texts: What is the meaning and usage of this “is true of”?

texts:
Then, when we rid ourselves of prejudice, or racial feeling, and look facts in the face, we must acknowledge that, notwithstanding the cruelty and moral wrong of slavery, the ten million Negroes inhabiting this country, who themselves or whose ancestors went through the school of American slavery, are in a stronger and more hopeful condition, materially, intellectually, morally, and religiously, than is true of an equal number of black people in any other portion of the globe.

—— from Up from Slavery of Booker T. Washington.


texts: What does "titles" refers to in this sentence?

texts:
I’d like to ask about a sentence in The Last Bow by Conan Doyle.

My dear sir, if you did anything so foolish you would probably enlarge
the two limited titles of our village inns by giving us ‘The Dangling
Prussian’ as a signpost.

I want to make sure this “the two limited titles of our village inns” part refers to.
It’s not the name of the inn, it it?  My understanding is this two titles is Holmes and Watson (the speaker of the sentence above is Holmes) because I guess in old days they somehow put names of people staying in the accommodation on the signpost which is put up on the hotel’s front to let postman know they are here.. ? The inns had just Homes and Watson at that particular time, hence “two limited titles”?
Or, is this “titles” about the inn’s name, or even it’s selling point written on the advertising sign post put on inn’s front or something?
Can someone clarify this for me please?  Thank you.


texts:
Chekhov's gun is a dramatic principle that requires every element in a narrative be necessary and irreplaceable, and that everything else be removed.

The source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov%27s_gun

Which word does the second 'that' refer to? In my opinion, the second 'that' refers to the noun principle. However, I want to make sure of that.

Is it possible that the second 'that' refers to the verb require?

  Chekhov's gun is a dramatic principle that requires that everything else be removed

What is the grammar rule that allows you to use this construction requires something be an adjective [or a particple]

I am not sure whether what I quoted is correct English.


texts: Ok, so these are old words in the English language, that I am sure. They are "Aforementioned", "Aforesaid", and "Aforethought". What I found out that they all have in common in a Webster's New World Dictionary is that they involve actions done "before". So, my question is, why do they have the prefix "A" in front, since it seems to hint something done "after" not "before"?


texts:
What is the difference between such requests, and these/those requests?
For example, consider these sentences that are taken from a sentence making a list of requests:

Such requests cannot be accepted.

These requests cannot be accepted.

What is the difference between the first and the second sentence?


texts: Definite article — “on television” vs. “on the radio”

texts:
Why are these different?

  We heard the news on the radio.
  We watched the news on television.

In this book, the author says we must use television without the. Why? It makes me crazy. Is there a valid reason?


texts: What do you call a person who uses a boomerang?

texts: You can say a person good at archery is a highly skilled archer. A person who is good with a boomerang is a _______?


texts: 'Rita is not hardworking like Samson.' In this sentence, is Samson hardworking?

texts: It could sound like Samson is hardworking because of the 'not',  but it can also sound like Samson isn't hardworking because of the 'like'. So is Samson hardworking or not? Thank you! :)


texts: why --not  to infinitive in "indirect speech"

texts:
1.He asked me why I didn't run and fetch the doctor.
2.He asked me to run and fetch the doctor.

I wanted to know which sentence is more natural and formal for reprted speech.


texts: Specific word for piecing two facts together

texts:
This has been bothering me all day. I'm having that problem where a specific word just disappears from your vocabulary for whatever reason. Google is incredibly unhelpful.

The word is used when two specific pieces of information don't seem to add up, or you're not sure how to piece them together, and it's used in a context like this: "I'm not sure how to [x] this new information with what we already know."

Another use would be when someone says two different things that seem contradictory: "I don't know how to [x] his latest statement with his original speech or supposed goals."


texts: Is this really just a problem with an adverb clause lacking a subordinating conjunction?

texts:
Here is the example sentence

  “While I knew you were angry,” stammered the fellow, huffing along behind his beleaguered friend, “this was not what I had in mind.”

I figure that the "huffing along behind his beleaguered friend" is an adverb clause that hasn't been preceded by a subordinating conjunction, I feel that there is more. Is there a tense disagreement between 'stammered' and 'huffing'?

Am I correct in this?

Thank you!


texts: Interrogative clause or relative clause?

texts:
A student (high school age) asked me if "that you are least proud of" in What have you done that you are least proud of? is an interrogative clause or a relative clause. My answer was based on intuition rather than solid linguistic background.

My answer: it depends. If the clause is asking about something that the speaker doesn't know about, it's interrogative. If the clause is actually factual, it's a relative clause. In other words, the speaker already knows what the answer is and simply wants the other person to acknowledge this answer in the conversation (that is, the speaker is not seeking the answer to what he doesn't know).

Is my intuition correct, or is there a better way of analyzing such sentences?

Thanks


texts:
What's the purpose of using letter 'x' or 'X' as a suffix in brand names?

Some examples:

SpaceX
HubX
TEDx


texts:
It really confuses me, because in my native language, "artists" should be a decent occupation (on painting, singing, movie, etc.), but obviously, a man performing scam is far from being decent.
Similarly, PUA is short for "pickup artist". All this behaviors (pickup, confidence trick) are not  widely socially accepted. How can they be called "artist"? Maybe I have got some misunderstanding on the word "artist"?


texts: Preparatory it; not possible for complements

texts:
I was reading Practical English Usage, by Michael Swan and got into something that has got me deeply confused. It basically says that preparatory it can be used as a preparatory subject or object, but not as a preparatory complement.
Firstly, I didn't even know that English made a difference between complement and object, nor had I ever found a context in which I would really care. I searched online and I think I understand the difference now, but the issue with "it" still makes me want to cry.
The examples the book uses are:
-This chair is comfortable to sit on. (not It is comfortable to sit on this chair).
(to sit on is the complement of comfortable.)
They both sound fine to me, although I think I get that that "it" is making comfortable a subject. Here I ask: what about This chair is to sit on/ It is to sit on, this chair. I know they sound weird, but I use them as an example, as I want to understand the grammar behind it.
-The impression was given that travel expenses would be paid. Here expenses is the complement of the impression).
As you see, both these examples contain complement objects, not complements that affect directly the subject (which are far more common and easy to grasp, I believe).
So, how does this work? Could you give me some more examples that make the issue clearer?
What about, say... "The chair is wonderfully beautiful"; "It is a wonderfully beautiful chair"; "It is wonderfully beautiful, the chair".
PS: I am confused/ it confuses me/ it is Confucius.
Thanks in advance!


texts: "Only the good die young." Negative or Positive?

texts:
I've heard this expression before. I can't tell if its used as a positive one or a negative one? When is it appropriate to use this expression?

Is it implying that people that live to be an old age are "bad"?

Is it something you say to someone's surviving friends and family that has passed at a young age?


texts: How should I capitalize "on which" using headline-style capitalization?

texts: How should I capitalize on which in the headline The Construction of Those Terms on which the Parties Agree?


texts:
Here is a question that has been nagging me for a few years:
Which is the right usage:
"Didn't used to" or "didn't use to?"

Examples:
We lived on the coast for years but we didn't use to go to the beach!
We lived on the coast for years but we didn't USED TO go to the beach!

He didn't use to read stories as a child, but he grew up to be a writer.
He didn't USED TO read stories as a child, but he grew up to be a writer.

Did you use to play video games in your youth?
Did you USED TO play video games in your youth?

I have seen this question asked on many other websites, and there has been a great deal of debate, but it had generally been inconclusive.

I personally consider 'didn't USED TO' a wrong usage, but would like an expert opinion.


texts: A word for somebody who supports things fleetingly and whilst they are popular

texts: I'm looking for a word for somebody who supports things fleetingly and whilst they are popular, for example a sports team on a winning streak, or something which is currently in fashion.


texts:
I want to become a musician in the future. Is it correct to say

  I am a future musician.

I want to put it in my bio for Twitter. Are there any other better phrases?


texts: What is the word that describes the middle part of a presentation?

texts:
My presentation has three parts.

I want to use "prologue" and "epilogue" to say part 1 is the introduction and part 3 is the conclusion of a presentation.

I am wondering if there is a specialist term that I can use to describe part 2, which is the middle part of the presentation.

EDIT
I know "development" is another option, as is "body" from the answer below. However, I am looking for a word that is more in the tradition of [prologue, something, epilogue] i.e. fits in semantically as well as intuitively.


texts: Should a stutter at the start of a sentence retain the capital letter?

texts:
When writing dialogue for characters that stammer or stutter over the first letter of the first word in their speech, should the first letter remain a capital or become lowercase when repeated?

My question is probably best explained by example...

Retaining capital letter:

  "H-H-Hello," he said.

Not retaining capital letter:

  "H-h-hello," he said.

Which is correct, or are both acceptable? I wasn't able to find any solid information either way so I thought a discussion could be had in the hopes of reaching a concrete conclusion.

To be entirely clear, I'm only asking about stammering over the first letter and when that first letter should be a capital.


texts: Singular or plural noun preceding "count"

texts: If I were to keep a ledger of the number of activities I have completed, would that be an "activities count" or an "activity count"?


texts: "The + noun + of" construction meaning specific instances

texts:
Help me, please, with the next question.
There is a book "The rules of management".

Does the construction in the title says to us that in the book are all the rules of management (that I can't believe),
or such a construction can also mean only some specific rules? I understand that within context in can mean something specific for the context, but here I see it in the title and it makes me confused.

Can "the + plural + of" or "the + singular + of" mean something specific rather that "everything at all/the only one" in situations like this?

Thanks.


texts: In film, what specific term describes the distinction between "live action", "CG" and "traditional animation"?

texts:
It can be said that there are many types of film, e.g. live action, computer animation, cel animation or stop motion.

However, the word "type" does not describe this distinction well, as it is ambiguous, as one might argue that the "type" of film refers instead to its genre, e.g. action, comedy, romance or sci-fi. It can also be interpreted as referring to black and white versus colour, or feature film versus short film, or any number of categorizations.

I have considered the following terms, but found them too generic:

category
classification
format
type

What is the appropriate terminology for the phenomenon I am trying to describe? Animation type? Technique? Videography? Visual style?

(This question was asked before on the Movies & TV beta, but it was put on hold for being opinion-based. The word style was suggested to me, but it still maintains a level of ambiguity. I am convinced, however, that a more appropriate terminology exists!)


texts: Formal / academic sounding phrase for "uncharted territory"

texts:
I concede that "uncharted territory" is not that casual, but it's slightly below the formal bar that I have set up for myself (not to mention it's somewhat over-used). So, I still want to replace the phrase "uncharted territory" with something more formal/academic.

The manufacturing sector remains ____________ for foreign investors.

But I'm ok with rearranging the sentence to fit, for example:
To make few I thought of fit:

entails unknowns
elements of uncertainty

I tried:

Foreign investors still find that elements of uncertainty surround the
manufacturing sector.

But I still don't feel like I have really captured the essence of the phrase.


texts: How to politely ask someone "I need your help"

texts:
I need to ask a school administrator a few questions. What is the polite way to start my email "I need your help"?

Thanks for your help.


texts:
I think I know what the verb 'fancy' means (feel a desire or liking for). But does 'fancy being' here have a different meaning?

  One needs to be audacious to proceed where no-one has gone before – and trail-blazers are often castigated for their effrontery. Fancy being ridiculed or ostracized for ascertaining the facticity of something ... for establishing a fact. (ref)


texts: What is the word to describe the relationship between two presidents not immediately before/after one another?

texts: Donald Trump is Barack Obama's successor as the 45th and current President of the United States. But what about Trump and Bill Clinton, for example? Can we say Trump is Clinton's successor too?


texts: Is it "Despite the persistent symptoms" or "Despite persistent symptoms"?

texts:
I am not sure whether I should add "the" between "Despite" and "persistent" because I am terrible with articles. Any suggestions? The complete sentence is below:
Despite persistent symptoms of environmental degradation, there has been limited success in the efforts to
motivate a significant number of the population to adopt environment-friendly behaviors.


texts: Term for homophones that have opposite meanings?

texts:
Is there a term for homophones that have opposite meanings to each other?

For instance, Whole vs Hole

Also, are there any more examples of such words?


texts: Does it make sense to say that something waited until the "arrival of nightfall"? It sounds a little awkward (maybe because nightfall occurs rather than arrives?). Perhaps there is a better way to say it...


texts: Right now my life is kind of in a mess I'm unemployed and barely have a place to live. If I want to tell my friends that I will meet and hang out with them once I sort myself out. Does "get everything together" have a similar meaning? Like "I will shoot you a message once I get everything together".


texts:
There is a chess player called Aron Nimzowitsch who has this famous quote: “The isolated Pawn casts gloom over the entire chessboard.”
I don't know what the casts gloom part means, so I don't understand what it means and I play chess a lot.


texts: What is the adjectival form of the verb "rend"?

texts:
I want to describe an object that was broken by a sudden, large force. The verb that expresses what happened to the object is "rend". But I would like to use an adjective to describe the object in this broken state.
According to a CliffsNotes page, one can form the adjective from the verb's past participle. I looked up the conjugations and that past participle would be "rent".
Is "rent" the appropriate adjective for "rend"? If not, is it something like "rended"?
My sentence would read something like:

Straw lay scattered around the rent barn.


texts: "near 100% pass rate"? or, "nearly 100% pass rate" - on a test?

texts:
Which one is correct? The context is describing test results.

  near 100% pass rate
  nearly 100% pass rate

If they are both correct, is there any difference in meaning?

Also what are the reasons for using an adjective or adverb here?


texts: Best choice of word to say "a problem exists"

texts:
I am wondering if one can use the verb "exist" for a problem; particularly to say
"the speaker will explain the problem exists in social media"

More generally, I tend to think that exist should not be used with negative concepts such as "complication" or "ambiguity" or "problem".

What is the best choice of words for either concepts?


texts: does the name Rigg have anything to do with being "rigged?" or is it just a land area?

texts:
I know of a friend with the surname of Rigg.  She identifies this as being
referred to land and ridges.  does it have anything to do with something   being "rigged?"


texts: Use of singular/plural as a way to focus on the number sense

texts:
(I don't know if it is entirely appropriate to ask this question here but,) given the following phrases:

The birthday of family members is... (celebrated based on the lunar calendar)
The birthdays of family members are...

Is the singular/plural simply a matter of style or, perhaps more technically, on which number sense you want to focus on? Given that the 'family members' is plural in both cases, the reader knows that there must be multiple birthdays involved... not just one, by the virtue of the 'family members' being plural (as a side note, I guess for this case specifically, and not necessarily in general, as the reader would know about the nature of birthdays and family members). So I guess my question is, are those two versions both accurate/correct (and convey pretty much the same meaning)? Which would be the more preferred in general (if there is a kind of a 'definite' answer/ruling for it)? What kind of impressions do you get when you read phrase 1 versus phrase 2?


texts: Synonym for giving out clues, but not giving answer?

texts: I have been wondering about if there is a synonym for a person who gives clues but does not give away the real answer. These keywords are too extensive for any thesaurus. Can anyone find a synonym for this definition?


texts: Is there a less pejorative term than "woolgathering" to label purposeful thought that ranges a narrow gamut

texts: When I am writing (usually to give a lecture) I tend to gather data or quotes or other bits into a notebook without knowing in advance whether I am going to use that material.  It can range quite significantly but eventually I have a clearer picture of what material I will or will not use. I don't really think of it as brainstorming since I already have a narrowing solution space and this phase of my process could go on for several months. I use tools, like Evernote, so that whenever I see, or think of, something to be added to my notes I can add them right then and come back for further development in the same notebook. So what term (please don't suggest "research" -- it's less disciplined than that) or idiom should I use to express that phase?


texts: "ASP.NET web-based applications is my primary focus."

texts:
Is this grammatically correct? Should I use is instead of are?

  ASP.NET web-based applications is my primary focus.


texts: What language techniques are used in this well-known quote from Macbeth?

texts:
What language techniques are used in this famous quote by the Witches from Macbeth:
'Fair is foul, and foul is fair'


texts: Is it correct to say "it's" after the subject?

texts:
I've seen many times sentences like this:

  The telephone it's blue.

Which, I find it redundant since telephone already implies "it", and "is" should be enough, but I've seen it so many times I needed to ask.


texts: The construct: [subject] "approximates" [something] to [something else]

texts:
Cambridge provides this example of "approximate" as a verb:

to come near in quality, amount, value, or character:
The painting only approximated the mountain landscape.

Similarly, Oxford provides this example:

approximate to something:
His story approximates to the facts that we already know.

My question:
Adding my own subjects (for instance "the artist" and "the author"), can I use "the story" and "the painting" as objects, while keeping the meaning exactly as is in both sentences? Here are the sentences as I want them to sound like:
I.

The artist only approximated the painting to the mountain
landscape.

II.

The author manages to approximate his story to the facts we already
know.

My suspicion is that I have changed the meaning, but I am not sure. Thank you.


texts: What do you call exaggerations like "I'm starving"?

texts: For example, when you are a little hungry and you say "I'm starving", or when you are so tired and you say "I'm dying". What do you call these type of expressions? Just exaggerations? I don't know how to explain this better.


texts:
I'm writing content with dynamic names, e.g. "Alice" or "Bill" may be substituted in place of (name). Without knowing the gender of the name, what is the best way to reference the individual? Using "their" feels clunky. I could try to write the content in a way to avoid this issue but it gets complicated.

Sample: (name1) needs to rewrite their resume, but (name2) does not.

Alice needs to rewrite her resume, but Bill does not. (ok)
Alice needs to rewrite their resume, but Bill does not. (feels clunky - is this ok?)

Links to related articles:

Is it correct to use "their" instead of "his or her"?

Is there a correct gender-neutral singular pronoun ("his" vs. "her" vs. "their")?


texts: Why is it called a boxing ring when the shape is a square?

texts:
Can someone please provide some history towards the usage of 'boxing ring'?
As we know, the boxing ring is in fact a square.
Just wondering does the ring date back to traditional battles in Ancient Roman times and the sport of boxing simply utilized?


texts: Can contractions always be used to replace their original words?

texts:
I was thinking about how "I am" can stand as a sentence but wondered why "I'm" doesn't sound right. I kind of came to the conclusion that noun-verb contractions (ex. I'm, they're, it's, she'll) can't end a sentence and always need something following them.

Here's an example:

I don't know what it is. <- sounds fine

I don't know what it's. <- what?

I don't know what it is for. <- fine

I don't know what it's for. <- also fine

So, is there a formal English rule that restricts how contractions can be used?


texts: Choice of pronoun to refer to 'one of us' when 'us' is male + female: they, he, she?

texts: Imagine yourself – a man – sitting next to someone you want to talk to – a woman – on a bus, train, plane, etc. After a while you say: 'One of us has to start talking / break the ice, don't they? / doesn't he? / doesn't she?'


texts: Why is one construction incorrect in this sentence?

texts:
Archaeological evidence shows that Viking ships were lighter, slimmer, and faster than that of the English vs  those used by the English?

Why is the first underlined form incorrect while the second is correct? Which grammar rule does the first violate?


texts: "When he come we will eat" or "When he comes we will eat"

texts: Which is the right way to say it? In Spanish we use Present Subjunctive in this case (Cuando el venga comeremos), but I don't know in English.


texts: Can I use it is time to go back to in a formal academic essay?

texts:
First, The Islamic revolution occurred in 1979, bringing a whole set of radical conservative changes to a once liberal westernized Iran. Second, One of these changes was the enforcement of veils and cosmetic modesty on woman, who were forbidden to show a single strand of hair, or apply a single dash of makeup on their faces. Furthermore, the changes that resulted from the Islamic revolution also included the comprehensive revision of the education system to a more conservative one to suit the contemporary belief systems. That being said, it is time go back to the root of the islamic revolution, which started with the overthrow of the Shah and the beginning of the Al-Khomeini ruling.....

Is it informal for me to use It is time to go back to ? Can anyone suggest a better transition? (That being said, it is time go back)


texts: Is "dominant in microsoft office" correct?

texts:
I'm filling a resume and i want to say that I am good in word,excel and powerpoint.
is saying "dominant in microsoft office" or " dominant in microsoft word and excel" correct?


texts:
I know that English has two past tenses, when the second past (Pluperfect) is farther back in time then the other (Simple Past). Reading stories in English, I've discovered that many stories are narrated by the author in past, with present tenses used only in quotes to convey what a character utters. And if the author wants to narrate what happened before the normal point of reference, he uses Pluperfect. The author adds had before every verb (had given). After a series of such verbs, when I start to see normal verbs in the Past Simple (gave), I understand that the author has ended the digression in the double past and come back to his or her normal point in time.

The following is an example from The Giver (Lois Lowry). I have marked with [start] and [end] the passage when the author digresses in the double past.

  It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word, Jonas thought. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen. Frightened was the way [start] he had felt a year ago when an unidentified aircraft had overflown the community twice.

  Instantly, obediently, Jonas had dropped his bike on its side on the path behind his family’s dwelling. He had run indoors and stayed there, alone. [end]

  Now, thinking about the feeling of fear as he pedalled home along the river path, he remembered that moment of palpable, stomach-sinking terror when the aircraft had streaked above.

(The last verb had streaked is not the "double past", it tells us what has just happened and has its consequences in the point of reference.)

I have two general questions and one optional (*):

1) When an author digresses in the "double past", does he or she lose the possibility to distinguish which event happened before another? I mean, when you narrate in the present tense, you have three points in time (I don't include the future), when you narrate in past, you have 2 points in time. But in the double past, there is only one that you are in. In this case does the author have to rely only on the context and time expressions such as before and after?

2) When you change narration from the present to the past tense, Present Perfect and Past Simple assume the same form (as the last verb in the quoted passage). For example if in the present I say: "He has seen the plane and now is running away. The same plane attacked their village a year ago." When I put it in the past it becomes: "He had seen the plane and now was running away. The same plane had attacked their village a year ago." As you see, different tenses have assumed the same form. My question: Do I always have to rely on context to distinguish when an event has its consequences in the point of reference, and when it doesn't?

3*) Can you point out some ideas that can enhance my comprehension of the Past Perfect Tense?


texts: Should I use "half the time" or "half of the time"?

texts: If I wanted to say that someone finished in 30 minutes when they had one hour to complete a given task, should I say "he did it in half the time" or "he did it in half of the time"?


texts: What is the difference between 'patient' and 'casualty'?

texts:
In my experience, the terms 'patient' and 'casualty' tend to be used pretty interchangeably when referring to people in need of medical attention. However, I feel like there's definitely a semantic difference between the two - I just can't quite figure out what it is.

I think any difference might be based on either:

where the person is in the chain of care (i.e. a casualty becomes a patient once medical care is provided);
the type of issue the person is facing (i.e. 'casualty' would refer to acute trauma or injury whereas a 'patient' would be someone with a chronic condition being treated over a long period of time); or
as a relation (i.e. a casualty exists on their own, a patient must be a patient of someone like a doctor).

Or maybe I'm mistaken and there is no functional difference.

The only thing I could find online is this WikiDiff which defines a 'patient' as:

  A person or animal who receives treatment from a doctor or other medically educated person.

and 'casualty' as:

  A person suffering from injuries or who has been killed due to an accident or through an act of violence.

Which seem to suggest there is a difference, but it seems to straddle all of the differences I proposed (whilst also suggesting that non-human animals can be patients but not casualties).


texts: I'd like to describe measured temperature readings from a list, say 184, 185, 181, 187, as "Oil sump temperatures measured in the 180s°F during the start of the test." but I'm not sure if this is correct.  Must I describe the range instead, as "between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit"?


texts:
this is my first time using this website to ask a question. I hope you can help me!
I work as an English assistant teacher, and during a lesson, I pinged this sentence
“What we must do is helping him”
As incorrect. One of my co-teachers got it from a workbook. However, I couldn’t explain why this was incorrect, and I don’t have a lot of grammar experience. All I had was a ping that it sounded a bit incorrect to my ear. I offered either “What we must do is help him”, or “Helping him is what we must do” as alternatives. Due to the way the students are learning this grammar point, it is important that the “What” is at the start of the sentence.
Can anyone help with explaining how to fix “What we must do is helping him”? Or confirm if it’s correct or not? Thank you!


texts:
1.one of the boys who "has/have" met the prime minister is absent

one of the boys represent singular.what should we use in sentence have or has?


texts:
Which one of the following phrases is correct?

I will shake hands with him OR I will shake hand with him.


texts: "Conservative" - can you suggest a better adjective here?

texts:
A shopkeeper was very cautious about the items in his shop. He was not letting anybody touch or check before buying those.

Is it right to say that he was very conservative in his approach?

I am aware of the dictionary meanings of the word conservative, and concede that it doesn't really work here. But in this example, I couldn't find a more suitable adjective to describe the shopkeeper. I did not find any similar examples on the internet, so I put this question here.

I would like a single-word adjective for a shopkeeper who is dishonestly cautious in order to hide reality of his substandard product


texts:
How can I counteract the meaning of "only" changing due to verb modifier?

"Only" has a different meaning if there is a modifier to the verb.

I want to make "I only strive towards success," mean the same thing as "I only strive. This striving is towards success."

If "only" wasn't a tricky word then "I only strive towards success," would mean the exact same thing as "I only strive. This striving is towards success." However in reality, the first sentence means that I strive and this striving is exclusively towards success. But the first sentence does not necessarily mean that the only action I do is striving towards success. And the second sentences means what I wish the first sentence meant: "The only action I do is striving towards success."

My question is the following. How can "I only strive towards success," be changed to mean the second sentences?


texts: Should I use a comma after "it should be noted that"?

texts:
Should I use a comma after "noted that" in the following sentence?

  Tom and Dick, while driving the car, noted that at speed bumps, the suspension was making noise.

A preliminary Google search indicates both usages. Here is an example from Becker, Marshall H. "The health belief model and sick role behavior." Health Education & Behavior 2.4 (1974): 409-419:

  However, it should be noted that, at extremely high or low levels of anxiety, the data for sick role and for preventive health behaviors are similar

... but which one is ideal: comma or no comma?


texts:
So, I'm writing a paper on Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk and I have several quotes either with dialogue or quotes in them (depending on the way you look at it) but I don't know if I've correctly quoted them.  What tripping me up is when to use the single quotation marks. Here's an example of what I mean...

  The Narrator and Marla bond because they both go to the support groups to feel alive but they both don’t have anything; “Marla doesn’t have testicular cancer. Marla doesn’t have tuberculosis. She isn’t dying. Okay in the brainy brain-food philosophy way, we’re all dying, but Marla isn’t dying in the way Chloe was dying. So, Marla how do you like them apples? … ‘You’re not dying either,’ Marla says, ‘you tell on me and I’ll tell on you.’”


texts: Is a sentence with two literal meanings a metaphor?

texts:
Yesterday, the Twitter user @TomLarkinSky tweeted:

  Metaphor alert: there’s currently no power in the room at No 10 where
  the PM is going to make her speech. Might delay things a bit.

Is this a metaphor? If not, which trope is being used? Pun/Paronomasia?


texts:
2b |! 2b, < = ?

With such a rich history of inventive writing and puns, it seemed bizarre to me that the idea of writing in txtspk would be a new one. I found a brief degree of truncation in telegram style, dating back 120 years, but I can't find any further history of people using the phonetic sounds of punctuation or numbers for humour, wit or any other reason.

Are cute pieces of wit such as '22' (tutu), ': imflam8ion' and so on unique to recent writers, or do they have a longer running history?

Edit: I can't believe I forgot l33tsp34k as @Kathryn points out in an answer below, but the original intent of my question was to find examples of these shortenings much older than the past few decades, if they exist.


texts: Word that means "continuing the current thought"

texts:
The precise word eludes me, but I remember that it appeared in the context of a sentence similar to this one:

  That is a valid choice, but in making it, you will create unintended side-effects; _________, you will need to choose wisely.

I am sure it is not any of these three words/phrases:

  consequently
  as well
  furthermore


texts: Regarding abbreviations in chapter/section titles in a technical text

texts:
What is common practice regarding the use of abbreviations in chapter/section titles in a technical text? Is it encouraged? Should it be avoided? Is it preferable to include the full name of the term in question AND its abbreviation? Does it depend on how recently the term was defined in the text? Let's assume that the abbreviation in question is not necessarily very broadly known.

By the way, I happen to believe that the use of abbreviations in the title of the work itself (e.g. a scientific paper or a PhD thesis) is unacceptable (but please correct me if I'm wrong). Section titles seems to me to be a bit of a gray zone, however.

For instance, what is preferable out of the following alternatives?

  Section 1: The Streamline-Upwind Petrov-Galerkin method

or

  Section 1: The SUPG method

or

  Section 1: The Streamline-Upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) method


texts:
Suppose that I wish to use the subjunctive mood in a more or less traditional way.

  I entertain no illusions that my work measured up to the high standard Smith has set.

Should that be "measured" (subjunctive) or "measures" (indicative)?

Why, please?


texts: What is the head verb in the sentence "The tree will be tall"?

texts: a complete one but without a verb, specifically it IS a prediction, but what branch of structure does it come under?(declarative,imperative etc.)


texts:
Is there a difference beween being religious and being spiritual? Or for that matter, is there any such thing as a "Spiritual Atheist"?

Writings supporting the idea that the two are different:

According to Wikipedia, Spirituality may refer to almost any kind of meaningful activity, personal growth, or blissful experience. It is often separated from organized religious institutions, as in the phrase "spiritual but not religious".

According to aguaac, the word Spiritual does not refer to religious matters, so-called. All activity which drives the human being forward towards some form of development-physical, emotional, mental, intuitional, social-if it is in advance of his present state is essentially spiritual in nature and is indicative of the livingness of the inner divine entity.

Writings supporting the idea that the two are the same or are similar to each other:

According Jose Bulao,

First, both believe in a higher power of some kind. Religion believes in God the Father or Jesus, or Allah, or Brahman, or Tao. Spirituality believes also in this God or it may conceive of God as a universal or primal energy. Both believe that such being possesses power higher and greater than what we have.

Secondly, both religion and spirituality desire to have a relationship with this higher power. Although the nature of the relationship is different in religion than in spirituality, the desire for this relationship is there. Religion connects with this higher power with fear and trembling. Spirituality connects with this higher power with love and affection.

Thirdly, both religion and spirituality have rituals and practices which deepen one's religiosity or spirituality. Religion usually has sacred rites or sacraments. Spirituality has meditation or yoga sessions.

Fourthly, both have respect for the sacred, the other worldly. This is not just respect for God. This is respect for the reality that is beyond our senses and reason. When religion pushes this respect to its extreme, it becomes superstition. When spirituality pushes this respect to its extreme, it becomes religious spirituality.

Fifthly, both have fear of failure. In religion this failure is punished by hell fire or repetition of existence or some other worse fate. In spirituality this failure is the inability to realize one's true worth or value and the destiny of a life of meaninglessness. Hell, repetition of existence, non-existence, meaninglessness are forms of punishment for failure, either in religion or in spirituality.


texts:
From The Kingdom of Loathing website:

  The Pretty Good Escape
  Subject 37, in the Cobb's Knob Menagerie, wants
  some spit from one of the weremooses on Level 2. He also wants to know
  the right way to pluralize "weremoose."


texts:
If I understand correctly, "there" can be a noun and thus be a subject or object. I therefore assume that it can also be a coreference like in the following example:

Slurpilicious is a fancy restaurant. I just had dinner there.

However, all the examples for coreferences mostly use persons and pronouns etc. as examples. I also assume that there's no difference to:

Slurpilicious is a fancy restaurant. I just had dinner at that place.

where "that place" is a coreference to Slurpilicious.


texts: What other ways are there to write officially "let us know"?

texts: Synonyms required. Phrases are preferred.


texts: "I don't believe you" VS "I don't believe that you did that"

texts:
For examples, if A washed the dishes and came to B to tell him that, but B didn't believe it. Should B say:

  I don't believe that you washed the dishes !

Or just

  I don't believe you !

Is there a difference between them?

Do both sentences have the same degree of indelicacy?


texts: Interpreting a difficult insurance clause

texts:
I have an insurance clause which reads as follows:

  This policy only covers the Insured’s legal liability towards third parties, in cases where it has been proven that funds have been illegally withdrawn from a third party’s bank account by means of fraudulently obtaining such third party’s valid bank card details via an ATM which is owned, managed or controlled by ABC Ltd, up to the policy limits.

I don't understand when the policy comes into effect, because of the lack of punctuation (parentheses):

does it mean that THE FUNDS in question have to be obtained via the ATM referred to?
does it mean that THE BANK CARD DETAILS have to be obtained via the ATM referred to?
BOTH 1 and 2?

What is the grammatical explanation for this?


texts:
I came across this sentence in my programming book:

  There are a number of differences that need to be explained though,
  the most important one being that read or write accesses to the file
  performed by applications actually affect the target of the link and
  not the link itself.

Why would it bother to use the following?

  ...the most important one is that read or write...


texts: a phrasal verb about turning around something

texts: What should we say to show someone rounds the building and goes to the back door? I mean the verb showing to turn around the building.


texts: Grammatical/Semantic basis for the phrase "what with"

texts:
Example:

  We are changing all the vehicles in the fleet, what with the new regulations and all...

How did that what sneak in there? What is it doing?

(*) Edit: will award bounty to Talies after 24h bounty waiting period. Thank you!


texts: Is "moreover/further/furthermore/besides/additionally" used together with "also" a redundancy?

texts:
I read from The Free Thesaurus that "moreover", "further", "furthermore", "besides", "additionally", as well as "also" are synonyms. So is using one of those words along with an "also" in a style exemplified as follows a redundancy?

  My hometown is a deplorable place for it is so urbanized a concrete jungle that even access to a tiny piece of the natural scene therein is desperate, and moreover, the cost of living therein is also so exorbitant that one usually has to have a very highly paid job to reach decent material condition.

Should either "moreover" or "also" be removed?

On the other hand, I see, in Oxford Dictionaries, an example:

  The university itself, moreover, is also unable to launch a serious
  defence of the proposed centre.

Therein "moreover" and "also" are used together.

Therefore I wonder whether it is proper to use one of the enumerated words together with "also".


texts: "I don't think you X" versus "I think you don't X"

texts:
Consider the following two sentences:

  I don't think you love your father.

  I think you don't love your father.

Is the second sentence correct? I was taught that it is wrong.


texts:
I don't understand this sentence.... I know the meaning of all words except distinct... I looked in dictionary.. but I don't understand..:/

Output the number of distinct values when considered MOD 42, one per line for each test case.


texts: "Perhaps, some bird lives in there" or "perhaps, a bird lives in there?"

texts:
Imagine yourself walking in the woods with children. One child is saying, "there is a big hole in that tree's trunk." You answer, "perhaps a/some bird lives in there."

Would you use a or some? Please, elaborate.


texts: Can I use the adjective as the first word?

texts:
Is it okay if I rearrange the sentence

  The apple on the table was green
  or
  The green apple was on the table

to put the adjective in front, as the first word, like

  Green, was the apple on the table

All of them sound acceptable to me. Why is that? What is this called?

Also, does the meaning of the sentence change? Does it place more emphasis on different things?


texts: an unexpected, thorough, continual feeling of pleasure

texts:
Imagine having a massage, but it's not a normal deep-tissue massage. Something would happen that provides more than 'relief wrapped in pain'.  Rather, a thorough, continual, never-before-felt pleasure.

When you take a small risk and the resultant feeling is FAR better and something you never expected and probably haven't experienced.

In some cases, you knew it could have happened to you, but definitely weren't expecting the level or type of pleasure.

Similar phrases that don't seem to hit the mark:

almost a visceral, pleased shock
a surprising satisfaction
a delightful surprise

Here's a similar question, where the answer is "striking". But, I'm not looking for an adjective describing the object that causes the feeling.  I'm looking for what the person feels.

If a single word is difficult to find, I'd prefer a 2-word phrase using common words.

unexpected pleasure doesn't describe the level of pleasure
treat is too "candy-like" and not as "continual"


texts: Is There a Word for the Spot on the Floor at the end of a Sunbeam?

texts:
When the Sun or the Moon shines through a window, there's a corresponding bright spot on the floor or wall. Conversely, when an object blocks light, it casts a shadow. What would the term be for this opposite?

EDIT: I'm searching for a word that describes the bright spot, not the shadow.

Maybe some context will help.

I have this large picture window in my living room that, on the night of a full Moon, produces this stunning effect after Moonrise. When describing it, I find myself saying:

  "If you turn out the lights, the moonlight entering the window casts an eerily beautiful {{word}} on the opposite wall."

Best I've come up with so far is sheen.


texts: The use of the word "disjunction" in a sentence

texts: I am not a native English speaker. I have been given the task of reviewing a text written in English. I wonder if I by the following use of the word "disjunction", make myself guilty of the very same crime I accuse my reviewee of, namely that he is using a particular word in a wrong way, simply to portray himself as being eloquent. I claim that "quantitative is used in disjunction to qualitative".


texts: Does "flattered" have a negative meaning in this context?

texts: When I finished my business trip, my customer unexpectedly invited me to his home for dinner. Can I say "I am flattered" to show my unexpectation of their kindness? And what else can I say in this kind of situation?


texts: Is “outpander” a received English word? Can “out” be used to any verb as one likes?

texts:
I saw the word, outpander in the following sentence of Maureen Dowd’s article titled, “Liz: Cheney desist!” in March 6 New York Times:

  Speaking by satellite to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference here, Romney outpandered himself.
  “I will station multiple aircraft carriers and warships at Iran’s door,” he said as if he were playing Risk. Not afraid to employ “military might” (or alarming alliteration), Romney wrote a blank check to Bibi Netanyahu ---

I can guess what outpander means from the definition of a dictionary at hand –OAELD defines pander (to sb) as "to do what sb wants, or try to please them, especially when this is not acceptable or reasonable."

However, as far as I checked, no dictionary including Oxford, Cambridge, Merriam-Webster, even urban dictionary registers outpander, nor does Google Ngram.

Is outpander a received English word, or usual Dowd’s coinage? Or, anyone can fix ‘out’ to any verb as a prefix as he or she likes just as we do with any verb＋able, like outeat, outknow, outlaugh, outsex?


texts: Why does the word "shop" behave like a non-count noun in phrases like "set up shop"?

texts:
The word "shop" seems to behave like a non-count noun in phrases like "set up shop", "shut up shop" and "close up shop". There's no article ("a"), no plural ending ("-s"). Dictionaries, such as Oxford and Merriam-Webster only list count usages and singular usages (as in "the shop"), so this idiomatic usage of the word "shop" appears to be very unique to these phrases, because the word doesn't seem to have common non-idiomatic non-count usages at all. In comparison, take the word "business", which has both common non-idiomatic non-count usages ("get down to business", "bad for business") and count usages ("small businesses").

So why does the word "shop" have this non-count usage in the phrases above? Etymologically or historically, was there any point at which "shop" meant "business", but such a non-count usage only survived in the idioms, while only the count usages survive elsewhere?


texts: What is a single word or idiom for overcoming a trying situation?

texts:
Recently, my friend's office was burned due to a shortcircuit in a switchboard. So, I want to give them some positive message. E.g. –

  Must be a trying situation for you guys. Take care guys! I hope you ___ this situation.

I want to use some idiom or a word. Closest I found is overcome, but I don't feel like using it.


texts:
"Once as a kid he'd gone out behind the house, into the wilds of pecan trees and hedges and, following a night zipped into an army-surplus unsleeping bag, had attempted to fry bacon over a Sterno can, managing only to cook his thumb."

Is there anything like unsleeping bag or is it just a sarcastic phrase?


texts: Is this just a peculiarity of the specific text, or does the disuse of "‑self" to indicate the reflexive here speak to broader trends?

texts:
In the 1917 JPS translation of the Hebrew Bible, we have, in Ecclesiastes 2:

  I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards; I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit; I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the wood springing up with trees;

This was incredibly weird to me when I first read it.

For one thing, the preterite inflection for "to build" has always been "built" for me. This, however, I resolved somewhat when I saw this answer and tried running searches for the website the poster linked to for "builded".

More importantly, it was bizarre that "me" was used over "myself", when the constructions here take on a reflexive form. I've also seen this happen in an earlier chapter of this translation, in 1 Kings 19:6:

  And he looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the hot stones, and a cruse of water. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.

Here, the antecedent to "him" is clearly Elijah, who is also the antecedent to "he". This was even weirder to me than the "me" case in Ecclesiastes, since with the third-person, context is absolutely necessary to determine whether "him" is the same person as "he", whereas no such issue comes up with "himself".

What's with the disuse of "‑self" here? Is this some sort of a tendency in the style of religious texts that is also seen elsewhere, and if so, why is there a disjoint between this sort of wording and contemporary usage and style? (The Wikisource KJV upload has similar language for Ecclesiastes.) Perhaps this is something that was common in much older English (whose style might have still been kept for "newer" Bible translations)? Does this lack of usage speak to broader trends in English grammar?


texts:
To act is to put up a facade, yet when put together with natural, it contradicts each other. Yet this phrase is used frequently.

"Now, Tom, remember to act natural in front of the examiner and do not be nervous!"


texts: What is a word for extreme type of criticism?

texts: The type of criticism that is intended to destroy a person's reputation and self-esteem. A kind of criticism where a person's name is dragged through the mud. Is there a specific word(s) for it?


texts: I am looking for the particular word (if it exists in English) for the ghastly blue colour of a dead person...


texts: "He told me that he [has/had] got temporary residence in England"

texts:
Telling a friend about another friend,

  Yesterday I met John. He told me that he has/had got temporary residence in England.

Which one is appropriate here, has or had?


texts: What is a person called who is playing an (online) game for another person as a paid service?

texts:
Alice pays Bob to play using an online game account that Alice owns, so that Alice's account could level up or get stronger without Alice needing to play the game (grinding it).
What is Bob called?


texts: Differences between Amount, Count, Number and Quantity

texts:
My programming peers suggest to use the term count with discrete things: count of words, count of sentences and so on. Then again my instructor suggest me to use the term "number" for the discrete things in a thesis. I have used the word "amount" but my instructor says that is only for continuous measures.

Please, clarify the different usages. It may be that programming jargon misuses the words. How and when to use the words in official language?

Examples about the usages with count, number and amount -- wrong or right?

  I have 7 liters of juice. This amount is too much to drink alone.

  I have 17 sparse polynomials. This count is irrelavant. (how my programming would say)

  I have 17 sparse polynomials. This number is irrelavant. (Used amount but guided to number)


texts: How you say to take notes/information in this context?

texts:
The idea is that take notes means to store info about something, so is this context correct?

I placed an order, but they didn't note well my info.

When you are taking somebody's info, how do you say it? You write it down? You note it? You take notes?
Sorry, I'm Spanish and in Spain you say "apuntar". Ellos apuntaron mal mis datos. But I don't know how to say it in English.
How could you say that in the next phrase?

I placed an order last friday and it has not arrived yet. They may not have noted it well


texts:
Should titles of persons like (Mr., Herr, Sr...) be translated into English?

For example:
Herr Albert or Mr. Albert ?


texts:
I'm writing an college-entrance essay and for me it's imperative that I understand and implement the correct one of these two expressions:

  "Much of it is" or "Much of it are"

If you need context:

  I'm having trouble with my writing. The reason I'm having trouble is that much of it is about....

Should there be an "is" or an "are"?


texts: It's now an entry in OED, I hear. Anybody know what the actual OED entry says?


texts: What is an English word which means 'bêtement'?

texts: Bêtement is a French word whose literal meaning is 'in the manner of an animal'. It is often used metaphorically, to describe an action carried out in a robotic fashion – without thinking. How would you translate this sense into English? Perhaps robotically is the answer, but can anyone think of anything better?


texts:
To set global allowance we need to type one or two values that make(s)
  up the allowance


texts:
I would like to know whether there is a grammatical or semantical difference between "notion of " and "-notion". I do not know what to search for to answer this question so maybe someone can help me here :-)

For instance "development of a notion of IT-Infrastructure" vs. "development of an IT-Infrastructure-notion". The first one is very long and doggerel, but the second one is maybe wrong/not good style.

In other words: I need a section title where I develop (extract literature, derive facts, ...) a notion or understanding of the term IT Infrastructure. What would be a correct one?


texts: Why is "fulfil" spelt as "fulfill" in American English?

texts:
In this answer, simplification is stated as one reason for spelling variations in American English. But unlike in color and favorite, the number of letters to spell the word in fulfil increases in American English.

Other than for "creating a distinct" variant, is there any reason for the change? Going by the etymology the ideal spelling should be fullfill, so even that may be not a motivation.


texts: The Difference Between the Words Woman and Wife

texts: In my mother tongue, Persian, the words 'wife' and 'woman' mean the same, that is, somebody that is married to a man (of course I mean their literal translation in the Persian language). However, woman is an informal word. I'm wondering if the word woman has the same meaning in English as that of wife.


texts: Proper way to quote the end of a saying (ellipsis use and capitalization)

texts:
The quote goes:

  So next time someones complains that you have made a mistake, tell them that may be a good thing, because without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist.

I only want the last part:

  Without imperfection neither you nor I would exist.

Would I write it like so, or use an ellipsis at the start:

  . . . Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist.

I guess that if I used an ellipsis, it wouldn’t have a capital letter on without, would it?


texts: Why "being" is incorrect in the sentence below

texts:
When Charles Lindbergh was attempting his solo transatlantic flight, being very reluctant to have any extra weight on his plane, he refused to carry even a pound of mail, despite being offered $1,000 to do so.
Very reluctant to have any extra weight on his plane when he attempted his solo transatlantic flight, Charles Lindbergh refused to carry even a pound of mail, despite being offered $1,000 to do so.

Which one is better? First sentence is my answer, the second one is the correct answer, why "being" cannot be used.
I felt second sentence is too redundant: after reading the sentence until the first comma, then the subject, Charles Lindbergh, appears in the sentence. Is it correct. Anyone could explain those type of question to me?

Thanks for your help, really appreciate it.


texts:
I came across this on Quora, but no answer there. I know cum in this sense is "combined" or "with" (from the Latin for "with"). sans is French word for ‘without’ in English.
Decina is a New York law case, but I don't know law or philosophy.
How's bold sentence grammatical? Authors are professors and look very educated! I don't think they are bad grammar. Michael S. Moore

JD, SJD Harvard University
AB University of Oregon

Heidi Hurd

JD, PhD University of Southern California
MA Dalhousie University
M.E.M. School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University
BA Queen’s University

Punishing the Awkward, the Stupid, the Weak,
and the Selfish: The Culpability of Negligence Crim Law and Philos (2011) 5:147–198. DOI 10.1007/s11572-011-9114-0.

      The argument for liability for inadvertent harm causing stemming from the existence of
these two kinds of precautionary acts is a Decina-like argument, albeit based on earlier
omissions that fail to prevent harms rather than on earlier actions that positively cause
harms. The argument is that culpability in such cases is premised on the chosen omission to
take precautions against the harmful effects of flaws the actor knew she possessed. [1] The
earlier omission-cum awareness replaces the later action-sans awareness as the theory of
liability in such cases.

I try replace "cum" and "sans" with English.

[2] The
earlier omission-WITH awareness replaces the later action-WITHOUT awareness as the theory of
liability in such cases.

2 is not grammatical. omission-WITH and action-WITHOUT just weird!


texts: How did we get from 'emerge' to 'emergency'?

texts:
One would assume these both have the same origin - though I'm quite prepared to be corrected...

...but how did we get from 'emerge' - to come out of, to leave...
to 'emergency' with the blue lights, sirens & all that implies?

The snail emerges from his shell - not a hint of any hurry ;)


texts: Is there a difference between "awhile" and "a while"? If there is, what is it? I've been wondering this for awhile, but now I actually need the answer.


texts: Capitalizing First Letter of Word in Continuing Dialogue

texts:
I have a rather tricky question - I'm a writer, about to send my manuscript off to agents and publishers, and have noticed I have a rather strange writing style, particularly when it comes to dialogue.

I tend to do this:

  "We can't know for sure," he mused, leaning back in his chair, "Not until we ask more questions."

I capitalize the first letter of the first word in continuing dialogue.
I can't stand using a lower-case letter (as below).

  "We can't know for sure," he mused, leaning back in his chair, "not until we ask more questions."

It doesn't look right to me, but am I committing some horrible faux pas here?  I do the same with interior monologue.

  I have to get out of here, he thought, But there's not enough time.

I also don't like putting full-stops everywhere.  Most readers probably wouldn't notice the difference, but I'm afraid an Editor might look at the work, scoff, and toss the whole thing in the bin.

To complicate matters, I'm an Australian, writing in American English, but submitting to both British and American agents.  Somewhere in there, I'm sure I've butchered up my grammar, but this is the most striking thing I noticed throughout my novel.

Any advice?  Editing an 88K novel to find all the instances of dialogue might take a while, so is it really worth my time?

Thanks in advance!


texts: What would you call someone who likes to make lists?

texts:
As in, "I make lists for everything, I just really like list-making. I'm a _______"

listphile? There's got to be something better than that.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Maximum” vs. “maximal”

Having altered the original text as little as possible, what is the correct way to name the changes? Is it minimum changes or minimal changes?

Based on Google search results, I would prefer to use minimal:

"minimal changes" — 800k hits
"minimum changes" — 90k hits

What is more appropriate? Is there any better-suited word or phrase for this?


texts:
The grammar rule says that if the verb in the main clause is in the past tense then the verbs in the subordinate clauses will also be in the corresponding past tense.

According to the grammar rule mentioned above, "had" has to be used here:

  It was unclear that she has/had painted the door.

But is there any condition in which "has" can be used?


texts: What's going on with the phrase: "none the wiser"?

texts:
Wiktionary gives the example sentence of They were none the wiser from their experience. This grammatical construction/combination of adverb, article and comparative adjective doesn't prop up too often and must be an old remnant of an English that allowed for more syntactic variation and flexibility.
Similar analogues exist with the phrase all the better to eat you with, my dear, and I felt none the worse for my recent illness.
Do we have an idea of this convention's origin or possibly the name of this convention, and if it was more prominent in earlier or more regional varieties of English?


texts: The synonym of "the smallest one" as a single word

texts:
I wanted to know if there any single word that replaces "the smallest one", like minor or tiny or some words like that. And the replacement should be a noun.

Edit:
I need a noun that expresses the minimality of something, it might not be the smallest, it could be the youngest or the lowest etc. but it should be noun.
Or let's say that we have set of elements those have size and could be measured, and there should be a noun that expresses the smallest element of this set.
Like rookie is at the bottom of the army (the smallest) and the general is at the top of the army or policy (the highest or the biggest one). But in this example rookie has not size its measurement mostly depends on an experience or things like that.


texts: Why Does the Format "_____ Is" When Asking a Question Sound Correct in Some Situations, but Not in Others

texts:
For context, I am an Assistant Language Teacher for ESL. Part of my job is offering a native speaker's perspective, the main teachers are not native speakers, and I was asked about this. To the other teachers, this structure is always acceptable, but I am not sure about this.

I realized that in some situations, "____ is" sounds like a perfectly fine answer, but in other cases it doesn't. I want to be able to explain to the other teachers and my students why that is, or what the rule is.

For example:

-Who is going to the game tonight?
-She is.

This sounds fine to me.

-What is the most popular sport in America?
-Football is.

This seems okay enough to me.

-What is the name of this book?
-Catcher in the Rye is.

This, to me, sounds off. I'm assuming that other native speakers feel the same way, but I can't seem to figure out the rule. Also, is this actually grammatically correct, but it just feels off?

I should add too that the previous native speakers in my position had told the main teachers that "____ is" is acceptable, and the main teachers are under the impression that they said it is okay in all contexts. So, if I'm going to say that it only works some of the time, I need to explain why.


texts: 'Her company is outperforming those of her competitors'

texts:
Why is the first sentence wrong out of the two given below?

*Her company is outperforming those of her competitors.

*Her company is outperforming the companies of her competitors.

The question is from a Manhattan GMAT book. It says there is lack of number agreement but I cannot figure.


texts: Are there any differences between "understand someone" and "understand about (someone)"?

texts:
This book says

understand someone并没有“理解某人”的意思，只是“懂得某人的话”之意，如：If he had spoken French
I would not have understood
him.（要是他说的是法语，我可就不懂他的话了。）汉语中现在常说的“理解万岁”中的“理解”可译成understand about
(someone)，如：You don't understand about
me.（你一点也不理解我。）这里理解的不是指所说的话，而是指一个人的心情、做法等。Her parents really understood
about her situation.（她的父母亲真的理解她的处境。）
——翻译辨误(图文版)

that "understand someone" means "to know the words that someone is saying", like

If he had spoken French I would not have understood him.

and that "understand about (someone)" means "to know how (someone) feels, behaves and etc.", like

You don't understand about me.
Her parents really understood about her situation.

But I find many dictionaries say that "understand someone" can mean "to know someone's character, how they feel and why they behave in the way they do", like

He doesn't understand women at all.
My parents just don’t understand me.

and that "understand about something" means "to know or realize how or why something happens, how it works or why it is important", like

Doctors still don't understand much about the disease.

So are there any differences between "understand me" and "understand about me"?


texts: The term for the amount of weight that overcomes structural integrity

texts: In this context I am referring to the point at which the amount of rainwater building up on a leaf compromises its integrity and causes it to collapse and spill said water.


texts: Plural affix in the Oxford English Dictionary

texts:
I cannot find an entry for the plural affix in the OED (-es, -s , 's, s), unlike say for -en.
Also for -ed we have : -ed, suffix1, -ed, suffix2, -d, -t, suffix1, -t, suffix2, etc.
What are the lexicographical reasons for it? If somebody could check the paywalled current version, it would surely clarify this issue


texts:
I would like to dedicate my portions of this book to my wonderful wife, Dawn Etta Riley. She has been supportive of me in my personal endeavors, and although some of them don’t pay off, she still supports my efforts of the ones that do. I love you, Dawn, and look forward to the teenage-free years with you. To our children, too, I would like to dedicate this effort: Daniel Tomas Walker, Charity Margaret Marie MacIntyre, Michael Peter Walker, and Simon Peter MacIntyre (just to get their names in print).

Could you please explain what the expression teenage-free years means?


texts: What is wrong with this sentence? "Of all the places he vacationed, Ian's favorite is the time when him and his best friend went to Virginia."

texts:
Of all the places he vacationed, Ian's favorite is the time when him and his best friend went to Virginia.

I just was asked in an exam to identify the error in this sentence.
I think the error is "is". Shouldn't it be phrased in the past tense or is it still grammatically correct?

The reason I ask is because one of the five answer choices was: correct as it is.
 I remember the question but not all the five choices I had to choose form.

I do remember one more, where they underlined "OF" as the error to the sentence.

I'd appreciate any feed back.


texts: What's the word called for people who love each other but aren't in a relationship?

texts:
What if two people love each other and they have confessed
And they are more than friends
But they aren't dating officially...
Is there any word for that?


texts: "Sections X to Y" or "Sections X through Y"?

texts:
When referring to text that is in a set of consecutive sections, is there a difference in writing

  "Sections X to Y"

compared to

  "Sections X through Y" ?

My intended meaning is to include both Section X and Section Y, and any section in between them.


texts: What is the reciprocal verb of "to thank"?

texts:
I know that to express gratitude or to thank are verbs that basically mean to say thank you, but what is the verb for the reciprocol action (i.e. saying you're welcome)?

Is there a word for this, and does it vary based on the response?
Like if I say thank you and you say go to H-E-double hockey sticks!. What did you do other than reply?

In short:

  "Thank you" = to thank
  "You're welcome" = to ???


texts: "Come of a royal family" vs. "comes from a royal family"

texts:
Is it correct to say "She comes of a royal family"? Or should it be "She comes from a royal family"?

Both sound correct to me. Could someone explain?


texts:
In the card game Dominion, I always thought that the “Platinum” card, in the plural form, would be “Platinums”. However, Dominion Online lists the plural form as “Platina”.

Is this correct, or is Dominion Online wrong?


texts:
I'm looking for a way to quantify and explain the scenario below to my managers. I'm really good at understanding issues, but unfortunately no so good at communicating them to others. I have written some code that works out scores or should I save appropriateness of a product for a customer.  I now need to explain how this works to my non-technical managers as simply as I can maybe with one sentence.

Can anyone help out and give me a sentence to explain the following example:

**PRODUCT**
Ball

Must have Bat
Must be age 8-99

**PERSON**
Jake
age 30

Score = 50%

the system looks at the total possible score for product. In the case of Bat this is 2 (because we have two possible requirements for bat). Person has just one matching item. So the product appropriateness would come out as 50%.

Here is another example:

**PRODUCT**
House

Must be a person
Must be age 18-65
Must be employed
Must have Money

**PERSON**
John

is a person * edit
age 16
has Money
is employed

Score = 75%

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is there a pejorative term or phrase that lesbians use to refer to straight women?  There seems to be a wealth of terms (both offensive and inoffensive) that are used in the other direction. I ask because two lesbian employers of my wife were expressing disgust at some of her sexual practices (don't worry, I am not going to go into detail). If there exists such visceral disgust, it seems as if words or phrases would have been coined to express it.  I will not ask the two principals of this discussion since that would require bringing back up an uncomfortable conversation that should have probably never happened in a "professional" environment.


texts: What is the word for a slime monster's movement?

texts: A slime monster like The Blob makes what movement? Slither is too snake like. I've thought of words like "gloop" and "drip", but it doesn't convey movement.


texts:
In my essay, I wrote "can communicate and consume cultural materials (e.g., books and newspapers) in French". By "consume", I mean "read, watch, and listen to materials in a language". Does that sound natural in my sentence? If not, please suggest suitable modifications.

I'm not sure whether I actually saw this kind of usage somewhere or my memory is just faulty.

Thanks!


texts:
Does "discharged with casual ease" mean "lacking casual ease"?

  Context:

  These often aphoristic observations, discharged with casual ease, can
  verge on possessing the lyrical poignancy and economy of a poet.


texts: A word for persons who won't advance or improve

texts: I'm looking for a word to describe a person or persons who are comfortable in their state of being or their position in life, who are unwilling or afraid to change for the better or even take a chance. I once read a book with the word in it, but I can't remember what it is.


texts: Are there other verbs like “be” and “go”?

texts: The verbs be and go have the nice peculiarity that their various forms (be/was and go/went) come from originally distinct verbs. Are there other such verbs?


texts:
Here is a quote from The Avengers, 2012:

  Stark : The next building is gonna say "Potts" on the tower.
  Pepper : On the lease.
  Stark : Call your mom. Can you bunk over?

Q. "The building is gonna say "Potts" on the tower" What does exactly it mean?
Maybe it means "The building is gonna be hung out a sign written her name, Potts on the tower?"

Q. Pepper said "On the lease". She meant "You should sign on the lease contract"?

Q. Lastly, I have no idea what Stark's last line means, specially "bunk over"
And why Stark wants Pepper to call her mother suddenly. Do you have any idea on this?


texts: In what ways is Appalachian speech closer to Elizabethan English than contemporary British?

texts:
I read this question in the sample questions section. It hasn't been asked yet, now I'd like to know.

I have heard that regional dialects of English are often more closely related to provincial dialects because the comparatively well-to-do Londoner did not need or want to move to a strange new land and instead people from the countryside went abroad.


texts: Is the following quote grammatically correct?

texts:
"Deep inside of you is more strength than you've ever known" -Mel Greig

Is this sentence grammatically correct?

Shouldn't it be "has more strength" or "is stronger" instead of "is more strength"?

If it is correct, could you explain me what it means exactly?


texts: Word for someone that always has to be right

texts: Is there a word for someone that always has to be right? The person gets angry if they are not.


texts: Is it necessary to use "to" multiple times in this context?

texts:
This is the sentence:

  Entrepreneurial leadership is the leader’s ability to influence others, to nurture the culture, to manage resources, and to develop a competitive behavior to seek opportunities and advantages (Ireland et al., 2003).

In my language, we don't repeat the equivalent of "to" multiple times and it's correct to use it just once (before the first verb).

So I was wondering, would the following sentence be grammatically correct:

  Entrepreneurial leadership is the leader’s ability to influence others,  nurture the culture, manage resources, and develop a competitive behavior to seek opportunities and advantages (Ireland et al., 2003).

Or is it necessary to use "to" before each verb?


texts:
It would seem that the Random House dictionary and the World English dictionary have different ideas about the etymology of the word embarrass, neither of which make it particularly clear as to how it got its current meaning:

  Random House
  1665–75;  < French embarrasser  < Spanish embarazar  < Portuguese embaraçar,  equivalent to em- em-1  + -baraçar,  verbal derivative of baraço, baraça  cord, strap, noose (of obscure origin)

  World English
  [C17: (in the sense: to impede): via French and Spanish from Italian imbarrazzare,  from imbarrare  to confine within bars; see en- 1 , bar 1 ]

So which is correct, and how did it come to have the meaning of making somebody self-conscious and abashed?


texts: Single word for "to fund the totality (of)"

texts: What is a one- or two-word phrase that means "to fund the totality of a program: staff, office space, supplies, and program funding" that is often used in grant applications?


texts: Why are the present and the past participles of "submit" spelled with double t?

texts: Why are the present and the past participles of submit spelled with two t's?


texts:
I came across the following sentence in a technical documentation that explains about integration with HTTP protocol.  What does "rolled your eyes" mean here?

Excerpt:

  If you’re a developer you’re likely
  fairly familiar with this protocol —
  you may have even rolled your eyes at
  the sight of it — but it’s worth
  mentioning to emphasize our
  integration’s dependency on proper,
  well-formed HTTP requests.


texts: What is another word or phrase for state?

texts:
By 'state' I mean part of a country, like New York, for instance. What other word is globally accepted to mean what we know as state.
A little background
I'm building a web form where users will have to select their country and then type in their state. If I'm not mistaken, some countries might not use the word 'state.' So I need another word that can be attached to the 'state' label so almost any user easily understands what is required of them.
Thank you.


texts:
My question stems from the usage of the word 'had' in contexts indicating consumption. For example: "I had a glass of water." A second example: "I had a great time."

My traditional understanding of the word 'had' derives from the infinitive "to have." I thus thought that this may be a second definition of the word where it means "to have consumed," or that it may simply indicate possession accompanied by an understood implication of consumption.

An alternate explanation I thought of was that it means what it says: "I had a glass of water." This being past tense, the speaker no longer possesses the glass of water, and the understood meaning is that they no longer possess it as a result of their consumption.

A secondary question would be how to indicate the alternate explanation without the inference of consumption being made by whomever I am addressing.

Any thoughts on this would be welcomed.

Thank you!


texts: What is the word for the stuff we use in a coffee shop such as coaster, straw, TA cup and its lid...?

texts:
I hope you guys can help me with the word and teach me how to find it in other occasion.
Thank you very much!


texts: ‘In’ a meeting or ‘at’ a meeting? Which one is correct?

texts: I would like to know what preposition ‘meeting’ should take. Should I say I’m at a meeting or I’m in a meeting?


texts: An example when adverbials can exchange positions

texts:
I am searching two short (4-5 word) grammatical sentences that have two adverbials adv1 and adv2 inside, and in sentence A, adv1 is applied to VP and than adv2, but in sentence B the order is reversed.

Are any combination of below sentences the example I am searching?
I am not sure about grammaticality of sentences in B.

Sentence A candidates (first, fast is applied to ran and then yesterday):

1a. yesterday John ran fast
1b. John ran fast yesterday
1c. John yesterday ran fast

2a. John slept in Paris yesterday
2b. yesterday John slept in Paris
2c. John yesterday slept in Paris

Sentence B candidates (first, yesterday is applied to ran and then fast):

1d. John ran yesterday fast

2d. John slept yesterday in Paris


texts: Why is ‘prejudice’ syllabified as Prej-u-dice?

texts:
While reading a book, I noticed prejudice was hyphenated to the next line in the following form: prej-udice. As I found it quite strange, I searched online for its syllables and apparently it had its syllables as prej-u-dice, so the book was not wrong about the hyphenation. But still, my heart strongly suggested that pre-ju-dice would be a more intuitive way to syllable the word.
Notice that the following words are partly similar but syllabled differently:

Conjugation(con-ju-ga-tion)
Perjury(per-ju-ry)

I wonder what makes prejudice so different from those words that it has j separated from u in the syllables?
As suggested in the comments, I'm adding the reference to the hyphenation in question:

The exact location is the 6th line from the bottom of page 176 of Justice (ISBN 978-0-374-53250-5);
 The original link to Google Books seemed to only work in my country, so I'm posting the search result image instead.


texts: Understanding the original meaning of face-off in hockey

texts:
Face-off means: (ODO)

  (chiefly North American) A direct confrontation between two people or groups:
  last night’s vice presidential face-off.
  (Ice Hockey) The start of play, in which the puck is dropped by the referee between two opposing players.

The term comes from  hockey and refers to the action at the beginning of a game as shown  in the picture:

Face-off:  (Etymonline)

  also faceoff, 1893 in sports (hockey, lacrosse, etc.), from verbal phrase in a sports sense, attested from 1867.

Question:

While a confrontation face to face is quite evident from the action described, from which its figurative meaning, what does off refer to in the original meaning of the sportive context?


texts: What does this phrase from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" mean?

texts:
In the following passage from chapter 8 of the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer:

  "He sat long with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands, meditating. It seemed to him that life was but a trouble, at best, and he more than half envied Jimmy Hodges, so lately released; it must be very peaceful, he thought, to lie and slumber and dream forever and ever, with the wind whispering through the trees and caressing the grass and the flowers over the grave, and nothing to bother and grieve about, ever any more."

It is mentioned that Jimmy Hodges has been "lately released." Does this mean that Jim Hodges has recently deceased? Please explain how "released" means "deceased."


texts: Use of a joining comma with a sentence with a single subject and two verbs

texts:
I've come across a few examples on this website, but I am confused as to why some of them are correct and others are not.
Apparently, the following is correct.

Agnes robbed the bank, and then she went out for a hamburger.

However, the following is not.

Ella wrote a statement for the media, and then screamed at her press agent for an hour.

While I do understand the justification for the latter being incorrect (It's not actually two complete sentences as there is only a single subject), I don't understand why this does not apply to the first sentence. Surely that only has a single subject as well?


texts: Is there a difference of meaning between "edit" and "modify" in this context?

texts:
Please, do not edit this file.

versus

  Please, do not modify this file.

Is there a difference? Is any of them preferred over the other?


texts: formal form of "and like that, so on, etc"

texts:
What is the formal form of etc. or "...and the like" ?

I'm contacting a professor I'd like to mention what fields I'm interested in, the sentence is " ...I'm interested in data structure, math, and algorithms and so on ". I know "so on" is not nice here, so how can I change it to formal form to be suitable for contacting a professor?!


texts: I attach, I am attaching, or I have attached

texts:
So I got into this discussion with my German colleague about what's the proper way to write a particular sentence in an internal work email. I would really appreciate it if you could explain why any particular approach is correct or incorrect.

Her email had two attachments. One with and one without mark-ups.

What she had initially written:

  I attach a clean version and a mark-up of the document

What I thought was correct

  I've attached a clean and a marked-up version of the document

What I also thought was correct

  I'm attaching a clean and a marked-up version of the document

What she finally wrote

  I've attached a clean version and a mark-up of the document

Here are my questions:

Which of these sentences are correct?
What's the appropriate tense when it comes to attachments? Attach/Attached/Attaching
Is "mark-up of the document" correct or is "marked-up version of the document" correct?
Can you please explain why?


texts:
What’s the difference between all and all of?  When should one use of following all to make all of, and when should one drop the of and just use all all by itself?

For example, in this sentence:

  How come I can understand spoken American English better than British English in all its variants?

Is an of required after the all, making it all of its variants instead?

Dunno why but my instincts tell me that I shouldn’t put the of in right there. But I am unaware of source of my instinct.


texts:
I am making a greeting card for our Client's Company Anniversary, which of these two is correct?

"May you achieve greater success in years to come."
or
"May you achieve greater successes in years to come."?

And is it safe to add "even" or "much" before the word "greater"?

Thanks!


texts: Phrase for pooling funds with others for a purchase

texts:
I got an email today from a parent in my son's K class for a party the kids will be hosting for their teacher. Part of the content was this:

  I'm asking for volunteers for the following:

  Cut-up Fruit (various types or multiple people could contribute to a small tray)

  Cake (again thought few people could contribute to this)

In response, I replied

  Happy to pool in for cake.

I meant that I wanted to pool in with other parents for cake. Did I convey it right? How can I say it in other ways?


texts: Word to describe "something that makes sense in your own head"?

texts:
I’m looking for a word — I’m sure I read it somewhere, but it’s not commonly used — which describes the situation where a theory (or something similar) makes sense in your own head but not to others.

A good example is a poem or something you wrote, something amateurish. It makes perfect sense to you, because you know what you are writing about, but others may find no meaning whatsoever in it.


texts:
Should I say "one thing is quite surprising to me" or "one thing is quite surprising for me" in the sentence below?

  I've read your article. I am not going to say it's completely dud,
  don't worry. But one thing is quite surprising [to/for] me: you say in your
  article that...


texts:
Is "I am sat" bad English? I believe it is incorrect and instead either the present continuous

  I am sitting

or the predicate adjective

  I am seated

should be used.

I hear this quite often, however, and ultimately usage overrules formality.  Does anybody know where this originated or how to describe it grammatically?


texts: "Elves and Men, the Firstborn and the Followers"

texts:
This is a quote from Silmarillion, but I really do not know if there are two meanings or one.
Because on my language this "Followers" can means that come after the Firstborn or those who likes following, like sheep.
For example, I can say "The Secondborn" instead Followers.
This is the oficial translation.

So, in your interpretation, these word has just one meaning and the second one is just misunderstood or that word really can be used with these two meanings and that looks like a double intentional interpretation?


texts:
Is there any difference between the two?

In a technical document I have used a phrase "this is a temporal solution" and my coworker told that he'd use "temporary" in the context. Is one of the two more correct than the second?


texts: What does “Optimism keeps us moving forward rather than to the nearest ‘high-rise ledge’” mean?

texts:
There was the following sentence in Time magazine’s (May 28th) article titled “The Optimism Bias”:

Overly positive assumptions can lead to disastrous miscalculations – make us less likely to get health checkups, apply sunscreen, and more likely to bet the farm on a bad investment. But the (optimistic) bias also protects and inspires us: it keeps us moving forward rather than to the nearest high-rise ledge. Without optimism, our ancestors might never have ventured far from their tribes and we might all be cave dwellers, huddling together and dreaming of light and heat.

Does ‘high-rise ledge’ in the above sentence literally mean the ledge or balcony of today’s high-rise building, a steep cliff or rock facing ocean, or something else?

Why is moving forward is better than approaching or facing to ‘the high-rise ledge’? Is there special or negative meaning with “high-rise ledge” used here?


texts: One word substitute for 'something worth waiting for'

texts:
I am looking for a single word substitute for something worth waiting for.

A typical usage of this word could be-

  I saw the trailer of Inception movie, and I found it _____.

While good, awesome etc tell us about the overall impression of the object, my focus is on the quality that makes it worthy to be waited for.

Another usage can be-

  The 2018 model of this car is so ______. So I will not buy a car this
  year.


texts:
Demand will rise when prices fall is a basic economic fact/basic fact of economics?

Which of these two is most appropriate and why?


texts:
I believe "You should know that..." is commonly understood as something along the lines of: "It would be good for you to know that ...".

However, in a written sentence it's impossible to know where to put the emphasis:

You should know that ...

It would be good for you to know that ...

You should know that ...

You of all people should know that ...

You should know that ...

You should know by now that ...

In a mail, a comment online or some other informal way of communicating, is it clear that the sentence is a "friendly" one, or might the receiver think you're being hostile?

It's inspired by this comment by the way. I realized afterwards that it could be taken almost like an insult.


texts: Identifying a passive voice usage of a past participle

texts:
I read in a Stack Exchange answer that the tip to determine whether a past participle is acting as part of passive voice construction in a particular sentence or not is:

If it describes an action that the subject cannot do by itself, it is a passive  construction.

For example:

The mouse was trapped.
The park was covered with snow.
Mr. Smith is known to everyone in this town.

Can the above tip be taken as a rule of thumb to distinguish where a past participle is being used as verb from where it is being used as an adjective ? Otherwise, it seems the confusion persists between active and stative use of the past participle.


texts: In this case technically meaning "according to the prescribed definition or rules." Is there a single word antonym for this?


texts: Quoting multiple sentences in a short quote. No interruption

texts:
I've encountered this grammar several times while proofreading academic papers. There is a tendency among authors to use inline quotes with multiple sentences quoted. For example,

  John cited Powell's belief that the search for 'life on other planets has been a disaster. Now is the time to cut funding to the programme.'

My question is two-fold. (1) Is it even possible to have two sentences within this kind of inline quote? And (2) if you can, how do you treat the punctuation in British English. In other words, should the full stop go inside or outside the quote marks.

I consulted the Chicago, APA and MLA handbooks/guides, as well as the punctuation guide and Butcher's copyediting book. None of these seem to address this issue, always showing how to quote for one sentence quotations or block quotes. This leads me to believe you can't quote multiple sentences in a inline quote couched in a sentence. But if this is the case (3) how does one punctuate/rewrite a sentence like this to convey the meaning of the author correctly?

The three options I've thought of is (1) an ellipsis and putting the final full stop outside of the quote marks

  John cited Powell's belief that the search for 'life on other planets has been a disaster . . . now is the time to cut funding to the programme'.

or breaking the quote apart

  John cited Powell's belief that the search for 'life on other planets has been a disaster'. 'Now is the time to cut funding to the programme.'

or, a third re-written option

  John cited that the search for 'life on other planets has been a disaster', part of Powell's belief that 'now is the time to cut funding to the programme'

I don't feel the third option really reflects what was intended, and moreover, my question is more general and is intended to reflect multiple examples where this occurs.

Any help is appreciated.


texts: General term for singularize and pluralize

texts:
I'm looking for a word (or small number of words) that is the general term for singularizing or pluralizing a word.
I've thought about "inflection"/"inflect", but inflection encompasses more than just modifying for number. From the Wikipedia page on Inflection:

In linguistic morphology, inflection (or inflexion) is a process of word formation, in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, mood, animacy, and definiteness.

Is there a word that encompasses both singularize and pluralize that is also more specific than inflection? Or is there a way to make "inflection" more specific, like "numerical/quantity inflection"?
The reason I'm asking is to find a good name for a function (programming) that takes a word and a number and returns the correct version of the word (either singular or plural). Building upon the package Pluralize.


texts: A word for someone who can notice things quickly?

texts: Other than words like 'insightful', 'observant', and 'perceptive', is there another word?


texts:
Alice wants to discuss with Bob something he likely does not want to discuss. So she first starts talking about something indirectly related to the topic, gradually approaching the topic, so that eventually they end up discussing it.

In Russian, one would say that she "began the conversation from afar" (начать беседу издалека), but this does not seem to be common usage in English.

Is there an English word or phrase describing such a way to open a conversation (by talking about something indirectly related or seemingly unrelated)?

EDIT:
Lots of great answers, thanks!!
Two clarifications:

The original Russian phrase does not have negative connotations (unlike, say, the English "Beating around the bush")
It can also apply to a monologue. E.g., Carol is a politician and she wants to make a speech to the Senate about public healthcare. But she begins the speech by talking about her childhood friend, to connect with the audience emotionally (or for any other reason). How would you describe the fact that she began her speech "from afar"?

If there is no single phrase that can be used for both Alice and Carol, two different words/phrases are also appreciated!


texts: Single word for "will be able to" / "will have access to"

texts:
I am designing an app and there is a part where the users can post some content to a specific group of people.

I have a placeholder prompt on the screen that I say "Tap here and type your post. People in group X will be able to see it". Now, I want to replace "will be able to" with a single word (without losing its meaning) if possible. I've seen "will be able to" vs. "can" and considered using can but "can" also includes the present. If I use "can", it might misguide the user that the content will be available immediately to group X before they actually hit the post button. I need to ensure that the message is clear: the user will type their post and when they post it, group X will have access to it (but I can't say "will see it" because they might not necessarily open the app and read it).

In that manner, is there any single word that I can use in the blank space in the following sentence (or something similar):

"Tap here and type your post. Group X ______ see it."


texts: First use of American football fields as measurement

texts:
In some books and documentaries, American football fields are used as units of measurement for length (100 yards) and sometimes area. For example, a book might say

  The iceberg was the size of six football fields.

to show how gargantuan it is.

When is the first recorded usage of American football fields in this way?


texts: Can't with anybody/anyone neither and nor

texts:
Is it correct to use nor in the following sentence?

  I can't touch anybody nor anyone.


texts: Different verbs in comparing dergee of intent/feeling/etc

texts:
Sometimes people compare degree of something (an intent/feeling/etc) by giving completely unrelated example (by using "same way as" or "like").

Is something like "The boy wants that bicycle like a fish needs water" considered okay?
Or I should always keep same verb: "The boy needs that bicycle like a fish needs water"?


texts: "I decided just to go away", "I decided to just go away", "I just decided to go away"?

texts:
What I mean is:

I decide this: just going away.

Does any of the sentences below convey that sense in a gramatically correct way?

I decided just to go away.
I decided to just go away.
I just decided to go away.


texts: The meaning of "lot" in "pragmatic lot"?

texts:
I'm watching the movie The Counselor and Brad Pitt character say this :
"They are a pragmatic lot". What is the meaning of "lot" in this sentence.


texts:
I came upon some texts where in able to is used where instead also either to be able to or in order to could have been used. In able to doesn't sound quite right to me. I also didn't hear it anywhere before. At first i thought in able to was just a mistake but now i'm not so sure anymore.  I googled it but but i didn't find any real arguments against it.
Some Examples:

In addition to that, we had to wait a long time in able to query
the next request (sometimes over 30 minutes).

Previously, it has been suggested that S. aureus in able to survive without replication in neutrophils, > but ultimately cause lysis (Voyich et al., 2005; Kobayashi et al., 2010).

Questioned about whether electronic surveillance of social networks by
agencies including the NSA and GCHQ is damaging for democracy, Gadde
pointed to Twitter's decision to sue the FBI and US Department of
Justice in October 2014 in able to publish more details about
government requests for user information.
Source: theguardian.com

My question is wheter in able to is a existing term or not.