texts: Modifying "On Marriage" in "The Prophet"

texts:
I'm trying to modify the poem "On Marriage" (written by Khalil Gibran) for use in a wedding invitation card. Specifically, I want to change all the second-person pronouns to first-person pronouns. For example: you->we, your->our, etc.

However, I got confused about how to modify "Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf."

Can I say "Give one another of one’s bread but eat not from the same loaf"? Does this look strange?

Below are the original poem and the modified poem. Any suggestions are welcome.

The complete original poem is:

  You were born together, and together you shall be for evermore.
  You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
  Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let
  there be spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens
  dance between you.

  Love one another, but make not a bond of love; Let it rather be a
  moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup but
  drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not
  from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let
  each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone
  though they quiver with the same music.

  Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand
  of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together yet not too near
  together, For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree
  and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

The complete modified poem is:

  We were born together, and together we shall be for evermore. We shall
  be together when the white wings of death scatter our days. Aye, we
  shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be
  spaces in our togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens dance
  between us.

  Love one another, but make not a bond of love; Let it rather be a
  moving sea between the shores of our souls. Fill each other’s cup but
  drink not from one cup. Give one another of one’s bread but eat not
  from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let
  each one of us be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone
  though they quiver with the same music.

  Give our hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand
  of Life can contain our hearts. And stand together yet not too near
  together, For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree
  and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.


texts: Word or phrase when a person vanishes when you look away

texts:
Is there a word or phrase when you think you see a person, look away, then look back and the person is gone?

For example, I thought I saw my friend as I walked into a cafe. I looked at my phone, looked back up and he wasn't there. The table was empty, like there had been no one sitting at it.

I asked a coworker if he knew of a word or phrase and he told of a similar situation; he walked in the front door of his home, saw his roommate in the living room, turned right to walk into the kitchen and his roommate was in the kitchen.

He called this phenomenon "A glitch in the Matrix" or seeing a doppelgänger.

I don't think doppelgänger is the correct term, though.

Is there a better phrase or word to describe these mirages or phantoms we're seeing?


texts:
Actually I am a non native English speaker, of course I may come across many confusion but I don't care of those much,but curious some times to know about the things.

I know the meaning of 'Ever' which is 'At Anytime' and 'Always'.

I found there is a slight difference between 'Ever' and 'Anytime' when we use this.

Example:

you can come at anytime.  ---> here 'Anytime' means a specific time of the day but not determined.
Have you ever seen this? ---> here 'Ever' says 'anytime', however any time of  any day not any time of the particular day.

Is that the way you think?

Appreciate your response


texts:
"Why is the sky blue?" vs "Why the sky is blue?"

It seems both sentences are correct, is there any difference in meaning?

Addendum

My question is inspired by this book's title:

Edit:

I added question mark to the "Why the sky is blue" based on the wrong assumption that if a sentence begins with "why" it's a question".


texts: Plural or singular verb: All people know

texts:
Today, I encountered with this sentence "All people know is what you tell them"
and I totally got confused why the author uses the verb IS in the sentence. I think "All people know" is plural that's why I'm confused. Could someone help me out ?


texts:
I was reading the some contract termination terms, and came across a phrase that I could not derive the exact meaning of and it's still bothering me. Can somebody please explain 'without prejudice to damages' in other words? As far as I understand, it is a truncated version of 'without prejudice to claim for any damages', but that does not make it any more clear. I don't have the document on hand right now, but here's a short, approximate version of it:

If Y fails to do something, X reserves the right to:

Claim for compensation for any losses incurred
Terminate the contract (without prejudice to damages)

If I'm understanding it correctly, in other words, terminating the contract does not bar X from claiming damages as well?


texts: What did Charlie Sheen mean when he used the phrase "banging 7 gram rocks"?

texts:
Today’s Quote of Time.com (TIME@time.chtah.com) carries the following line of Charlie Sheen’s remark. Being totally ignorant of the background of CBS and Warner Brothers’ cancellation of the production of the program, I have no idea about the phrase, ‘bang 7 gram rock.’

I understand the line after ‘Because that’s how I roll ...’ means he is single-mindedly do what he decided to do – to sue CBC and Warner Broth. Can somebody translate the above line into English easier for a foreign learner like me to understand?

  "I probably took more than anybody
  could survive. I was banging 7 gram
  rocks. Because that's how I roll. I
  have one speed. I have one gear: Go."
  CHARLIE SHEEN, who on Monday night, in
  addition to giving incoherent
  interviews, announced that he plans to
  sue CBS and Warner Brothers for
  canceling the production of Two and a
  Half Men.”


texts: Meaning of "Which two of the following...?" versus "Which of the two following...?"

texts:
I've just taken a multiple-choice test and one of the questions read like this:

  "Which of the following two statements about effectiveness of control measures are false?"

To answer this question, 5 statements were presented, of which I was requested to tick all the ones I thought were true.

Since 2 of the 5 statements were false, shouldn't the question have been written as:

  "Which two of the following statements about effectiveness of control measures are false?"

Apologies if this question is trivial, but I'm just looking for reassurance, since I'm not a native speaker.


texts: what to call "something that we desire"?

texts:
Everyone has desire for something. A politician has
desire for a position. An unemployed has desire for a job. A baby has desire for candy. The things which they have desire for have different names, but those are "desired ones".

Is there any word (noun) for "something that is desired"?

Example sentence:

  My baby loves teddy bear because it is her _________.


texts: What is the word for a system that has been aged and thorougly tested under all scenarios?

texts:
Examples:

Imagine you are building a log cabin. You want your log cabin to be based on proven architectural design that has performed through all sorts of different weather and climates.  The design of this cabin could be called: ?????????

I need to generate images for a work assignment. I want to use an existing software that has proven itself to create high quality images under all types of different scenarios; the type an expert would use.  That system could be described in one word with:  ?????


texts: What's the word to refer to someone about whom you can never make assumptions?

texts: I want a word to describe Macavity, the Mystery Cat to denote that you could never assume anything about him. If you did, he was sure to prove you wrong. Can you help me by suggesting an appropriate word? Thanks in advance...


texts: Word for a certain way to solve issues in Software Development

texts:
I wonder if English has word for this. I want to say: "This is [XXX] solution", where [XXX] is an adjective with the following meaning:

Say that we have a software with some architecture, and some problem arises, that was not accounted for when the architecture of the software was designed.

First way to solve this is to make just a fast fix, a workaround for that arised situation, but with no focus on what would be the proper design, what does this issue can bring in general, what does it mean for the whole architecture. This is sometimes referred to as "dirty hack" and it often results in a software which has no clear design.

Second way to solve this is to ask "What does this mean for the architecture?". Then re-consider the whole architecture and design with this new information, and propose a clean solution which doesn't fix just this situation in which it arose, but it is already counting with it in its roots, in its design.

What would be the adjective (a single word, if possible) for the second way to solve the problem?

PS: In Czech, we have the term "systémové řešení", but I don't know if we can translate it to English term like "systematic solution"...


texts: Avoiding fractional digits when referring to an average number of people

texts:
Initial examples
Having studied students in a sufficiently large number of classes, you might say something like:

The average number of professional athletes per class is 0.15.
On average, there are 0.15 professional athletes per class.

This seems awkward, because there are no fractions of people in a class. Of course the phrase is technically (and I think even semantically) correct, because the average is in essence a fraction.
One way could be to define the quantity first, but this doesn't seem to be possible for all cases (my first example for instance):

Define household size as the number of people living in a household. The average household size in the US is 2.54. 1

Solution for expressing percentages
With percentages (not exactly the same, but a neat example) you could use the following phrases to convey the same meaning (numbers are made up):

60% of people like eating cheese.
3 out of 5 people like eating cheese.

Question statement
Is there a comparable way to avoid the awkward fraction in the example about averages?
'The examples are perfectly fine, why look for another phrase?'
I agree that the examples are fine, concise and correct. I am asking the question here, on a forum of English language enthusiasts, because (for the sake of this question) I am interested in how to communicate to the general public, including younger people, those who are new to the English language and those who only engage with numbers and statistics sporadically.
An interesting read on communicating science to the general public can be found in this article on Scientific American. This partial quote from the article that sums it up nicely:

”The broader audience science can reach, the bigger the benefit in terms of the new ideas you are transmitting as a scientist.”
The quote is from M. Du Sautoy, who according to the article is the Professor for Public Understanding of Science and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford.


texts: Which one is considered correct? I say "math", however I believe I heard somewhere that "maths" is correct. Also, should it (and "mathematics") be capitalized or not?


texts: Word that describes something that performs as advertised or expected

texts:
I'm looking for a specific word, but I can't remember what it was. It begins with "a" I believe, and its definition is something along the lines of "successful in its endeavor, successful in its purpose". It's an adjective, and you would use it to describe something that was or would be successful in it's goal. For example, you could describe a product that did as it advertised using this adjective. I believe it's 3 or 4 syllables but I might be wrong.

EDIT: I was wrong. It began with "e". efficacious was the word I was looking for.


texts: Should we say "the sun is risen." or "the sun has risen"?

texts:
Of course we can always say "the sun is up",  but is it acceptable to say
  "the sun is risen" just as we use verb "to be" before other past participles like "she is gone"? Or should we say "the sun has risen"?   Does it make any difference?


texts:
I encountered this as a phrase in

  Trent Hawkins is a skilled pilot and war veteran, whose piloting skill are equal to none

and it seems a bit strange. Is this an actual phrase or has the author of this sentence botched this up?


texts: Is there a word/term for how pleasant a word is to pronounce?

texts:
I am familiar with euphony and phonaesthetics, but these both seem to focus more on how pleasant a sound is to hear/perceive. I think there is a subtle difference between this and how pleasant it actually is to pronounce a word, so I was wondering if there was a word for that specifically.
It's like mouthfeel, but for pronunciation.


texts: Meaning of "release" in the given context

texts:
Here is a sentence from an employment agreement:

"In the case of any accident or any other event occurring during the period of employment, the worker releases any and all actions or expenses that they may have as a result."

I am not sure about the meaning of "release" here. It would be a great help if someone could rephrase the sentence above.


texts:
Many people use the phrase etc. in their writing. However, I have never come across an example of using a comma after it.

So, is it

  Almost everybody uses Wi-Fi in their daily lives – be it gaming, emails, searching, etc. for it is their hobby.

OR

  Almost everybody uses Wi-Fi in their daily lives – be it gaming, emails, searching, etc., for it is their hobby.

?

Or perhaps I should use

  Almost everybody uses Wi-Fi in their daily lives - be it gaming, emails, searching, etc, for it is their hobby


texts:
I sent my CV to get a job into one company. But they rejected it.

The reason was: "Please do not send your CV without a cover note."

English is not my native language and it is hard for me to understand what cover note means. What is it?


texts: Difference between using a "-" and a "," in a sentence

texts:
I have noticed that some native english speakers use the "-" sign to explain some additional things in a sentence: eg

  Sophie is going to the shop - which happened to be around the corner -
  to buy some groceries.

Before knowing this notation I would write the same sentence as follows:

  Sophie is going to the shop, which happened to be around the corner,
  to buy some groceries.

To me the "-"-sign seems much  clearer than a comma. Am I using the "-" correctly. If so what is the difference between a "," and a "-".


texts: CPE exam: The children agreed to take it in turns to tidy the playroom

texts:
While preparing for the CPE exam I came across the following sentence transformation task:

  The children agreed they would each tidy the
  playroom on alternate days.

  turns

  The children ________________________  the playroom.

My answer was:

  The children agreed to take turns tidying the playroom.

The key states:

  The children agreed to take it in turns to tidy the playroom.

Is my answer incorrect? If yes, then why?


texts: what does "somebody has been cut" mean if this appears in a conversation between two people

texts:
I came across this phrase in a book I'm reading. In the context it seems to mean one party misunderstands the other party's meaning.

Is there a formal explanation on "cut" in a conversation context?

Thanks,


texts: "At this time yesterday, I had gone" vs. "by this time yesterday, I had gone"

texts:
At this time yesterday, I was going to work. [Past Continuous]

I am very sure that the above sentence is 100% correct. (Reference: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/pastcontinuous.html.)

But I doubt that the one below is grammatical:

  At this time yesterday, I had gone to work. [Past Perfect]

Note how I used at, not by. I see the following difference:

At this time yesterday ⇒ Exactly on this time yesterday not after it neither prior to it.
By this time yesterday ⇒ No longer than this time yesterday, it might be either exactly on this time yesterday or slightly before it.

It's known that the Past Perfect tense refers to completed actions before something in the past. That's why one of the time expressions of the Past Perfect is "by this time yesterday".

A friend of mine said, and I quote, "It's correct. if u say ' at this time yesterday I had gone to work' it means that u had already arrived to the work." (Sic.) But I couldn't agree less with him.

So my question is, is it grammatical in Standard English (I'm not talking about colloquial English nor dialects) to say:

  At this time yesterday, I had gone to work.

Or should I use by?


texts: What is the American equivalent of a "backie"?

texts:
From Collins

  informal Brit a ride on the back of someone's bicycle

And here the words backie or backy is listed as an "untranslatable", the blogger found no American equivalent.

The BBC have been known to use it, too:

  Boris Johnson 'naughty' for giving wife backie on his bike

Of course, it could also be a "lift", but that sounds British to me and, more importantly, can be used with a car rather than a bike.

So, is there an American equivalent of a "backie"? Is it understandable to Americans? Or is there even a formal single word term in any version of English?

For context, I’d like to say something like "He gave his friend a [backie]"

More details on a "backie":

it’s done on a bicycle with no second seat. You can perch on a parcel shelf if there is one, but much more common is that the person who owns the bike stands on the pedals and the person getting the "backie" sits on the bike seats.
Some bikes are fitted with stunt pegs and the person getting the backie can stand on these if they’re available. More commonly, their legs are just splayed out to the sides.
According to the bbc link, it’s illegal. But children/teenagers do it regularly. I haven’t heard of anyone being prosecuted, but I don’t know what it would be called if they were.
I think there might be examples in Stephen King's "It" (book and Tim Curry TV version) there are occasions where 2 people ride on Silver, eg Bill and Eddie with Bill pedalling.


texts:
My brother exhibits this strange behaviour. He once saw his shadow on the wall and screamed in alarm thinking it was a ghost. Another day, when his collar flaps fluttered in the wind, he became nervous that someone was lurking behind him.

Under cases of extreme panic, he develops an abnormal fear of his own making. Is there a name for this? Could we call this autophobia?


texts:
The whole comprises the parts, for example

  The board comprises five members.

and the parts compose the whole such as

  Five members compose the board.

The preceding sentence can be written in passive construction as follows:

  The board is composed of five members.

What about the first one? Can I ever have a passive construction with comprise like the following? Doing so always implies the meaning of composed of.

  The board is comprised of five members. [appears to be a wrong sense]

Or is it only composed of that is used for turning sentences into passive construction that use comprise as a main verb?


texts: Changing tense from past to present and back

texts:
I'm writing something and I'm having trouble figuring out which of these two is correct.

My gut feeling is that the first is correct and the second isn't, but also I think there might be no rule against either.

I thought the residents of EL&U might be able to confirm.

  Given the context, and what I now know about X, if I had requested it under my own initiative I would expect you to have counseled me against it.
  Given the context, and what I now know about X, if I had requested it under my own initiative I would have expected you to counsel me against it.

EDIT

As some have pointed out, it's hard for respondents to give a good answer because they don't know what X is, nor do they know the context.

I won't give the context fully except to say it's professional negligence - X is a particular procedure which one can buy as a service from a professional.

So the context is visiting a professional with a pre-existing problem, and being offered a non-essential extra which carried a risk of causing the same problem.

Incorporating this into my first sentence would make it read like so:

  Given the context of functional problems, and what I now know about X - namely that it can itself cause the same functional problems - if I had requested it under my own initiative I would expect you to have counseled me against it.

Taking all this into account, I think it might be wise to just keep things in the present:

  Given what I now know about X, if I did request it under my own initiative in the same context I would expect you to counsel me against it.

EDIT2

What I'm trying to convey is that I expect the professional to have an obligation to counsel me against this procedure because it carries a risk of causing a problem which I already have and for which I have sought their help.


texts: A term for making an object behave like an animal

texts:
I'm writing a fanfiction and I can't seem to find the word for making an inanimate object act like an animal.

I'm writing from the object's point of view, it supposed to act like a fledgling bird. (ie; is capable of loyalty to humans, can actually get hungry and expect to be fed, associate action with reward, can be trained.)


texts: When we say someone's knocked out, must he/she be in a state of unconsciousness?

texts:
I have always thought the phrase "knock someone out" means to strike someone so hard that he becomes unconscious. After watching a boxing match, I heard the commentator say one boxer was knocked out by his rival. However, that boxer was still able to move and talk and throw very soft punches except that he could not get up.

My confusion is :

  When we say somebody is knocked out, do we mean to say that he/she is already
  unconscious?

My research:

  Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

  knock sb⇔out to make someone become unconscious or go to sleep

The champion knocked Biggs out in the seventh round.

  knock sb/sth⇔out to defeat a person or team in a competition so that
  they can no longer take part

The German team were knocked out in the first round.

  Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English

  knock sb out (a) (in boxing) strike (an opponent) so that he cannot
  rise or continue in a specified time and so loses the fight

It seems that OALD doesn't explicitly say whether the boxer who can't rise or continue is in a state of unconsciousness or not. But based on the two definitions from Longman, that boxer might be conscious or unconscious.

When people say a person, a boxer maybe, has been knocked out, how can we judge that person's state of consciousness??


texts:
I'll start off with an example for context.

Two race car drivers race for the fastest lap time on track X in identical cars. Racer A finishes before Racer B, however it was discovered afterwards that Racer B had a faulty transmission, decreasing his acceleration compared to Racer A. Therefore, it would be reasonable to assume they would have finished at the same time if the transmission from Racer B was functioning properly.

In this case, what non-tangible word would you associate with Racer B? Similar to "cutting him slack", or his "transmission handicap". We would give him __. I was just thinking about this word yesterday, and today it completely slipped my mind. I believe it starts with "com-", but I'm not entirely sure. Help is greatly appreciated!

EDIT: Just remembered: compensation


texts: What's the difference between "He's going to fly tomorrow", "He's flying tomorrow" and "He flies tomorrow"?

texts:
Let consider that someone will take a flight tomorrow with a plan of course. In this case, we can use He's going to fly tomorrow in Simple Future.

How ever, I've learnt that we can also use Present Continues to represent this situation in future too. So we're allowed to use He's flying tomorrow.

On other hand, I also learnt that Simple Present can be used to represent an action in future too. So He flies tomorrow is correct too.

So my question is this:

What is the difference between them? are they exactly same?
When should we use which one?


texts: Is there a word for ordinal numbers which enumerate non-overlapping periods of time?

texts: I'm creating a database which holds information on measurements which I make with a device that holds a sample. Inserting the sample into the device creates unique boundary conditions which can never be replicated again. I want to identify these periods of time during which the sample was in the device with ordinal numbers which I will put in a column of a table in the database. How should I label this column? I was thinking something like 'insertion ordinal' but can users understand that?


texts: Looking for another word of effect, result .

texts:
I am looking for word which signifies effect, as from 'cause and effect' and you do something and you get the result, the consequence of it. The word I'm looking from rhymes with 'percussion' but am not able to remember it. I'll attempt to share couple of examples which will attempt to illustrate what I want to say -

This is from a popular Indian film 'Karma' iconic dialog between Anupam Kher (Dr. Dang) and Rana Vikram Pratap Singh (Dilip Kumar) . Rana Vikram Pratap Singh slaps Dr. Dang and Dr. Dang replies -

Did you hear the echo of the slap ? Now you will hear the echo of the echo. Till you are alive you will hear the echo.

The second is aftershocks. Like when you have an earthquake, after the main earthquake subsides, you still have aftershocks which happen.

I am looking for a word which tells that due to a decision or something which has happened 'say the financial crisis of 2008 in US' the effects were visible all over the world and still continue to this day, also it has resulted into quite a bit of unexpected behavior from many places.

I know there is a single word/phrase which tells all of the above, but am not getting it atm. Can somebody help ?


texts: What is the observer called in navigation systems?

texts: I am looking for a general term. obviously, this could be a driver or a person or whatever! Can I call this "reference frame"?


texts: What differences are there between "at the end" and "in the end"?

texts:
Can we use both expressions "at the end" and "in the end" interchangeably?

For example, are the following sentences equivalent?

"I didn't want to take sides, but, in the end, I had to."
"I didn't want to take sides, but, at the end, I had to."

Which one is correct and why?


texts: "Strikes me a great deal" in a negative way

texts:
Is it correct to use "Strikes me a great deal to connotes a negative feeling?

  The rude behavior of the officer struck me a great deal. I didn't expect this from a professional person.


texts: Did it arise from a mixture of chattering and murmuring?


texts: Sending a work email. Does this sound professional. A little lost, help please!

texts:
All,

I found a problem with the setup of our Merchant Accounts that has affected our sales. We have had a lot of recent declines from our customers within Limelight and the reason is our Merchant Accounts are requiring a CVV code after our initial order.

Can someone please fix this problem?


texts: Uncertain whether pirate talk be authentically or mockingly archaic

texts:
@ZhanlongZheng asked the following question on ELL:

    Barbosa: I defended her mightily enough, but she be sunk nonetheless.

    Jack Sparrow: If that ship be sunk properly, you should be sunk with it.

    — Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

  I don't understand why be is used here twice. Is it archaic? Why use this form?

I think that the second instance of be could be present subjunctive in the third person, with the subjunctive being appropriate due to it being in a conditional clause.  I'm less sure about the first instance.

No doubt, use of the subjunctive has fallen out of favor, and nobody talks like that today.  However, I'd like to know, were these conjugations of be ever considered proper archaic English, or are they strictly pirate talk invented by Disney screenwriters?


texts: Is “have a way to go” a just shortened form of “have a long way to go”?

texts:
Today’s (August 24) New York Times carries an article titled “Progress has seemed fitful for many at March” with the lead-copy;

  “For Daniel R. Smith, 81, who attended the March on Washington in
  1963, the country has a ways to go in realizing the dream of the Rev.
  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/us/a-time-to-return-to-and-reflect-on-the-march-on-washington.html?hp&_r=0

I was drawn to the expression, “the country has a ways to go in realizing the dream of Rev. King” because first, the infinitive article (a) doesn’t agree with plural noun (ways) in “a ways,” second, I’m unfamiliar with the case that “have a way to go” being used in the same sense of having a lot of work to do as “have a long way to go,” which I’m familar with.

Cambridge English Dictionary defines “a long way to go” as an idiom meaning a lot of work to do or improvements to make, but it doesn’t carry the phrase, “a way to go.”

Oxford English Dictionary carries neither “a long way to go” nor “a way to go.”

Google Ngram shows that usage of “have a long way to go” existed before / since 1840 and it is on a constant rise to a ratio of 0.000054% in 2007. On the other hand, the usage of “have a way to go” emerged in 1920, and its usage remains one digit low at 0.0000014% level in 2007.

Here’s my question:

Is “have a way to go” simply a shortened form of “have a long way to go”?
If it is, doesn’t it get you confused with the other usages of 'a (the) way to go,' such as “If you wish, you have the way to go to college by getting scholarship,” “There should be a way to go in finding the solution.”?


texts: "They all are fine" vs. "they are all fine"

texts:
The situation is that someone asks me how my family are; I then want to answer that they all are fine.

I want to know whether the sentences "They all are fine." and "They are all fine." have the same meaning.

Is there any difference? To me as a non-native English speaker, "They all are fine." seems better — it should mean that each of my family members is fine whereas "They are all fine." should mean that each of my family members is completely fine. Please correct my understanding if there is anything wrong.


texts:
This is a quote from Franz Schubert's diary, translated from German to English.

Today I composed for money for the first time. Namely, a cantata for the name day of Professor Watteroth, words by Draexler. The fee is two florins. V.C.

What I don't understand is the end of the quote, V.C. I looked up, but no definition seemed to be right when it is used in one's diary.

Does anybody have a clue?

Thank you.

(As a non-native English-speaker, I assumed this is about English language. If not, please let me know and I will delete it, immediately.)


texts: difference between firm and organization?

texts:
Recently during a conversation I was corrected by one of the clients when I used the word 'firm' to refer to his...firm/organization/company which is basically an international bank.

The sentence was : " has mr. X left the firm?"

He corrected me : " Organization."

until now I was using these words interchangeably...
can somebody put some light on the differences between the two and their usage.


texts:
and thanks for taking the time to read my question.

I was writing an essay not too long ago, and I ended up writing a sentence that goes like this:

  As people convert to higher-paid jobs the birth rate will lower and the numbers will remain small and sustainable - something which cannot be said about today’s society.

My peer suggested that the dash should go. I do see merit in using a semicolon in its stead, but I don't believe the dash to be wrong here. Is there one solution that the stack-exchange community prefers? Are either of the two wrong?


texts: Do I need a comma after "when" in this example?

texts:
I do not know if anything is getting created when the contract gets uploaded.

Does this sentence warrant a comma after "when"?


texts:
I just stumbled across the name of the United Nations'

  International Day of the Girl Child

To be honest, I have never heard the term "girl child" before, and could not find it in online dictionaries, so it does not seem to be very common.

Is "girl child" used to distinguish between the meanings "female child" and "young (unmarried) woman"?


texts:
I was just curious when I could use the word Proverbial in a sentence. Would it be correct to use when referring to often cliched expressions (i.e. putting the "proverbial" pedal to the metal, giving them the "proverbial" green light...) or is it solely used for idioms?

Thanks!


texts: Biden Got Out ‘Over His Skis,’ Says Obama

texts: I read that headline in the New York Times. From the context, I understood that it means that Biden was a little too hasty. I would like to know the origins of this expression


texts: A specific example about past tense in subordinate clause

texts:
I've read several posts about "main clause past tense, can I use simple present tense in the subordinate clause?" and I think I get the basic idea.

General truth can use present.

  He didn't know that Earth moves around the Sun.

Indirect reported speech can use past tense. (the backshifting stuff)

  Tom told me that Kim had blue eyes.

main clause past + suboridnate clause past sounds/looks more harmony.

What about this:

Assume that I am talking to someone:

  "Hey Tim. I had no idea that the 6th video of the tutorial is about English grammar. I thought it was about English vocabulary."

I want to express that:

I had no idea. Now I have.
The 6th video of the tutorial is so far (when I am talking) still about English grammar. But I am not sure whether the 6th video would change into something else in the future.

Should I use past tense (the tutorial was about) or present tense (the tutorial is about)?

Which sounds native and more common?

To sum up the pattern:

Main clause is past tense because it happens in the past and something described in the subordinate clause is true at the moment that I am talking about and it's very unlikey to change in the short time(days or months maybe?), but it's not a general truth.


texts: Part of speech of “clean” in “burn the prophet clean”

texts:
Please guide me for the part of speech of clean here in this extract:

  He had schooled him in the evils that befall prophets; in those that come from the world, which are trifling, and those that come from the Lord and burn the prophet clean;
  for he himself had been burned clean and burned clean again. He had learned by fire.

Excerpt from The Violent Bear It Away, by Flannery O’Connor.


texts: How to describe something has some property, which leads to another property

texts:
Here is my sentence:

While A & B have identical dimensions and therefore identical mechanical properties, they may have different electrical properties.

I feel like using "therefore" here sounds not so smooth. What is the alternative way to link a property resulted from another property for something?

Thanks a lot in advance!


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "to see it through"? How early was it invented? Would it sound out of place in an attempt to emulate older (200–400 years older) English?


texts: What do you call a person who does not go to both the extremes of the argument but remains in the middle ground?

texts: The kind of person who does not believe in the extreme sides and always weighs the pros and cons and comes to the conclusion that everything should be in moderation


texts: How to respond to negative questions (adjectives)?

texts:
My friend got me this question:

When somebody asks, "Is it not available?"

Should I say:
(1) "Yes, it is not available." OR
(2) "No, it is not available."?

I know it would be better to use the word unavailable. I checked out another question titled "How to answer a negative question without ambiguity?" But it isn't about adjectives so I'm starting a new question. Thank you!


texts: Is there an English word that means "to feel the call of the homeland"?

texts: I seem to remember reading it once, sort of meaning the opposite of diaspora - once you have spread far, you would feel the X, the call to return to the homeland?


texts: Referring to a group or community of people of older age

texts:
I am not a native English speaker and need to ask for advice.

In formal English, is it polite or OK to refer to a group of those who are older as "old people"? If not, what would you suggest instead?


texts: "Do you still want me to do X" vs. "do you still want that I do X"

texts:
Which is correct?

  Do you still want me to do the project for you?
  Do you still want that I do the project for you?


texts: is "child" without "a" correct in this sentence?

texts:
He was still child enough to run along with the group.
Is this sentence grammatically correct?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?

How would you make the plural form of an acronym? For example, if you have two of Nintendo's game console, the DS.

Would you say, "I have two DSes," "I have two DSs," or something else?


texts: Difference between use of "ephemeral" and "transient"?

texts: What are some differences between the ways/contexts in which one would use "ephemeral" versus "transient", and vice versa?


texts: Is there a logical umbrella term for onboarding and offboarding?

texts:
I'm creating documentation that describes both the process of onboarding new team members (e.g. creating accounts for required resources, locating, installing and configuring required software, finding the right person to talk to for a particular request), and also the process of offboarding departing members (e.g. revoking access to resources, ensuring completed work is stored in an appropriate location).

Ideally I'd like to arrange this documentation in a hierarchy, where these two processes seem to naturally sit under headings of "onboarding" and "offboarding," or in simpler English, "joining" and "leaving."

I'm looking for something that would be a top-level (umbrella) term to place both these headings under - descriptiveness is more important than brevity.

I'd rather avoid things like "HR Processes" as these contain things that the new team members, and other team members need to do that don't really feel to me like they fit under human resources' purview.

Obviously I could just use a heading like "Onboarding/Offboarding" but if there's a suitable umbrella term I'd much rather use that.


texts: "Discover" or "invent" in mathematics context

texts:
A very theoretical question I came across with friends some time ago. I am not a native English speaker, so I may be misunderstanding some details, but as I understand:

1) Discovery relates to a concept which existed prior to ... well "discovery" but was unknown before the act.

2) Invention relates to a creation of a concept which never existed before the act

Following from this, are mathematical concepts such as sinus "discovered" or "invented"? In one sense, being a fundamental property hence could only be discovered. On the other hand, the logical metaphor was created by humans, hence invented.

Which one is right and which one is wrong and why?


texts: What is the appropriate command when one is thirsty?

texts: If when I am hungry I can command someone to "feed me", what is the equivalent command when I am thirsty? For years I have joked with friends that it must be "quench me", however, I doubt that this is right.


texts: If there is a constant reference to a particular fire department, is "fire department" capitalized?

texts: If there is a constant reference to a specific fire department, is "fire department" capitalized?


texts: What to call a medical-care boarding-school for adults

texts:
In Russia we have special medical institutions, somewhere between psychiatric hospitals and boarding schools for adults. There are different departments for people with mental disorders and people with neurological disorders (like сerebral palsy or anything else). People live there to get treatment and help.

As I wrote it's a place for adults only and I have no idea about its English equivalent.  What should I call it in English?


texts: How can I research the first recorded usage of a particular sense of a word, especially not the most commonly used sense or most 'basic' sense?

texts:
I'm interested in finding the first use of the word "creative" when used in the sense of an advertisement's text, graphics, etc.

How can I research the first use of a word like this when it's so closely tied to the more common sense of the word?


texts: Can an intrusive R appear within one word?

texts: When the word ‘drawing’ is pronounced as /'drɔːrɪŋ/, is that R called intrusive? Is such pronunciation colloquial and unacceptable for formal address?


texts: 'better utilization' with or without article

texts:
I have the following sentences:

"Optimization methods can lead to (a) better utilization of renewable energy sources"
"Optimization methods lead to (a) better utilization of
renewable energy sources"

My question is, whether it is a mistake to use the article 'a' in this context. I used to have the articcle there but Grammarly tells me to get rid of it. As something like this can be found frequently in my thesis, I'd appreciate it if anyone could comment on my question.


texts: When was the word 'condominium' first applied to apartment block residences?

texts:
This article, featured today, is about the island of Faisans in the historic Spanish town of Hondarribia. Every six months the island changes ownership between France and Spain under the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659).

Apparently, this is the true meaning of the word 'condominium' :

  Definition of condominium [plural condominiums also condominia] play  \ˌkän-də-ˈmi-nē-ə\
  1 a : joint dominion; especially : joint sovereignty by two or more nations
  b : a government operating under joint rule

Merriam Webster

The AmE meaning of an apartment block of freehold dwellings dates back to the 1960s, according to OED:

  N. Amer. An apartment house in which the units are owned individually, not by a company or co-operative; an apartment in such a building.
  1962   Economist 31 Mar. 1255/1   The legal concept of buying a single flat, instead of a share in the whole building, is just making its way in the housing field in the United States where it is known as a ‘condominium’.
  1964   Financial Times 27 Nov. 3/6   The condominium—or the ‘condo’ as Chicagoans have come to know it—is essentially a development from the co-operative concept.
  1964   Financial Times 27 Nov. 3/7   The principal advantage claimed for the condominium is that it permits the occupier a greater measure of independence than would be the case of the co-operative.
  1970   Washington Post 30 Sept. B 11/1 (advt.)    Ocean Club condominium residence for sale in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In the UK we call these 'flats' or 'blocks of flats'. Estate Agents call them 'apartments'. Whether leasehold or freehold, the building as a whole is managed by a separate company and this often causes legal disputes.

I have been unable to trace the AmE meaning any further back than the OED citation in 1962.

Is it any older than that ?


texts:
Joining us in the studio is Secretary of State John Smith and Attorney General Bill Jones.
or
Joining us in the studio are Secretary of State John Smith and Attorney General Bill Jones.

Which is correct?


texts:
I have traditionally learned that a first-person pronoun should always come last in a list, e.g.

  Bob and I found this to be interesting.

However, it sounds awkward to me when this rule is used with 'others':

  A couple others and I found this to be interesting.

I would be more inclined to go with:

  I and a couple others found this to be interesting.

Which sentence is (more) grammatically correct?


texts:
Is it offensive to use the term layman nowadays? Does it insinuate that the people to whom you are referring are uneducated?

I am wanting to say

  This is just one of the ways that CERN's research affects the layman.

Is that acceptable?


texts: What is the appropriate use of "lighted" vs "lit"?

texts: Is it acceptable to say "her eyes lighted up" or is it only acceptable to say "her eyes lit up"?


texts: Does 'opine' have condescending connotations in the context, or is this purely my own subjective reading?

texts:
I need to know if 'opines' here sounds condescending. In my ears it does, but it may be my individual reading and not objective. To me it sounds like a somewhat old fashioned word, which gives me a feeling that it is being used ironically and in the context somewhat condescendingly. I distrust my instinct so am looking to see what others think.

Here is the passage:

  A philosopher, Origen opines, affiliates with a “sect [ai[resij]” only
  “because he believes his particular sect to be superior to any other”
  (1,10). Origen’s pragmatic arguments for a faith without reason are
  not much more convincing than his understanding of philosophy, which
  comes across as a caricature of cluelessness.

The background is a book I am translating. The author himself has already done a lot of work on quotations looking for the corresponding English citations in authorised translations. In such cases he gives the citations in English including some other English words surrounding the citations. When incorporating the citations into my translation I have a certain license to change the surrounding words as long as the citations are kept intact. The first sentence in the passage above is his and I am wondering whether I would be justified in suggesting 'claims' rather than 'opines' (because I think he weakens his own argument by sounding unnecessarily snide; the argument should stand for itself).


texts: Are there sounds where the tongue is not symmetrical?

texts: Are there sounds in English languages and accents where the tongue does not move symmetrically in the mouth, i.e. the right side of the tongue is not moving like the left side?


texts:
Which is correct (or more commonly-used) Events calendar/activities calendar or event calendar/activity calendar?

Thanks!


texts: Changing passive voice into active voice

texts:
Change the passive into active
Let us forget the past.
We should forget the past. Is this the answer


texts: Can "doing someone" mean "mimicking someone"?

texts: Can "do someone" be us to mean mimic in expressions like "Stop doing me!" or "He is doing Lisa"? Or does it necessarily mean having a sexual relationship with someone?


texts:
I'm looking for a word which I cannot find anywhere in my saved vocab lists which means something like "having an orientation towards death" or "related to death". Not quite "fatalistic" but more "relating to death" in a neutral sense.

I'm almost certain I've read it in Nietzsche somewhere but can't find it in any paragraphs surrounding instances of the word "death".

It almost definitely starts with either an A, E, or O. It is not a compound word. It's an adjective (and I think it ends in "ic").

An example would be something like:

  The Freudian 'todestrieb' can be thought of as an ______ drive where ...

or

  His _____ philosophic interests were bound to result in a somewhat dejected and unenthusiastic attitude


texts: Why we don't add "s" to the verb in this sentence?

texts:
I came across this question in one of the English standardize tests in my country:
It is required that the new student _____ in an extra English conversation course.

enroll
enrolled
will enroll
would enroll
is enrolling

The suggested key states that the answer is 1. enroll
From my understanding, that choice is correct because we supposed to use present simple tense when stating such factual information. However, why wouldn't it be enrolls since the subject of the verb is new student which is a singular noun? Or that choice is correct because of any other reason or grammar rules?


texts: Is "regularly updated about a couple of dozen minutes" phrased correctly?

texts:
Am I saying this well?

I just want to say:

  regularly updated about ~2x-3x-4x 12 minutes.

I have a script that updates a website between ~0-40 minutes time interval.
I just want to write it on the website at what time intervals it's regularly updated. I don't want to be exact, that's why I don't want to write ~0-40 minutes.


texts:
In my mother language, I can say "I got 18 years old today".

I want to use the same concept in English, but I googled the sentence structure, and did not get a lot of hits.

So I was wondering, is it okay to use it this way, or is there a real correct way for it?


texts:
I often find it confusing when to use "aid in" instead of "aid."

A similar question has been posted before, but this thread mainly addresses when a gerund, or participle is the object of the preposition "in."

Could anyone explain why "aid in" is used in the following examples? What would be the difference if it said "aid" instead?

Interpol is sending a response team to the French city of Nice to help identify victims and aid in the investigation into the truck attack that left at least 84 people dead.(http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/07/15/world/europe/ap-eu-france-truck-attack-the-latest.html?_r=0)
While cutting down on the most egregious polluters in any area comes with multiple local benefits — cleaner air, more efficient and cost-effective electricity production — the authors’ particular focus in conducting the study was helping to aid in global climate efforts.(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/07/07/this-could-be-a-completely-different-strategy-for-tackling-the-worlds-carbon-emissions/)


texts:
Grammar rules say that hadn't is used for unreal past conditions, but why can't we use simple past negation instead of past perfect?

If I hadn't come to the meeting, it wouldn't have happened.
If I didn't come to the meeting, it wouldn't happen.

Does the second sentence also imply that "I did come, that's why it happened"?


texts: What is the proper way of using triple dots and spaces before/after them?

texts:
...␣part of a sentence␣...
  ...part of a sentence␣...
  ...␣part of a sentence...

Notice the spaces before/after the dots. Which usage is the correct one ?


texts:
I am confused about how to use "not to mention". Does it take to infinitive or bare infinitive?

In the 3rd Practice Test of the Official Guide of SAT, there is the 38th question. Here I quote from the passage:

  For centuries, cats have guarded this famous museum, [ridding] it of mice, rats, and other rodents that could damage the art, not to mention 【38】scared off visitors.

The choices of this question are:

A. scared
B. scaring
C. scare
D. have scared.

The Official Guide has offered the key, which is C.


texts: What's a phrase to describe this situation?

texts: Let's say hypothetically a country proactively allocate millions of tax dollars towards creating vaccines and setting up camps to quarantine and prevent the spread of Ebola in a neighbouring country. Two months later the Ebola is completely gone. Then people from the country that spent millions are mad and say "look at all this money spent, this country didn't even want our help and it was purged of Ebola really quickly, what was the point, we are in a worst situation than before because the country hates us now and we are out millions on vaccines which weren't used", etc. But those people are making the assumption that things WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE had they not done anything. There COULD have been unforetold catastrophic events as a result of inaction. This is a usual argument I see against proactive government foreign policy. Is there a name for this fallacy because I see it all the time. Thanks.


texts: Why was the "th" combination chosen for the "th" sound?

texts: Given that the two "th" sounds don't actually sound like a combination of "t" and "h" why was that particular combination selected or become adopted by the majority ?


texts:
In his book Mother Tongue Bill Bryson discusses the Revd. William Spooner, who gave his name to Spoonerisms. He comments saying 'What is certain is that Spooner suffered from a kind of metaphasis of thought, if not also of word'.

The OED has never heard of metaphasis, and Google/Wikipedia don't recognise it at all.

Is it possible that Bryson is himself guilty of something like a Spoonerism or Malapropism himself?


texts: Catchall term for HTML, Javascript and CSS

texts:
A web server responds to requests [1] with three types of files [2]: HTML (the page structure), Javascript (the page code) and CSS (the page styles).

Is there a single word or an expression that can describe all three types of files?

[1] Web servers can serve all kinds of files, but keep to only those three
[2] The later two can be inside specific tags inside the HTML


texts: "We help consumers pay less" vs. "Helping consumers paying less"

texts:
Since English is not my native language I can not decide which one of the following two sentences is better.

We help companies sell more and consumers pay less.
Helping companies sell more and consumers paying less.


texts: My friend named..../ I have a friend named/called

texts: Is it okay if I just say "My friend named"? or should I complete the sentence to "I have a friend named". Thanks in advance.:)


texts: Un-(adjective) but In-(noun) -- does it ever go the other way?

texts:
Many pairs of words use un- as a prefix for the preferred adjective but in- as a prefix for the preferred noun (e.g. unstable/instability, unequal/inequality, unable/inability, unjust/injustice, ungrateful/ingratitude).

I was wondering if anyone has encountered the reverse phenomenon?  Where the in- is a prefix for the preferred adjective but un- is the prefix for the preferred noun?  If not, any explanations?


texts:
Is there a noun-form of the word 'intrinsic'?
If so, what is it?

Intrinsicity?
I suppose I could say 'the intrinsic nature of...', but it makes grammar awkward when there are multiple subjects to your sentence, eg: "In regards to your belief in the intrinsic nature of the insult which lies in calling someone a ____, I'd argue that..."


texts: "a shortest path" vs "the shortest path"

texts:
First, note that there are many such paths.

The distance between two vertices u and v of a graph G is the number of
edges in a shortest path connecting them.

or

The distance between two vertices u and v of a graph G is the number of
edges in the shortest path connecting them.


texts: Should the following sentence use the English or plural form of the verb?

texts:
Is it grammatically correct to use the singular?

  Neither sympathy nor empathy is relevant to the decision.

Or should I be using the plural form?

  Neither sympathy nor empathy are relevant to the decision.


texts:
I'm baking a meatloaf an homemade mac an cheese for din din!!!!yummie!!!

Explain the improper use of "an" in the above sentence.

Shouldn't it be written as? :
"I'm baking a meatloaf and making Mac and Cheese for Din-Din."


texts: What is the generic term for the distinction between left and right eye?

texts:
I'm writing an ophthalmology-related tutorial, and I need to reference the distinction between left and right eyes — for instance, if I'm referring to this case information: "Male; 29 years old; Left eye", I would want to write,

  "the header displays the patient's gender, age, and _________"

referring to the case's specification of which eye it documents (awkward sounding examples: eye polarity, eye handedness, etc). Is there an existing generic term for this?

Thanks!

Matt


texts: Should I use "the John" or "the john" when referring to the slang phrase for toilet?

texts: Should I capitalize the "j" in John when referring to a toilet as "the john." The same goes for lazy Susan and other words that are also names.


texts: Is it correct to state that a text is 'directed to' children, or would a different choice of words be preferable?


texts: how to introduce section content in a thesis

texts:
In my thesis work I want to explain the content of a section,
my question is which is the best form to introduce the section, for example:

In this section are described the technologies ...

or

In this section have been described the technologies ...

thanks in advance

Dom


texts: Difference between "empathetic" and "empathic"

texts: Apparently both words empathetic and empathic mean the same thing, yet I see one person refer to the specific type of writing as empathetic writing, while another empathic writing. Who's correct and why?


texts: A period between an abbreviation and other punctuation?

texts:
What rules apply to punctuation for an abbreviation, such as "etc," where another punctuation character follows?

My question is a perfect illustration of itself! That is, should I say

<< such as "etc," where >> or << such as "etc.," where >>

Another example is "etc" followed by a right parenthesis:

<< (lions, tigers, bears, etc) were >> or << (lions, tigers, bears, etc.) were >>

The period looks even worse at the end of a sentence.

<< lions, tigers, bears, etc! >> or << lions, tigers, bears, etc.! >>

I omit the period because it just looks right. But most spelling checkers mark "etc," as wrong as "etc.," as right.

The primary authority at my workplace is the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, 3rd edition. I looked there but found no guidance.


texts: Is it ok to write "very huge" in this context?

texts:
I think it is ok to write "very huge" in a context like this (although "very" is a bit redundant here):

  This is a very huge map.

However, the following sounds strange to me:

  This map is very huge.

I can't really explain why I think it is wrong, so please correct me or give an explanation.


texts: Word (subject) for the way or style of doing something

texts:
I think I can say "There are different ways of eating a cake" or "There are different styles of eating a cake".

Is there also a subject that replaces "way of [anything]"? E.g. if I want to list all ways how to eat a cake, I want to write "Eating-Ways" but in a way that sounds better. I am not a native speaker, so is there any word that I can use to replace the "Ways" above to make it sound better and maybe even more generic?


texts: Why does "inferred" have two Rs while "inference" doesn't?

texts:
Earlier today I spelled "infered" with one R and my handy editor promptly added some red squiggles.

Acknowledging the error of my ways I added the missing R happy carried only writing my document.

Moments later I had to write the word "inferrence" and, remembering the lesson taught to me by my electronic dictionary, I diligently used two Rs.

Sadly, the red squiggles appeared once again, telling me I hadn't quite learned my lesson yet.

So, why is it that "Inferred" is spelled with two Rs when it's cousin "Inference" only has one?


texts: What does the negated comparative construction “not so much X as Y” mean?

texts:
On page 140 of his 1976 book, The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and
Importance of Fairy Tales, author Bruno Bettelheim writes:

  The verses Falada speaks three times—each time in response to the goose
  girl’s lament on encountering its head: “Oh, Falada, thou who hangest
  there”—do not so much bemoan the girl’s fate as express the helpless grief
  of her mother.  Falada’s implied admonition is that not only for her sake,
  but also for her mother’sd, the princess should stop accepting passively
  whatever happens to her.  It is also a subtle accusation that, had the
  princess not ated so immaturely in dropping and losing the handkerchief and
  in letting herself be pushed around by her maid, Falada would not have been
  killed.  All the bad things that happen are the girl’s own fault because she
  fails to assert herself.  Not even the talking horse can help her out of her
  predicament.

I really had difficulty in understanding what that paragraph's first sentence means, the one that without the part surrounded by dashes runs

  The verses Falada speaks three times do not so much bemoan the girls fate as express the helpless grief of her mother.

Does it mean one of these three?

Falada doesn't bemoan the girl's fate as her (the girl's) mother does.
As Falada expresses her (the girl's) mother's helpless grief, he doesn't bemoan the girl's fate that much/
Although Falada expresses her mother's grief, he doesn't bemoan the girl's fate that much/

I thought if express were expressing, it would make more sense. Whatever it is, I still don't understand what it means.


texts: Describe the relationship between thought and intelligence

texts:
I suppose this could be interpreted as a philosophical question, but I'm asking it as an English one because I think there's a perfect word for this  that's escaping me.

Some words I think are almost right:

Thought is the medium of intelligence.

Thought is the vehicle of intelligence.

Thought is a conduit for intelligence.

Maybe even: Thought is the stuff of intelligence.

I don't feel like any of these nail it though - can someone suggest a word that does? Or is one of the above the best I'm going to do?


texts: Idiomatic expression for "first working version"?

texts:
I'm looking for an idiomatic expression for "first working version".

"Prototype" is not correct, since there can be many prototypes.  The phrase I can't seem to bring to mind has "first" in it, I think.  For a telescope or synchrotron they'd call it "first light", but that doesn't make sense for a software tool.  Similar to "first blush" or "first pass", but trendier, somehow.  Think "Eureka!" crossed with "it works!" with "it needs to be cleaned up" mixed in.

Anyone?


texts:
When writing twentieth century using an ordinal numeral, should the th part be in superscript?

20th century
20th century


texts: Does “money laundering” also mean raising funds illegally?

texts:
When I looked up what money laundering meant, the dictionary said it meant “concealing proceeds raised from illegitimate sources”. Does money laundering also mean “raising funds illegally”?

If not, what are some other words we can use to mean “raising funds illegally”?


texts: Using "in other words" before asking a question

texts:
The second sentence in the text below is puzzling me.

Do you think the process is complicated enough that users will need screenshots? In other words, could plain text instructions do the job?

Does this work? This sentence doesn't start as a question, but it ends that way. Should there be a colon instead of a comma?


texts: How did the meaning of "eventually" diverge from the French/German meanings

texts:
According to the online etymology sources, the terms "eventual" and "eventually" were in use in the early 1600s and held its current meaning by the mid 1800s. The etymologies point to French éventuel, but both the French word and German eventuell have very different meanings. (See this Q&A).

How did these meanings diverge? Did the French term evolve from an earlier Latin term? Did the English usage change from the French? Did they both change independent of each other?


texts:
The phrase that's spoken when someone is hand-wringing about a thorny problem.

Speaker One: Uh-oh -- we have to reformat ALL THE DOCUMENTS!

Speaker Two: Aye Yai Yai, that's a lot of work!

"Aye Yai Yai" is the closest I can come with English orthography, but I'm not sure if there's a more standard representation.


texts: What is a word for "to state facts as opinion"?

texts:
Stating opinions as facts is called dogmatism. Then what is stating facts as opinions called?

example sentence: They     __________  on the statistics so that the statistics fit their own agenda.


texts:
What does "neck is forfeited" mean in the following sentence?

  "Human nature is a strange mixture, Watson. You see that even a villain and murderer can inspire such affection that his brother turns to suicide when he learns that his neck is forfeited."


texts: Is the hyphen correct? : The painting is from the 17th century. It's a 17th-century painting

texts:
In the following example. Is the lack of a hyphen after 17th correct?

The painting is from the 17th century.

And in the following example, is the usage of a hyphen correct?

It's a 17th-century painting.


texts: A less sexist alternative to 'mansplain'?

texts:
Mansplain is an interesting term that has been added recently to the Oxford, Merriam-Webster, and Cambridge dictionaries.

Here is the definition as per Oxford.

  (of a man) explain (something) to someone, typically a woman, in a
  manner regarded as condescending or patronizing.

I ask for an alternative as this act/practice is fairly common and happens regardless of gender at the giving as well as the receiving end.


texts: What does "I like the direction of this" mean?

texts: Context: After I suggested something, someone replied with: "I actually like the direction of this.".


texts:
She agreed to marry him on one condition: that they have 12 children. True to the old baking tradition, they made 13.

Source

What does the old baking tradition mean? There's no mention of baking in the context.

I can understand this sentence as a whole. But since I'm trying to translate this into another language, I cannot translate it without understanding what the old baking tradition is.


texts: Is it all right to use "in hopes of" to mean "with the aim of"?

texts:
Recently I browsed through the definition of  hope in New Oxford American Dictionary (provided by Apple in the dictionary app) to double confirm with its usage as I answered a word-choice question and  came across this:

in hopes of
with the aim of: I lay on a towel in the park in hopes of getting a tan.

I naturally accepted it without a second thought as it is in a pretty authorized dictionary and it looked alright. However, as I answered OP's question, I could see his/her doubt regarding this definition. So I decided to look it up on the Internet and to my astonishment, I couldn't find much evidence supporting that in hopes of has the meaning "with the aim of". Dictionary.com and Merriam-webster even suggest in hopes of should just be used normally to mean "hoping something", like in the hope of.

hope
desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment: came in hopes of seeing you

Therefore my conclusion is: the definition of in hopes of depends on the context.
But it is not easy to tell just from a sentence though.  For example,

John went to MIT in hopes of finding a girlfriend.

It can be interpreted as "John went to MIT, hoping that he could find a girlfriend" or "John went to MIT and his intention was to find a girlfriend". One has to know what kind of person John was or what he did in MIT to decide what in hopes of means in this scenario.
So my question here is:
is it actually "safe" to use the phrase in hopes of to mean with the aim of ?
Do most people consider in hopes of entirely the same as in the hope of in terms of meaning? Will they misinterpret it when it is supposed to mean with the aim of?


texts: What does ‘tame’ mean in ‘tame scandal’ and ‘tame squabble’ on golf course?

texts:
In association with my question about the names of foods that have a risk of turning into an offensive remark, there was the following statement in New Yorker’s (May 25) article titled “Sergio Garcia and the lifespan of an offensive remark”:

  “That decidedly tame scandal was fanned for a while by reporters, who
  kept asking the two about each other, and writing down the barely
  barbed things they said. “He’s not the nicest guy on tour, said Sergio
  of Woods. “Not real surprising that he’s complaining about something,”
  Tiger said of Sergio. Even for golf, this squabble seemed tame.”

I’m not familiar with the usage of the word, ‘tame’ other than the implication of docility as defined by Cambridge English Dictionary:

Adjective. (especially of animals) not wild or dangerous, either naturally or because of training or long involvement with humans:

While OED gives a wider scope of definition of ‘tame’ as an adjective than Cambridge Dictionary does:

(of an animal) not dangerous or frightened of people, domesticated.
informal (of a person) willing to cooperate.
(derogatory) not exciting, adventurous, or controversial.
North American (of a plant) produced by cultivation.

With that said, questions,

(1) What does ‘tame’ in the quoted sentence (tame scandal / tame quibble) mean? How can it be rephrased?

(2) If it means an “unexciting / uncontroversial” trivial matter as defined in 3. of OED definition, why the press made a fuss? Why had Garcia to apologize to Woods and public?

(3) Is this usage of the word, ‘tame’ in the sense of “not exciting / unworthy of note / trifling” as prevailing as the meaning of ‘not wild’ and ‘docile’ only to which I’m accustomed?


texts: If subscription is a contract to receive something, what is a contract to send something called?

texts:
I'm using the word subscription with the following meaning:

  subscription: an arrangement to receive something, typically a publication, regularly by paying in advance.

(Definition taken from Google, I'm not sure how to link to the source)

Basically, I'm looking for a word that is an arrangement to send something.

Does anyone have any good suggestions for what that might be?

I have thought about Producer & Publication, but they seem a little off to me. A 'Producer' can produce the something to send, but doesn't necessarily have to send them and a Publication seems like the something that is being sent.


texts: “I do not know where … is” vs. “I do not know where is …”

texts:
Which of the following sentences is correct in a formal context?  Both?  If possible, please also explain why each of these sentences is correct/incorrect.

  I do not know where the best place to ask this question is.

  I do not know where is the best place to ask this question.


texts: I often wonder if I should use question marks in different situations. This occurs with me when a sentence starts out as a question, but after a comma turns into just a "normal sentence". The situation this time is as follows; "Who did it, you might ask(?)".


texts: Proper punctuation for "and what's more"?

texts:
I have seen this phrasing as

And what's more -
And what's more,
And what's more!

Which one is most proper?


texts:
In the following sentence can the first comma be replaced with a semicolon for smoother reading?

  "An hour drifted by, and the lady, whose name was Arcey Pierre, called it a day."


texts: Why do they add "of" at the beginning of titles in old literature?

texts:
For example, "Of Mice and Men"
Why don't they just say "Mice and Men"? Does "Of" here have any meaning?
I know they do that is some recent books, too.


texts:
How to say that the two dates in two different calendars coincide? Like, The 24th of Shawwal coincides with 12th of October.

Shawwal: The tenth month of the year in the Islamic calendar.


texts: A word to express meanings highly developed AND naturally evolved

texts:
My sentence is
Human Brain - [word] Computer System

Human Brain - a [word] Computer System         will work as well

Now the problem is when talking about technology we use the word 'develop' and its derivatives. I'm comparing biological components with technology and I want a word to express a combination of meanings - 'light years ahead of current technology' and 'naturally evolved'.


texts: Dropping "when" in an adverbial clause renders this sentence ungrammatical?

texts:
Please consider these sentences side by side:

When walking in a dark alley, you should be cautious.
When walking in a dark alley, be cautious.
Walking in a dark alley, be cautious.
Walking in a dark alley, you should be cautious.

Question:
Which one/ones of them is ungrammatical? If so, why?
My gut tells me that No.3 is off, but I can't quite gather why.
To make matters worse, I also feel that No.4 is correct, contradicting my previous sentiment somehow.


texts:
I've come across this one in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. One character often used shouted "Good thinking, that man!" as a praise.

Is this a real English regionalism?


texts: can I use----As per mine and John's understanding we concluded that...


texts:
My understanding is that in its normal usage, it means "deadly."

But the root word of "fatal" appears to be "fate," rather than anything that has to do with "death." In this regard, "fatal" resembles "fateful."

Could "fatal" be a variant of "fateful," perhaps with the "deadly" connotations alluded to above?


texts: Is it correct to say "he had to withdraw due to a knee injury"?

texts: This sentence is from google dictionary. I only know that "due to" is used for a noun in the sense "caused by", for instance, His defeat was due to lack of practice. Can it also be used with verb like withdraw?


texts: If one makes a product with method A and a different product with method B, then is it correct to say that 'Two products are made with A and B.'?


texts:
I have a question regarding less than me and some colleges are bumping heads in trying to figure out a sentence.

The Sentence is: The required words should not be less than 5.

So what will the minimum words be that is required? 5 or 6

Or what would be the correct phrase to use in a situation when prompting a user for minimum length required?

Thanks you.


texts: Why is a mule driver called a "skinner"?

texts:
An AmE synonym for muleteer is "mule skinner". Where does "skinner" come from in this term, and why does it only apply to mule drivers and not cattle or oxen drivers?

The closest I can come is some anecdotal evidence, namely that mule drivers would make the animals bleed when whipping them, thus exposing their skin. The same term, skinner, should apply to cattle drivers, but it doesn't. So, I'm guessing there is more to it. Does anyone know the derivation of skinner in this context, and why it only applies to mules?


texts:
I have been trying to find a quick answer of this, but my google searches didn't get me anywhere. I'm confused about using in or on in the following sentence.

We will return your call in the following business Day

or

We will return your call on the following business Day

Thank you


texts: When I spell my name, I usually say it's "Marie" with "ke" behind it. (My name is Marieke, I'm from Holland). Is this correct? I just think of it as the first letter of a word is in front so the following letters are "behind", however my husband disagrees. I could well be wrong as English is not my first language. Can you help?


texts: Is "you might have already had dinner" correct order-wise?

texts:
I said this to a friend of mine, but I am not sure whether it is correct or not, in terms of word order.

You might have already had dinner.

Or maybe the correct way is: You might already have had dinner?

Thank you.


texts:
I have encountered the name The Black Country in old books. From Wikipedia:

  The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton.

Is that name still applicable to this area nowadays? Is it a widely known definition among the UK population and English speaking society, in general?


texts: Is there a word or phrase for a choice that ultimately leads to tragedy?

texts:
Examples of decisions that ultimately lead to the downfall of the deciders:

Troy accepted the gift of the Trojan horse
Aladdin doesn't immediately free the Genie when he is told he will become Sultan
Juliet's ingestion of Friar Laurence's drug

Is there a word or phrase that describes decision of this kind?


texts: Is there a word like "both" but for a greater number of xyz?

texts:
Imagine a person says "I take both the red line and the green line to get to work."

We know that they are talking about two different subway lines because  they name two different lines and  they use the word "both" which is used when referring to two different things.

Is there a word similar to "both" that can be used when referring to different number of things?

For example, if the person wanted to say "I take ____ the Red Line, Green Line and Blue Line to get to work.", what would "____" be?

In both cases I know the sentence would work without "both" or "____" but I'm curious if there is a word for it.


texts: Why is the idiom "the benefit of THE doubt" rather than "the benefit of doubt"?

texts: I don't understand the use of a  definite  article in this phrase. Isn't the meaning the same in both cases?


texts: Tip of my tongue: Word that means cultural identifier

texts:
I'm trying to remember a word that means a trait that identifies which side of a cultural divide someone falls on. The word would be used like this:
"They knew I was American when I pronounced 'herb' without the h sound. 'Herb' is a _____ between British and American English."
The word would often be used more locally, as something that someone says that starkly identifies them as belonging to a particular region or culture that otherwise might not be apparent--like saying crawfish vs crawdad, for example.
Thanks for any help!


texts: How are "campsite" and "campground" used in American English?

texts:
A common word for a place used for staying overnight outdoors would be "campground" in AmE and "campsite" in BrE. However, I learned that Americans also use the word "campsite."
My questions is to what extent, and are both terms used interchangeably?

Or maybe there is a difference with regard to the following meanings:
    an impromptu area (as one might decide to stop while backpacking or hiking);
    a dedicated area with improvements and various facilities

or maybe it depends more on the region of the US where the term is used?

Google Ngram displayed this:

so I can imagine both terms are pretty common.
I am directing this question mainly to AmE native speakers. How do you feel about both terms?


texts: Difference between "response" and "reply"

texts:
As far as I understand, replies are a subset of responses: A reply is a response in words or writing. However, responses can take many different forms, e.g. when a country responds in force to some perceived aggression.

Is this correct? What is the difference?


texts: Why ‘a great green dragon’ but not ‘a green great dragon’?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the rule for adjective order?

In Letter #163 to W.H. Auden  from page 214 of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Tolkien mentions his mother noting but not explaining that one had to say ‘a great green dragon’ instead of the other way around:

  My mother said nothing about the dragon, but pointed out that one could not say ‘a green great dragon’, but had to say ‘a great green dragon’. I wondered why, and still do.

Apart from the obvious aesthetics, why is this?

Possibly related is something my French teacher once said, that adjectives related to size should be placed before the noun, and other adjectives should be placed after the noun — thus ‘un grand chat noir.’

Is it quite simply the same rule in English (with the noun moved after all adjectives), or is there something else at work?


texts:
I had only known of the phrase from the lyrics to the Pink Floyd song Shine on you crazy diamond and had always assumed that they had coined it. However, I stumbled upon a book by Alastair Reynolds called On the steel breeze.

I was wondering whether the title is a reference to the song or not so I ran a couple of Google searches which came up with  21,100,000 uses of the phrase, including a rock band from the '80s and a maker of parachutes. A Google NGram search for the phrase returned nothing.

This answer, claims that the phrase existed long before Pink Floyd and that it means "cold breeze". However, there are no references given and I have not heard it used in that context.

So, I am wondering if the phrase was indeed coined by Pink Floyd and all subsequent uses are references to the song or if the phrase already existed before they used it and the song's popularity is masking older uses. If the latter, I would also like to know what it means.


texts:
I've recently heard that cows have a similar social structure to elephants with a dominant female who holds a lot of influence. Farmers can apparently use this to their advantage, knowing which cow is "in charge". A friend of mine described how his wife's family kept a specific cow for years because she made managing the herd a lot easier. And my own observations of my local cow herd definitely implies that there is one cow who is braver than the rest and most of the herd clusters round her.

The dominant female in elephant herds is the matriarch.

I've also heard (via the film Zootopia/Zootropolis) that the term "bellwether" is used for the sheep that leads the herd:
from Collins

  (Breeds) a sheep that leads the herd, often bearing a bell

I'd like to know, what is the word for the chief cow? Is the chief cow referred to as the matriarch, similar to elephants? This would make sense given the cow/bull/calf terms also used for both elephants and cattle, but I can't find a reference that says this definitively.

Since it's a single word request, here's the sample sentence:

  "Don't mess with that cow, she's the ________."


texts: What is an alternative to "Bless you" after sneezing?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What are alternative responses for when someone sneezes?

I know the history/reason why people say bless you to you after you sneeze. My question is, is there an alternative to bless you which can be used when someone sneezes?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “User accounts” or “users account?”

I'm writing software, and I need to create an object that will contain a group of contacts. Contacts can belong to more than one group.

If I wanted to shorten "group of contacts," would I refer to it as a contacts group, or a contact group?


texts: Should "Share your magic with the Universe" capitalize Universe?

texts:
Is "the Universe" considered a proper noun and should it be capitalized when used in the phrase "Share your magic with the Universe"?

The IAU Style Manual recommends that astronomical objects be treated linguistically as proper nouns. But in this case, the word "universe" is used colloquially to refer to a relative "sphere of activity" - which is more reasonable?


texts:
So I'm writing a book and I was wondering how are the above question usually done in 18cen way. A brief greeting maybe old time friends or to a noble. Yea I agree this question can be a little vast. But I'm not asking for every response ever made. How would they greet a -friend
-noble
-parents
-stranger (no need for you to go into a character just tell me how you would say it, in 18 cen of course)
What words would they typically used? Or don't use?
Here a part of my story:
Aviana turn around with something on her face that one may think she just ate something bitter but in actuality she was trying to smile. When she realized that it was one of her childhood friend her face and mood instantly flipped, smiling from ear to ear. She replied "I'm well, thank you coming". They greeted each other with hugs and kisses "you look splendid as ever today" miss rosewood said excitedly, she was right Aviana is the most stunning woman there.
How do I even?(begin)
Yes there are some grammatical errors.please let me know if you need some more clarification?


texts: Uncountable followed by countable nouns - "is" or "are"?

texts:
I have a question about the following sentence:

  The only artwork in evidence is/are some Greek vases and terracotta objects.

Is it "artwork" that selects the verb-form (therefore "is"), or "Greek vases and terracotta objects" ("are")?

I know the problem could be solved by saying "artworks", but in the context it's talking about a lack of artwork in the surroundings in general, i.e. wall frescoes, mosaics, carvings etc, so the uncountable "artwork" is more appropriate.


texts: Use of infinitive form verb following "do" as emphasis

texts:
I’ve seen both versions of this sentence. Which one is correct? (Should both “matter” be infinitive or just the first one?)
Thanks

However, it did matter and matter a lot.
However, it did matter and mattered a lot.


texts: Single word: extremely frustrated, but relieved

texts:
Is there a single word to describe that mixed feeling of relief and frustration that occurs when you find that stupid, stupid cause of a bug you spent hours searching for?

It’s like being enraged and relieved all at once.

For those people who've never debugged software: it's like how you feel when you've spent hours trying to figure something out, then you figure it out/someone shows you how it should be done.  You feel relieved that it's finally done, but extremely frustrated that you've just wasted the last three hours on something so simple and obvious.

Is there a single word that captures that emotion?


texts: I am attempting to write a paper where I discuss how characters in one novel are objectified, while others in another novel are rendered sensations or are defined emotionally. Is there a word for the opposite of objectified? Sensitized? Can this word be applied to humans?


texts: Is there any syntax error in my sentence?

texts:
I am not sure whether the following sentence is syntax correct or not.

  It's have been nearly one month that I didn't receive any task from my
  leader.

I know there is another sentence that can express the same meaning.

  It's have been nearly one month since I received the last task from my leader.

But I want to stress the time by place the time words in the beginning of my sentence.

If there is no error in

  It's have been nearly one month that I didn't receive any task from my
  leader.

, can anyone help me figure out the grammar usage of the clause

  that I didn't receive any task from my leader.

I know it's not a relative clause, but what type clause is it?
Any explanation is grateful.


texts:
While working on a new blog post, I wanted to say that there was one thing in particular I didn't like about a song I'm reviewing.  I started off with:

  My only ___ with this song is that ...

I'm trying to think of what word I can use here, to describe a problem I have with how the song is put together.  I could try:

  My only problem with this song is that ...

But I want to say something more specific, it's less than a problem but more than just something that bothers me.


texts: What does a “logo” means in sales/business talk?

texts:
At my company we use the term "new logos" in context of acquiring new customers, but I never heard it before so I googled and I could barely find anything except for this one article: The Reason You’re Not Winning More New Logos

EDIT: Thanks for the explanations. I just wanted to add that in my company this term is used in very derived way, as in "we have a chance to logo here" or "we must prioritise, the client is a logo".


texts:
I read this in an article of The Atlantic:
We walk into a pitch-black, freezing-cold building and discover there are youngsters lurking about—they’re tiny, but older, something weird, like trolls, filthy, stinking. We open a door and find a population of ‘cretins’—now it’s known as congenital iodine deficiency syndrome; untreated hypothyroidism stunts growth and brain development. There were children with underlying genetic disorders lying in cages. You start almost to disassociate.


texts:
I'm stuck with understanding the following sentence from Effective Modern C++: 42 Specific Ways to Improve Your Use of C++11 and C++14

  Programmers familiar with other threading APIs are sometimes surprised
  at the comparatively Spartan feature set that C++ offers, but that's
  because a great deal of C++'s support for concurrency is in the form
  of constraints on compiler writers.

I know Sparta is an ancient Greek city, but what is Spartan feature set?


texts: I need a synonym for "transfer" which makes clear that the recipient has initiated the transfer

texts: I have following situation: There is a software system for managing to-do lists for a team. If a team member sees that a coworker has too much on his list, she can decide to transfer the feature to her own list in order to help him. But if I just say "The software allows users to transfer todos between lists", it sounds like they are able to push their own tasks to other's lists. I need a word for "transfer", which makes clear that the new task owner has initiated the transfer, so it sounds nice. A long explanation won't do, as it is bad for marketing, it should be a single verb. Something like "take over", but "take over" doesn't feel right to me - or is it OK?


texts: "An accuracy", "the accuracy", "accuracies", or just "accuracy"

texts:
I have been having difficulting using the word "accuracy" and I am not sure how to add an article before "accuracy". The sentence I am trying to write is "To guarantee accuracy, we ...".

I looked up in a dictionary and found that accuracy is countable. So I was told a countable singular-form noun should always have a leading article. However, another rule is that an article is not needed for abstract concepts. I believe accuracy is an abstract concept, so there should no article. So I am confused. Is that accuracy is both countable and uncountable and in this case we are using the uncountable version?

Here is a link to Merriam-Webster dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accuracy. It has a plural form, so I think that indicates "accuracy" is countable.


texts: If a one person business is supposed to refer to their business as "we", then how do you do this:

texts:
I want to try and sell my writing on the Internet. I have a registered business but it is just me. If I use "we" instead of "I" when building my site, how do I fix the "about" page? Is it not supposed to be about me and how I started writing?  I am confused.

I do not want it to look like I am lying. It is just me and I do all my writing, but I am registered with the state, and I do pay franchise taxes every year.
I need help with how to word my about page since I have decided to try to sell some of my work. The way I have it worded now is about how I started writing and it is all about me, not "we".

Everybody says you are supposed to refer to a business as "we" but "we" does not exist. It is just me.
My url is customizedwallpoems.com if anyone would like to give me advice about my about page. I am not done so the site is not complete, but the about page is up, and it sounds more like a personal page than explaining how a business originated.

Thanks,
Donna


texts: The clause in "it is adjective that clause " structure

texts:
{it} + {passive verb} + [that] + {clause}

It + is said + that + Jesse Owens was one of the most important athletes of the 20th Century.

"Jesse Owens was one of the most important athletes of the 20th Century" is a objective clause or subjective clause ?
I think it is a subject clause ,my fried think it is a object clause.
In my analyse:
It  is the dummy pronoun.
Jesse Owens was one of the most important athletes of the 20th Century  is extraposed subject.


texts:
On the etiquette of my favourite beer you can read:

Affligem abbey ale is being brewed in Belgium according to an old method since 1074.

I would like to ask a native speaker whether the used tense is all right. Wouln´t it be better Present Perfect Continious: Beer has been being brewed in Belgium since…?


texts: How would you describe these two types of knowledge with an adjective?

texts:
I like to think about knowledge as coming in two types:

First, there is knowledge like physics, math and the like, which is about the inner workings of things.
As such, it easily tends to become abstract and difficult, but in terms of volume, you need only a little to be able to do a lot.

Second, there's knowledge that's really specific: The name of a place, the date of an event, how many stars are in the night sky.
The answers are mostly rather easy to congest, but there's an almost unlimited volume of them, and each on its own has little worth.

What is the best way to describe these two types of knowledge?
For example, deductive knowledge would probably fit well for #1, but it's opposite 'inductive' doesn't really fit #2.


texts: Influence of inflections on Phonics Rules and Syllables Types

texts:
I'm doing a small research on English phonics rules and I'm trying to clarify the influence of inflections in word forms.

It's best to explain my problem with some examples.

The letter 'a' in the word "face" is pronounced as /eɪ/ (/feɪs/) as it's in an open stressed syllable. What's important in this example is that the silent 'e' at the end of the word "opens" the syllable.

Let's take the plural form of the same word: "faces." The pronunciation of the letter 'a' is the same: /eɪ/. However, looking at the IPA (/ feɪsˑɪz/), we see that the 'e' is not silent any more, moreover, it belongs to another syllable. So, technically, the letter 'a' is not in an open syllable anymore and should be pronounced as the /æ/ sound.

Let's make the past simple tense form of the same word: "faced." The pronunciation of the letter 'a' is the same: /feɪst/. However, this syllable does not look like an open one, since the silent 'e' is not word-final anymore.

I think I understand what happens with the phonics rule here, but I'm struggling with finding reasonable and linguistically correct explanation.

So, my assumptions are:

Inflections don't influence the pronunciation of sounds in the roots of words, despite the possible changes of the syllable type.
The letter 'e' keeps its "syllable-opening" function even if it's not silent and word-final in the word forms.

Unfortunately, I can't find reliable sources to support or contradict my assumptions.

Any help will be much appreciated!


texts:
In a scientific paper, I am using a phrase that is something like ‘the condition that all the numbers be positive’.

I was wondering what kind of construction this is (the ‘be’) and how it compares to ‘all the numbers are positive’.

My impression is that both are correct, but ‘be’ is perhaps more formal. Is that correct?


texts: Reported speech - statements whose meaning still stands

texts:
I know the main idea behing the reported speech (shifting of tenses) but one of the textbooks I have says:

  I like pizza.

  He said he liked pizza.

But I think that if he likes pizza, he likes in in general and he still like it when we report that statement of his/hers. So I think it should be:

  He said he likes pizza

in case he is still alive and has not changed his mind. Is that correct?


texts:
I believe it is a fixed phrase (‘injury problems’ does not work as a substitute) and can admit that there is no account of a singular form (‘injury woe’). So, it makes the said phrase an idiom.

I would like to clarify its meaning and usage. It seems that the idiom is limited to sports and is found mainly in news. Upon checking the web for contexts, it might be used to describe a series of injuries afflicting a player or several injuries in a row for different players.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
When is a gerund supposed to be preceded by a possessive pronoun?
“Me being” versus “my being”
Usage of the gerund preceded by the possessive pronoun

I don't really know what to call it but basically there are two forms that I have seen across different texts:

My being here obviously upsets him.
Me being here obviously upsets him.

My taking interest in her research has had fantastic effects.
Me taking interest in her research has had fantastic effects.

Your coming here is quite disturbing
You coming here is quite disturbing

Please forgive my being aggressive.
Please forgive me being aggressive.

I think I must have seen the latter more often but in my head the former makes more sense.


texts: Use of "frequency" in "decrease the frequency a customer makes purchases from the site"

texts:
This doesn't read well and I'm not sure if this is correct:

  Shipping fees can reduce the number of items a customer purchases, and they can decrease the frequency a customer makes purchases from the site.

What is the correct way to use the word frequency in this context?

The reason it "feels" like it doesn't read well is it seems like there should be something linking "frequency" and "a customer".  However I do not know the rules of grammar well enough to know if there is a rule about this for this type of usage or how one would define the rule.

Update: the accepted answer introduced the concept of an "adverbial phrase" which is what I "felt" was missing but didn't know how to articulate.


texts: Idiom that describes a person who doesn't have an acceptable witness

texts:
We Persians have a proverb that says:

  They asked the fox, "Who's your witness?" The fox said, "My tail!"

What do Americans say when a person only has their ally as a witness? Is there any idiom for this?


texts: How does the use of a definite article change the meaning of following sentences?

texts:
My niece is in hospital.
My niece is in the hospital.

Both the sentences look good to me. Is there any difference between the two sentences?

Although I know the difference but the real question is how would the use of article 'the' create that difference? How would you justify that?

As far as I have learned, the first sentence means that my niece is in hospital as a patient, whereas the second sentence means that my niece is in the hospital, but not necessarily as a patient. How does 'the' account for this difference between the meanings?


texts:
I have found the phrase "How Many Times Does a Word Appear in the Bible".
In an XML document I do not want to use the verb appear, but rather the corresponding noun.

For Example:

  Appearance of the word "whatever" in book Whatever:
     Chapter 23: 3 times
     Chapter 30: 2 times

Can I use appearance in this context?