texts: Pronunciation of "xenophobia," "xenon," and "Xena"

texts:
I've heard all of the above words with X as zeh. Is that an American English thing?
What's the correct way to pronounce each word?


texts:
I stumbled upon a sentence:

  It is likely to perform poorly because the smallest subtasks are too small to be worthwhile splitting up.

Basically my question is, is the usage of 'worthwhile' correct here? I would expect it to be 'worth' instead (at least that's what I see much more often with such meaning).

I looked up this question, but it seems to be using 'worthwhile' in a slightly different sense (succeeding verb implies an 'initial' action, not a related 'equal-worth' one).


texts:
As a non-native English Speaker, I'm studying connected speech and how words link in American English. However, I've got a little bit confused.
My American English Accent book explains that we must link consonants sounds to vowels sounds.
One example is: "Well, it's not working out between us."
The book only links the words "working" and "out". However, following the consonant sounds + vowel sounds rule, I would link the words "between" and "us", since according to the Cambridge dictionary their IPA transcription are respectively "/bɪˈtwiːn/" and "/ʌs/ or /əs/", in US English.
Should it be a typo or is there any special rule or exception for not linking them?


texts:
How can a mad scientist's friend address him? For example, when engaged in a conversation with other people (who don't know the scientist), he mentions having such a friend?
I suppose a loony sounds too harsh. Is there a friendlier way to suggest he is a bit of a lunatic?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Gerund or infinitive: When to use which?

  You like to read books.

  You like reading books.

The second second sentence seems to be better than the first. Why is that?

Now consider the following two sentences.

  He likes to read books.

  He likes reading books.

Here they seem to be equivalent and nothing seems wrong with either of them. Neither seems better than the other?

Why does the use of "to" in the first set seem less natural?


texts: What do you call the artwork you first see upon entering a place

texts:
When you open the front doors of a building and enter, you would be greeted by this statue or painting.
After you enter a campus by car, you would encounter this sculpture or fountain.
An building's vestibule, or foyer would often have this prominent statue or painting.
A cemetery would have a statue right behind its front gates.
In the Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., it would be the elephant.

What would you call this artwork or decoration placement?


texts: Looking for succinct way of describing the act of solidifying an idea into reality

texts:
Looking for a succinct way of describing the act of solidifying an idea into reality. "Building [idea] out" seems too generic but I'm trying to avoid a long winded, step by step explanation of the process.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


texts: Minimum wage vs. minimum salary and “three minimum salaries”

texts:
Here in Brazil people don’t usually talk about wages (how much you make per hour), but about salaries (how much one makes in a month).

Does it make sense to talk about minimum salary, or even in this case is it better to talk about minimum wages?

Also, down here we have the notion of “how many minimum salaries” workers earn. Say if the minimum salary is R$1000, then if one makes R$3000 can you say that person makes “three minimum salaries”?

Does this notion make any sense in English?

So could you say that that person makes “three minimum wages” in this case?


texts:
If a statement says "India is ranked two places below China" What place does India hold if China is ranked 1? Is it rank 3 or 4?
Also, is there any difference between the following two sentences?

India is ranked below China.
India is ranked behind China.


texts: What is the difference between 'ceremonial' and 'ceremonious'?

texts:
Even having looked in the OED I am still slightly unclear as to which contexts require the adjective ceremonious and which ceremonial.

The OED treatment of ceremonious is as below with some of the more recent examples. You will notice that in sense 1 it is equated to ceremonial. However sense 5 suggests a slightly different meaning.

  Pertaining to, or consisting of, ceremonies or outward forms and rites; = ceremonial adj., formal.

  1737   D. Waterland Rev. Doctr. Eucharist 443   Ceremonious
  Observances.

  Full of ceremony; accompanied with rites, religious or showy.

  1883   Manch. Examiner 14 Dec. 5/2   A statue has been raised to
  him..and there was a ceremonious unveiling.

  According to prescribed or customary formalities or punctilios.

  1863   M. Howitt tr. F. Bremer Greece & Greeks II. xi,   His..somewhat
  ceremonious politeness.

  †4. According to the Ceremonial Law. Obs.

  1656   S. Winter Serm. 120   The holiness of children, which some say
  was ceremonious.

  Of persons: Addicted to ritual observances (obs.); given to ceremony; punctilious in observance of formalities, esp. those of
  intercourse between ranks or persons.

  1829   K. H. Digby Broad Stone of Honour: Godefridus xviii. 223   The
  ceremonious and ungrateful courtiers of Vienna.


texts: I keep hearing "I say 1 for the money and 2 for the show" (or variants of it) in various songs (rap specifically though I have heard it in other songs) . Can anyone tell me why it is used so much and where did it come from? Thanks. (If this helps, I hear it mainly in K-rap and I think it has something to do with "Show Me The Money")


texts:
I've lived under the impression that the word beamer is an American slang word for a BMW vehicle and a false friend to German speakers: beamer does not mean projector.

Recently though, I heard an American¹ use the term beamer to mean projector. I asked her about it and she said that beamer can indeed mean projector in American English.

Is that true? Is it valid in American and/or British English to use beamer to refer to a projector?

I assume it would be a rather recent or localized development since Merriam-Webster does not list that meaning. Neither does the Wiktionary entry. Also painfulenglish.com's blog entry from 2013 labels the usage a "mistake".

On the other hand, both the Cambridge English Dictionary and the Macmillan Dictionary state that beamer means data projector, as Edwin Ashworth helpfully pointed out in the comments.

¹ That's how she introduced herself and she did sound like a native speaker to me.


texts: Comma usage: In virtue of what[,] is any sequence of marks or noises meaningful?

texts:
Compare: (1) In virtue of what is any sequence of marks or noises meaningful?
(2) In virtue of what, is any sequence of marks or noises meaningful?

Is this an appropriate use of a comma in (2)? I read this sentence is a book in which the comma isn't used, and I found my self confused about was going on in the sentence until I got till the end.
To clarify, the author's meaning in the sentence (taken from a book on philosophy of language) is: what is it about a sequence of marks or noises that gives them meaning i.e. what is it about some marks/noises that make them words while others are just scribbles or din.


texts: What is the difference between phonology and phonetics?

texts: Could someone explain briefly, with some examples?


texts: Does it make sense to say “We came to code”

texts:
My mother language is German and I am working as IT professional.

I am about to write a small manifesto on some professional values for a group of people. Since writing source code is more or less the main activity of a programmer does it make sense to use  “We came to code –  and to build something valuable” as the title of the manifesto?


texts: Origin of the expression 'glass half full or half empty'

texts:
I am not native English speaker but in my native language (French) and local language (German) the expression about seeing the glass 'half full' or 'half empty' also exists. I then also noticed that the expressions exists in almost every languages.

Does anyone know a bit of history of this expression?
I am mostly interested in the origins, how it spread, and by what famous occasion was it is used.

the Wikipedia page is not very rich of such information, neither is Google.


texts:
According to Google Ngram Viewer the word "beep" was nearly as common in literature in the 1800s as it is today:

Similar onomatopoeias such as "zap" and "honk" show almost zero usage back then. According to etymonline, "beep" originated in 1927 as an imitative of automobile horns.

How was the word used over two centuries ago? Did it have an entirely different meaning?


texts: If you're one of the people who grow/grows up speaking Chinese . .

texts:
Is it grow or grows?

On one hand, I think it should be grows because it's pertaining to "one," but on the other hand, it might be grow because "people" is closer.

I've seen somewhat similar issues on this site, but none that follow the same structure, so I want to be sure.


texts: Differences in Past Tense: 'used to have' vs. 'had' (non-native speaker)

texts:
I don't understand the difference between these sentences. Is there a special usage for each?

  I used to have three cats

and

  I had three cats


texts:
The OED has the preposition following from 1947. I've found this :

Following the order observed in the report, the first branch of study noticed is Engineering, in its two branches, military and civil. 1826

I don't see much in between though. Are there other examples of this preposition before 1900?


texts: An alternative way of starting a sentence "Do you want a..."

texts: An alternative way of starting a sentence "Do you want ...a shortcut to success in your business and life"


texts:
Ann didn’t have enough money but she would buy this dress anyway.

in that sentence would is like past of "will"?

another question

  My mother would always make the pies. Active

  The pies would always be made by my mother. Passive

this passive is past tense?


texts: Why is the correct spelling of "referrer" with double "r"? Comparison with for example "referee" or "laborer" would lead one to conclude "referer" is the correct spelling. Is there some rule that applies to this situation or is it an exception?


texts: Definite article and dates without ordinal indicators

texts:
Where ordinal indicators are not used, which of the following is correct?

We will go ahead on the 7 January 2013.
We will go ahead on 7 January 2013.


texts: Am I identifying this sentence structure incorrectly - simple vs. compound/compound-complex?

texts:
I've just got this question wrong while doing some practice and I can't see why.

  This involves reassessing our relationship with water and learning to use it more sparingly

My answer was that it was a simple sentence:

  This involves reassessing our relationship with water [noun phrase] and learning to use it more sparingly[noun phrase]

However the answers say "compound or compound-complex".

Could someone confirm whether I am right or wrong?


texts: Term for parking note left by driver in advance

texts:
In Russia it is common to leave a note with your name and phone number in a car visible to outsiders, when you park for a short time in a place you are not familiar with or when you have to park in front of someone else car (due to lack of space) thus preventing them to leave, so that owner of blocked car can call you.

Is there a word or a phrase for this note in English?

I found "parking note", however it seems to refer mostly to notes left by others to the offending driver.


texts:
I've been thinking so hard over this for a good 15 minutes. Would like to know which makes sense?

...the Member State which the asylum seeker first enters European Union (EU) is responsible for processing the asylum claim.

...the Member State which the asylum seeker first enters European Union (EU) through is responsible for processing the asylum claim.

... the Member State which the asylum seeker first enters European Union (EU) from is responsible for…

Thanks a lot!


texts: System(s) Analyst - Should System be Plural or Singular?

texts:
There are many positions and topics that revolve around "system(s) [x]" and a few other base words.

Systems Analyst vs System Analyst

Does it change if we reference a function instead of a job title? e.g. Systems Analysis vs System Analysis, Systems Engineering vs System Engineering

Solutions Architect vs Solution Architect, Solutions Engineer vs Solution Engineer

But then there are topics that are definitively singular, like Network Engineer or Application Analyst.

Of course, one could make the argument that if someone works with more than one system, they'd be a systems engineer, but to me, there is more nuance there.

Is there a "correct" variant or a way to determine which variant (singular or plural) is more appropriate for a given situation?


texts: What is the difference between "neglect" and "negligence"?

texts: What is the difference between neglect and negligence?


texts: Suspicious comma suggested by comma grammar checking software

texts:
I was using a grammar correction software to review an article. The software suggests to insert a comma in the following text:

In each part, the warping function creates feature maps of the input
data and the wavelet filters extract higher frequency information from
the input and propagate it forward.

The comma is suggested between and and data in data and the wavelet. I was not sure why it is suggested, if it is a correct one, and what type of comma it is.


texts: What does ‘Camel gets his nose under the tent’ mean?

texts:
In the article of New York Times co-ed columnist, Maureen Dowd dealing with Republicans’ objection of the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ under the title, “Mad Men and Mad Women”, I came across an unfamiliar quote from Republican Representative (west Fla), Allen West - ‘like the camel getting his nose under the tent.”

Although, I guess the phrase means ‘poke and pry’ from the context of the following introductory sentence, correct me if I’m wrong. Is this the representative’s coinage, or established cliché? Can I use this phrase for a person who is curious?

“Republicans hate social engineering, unless they’re doing it.
Wishing they had the power to repeal the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and get back to the repressed “Mad Men” world they crave, some conservative lawmakers grumpily quizzed upbeat military brass on Friday.
“We’re starting to try to conform the military to a behavior, and I remember going through the military, we took behaviors and we formed it to the military,” said Representative Allen West of Florida, warning ominously (and weirdly) that “this could be the camel getting his nose under the tent.”


texts: "Real estate" or "property" in my particular case?

texts: I am launching a service for adding and viewing classifieds of houses, land (plot) and commercial real estate. Must it be described as "Real Estate Listings Platform" or "Property Listings Platform"? Besides the description, in other areas of the website, I must use the term - when the subject is added, searched for, rated etc... Please help me, English is a foreign language for me.


texts: Which one is a better term: a men-hater, a men hater or a man hater?

texts:
Which one is a better term to describe a person who has a hatred towards men: a men-hater, a men hater or a man hater?

In the Corpus of Contemporary American English there are such combinations like "Trump hater", "Obama hater", "Hillary Clinton hater", "woman hater", "Jew hater", "cop hater", "cat hater", "dog hater", "lady hater", "white hater", "man hater".

What bewilders me: could not the unhyphenated version be misinterpreted as a two noun combination in which the first noun describes the second, as in "table lamp", that is as "man who hates", not as "somebody who hates men"?

And which is a better way to describe the phenomenon: a men-hate, a men hate, a man hate?
I do not want to use the word "misandry" as few people would understand what it means.


texts: "Disappointment is the nurse of wisdom."

texts: Is this an English proverb? On quotations websites, it is often attributed to Sir Boyle Roche, but it is not listed on WikiQuote (I added it to the list of unsourced quotes on the discussion page). Another website says its a German proverb, but I couldn't find it (my German is very basic though).


texts: An alternative valediction to "godspeed" wishing someone success in a venture

texts: I am essentially searching for a well-wishing exclamation that does not imply divine intervention.


texts: What is the expression for coughing at the beginning of an utterance officially called?

texts:
I was wondering what is the name for the introductory "coughing" in English, i.e. when somebody clears their throat to start their utterance. For example:

  "Ekhm... Welcome! How can I help you?"

Is "ekhm" the right way to spell such onomatopoeia? Are there any other ways to spell it?


texts: Is there a phrase for someone working on a long, tedious scholarly work?

texts:
I seem to recall a trope or literary character representing someone working on a dry, boring work of abstruse scholarship. I thought it might be Middlemarch's Casaubon, but I don't think he quite fits the bill (he was actually something of a sham, not having the necessary German...)

The person I have in mind would be an ivory tower academic working on, for example, a ten-volume history of earthworms; not entirely pointless, but totally disconnected from any real-world relevance.


texts: What is the British English equivalent for "homebody"?

texts:
A homebody is, simply put, a person who likes staying at home more than going out.
The Oxford Dictionary tags the word as "informal North American", while the Cambridge Dictionary tags it as "mainly US".
Since neither Oxford nor Cambridge has an entry for the word in their respective thesauri, I have not been able to find a potentially-British synonym for it.
So, what word is used in the UK to refer to such a person?


texts: "can't see neither A nor B" or "can see neither A nor B"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Still confused with “neither…nor…”

  ...can't see neither A nor B.

Is that grammatically correct?

Or is this?

  ...can see neither A nor B.

What if "can't" was used?


texts: Separating alternatives using slash/stroke where the only difference is the length

texts:
I'm wondering about the usage of slash/stroke as a way of separating alternatives (perhaps it, in this sense, could be called a abbreviation of "or"?). If the alternatives are similar, but the second one is longer, then how would I write this as short as possible, with the smallest possible risk for confusion? Let me give you an example:

I have a card reader where you can insert a Memory Stick or a Memory Stick Pro. If I label the card reader with "MS/Pro", it could most certainly be interpreted as "either MS or Pro". Still, I want the label to be as short as possible.


texts: Comma or semicolon to separate a list from 'which'

texts:
Food like apples, oranges, and bananas, which are rich with vitamins, are delicious.

Is the sentence above grammatically correct? I know that the comma after 'oranges' is optional (I prefer to use one before 'and' in a list) and a comma always goes before 'which,' but something feels off to me. Should a semicolon replace the comma before 'which' or is a comma okay?


texts: Is there a specific word that could be used to describe the leader of a planet?

texts:
Mayor is a word that specifically means the leader of a town.  Chief means the leader of a tribe.  Governor means the leader of a state or province.  Words like Emperor or King imply the head of a country.  What word would imply like these that someone is the leader of a planet?

Obviously, we haven't had one (yet), so there's not a canonical word like "Mayor" is for cities.  The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, could not be described with this word because he is not the head of state of Earth.  Imagine if we had a global election and chose one leader of Earth.  This term would describe that person after he took office.

There are plenty of terms that could be used if such a situation would actually happen.  President, Chancellor, Prime Minister, and words like this could be used, but they serve more to imply how the person was given their authority.  Even King and Emperor would fall into this category, as having a head of state imply that the planet is now one huge nation.  None of these terms, however, specifically imply that this leader is installed at the planetary level.

  City :: Mayor as Planet :: what?


texts:
Following is an excerpt from Michelle Dean's post in The Newyorker (my emphasis):

  “One of the reasons Hank and I have always resisted being on television is that we don’t really want nerdfighters to be a mainstream cultural phenomenon,” Green wrote me. “I worry that mainstream cultural phenomena need, like, Message Singularity and A Brand and an Institutional Voice and stuff. That kind of thing does not interest us at all. We just want to make cool stuff with people we like.

Has the writer omitted to when she writes Green wrote me?


texts: Term or phrase for something that changes one's life (for the better) dramatically

texts:
I am searching for a phrase to describe a physical object that brought tremendous and positive changes to one's life.

  Behind this flawed creation of technology, however, was hiding an epochal momentum of my life.

I did some research and came up with the phrase epochal momentum, but I could not coherently connect it to my life. Also, I want to contrast this flawed creation of technology to something that is stylistically fit and literarily sound.


texts: Unambiguous Opposite of "The Subtitle of a Film"

texts:
A word to refer to the "The Far Side of the World" part in the film title Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (MC:FSW) might be subtitle. By here, the "Master and Commander" part is called title. But so is the full title MC:FSW.

I tried negating the prefix with supertitle and surtitle, which are opposites of another meaning of subtitle. I also considered location: I'm trying to find a word to describe the first part of a title, so I looked for pretitle. The uses I found meant "coming in a film before or during its opening credits."

Is there another word that means precisely "title but not subtitle"?


texts:
I am trying to see if the colloquial usage of night and day is non-standard and is improper register, or if it is simply an ommitted definition in the dictionaries:

night and day: Describing a contrast between two completely different things, often one that has resulted in improvement. Often preceded by "like."

The context is from an interview where a person talks about a course where she learned a lot:

  I loved the course. Life was totally different. It was just night and day.

This question already covers quite some discussion about the matter: Is the usage of “night and day” as “completely different” very common?

However it does not clarify if this is non-standard or should be avoided. It struck me that none of the standard authoritative dictionaries I checked (about 10 of them) even mention this definition of the idiom, only the "continually" meaning, so I started to wonder if this usage is frowned upon on non-standard.

I have heard it countless times in spoken English, but I would expect it to be in a dictionary at least, mentioning it is spoken as needed. But in addition to the slang/idiom dictionaries mentioned in the linked post, I found it only on The Free Dictionary also in its idiom section only, the definition I pasted above. The definition mentions that it is often preceeded with "like", which is also mentioned in the accepted answer to the linked post.

Does somebody actually know a dictionary definition? Does someone have an explanation why is it not listed as a definition in any of the main dictionaries? And does this missing definition mean that it should not be used in proper speech/writing?


texts: Positioning "only" in "I have worked with X"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Correct position of “only”

Which of the following sentences are correct?

  I have worked with only Mr. X.
  I have worked only with Mr. X.
  I have only worked with Mr. X.
  I have worked with Mr. X only.

Are all of the above correct? If so, how they differ in meaning?


texts: A person who begs for help but doesn't return the favor

texts:
I play a game and need a word for the following situation.

What do you call a person who asks, and begs multiple times daily and impatiently for items (gear, weapons, weapon upgrades, runs through dungeons) and swears loyalty to your guild or raids team to help and or pay for items later but does nothing in return? Then when you confront that person, they ‘unfriend’ you and leave your guild.


texts: Why the words Apprehend and Apprehension have very different meaning?

texts:
Why the words Apprehend and Apprehension have very different meaning, though they seem to have same root word.

Apprehend - to arrest someone
Apprehension - fear, dread


texts:
Which sentence is right :

Write in ink.
Write with ink.

I studied that with a tool you use 'with' like: "cut with knife" etc. so should it be sentence no. 2 . But when I goggled 'in ink', I got many sentences where 'in' is used with  ink.Why 'in' is used here.


texts: Is there a scale, rating, or formula for the 'pleasantness' of a word?

texts:
I'm wondering, some words sound 'nicer', not taking their associations into account. For example, long vowels and soft endings are considered rounder than hard vowels, like k. (This is the Bouba/kiki effect). They are also considered more pleasant.

On lists of words that people hate, short, hard consonant-ending words tend to appear, like, 'moist', 'snort', 'flap', and 'curd'.

Is there a rating system or formula that quantifies how 'nice' a word is? I think it would be useful for naming things, or helping non-native speakers with word choice.


texts: In the extract below, is there a rule as to why there shouldn't be a comma before "but"?

texts:
In my native language, in this case, a comma before "but" would be necessary. So I would naturally feel the need to put it there. But what about the English language? Why shouldn't be there a comma? Is there any specific rule to that?

Example: ...it’s often followed by a comma but it doesn’t have to be, especially if it’s short.


texts:
can you say for example:

Alone Potato?

I want to say that a potato is alone, like "look at that alone potato".

I think lonely Potato is better right?
But can you say alone potato also? Or is this sounding weird?

DeepL is translating it right to german, but google translator not, so im asking here.

Thanks a lot!


texts: What is the difference between rude and abusive?

texts: If you flag a post, you will see a choice called "rude or abusive", what is difference between "rude" and "abusive"? They seem the same.


texts:
Why do we use their instead of his in this sentence?

  another driver flashes their lights


texts: What's the meaning of 'deflating mots' in this sentence?

texts:
I'm graduating in translation and one of my 2nd semester's works is a movie review about Philomena. I am stuck, however, at this part:

  (He's an) expert purveyor of deflating mots on any subject, including his own atheism: “I don’t believe in God and I think He can tell.”

I don't understand what "deflating mots" means. What's the meaning of "mot" in that context?


texts: A sentence from The Economist that I don't understand

texts:
Here is a sentence from the magazine The Economist that I don't understand.

  Fully 5.8m more Americans are in work than in December of that year, when the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates. That is two-thirds as many as lost their jobs during the Great Recession.

The italicized sentence is the one that confuses me. Shouldn't it be "That is two-thirds as many as those who lost their jobs during the Great Recession?"

I hardly believe The Economist made a mistake in that sentence. Can anyone tell me why the sentence is correct as it is and, if there is any, what words might have been omitted from that sentence?

Thank you.


texts: "You are presented a" / "You are being presented a"

texts:
I need to employ a similar phrase in an essay but I am not too sure whether this even exists. I think I read it a couple of times in tech blogs but I am not sure if these articles have been written by native English speakers.

What I am trying to say specifically is

The viewer is being presented a completely different mindset

(Or however I can put it right). What is is supposed to mean is that the text will inform the reader about a certain idea, different from what he is used to read.

Searching for "you are (being) presented a" gives 6 figures of results but there is a huge chunk of results which doesn't fit into the grammatical structure that "my" sentence has.

tl;dr: Is a phrase "you are presented something" or "you are being presented something" grammatically correct when it refers to a text that you read or does this phrase even exist?


texts: Which is more appropriate, a reservation or an appointment at a beauty salon?

texts: Do you make a reservationt at a beauty salon? Or do you make an appointment at a beauty salon?


texts: A function of "that" in "who are you that you are afraid of man"

texts:
I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass,
  (Isaiah 51:12 , English Standard Version ©2001)

How to express the function of "that" in the sentence in grammatical terms? A coordinating conjunction?


texts: A phrase for something that is beyond our reach or unattainable

texts:
“Sir Francis Chichester was knighted by the queen. But for his other circumnavigating counterparts, a knighthood is beyond reach...”

What is an alternative term for beyond reach?


texts:
As the title indicates, I was looking for ways to poetically, or idiomatically describe ways to smile, or interesting ones anyway. I find that I always switch back to the most basic descriptive ways ('he smiled'), and I really need to expand my horizons. I haven't found this question here before so I'm guessing everybody else can benefit from this.

By poetic, I mean something like this:

  "His mouth curled up into a fond smile"

I like the site Descriptionari, which is where I usually check when needing a description (as the site's name indicates), but I have found only one expression that fits what I need ("The way his lips lifted upward").
I've generally googled the question too, and found a Quora answer where users gave their philosophical take on what a smile means.
The Macmillan dictionary proposed a vocabulary list, too, but it's the kind of words that'd accompany the word "smile", instead of either skipping it or phrasing it poetically.

Does anyone have any ideas, or ever come across something nice?
Thank you in advance.


texts:
In A Man From the North by Arnold Bennett (1898), the main figure wants to write a book called: 'Tiddy-fol-lol'. This is the text:

  The story which he was going to write was called 'Tiddy-fol-lol'. The leading character was an old smith, to be named Downs, employed in the forge of a large iron foundry at Bursley. When his daughter fell in love and married a sceneshifter at the local Theatre, she received for dowry a father's curse. Once, in the foundry, Downs in speaking of the matter had referred to his daughter as no better than a 'Tiddy-fol-lol.'... 'The other lads saw a chance for fun, pointing out Downs to him in the forge, they told him to go close to the man and say 'Tiddy-fol-lol'.

My question is, what's the meaning of Tiddy-fol-lol? Does anybody needs more information about it?


texts: Parallelism using "as," "nor," "or," and "neither... nor"

texts:
Am I using correct parallelism in the following sentence?

They say the place where you are born is not a choice, as it is not the family into which you are born.

If the above sentence uses correct parallelism, can I reduce it as follows?

They say the place where you are born is not a choice, as it is not the family.

or

They say the place where you are born is not a choice, as it is not your family.

Would the following examples with "nor," "or," and "neither... nor" be valid alternatives (with correct parallelism) to the original example?

They say you don't choose where you are born, nor do you choose your family.

They say you don't choose your country or your family.

They say you neither choose your country nor your family.


texts:
More specifically, in economics and finance for example, there is the "equity premium puzzle" (Wikipedia). This is the puzzle of why equities seem to enjoy a "premium" relative to (government) bonds.

We could therefore also refer to this puzzle as the "bond __ puzzle"? What is the best word to fill in the blank here? I can think of only "dispremium" but I don't think that's a proper word.


texts: "It is for people who" vs "it is for the/those people who"

texts:
A. Mnemonics are for people who don't know.
B. Mnemonics are for the/those people who don't know.

Which one is correct? If both, what is the difference in sense/meaning?


texts: What is the difference between oath, pledge & vow and where should each word be used? An example should suffice.


texts: Why does "in the public interest" not use the use apostrophe+s at the end of "public"

texts:
I belive it's technically accurate to say that

  It is in John's interest that the cats are fed.

Where apostrophe+s is used to show John's possession of the interest

But why is is that

  Undertaken in the public interest, investigative journalism involves original reporting.

does not use "public's" (i.e. with an apostrophe and 's' to represent possession)?


texts:
I know it's an adjective, but I googled it, and found it in an article about John McEnroe, specifically, "a rancoring go-to-hell beast".

I was wondering if it is okay to use the word as if it were a verb?


texts:
I'm not sure if the following question is correct in formal English: "Why not do it?" Would it be better to say "Why don't you do it", but then the question is related to the sentence "if you can afford it".
Thank you!


texts: Is there a single word for doing something despite the fact that it might cause problems later?

texts:
Even better, if the word indicates that you're the one who ultimately suffers.

Ex: I leave a suitcase in the middle of the hall, knowing someone might trip on it but ignoring that fact. Then I trip on it later on.

Or: I leave keys on a desk, though if I put them in the proper spot I won't have to look for them later. Later on I can't find them.

I'm thinking German might be a better bet for finding a single word, more specific to the outcome as well as the disregard for better judgement.

Edit:

Trying to come up with a sentence. In the case of the word only describing the intentional disregard for a potential bad outcome for the sake of laziness: This morning's --- led to small disaster when, forgetting he'd left them out, he stubbed his toe on the weights.

I guess I'm trying to get something like the term schadenfreude, where it's more conceptual. So: Greg, being lazy and perhaps masochistic, had a habit of being -- / creating --- situations. (One's wherein he knows what he's doing will cause issue for himself, but goes through with it anyway and ultimately suffers.)

Edit:

This is different from the previously asked question regarding idioms as I'm not looking for an idiom and am also in search of a term that indicates a sort of laziness on the part of the do-er.


texts: I asked~ but she ' won't '... Why did they say 'won't'?

texts:
There is a exercise to practice some usages.

Q. I asked Sue what happened, but she doesn't tell / won't tell me

A. won't tell

I can't understand it. I chose another one, but I don't think that is right.

the situation is about past, so I think 'didn't' is right.
I believe 'will' is used for future and 'does' for the present.

Please somebody help me...


texts: What is “non-guideline sentence” to allow the accused to serve as a diplomat instead of a prison term?

texts:
I read New York Times article (May 13) titled "ex-Senator gets 21-month prison term in tax evasion case." It says in abridgment:

  The former Republican senator, Vincent L. Leibell III had faced 18 to 24 months in prison, based on sentencing guidelines.

  His lawyer, David L. Lewis asked the judge to take into account Mr. Leibell’s "life of public service" and urged him to consider a "non-guideline" sentence allowing Mr. Leibell to do community service by letting him serve as a diplomat to the Middle East instead of a prison term.

  "We don’t have public stocks anymore, where he can stand with his head and arms in stocks," Mr. Lewis said, trying to convince the judge that Mr. Leibell’s crime would be forgotten in jail, but that doing some sort of "social restitution" would be more humiliating for Mr. Leibell and would offer a broader, more public lesson.

More than being puzzled with the logic that servicing as a diplomat can replace prison term, and to serve as a diplomat to Middle East is a humiliating work, I am interested in knowing what the word, "non-guideline sentence" to make it possible, and the phrase, "we don’t have public stocks anymore, where he can stand with his head and arms in stocks" mean. Can anybody tell me?


texts:
I've noticed some authors of academic pieces tend to put square brackets around a T when starting a quote, I don't understand why.

  "[T]he Organization is based on the principle of the
  sovereign equality of all its Members."

Thanks!


texts: Is it correct to say "I will start looking into it tomorrow"?

texts:
Which one of the following sounds grammatically correct? I'm leaning towards the first.

I will start looking into it tomorrow.

I will start looking into it beginning tomorrow.

I will start looking into it from tomorrow.

I can also say I will look into it tomorrow but I'd like to retain I will start looking into in the sentence.

Thanks


texts:
Please see the context from this blog of Joel Spolsky:

  Since you have to poke at Windows Calculator with a stick, it doesn't
  have to be as fast as Excel.

What does he mean by poking with a stick ? Does it mean it is not used often or something ?


texts: "Follow evolution" vs. "follow the evolution"

texts:
Is the article the needed in the following sentence and why?

  Want to follow [the] evolution of the project?


texts: What is a trope, and how does it differ from a metaphor?

texts:
The synonym of trope is defined as metaphor, but there seem to be some other implications when using the word trope that metaphor does not have.

Can anyone explain this simply and sensibly?


texts: Have something to give someone or give TO someone

texts:
Very commonly, I have seen people use:

I have nothing to give you.

But, why is the most common usage

I have no advice to give to our viewers.

And is “I have no advice to give our viewers” wrong?
How can I know when to use to and when not to?

I have only love to offer you.

Vs

I have only love to offer to you.

Which one is correct?


texts: Distinguishing between the camera lens and the lenses inside the camera lens

texts:
The term camera lens normally refers to the whole barrel containing a set of glass lenses proper, plus the mount mechanism into the camera body and the rings for adjusting aperture and focus, mainly.
I was looking for the technical specifications of the glass lenses in a certain camera lens, only to realize that the word lens is so widely used for both the container and the containee that no way I get search engines finding anything but camera lenses.
I wondered if in English there is a more refined naming for the whole camera lens that does not use the word lens. Or the other way around.
In other words, how do English speakers fond of optical lens design and of photography distinguish between the whole camera lens and the part glass lens in a camera? Say, they talk about lens manufactures, at a certain point the doubt may arise about which industry the talk isabout. Which term may help clarify the confusion behind this metonymy?


texts: Continuous aspect as in "I have to be cooking all days"

texts:
1) A: Do you like cooking? B: I have to be cooking all days because of my kids.

-What is the nuance of "be ~ing" when compared with "I have to cook all days because of my kids"? When do you use the continuous aspect like that?

2) A: Can you throw away a Prada wallet like my wife? Lol B: Maybe she's trying to say something like "it's about time you get me to a new Prada?" A: Is that why she was bringing me to Louis Vuitton yesterday? And our anniversary just so happens to be at the end of the month? ;;

-Why did A use the continuous aspect? Can you explain it compared to "is that why she brought me to Louis Vuitton yesterday? When do you use the continuous aspect like that?


texts: adverbials part II... I left the building with him...

texts:
Can one say

a. I left the kitchen with the water running.

b. I went to his house with my brother in jail.

c. I went out of the bedroom with her naked.

d. I left the building with my brother injured.
?

In a-c we have two facts.
a1) I left the kitchen. The water was running.

b1) I went to his house. My brother was in jail when I did.

c1) I went out the bedroom. She was naked when I did.

'd' becomes kind of ambiguous though, doesn't it?

d1) I left the building. When I left the building my brother was injured.

d2) I left the building with my brother, who was injured.

Would you agree with that?

Many thanks.


texts: Is a comma accurate here? "high and low, time and again"

texts:
Sentence:
I have an RC helicopter. I maneuver it high and low [,] time and again.

So is it "high and low, time and again", or "high and low time and again"?

The sentence without the comma seems awkward. But I am not sure if I should put a comma between them.


texts: How do you express when a water bottle has turned over and has started leaking?

texts:
When I put a water bottle on the desk, it suddenly fell over and started leaking from the top. How do you express that situation in proper English?

  My water bottle turned over.
  My water bottle fell.


texts: Typed / written + why / by + (a) + phone

texts:
I'm translating the signature for the email App into English. I want it short but correct!

I have tried different searches in Google and Linguee. However, none of the following possibilities seem popular on Google (and I don't find them on Linguee). So maybe none of the following options is correct?

Email typed with a phone. Apologies for the briefness.
Email written by phone. Apologies for the briefness.
(and other combinations using the same words).

How do you actually write that sentence normally in a short way?


texts: Two things "that are" or "that is" another thing

texts:
In the following sentence:

  It was tasteful – not boastful – but sent the clear message about the
  industry leader and gold standard that is Acme.

Should that bolded word be "is" or "are"?


texts: Alphabetising. How would you arrange names, organisation and publications correctly in one list?

texts: I want to list twenty people, organisations and journals on one 'Thank you' page. Should individual names be listed by the first letter of their last name and the organisations and journals by the first letter of their business name? What about a journal starting with a 'The'? Your advice is appreciated!


texts: What grammatical role "proper" (and related) plays postpositionally?

texts:
Consider the following sentence (modified from here):

  It is now widely accepted that an archaeal host likely gave rise to the cell proper.

(Talking about eukaryotic origins.) What exactly the grammatical role of "proper" is here? Is "cell proper" standing for the concept of "a proper cell" and thus "proper" is a postnominal adjective? Or is it an adverb meaning "properly"? I have the feeling that the former is closer to the truth. I understand that words representing attributes can be positioned after the noun, for example:

  money unspent
  heir apparent
  people unharmed
  star visible
  people responsible

though it seems to me that these are mostly verb derivatives that perhaps are shorthands for e.g.:

  Every star (that is) visible (by an anonymous grammatical subject) is named after a famous astronomer.

Clearly, "proper" is not a verb and does not behave in this way. I'm sure I've encountred similar cases with other non-verbs, but unfortunately, nothing comes to my mind at the moment. Also, can you use "proper" (and related) any time postpositionally? Are these valid? If not, how should one cumulate adjectives with a postpositional attribute?

  This is an argument proper.
  This was a breakfast proper. (might be ok but too formal?)
  This was an English breakfast proper. (doesn't sound right at all)
  This was a breakfast English proper. (ugh)

So how is the very first example with "proper" to be understood? Is "proper" a special word that conveys some extra meaning here that I fail to grasp and which justifies its special position? Can someone provide some historical background and insight on this formula? Also, what other (non-verb) words can be used this way?

Please don't close this question being a duplicate of this or this because it isn't. I'm asking for the grammatical role of a specific part of the sentence, what kind of words can play this role (if not verb-derived) and why these particular words ended up with this somewhat special role. Unfortunately, the answers at How to tell if an adjective is attributive or predicative [EFL context]? are either simply stating the fact that it is a postpositive adjective form (with no further context) or list a few examples but with no explanation and background at all.


texts:
About two years ago I watched some old Monty Python interviews. In one of them, Graham Chapman, a Brit, makes fun of Terry Gilliam (the only American) for his lack of vocabulary. He specifically cited a moment when the group flew over the great lakes and Gilliam said "there's a bunch of water".

I found this amusing. But it's also stuck with me. And ever since, every American I meet with seems to have an affinity for saying "a bunch" to describe anything with a high quantitative value.

This can be anything from purely literal (a bunch of parsley) -- though this doesn't bother me as much -- to the generally "many", such as "a bunch of candies" and almost sarcastically as in Gilliam's case (obviously several thousand cubic miles of water is a bit more than a "bunch").

But what is a solid alternative for these uses? Not that I'm looking for something to replace "a bunch" entirely. I find it can be useful and an endearing "Americanism". But I'd like to hear of some options.

EDIT: Maybe I can make this more specific and ask this: What would an appropriate British expression be for the Gilliam scenario above? Maybe something like "A Considerable Amount"?


texts: How to simplify the sentence and keep the same meaning?

texts:
I want to say

  Riding Uber is similar to going to the barber shop,
  Tip is not mandatory but always welcome.

How I can shorten it?


texts:
I have a C program which depends on Linux system libraries. Which is right:

This program is Linux-dependent.
This program is Linux-depending.

Google search gives me some examples of the former usage, but I am wondering if it is really right.


texts: What is the word for a personal out-of-place remark you make during a conversation?

texts: What is the word for it when you make a remark, rather absent-mindedly during a conversation? It may be very significant for you personally or you may have been pondering over it, but it seems out of place in the conversation.


texts:
In American English would you put a comma after both adjectives or, as in British you put it only after the first.

The big, red, dog...
Or
The big, red dog...
?


texts: Idiom for: making something sound plausible

texts:
I'm looking for an idiom for
making something sound plausible
that captures the full flavor and imagery that some foreign languages have (such as in Hebrew, where the idiom would be literally rendered as: appeasing (or soothing) the ear)


texts:
I see commutivity used in contexts where the meaning appears to be the same as commutativity. Here are an example from physics and another example.
Is commutivity incorrect? Does it differ from commutativity?


texts: "Why does paper cut so well?", ambiguous question?

texts:
I have posted a question titled "Why does paper cut so well?" (on the Physics stack exchange). After a while, I noticed that over 40 people understood the question as "Why is it so easy to cut paper (with a pair of scissors)?". But what I meant was that it was easy to cut things with paper, paper being the cutting material. So I edited the question to make it more explicit.

I am not a native English speaker, and I completely missed the ambiguity. And now that I know about it, even if I force myself, I am unable to understand the question "Why does paper cut so well?" as "Why is it so easy to cut through paper?". I would understand if the question was "How can paper be cut so well?". So using "to be cut" as opposed to "to cut".

I wonder what I am missing. How is it possible to understand the question that way?


texts: When using title case, how should hyphenated words be capitalized?

texts:
Here's one title that includes a hyphenated words. Also this includes a word that is sometimes capitalized in title case.

  Aliens are coming in the not-too-distant future!

Or an article called:

  AIP-040 Non-Fungible Token Standard

Is it the responsibility of the style guide to fully specific how title case works? If so, this question is for naught.

But if title case actually has some universal meaning then how do we apply that meaning to hyphenated words?


texts:
In a book I'm reading there is a sentence like this

  This is difficult to imagine without
  splattering your brains all over the person next to you as you read this

Here is the situation:

  But how can an infinite universe be consistent with what we see? Can a universe be infinite and expand from a Big Bang? Yes, but only if you don’t assume the Big Bang started from a single spot. Imagine a Big Bang that happened everywhere at the same time. This is difficult to imagine without
  splattering your brains all over the person next to you as you read this, but it’s also totally consistent with what we observe.

My question is what does Splattering your brain all over the person mean?

I have searched in many dictionaries and google but I couldn't find the phrase "splatter sth over sb" there.

Please explain to me.

Thanks.


texts: How can I rephrase "I made the child sleep" without the word ' make' ?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Forward vs Forwards

I always wonder whether I should say "looking forwards to your reply" or "looking forward to your reply", which one should I say in a email?


texts: How to phrase a request so "no" means "yes", and vice versa

texts: How can I phrase a request so an answer of "no" actually accepts the request, and "yes" declines the request?


texts: What informal and formal letter/e-mail closings are used the most?

texts:
I often struggle with doubts about the correctness of the closings which I use. I'm not a native speaker and I'm worried that I'll make a mistake in the last part of the letter/e-mail.

Some examples:

Formal:

I look forward to hearing from you soon.
If you need any more information, please let me know

Informal:

I hope to hear from you soon.
If you need any more info, just drop me a line.

Could you let me know which closings are used the most?


texts: The precise meaning of "less to ... than to ..."?

texts:
Alan's purpose was less to X than to Y. (X and Y are two verbs)

Does the above structure mean that

  Alan's purpose was not to X but it was to Y.

or instead it means that

  Alan had two purposes, "to X" and "to Y", but the second was more
  important for him than the first.

?


texts:
I'm currently stuck on the right preposition followed by "highest quality" as in:

"I make sure the posters are printable at/in their highest quality."

Thanks!


texts: Understanding relationships between clauses in complex sentences

texts:
I’m aware that complex sentences show specific relationships between clauses, but I'm a bit confused with some of these relationships. For example, what is the difference in meaning between the following pair of examples?

I was happy because I ate dinner.
Because I ate dinner, I was happy.


texts: Does the following sentence with "however" make sense?

texts:
"You'll like the book, however slow you read."

It was the correct answer to the question

"You'll like the book, ____________ slow you read."

in a placement test which I answered pretended wrong with "no matter how".

So I want to know: Does the sentence "You'll like the book, however slow you read." make sense?
Thanks for your help!


texts:
I got this expression from the wikipedia article regarding the novel "Barchester Towers" by Anthony Trollope.

The full sentence is:

  Signora Madeline Vesey Neroni is a crippled serial flirt with a young daughter and a mysterious Italian husband whom she has left.

I cannot make much sense of this phrase, can you help?


texts: Synonyms for "multiple things that reside in the same location" - I can think of "colocated," which I've only seen in an engineering context. Do any other words fit the bill?


texts:
In Kipling's story "Below the Mill Dam", this passage occurs:

  "He shouted large and vague threats to my address, last night at tea, that he wasn't going to keep cats who 'caught no mice'.  Those were his words.  I remember the grammar sticking in my throat like a herring-bone."

The speaker, like all cats, is fastidious to the point of pedantry, so the point of grammar can only be a trivial, or even ridiculous, one; but even so I can't see anything wrong with the expression.  Can any fellow-pedant, or cat, enlighten me?


texts:
In response to another question I asked, I was told spelling is not a part of language because it is a part of writing.  This statement confuses me.  Writing is a form of communication and is therefore, a part of written languages.  Writing is directly related to spoken forms of the same language and though written langugaes can exist without a spoken form, and spoken languages exist without written versions, I don't understand how that would mean writing isn't an aspect of langage.

Specifically in regard to spelling in English, we have standardized spelling.  There are British Standards as well as US standards and the two are distinct despite more commonality than difference.  What spelling is "correct" is dictated by where the writer is communicating.  For example, realized vs. realised which are both phonetically correct, but which "standard" is chosen for use is largely dependent on where you learn your spelling, do your reading, get published etc.

If this is not a part of "language" than what is it? Can someone please explain this distinction or separation to me? The comment had up-votes which would indicate to me that others reading the comment were not also confused by it and even agreed.  I would just like to understand this perspective that is brand new to me?


texts:
I was looking at the dictionary meaning of 'traditionally' and it was given as :

traditionally-according to tradition;in a traditional manner;

But when I was looking at the following sentences I just couldn't fit them into the definition given above. Please help me

Traditionally, China has had a rich architectural heritage within which even the most elementary architectural eye could identify common architectural motifs.

Goldman Sachs has traditionally been the highest-paying investment bank on Wall Street.

The police can no longer depend on support from the Conservative Party, traditionally seen as a firm friend.

Does 'traditionally' here mean historically? or for a long time? I want to know in what sense 'traditionally' is being used here?

I can't understand the dictionary meaning to these sentences. Could anyone be so kind as to explain to me clearly how traditionally is being used here? I would be grateful to them.

Thank you


texts: 'Things such as something' vs. 'such things as something'

texts:
The original one: 1. From the view point of outstanding teachers such as John...

From the view point of such outstanding teachers as John ...
From the view point of outstanding teachers such John as...

Do they mean the same? if no, would you please change the order of the words -without change any of the words in the bold parts- in such a way that they mean the same thing?


texts: Taiwanese English Questions for Native Speakers

texts:
These question are from a Taiwanese GEPT exam at the intermediate level(senior high school English). I grew up in New Zealand, so I think I am partially a native speaker. But, I got both of these questions wrong. My answers were: 1.B 2.A. I picked these answers just because they sound better and more fluent. Please try these questions and let me know what you think. The correct answers are listed on the bottom.

The chairman proposed that the meeting ______until next Friday because a typhoon was approaching.
A. must put off
B. must be put off
C. put off
D. be put off
Over the past 40 years, Mr Wilson has taught thousands of students, some of them ____________internationally known scholars.
A.have become
B.had become
C.having become
D.may have become

correct answers
1.d 2.c


texts: Why are archaic English words often used in translations?

texts:
I often see the words "thou" and "thy" used in English translations from other languages, as opposed to the modern "you" and "your".

I thought this was something specific to translations of Sanskrit (when trying to create a historical or formal "mood"), but I recently saw the same thing with some other languages, e.g. a translation of the Polish national anthem.


texts: How do I use a dash at the end of speech?

texts:
How do I use a dash at the end of speech to signify an abrupt change of subject? I understand that when using an em dash, there is no space before or after the dash:

George sighed. “There is nothing to look forward to in life these days. I—”
“Aren’t the flowers beautiful?” said Wendy.

But what happens when the style guide uses en dashes with spaces around them rather than em dashes? For example, the Guardian Style Guide: https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-d
I feel the en dash should be preceded but not followed by a space, as in the following example, but I haven't been able to find anything to confirm that feeling.

George sighed. “There is nothing to look forward to in life these days. I -”
“Aren’t the flowers beautiful?” said Wendy.

Should the dash be preceded and followed by a space, as in the next example?

George sighed. “There is nothing to look forward to in life these days. I - ”
“Aren’t the flowers beautiful?” said Wendy.


texts: Can I say something like "a such-written essay"?

texts:
I am expressing that one writing method is not good. If we follow that method, the essay written with that method is likely to be of a poor quality.

Can I say "A such-written essay is likely to be of a poor quality."?

If not, could any one please provide a condensed and formal way of doing so?

BTW, I am writing a formal technical paper.


texts: Meaning of "In 1995, Eric Cantona was at the height of his powers."

texts:
"In 1995, Eric Cantona was at the height of his powers."

Does it mean Cantona made great achievements in 1995? Or could it mean he possessed powers because it is his footballing heyday?


texts: What do you call a person who doesn't pay attention to the principles of ergonomics?

texts:
How do you say that a person does not pay attention to ergonomics (like at a computer) in a concise way?  Options I've come up with include:

He does not use ergonomics.
He does not follow ergonomics.
He is not ergonomic.

Any better ideas?


texts: How should a court case be mentioned in a Chicago Style Essay?

texts: I'm currently writing an essay that mentions many cases that were heard by the Supreme Court. I know how to cite them, but when I mention them in-text how should I format them? For example, one case is Debs v. United States. Should that be italicized or placed in quotations marks? I'm not sure.


texts: Is it correct to say "don't let it trouble you"?

texts:
I am wondering if it is correct to use the sentence "Don't let it trouble you."
Would native speakers find it natural?


texts:
Can the sentence

  They proposed (that) the book be banned.

be rephrased as

  They proposed for the book to be banned.

If so, would it sound (very) informal?


texts: Why is "thank you" pronounced as /θaŋ kjuː/ ("thang-Q")?

texts:
I would like to know how native speakers say “thank you”. Do they pronounce it /θaŋk juː/ or /θaŋ kjuː/?

I am Asian and I was taught in school to say /θaŋ kjuː/ but teachers didn't explain the reason. Why is "thank you" pronounced as /θaŋ kjuː/ (if it is)?


texts:
There's another post concerning a similar question, but after reading through it, I'm still not sure about the meaning of the sentence I encountered:

  The calendar was blank, as it had been every day this month, except for the third Thursday, where she had scribbled, Civic Association Meeting. Molly sighed, remembering a time when every day had held a different list of assignments and chores, schedules for Erik, and important meetings for Cole. Eight years ago she had needed a calm, almost boring, lifestyle to save her sanity. Now, she wondered if she hadn’t let it go on that way for too long.

Was Molly regretting that she had let herself live "that way" for too long, or was she missing being "that way" when she found she had nothing to do?


texts: Why do we use "the most" as in "Which countries travel the most?", why not just "Which countries travel most?"

texts:
Recently, I discovered that some people use the most in sentences such as Which countries travel the most or we stress the last number the most.

Why not just most?

For example, is it ok to say Which countries travel most or we stress the last number most.

the most sounds very strange to my ears.

Extra info: So what is the difference between:

Which one do you love most?

and

Which one do you love the most?


texts: Meaning of "can't tell if he's coming or going"

texts:
I've heard this phrase in some lyrics and even read it in some online articles.

  don't know if he's coming or going

What's the meaning and correct usage of coming or going?


texts: word for temporarily ordering a worker to a new position because of an emergency

texts:
For example, transferring doctors from their specific departments to infectious diseases, where they have no specific knowledge or experience, because there is a pandemic. Transferring a graphic designer to the shop floor because of a product recall incident.
Similar verbs that come to mind are mostly used in the military:  'commandeered', usually applied to things (e.g. ships or buildings), and 'drafted' or 'conscripted'.


texts:
Are the following sentences correct?

i) Does not he go to school?
ii) Does not the sun give us light?

I wanna know all about the correct patterns and also provide multiple answers if available.


texts:
So, as silly as this may sound, I'm going through a phase where basically the most simple things that I once was able to say without even thinking about them, seem to have started to get foggier and foggier in my head. The issue here is now the use of "after" and "before when" in one sentence, for instance in the following sentence:

The ban was lifted only after two weeks from when it was put in place.

Now, I am well aware that there are way simpler ways of saying the same thing and getting across the same meaning and that this just sounds a bit awkward even if it's grammatically correct , however I can't help but wonder if the use of these two words together is correct or not.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

BTW, while we're at it, if you've ever experienced anything like what I described on the top, please let me know if you overcame it and everything went back to normal after a while or if it was the start of forgetting the language for you. That is, of course, if that language wasn't your mother tongue.

cheers


texts: Difference between tomorrow never comes and tomorrow will never come

texts: What is the difference between tomorrow never comes and tomorrow will never come? A friend said that Tomorrow never comes is a saying. Then Why is the latter not a saying too? Are their meanings the same or not?


texts: Placement of "only" word in the sentence

texts:
I read a text where kids share their experiences about activities in a language camp, and I came across this sentence:

And we spoke only English.

I feel that something is wrong with this sentence, but I'm not sure. At first I thought it should be

And we spoke English only.

Then I thought that maybe this is the correct sentence:

And we spoke only English there.

Please help. Which version is correct?


texts:
I have a question about the usage of the word, voice.
When should I say "a clear voice" over "clear voice"?

I would like to say that

  A clear voice is one of the qualities for the job.

Is it right expression?

Thanks in advance.


texts: “Half a cup of milk” or “half cup of milk”? “½ cup of milk” or “½ a cup of milk”?

texts:
I have two questions related to this topic. Since they are very closely related, I decided to group them in one thread. If it is better to separate them, please let me know and I will fix it. Thank you.

Question 1:

Context:  It is only half a cup of milk. Drink it all.

Is it “half a cup of milk” or “half cup of milk”? I am leaning toward “half a cup of milk” but I have no explanation. I can only guess that it is probably because it is half of a cup, so half a cup. But then this reminds me of “half an hour” and “half hour” :( so now I have just confused myself.

Question 2:

Under the same context, except now instead of having “half a cup” we have “½ cup.”

Context: It is only ½ cup of milk. Drink it all.

Is it “½ cup of milk” or “½ a cup of milk”?
I am pretty sure it is “½ cup of milk” because of examples like “⅔ cup of milk” and “½ cup of butter.” But again, I have no explanation (assuming I am right).

Please advise. Thank you in advance.

P.S. Under what grammar keyword should I look into for this topic? I thought it would fall into measure words or something, but my grammar book doesn't have this specific topic.


texts: Word for "mid-sized wild mammalian land animal," equivalent to Sanskrit "mṛga."

texts:
I am looking for an English translation for the Sanskrit word mṛga.  This word refers to wild animals that are somewhat below the top of the food chain.  The archetypical mṛga is a deer.  They are animals that may themselves be herbivorous, carnivorous or omnivorous, but they are usually also the prey of other animals.  Lions or tigers, for example, would not be referred to by mṛga.  At the same time, insects, birds and fish are also not mṛgas.  It seems they are mammalian land animals that are relatively low on the food chain: deer, rabbits, beavers, voles, mongooses, etc.

Edited to clarify that mṛgas can also be herbivores.

Also, to add the context of the translation: an analogy is being drawn between a mirage and certain Buddhist scriptures whose statements should not be taken at face value.  The mṛgas think that there is water in the mirage, and so hanker after it, even though there is no water there.  In the same way, foolish people think there is absolute truth to certain statements in the scriptures, and so hanker after them, but in fact there is ultimately no truth to those statements.


texts: A word/expression for "acting as X", where X is one of several functions

texts:
First of all, sorry for the title, I did not manage to express this well at all. I am looking for a way to express that someone or something is doing something because of one of their functions. See the made-up example below, I am not getting clearer it seems.

  The 3rd Road committee is in charge of the roads in the South-East of France. XXX, they are launching a new web platform to monitor traffic in the region in real-time.

"As such" kind of works, but it isn't perfect. I'm looking for a word or group of words that better transmit the idea that their function - being in charge of roads - legitimates their new, not directly related endeavour. I'm quite sure it exists, I'm even quite sure I knew it at some point, but I can't seem to find it. Sorry for the handwaveness (handwaviness?) of this all, I hope I still managed to convey my point.


texts: Is that phrase "a type of animal" grammatically correct? Or "a type of an animal"?

texts:
My name is Edith. I have started to learn grammar again these days. I found it hard actually. There are so many rules in grammar books.

I saw an example in the book which is " The giraffe is a type of animal.' Why don't we use "The giraffe is a type of an animal?"

I saw another example which is " The owner of the restaurant is Lucy." Why can we use the after the owner of?

How can we call "a type of", "a branch of", "a bowl of", "a slice of" in general?

Thank you for your generous help:)


texts:
I have difficulty understanding the following sentence:
-Or does it somehow lie behind its properties, supporting them, a solid peg on which they happen to hang.
Please help me grasp what the present participle function here, together with why a noun phrase followed by a relative clause stands alone.
Thank you!


texts: can I use thing, thing, thing and/or thing in English

texts: I want to convert ( thing and/or thing and/or thing and/or thing ) into ( thing, thing, thing and/or thing ) or not


texts: server replication or servers replication

texts:
In the title of a paper I'm writing, I want to talk about "replication" of servers, but I'm not sure if the object of replication should be written in singular or plural form.

Should I write

  Performance evaluation of video servers replication in networks

or

  Performance evaluation of video server replication in networks

My supervisor says it should be the former because several servers are being replicated. But somehow that feels grammatically incorrect to me.

Is there a general rule to support the choice for a singular or plural noun here? Does it depend on how many servers are being replicated (one or several)?

Thanks!


texts:
A while ago, I think, I started hearing and reading people use the verb 'to sit' incorrectly, but it seems to becoming increasingly common.

Such as "I am sat", "We are sat", "They were sat". Sit is a pretty regular verb. The perfect form of it (sat) is the only irregular form of it, so it makes this doubly odd.

For instance:
Bustle

  Never is this more literal than when you are sat in front of the telly watching Gogglebox.

Cher concert booking

  Wondering where you will be sat?

Mirror.co.uk

  Feels like yesterday we was sat in college moaning to finish

Could this error be deliberate, as a form of inverse snobbery (attempting to appear mainstream)? This might also be a particularly British thing, rather than American. Certainly all the examples I can see online seem to be from British (typically colloquial) sources.


texts: Is it really possible to be "half dead"?

texts:
It is not all-too-rare to hear of someone being "half-dead," but is that logical, or possible?

If so, how do you determine just how dead, percentage-wise, a person is?

If it's possible to be 50% dead, then it must also be possible to be 7% dead, 42% dead, etc. Or even beyond integers, what about being 3.14% dead?

If that were so, surely medical science would be able to tell you that the patient is "14.3% dead, but stable" (so, if said patient continues in such a condition, he will live forever, but not feel all that chipper), or "37.7% dead, and declining rapidly" or "29.4% dead, but gradually improving" and so on.

Are the old less alive than the young? Is old age a matter of the percentage of aliveness gradually diminishing?

IOW, a person is either alive or dead, right? They are either 100% alive, or 0% alive. Being "half dead" makes no sense. From whence did this oddly even expression originate?

And why is the expression "half dead" instead of "half alive", anyway? Is this an optimist ("glass half full") vs. pessimist ("glass half empty") thing? Would you rather be told you were 14.3% dead ("Dang, I'm 1/7th dead!!! I wonder which 7th?!?") or that you were 85.7% alive ("Hey, I'm 6/7th alive! I pretty much rock!!!")


texts: Are there any patterns to observe in choosing the correct negative prefix to use?

texts:
Are there any patterns to observe in choosing the correct negative prefix to use, as in unbelievable, disproportionate, asymmetric, and intolerable? (There are other negative prefixes as well, but these are the ones I usually mix up.)

Un- and in- are probably the ones I most frequently mix up, as in *untolerable/intolerable, *unedible/inedible, *unexact/inexact, *unappropriate/inappropriate, ...
I realize these are all in-, but why? Is there anything to look for there?


texts: Would you say "He is a master of French and Italian cuisine" or "He is a master of both French and Italian cuisine" ? Thanks


texts: Is there any difference between "true" and "real"?

texts: I know they have the same meaning. But I'm wondering if there is any difference between them, like in some cases we can only use one of them?


texts: Is the following usage of "multitude" correct?

texts:
In the following sentence, is the usage of multitude correct?

  A major challenge is the vast multitude of possible adversaries.

The sentence sounds a little "off" (for lack of a better word), but I am unable to pinpoint what the problem is.

I would appreciate it if I could know if the sentence is fine, or if any changes are needed.


texts: what do we say "English Department" or "Department of English"

texts: I would like to know whether these phrases "English Department" and "Department of English" have the same meaning. Is the term "English department" refers to "a department in England" or something else, and whether "Department of English" means the academic place where English is taught? Thanks!


texts: Position of direct object of phrasal verb (bring up)

texts:
Is it grammatically correct if I say:

  His mother brought that little matter of his prison record up again.

Or should I better say:

  His mother brought that little matter up of his prison record again.

I know it is the correct to say:

  His mother brought up that little matter of his prison record again.

However, I am not sure about the other option.


texts: Is there an alternative to "that much less"?

texts:
The teams weren't fair to begin with, but Jim's injury made them that much less fair.

The last part of that sentence feels wrong to me due to the contrast of "much" and "less". Is there perhaps a more natural sounding alternative to convey the same meaning without rephrasing the sentence entirely?


texts: Is there any case when it's correct to pronounce the word "police" with the stress on the first syllable?

texts: Is there any case when it's correct to pronounce the word police with the stress on the first syllable:  /ˈpəlis/?


texts:
I read an American magazine that usually contains three or four articles each week about the business climate in China.

This week, however, the magazine did not have any Chinese news.
This week, however, the magazine did not have any China news.

Which sentence, semantically speaking, is better?


texts: Is there a verb to describe opening a can with a tab?

texts:
Is there a verb in the English language that describes the act of opening a can with a tab (like soda, for example). The closest I can get is "cracked open", but I'd like something more concise.

What about in other languages?


texts:
What is the difference between "As per" and "As for"?
As for our professional services or as per our professional services?


texts:
I have a feeling there's only one way to say this: you can be in the “95th percentile”. A colleague of mine says it's OK to say “the 95% percentile”, which doesn't seem to make mathematical sense to me.

What's correct?


texts:
He feels his troubles as much or even more than they.

Is this grammatically correct or do I need to add "as much as"


texts: "In the year 1769" or "in 1769" in this sentence?

texts:
Which is better in the following sentence, "in the year 1769" or "in 1769"?

  While he was sailing in Polynesia in the year 1769, the British explorer, Captain James Cook discovered a mysterious island where local people wore tatao.


texts: Is incorrect capitalization considered a spelling error?

texts:
Is incorrect capitalization, such as the lowercase "i" in

  [Can] i [this sic] have an if statement within a
  dialog box code?

considered a spelling mistake, or some other type of error?


texts: Using hyphens to connect words to the same meaning (conjunction?)

texts:
I had a debate at work, over which thing would be considered the most correct way of writing the following (English):

"The company offers engineering, retail and architectural services"

or

"The company offers engineering-, retail- and architectural services"

I am from Denmark, and in Danish we use the second approach which connects


texts: What can a prepositional phrase modify adverbially?

texts:
I wonder what prepositional phrase can modify when it as an adverb phrase?

I've learned about adjective + preposition these day, and I got confused.

see - It's very generous of you to bring me a present.
( I know to bring me a present is an adverb tell us why it's very generous. But how about "of you" ?  )


texts:
I have a question about a word I’d never come across until the other day: sally. It seems the perfect word for what I’m trying to describe: to quip as a form of diversion. That is, to use humour as a defence mechanism.

If you look at the usage of this word, sally (in the form I want to use it) is a noun. I want its verb form. However, when you look at definitions for the verb form, they make no mention of its usage to quip as a diversion, only to make a military sortie or to set out from a place to do something.

Google searches reveal its verbal usage as above: he sallied forth, she sallies out. But I couldn’t find any examples of it as quipping in verb form.

So, my question is (when quipping as a defence mechanism, specifically) can one sally?

‘I sally.' 'He sallied.’
’She is sallying again.’
‘She sallies.’

Thx!


texts: What is the better form to ask with 'when'?

texts:
There are a few options here:

When is the end of the world?
When the end of the world happens?
When is the end of the world going?
When does the end of the world happen?

Any wrong options here? Maybe you have had some other variant?


texts: If someone talks too low, or mumbles, do you call that 'inaudible' or 'unintelligible'?

texts:
To put it more specifically:

is inaudible reserved for when you can't hear anything, or does it also apply when you can't hear enough?
is there a more specific word than unintelligible to mean 'acoustically unintelligible'?


texts: A single word describing something that needs attention

texts:
After a work is peer reviewed, it moves into a state in which the author of the work must review critiques and answer questions from the peer who reviewed the work.

What would be an appropriate word to describe the state the work is in?

E.g., in a state trail:

  Completed → Reviewing → _____ → Fixing → Accepted


texts: Is "affectated" a real word, an adjective for something demonstrating affectation?

texts:
I have used the word "affectated" in conversation many times in the past, but when I went to write it, my spell-checker balked. "Affectated", meaning someone or something that is demonstrating affectation, which is "behavior, speech, or writing that is artificial and designed to impress".

"Affectated" is not in most of the online dictionaries I've checked. It is listed at https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/affectated, but nowhere else.

Is it a real word?


texts: Is there a term for the device of titling named chapters in a work of fiction?

texts: Does anyone know if there's a term that describes the device of titling chapters in a work of fiction? That is, chapters not simply called "Chapter 1", "Chapter 2", etc., but chapters with unique names that describe their contents, such as the chapter called "The Potions Master" in the first Harry Potter book.


texts:
I have an easy question about the usage of the verb promise.

Is it correct to use it with this contruction?

Promise to [somebody] + to [base form]

Is it commonly used?

Examples:

1) He promised to me to keep my opinion secret.

2) I promised to John to help him out.

Or I should always use the standard construction with the "that-clause".

1) He promised (me) that he would keep my opinion secret.

2) I promised (John) that I would help him out.


texts: Common name for words like duplicate, triplicate, quadruplicate etc

texts:
I have a list of words that I can sort by name. The list might also contain duplicates, triplicates, quadruplicates etc. The list can also be sorted in such a way that such repetitions show up on time. What should I call this sort mode?
"Sort by Duplicity" is the closest I could get. But I was told that it is usually used in a negative sense.
I'm looking for alternate suggestions that would ideally be a single word.


texts: I'm not 100% sure if the 'hand' in 'beforehand' is a morpheme as it can function as a standalone word instead of the suffixes and prefixes which make up most morphemes, such as -ly, -ing, -ed, etc. I'm willing to stake the claim that it is a morpheme in the above case, but I also want a second opinion to verify the possible truth to my claim.


texts: What would you say vs. How would you say

texts:
I want to ask a question what someone would say in or about a certain situation.

Here's a question.
"How would you say when you had a great time?"

And I'm expecting the answer,
"It was fun."

Should I say "How would you say when ~?", "How would you say it when~?" or "What would you say when~?"
Which one sounds better?


texts: What to call a small restaurant which serves only a single type of food?

texts:
In my location, there are many small restaurants that each serve only a single type of food, e.g., noodles, noodle soup,... mainly noodles but only 1 single type.
It's not a café, not a cafeteria, not a restaurant (many types of foods), not a stall because it's in a house,...
Should it be called a "noodle shop"?


texts: Etymology of "thirsty" as slang for horny, covetous, desirous

texts:
I've been seeing this a lot more recently (mostly in YouTube comments). What is its etymology? Is this a recent invention?

Example: YouTube video with 2M views: 17 Thirsty Athletes Caught Staring at Gorgeous Women (2015).

Example: YouTube comment at this video — "Damn that woman is thirsty.  Ooooh, OOOOOH!"

This 2017 NYT article seems to suggest it's used in a broad range of circumstances, but my question pertains specifically to the "horny-desperate" sense, which I seem to be seeing a lot more these days (again, mostly in YouTube comments). (Yes, I know "thirst" has been used metaphorically in many senses, e.g. "thirst for knowledge" for maybe centuries, but I've never seen it used in the "horny-desperate" sense before the last few years.)

My guess is that it's a somewhat-newish US black urban slang, but I could be wrong, hence this question.


texts: "The contents of the cereal box" — singular or plural?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “The contents are” or “the contents is”

Which is correct?

  The contents of the cereal box is distributed among the children.
  The contents of the cereal box are distributed among the children.

"The contents ... are" definitely sounds better, but isn't the word contents in this sense singular? Maybe "the contents ... is" is correct, despite the fact that it totally doesn't sound like it is.


texts:
I have been reading "The Year of Living Danishly" by Helen Russell and a phrase which keeps cropping up is A Good Thing (or A Bad Thing).

As the following Ngrams shows, this is a phrase that is used by some (but it practically flat-lines against the non-capitalised version).

From where does this phrase originate?

Does it have any specific implication other than its normal denotation?


texts: Is there a word or phrase for ethical value based on economic value?

texts:
I'm not even certain that such an ethics system exists, but I can think of at least a few people who consider economic levity to be a sign of moral absolutism, and that those who are economically destitute are immoral individuals.

Is there a word or phrase for this belief?  The belief that one's economic standing indicates one's value on an ethical scale?

In other words, an ethical system in which the good are rich (or rewarded by becoming rich) and the bad are poor (or punished by becoming poor) would be called...


texts: A theory or concept related to language use by elite or the higher classes

texts: I'm an English teacher, and I'm looking for a theoretical model that suggests language is used differently by different classes. I am aware of Bernstein's Elaborated code, which refers to an elite using an exclusive sociolect, but I think this just refers to spoken language. Is there anything similar?


texts: A word to signify the scope of something

texts:
As in:

  The impacts could be mental all to way to physical.

Where mental signifies the lower extremity and physical the upper extreme.


texts: Can "indignantly" be used in a situation where the person it's applied to is looking down on someone?

texts:
Given the following sentence, is "indignantly" used correctly:

  "I can't believe a filthy beggar like you would dare to even speak to us!" the lead girl in the trio indignantly shouted at him.

The definition of the word "indignant" states that it is "showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment."

In this case, the person is definitely angry, but she is clearly looking down on the beggar. She also clearly thinks it's inappropriate that he's spoken to her, but it's not really "unfair" treatment. Is "indignant" properly used in this case?


texts: Plurals in titles of lists regardless of number of items

texts:
Not sure how to describe it, so here is an example.
This looks right, even though “tests which failed” has only one item in the list:

Tests which failed

Test #1

Tests which passed

Test #2
Test #3

This looks wrong:

Test which failed

Test #1

Not sure what English rule explains why the first example looks correct and the second example looks wrong. Collective noun, mass noun, headless noun, grammatical number...?


texts: What does "stereotyping" mean in this context?

texts:
I'm interested in understanding the following paragraph:

  I’m stereotyping when I say that the Chinese can’t drive for shit.
  They just can’t, and that’s that.

The word stereotype is a new one to me and I looked it up in the dictionary. I've read all the explanations but still not sure I've understood it. Does it mean that guy is unjustified when saying Chinese can't drive? Or does it mean the guy just literally says Chinese can't drive?


texts: Possessive function of a business name which is made with a possessive

texts:
Garner's fourth edition, page 714, states regarding the name McDonald’s

  It is quite defensible to write McDonald’s dinner combos (the name
  functioning as a kind of possessive)

On what grounds can  a business name which is made with a possessive function as a (kind of) possessive?

Secondly, is the same true for a business name created with a plural noun, therefore ending in -s'? (I am not a native speaker, and unfortunately cannot come up with an example right now)


texts: Which is correct "The party who makes the request " or "The party which makes the request"

texts: Which sentence is correct : "The party who makes the request " or "The party which makes the request"


texts: "Right from the beginning" and "From the beginning"

texts:
Does the word "Right", in the following sentence, emphasise the correctness or the sequence? or is it redundant?

Example Sentence:

  I will do it right from the beginning.
  I will do it from the beginning.


texts:
"CleverIS User Interface Changer quickly introduces legacy applications to the latest trends, such as mobile and web technologies."

I'm not sure about the meaning of the word "introduces" in this sentence. Does it mean to "insert" or to "present"? Or maybe something else...Is it that the "legacy applications" become available quickly?? on the "latest trends/technologies"?Could anyone help me on this?Thank You!


texts:
I'm reading Verbs of Incomplete Prediction in my grammar. It says that certain Transitive verbs take, beside an object, a complement to complete their predication. I have understood almost everything in the chapter, but I'm having a doubt in one sentence.

"I punched him 100 times"

The sentence without 100 times makes complete sense but if I use it, it gives more information on the object or the verb (I'm not sure). Is it a Complement Of The Object? Or adverbial object?

Sorry if I made any grammatical mistakes. I'm in the process of learning English.


texts: What does "discipline" mean in this context?

texts:
First of all, I've always had a problem with the word discipline as I translated it to my language many times, but without understanding its real meaning.

Now I have this text:

  If you were to fault yourself in one of three areas, which would it be: (1) the inability to prioritize; (2) the inability or desire to organize around those priorities; or (3) the lack of discipline to execute around them, to stay with your priorities and organizations?

Please, what does discipline mean? I can't understand that sentence without it.


texts:
Is there a word for (1) note marks in the text with missing corresponding description in the margin/foot, and (2) descriptions in the margin/foot with missing note mark in the text?

I know of words "orphan" and "widow" used in type setting context, and feel they are reminiscent. Can they be used for this concept, or not?


texts:
It is really hard to someone who has not any respect to it's own values to be respected by others.

What is the reflexive pronoun of someone?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Someone who sleeps during the day

What is an appropriate word for people who can’t sleep at night but sleep peacefully in the daytime?


texts: A question of informal punctuation: How do you correctly end a sentence with 'haha'?

texts:
What is the best way to end an informal sentence (such as a text or over Facebook chat) with haha?
Consider the following options:

It's always bugged me haha

It's always bugged me haha.

It's always bugged me haha!

It's always bugged me; haha

It's always bugged me; haha.

It's always bugged me; haha!

It's always bugged me. Haha

It's always bugged me. Haha.

It's always bugged me. Haha!

It's always bugged me, haha

It's always bugged me, haha.

It's always bugged me, haha!

All of them which end with an exclamation mark are too loud.
All the ones which have punctuation between the 'haha' and the word 'me' have a very broken flow.
All of the ones with a period on the end look like it's an excessively boring laugh.
The first one without any punctuation doesn't have punctuation and seems incorrect.
My only thought was perhaps 'haha' itself could be considered punctuation. Technically 'haha' is an exclamation.
Update: I added 10-12 based on JeffSahol's answer.


texts: Do you need to spell it as food or as feed? Or is that different between UK english and USA english?


texts: What is the term for exact matching antonyms

texts:
Is there a term for describing an exact matching pair of antonyms?  In the example below we have a pair of synonyms and antonyms.  However, I want to explain to my coworkers that when they name pairs of variables for actions they should use matching pairs, like the pair Start-Stop, and not to use other matches like Start-End.

Start - Stop

Begin - End

After asking this question I found a previous post that contained the same question: Is there a term for the direct opposite?


texts: How to use the word 'party' as an adverb?

texts:
I have an English worksheet where I am supposed to use the word "party" as an adverb.

"I went partying" - Is this correct? (It answers the question, "where did I go ?") I couldn't think of anything else...

Is the word "partying" used here a noun or an adverb of place?

My understanding is that if a verb is followed by a preposition and then a 'place', the 'place' is a noun. (For example: I went to the party. Here 'party' is a noun.) Is my understanding correct?


texts: Verb meaning to solve problems through precision or accuracy?

texts:
I am seeking an English verb meaning to solve or otherwise approach problems through some combination of precision, accuracy, flexibility, or even speed. There's plenty of relevant nouns, but I can't think of any corresponding verb forms.  By way of example, you can solve problems via strength if you force your way through, via intellect if you reason or outwit, or via social skills if you charm, convince, or manipulate others.

"Manipulate" almost gets at what I want, but I'd prefer something that points primarily to physical action and cannot be interpreted as a social action.


texts: When citing a paper and describing its purpose, is it correct to use a comma to describe the contents?

texts:
My question is in regards to the following sentence and has two parts:

  Bitcoin is a clever solution to the Byzantine Generals Problem[2], which describes the issue of trusting data transmitted over a network where there exists the danger of faulty or dishonest broadcasting nodes.

Is this comma necessary? It's hard for me to tell whether or not I am using a comma correctly in this sentence. Removing the comma makes it seem like a run-on sentence, but I can't tell for sure.
The word "which" seems unprofessional / awkward, is there a better way to reword this entirely without having a comma and without using the word "which"?


texts: What is the best way to express the frequency of some action?

texts:
I want to state in an email to a colleague:

  I am going to speak with the customer and want to be as informed as
  possible regarding the frequency at which we have been receiving
  checks.

Is this the best way to construct this sentence?  I'm especially struggling with how the preposition function in this sentence (should I use of or at?).


texts: Ways to perceive something: textually, visually, acoustically?

texts: Textual describes something as being in text form. I can read something that is textual. Something that is visual can be viewed. I can listen to something that is acoustical in nature? I don't think acoustical is the right word. What word am I looking for?


texts:
Are the following sentences are correct?

Tim is a manufacturer and he is not able to fix the car.

Tim is a manufacturer, and he is not able to fix the car.

I think the first sentence is wrong because it doesn't have the comma before AND, since they both can be independent sentences. Am I correct?
I have taken the first sentence from an App (BBC English Learning - Playstore)


texts: Does adding the suffix "ality" to a noun change its meaning?

texts:
I thought that -ality was used to turn an adjective into a noun : bestial to beastiality, final to finality.

But I see that some people add it onto the end of nouns : criminal to criminality, position to positionality.

What do you think?


texts:
I have trouble with this problem to chose over or until that is in the quiz:

  The country has suffered from little investment (over/until) the past year as a result of political.

I know that "until" often go with the specific point of time, but the correct answer is "over"


texts: What do these slang phrases in Dahl's "The BFG" mean?

texts:
I am studying Roald Dahl's The BFG and I am confused by a couple of passages.

Context: The Big Friendly Giant suggests that the soldiers leave the helicopter and then drive Jeeps to man-eating Giants' sleeping place.

  ...the BFG told him, ‘But if you is taking these sloshbuckling noisy bellypoppers any closer, all the giants is waking up at once and then pop goes the weasel.’ (p.179)

And

Context:The Big Friendly Giant refused to tell the Queen the whereabouts of the Giant Country.

  ‘No, Majester,’ the BFG said. ‘Not on my nelly.’

I searched online. I found that "weasel and stoat" is rhyming slang for "throat". Is it correct to think that the soldiers' throats will be gone if the Giants are awake?  And is ‘Not on my nelly’ a word play for "Not on your life?"

Could you please help me work out the meaning of these two phrases?


texts: What term is used for the closing of a letter?

texts:
Salutation is the term used to describe the beginning of a letter or other correspondence. What is the term used for the closing of a letter? Here are some examples: Yours truly, Sincerely, Best wishes, Love?

Searching for 'antonym of salutation'1 was not helpful.

EDIT: This need not be expressed as a single word. (Whatever is correct is fine, whether one word or a phrase!)

1. Citation (IEEE Style): Thesaurus.com, "salutation," in Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition.  Source location: Philip Lief Group 2009.


texts: Multiple definitions of "model" and "frame"

texts:
1) There was a model of the new bank in the mayor's office.
Does model here mean a small representation or a structural design?

2) The frame for the new building was constructed.
Does frame here mean to plan or to construct? I think of plan and construct as synonyms, but I have to choose one.

There is not much context provided other than the sentence, so I have to make my best guess using the sentence.

Thank you for your help!


texts:
I am answering an online English grammar test and encountered the following question

  Where was Jack yesterday? —I don't know. He ________ seeing the doctor.

My answer is: might has been
Correct Answer is: might have been

Why not might has been? He is singular?


texts: What is the significance of calling a surname a 'second name'?

texts:
I'm reading Agatha Raisin stories--set in the 1990s in the Cotswolds--and the vicar's wife consistently says that the ladies in their society refer to each other by their "second name" [e. g., "Mrs. Raisin"] rather than saying 'surname' or 'last name'.

My assumpton is that this usage tells us something about her social class or regional origin. Am I right, and what is the significance?


texts: "I finally was able" or "I was finally able"?

texts:
Is one form wrong or more correct than the other? Or do they have different meanings?

I'm a non-native speaker trying to figure it out.