Capable of not smoking... able to not eat... can not speak... Hi there! How do you usually express a capability of not doing some particular thing? Can you use "can"? I mean, technically it seems correct to write "I cannot drink" meaning "I am not able to drink" and "I can not drink" meaning "I am able to not drink, I am able to skip, refuse this bottle of whiskey" but it would sound the same and, what is more, modern dictionaries say that both spellings "cannot" and "can not" are acceptable and mean the same. I'm confused.

Man arrested vs man is arrested Hi! I see that the 1st version (Man arrested) is used more commonly . Why is there no 'IS"? What is the difference between these two expressions? I mean, for example, "Man arrested over Grindr carjack robberies in Salford and Bury" or "Man arrested for putting fake arrows on the floor in IKEA and creating a labyrinth with no exit" or "Man arrested for selling wife’s jewellery"

Some confusing sentences from "Ready Player One" Hello everybody! I read "Ready Player One" couple of months ago and encountered some confusing sentences. Actually. they are confusing because they seem to be.grammatically incorrect to me. Maybe you can help me and give some explanation. 1. Videogames are the only thing that make life bearable Why "make", not "makes"? I mean. videogames - are...................thing - makes, right? 2. I take it you've haven't had much practice at this game What is this? ...you've haven't had... Why are there 3 "have" in this expression? 3. The castle entrance led into a massive foyer whose walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of gold ...foyer whose walls.... So, we can use "whose" talking about the person or thing, is that right? I've heard "whose" before just about the person (or I haven't paid attention). But this sentence must be correct, it's just that "whose" is used with things more rarely. Thanks!

successive vs consecutive What is the difference between these two words? For example, should I say "He won three successive championships" or "He won three consecutive championships"? "successive occasions" or "consecutive occasions"? Thank you.