texts: If "clearly evident" is redundant, what word or phrase suggests being indisputable but not readily apparent?

texts:
A recent question asks whether the modifier "clearly" changes the meaning of "evident". I would have said, prior to examining a few dictionaries, that evident did not necessarily mean readily apparent, but to my surprise it does.

This brings me to ask what word or expression would mean something can be taken as a true fact, but not through an easily constructed (not obvious or readily apparent) rationale?

For example, if Sherlock Holmes says something is true while everyone else is still sitting on their hands, then it is evident to Holmes, but not to the rest of the world. So, from everyone else's point of view, it is not readily apparent, and (by definition) apparently it is not evident, clear, or clearly evident at all, based on the dictionary definitions. But (let's stipulate) it is true and deducible from the observable evidence. What would we call this?

Update

An update is highlighted above. I can see from some of the answers and comments that I may have gone off my mark with the phrase "not through an easy-to-follow rationale”, and I have modified the question to correct this. I understand that there can be rationales, arguments, or proofs that, once explained, may or may not be easy to follow. What I intend is that the rationale to support the indisputable conclusion is not (initially) easy to recognize or construct (not readily apparent) in the first place. I apologize for the confusion. (The original can be seen in the change history.)

Update 2

Shortly after offering a bounty to this request, I recalled a single word that I now believe is a very good match to the parameters specified in this inquiry as it is stated above. That word has not yet been suggested (or approached) by any answer or comment (active or deleted) at the time of this edit. This request is changed to a single word request. (However, if you feel a single word fits well but not without some additional supporting words, please offer your thoughts in an answer.) While my curiosity for the term has already been met, the request and bounty remain as an open challenge. I will post my own answer once the bounty has expired and been awarded.


texts: What is the etymology of a pair of trousers

texts:
According to the accepted answer here, Why is the word "pants" plural?, it's because trousers were originally made in two parts and fastened together when worn. This sounds like a folk etymology to me and examples of very old trousers show that they were made as a single piece and not separable.

Is there any evidence to back this up this etymology, such as an ancient pair of trousers in a museum that was made to be worn as two separate pieces? If not, what is the true etymology of a pair of trousers? The two examples I've found so far both predate Old English and other languages treat trousers, jeans and related words as a grammatically singular word, such as pantalon and jean in French.

Germanic trousers of the 4th century found in the Thorsberg moor, Germany

The oldest known trousers, including this roughly 3,000-year-old pair with woven leg decorations, belonged to nomadic horsemen in Central Asia.


texts:
What is the difference between

There is something wrong with him

And

There is something wrong about him


texts:
Can the possesive formulation apostrophe s be used with acronyms of institutions. For instance: NASA's maps?

Are institutions treated as person names, or differently?


texts: Does "stand" have the meaning of "be helpful for"?

texts:
"something stands somebody in good stead" is a common idiom, which means "something is helpful for somebody in the present and future".

However, under the entry "stand" in the OXFORD dictionary, there is no meaning item equivalent to "be helpful for".

Is there any explanation for "stand"'s meaning in the idiom?


texts: What is the meaning of the word "stirring" when used in context with "starch"?

texts:
I am trying to understand this sentence, but just using a dictionary is not helpful:

  Prepared by treating starch with acetic acid anhydride and adipinic acid anhydride. This results in a starch that is resistant against stirring and high temperatures.

I am interested in the word "stirring". What does this sentence actually say the starch is resistant against?


texts:
Context:

We are purchasing a monitor and in an email someone wrote, "Bob, let's get two of these" and posted a URL.

If I were to followup, which would be more appropriate and why?

"I second that motion" or "I second that notion"?

Fact is, we can find plenty of books that say "second that notion" – in places like Ski magazine:

  Lee Aaker, 57, of Mammoth, Calif, would second that notion. (2001)

or political commentary:

  Ollie North calls the CIA/cocaine story "absolute garbage." I second that notion for two reasons...

but far more say "second that motion."

So, is second that notion a malapropism? Or just a lesser-used (but still valid) form?


texts: Is it correct to use multiple hyphens in this sentence?

texts:
"...it will secure local-authority-enabled-and-delivered housing."

I think it does but I'm not sure. If not, can someone explain why?

Thank you.


texts: What is the best word to describe an "object of importance" without inquiring about its past? (i.e. not memento)

texts:
I'm looking for a word to describe a gift. The way I am using this word is to describe the item in way that a person who receives this gift would almost worship it because it means so much.

The words that I do NOT think work in describing this object include:
memento, souvenir, keepsake, memorial
(things that make you think about the past)

I'm looking for a word that is SIMILAR to:
treasure, idol, pearl
(a word that gives significance to the object more it's meaning or origin)


texts: Does this usage of "so too (without comma in-between)" sound natural?

texts:
I am reading a book about longevity and have run into a sentence using "so too (without comma in-between)" which makes me curious whether it sounds natural to native speakers.
It goes,
Just as individually we need to restructure our life course, so too our institutions and policies that provide social insurance and support to those with few resources or who experience economic misfortune need to change.
My question is, if so too is already used, wouldn't need to change at the end of the sentence sound unnatural?
I think it would've sound more natural to me if "so too" had been "so do" and there hadn't been need to change at the end.
Thank you in advance.


texts:
I am currently studying participle clauses that have adverbial meaning, and was faced with something that I'm having a hard time understanding.

In "Advanced Grammar In Use," the book I'm studying grammar with, prepositions could sometimes be placed before present participle to add additional meaning.
(Ex> Instead of listening to this, I would rather go see a movie)

However, as far as I know, preposition is supposed to be placed right before nouns, thus constituting adverbial phrase with "preposition + noun" structure, and the present participle is usually used as adjective. Therefore, wouldn't it be more natural to consider "instead of" in the example sentence as a preposition and "Listening" as gerund, which is basically a noun derived from verb, thus in turn both as a combination of preposition and a noun?

Is there any grammatical rationale behind explaining "instead of listening" as "preposition + present participle?" or this is just a grammatical exception justified by an effort to categorize them into participle clauses based on a broad meaning?

I'm so dying to find out.
I will be waiting for your insightful answer.


texts:
I want to ask a question of sentence usage.

Now assume there are two fruits in a basket, that is, one apple and one banana.

Here, I want to describe this scenario by the following sentence:

"There are an apple and a banana in the basket."

or

"There are an apple and banana in the basket" (That is to omit the article "a" before the word banana.)

Which sentence is correct?


texts:
I started my odyssey on the splendid world of mathematics when...

Is this a right way to use the word "odyssey"? Is "odyssey on sth." correct? Can I use "splendid" to describe the world of mathematics here?


texts: What's the meaning of the phrase "got some big ones" in the sentence?

texts:
I happened to see this sentence in a subtitle of a movie, it said: "To think that you used an old man and a newbie as a decoy, you've sure got some big ones, don't you?".
When i try to search the meaning of the phrase "big one", it just gives me something like: "a thousand dollars" or "an extremely large and destructive earthquake",... and i think they aren't suitable for the content in the sentence.
What is the exactly meaning of the phrase "got some big ones" in this sentence?


texts:
Here is a situation: Dad is talking to his 5-year-old son
while watching TV:

Dad: I really like this movie.

Son: But I don't like this movie.

Dad: I am a bit hungry.

Son: But I am not hungry.

Dad: You must be doing your homework at the moment, isn't it?

Son: No, I won't do my homework.

Dad (angrily): Stop _____

So, what do you think Dad's natural response should be here?

(I would really want to have it started with the word "stop",
but if you think it won't sound natural in English, then you
can drop it. It is very likely that this whole conversation will
sound not natural - do, please, comment)

Here I have some of my options - none of them seem to be natural
to me:

Stop arguing with me!  (But it’s not really an argument, as far as I can tell);
Stop saying things opposite to what I am saying! (Too long and kind of too complicated for an angry response);
Stop it! (Looks kind of too general to me and, perhaps, a bit soft)
Stop reasoning with me (It’s not really a reasoning, but just a case of one being stubborn);


texts:
I'm looking for a word for "how something works."

Ex: Scientists have only partially grasped the physiological ________ of magnetoreception in animals.
Ex: The _________ of neural networks in the brain is still poorly understood.

The closest I can find are "mechanisms," "function," "functioning," "operation," "role," but none of these really fit. There is a word in French, "fonctionnement," but I cannot find a direct translation.

I feel like there must be a word for this, but I have not been able to find it.


texts: Word "Fella" will indicate the gender "Male". Can anyone say the word like "fella" for the gender "female"?.


texts: What's the difference between "FWIW" and "IMHO"?

texts: What exactly is the difference between FWIW and IMHO?


texts: Why do we write. He talks as if he were my master? Shouldn't the verb be singular in this case? And if not then why?


texts:
Much to my surprise, I've read recently that some adverbs do not inherit prepositional constructions from the adjectives they come from, for example:

  "The proof of Theorem 3 is similar to that of Theorem 2"

is OK, but

  "Theorem 3 can be proved similarly to Theorem 2"

is not quite correct.

Is that indeed true?

This may be the reason why sometimes one can find "similar" in phrases playing the role of "sentence adverbs", like

  Similar to the situation in Section 2, we will now consider etc.

This default of English adverbs causes problems when translating e.g. from Slavonic languages, where adverbs like "similarly", "analogously" connect with prepositions.


texts: Two close prepositions; how do you not end with one?

texts:
I've always had difficulty ascertaining the way to approach structuring a particular type of sentence re: the situation in the question title.

There are probably all sorts of ways to restructure this particular example in such a way so as to avoid the issue entirely, but unless that is, in fact, the general rule of thumb in these types of situations, I want to make sure we focus on the specific concept of dealing with two prepositions of this type rather than just dealing with the no doubt poor example. As follows:

  "...the value of which, I might add, humans are completely delusional about."

What I want is to stick that "about" somewhere that is not the end of the sentence.  As I have done for "of", I know we often use "which" to make sure that our prepositions don't end up at the end of our sentences.

In the above example, if it was "the thing" that humans were delusional about, it would be easy to just end it with "[the thing], about which humans are delusional."  But instead, it's "the value OF the thing" about which humans are delusional.  So if I wanted to structure the sentence more or less like I've done, coming at the end of a larger monologue, as sort of an afterthought, I'm not sure how to squeeze the "about which" in there with the "of which" that's already there.

For instance, could I double use the same "which" somehow?  Or must I slide a second "which" in there to use with the "about"; if so, in what order should it go, exactly?

Note:  I realize that with this example, I could easily just add the words "is something", so as to say:

"...the value of which, I might add, is something about which humans are delusional."

But again, I want to focus on dealing with this concept in all contexts, rather than avoiding it here just because it happens to be easy.  (Also, even that sounds a bit repetitive to my ear, what with the two "which"s so close to each other.  The "I might add" is really there to try to add some separation but it isn't all that effective.)

This has been on my mind before more than once, and, if I recall correctly, I'm pretty sure I once heard Frasier Crane solve this for me with some fancypants word magic in exactly such a situation, and it sounded great. I want to say he somehow doubled down on a single "which"; something like "of about which".  The problem is that that doesn't really seem right to my ear when I try it now, but I can't for the life of me remember or figure out how else he might have done it.

Thanks in advance to anyone who will help scratch this itch.


texts: I need your opinion about the word order in the following sentence: “In her garden grows a cherry-tree.“? Is it grammatically acceptable?


texts: When discussing job experience, how should it read?

texts:
Should it read:

Jake has 20+ years experience.

Jake has +20 years experience.


texts:
I'm struggling with a title for this role. It's for a person who gives advice and guidance, but also coordinates getting things done and keeps the client accountable for their actions.

I'm trying to settle on a suitable job title that covers everything in the role - consultancy with the client (providing advice and guidance) implementation (helping the client get the work done) and accountability (as in holding the client accountable for their actions, or lack of, when it comes to completing what they need to do to push their business forward). So the main areas are advice, implementation and accountability.


texts: Do Switzerland and the UK have 'different time' or 'different times' (the time zone each is in)?

texts:
'Time' is

  'the system of recording hours used in different parts of the world'

and is uncountable, says the Cambridge Dictionary Online.

definition of 'time' in the Cambridge Dictionary Online

Really?!

Should it be

  'Switzerland and the UK have different time.'

then, or rather

  'Switzerland and the UK have different times.'

, which sounds more correct… ?


texts: Is the use of the indefinite article possible in the sentence context?

texts:
Is the use of the indefinite article below possible in this context?

  In the out-of-court settlement, the drug makers virtually admitted that they
  were responsible for the spread of a fatal disease.

The above sentence is in a certain book for English learning.

I thought "a fatal disease" should be "the fatal disease,"
since the disease should be clearly identified.

Or I wonder if there is any possible use of a here I do not know?


texts: "Characteristic" as an adjective to describe changes in a character

texts:
Can the word characteristic be used to describe changes that occur to a character (I.E. a character in a film)?

For example:

... this foreshadows the changes to come - both plot and characteristic changes.

Where characteristic changes is referring to changes in a character's personality or perspective.

Would it be better to say plot and character changes?


texts: What is the opposite of a "false positive"?

texts:
I wanted to refer to the set of data after filtering out the false positives.

Is there a word to describe the set of data after filtering out the "false positives" (i.e. the opposite of a "false positive")?

I was going to say "not false positives" but that sounds odd when I read it to myself or say it out loud.


texts: In search of a Grammar text, of any vintage, that covers such as the below

texts:
I've searched websites, written to Mr. Barth and William Safire, scanned bookstore shelves, and buttonholed likely prospects in search of a grammar text that would address matters in the manner of the following, which is from John Barth's "The End of the Road".  If such a text exists, I'd be much obliged to learn of it:

" ... it gives a man a great sense of lucidity and well-being, if not downright formidability, to be able not only to say, but to understand perfectly, that predicate complements of infinitives of copulative verbs without expressed subjects go into the nominative case, whereas predicate complements of infinitives of copulative verbs with expressed subjects go into the objective case.  I made this observation to my assemblage of young scholars and concluded triumphantly, "I was thought to be he, but I thought John to be him."

Thank you.


texts: Any English equivalent for Russian idiom "to write for the desk drawer"?

texts:
It means "to write literary works, knowing that they will not pass censorship and be published". I am looking for some English equivalents that can be used to describe not only writing but also doing different things like taking photos for example for oneself and refusing to publish them. Thank you very much in advance

Let's just find an equivalent for "doing things for yourself and not caring whether it will be published or not". A good example is Kafka most of whose books were published after his death


texts: How to understand "it is follow from..., however,...." in this sentence

texts:
The whole sentence is "It does not follow from their lack of speech, however, that chimpanzees are incapable of language".

Is it possible to rephrase this sentence so it's easy to understand?
Article from this website:https://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/ling002.html


texts: What is the non-funny equivalent of a spoof? Such as a dark, gritty, alternative re-telling of a story

texts:
I'm wondering if there is a word for a non-funny spoof/parody, as described in the title.
Without giving away any spoilers, Invincible (the TV series, haven't read the comics) seems very much like an alternative reality/mashup of classic super heros (the parallels are obvious, Superman, Gambit, Flash, Batman etc) but told in a very dark way.
Like a dark homage?


texts: What is the correct placement of the word "exactly" in a sentence and why?

texts:
Example :

I want to study in another country, but I don’t know exactly where.
vs
I want to study in another country, but I don’t know where exactly.

For me, both are correct, as both imply that I don't know the exact place I will go to study. If anything, I prefer no. 1 as I think sentence no 2. needs a comma after the word "where", as if the word "exactly" has been added as an afterthought.
Can anyone enlighten me?


texts: Abstract nouns: countable and uncountable

texts:
What is the element that causes many abstract nouns to be both countable and uncountable (not with different meanings)?

To illustrate the point, a word like taste as a noun when it means "the feelings that each person has about what is appealing, attractive, etc. : the feelings that cause someone to like or not like something." according to Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary, is both countable and uncountable:

  The movie is intended to appeal to popular taste. (Non-count)
  The store has something to suit all tastes. (Count)

What is it exactly that makes the abstract noun taste or other such nouns be both countable and uncountable?


texts: "It worths it", "it worth it" or "it is worth it"?

texts:
Which one is correct and why?
I think "worth it" is an adjective phrase. So what is "worth" then?
Example:

You should try spending money on her. It worths it.
You should try spending money on her. It worth it.
You should try spending money on her. It is worth it.

Which one is right? The last 2 are not condemned by grammar checker.


texts: I am trying to write the sound of a pool break. Something like "thwock", but I need some input to capture it best.


texts:
Hopefully you are fine!

"To Adjure" means:

1: to ask or order someone to do something.
2: to command or enjoin solemnly, as under oath.

But, in the following passage which is from an article of Encyclopedia Britannica, it seems to have been used in the meaning of "to shun a faith"

  Henry’s hesitations encouraged the formation of the powerful Holy
  League against the Huguenots; and, after the assassination of Henry
  III in 1589, his successor, the Protestant heir Henry IV, could pacify
  the kingdom only by adjuring Protestantism (July 1593), accepting
  Catholicism, and thus depriving the League of its pretext for
  resisting him. The Huguenots after 40 years of strife obtained by
  their constancy Henry IV’s promulgation of the Edict of Nantes (April
  1598), the charter of their religious and political freedom.

Here, clearly, Henry III announces that he is no longer a Protestant and accepts Catholicism. And, from historical perspective, the case is but this.

Similarly, I was doing some research on the web and I came across the following passage:

  On July 25, 1593, Henri IV adjured his Protestant faith and became a
  full fledged Catholic at a ceremony at ..........

And, here "adjured" clearly means "repudiated".

On the other hand, there is a word which is very much similar to this one, i.e, "abjure" which exactly means "to say formally or publicly that you no longer agree with a belief or way of behaving". And, if we replace "adjure" with "abjure", everything fits well. So, there is possibility that there is a typo and "b" was mistakenly replaced by "d". But, then, we get, if we accept that it is a type in fact, the same typo in two separate resources. (Although, it is possible that the latter source may be based on the former one.)

Question: I am not getting this meaning in any of the online dictionary.
-------- Is this an archaic use which is not used in modern English
-------- or can we put it in the ambit of the aforementioned meanings with some allegorical interpretation which I am unaware of
-------- or is it the case of type and it is, in fact, "abjure"?

Thanks for you time!


texts:
Why do you ride a horse and a bike, rather than drive it?
Why do you pilot a plane, rather than drive it?
Why do you drive a car, rather than pilot it?

You can go for a ride in a car, but only if you're not the one driving it. As you ride a horse, does that mean the horse it really in charge? Follow that logic to riding a bike, does that mean the bike is in charge?


texts: What do you call a tristate when there are only two states?

texts:
In programming the word "tristate" is used quite often to indicate an object with three possible states. A checkbox is a good example, it can be checked, unchecked or it can have no value yet.

I now have to describe two objects in the same context where the first has three states and the second only has two.

I considered using "duostate" for the latter, but google doesn't seem to know the word. And "dualstate" also seems to be incorrect.

So what word could I use to describe an object with two possible states?

Edit: To clarify, the first object has states called In Range, Extended Range and Out of Range and the second only has In Range and Out of Range. I'm trying to write a piece of documentation which describes functions that convert a digit (0, 1 or 2 in this case) to "In Range", "Extended Range" and "Out of Range". There are two functions, one converts the digit to a digital/duo/dual state and the other to the tristate. So, I'm trying to find the right word to describe the first function.


texts: What do you call a black person from South America?

texts: People in the US call black people "African-American". So, what do you call black people from South America, or Australia?


texts: What nonstandard ways of denoting that something is the title of a work of literature exist?

texts:
Recently, for school, I have been taking a fair number of tests through google forms. Unfortunately, in google forms it is impossible to italicize or underline text, so when I write in the title of a book, I am not able to denote in a normal way the fact that those words refer to a title.
I am aware that quotation marks can be used to denote shorter works, such as short stories, song titles, and poems, but based on my understanding of correct punctuation, using quotes for the title of a longer work would not only be wrong, but probably worse than putting no punctuation at all around the title due to the ambiguity it introduces about the nature of the work.
So, my question is: is there any way of using the punctuation and formatting available in google forms to denote the title of a long-form work?
Lastly, of course, I know that I can always just write in next to the title that it is a title (which is what I have been doing), but I am looking for a solution that is not so clunky and ideally only requires the addition of formatting and punctuation.
Here is my source for the rules of using italics and quotes.
https://www.thoughtco.com/punctuating-titles-1857242


texts: Is there a verb meaning ‘to be (non-conclusive) evidence for’? That is, like ‘prove’ but weaker.


texts: “It’s very rare that…” or “It’s very rarely that…”

texts:
I’ve read and heard “It’s very rarely that opportunity knocks twice” and I wonder whether it shouldn’t be “rare” instead.  Since “it” (in this particular case)  is a nominative pronoun introducing the noun clause, I would expect an adjective instead of an adverb.  e.g. it’s very interesting that/it’s very unusual that/it’s most unlikely that/etc.

For example, I wouldn’t say “It’s very rarely for a person to live to be a hundred.”  To be honest, If I had to say something like that, I would probably say “It’s unusual for a person to live to be a hundred”.   Assuming, however, that I had to use either “rare” or “rarely”, I think I would spontaneously choose “It’s very rare…”

In a sentence like “It’s very ______ that opportunity knocks twice”, should we say “It’s very rare” or “It’s very rarely”?  The same question goes for similar sentences like the other example.

EDIT - I expect an answer explaining why one form is correct and the other isn't (or that maybe both are correct) and also expect comments on the two sentences I've posted.


texts:
Consider these sentences:

  They are good.
  They are working.
  They are eating lunch.

In first sentence are is a linking verb, and good is an adjective; so it has the form S+V+C (Subject + Verb + Complement).

I have a difficulty figuring out the roles of are and working in the second sentence. Clearly  working is not an adjective nor is it a noun, so it cannot be a subject complement. Any help?

I think the last sentence is pretty straightforward. Here are is helping verb, eating is the main verb, and lunch is the object; so it has the form S + V + O (Subject + Verb + Object).


texts: British English spelling: “gripped” or “gript”?

texts:
Hello what is the correct British English spelling of the word 'gripped' or 'gript'?

According to Dictionary.com:

  gript
  verb
  1. a past participle and simple past tense of grip.

  verb (used without object), gripped or gript, gripping.

  e.g. The boat now run ‘pon the top ov me; I was gript by the scruff ov the neck, and dragg’d into it.
   Humours of Irish Life


texts: Word for unintentional omitting of context when telling something

texts:
It happens when I am deeply focused at something, or I’m completely in my own thoughts, that I tell or ask somebody around me something particular about the subject I am into, but totally forget to give any context regarding this matter. E.g. «Do you know if it has more of an effect at higher altitudes?», where the omitted context could be consuming alcohol.

Is there a word for this, a saying or anything that explains this more specific than my attempt at explaining above.

I want to emphasize that in my question, the omitting of context is unintentional, and an obvious oversight by the questioner on second thought.


texts: I need a word to describe a single source supply of a consumable

texts:
When you buy a product which uses a consumable, and the only source for the consumable is the manufacturer of the product itself.

You would describe the consumable as ??


texts:
Can "hence" be used instead of "after"?

Dictionaries say that "hence" is the same as "in the future". Some usage suggest otherwise.

Example:

A man who died in 1945 proved himself relevant, 120 years after.

A man who died in 1945 proved himself relevant, 120 years hence.


texts:
At first, let's take 2 example expressions: "Books list" and "Book list". As far as I know, the first one is incorrect and I should use the second one - "Book list". And it means "List of books".

But now let's replace "Book(s)" with something more complex. Let's assume that we want to have not "just" list of books, but list of books that belong to particular user. So, we are about to replace "Books" with "User's books". So now we should have "User's book list", which is ambiguous - is it list of user's book, or list of user's books? So we can change it to "User's books list", which is incorrect according to my previous paragraph...

Where am I wrong?


texts: What does this mean? "But if rigorous analysis escapes Marrs, little else does."

texts:
The sentence is from the following extract:

  Marrs shows little discrimination, overemphasizing dubious phenomena like remote viewing and crop circles, and giving nearly equal weight to ludicrous pretenders like Billy Meier (who claimed close encounter with Pleiadians) and sophisticated commentators like Jacques Vallée. Marrs even devotes a chapter to theories that the moon may be a UFO, and he refuses to rule out obvious frauds like the alien autopsy tapes. But if rigorous analysis escapes Marrs, little else does; this is the most entertaining and complete overview of flying saucers and their crew in years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Marrs

Can someone explain what the bolded sentence means? Thanks!


texts: Perplexing mathmatical problem due to grammar

texts: I recently read a post on Facebook regarding a mathmatical problem posed by a statement without commas.  I was hoping that this site could provide a correct grammatical translation of the following statement:  1 rabbit saw 6 elephants while going to the river. Every elephant saw 2 monkeys going towards the river. Every monkey holds 1 parrot in their hands.  How many animals are going towards the river?


texts:
How should I decide between "sometime back" and "sometimes back"?

Sometime back I received a call from Mr. X
Sometimes back I received a call from Mr. X

Which sentence is correct?


texts: Do "in a black study" and "in a brown study" mean the same?

texts: I encountered relatively often the expression "to be in a brown study" but I can find nothing about the "black" version of the same expression. I found it in William Hope Hodgson's The Island of the Crossbones. I believe the meaning should be the same -at least he's talking about someone who's quite pensive- but I'd like to be sure.


texts:
Neither the OED and Etymonline has any answer to the etymology of the word. The latter does suggest it may have an origin in the Caribbean, but offers nothing better.

The first citation is from 1936 only.  Here are the last two citations:

1975 High Times Dec. 137/1 — Like Marley, he’s a spliff-toking Rastafarian.
1977 Transatlantic Rev. lx. 192 — Coon rolled a massive splif and blew clouds of ganja gremlins through the hatch.

What’s the origin of the word spliff?  Might there be precursor that makes sense only if you know the various creoles of the West Indies, or even just the Rastafarian culture?


texts:
Is there a single word that means "blade within a blade"? It doesn't have to be "blade" specifically, but anything sharp (i.e. "knife within a knife", "dagger within a dagger", "[sharp object] within a [sharp object]").

Not certain if this is a valid geometric phenomenon, but the desire for such a word exists.

I'm also open to wordplay. The word itself doesn't have to formally exist, so long as its meaning is easily understood.

Example sentence:

  The blade of a greatsword is smashed. Within the debris was a smaller dagger; a blade within a blade; a(n) [word I'm looking for].


texts: What is a less cumbersome way to say "acknowledging of hard work"?

texts: I'm trying to convey in a concise phrase the concept that the management at a company frequently gives praise to its workers for job that are well done.


texts: Usage of comma in "Some like it hot, others cold"

texts:
How does one punctuate the following construct:

  Some like it hot, others, cold.

Somehow, the two commas seem incorrect or at least awkward. Should the second one be omitted altogether? Or should it be retained while the first one being converted to a semicolon?


texts: I am looking for a word describing a patchy appearance in something like hair, felt, grass, velvet etc- specifically surfaces, materials or areas comprised of a totality of much smaller, and usually upwardly angled fibers, hairs, blades and so forth, where there are areas of visible wear, damage or interruption. I've gone through the thesaurus ouroborus multiple times and cannot find the word I'm looking for. Any help would be appreciated!


texts: What expressions should I use to reply "sorry to be a pain, but …" courteously

texts:
Last week, my colleague asked me to help on something, he said, “Sorry to be a pain, I just hoping to get it done shortly”. Actually, it didn’t bother me at all and it is a part of my job. Is there a courteous English phrase should I use to reply this kind of questions?
Thank you for any advice in advance. :)


texts:
I want to indicate that one approach to solve a problem is less preferred than another approach.

How to phrase it correctly?

Is it grammatically correct to state it this way?

  Modeling x and y is a less preferred approach.


texts: Recently, I received a few corrections on my research article. One of them was that the ordinal indicators like 'th', 'rd', etc., should be inline with the number and not as a superscript. For example, 25th is correct whereas 25th is incorrect. Is this a universally accepted convention?


texts: The importance of bees "highlight" or "highlights"?

texts:
The importance of bees (highlight/highlights) the devastating loss that would occur if bee diseases continue to proliferate.

In this sentence, I believe that 'the importance of bees' is its own subject, and by the principle of subject-verb agreement, the correct answer would be 'highlights' as 'the importance of bees' is singular. However, reading the sentence with 'highlights' sounds very weird to me, and 'highlight' sounds much more smooth, which makes me doubt my answer. Which one is correct?


texts: Origin of the Old English word, 'blithe'

texts: From my Webster's International dictionary of 1947 the Old English word 'blithe' is predated by the Gothic word 'bleith'. I am curious to know if the letters 'ei' are still pronounced the same in that ancient word as they are in modern English. Or by chance could the word have been pronounced 'blee-ith'. In a previous reading about 'ei' a scholar wrote that 'ei' came into use by combining words from Old French and Old English. And here is a Gothic word using this letter combination also. What say you?


texts: Word for someone who feels as if they must atone for something?

texts:
It is not that the person has done something that is necessarily wrong; it is more as if a situation occurred and the person feels they may have caused it, or the person feels guilty about it in general, so he or she would like to "make up" for it.
The word for it is on the tip of my tongue, but I just cannot think of it.
If possible, I would like both nouns and adjectives.
Thank you.


texts:
I read a sentence somewhere:

"To make matters worse, the power fluctuation caused two reactors at the San Onofre nuclear power station to shut down. That cut off even more of San Diego's power supply."

I wonder what is the difference between "more than San Diego's power supply" vs "more of San Diego's power supply" in this same context.

more of San Diego's power supply = more power supply of San Diego ?

In "more of San Diego's power supply", we use more of because of possessive adjective "San Diego's" before head noun. is it right?

we have the same syntax like: Give me more candy = give me more of this candy. is it right?

I hope to receive your advice. Many Thanks for your time.


texts: Quotation marks or italics for foreign word...or both in certain context?

texts: When a foreign word is used for the first time in text, it is generally italicized (or put in quotation quotes as an alternative).  Is it ever correct to use both italics and quotation marks when the word is both foreign and also identified as a specific word: e.g. Grilled Spam and rice wrapped in nori, or seaweed, is called “omusubi.”  Should omusubi be both italicized as a foreign word and in quotes because it is being identified as a specific word?


texts: Does "to guarantee that" require a subjunctive in its subordinate clause?

texts:
I was taught that verbs such as require (that), recommend (that) require the subjunctive in their subordinate, for instance:

We asked that it be done yesterday.
We require that x be positive.

Does the verb guarantee that  require the subjunctive form too?
Specifically, is this correct:

x must stay finite, in order to guarantee that the above representation stay meaningful.

According to Google searches, it is more common to use the simple present:

x must stay finite, in order to guarantee that the above representation stays meaningful.


texts: A word that describes getting your product 'represented' at a retailer

texts:
For anyone who's pushing to give a new product some visibility in the market, one way to achieve this is to have your product seen on the shelves of a retailer chain. I am not 100% sure what's the 'proper' way of saying this?

Listing a product is as close as I can get. It works with things like online catalogues, but does it work with physically putting the product on a retailer's shelves?


texts: Question about sentence structure and semicolons

texts:
Suppose the following sentence:

When the sun comes in the morning; the sky is blue.

Are "When the sun comes in the morning" and "the sky is blue" two clauses of the sentence? So, is it correct to use a semicolon?


texts:
I am a medical claim collector. So most of the time I'm making calls to insurance companies and make notes.

I used to write my comment as "The claim has received on 01.01.2018" but yesterday my supervisor asked me not to use "has" and use "was" instead.

I wanna know whats the correct form and the differences between in both,

  Claim has received on 01.01.2018

and

  Claim was received on 01.01.2018


texts: Does “code of conduct” mean the same as “code of ethics”?

texts: I have tried with many dictionaries to search for a synonym of the phrase “code of conduct”. I wonder if it has the same meaning as “code of ethics”. Your help is much appreciated.


texts: What is grammatically correct "without authorization to past" or "without authorization to pass"


texts: Articles in movie or book titles: noun vs. adjective

texts:
One of the recently released movies is called "Terminal". The title of the movie does not include any article, definite or indefinite. Would it be correct to conclude that in the absence of an article the title is intended to be perceived as an adjective (as in "terminal disease") and not as a noun (as in "airport terminal")? Or is it still ambiguous (noun vs. adjective) when taken out of context?

On a related topic, the older Tom Hanks movie is called "The Terminal". What could be the reason for the definite article in this movie title? It definitely disambiguates the title as a noun. Is that the only reason, or is there more to that "the" in the title?

I'm asking specifically about movie (or book) titles since I suspect that there might be an informal/semi-formal convention involved, which would disambiguate the meaning where formal rules of the language can't.


texts:
I would like to know what kind of intonation the following sentences have:

Does it hurt?
Doesn't it hurt?

I pronounce both with the same rising intonation but my friend told me I was wrong.
Do both of the sentences have the same rising intonation?


texts: What does it mean when someone reports to somebody?

texts:
I checked "report" and "report to" with the dictionaries and over the Internet. But didn't find any satisfactory meaning matching this example. So it's still nonsense to me.
Here is the example:

  Hi Yury, thanks for the connect! Wanted to reach out as I lead a team
  that places .NET Developers here in the DC area, we have done work
  with SuperFlower  in the past in terms of staffing and have a signed
  agreement by John Smith. Saw there was a .NET role posted on the
  website, does that report to you? Sophie

So what did she mean by "to report to"?


texts:
It also generally implies a particular view of reality of what man, society, and even the physical world like in the nature, behavior and relationship to one another.

Could you divide this sentence with a slash(/) to understand easily? Actucally, I don't know the usage of comma exactly, maybe it makes me more complicated.


texts:
What is the most common way to identify a particular line of code in a talk or lecture?

On the seventeenth line of this code"
On the line seventeen of this code"
On the line number seventeen of this code"

Since we are identifying a particular line, the definite article should be needed, surely? If not, why not?


texts: What is the grammatical function of 'since' in this sentence?

texts:
What is the grammatical function of 'since' in the following sentence?

  Four years had passed since his father died.


texts: What kind of phrase is this? [manically across the stage]

texts:
In the sentence: At the beginning of the play, the entire cast dances maniacally across the stage. What kind of phrase is [manically across the stage]?
Is it an adverb phrase, prepositional phrase or (as some of my schoolmates think) a noun phrase?
Thank you very much for any help.


texts:
What's the best adjective to describe the low viscosity of liquids such as water and alcohol?

One that came to mind is 'runny', but then some honeys are runny, despite actually being inherently viscous. Also 'thin' seems somewhat unsatisfactory when describing a liquid.


texts: Can we use the preposition "for" in this manner?

texts:
Is it possible to use the preposition "for" with the perfect infinitive? Like so:

It must really be hot in here for her to have taken so many clothes off.
It must really be a serious matter for him to have been talking about it for so long, as he isn't one to make conversation.


texts:
As in "job opportunities"

I found some synonyms, but they just don't fit:

  "openings, chances, possibilities, etc."

Inserting one of those words in a sentence like this doesn't work, that is, without changing the meaning.

  A college degree can get you more job opportunities.

I'm writing something where I have to use that phrase quite a bit. I don't want it to sound redundant.


texts:
What is the difference between took and taken?

As an example assume a monkey is in a well, and someone is trying to say they would have taken the money out. Are both of these sentences grammatically correct?

  I would have jumped in there and took the monkey out

or

  I would have jumped in there and taken the monkey out.


texts: What does “the rational you had probably taken a powder” mean?

texts:
I’m not very clear with the implication of the following sentence in the article titled “The Science of Romance: Why we love” that appeared in Time magazine (Jan.28, 2008):

  “But if it was that kind of sex that’s the whole reason you took up
  having sex in the first place – the out-of breath, out-of-body,
  can-you-believe-this–is-actually-happening kind of sex – the rational
  you had probably taken a powder.”

My questions:

“in the first place” – Does it mean (sex you have) for the first time as a first experience or “as the primary reason (for having sex)?
What does “the rational you had probably taken a powder,” mean?
Which does it mean between “the rational (for having sex) you had, had taken a powder (here, 'the rational' is the subject),” or “You had the rational taken a power (here, 'you' is the subect).”

FYI: Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘take a powder’ as ‘(North American informal) depart quickly, especially in order to avoid a difficult situation, with which I understand ‘take a powder’ is used only in intransitive form.

As a non-native English speaker, this sentence looks somewhat winding to me. Can you put it in plainer way or in simpler structure?


texts:
"This is not a film about people with disabilities, but about the deep paths of human communication."

Could I change this to -

"This is not a film about people with disabilities; but the deep paths of human communication."

Or would a comma instead of the semi-colon suffice?


texts: What is the meaning of “crew-cut Democrat”?

texts:
According to Merriam-Webster, a crewcut is “…a very short haircut usually for men or boys in which the hair resembles the bristle surface of a brush”

I found several instances online that used this term, none of which caused me any confusion. For example,

Sgt. Jim Vachon described the men as about 6-feet tall, with crew-cut haircuts.
Now sporting a crew cut, his grey eyes appear to have lost much of their innocence
The first sign of life occurs when their leaves protrude from the soil like a crew cut.

However, what is the intended meaning of crew-cut in the following sentence?

  [Lee] Hamilton was a throwback—a crew-cut Democrat from southern Indiana who had served thirty-four years in Congress.

source: The World as It Is


texts:
A UK artist, Liam Gallagher, usually uses this phrase, but I can't understand what it really means.
Example taken from Twitter:

That’s wiped me out of for a kip as you were LG x

Please could anyone explain this to me?


texts:
I saw the phrase "talk to the hand" on many funny stickers which seems like expressing the idea that you want to stop the topic or conversation which you feel uncomfortable or not interested in.

But I'm curious about what do English native speakers think about this saying? Is this offensive or impolite? Could the phrase be used with person I'm not very familiar with?


texts: Which adjective to use for a hour that has already started?

texts:
I am having a hard time with wording of a simple agreement (just as an exercise, not a real thing, of course).

I am trying to express that for each hour the person spends on some task, he will get $10. To be specific, if a person spends 1 hour and 1 minute on the task, he will get $20 in total.

Is there a single adjective I can use to write something like "For each my-adjective-here hour spent on the task, you will get $10"?


texts: Word for desire to be recognized as super productive by others?

texts:
Is there a word or phrase for the desire to be recognized as very productive on everything one is responsible for?

Perhaps sometimes it could be a motivation for an overachiever. Or other times it could be a cause of depressive symptoms for not being able to do so.


texts: Plural or singular after Person A and his friends

texts:
Consider these sentences:

"Harry(,) and his friends Ron and Hermione(,) face new challenges during their second year at Hogwarts."
"Harry, along with his friends Ron and Hermione, faces new challenges during his second year at Hogwarts."
"Harry, Ron and Hermione face new challenges during their second year at Hogwarts."

First of all, are all these three grammatically correct?

What happens if we include the two commas in sentence 1 (if we can/could)?


texts:
"What do you do on Sundays?" vs "What are you doing on Sunday?"

In the first one, the question asks what I do in general on the 7th day of the week. While in the second one, I am asked what my plans are for this upcoming Sunday.

I understand the difference in the meaning, but what grammar rule can I cite to explain why it is What do... in one and What are... in the other.


texts: A term for a set of which at most one element has to be selected

texts:
I'm looking for a term to describe a set of which at most one element can be selected.
Example
We have the set {0,1,2}. As shown earlier, this is a [insert word here], so we have to select at most one element.
The reason for this is that in the same paper, there is also another type of set (of which at least one has to be selected). Therefore, I need to give both these sets a name. For the latter, I'm thinking of something like 'non-empty selection set'. For the former, I don't have a clue.
Thanks in advance!


texts: How are multiple properties of the same thing properly described?

texts:
I am sorry but I could not come up with a better way of describing what I am trying to achieve in this sentence:

As such, their creation should follow a rationale and their interpretation be intuitive

My question specifically is whether there ought to be should be, just be or nothing (or something entirely different) between interpretation and intuitive.
Also, is there a name for this specific grammatical pattern/a better way of describing what I am trying to accomplish in this sentence?


texts: Idiom for or more colorful phrasing of "without having their lack of trivia exposed"

texts:
I am writing a children's book (8–12) and am looking for an idiom or more colorful language to be used in place of the highlighted section.

  Now that she’d stumped me, Ms. Sanders, my favorite of the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service and grand master of White House Trivia, would stop. And it’s a good thing too, since quite a line of employees have gathered behind me. They don’t mind waiting while she quizzes me on White House trivia since it means that they will get through without having their lack of trivia exposed.


texts:
What exactly is a shindig?

I tried to translate it in Google Translate into spanish but it gave me two translations

Fiesta (party)
Pelea (fight)

So which one is it?

Update

The context I heard it on was a chapter of The Firm, where a lawyer tells another one she hopes their "little shindig" didn't scare him off, or something like that. She was referring to a little event they held for their clients, where he was introduced to some other lawyers, who weren't particularly friendly with him.


texts: “To the next time” vs. “Till the next time”

texts:
Could you tell me which form is correct, and why?

to the next time, name
till the next time, name


texts: Should the word "worthwhile" be followed by a to-infinitive or gerund?

texts:
It's worthwhile to say

or

  It's worthwhile saying?


texts: What is the grammatical function of the word ‘ever’ in this example?

texts:
What is the grammatical function of the word ever in this example?

  Police found the country's biggest ever drugs plantation.


texts:
I'm writing with Grammarly and the application says that I've written them wrongly. ( 2 Passive Voice Misuse)

It has been proven that studying a book is not the most reliable method. Words tend to be forgotten after not using them.

If I change the word "proven" to "confirmed" the application marks a mistake less. Why?


texts: Is there a single word for the conjunction "and/or"?

texts:
For example:

"Would you like to eat a pizza and/or a hamburger"


texts: The quail did not perch in a tree, that wasn’t its way

texts: This is a Georgian idiomatic expression. It conveys the idea that, as a quail will never perch in a tree because it can not, so a person will not be able to accomplish a task or perform, due to his/her inability. Under the word inability, I mean both - mental and physical ineptitude. Is there an equivalent expression with the similar meaning in English ?


texts: How to correct a sentence that Word thinks is a fragment I need to revise?

texts:
I will be specific. I am trying to frame a sentence to include in a blog post. Instinctively it feels lame and wrong. Word keeps asking me to consider revising the fragment. As I am not a native English speaker, I realize I have to ask questions when I get stuck and practice writing better sentences, step by step. That is the idea behind writing this post.

Here is my sentence:

  Type out the below code in your favorite code editor or simple old NotePad and save it in a convenient location on your hard drive.

What is a better way to write it, both from the point of view of grammar and user friendliness?


texts:
Could you please explain what does the following expression mean:

  school annex

I saw a building with this title on the front. However, I cannot figure out what it is exactly, and how does it differ from just "school"?


texts:
Can someone diagram the sentences

He does more than necessary.
He does more than is necessary.

please? (Say, using an X-bar tree.)

Also, there seems to be a secondary clause in the sentences (or at least in 2): what's the name of that kind of clause?


texts: what does it mean to "betray contempt for" someone?

texts:
I came across this phrase in a quotation from Carl Sagan, "they betray contempt for the intelligence of their customers".

From the context, it seems to mean "to show contempt", but I couldn't parse why betray and contempt are used together.

Edit: How does the meaning work out?


texts:
What does the phrase "to a pathological end" mean in this sentence?

(Sentence)
This is the same reason why most of us like them to a pathological end.

(My research)

pathological : not reasonable or sensible

end : purpose

So I am guessing the meaning of this sentence is as follows:
This is the same reason why most of us like them for a reason which is not reasonable for other people.

if my guess is correct, is there any difference between the nuance of the two sentences. For example, is the phrase "To a pathological end" too formal to use in a conversation?


texts: What is an adjective for someone who cannot make their own decisions? Like a follower?

texts: For example, suppose Dave always did whatever his brothers would do. He would join sport teams which his friends joined and would root for whatever team the majority of the crowd would root for. He is...?


texts:
What is the meaning "on the shift" in this context?

The Climate Group works with business and governments on the shift  to a low carbon economy, and Kenber issued a stark warning on the choice for the world between a high carbon and low carbon future.


texts:
I have seen many articles' titles, with almost all words having the first letter capitalized.
For example:

9 Things You Should Tell Your Boss At Your Next Performance Review
Going Public Isn’t Selling Out, It’s The Best Way To Stay Alive
12 Ways to Make Work-Life Balance a Reality—and Not Just a Buzzword

We can see many examples where many seriously big publishers follow this trend. There is something common they're following, but I can't figure out what.
Question:

Does capitalizing affects a user's readability? If not, why is it common amongst big publishers?

Note: The links are given as examples.


texts: What is the difference between "alleged" and "so-called"?

texts:
These alleged experts are no help.
  These so-called experts are no help.

Can anyone explain the difference?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Using contracted forms (“don’t”, “let’s”) in a formal text
  Are contractions like "didn't" forbidden in written English?
  Usage of contractions like "it's" and "that's" in textbooks
  Should contractions be avoided in formal emails?
  Is it better to write without contractions? E.g. "cannot" instead of "can't"

When I write in text, why can I not use contractions such as I'm instead of the full form of I am?


texts: How does one classify the words in "how about" and "what about"?

texts: I see in other posts that "how", while typically classified as an adverb, can be considered an adjective when paired with a "be" form (e.g. "how is the pizza?"). But in the case of the phrase "how about tomorrow" is "how" an adverb? And what is the appropriate classification of "about"? Finally, does this change if you add to the phrase an 's, as in "how's about tomorrow" (which may not be entirely grammatical, but common in informal speech).


texts:
What does this quote mean?

  I haven't a particle of confidence in a man who has no redeeming petty vices whatsoever.


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "it's been a slice"?  I understand its meaning, but cannot find any listing of its origin, or possibly to what specifically "a slice" is referring.


texts: An adjective for "censorship" when it is really strong

texts:
In this country Internet censorship is quite _____. The government censors 80 percent of websites.

I have several things in mind but the best to me seem to be "drastic", "intense", or "high" (Oxford Dictionaries and Thesaurus). What would be an idiomatic option when describing extreme Internet censorship? (Wikipedia) What would be most sensible to my reader and have the most impact in the above example?

(Note that I have edited the content and order of the sentences from the original posting in response to comments and answers received.)


texts: Determining if "than" is used as conjunction or preposition

texts:
"than" can be used as a conjunction and as a preposition. I want to be able to tell for any given sentence containing "than" which grammatical function it has in that sentence.

My current understanding is as follows:

When "than" connects two clauses or phrases it's a conjunction. Examples: We shouldn't spend more than we earn. He's taller than I am.
This also applies when the second clause or phrase is elliptical: He's taller than I.
But when "than" occurs with a pronoun in the objective case, it's a preposition: He's taller than me.
It's also a preposition when numbers/amounts are compared: It takes less than an hour. A crowd of more than 10,000 had gathered.

Is this correct so far?

I'm confused about the following:

Macmillan Dictionary lists "I'm taller than my dad" as an example for "than" as a preposition
Oxford Dictionaries lists "He was much smaller than his son" as an example for "than" as a preposition
American Heritage Dictionary lists "She is a better athlete than I" as an example for "than" as a conjunction

But aren't these all elliptical sentences (e.g. I'm taller than my dad is), and hence all cases of "than" as conjunction?

My question has a practical background: I want to apply proper title case to a number of song titles. According to both the Chicago Manual of Style and the Wikipedia Manual of Style, four-letter prepositions are not capitalized while (subordinating) conjunctions are capitalized, so I need to be able to make the distinction.


texts:
Based on my research, #2 is most correct, with two independent clauses separated by the "and". For some reason, a pause after "and" SOUNDS better to me. Is one of these correct and the others incorrect?

  I am a third year student at Blank College Law School, and, as a native of State, I have a special interest in clerking in City.

  I am a third year student at Blank College Law School, and as a native of State, I have a special interest in clerking in City.

  I am a third year student at Blank College Law School and, as a native of State, I have a special interest in clerking in City.

  I am a third year student at Blank College Law School, and as a native of State I have a special interest in clerking in City.


texts: Need for definite article: Different statistical families, types of regression analyses, were used

texts:
Which of the following sentences is correct?

Different statistical families, types of regression analyses, were used.

OR

Different statistical families, the types of regression analyses, were used.


texts: Are nouns that can be both an action and a state or condition treated differently syntactically than other nouns?

texts:
I realize now that the two questions from ELL aren't as closely related as I thought they were when I asked the question, and that the "-ion" suffix was a bit of a red herring. I updated the title to refocus it a bit, but I'm going to leave the question as it was originally stated.
Two questions on the English Language Learners stack, one involving the word division and the other about the word implementation, made me realize that I treat these sorts of words differently without really understanding the grammatical reason.
The first question from ELL is about the use of conceptually in this definition from the Oxford Dictionary of English:

dualism = {mass noun} 1. The division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects, or the state of being so divided

Division looks like a noun that would need an adjective like conceptual to describe it, but here we are using an adverb. I intuitively feel like that's OK for this particular word, where it isn't OK for a noun like book.
The second question from ELL is about the lack of an article in front of implementation in this sentence:

Tusk said the EU would go ahead anyway with new sanctions against 19 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and nine entities next week, despite having agreed on Monday to suspend implementation for a week to boost the chances of success of the Minsk talks.

Intuitively, I think it's fine to say either "suspend the implementation" or "suspend implementation", but again, I'm unsure of my grammatical footing here.
In the second question, the asker thought that if you could substitute a related gerund form into the sentence and it still made sense grammatically, the original word might follow some special set of grammar rules. It seems to me that the Latin suffix ‑ion (denoting action or condition) is the key feature of these words.
Do these words that can be both an action and a state or condition actually have special treatment grammatically, or has common usage made some grammatically incorrect usages seem OK?


texts: I can't think of an example, so I may be wrong about this, but I think I've seen people replace the prefix "trans" as in transport with an x. "Cross" makes sense, as in "railroad crossing", and I guess "chris" is sort of a punny extension, the extension being like "chris cross" and the example being "xmas", but why trans?


texts:
Oxford defines alpha male as:

  A man tending to assume a dominant or domineering role in social or professional situations

It doesn't define alpha female at all.

Since alpha female isn't a standard term, (despite being widely used,) I'm looking for an alternative.

What is a good way to describe

  A woman or a girl tending to assume a dominant or domineering role in social or professional situations

This term

should not have negative connotations (any more than alpha male has)
preferably shouldn't be applicable to men.


texts: Is this construction common in formal English?

texts:
Are any and very commonly used together in formal English, as in the sentence below, and does them coming together denote poor style?

  There aren't any very old buildings in this city.


texts: History: Relationship between happy and lucky

texts:
Why are the words happy and lucky so closely related, historically? Looking at the etymology, the hap in happy is the same as in happenstance, happen, hapless, etc. The etymology, according to dictionary.com is "ME < ON happ luck, chance."

What also makes me ask this is that it seems to be the case in other languages, as well. For example, in German, gluecklich still means both happy and lucky. In Russian, счастливый is the same - both happy and lucky.

Did people use to think that happiness meant good luck?


texts: Simple one word to describe a feeling of uncertainty or anxiety about telling someone something very important but possibly damaging to either oneself or the person in question.


texts: Is the word solvent in "solvent mixture" used as a noun or an adjective?

texts:
when I say a solvent mixture in chemistry, I found several references that say both "solvents mixture" and "solvent mixture".
I wonder if the word solvent is modifying as a noun or an adjective.
If noun, "solvents mixture" sound more grammatical as a mixture consists of more than one types of solvent.
If adjective, "solvent mixture" seems better.

However, I don't know how it is used.
For example, I find many references that say both "organic solvent mixture" and "organic solvents mixture".
Thank you for your help!


texts: "I have been thinking" vs "I am thinking"

texts:
What is the difference between these two

I have been thinking about you.

I am thinking about you.


texts: Can live be used as a lexical verb in future tenses when meaning “live conferencing”?

texts:
Context: In technology, there is such a thing as a live video broadcast but I cannot seem to construct a sentence where “live” is the main verb. Consider this example. My colleague is going to be at a live video conference/presentation for work and shared a link for me to watch ... as a live stream. So how can I construct this sentence?

So, you will be live? (As in you will be live this afternoon)?

But if we remove the aux-elements will be, is it somehow possible to say:

Will you live this afternoon with your colleague?

Now, “live” is obviously pronounced like in live event rather than the live in “I live with my parent”. But somehow we have no problem with will live being pronounced as that in live event in will be + live, but we do when it is acting as a main verb, our minds automatically pronounces it as the live in “I live here”.
This is possibly why:

Will you live this afternoon with your colleague? (video conference)

is only pseudo-acceptable. It makes your head scratch. It doesn’t seem impossible to be constructed by everyday laymen, but it sounds weird and the second meaning of “live” as in to reside or abode just doesn’t seem to work in this context but our mind automatically seems to think it's that verb. My reason for it not being appropriate is that the future/request will you live seems to clash with the time reference this afternoon, when meaning to reside or abode, but we have no problem with “Will you live with your colleague” both in the sense of the meaning to abode and in the sense of live broadcasting.
Also, what is strange is I can also replace live with video conference such as in:

Will you video conference with your colleague?

There is also ambiguity with “video conference” is this a verb or a noun?
In the dictionary “video conference” is only a noun which I agree with but you can also add -ing to it and use it as a verb:

I am video conferencing my friend.

In this sense, is it then a verbal noun?


texts: Subjunctive or indicative: "was" or "were" after he

texts:
I have a question regarding which it should be:

  He acted as if he were owner of the place

or

  He acted as if he was owner of the place.

Which is correct?


texts:
What is the difference between the expressions "my bad", which I believe is informal, and "my mistake"?

Is register the only difference between these two expressions?

I had never thought about it, but now that I think about it if someone said My Bad to me in Britain then I would assume in some sort of American English it would translate to the vocative "Oh, my bad guy."

In the past I have always thought it sounds amusing in a living way because it makes the person speaking seem unalphabetic (as in someone not good at grammar) in a funny and living way.


texts:
Is there a word or a phrase that could be used instead of the cringy "and/or" thing? It looks rather bad in an english paper and I can't come up with a short version of expressing it.

Ex: There was always a car and/or a motorcycle in the parking lot.

Thanks for all the answers in advance,
Thomas


texts: I'm writing a letter that requires quality diction, and would like to find a word that means a short and easy process. Thank you in advance for your help.


texts: One word to describe = 'era inappropriate'

texts: One word to describe a 'tangible thing' (like tool, technology, architecture), 'concept or ideology', etc. that does not belong to a period. Like: envisioning crusaders riding into battle wearing a Timex watch - or - trying to enforce religious, social order/doctrine/clothing that is/are just impractical for the current age/era. Something to convey = 'era inappropriate'.... in the sense that it either did not exist or is impractical.


texts:
I'm aware of (multitudinous) related, similar questions concerning this, but I still feel tentative for the following example. I also referenced http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/oddness-when-you-start-a-sentence-with-there-is?page=1. Predicated on these, I'd guess that

  "there are happiness and joy" is correct,
  and "there is happiness and joy" is wrong.

Here, there is (I know why it's NOT there are here) a compound subject containing two nouns, thus the verb must be conjugated for a plural subject.
 Yet Google Ngram contradicts this significantly? Why? I fear that I  misconstrued something?


texts: Meaning of the phrase "empty your pipe against the heel of your boot"

texts:
Not being a native English speaker, I'm reading What to Talk About to improve my communication skills.
While reading, I came across this phrase:

  empty your pipe against the heel of your boot.

I couldn't understand it, and Google wasn't of much help.  Can someone here shed some light on it?


texts: Can I create adjectives with -type suffix?

texts:
In a document, I define two different types of memory accesses (but it could be anything else):

  We distinguish between two types of memory accesses: mem1 accesses and mem2 accesses because they may hit
  different cache levels.

Can I then refer to theses two types of memory accesses as: mem1-type accesses and mem2-type accesses ?

For instance:

  In this section, we analyze mem1-type accesses, ...
  On the contrary, mem2-type accesses, ...

I wonder if I can do that because mem1 and mem2 are not english words, they rather are  abitrary identifiers. I have already seen:

  A flu-type disease
  Dram-type memory

but never

  1-type diabetes


texts: How should I understand the pronoun "they" in this sentence?

texts:
The following is a transcript from Scientific American.

If you were searching for a life form unlike anything known to science, where would you look? Scientists at Charles University, in Prague, looked in the poop of a pet chinchilla. "They were isolating a lot of various strains from various environments—including their own pets." Anna Karnkowska, an evolutionary biologist who collaborated on the work, who is now at the University of British Columbia. "Scientists like to isolate things from everywhere possible."
They found a relative of the parasite Giardia, called Monocercomonoides. It’s eukaryotic, meaning it has organelles and a nucleus enveloping its DNA. Just like our cells, or the ones in plants, or fungi. But unlike bacteria, which don’t have those things.
And upon closer examination, the new critter was different from every other eukaryote known to science. Because it’s missing a key organelle—it seems to have no mitochondria.
You probably learned in biology class that mitochondria, let’s all say it together, are the powerhouses of the cell. They charge up energy-rich molecules, when oxygen's around. But they do other stuff too: like manufacture certain essential proteins. This newly discovered microbe, and others that live in low-oxygen environments, use different, oxygen-free pathways to make energy. But they usually still have mitochondria for that protein assembly job. The new bug apparently pulls off the protein-synthesis by using a system that it picked up from bacteria, in what’s known as a lateral gene transfer. The findings are in the journal Current Biology.
Karnkowska says the microbe's ancestors probably had mitochondria at some point—then lost them once they’d acquired the bacterial system. And she says other microbes might share a similar story. "We know now that probably there are more of these weird things." And as this study suggests, they could be found in some weird places.

Do the newly discovered microbes have mitochondria?
Judging from the whole transcript, it seems to me that the answer is NO. But the sentence "they usually still have mitochondria for that protein assembly job" in the fourth paragraph looks rather confusing for me. What should "they" refer to?
If "they" refers to "this newly discovered microbe" and "others that live in low-oxygen environments", then it contradicts to the overall tone that the newly discovered microbe does not have mitochondria.
If "they" refers only to "others that live in low-oxygen environments", it does not make sense to me: when one describes some properties/facts about A and B and then uses the pronoun "they", how could it refer to B?


texts: What is "what are you on about?" on about?

texts:
I live in Florida, and somehow picked up this phrase recently. I use it to mean, "About what are you making such a fuss?," either because I can't understand what is the big deal or because I genuinely have little-to-no idea what the person is talking about.

Is this correct usage?
Is this an English idiom (from England)?

For bonus respect, why or from whence the unusual construction? Is it just that a word was dropped between "you" and "on," like "What are you carrying on about?"


texts: Is "lay" in this sentence in the correct tense?

texts:
I'm making a description for an app, this strikes me as a bit awkward for some reason:

  "I wanted to create an app that lay somewhere between an ecosystem and a musical instrument."

Is the word lay in the correct tense?


texts: Using quotes around a nickname that's in the possessive

texts:
I wanted to send a reading list to my dad about the state of the economy. One such commentator is known by the nickname "Dr. Doom". I went to write:

"Dr. Doom's" view is ... but that didn't look right because his name is Dr. Doom, not Dr. Doom's, so I tried
"Dr. Doom"'s view is ... but that looked pretty terrible because I have three apostrophes in a row making it look like some crazy emoticon or something.

This might not have a solution. My question is how to correctly use "double quotes" around "nouns" that are in the "possessive form"?


texts:
Could anyone give me some examples or rules for using ", of which"? I mean only ", of which", neither "which" nor ", xxx of which". Any idea is appreciated.

p.s. She discovered so many spiders, of which she was most afraid. - Cool Elf

Is it possible, that "of" is not an essential part of the verb in the relative clause?


texts: Is there a term for your parent's ex-spouse who is not your biological parent?

texts:
How would one refer to one's parent's 2nd spouse, whom they have divorced? For example, I have a biological father, and a step-father, but what about the man my mother was married to before my step-father?

I doubt there's a single word for this, but I need some way to refer to him that isn't so cumbersome. Best I have come up with so far is "my mom's second husband", but I feel this really doesn't convey his importance in my upbringing, so I tack on "they were married all the time I was in school", but it's not great.


texts: Adjective equivalent of "As old as the hills"

texts:
Is there a one-word, more formal adjective for the expression "as old as the hills" ?

The idea is that there is something very old but a little forgotten today (and usually one uses this expression when speaking to someone who doesn't know about the thing).

Example sentences : "This soup is great, you really need to tell us the recipe!" "It's nothing original you know. The recipe is (missing adjective here). The Romans already knew about it."

"There's civil war again in region X, I am a little surprised." "You know, the enmity between ethnic groups Y and Z there is (missing adjective here). We have historical records from ten centuries ago"


texts: Origins of the 'editorial we' and its counterpart, the 'editorial I'

texts:
In researching an unrelated EL&U answer, I came across this commentary in an item titled "Hobart Town" in the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (November 10, 1829):

These three journals—the Courier, the Colonial Times, and the Tasmanian—are all conducted in a very respectable manner.
The first made us laugh most heartily by the novel and utterly outré practice lately adopted by its Editor, of speaking in the first person singular! We believe it is without precedent or parallel in the whole history of newspapers, at least within the last hundred years ; and it looks and sounds so exquisitely odd, that it is difficult to persuade one's self the worthy Editor is not quizzing. Perhaps he has in his eye the example of the Spectator, and the similar diurnals of the eighteenth century : it is at all events a bold defiance of fashion and immemorial usage.

This item makes a couple of interesting points about the "editorial we": (1) it was (in 1829) so thoroughly established that the use of first-person singular by the editor of the [Hobart] Courier struck the author of this article as "novel and utterly outré"; and (2) its dominance as a journalistic convention was of such long standing that the author of the item could not think of a single countervailing instance "within the last hundred years."
I have two questions on this subject:

Assuming that the convention is not primordial, when did use of the "editorial we" first arise in English journalism?

To what extent was the [Hobart] Courier editor's use of the "editorial I" something new under the British Empire's unsetting sun, and to what extent did it reflect an earlier style perhaps discernible in Addison & Steele's Spectator or other early periodicals?


texts:
The original sentence:

  If the water was moving with the wave, the ocean and everything on it
  would be racing in to the shore with obviously catastrophic
  results.

Two questions:

I like to confirm that this is a complex sentence in a subjunctive mood for both the dependent and independent clauses, although it is not typical to use a continous tense in subjunctive moods.
How to understand the adverb "in" after "racing"? Is it fine to use "...racing to the shore..." or "...racing into the shore..."?


texts:
How would I phrase this in a job description?  Would I use "knowledge of" or "knowledgeable in"?

  Knowledge of navigating through large databases.


texts: Need help with this thesis title formation

texts:
My thesis title must convey that it covers three topics:

Verification of compressible CFD codes
Verification of incompressible CFD codes
Residual-based mesh adaptation

Note that the first two topics are somewhat similar to each other in that they both are about verification.

Which of the following is the correct formation for the title?

(a) Verification of Compressible, Incompressible CFD Codes and Residual-based Mesh Adaptation

(b) Verification of Compressible, Incompressible CFD Codes, and Residual-based Mesh Adaptation

(c) Verification of Compressible and Incompressible CFD Codes and Residual-based Mesh Adaptation

Note the comma after "CFD Codes" in (b). Also, let's not worry about title case capitation etc. for now.

Are there any other good formations to convey the information about the three topics?

I am not an English major, so pardon any ignorance.


texts:
"In all my dreams, I saw him drowning"

I think it is, thoughts?


texts: Question on prepositions and comparisons

texts:
I ran into a grammar book that claims this sentence as incorrect:

  Every year, more tourists travel to Disney World than the Louvre

They are saying it needs to be "...to the Louvre".

Other sources say that second preposition is optional when saying something like

  Martha was praised not only for her technique but also (for) her costume.

The only way the first book is correct is if contrasting comparisons are treated differently than comparisons noting a similarity.
Would appreciate any clarifications on who's right?


texts: Does the sentence make sense: "Following along this line of argumentation, it is reasonable to assume that...."

texts:
Does the following sentence make sense?
Sounds somewhat wordy to me.

"Following along this line of argumentation, it is reasonable to assume that..."


texts: What is the meaning of "Jane raised the lights."

texts:
It seems the idea of the author of above sentence is to say that Jane raised the lighting of a stage where a performance was being done. Is that correct usage, especially when 'lights' is plural?
I am thinking that we don't say 'raise headphones / mouth' but 'raise volume / voice' and similarly it should be 'raise lighting' or 'raise the light'. Am I correct?

Edit: Just to clarify, originally I did not have any clue that this expression comes from theatre parlance. I was asking about if the sentence is grammatical when meaning increasing the intensity of light and if 'raise' is commonly used in this sense. Sven's comment was good enough for me.


texts: Discrepancy between prescribed rules and de facto practice

texts:
What words or phrases are useful with regard to a situation where rules are formally debated and become mandatory while actual practice continues independently?

I'm thinking of something other than anarchism, and more along the lines of a false regime that creates ineffective regulations purely because that is its function. Meanwhile, actual behaviour is successfully governed by social pressure and interaction rather than adherence to the official rules.


texts:
Which is better?

A new report by (Company name) was released today.
A new report from (Company name) was released today.


texts: Word for "quietly accumulating shares of stock by traders when the stock is at a lower price"?

texts: I'm looking for a word or expression that means "the act of quietly accumulating shares of stock by traders when the stock is at a lower price"?


texts: Word for an elderly person with diminishing mental faculties

texts:
What do you call an old person suffering from the loss of mental faculties?
According to the Oxford dictionary, dotard is an old person, especially one who has become weak or senile. But a weak or senile person does not necessarily show mental weakness and can be either mentally ill, or physically weak.

  More and more ____  are arriving in our retirement home these days. Please instruct the procurement manager to purchase additional PCs and printers to satisfy their needs.


texts:
Are the following example sentences not wrong? Shouldn't we use "fume" instead of "smoke":

  ‘Those averse to cigarette or cigar smoke may be floored by the cloud of nicotine in the downstairs bar.’

.

  ‘Cigarette smoke not only causes cancer and asthma but causes the skin to lose its elasticity, hence wrinkles around the outh.’

.

  ‘Cigarette smoke and nicotine cause the heart rate to raise by 15 to 25 beats per minute.’

.

  ‘Cigarette smoke contains a range of xenobiotics, including oxidants and free radicals that can increase lipid peroxidation.’

Source of this sentences: https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/smoke

Why do I think, that "smoke" is wrong here?
In all these examples, the focus is not on the visual appearance of the smoke, but on the health-damaging smell or the unpleasant scent.


texts: what does it mean, when a girl tells a guy, "sounds like a catch"

texts: After you mentioned the good qualities of another female, and desire to have a female like such.


texts: Correct use of hyphens in compound modifiers

texts:
The thing with hyphens is, the more I think about whether to use a hyphen, the more I get confused regarding the same. Also, I've observed that each person has a different view when it comes to clarity with respect to the use of hyphens.
To present an example,  take the word "old age home." I've found instances of both old-age home as well as old age home. Now, as per my understanding, using a hyphen enhances the clarity as we're referring to a home for old-aged people in this case.
So is a hyphen required in this case? Also, are there any concrete rules that one needs to follow when hyphenating terms?


texts: Definite article before scientific terms

texts:
I'm writing up my dissertation and I'm really confused where to use "the". Examples:

  In this experiment, (the?) heat transfer coefficient was calculated, allowing to estimate (the?)frost thickness.

And:

  Firstly, (the?) air properties are defined.

And:

  As (the?) crystals grow in radius, the amount of air in (the?) ice is reduced, due to (the?) ice becoming more packed.

None of the nouns mentioned above have been used for the first time, so I rule out the use of "a".

Would appreciate any help.


texts:
Why is the sentence "She is struggling from an illness" incorrect?
I know the correct sentence is "She is struggling with an illness", but  "struggling from" just sounds more natural to me.


texts: What is the saying to express a certain situation? It is like, you will find nails everywhere when you have got a hammer

texts:
I am looking for a saying to express a situation that one is apt to apply anything instantly when it is at hand. I do not remember the saying. It seems to be that 'you will find nails everywhere when you have got a hammer'. I know it was used in some article of the US. What is the original saying?

For the saying, I think it implies that it is always easy for anyone to find an excuse for doing something. Does it sometimes mean that?


texts: What tense is it when a commentator says "this is always happening" for a future move?

texts:
You hear it often when someone is commentating on a turn based strategy game like chess. For example it's white to play and black has the good move RxB which cannot be avoided. The commentator will say "RxB is always happening so white should push his pawn".

The future is said like it's the present, "will happen" is replaced by "is always happening", is there such thing as the present-future tense?


texts: The use of 'such' with uncountable nouns

texts:
Can such be used in the following sentence?

  The ball came at such speed that ...

I'd never phrase it like that. More to the point, I am in doubt as to whether such can be used with an uncountable noun in that sort of construction. Speed can be considered countable or at least measurable (e.g. at the speed of 100kph).

To sum it up, is the sentence in question correct in all circumstances?


texts: The meaning of the word (outstretch) or (stretched out)

texts: I have been reading a book and these days I find this word many times. I couldn't find out the meaning of it. Could you please help me?


texts:
what's the meaning of "made his remarks ... concrete"

  He never made his remarks on the relation between biopolitics and
  liberalism concrete. (source)


texts: Is there a term for the case when the author does not see the flaws of their own project?

texts:
Lets say you are writing a book, making a cardboard game or composing a music.

After a while you are so invested into your creation and know it so well from inside and out. You can no longer see the major flaws in the design or errors you made. And only way is to get a feedback from other people who can give you a fresh perspective.

Is there a term for this "author's blindness"?


texts: Where does the term "Flashlight" come from?

texts:
Us Yanks (and Canucks, eh?) use the term "flashlight", but everywhere else in the English-speaking world, it's called a "torch".

Normally I'm pretty good at translating British to American, but today an English colleague of mine quipped "Tap the torch app, would ya?". He caught me off-guard and of course looked at me like I was an idiot before I realized he wanted me to shine my phone on his hands so he could see what he was doing.  I just told him not to get his chumbly-wumblys in a tizzy and we had a good laugh about it.

But seriously, I've always wondered how the term "flashlight" came to be and why only North Americans seem to use it.  This terribly gaudy website mentions that the earliest lamps used carbon filament bulbs and weak batteries, and could thus only be "flashed" on for a few seconds at a time.  But I don't really buy this explanation because these devices were a rare, expensive novelty item in those days and dysphemisms like that usually refer to things that are commonly known (i.e. everybody gets the joke).


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How to pronounce “tuple”?

I had always thought tuple rhymes with "couple".
But I recently came across pronunciations like "tew-ple" and "too-ple". Which is right?


texts: "Political magazine" or "politics magazine"

texts:
Which is more grammatically correct?

  London's first political magazine

  London's first politics magazine


texts:
Which one of the following is more appropriate?

  ...offers scope for the theoretical integration of teaching, learning, and development with the culturally new user-generated and mediated contexts.

Or

  ... by an emphasis on information sharing, collaboration, community building, open data standards, and user-generated and -mediated content and applications.

Clearly, in such a situation, should dash be used for the second word?


texts: What do you call someone who ‘makes a dictation’ or ‘dictates’?

texts:
I only found 'dictator', but even as a non-native-speaker I guess that is overly associated with 'tyrant' or 'despot'.

In my case I need someone who speaks into a microphone for text recognition.


texts:
First question: in the grammar world, where do the -ly ended words belong?
Second question: how to use them correctly?

Rarely (oops!), if ever, I get myself using -ly ended words in my writing. I'm not a native speaker and I'm always at loss when choosing between a -ly ended and a non -ly ended word to use in my writing.


texts: What tense should I use when putting deceased and living characters together?

texts:
Let's say George is deceased. He liked the color red.
Let's say Sally is still living. She likes the color red.

How would I combine these two ideas? I am looking for something like "George and Sally liked/likes the color red." Would I have to put these two thoughts in different sentences?


texts:
"Well, if that don't lick everything!"

This sentence is from The Invisible Man.

The IVM did someting rude and one of the crowd who gathered to confront him said this. If more explanation is needed, I will gradly add more.


texts:
I've encountered this expression on the book "UNIX: A History and a Memoir".

  One day I was scheduled to do a demo for William Colby, who at the time was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and thus clearly an important person. He too would be accompanied by Bill Baker, who as head of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board had serious spook credentials of his own.

I searched it on the web and got some results from English websites, but no proper explanation anywhere. There wasn't any usage on my local language web sites.

Could someone explain the meaning and general usage of the expression?


texts: In the poem GREEN BERET by HO THIEN, is this line considered as using irony?

texts:
In the poem Green Beret by Ho Thien, there are the lines:

  in that same instant,
  protected by frail tears
  far stronger than any wall of steel

Is irony being used in the above lines?


texts: What word means "the day after a specific day"?

texts:
We have the word "eve" to mean the day before a specific day, like a holiday.  The day before Christmas is "Christmas Eve".

Is there a word that can be used to concisely say "the day after Christmas", such as "I disposed of my Christmas tree on Christmas XXXX"?

Edit: To clarify, I'm not concerned with Christmas specifically, but with a way to say "the day after a specific, named day".  Therefore, "the second day of Christmas", while interesting, is not a valid answer to this question, unless you can also say "the second day of Presidents' Day", which -- although "Presidents' Day Eve" doesn't sound a lot better, either -- does not seem correct.


texts: Adverb analogous to "humanly" but having to do with machines or software

texts:
I need a creative adverb analogous to "humanly" but having to do with machines or software, to put in place of machinely in the following example sentence:

  Let's figure out how the software can help us keep this matter as private as humanly, and machinely, possible.


texts: What is different between "change in" and "change of" ?

texts:
I read an article that says, "Merkel's smiling asylum-seeker selfies are a lighthearted manifestation of a serious shift in her approach to dealing with refugees in Germany."
I thought that "shift" could be replaced with "change".

Am I right?

But I have seen"of" written after "change" more often.
When would you differ situations where you use "change in" and "change of"?


texts: What is the difference between "exhausted" and "enervated"?

texts: What is the difference between exhausted and enervated when used to refer to human beings?


texts: Translation for German word "Kür" as in "Pflicht und Kür"

texts:
I am trying to find a crisp translation of the German phrase "Pflicht und Kür. deepl.com yields "Duty and freestyle" as translation for "Pflicht und Kür" which irritated me.

In my (business) context "Pflicht" is understood as expected/required/obligatory actions/things, while "Kür" is understood as voluntary actions/things usually surpassing "Pflicht" with their
quality/greatness. So freestyle feels a bit short here as it doesn't reflect the part where people are "going above and beyond/over deliver". (Thank you for your helpful comment @Ben A.)

Also I tried but failed to find a meaningful synonym to "freestyle" in my context, which is not "skating" but delivering projects.


texts: Common interjections / exclamations in English

texts: What are the interjections / exclamations commonly used in English (e.g. aha, wow, eh, etc.)? I'd appreciate if you can provide me with a full list with the meaning of each term.


texts: What does it mean by "put to sea upon a sieve for money"?

texts:
I was reading an article which I found here https://newrepublic.com/article/139769/cash-words-brief-history-writing-money

Would anybody please explain?

For clarity, I am copying the whole paragraph in below.

  Simonides changed this. He wrote for money, and he kept precise books. Despite his undisputed literary excellence, this quality came to define him above all else: Simonides was thought to be parsimonious, a miser, putting money above all else. Ailian, his biographer, commented simply that “No one would deny that Simonides loved money.” In Aristophanes’s Peace, Simonides is described as one who would “put to sea upon a sieve for money.” It is to Simonides, agree most classical commentators, that we owe our current estrangement from our words. As Anne Carson puts it in the Economy of the Unlost, her study of Simonides and Paul Celan: “I like to think Simonides represents an early, severe form of economic alienation and the ‘doubleness’ that attends it.”


texts:
Do I need a comma after, "think"

"When people think in regard to education, they typically associate the idea with school teachers."

"When people think, in regard to education, they typically associate the idea with school teachers."


texts:
looking for a word to describe a conversation that seems like one side hassling the other to do something even though that wasn't the intention.

the word I made up on the spot was "hassly"

I'm acknowledging that you think it is a hassle. but I want to know how to change things so it's not.


texts: English equivalent of Greek "στο πτυχίο"

texts:
I am looking for a translation to the Greek "επι πτυχίω" or "στο πτυχίο". The meaning of the phrase is that an undergraduate student has completed the necessary semesters in order to graduate but might still need to pass a number of courses (note that the number of courses might be between "one" and "every course in the curriculum") or to present the thesis. Is there a phrase in English to convey that meaning? If there is not one, is there a phrase to mean that only the presentation of the thesis is needed?

The phrase I am translating is:
The student is currently >>στο πτυχίο<< (9th semester, winter) of the academic year 2018-2019.

I was thinking "upon graduation" or "awaiting graduation" but I believe this means that all the necessary courses have been passed and the thesis has been defended.

Edit: I am interested in an English term that will convey the meaning to a Swedish reader.


texts: Use quotation marks after "that which is called" and similar phrases?

texts:
The solution is to foo, producing what is called a bar.

or

  The solution is to foo, producing what is called a "bar".

Should I use generally use one over the other; and if so, which one? If either is acceptable, then which style guides (if any) have an explicit preference?


texts:
I am trying to say that because the powerful keep making themselves more powerful, it is hard for powerless to rise above their powerlessness. This is HOW I originally wrote it:

  Those with power use it to benefit them and make themselves more powerful; whereas, those without power have a hard time rising above their powerlessness.

I want to replace "whereas" with "due to which" (because what I have written after "whereas" is the result of what I have written BEFORE "whereas") but it doesn't make sense to use "which".

I hope my question is not too confusing. I am just looking for a grammatically correct way of writing down my thought.


texts: Can I substitute a main verb with an auxiliary verb in a subordinate clause if it has an object after?

texts: There are no auxiliary verbs in my language, so I often struggle using them in English. If I want to substitute a main verb in a subordinate clause of a complex sentence, because it's the same as in the main clause, can it be followed by an object? As in "I washed my car faster than she DID (?) hers."


texts: What does "as busy as it gets mean? For instance, 6 PM: Usually as busy as it gets (about a sinagogue). Or the photo below is called "As busy as it gets"