need to paraphrase the context of your resources, but make sure that your answer is consistent and complete.
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Question: How does one correctly apply 'in which', 'of which', 'at which', 'to which', etc.? I'm confused with which one to apply when constructing sentences around these.

Answer: The trick to knowing how to use; of which, at which, in which, to which, from which is to analyse the prepositional phrases, phrasal verbs, verbs and prepositions: He /spoke of/ war and peace and many other topics that day. The topic /of which he spoke/ was complex. The verb here that means to speak about a topic is /to speak/ of a topic/: to mention The party /at which/ he spoke/ was noisy. Phrase: A party is held /at a place/. It is implied. The situation /in which/ we found ourselves was dire. Phrase: /to find oneself /in a situation. The bonds /from which/ we broke free were tight. phrase: to /break free/ from bonds. The town /to which/we were driving was 50 ks away. phrase: to /drive/ to a place. Summary (and not a complete answer but a general one): The preposition depends on the verb that takes a preposition, a phrasal verb that includes a preposition, or it depends on the prepositional phrase used. Also, there are many other prepositions that can be paired with which: under, during, about, over, etc.


Question: is it 'a usual' or 'an usual'? 'A usual' sounds more correct in my head ('Today was a usual day.') than 'an usual', but u is a vowel. Which one is correct and why?.

Answer: Usual (pronounced /ju.u.l/ as in you) begins with a consonant sound and, as such, it should be preceded by a not an. As an aside, I cannot help but point out that the sentence Today was a usual day is not usually heard in regular conversation. Today was an unusual day is what one might hear, instead! Indeed, I rarely hear the construction a usual. The definite article is more commonly used, in my experience: That's the usual thing. In place of a usual, one would also be more likely to hear not an unusual: Today was a usual day / Today was not an unusual day This is a usual occurrence / This is not an unusal occurrence or This usually happens You are right in saying that a usual sounds weird. As speakers, we tend to avoid constructions which, though correct, do not flow easily from the mouth. In sum, the following are valid and commonly used alternatives: not [an] unusual the usual usually


Question: The past tense of run is ran. However, you couldn't say something was being 'ran' poorly i.e. the business was ran poorly. However, saying 'runned' would be wrong as well. What would be the word to use in this instance: The government will be prevented from being ____ properly.

Answer:
The passive voice in English uses the past participle, not the simple past. Sing-sang-sung. Song being sung. Ring-rang-rung. Bell being rung. Do-did-done. Deeds being done. Speak-spoke-spoken. Word being spoken. Break-broke-broken. Rules being broken. Run-ran-run. Government being run. (Your confusion probably stems from the fact that for many verbs, the past participle and the simple past are identical, as in make-made-made, play-played-played, etc.)


