texts:
This has been bugging me for some time; I tried to look for previous questions here but my language tools may not be sharp enough to phrase my query correctly so please forgive me if this has already been posted here.

Speakers of English as a foreign language tend to incorrectly use the word "would" when using some particular subjunctive constructs. Here is one example (this time presumably by a native English speaker):

  If that would happen, you won’t be alone.

(One correct version being "If that happens, you won't be alone".) I have detected this in speakers of a number of languages so I feel this is more likely to be a feature of the English language itself than a carry-over from their native language.

I have a faint intuition that this is because the English subjunctive is not very distinctive, and it certainly doesn't help that a number of correct forms do have subunits like that, but I can neither make that precise nor even really phrase a concrete question. Can someone shed some light on this?

Edit: just to provide some real-world examples of what I mean, here is one example taken from this page:

  Publish or Perish is designed to empower individual academics to present their case for research impact to its best advantage. We would be concerned if it would be used for academic staff evaluation purposes in a mechanistic way.

This is obviously ungrammatical (to me), but I'm not sure how to characterize the mistake, or what the likely causes are (e.g. whether it follows from analogous constructions in other languages).


texts:
I need an explanation to this sentence as an example, "On my desk is my book". Is it correct? Grammarly correct wouldn't it be "My book is on my desk."?
Thanks in advance.


texts: Is it "Most of the reading was done" or "Most of the reading were done"?

texts:
I wrote a blog post, which has the below sentence.

  I owned a few paperback books, but most of the reading was done on my
  15.6-inch laptop screen.

Grammarly extension pointed out an error with this statement.

It told me to replace was with were. It gave me the following explanation.

  The singular verb was does not appear to agree with the plural subject most. Consider changing the verb form for subject-verb
  agreement.

I somehow feel was is the right word here, but don't know why.

I need your help folks. Can you please tell me which is right and why?

Thanks!


texts: How to give a tip without using 'Keep the change'

texts: Imagine you're in a bar and order a pint of beer, which is £3.20. You only have a £10 note but want to tip the barkeeper. As you can't use 'keep the change' for obvious reasons, what do you say to tip the barkeeper 80 pence, making the total price £4?


texts: "On the periphery" or "in the periphery"

texts:
Are both of these valid?

  on the periphery

  in the periphery

What would be the appropriate usage? Would it be sufficient to use peripheral as a replacement?


texts: What does "to be the lowest common denominator" mean?

texts:
I'm not English and I never encountered this saying:

  In almost all cases, it is possible and within reason to write
  completely portable code.

  In practice, this means that you shouldn’t assume much about the host
  compiler (and Visual Studio tends to be the lowest common
  denominator).

What's the meaning of the "to be the lowest common denominator" in a sentence? That it is a concept that applies for all or something else?

Also: I'm not sure this question answers my problem, I read it but couldn't figure out the above sentence appropriately


texts: Is there an alternative word to "violent" or "violence" but without any physical connotations?

texts:
Definitions of violent all seem to mention physical force but I am looking for a word to say that someone is suddenly exceptionally aggressive or destructive without being physically so. I want to describe a sudden fit of extreme anger that clouds a person's judgement, but I do not want to imply physical force, though they may take some other non-physical extreme or destructive action.

I would like to say something like "they were violent" but without implying the use of physical force.

Better again if the word can help with implying the action is sudden or impulsive and lacking deliberation or thinking things through.


texts:
Whilst doing my grammar homework identifying classes of words, I've come across one that I'm stumped with. The part of the sentence is, "his three big dogs". I've correctly identified the classes of all but the word "three". I thought it would be an adjective because it's describing a noun (dogs). I looked it up online and three can also be a noun or part of a specific idiom (via dictionary.com), but it is neither of those.

What am I misunderstanding here?

Thanks for any help!


texts: Is there a difference in usage between the idioms "through the ringer" and "through the wringer"?

texts: Is there any difference in usage between the idioms "through the ringer" and "through the wringer"? As I have found out they are pretty similar (for example here  and here) but I have no idea when to use one instead of the other.


texts: Omitting pronouns in conditional clauses

texts:
I have a dispute with an acquaintance over this sentence:

If [you're] looking for aliases that will be displayed in the help message, see the link above.

("you're" is omitted)
I'm pretty sure this sentence is incorrect because the conditional clause has its pronoun omitted, and I couldn't find any rule such an omission would be justified by. I believe "you're" cannot be omitted without rephrasing the sentence.
My acquaintance argued this omission is acceptable in technical documentation and often used as a sort of "shortcut". He wasn't able to provide any links to dictionaries that would support his claim, I never saw such use described as acceptable, and I am not convinced by his word alone.
Who's right?


texts:
While editing some ad copy, and I was given the sentence, "Defending a lawsuit can be a big cost for your business." (My italics.)

I keep thinking the proper word to use is "expense" rather than "cost" as in: "Defending a lawsuit can be a big expense for your business." But I'm just not sure I'm correct.

Can anyone help with more definitive guidance? Can "cost" and "expense" be used interchangeably in a sentence like this?

Thank you!


texts: What grammar is involved in a sentence such as "Would you like to climb a tree?"

texts: When you say "Would you like to marry me", what part of speech is the "like" – is it a 'separate' verb? What is the grammar involved?


texts: How to use hyphens appropriately when listing multiple unhyphenated terms?

texts:
Very similiar to this question, but with an important difference:

If two words share the same end, but do not contain a hyphen, can I also avoid repeating their ends when listing the words?

How would the following be shortened, considering that unidirectional and bidirectional do not contain spaces or hyphens?

  To allow unidirectional and bidirectional communication...

In German we would write:

  To allow uni- and bidirectional communication...

MS Word however complains about this, marking "uni" as a spelling error.


texts: I have difficulties spelling anonymous because I have trouble remembering how to even say it. Is there an easy way to remember its spelling?


texts:
Sports people, sometimes after making a really impressive play, make a motion with their arms spread out moving up and down, basically signalling at the crowd to cheer louder.

Is there a better word or phrase I can use to describe this?


texts: "would have been" without if-part but with "in retrospect"

texts:
I struggle with the following sentence:

  In retrospect, it would have been an interesting experience.

The it refers to something in the sentence before:

  I have never ascended Mount Everest because I was afraid of it.

I am not a native speaker and I only know the phrase "would have been" in combination with a conditional III sentence. But since there is no if or one of its replacement words like should for example, I struggle to identify the underlying grammar rules. Can someone please explain to me, which grammar rule does here apply?

Thanks!


texts: "be given offters of help" or "be given willingness of help"

texts:
In this sentence, " a woman is often given more___of help with her broken-down car when she is dressed attractively than when she is dressed less appealingly."
The answer is "offers", but why not willingness? Is it because that the "willingness" is not written in a plural form?


texts: "In the Figure 1 (below)" or "in Figure 1 (below)"

texts:
I have a stupid question about the use of the word "Figure".

Do we say "In Figure below" or "In the Figure below".

Thanks

Omer


texts:
A senior researcher has single-handed[ly] constituted one of the most comprehensive collections of field recordings.

I have three questions,  two pertaining to usage and one to grammar:

 1. Should single-handed be an adverb describing constituted?

 2. Can the verb constitute be a transitive as well as a causative verb as in the above example? I think that in the above example the word constitute is misused to mean form, establish or create. A researcher does not constitute part of the collection.

When acknowledging thanks for financial support:

  We are thankful to the Smith Foundation for supporting our new research project.

 3. According to dictionary meanings, thankful does have the meaning of gratitude and appreciations, but with the nuance of relief as in the example, "We are thankful that the storm did not cause more damage." Is my feeling correct?


texts:
I've heard these two sentences a lot "as you said " and "as you mentioned".
I'm a bit confused about them. I want to ask: what's the difference between these two sentences:

"As he said before this car is a great choice for you"

"As he mentioned previously this car is a great choice for you"


texts:
Sources available on line  say that the expression “Cyber Monday” is just a few years old, dating its coinage to 2005:

  The term "Cyber Monday" was dreamt up in 2005 by a marketing team at Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation. The idea was to provide online retailers with a catchy hook to match the brick-and-mortar shopping frenzy fueled by mention of Black Friday savings.

Searching online, it appears that the expression was used a few years earlier for philanthropic reasons, but on the same idea of an online transaction.

From The e-way to philanthropy, “how nonprofits can use information technology”:

  Sheng-shu Jack Shen, City University of New York. Center for the Study of Philanthropy - 2001-

  On October 4, 1999 Public Radio station WAMU (www.wamu.org) in Washington, DC suspended its normal on-air pledge drive for one day, called " Cyber-Monday." On that day 3,489 pledges totaling $227,000 were received through the ...

The above usage  is probably just an example of how the expression may have been used before it was closely related and popularized by the Black Friday sales in 2005.

Is there more evidence of usage of “Cyber Monday” before 2005? and when was the expression actually first used?


texts: "How long do you have" -- what does it mean?

texts:
"How long do you have?" -- What does that mean?

The conversation regards my potential trip to another country to visit someone.

It means how long I want to stay there? Or How many time I (will) have to stay there?


texts: Is the modal "would" correct in these passive sentences?

texts:
Recently I was going through a grammar exercise book and I found these two peculiar sentences in a section about passive usage:

"What would you most recent been told? I would most recent being told that I was a fool."

The book is "Advances English Practice" by B.D. Graver.
Now, I've been studying English for quite some time and this is the first time I've come across such oddly structured sentences. The modals and the passive verbs sound out of place. In fact, I'm not even sure what they mean but I would rephrase them as:

"What have you been told most recently? I've been told that I was a fool."

Am i right? And if so, could someone explain this use in greater detail?


texts:
I thought perhaps embery could be a word, but it isn't. Is there such a word?
Here's the sentence I intend to use it in: He reached into the fire and grabbed an (embery) log.


texts:
I usually use parenthesis to add a sort of explanatory sentence in a passage... you know, the typical use (like this, for example). But then, I have seen in articles, and some other places I can't recall now, people using hyphens instead of or sometimes interchangeably with the parenthesis -doing something like this-.

So, is one of them correct and the other correct? Are they equally valid? Or is it just the editor choice?


texts:
I am writing a technical letter for my (and my lab partner’s) senior design project (we are engineering majors) and I would like some help on properly phrasing part of the letter.

The project belongs to my partner and I. I was always taught in school that in cases of dual possession, I should always proceed the other possessors.

Suppose for a moment that the project was just mine. Then in that case, the sentence below would be grammatically correct.

  Attached to this email is my project selection.

Now if the project only belonged to my partner, this sentence would also be grammatically correct.

  Attached to this email is my partner's project selection.

However, since this project belongs to both of us, I need to phrase the sentence accordingly.

The sentence below doesn’t appear to be correct in my opinion.

  Attached to this email is my partner and I's project selection.

This one sounds better, but doesn’t follow the rules I was taught.

  Attached to this email is mine and my partner’s project selection.

So which phrase (if any) should I use to be grammatically correct? Thanks


texts: Preference of "cheaper and more efficient" over "more efficient and cheaper"

texts:
Would "cheaper and more efficient" be ever so slightly preferred over "more efficient and cheaper"? The same goes with "more", and any other pair/group of comparatives, of which one uses "more" or "less" while the other doesn't.

My intuition favours the former to totally eliminate any possibility or relation made between "less" or "more" and the other comparative it is not meant to describe, although I acknowledge that ambiguity is not a concern, and even in my daily life I use both naturally. How much preference do you think should be given to the former, if it should be given any at all?

In addition, what would be the appropriate term for this? My first guess was "order of comparatives", but that didn't yield any results on Google.

(Some other examples:
"Slower and less alert" instead of "less alert and slower" and
"Chaster/holier and less sinful" instead of "less sinful and chaster/holier")
 Thanks for reading this! :)


texts: Using the indefinite article or zero article with "20/20 vision" when referring to sight measurements

texts:
While looking at the search results for "a 20/20 vision" in a question on ELL asking whether there should be an article before 20/20 vision, I noticed that many of the results that were the correct context and from sources that were not obviously written by non-native speakers seemed to be grouped between the 1920s and 1960s. For example,

In that state you must have a 20 / 20 vision in one eye , or a 20 / 30 vision in the better eye and at least 20 / 40 vision in the poorer eye (Source from 1935)

Don't let a 20/20 vision lull you into a false sense of eye security. It's a common misconception, say University of Chicago eye specialists, that a 20/20 finding means normal vision. (Source from 1955)

I attempted to use Google's NGram viewer to get a better look, but I struggled with getting it to recognize the syntax to handle the "/" properly and couldn't get it to return meaningful results showing the contexts where the phrase was detected. The examples I could find often freely mixed using the indefinite article and the zero article in the same sentence, and looking at the image of the text, it wasn't an OCR error.

With a 20/20 vision in each eye, the stop sign as well as the word "STOP" could be seen distinctly at 255 ft., both eyes open. With 20/30 vision in each eye it was visible at 200 ft. With 20/70 vision it was visible at 100ft...

Prior to looking at the examples, I thought that an article shouldn't be used vision measurements like "20/x vision". Now, I'm not so sure.
Is it acceptable to use either the indefinite article or zero article with a vision measurement in modern AmE, for example, "The pilot had a 20/20 vision in both eyes." If not, did it used to be acceptable and the usage evolved away from using an article? Is there a difference in BrE?
Because of my difficulties searching the corpora available to me, I feel like I may be interpreting a few spurious results as more important than they are, but I'd like to know one way or the other.


texts:
I read the following statement on news:

  Trump's approval rally has disappeared. (CNN.com)

After some research it seems the word rally has several meanings in political context.

It can mean the public event where people gather in the streets to listen to a political speech
It can also mean to call people together (figuratively) for a cause

But approval rally doesn't seem to fit either.

Maybe besides meaning the concrete gathering and the call for support, rally could also mean the support from the people itself (the result of gathering or call)? As if "approval rally" meant simply popularity, political support or political backing shown by citizens?

A further question: does rally apply only when the popularity of a politician has bumped after a period of steadiness? Or can it be used despite of that?

Thanks!


texts: In which context should I use reduced relative clauses?

texts:
As I should write essays and other kinds of writings in an academic style, I was wondering whether reduced relative clauses are formal or I had better opt for a non-reduced relative clause so that I should keep writing in a formal style.

Just to give an example:

  1) Look at the man who is sitting...

  2) Look at the man sitting...

Obviously, the meaning is the same, but I'm more concerned about the style of my writing, as aforesaid, theoretically speaking, I should write essays in a formal context.


texts: Is the "by" correct in "makes no claims by writing them"?

texts:
Is it correct to use the preposition "by" in such a context:

  If within this period Mr X makes no claims on the work quality by writing them in the certificate, then ...

I meant that Mr X can write all the claims in the certificate within the given period of time.


texts: What does "have nothing on someone" mean here?

texts:
From what  I know "have something from someone" means to know secret or damaging knowledge about someone, I was reading this article on espn.com and it is an excerpt from that article

  Carl Pavano for $40 million, A.J. Burnett for $82.5 million and Kei Igawa for $20 million have nothing on Rodriguez for $275 million.

I don't understand what "have nothing on" means here. Even though it is fairly obvious what the article is about, and what the comparison is here, but I cant quite figure out the meaning.


texts: Which one is right " He is menace to me " or " He is menace for me "?

texts:
Which preposition is right for the following sentence -

Which one is right " He is menace to me " or " He is menace for me " ?


texts:
I was wondering if the use of "neither/nor" is correct and comprehensible in the sentence:

Moreover, most probably neither was the snake linked to Cleopatra because of the erotic association nor the cat assigned to her because she was a voluptuous witch.


texts: Should you include the word "the" inside a quoted/emphasized words?

texts:
I'm having a bit of trouble regarding whether to include the word "the" inside a quoted words.
For example:
None was known when the Great Cataclysm had happened on the other hand.
Should I emphasize it like this:
None was known when the “Great Cataclysm” had happened on the other hand.
or
None was known when "The Great Cataclysm” had happened on the other hand.
Other than that, I have one more extra question regarding emphasizing.
Sometime I see a lot of emphasizing with italic and quotation.
I know that the one with quotation are words that's unfamiliar and weird without being quoted.
As for the one with italic, it is oftentimes used in simple word being emphasized like to-be, adverb, and many other.
But is it always been the case like this?
Any help is appreciated.


texts: Arcane/obscure word that represents a person's timeline or daily record

texts:
I'm looking for an arcane or obscure word to describe a person's daily record.

Words like:

  account, agenda, appointment book,
  chronicle, diary, daily record,
  daybook, engagement book, journal,
  log, minutes, notebook, record

work, but are common. Do you have something more obscure?


texts: Confirmation of grammar/usage "The parents"

texts:
I came across this sentence in Duolingo. 'The parents like the cheese.' which sounds wrong to me... Shouldn't it be accompanied by a pronoun My/Your/Everyone?.

I reported it as a problem... I would like to know if I'm right/wrong.

It seems acceptable in the context of biology. If you were talking about bacteria.


texts: Can anyone help me to understand if the following sentence requires 'who' or 'whom'?

texts:
I am writing a story and would like to know which one is correct:

a) "...and it was impossible to know who was sheltering whom."

b) "...and it was impossible to know who was sheltering who."

I tried to apply the 'replace who by he/him' method, but I didn't figure out yet.

I appreciate your help.


texts: Is this an appropriate use of "vice versa"?

texts:
Favoring math has taught me that what you're most passionate about is not always what you're the best at, and vice versa.

I'm afraid the part that the "vice versa" refers to is too long, which would make the meaning of the sentence unclear. Should I write it out instead? The sentence would then be:

  Favoring math has taught me that what you're most passionate about is not always what you're best at, and what you're best at is not always what you're the most passionate about.


texts: Options for: "with an average age of 12 (the youngest being 11 and the oldest, 14)."

texts:
While working on a translation, I came across this type of construction.
How do you construct/punctuate this?

"with an average age of 12 (the youngest being 11 and the oldest, 14)."

This version is how I would actually say it, but is the punctuation be correct?
A couple of other options that might work:

(youngest, 11; oldest, 14)
(the youngest aged 11 and the oldest aged 14)

Are there any specific rules for this?


texts: What is the Pointy Part of a Speech Bubble Called?

texts:
Given a speech bubble, what is the pointy part from which indicates the origin of the spoken word?

I'm assuming this is the same term for thought bubbles? If not what's the term for the origin of thought bubbles?


texts: What does 'levitical' mean in this context?

texts:
I came across the word 'levitical' in the following paragraph:

The only thing to do was to keep the peroxide in a tank made of something that didn’t catalyze its decomposition (very pure aluminum was best) and to keep it clean. The cleanliness required was not merely surgical—it was levitical.

'Levitical' can refer to the Bible book of Leviticus, or to the descendents of Levi ... but what does it mean in this context?
From R H K Webster's:

Levitical [adjective]

of or pertaining to the Levites.
of or pertaining to Leviticus, or the law (Levitical law) contained in Leviticus.

The quote is from John D Clark's Ignition, 1971.


texts: How can I generate Affirmative and Negative responses from a statement or question?

texts:
I'm writing troubleshooting that consists of questions and positive or negative responses like so:

Is the television plugged in?
Affirmative: The television is plugged in.
Negative: The television is not plugged in.

I want to aggregate the responses as the troubleshooting continues so that the next step would look like this:

The television is plugged in.
Is the power light bright red?

The problem is that I want a computer program to take my questions and generate the affirmative and negative responses and due to grammar this isn't always trivial.

Trivial:
Is there bright red light?
+ There is bright red light.
- There is not bright red light.

Question form:
Is there [...]

Affirmative form:
There is [...]

Negative form:
There is not [...]

That's easy, they're all simple sentence prefixes.  But for others it is not so simple:

Does the TV change channels?
Yes the TV changes channels.
No it does not change channels.

Is there sound coming from the speakers.
Yes there is sound coming from the speakers.
No there is no sound coming from the speakers.

Are more than three of the lights lit?
No, less than three lights are lit.
Yes, more than three lights are lit.

If I could figure out a handful of templates for this that could easily be inverted by simple cut and paste type operations I could make it work.

Also that should probably be "3 or fewer lights are lit" "3 or more lights are lit"


texts:
I have watched this video hundreds of times but there are two words I still can't figure out what they are. They have been bugging me and I would really appreciate if anyone could let me know what those two words are.

Link to video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMxiGI7Rhlo

(1) Between 1:05 and 1:10, between "it's only 1:0 at that point" and "the whole thing is a mess" there is a word that pronounces like "knee-dure" ("dure" like in "procedure") being said by both guys several times, what is that word?

(2) Between 2:36 and 2:48, between "who are people like me" and "listen, hold on", the guy wearing the red hat says "are you xxx at me" several time, the word sounds like "work-a-meat" or something similar, what is that word?


texts: Usage of the phrase “I clutched my pearls”, esp. for males?

texts:
I came across with a phrase, “clutch one’s pearls” in the headline of the Hill (January 6).
It reads :

  “Dem lawmaker: ‘Kind of odd’ for GOP to be ‘clutching their pearls’
  over profane call to impeach Trump” and followed by the following
  paragraph: Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I) on Sunday scoffed at the
  controversy surrounding Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-Mich.) profane vow to
  impeach President Trump, accusing Republicans critical of the freshman
  lawmaker’s comment of hypocrisy.

I was unfamiliar with the phrase, “clutch one’s pearls,” and I found the definition of
“clutch your pearls” in Cambridge Dictionary as follows:

  Disapproving to behave as if you are very shocked, especially when you show more shock than you really feel in order to show that you think something is morally bad.

Google Ngram doesn’t accommodate neither clutch your pearls or one’s pearls.

So my questions:

From around what time this phrase started to be in use?
What is the origin of this phrase?
Is it a popular phrase?
Can a man – males seldom wear a pearl necklace - use this phrase in such a way as, “I clutched my pearls when I heard Tom was fired from his office yesterday”?


texts:
The title of my thesis is "Approaches of PID controller design with
applications and experimental validation"
(It explains various techniques for the design of controllers for various systems)

Is the correct usage "Approaches of PID controller design" or "Approaches for PID controller design"


texts:
As I know, animals can be called "he" or "she" (not only "it").
Also, if a person's gender is unknown, we may use "they" instead of "he" or "she".
Is it possible to use "they" when we talk about a specific animal and in what context?


texts: How did words like rubbish, ribbon and cabbage get "BB"?

texts:
Certain words that have double B in Modern English didn't have "BB" in the word they are derived from.

Rubbish: "c. 1400, robous, from Anglo-French rubouses" (Etymology Dictionary)
Ribbon: "early 14c., ribane, from Old French riban "a ribbon," variant of ruban (13c.)" (Etymology Dictionary)
Cabbage: "mid-15c., caboge, from Old North French caboche "head" ... , from Old French caboce "head," " (Etymology Dictionary)

They did not have a second B before but they do in Modern English.
In contrast,

Bubble: "early 14c., perhaps from Middle Dutch bobbel (n.) and/or Middle Low German bubbeln (v.)" (Etymology Dictionary)
Babble: "mid-14c., "to speak as an infant speaks," frequentative of blabben, of echoic origin (compare Old Norse blabbra, Danish blabbre "babble," German plappern "to babble")." (Etymology Dictionary)

Is the addition of a second B in Modern English (or Middle English) random? Why and how did some of those words acquire a second B?


texts:
I came across this idiom in a title, in association with a noun:

  [noun of a product category] — The need of the hour

What does this mean?


texts: The form of future implication: be-deletion

texts:
As we all know "to be continued" refers to the future. However for some reason (I don't know why) we do not use "to be going to + verb" for this.

  Sarah to take to the stage tonight

What does this usage mean? Why we don't use "is going to" ?


texts: What are the syllabification rules for English?

texts:
I am trying to break a word down into syllables and am not quite sure how to do it for English. Some problems I face:

The letter-to-sound rules are not one-to-one. As an example, notice that z"ea"l and "ee"l are different in orthography but map to the same sounds.
English has a large number of foreign words incorporated into it, which makes "sticking" to a certain set of rules all the more difficult.

So my question is:
1. Are there any definite rules for breaking a word in English down into its constituent syllables (CV, CVV, CCV etc.?).
2. What is the "gold-standard" (something used by a majority of the community) on this?


texts:
Is it inadequate to use "a couple of things" in a formal letter?  If so, what word or phrase would work better?

Example:

  I`m writing to inquire about a couple of things regarding my new job placement.


texts: A Word to describe the action of removing double-strapped backpack from your back?

texts: I am looking for a word that can explain this action in a word rather than writing a lengthy sentence. Any guidance or corrections are appreciated.


texts:
As a young scientist searches for a way to save a dying Earth, she finds a connection with a man who's racing to catch the last shuttle off the planet.

I've thought that "Earth" is always used with "the" when we're referring to the planet we're living on because it's a unique object and "the" can be substituted with "this" here.
But in that sentence, there's an "a" as if they are talking about SOME Earth.
What am I missing here? Thanks.


texts:
I'm ESL and have some questions on some of the phrases used in 'Dive Olly Dive!' "Hide and Seaweed" episode. Hope you can help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yst45J7SFCI

"...it's back to SURF with you" at the very beginning (at 0:46).
Is it intended like "it's (time to go) back to SCHOOL with you"? (SURF is Olly's research/training facility) But if this is the
case, isn't it more common to say "it's back to school
FOR you," No? OR am I interpreting this wrong?
Into about 2:20, Olly says "Fishticks!" according to the script.
I am guessing this is one of those malapropisms to avoid swearing for kids. But what is fishtick and what does "Fishticks!" mean? If it's "fish sticks!" I heard some kids saying in the sense of Gosh, Darn it, etc.
This may be a bit off the topic, but the big octopus character is said to be "GLAKEN" in this animation. His name is "GLAKEN" and Olly even says "Sea monster? (epiphany) You're the GLAKEN!" But I thought the monster is Kraken in Norwegian, Swedish, and also in English. What's the writer's intention for chosing to use GLAKEN instead of Kraken do you think?


texts: A word that refers to something that had lasted most of one's life?

texts:
She wants to get rid of an affliction that had been haunting her
  most of her life.

I was thinking if I could make the passage above shorter, say using an adjective instead of that had been haunting her
 most of her life.

Is there any adjective I can use?


texts:
All,
I am wondering how the same word may refer to two opposite meanings.
According to the free dictionary https://www.thefreedictionary.com/overlooked, overlooked may mean a thorough examination or to fail to observe. For me, those seem to be opposite meanings.
thanks


texts: "The author wrote" vs. "the author writes"

texts:
What is the rule for the following examples?

In the passage, the author writes. . . .
In the passage, the author wrote. . . .

I’m trying to explain to my son that both are correct, but I can’t tell him why because I don’t know the rule to reference.


texts: Is it right to use "in complaint to" instead of "to complain about"?

texts:
I started a letter with:

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing this letter in complaint to the poor service and inappropriate food quality and price I received from your restaurant.

As I was checking my writing, I mentioned that every sample online begins like this:

I am writing this letter to complain about blah blah blah...

I am not sure if my statement is rare or incorrect. Please brighten me.

by the way, English is a foreign language to me, so please excuse any wrong use of language and feel free to correct each and any mistakes I may have made throughout this question. Any advice is appreciated.


texts:
What is the grammatical name given to this expression:

  with fear and trembling


texts: Since when is "Don't be too fool to use..." an English expression

texts:
I was horrified to see our company create an ad that reads:

Don't be too fool to use the hard drive"

However, Googling the expression "Don't be too fool" seems to show that it's a popular turn of phrase.
Is it English? And if so, what really does it mean?
Is it simply another way of saying "Don't be a fool" or "Don't be foolish"?


texts: Usage of "representation" in the sense of being part of a group

texts:
Is the following sentence correct and clear?

  "Elite universities in England are under constant scrutiny because of the low representation of certain population groups, particularly state-school pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds."

The meaning should be that elite universities are scrutinized because they admit disproportionately few students from some population groups. Somehow I feel that 'representation' requires clarifying the reference group – like "...low representation of certain population groups in admissions,...". But that also sounds strange to me.


texts: Which is correct - you or your in this context?

texts:
Your staring won’t make me walk faster

or

You staring won’t make me walk faster

Which is correct, you or your?


texts: Are "way better" and "way more" correct?

texts: "Way better" and "way more" are popular expressions, but they both seem incorrect to me. "Far better", "far more", "much better", and "much more" all seem correct. Is this true? If so, why?


texts: Contraction of "There are" to "There're"

texts:
I'm a soon published author going through my final edit of the book and I got stuck thinking about this one. I understand that when writing this you should type in "There are". When people are saying this though, they usually say it quickly contracting it to "There're". Here's the question: When I am writing what someone is saying, could I spell it as "There're", or will I have to type the correct way of "There are" while risking losing a certain "way of speaking" to the sentence?

I know some of the sentences above may have a slightly strange way of being put forth, but English is not my native language and it's getting late here. I hope you understood my question.


texts:
I understand contractions as just a means of merging two words into one, with some added punctuation, but there's some cases where I feel I'm grammatically correct, but using them incorrectly.

For example, "Have you ever been to the market downtown? I know I've."

Or, "Will you guys be coming with us?" ... "Yes we'll."

And, "If that won't work, what'll?"

Is there some grammar rule against doing this? Is there a reason why this isn't common? What makes doing this feel awkward?


texts:
The domain 'name of domain'  has expired on 'Month' YEAR.
or
The domain 'name of domain' has been expired on 'Month' YEAR.

?


texts: "Anyone knows that" vs. "everyone knows that"

texts:
The context is as follows.

I say that X is true.  The (dismissive) response I receive is "Anyone knows that".  Is that a complete sentence? Yes, it is grammatical. Yes,it has some semblance of meaning.

Firstly: most people wouldn't see a problem — they would interpret anyone as everyone without thinking about it. But, as other discussions in this forum note, anyone and everyone are not precise synonyms.

Secondly: by inferring an implied set of people, the sentence "Anyone knows that" makes sense, e.g., "Anyone (you could possibly ask) knows that." I agree that most listeners/readers would make this inference without thinking about it.

But note that this interpretation of "Anyone knows that", is only an example. There are other possibilities for implied sets of people. Therefore, it seems to me that if the meaning of anyone is intended to mean all, the sentence is incomplete.  What do you think?


texts:
Many times I've heard of 'pun intended' or 'pun not intended', which I see as a form of excuse in the English-spoken world. However, I can not wrap my head around why are you constantly excusing/explaning something so innocent(?) as pun.

What I am giving off constantly saying 'pun intended'? What's the purpose of constantly saying 'pun (not) intended'?

We don't excuse puns in my native language, in my country, we just laugh it off.


texts: Can 'nothing' ever be preceded by a plural verb?

texts:
I've had it drilled into my head that nothing is always singular, since it's essentially another way to say 'no thing'. However, in the following sentence, I'm having trouble ascertaining whether the preceding verb should be singular or plural:

  There are nothing but liars in here.

Is this sentence acceptable? I'm inclined to believe that nothing is being used as an adverb rather than a pronoun, so it is correct to use 'are' rather than 'is'. Here's another example sentence:

  They are nothing but petty thieves.

In this case, since the subject is simpler, it becomes more clear that the plural should be acceptable. Am I understanding this correctly?


texts: I am trying to decide if I can consider myself a native English speaker

texts:
I was born in Amsterdam, Holland. I learnt Dutch from my parents and in school. Around the age of 5-6 I started learning English. I watched English television and had English conversations with my mother and we also had frequent English speaking guests in our home, with whom I spoke English. I spoke English well before I started learning it in school around the age of 11.
When I was 13 I moved to Denmark and lived in an all-English speaking community for 9 years. I also continued my schooling in English as well as further studies.

Now I speak English as my first language. I still speak Dutch, but it's not quite as fluent as English. These days people assume I'm American when they hear me speak. I work in English, I speak English at home, I read English fiction for leisure, etc. I also tend to find grammatical and typographical mistakes very quickly, and I speak better English than most people I know, including slang.

So now I'm interested to know if English is really my first language, and if I am a native English speaker.


texts:
When something is an approximation to another thing can it be exact? Meaning can an approximation be the thing being approximated? A quote from wikipedia

  An approximation is anything that is similar but not exactly equal to
  something else.

I know that wikipedia is not absolute source of knowledge so I wanted to be sure. Can I say that the number 2 is an approximation of the number 2?

EDIT: the meaning of exact is not what I need here, I want to know if approximation can be the same as what is being approximated. As I understand it and from the dictionary definition I find exact is something very similar or nearly identical. Still most of the definitions I find stress on the fact that an approximation can not be accurate. I guess my confusion is coming from the meaning of the word's translation in Bulgarian. For us an approximation can be exact.

EDIT2: trying to add a bit more context. I am writing about an algorithm that produces a solution that is close to the perfect solution, so I called that an "approximation". However there are application of the algorithm when it is guaranteed to find the perfect solution. Thus I got a comment that I can not call the algorithm an approximation when applied to those specific applications. I am trying to verify if this comment is adequate


texts:
Is there a word for when something looks correct when wrong? For instance in art, drawing something that technically would be wrong in reality, but drawing it correctly actually looks wrong and drawing it wrong looks correct.
I used to perform magic and I thought there was a term for this.


texts: Does anyone have a good idiom for when someone asks you to guess what they are doing/thinking but you are not interested in making an effort to guess?

texts: Like say if I ask someone what’s are you using that for and they say guess I’m looking for a good idiom that indicates I’m not interested in guessing like “I’m not a mind reader” springs to mind, but does anyone have any others similar to this ?


texts:
My question concerns the use of the word late when referring to someone who has died.

Numerous fictional characters die and return to life again. Would it be correct to refer to them as the late XXXX, given that they don't stay dead? What word could be used for them at the time they are 'not alive'?


texts:
The following conversation takes place between a seer and an individual almost 120 years ago in British India. The seer says -

  If you can make your thoughts and words perfectly at one, if you can, I say, make yourself one in speech and action, money will pour in at
  your feet of itself, like water.

The language used here is dated. So when the seer says -

"If you can make your thoughts and words perfectly at one", does it mean that he is asking the listener to say exactly what he thinks?

He goes on to say - " make yourself one in speech and action", does this mean he wants the listener to practice what he preaches?


texts: I envisage that it does not. Can the sentence exist?

texts:
The sentence is my answer to the question of whether robots will replace teachers in the future. I am not a linguist or a native speaker, therefore I cannot tell the truth. Personally, I speculate that the sentence can exist only if 'it does not' denotes 'it is impossible'. However, I should have answered the question this way:

It's tough to envisage the future without teachers; despite AI benefits over a person, computers cannot replace teachers. Neither can robots.

As you can see, envisage can be used without the second verb. Instead, a noun can stand after 'envisage'. Also, I could have used a modal verb instead of 'it does not'. Today I was passing the oral part of the state English exam. In result, I have scored 19 out of 20. No one has taken the sentence into consideration. One point was missed due to mispronunciation. Nevertheless, I wonder if I can say 'I envisage it does not', and a native speaker will understand me; if it sounds natural, and if it is correct.


texts: Why do words ending in -umble have such semantic overlap?

texts:
If we look at this "sound family" of words, we see that they all seem to be about things going wrong:

crumble, tumble, rumble, fumble, bumble

(Perhaps there are others, although I exclude humble, mumble, grumble as not very similar.)
Is there an etymological connection here — for example, some kind of pejorative suffix in older forms of English or the source languages — or is it coincidence?


texts: What is the difference between "I've been to China" and "I've gone to China"?

texts:
Both are in the present perfect, but one uses the verb 'to go' and the other 'to be'. Is there a rule for this?

Is there any chance that the differences between "I have been" vs. "I have gone", are differences in English dialect (I don't know if this is the right word).

Edit
Could I say that North American English speakers use "I have gone", and maybe U.K speakers say "I've been"? Or vice versa.


texts:
I've known that the possessive case of the proper noun ending in "-s" such as "James" is formed by adding just "an apostrophe" or "an apostrophe and -s".
Is it right?
Then what's the possesive case of "Mars"?
Mars'    and     Mars's
Are they both "grammatically" correct?


texts: Usage of the phrase "you don't know what you don't know"

texts: What is the correct usage of phrase "you don't know what you don't know"? Can it be used in formal conversation/writing?


texts: The very concepts of the "present" and "existence"

texts:
In the following sentence I want to understand the meaning of the bolded part:

  The light from most stars takes millions of years to reach us, so not only the present existence of these stars debatable, but so are the very concepts of the "present" and "existence".

What does it mean?


texts: Comma in "servicing carriers that are committed to participate and willing and able to adjust market share"

texts:
Troubling sentence:

  Name at least two servicing carriers that are committed to participate
  and willing and able to adjust market share to cover up to 100% of the
  risk if necessary.

Is it okay to put a comma after participate? Coworkers have gone back and forth over this; we can't find any documentation to support either argument in Gregg's Reference Manual or Words Into Type.


texts: Which is correct: "confirm with somebody" or "confirm to somebody"?

texts: I want to talk to someone and make sure something is done. How to express this meaning using the word confirm? I'm not sure whether it should be confirm to sb or confirm with sb. Is there another way to say it?


texts: When I was on my English academy I was told that to refer to something that happens at night I should use 'at' and not 'on'. However, there is a Dire Strait album called 'On the night' so that title always shocked me as I saw that title as incoherent with that rule. Please, could you somebody clarify me if it the title is correct and if so why?


texts:
The noun 'must-have' is defined in the Cambridge Dictionary as:

  Something that many people want to own.

Do you know any alternatives for expressing the same meaning? I would like to use it to make the writing a bit more elegant: 'must-have' sounds so cliché-ish.

I'm open to synonyms (Thesaurus had none) and phrases.

The more it leans to 'vital' to own instead of 'want' to own, the better.


texts: Word describing a rule that is implemented to specifically target a small set of people

texts:
Suppose I had a small company with perhaps 20 employees, and one of them had an obtrusive quirk, perhaps something like always attaching a massive number of "reaction gifs" in emails. HR might decide to create a new policy stating that there can be at most 3 gifs in an email. Is there a word for this kind of a rule that seems to apply to everyone but is really just meant for a specific set of people to tell them to stop doing something?

"HR put in some new policies but they're really just _____ rules."


texts: Word to describe a mathematical variable that repeats, like an angle or time

texts:
In mathematics a variable can be said to be constrained if it must lie within certain bounds, for example:

0 < x < 1  (the variable x is constrained: it lies between zero and one)

However some kinds of variables (such as an angle, or time of day) can be constrained with an additional property that their values form a closed loop: if I increase the value past the upper bound it reappears at the lower bound. For example:

11 o'clock + 2hours = 1 o'clock

Is there an adjective or name to describe this kind of 'circular' variable?


texts: Expression for the advantage of being in possession of disputed goods in a civil suite?

texts:
Some time (years?) ago I saw (In fact it might have been in a comic, possibly Zits.) an expression/proverb that basically said that being in possession of a disputed goods meant that a civil law suit/quarrel was almost won before it had begun. Anyone know what idiom am talking about and can remind me?

NB: I am not sure if it was in English or Latin. If possible I would prefer a latin answer.

Edit: with this answer I found the comic strip where I thought I read it first http://www.thecomicstrips.com/store/add.php?iid=90971

I also found a corresponding latin phrase, uti possidetis, ita possideatis (are there any better idioms in latin?), which is more useful since I am not gonna use this expression in an English context.


texts: “Miles, I swear you were the most bed-wettingest kid in Brooklyn. Matter fact, back then I used to get this trash paper every morning, just so we could line the top of your mattress with it in the evening.” Mr. Davis closed the paper, folded it in half. He shook his head. “And then your pissy butt would come waddling into our bedroom in the middle of the night smelling like two-hundred-year-old lemonade, talkin’ ’bout, I had an accident. An accident? I’ma tell you right now, son, be thankful for your mother, because if it were up to me, you would’ve been lying in the wet spot until it was a dry spot.”


texts: A word to describe the expected amount of information gained from learning the answer to a given question

texts:
In relation to my question on Mathematics.SE, I would like to know what English words would fit the best to describe the expected amount of information that will be gained by learning the answer to a given question or by learning the responses to a given questionnaire.
The word should describe the question or the questionnaire, not the answers.  Thus, words like "informativeness" or "information value" would fit poorly, because the common view is that the information is contained in answers, not in questions (though in fact both are important).
For example, the value that is to be described is a priori higher for the question "What is your favourite dish?" than for the question "Do you like French fries?"  It is also a priori higher for the question "Are you married?" than for the questions "Do you pay taxes?" and "Are you a lawyer?" (assuming nothing is known about the person being asked, the answers to the last two questions are easier to guess in advance -- "yes" and "no" respectively).
Usage examples:

The question "What is your favourite dish?" has higher foo (or more foo) than the question "Do you like French fries?"
The total foo of a questionnaire composed of completely independent questions is the sum of the foos of its questions.

I know that this is an instance of entropy value, but I am looking for a more common and intuitive term, if such exists.


texts:
Which expression is correct?

  stars in heaven

or

  stars on heaven

I want to express that something comes in really, really large numbers. For instance: "There are more Blabla than stars on/in heaven".


texts: Which tense suits best with "Over the next decade" time expression?

texts: In a grammar question, answer key says "Over the next decade, politicians will be keenly watching USA to see how it deals with increasing crime rates." . It uses future progressive to express that action isn't completed but I thınk answer should be future perfect tense because "over the next decade" states a finished action. Thanks for advance.


texts: What's "less" in nevertheless and nonetheless?

texts:
OED's webpage on nevertheless defines it as

  Notwithstanding; despite that; nonetheless; all the same.

But it and the webpage on nonetheless don't expound the etymologies. I already grasp, and I'm not asking about, their meanings.

Rather, how exactly did never/none + the + less compound to mean what they do?
Particularly, is "less" here an adverb, pronoun, or determiner?
What does "less" refer to? What's "less" than what?

Nevertheless « The Word Detective

  The key to “nonetheless,” “nevertheless” and “notwithstanding” is that they all require and refer to an antecedent statement, which may or may not be referred to elsewhere in the sentence. “Nonetheless” “notwithstanding” and “nevertheless” mean that what has been said or known (call it “X”) does not prevent, diminish or invalidate, etc., the fact that the primary statement “Y” is true, valid, etc. (“Limo services Los Angeles have been in demand for years. Nonetheless, their business is fairly limited…,” 10/01/11). The first statement makes the second “none the less” (or “never the less”) true.

nevertheless (adv.)

  "notwithstanding," early 14c., neuer þe lesse; as one word from mid-14c., neuerþeles. The sense of never here is "not at all; none the," as in unmerged expressions such as never the wiser, never the worse. In the same sense Middle English also had never-less (early 14c.),  neverthelater (c. 1200), never-later (late 14c.).

nonetheless | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

  "not the more or not the less on that account," 1839, none the less; contracted into one word by c. 1930.


texts: Is there a specific word for "causing someone to faint"

texts: Is there a word describing when somebody makes someone faint without using anaesthesia or physical contact. As seen in some comedy movies where an answer usually causes somebody to lose consciousness.


texts: How do I ask a pupil in what specific Grade he is ? (for example 7A, 7B etc)

texts:
in the 80s and 90s when I was in school in Romania, each romanian school had a class (in other words all pupils in for example Grade 7 of that school) divided into several units, each unit being approx. 28 pupils who attended all classes in the same classroom together. Each unit was called 7A, 7B etc. So for example I was "in 7B".

I know that to ask a pupil what Grade he is, you simply ask him "What Grade are you ?", to which the answer would be for example "I'm Grade 7".

My question is, please, how do I ask a pupil in what specific Grade he is ? (for example 7A, 7B etc)

Thank you so much,

Adrian.


texts: Glad to hear it / this / that - are all of these correct?

texts:
In most cases, I have seen "Glad to hear it" or "Glad to hear that", which expresses your feelings about smth you have heard or read. Is it ok to write "Glad to hear THIS", responding to some news in a letter received from a penpal?
Thank you.


texts:
does the expression "to swing the door open /shut" mean that the action was done with force and /or produced a loud noise? or is it just an exact synonym of "to open /close the door"? thanks for the answer. peace

I've searched many different dictionaries and found no answer - hence my question here. how come is it "off-topic"?! isn't it a forum, where users discuss vocab?!


texts: Can you define the subtle difference between "What kind of person ..." and "What kind of a person"?

texts:
The indefinite article certainly adds something, creating a slightly different shade of meaning, but is there a clearly defined rule or principle for this?

What kind of freak show is this?
What kind of a freak show is this?

Or:

What kind of person are you?
What kind of a person are you?

There is a TV show in which a character, unsatisfied with the manner in which he's about to be killed, asks rhetorically:

CHARACTER: What kind of a death is this?

What would change if he said instead:

CHARACTER: What kind of death is this?

Both are grammatically correct, I suspect. Ngram says so, anyway.


texts:
Source: Journals of the House of Lords (1610)

  That whereas the House of Commons have already, among their Grievances, preferred a Petition to His Majesty, as of Right and Justice, That the Four English Counties may have a Trial by Law, concerning their Inheritance to the Common Laws of this Realm, and so to be exempted from the Jurisdiction of the President and Council of Wales (a Matter wherein the whole Realm is deeply interested) ; notwithstanding, upon ♦ Occasion of this great Contract, the House of Commons doth humbly petition His Majesty, as of Grace, that, without further Suit, Trial, or Trouble, those Counties may be restored to that their ancient Right, the same being no way prejudicial to His Majesty's Honour in Point of Sovereignty (as we conceive) ... (Kindly transcribed by Sven Yargs)

1. Would someone please explain how to determine/deduce the right meaning? All the linked definitions look apt to me. 2. Should there be an article where I placed a diamond?

If I pick definition 2a (= a state of affairs that provides a ground or reason), then that sentence becomes: 'notwithstanding, upon state of affairs of this great Contract, the House of Commons...' Yet this sounds grammatically and contextually wrong?


texts: "quantum mechanical" vs "quantum-mechanical"

texts:
I'm currently writing a short report, where one (sub-)chapter heading reads:

The quantum(-)mechanical basics

I am now wondering, whether it is preferable with or without the hyphen. When googling both words in quotation marks, "quantum-mechanical" gets 5.170.000 results, whereas "quantum mechanical" gets 4.990.000 results. Even in the wikipedia-article on Quantum Mechanics, both spellings are used.


texts: Is there a word for something which loses meaning or value when described?

texts:
Is there a word that describes a concept which loses its power when put into words?

EDIT: For example, the context could be a philosophical (or pseudo-philosophical) idea like "zen" attitude. When a monk can not tell his pupil directly how to achieve enlightenment because the idea is _____.


texts:
Is there any single word for "create a container"?
Or even "lay a foundation", "prepare the ground"?


texts: What do we call an internship of which acceptance of the applicants is based on an interview?

texts: I am writing a cover letter in which I want to mention that I was chosen among 2000 students due to my success in an interview. Is there a general adjective that can be used to describe such an internship?


texts: Is there a term for the "treatment of foreigners as outsiders"?

texts:
In some countries, if a foreigner goes to live there, even if for several decades, they are always treated in part as an "outsider", regardless of their actions and attempts to integrate into the society, or citizenship status. There may be many aspects of the culture they are not allowed part of. They might not be allowed to take part in certain sacred rituals. They might be treated be not allowed to marry simply because of their being from another culture. They may make friends, but the friends might still regard them differently from "local" friends.
I hesitate to use the words "racism" or "xenophobia" to define this, because often these are just old rules in society, and fear or hatred are not a component, at least in modern times. For instance, I live on tribal lands. Though I feel quite welcome in the day-to-day situations, I am excluded from certain activities simply because I am not a member of the tribe. I cannot, for instance, go to certain sacred areas or attend certain secret ancient rituals. I also would be treated badly if I fashioned my hair in the tribal way, dressed in their traditional or even modern fashion style, or mimicked the tribe's unique accent. Yet, the reason is some ancient taboos that nobody today understands...no hatred or fear is involved...that has just been the rules since the beginning of time, so it seems unfair to people experiencing real racism to also call this racism.
So, what is a good term for this different treatment of people because they are a foreigner?


texts: Difference between Paper and Article for scientific writings

texts:
As I know, in most of situations (in scientific context) these two terms are used to point to same thing and even they are used interchangeably.

For example,

  Theory of value with public goods: A survey article

and

  A survey paper on cloud computing

Are there any major differences between them? and can we use them interchangeably in any context?


texts:
How can I rephrase this sentence?

  Waitlist Me can add the name, phone number and status of customers to
  indicate with different colors whether the guests are with groups or
  VIP, ready to be seated or called in.

It seems not very well constructed to me, so I can't get the accurate idea of it.


texts: a word for "want you to be"; as in "want to [word] you"

texts:
being deferential to authority is what they want to teach you
being deferential to authority is what they want you to be (correct but not beautiful)

The second version is more correct but I want an X you form. What is a simple verb to replace teach?


texts: What does "higgledy-piggledy" mean?  Does higgledy and piggledy means anything separately?  How to use these two words?


texts: I want to get a tattoo. I really like this quote: ''Nothing to fear but fear itself.'' But it is too long, so I have to make it shorter. I came up with ''only fear fear itself'' . Is it grammatically correct? I'm not native English speaker and I'm not very good at grammar.


texts: What's the actual grammar and semantics of "Where We Go One We Go All"?

texts:
Recently the bizarre conspiracy theorists who label themselves as "QAnon" have made an appearance in the news. They are cited with the slogan Where We Go One We Go All (mostly expressed through the acronym WWG1WGA).
I'm not an English native speaker and confused about the grammar and semantics of this slogan. Does it mean: "Where one of us goes, we all go?" And if not, what does it actually mean? And is there an explanation for the odd grammar? Are there other (older) examples for such a grammatical usage? Is it (pseudo) Old English?
I guess the We Go One part (apparently standing for "one goes") is particularly irritating to me because the plural we appears to be the grammatical subject while the singular one appears to be the subject in terms of semantics.


texts: What is a word for someone who hates or fears nature?

texts: I know that misanthrope is someone who hates other humans or humankind in general.  I am interested to know if there is a word for one who hates nature herself.


texts: Is "keep off" considered a phrasal verb, as in "keep off the grass"?

texts:
Or is "off" simply a preposition in this case?

If it's a phrasal verb, would it still be considered so in the phrase:

  Keep your hands off her.


texts: Is "despatch" the British spelling for "dispatch" or is it an archaic spelling (or both)?

texts: In John Ormsby's 1885 translation of Don Quixote, the word "despatch" is used. Is that the corresponding British spelling for "dispatch" or is it simply an archaic spelling (in both the American and UK English dialects), or is it both (British and archaic)?


texts:
The words "stoic" and "stolid" seem quite similar to me:

stoic: seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive [cite]
stolid: having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited [cite]

When would you use one versus the other? Under what circumstances would you not use one of them?


texts: Is there a specialised term for words that are almost always mispronounced?

texts:
With few exceptions, I hear people pronounce enmity emnity, Wednesday Wensday, and prerogative perogative.

Is there a proper term for this phenomenon?


texts: Equivalent phrases for the term “war story”

texts:
Looking for a compelling turn of phrase that means the same thing as a “war story”.

Specifically, I’m curious if there are euphemisms that convey a very similar feel, specifically that it’s both related to actual combat or war, and that it’s likely somewhat exaggerated.  Something like a “fish story” or “tall tale”, but specifically involves literal war or conflict.


texts:
Jeffery Archer’s new mystery, “False Impression” ends up with the following sentence in the very last scene where a shrewd FBI agent, Jack Delaney, invites his girlfriend, Anna Petrescu, whom he saved from a ferocious assassin by the skin of her teeth, to Irish stew dinner at his mother’s house to introduce her as his Miss Right.

“But before you agree, there’s something I have to tell you,” said Jack.
“And what’s that?” asked Anna.
“My mother is under the illusion that you’ve already been married three times, you have five children, not necessarily by three husbands, four of them are on hard drugs. Other one is in jail. She also thinks that you work in a far older profession than art consultancy.” (Jack actually made the same joke to his mother before).
Anna burst out laughing. “But what will you tell her when she discovers that none of it’s true.”
“You’re not Irish,” said Jack.

I don’t understand what this very last line, “You are not Irish” means. Does it mean you aren't innocent like my mom (or dumb like me), who is Irish? But readers already know his mother is Irish and Anna isn't.
There must be a definite reason why Arther Jeffery took bother to emphasize this great mystery with the specific phrase "You're not Irish." He shouldn't have inserted this phrase just for naught.
Does it still make sense if I replace Irish with other nations, say British, Scottish, American, French, Italian, or even Japanese, provided Jack’s family is as such?


texts: Graphotactics of possessive: the true reason for the apostrophe

texts:
I have some hypotheses for English graphotactics:

〈w〉 and 〈y〉 are optional positional variants (i.e. allographs) of 〈u〉 and 〈i〉, respectively, in digraphs that correspond with diphthongs or vowels: 〈aw〉 ≈ 〈au〉, 〈ew〉 ≈ 〈eu〉, 〈ow〉 ≈ 〈ou〉; 〈ay〉 ≈ 〈ai〉, 〈ey〉 ≈ 〈ei〉, 〈oy〉 ≈ 〈oi〉, 〈uy〉 ≈ 〈ui〉. They are the preferred allograph at the end of morphemes.
〈y〉 is a required positional variant of 〈i〉 at the end of native words, but digraph 〈ie〉 may be a possible alternate.
Final 〈y〉 in a stem gets replaced by 〈i〉 when a inflection suffix follows unless it is part of a digraph: fly > flies/*flys/*flis but boy > boys/*boies/*bois.
The apostrophe 〈’〉 is used to visually separate the possessive suffix 〈s〉 from proper names – i.e. words with initial capital – to ensure that #3 does not apply, so names have a constant representation.
#4 is not necessary for pronouns, hence 〈its〉, 〈hers〉, 〈his〉 instead of *〈it’s〉, *〈her’s〉, *〈he’s〉. #4 is applied to other nouns as well, though.
In vowel digraphs, round-top letters 〈a〉, 〈e〉 and 〈o〉 are preferred for first/left position whereas flat-top letters 〈i〉/〈y〉 and 〈u〉/〈w〉 are preferred for second/right position.

Are there any graphemic analyses of English that support these observations, especially #4?

I’m only aware of a bachelor thesis in German by Marlene Franke from 2008 which isn’t available online. It’s likely based on theories and work done by Fuhrhop/Buchmann (e.g. 2011: The length hierarchy and the graphematic syllable DOI: 10.1075/wll.14.2.05fuh) and Primus (e.g. foundational 2004: A featural analysis of the Modern Roman Alphabet), who support #6 at least.

Note that #4 is (usually) not extended to the only other possible suffix which is also an 〈s〉, i.e. the plural marker: all the Jennys and Billys.


texts:
They agreed to stay connected for hours in their provisional support group, looking for answers in their counterparts.

I want to change the bold part to say that they all shared the same problem.
Might end up using one of the above, but I feel like I need some more options to weigh in.

Edit for context: they all share the same rare cognitive impairment


texts:
The students, at least, swore by his name, and Fettes believed himself, and was believed by others, to have laid the foundations of success when he had acquired the favour of this meteorically famous man. Mr. K- was a BON VIVANT as well as an accomplished teacher; he liked a sly illusion no less than a careful preparation. In both capacities Fettes enjoyed and deserved his notice, and by the second year of his attendance he held the half-regular position of second demonstrator or sub-assistant in his class.

Another cryptic wording, from Robert L. Stevenson's 'The Body-Snatcher'.

What is the real meaning of 'sly illusion' in this sentence?


texts: Etymology of words "throw" and "catch" when talking about "programming exceptions"

texts:
I must first apologize if this is the wrong place to ask this.  According to the guidelines on cs.stackexchange and stackoverflow, this question was clearly considered "off topic" for both of those networks. It's frequently unclear where some questions should be posted.

In Oracle's documentation for Java, they state:

  When an error occurs within a method, the method creates an object and
  hands it off to the runtime system. ... Creating an
  exception object and handing it to the runtime system is called
  throwing an exception.

Given the explanation from these docs, I might imagine a more direct and unimaginative word choice would have been something like "hand" and "receive" (since the Exception is "handed" off to the runtime).

Wikipedia says "One mechanism to transfer control, or raise an exception, is known as a throw", which brings me to my point: raising makes sense because it is idiomatic English, in the same vein as "raising an issue during a meeting" but throw doesn't really apply to exceptions, issues, or errors outside of computer science.

Since a lot of jargon in CS comes from analogy to similar non-CS ideas (buses, bridges, masks, etc...), I've always wondered this: what analogy or thinking informed the use of the words "throw" and "catch" relating to exceptions and errors?

Thank you.


texts: Is there a word for the act of butchering a language for the sake of a joke?

texts:
My friend and I (may or may not be the same one from my other question) were chatting the other day and we came to a discussion about the idiom tit-for-tat.

tit-for-tat (informal)
a tit-for-tat action is something bad that you do to someone because they have done something bad to you (always before noun) Six of the victims died in tit-for-tat attacks. (informal)

In the middle of said discussion, my friend suddenly swerved into a discussion about his new business idea.

tat-for-tit (business model)
I'll ink some stuff on you for boob pics.

Don't worry, I've given him several pieces of my mind on why that business model won't work (such as pics don't pay bills and you can't draw anything to save your life). My actual question is:

Is there a word/phrase for either:

an act of butchering a language for the sake of a joke

and/or

a person who does said act


texts: Why is it incorrect?: "Persuading (pushing) me off to..."

texts:
I am trying to understand the logic of grammar and semantics in this specific context, and to what extent to "push" the boundaries within language-common-sense (I have read the various threads here on the topic of "off").

Standard usage example

"Pushing them off to..." (to the corner, to the side, etc.)

If the adverb off amplifies the value/significance of the verb push, clarifying that the thrust is away from certain limits, why it could not do the same with the verb persuading?

Example question:

"Persuading them off to.." (another physical location or a mental position)

There is some overlapping in meaning:

Push        Cajole      Persuade

Any thoughts?


texts: Are these words concrete or abstract nouns?

texts:
Whenever I think of a concrete noun, I think of something that can be perceived by the five senses.

I was wondering, if I could see a particular practice taking place, as in a series of football drills, would the word 'practice' be a concrete noun?  I can also see a 'lesson' taking place, so would that also be a concrete noun?

Also, are sounds concrete nouns too? I can hear a 'bang', so would it be classed as a concrete noun?

Thanks in advance for any answers to clarify this.


texts: Is it common to use the word "commute" instead of "go" in conversation?

texts:
I talked to a Canadian person yesterday. She used the word "commute" instead of "go" or "get." For example, she said "I commute to work by car." and asked me "How do you commute to work?"

It was a bit odd to me to see a person use "commute" instead of "go" or "get." So, I want to know whether is it common to use "commute" instead of "go" or "get"?


texts: Difference between "governorate", "province" and "state"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What are: province, territory, protectorate, state…?

Canada has provinces, the US has states and Egypt has governorates.  What's the difference?


texts: Which tense is correct? "Bob wanted to know if he is/was a father"

texts:
Bob wants to know if he is a father or not. A day later, Bob learns that he's a father. Then three years pass.

Now which of the following is correct and why?

  Three years ago, Bob wanted to know if he is a father or not.
  Three years ago, Bob wanted to know if he was a father or not.

Any help is appreciated! But I would greatly appreciate an explanation with your answer. Thank you!


texts: Normally, we would call it temple, mosque or church if it were outside. I am looking for a term for "a place at home where we keep the idols of gods and worship them". What would that be called? Is there any specific word for that? In Hindi we call it something which loosely translates to "prayer room" (Puja Ghar)


texts: Antonym of "perfect, flawless" with the meaning that *everything* is faulty

texts:
Example:

Peter got a perfect/flawless/impeccable score: 0 errors for 100 questions.

John got a ? score: 100 errors for 100 questions (Yes, he filled out the questions. And probably smudged with the extra benefit of grammatical and spelling errors in hen scratching).

The problem with "normal" antonyms is that they fit a range of results.
The words "worst possible" or "best possible" are sounding more than statements than judgements. "Perfect"/"Impeccable" contains the information that it not only contains no errors, it gives the impression that it should not contain errors.

The searched word should immediately inform the reader that if something is measured on a scale, this result is the worst possible result. Beyond fubar. We hit the rock bottom. A perfect screw-up.

EDIT: If there is no such word and I am stuck with "worst possible", that would be nice to know, too. But I must admit, the "unworsenable score" has something...


texts: meaning and usage of "in order the more"

texts:
I have just come across a phrase I have never seen before:

  I do not so in order to undermine the status of xy but, on the contrary, in order the more securely to identify certain aspects.

A quick internet research has shown me that the phrase apparently really exists and me and from the respectice contexts I guess it must be equivalent to in order to [identify] more [securely].

Is this right? Is this phrase commonly used or rather strange?


texts: "Take the train" vs "Get in/out the train" vs "Get on/off the train" which one is right?

texts:
I have a question about some verbs - take in, take out, get in, get out, get on and get off.
Assuming a passenger is boarding a train or an airplane,
Which one is right expression among these verbs: take, get in and get on?
On the other hand, assuming a passenger is unboarding from the train or the airplane,
Which one is right expression amond these verbs: get out, get off?
Are there any differences between "get off" and "get out", and between "get on" and "get in"?


texts: Is 'the least I know, he is an outsider' valid?

texts:
Is this a valid sentence:

The least I know, he is an outsider.

I'm just trying to say that even though I know lots of other information about him (which may or may not be entirely correct), one thing which I can tell for certain - he is an outsider.

So does my statement above clearly support that? Is it valid or is there a better way to say it?


texts: Is English changing to make “Jack told Jill and *I* to walk faster” acceptable?

texts:
Consider:

Jack told Jill and I to walk faster.

instead of

Jack told Jill and me to walk faster.

This “mistake” seems to be becoming more and more common, even among TV newscasters or commentators. Seems as if this is going to be a permanent change in English grammar, adding a complexity:

Jack saw me there.
Jack saw Jill and I there.

Is it?


texts: 'the cleanest' vs 'cleanest': article-containing adverb phrases?

texts:
We have two phrases structures:

'the nicest in my school'
'the cleanest in my house'

These phrases can act as nouns or adverbs:

'He is the nicest in my school.' - noun phrase.
'She cleaned the cleanest in my house.' - noun phrase -or- adverb phrase.  Meanings (noun phrase: "She cleaned the cleanest [omitted thing] in my house; adverb phrase: "She cleaned most, comparatively, [to the other omitted things] in my house.").

So these are the disambiguations I suggest:

'She cleaned cleanest in my house.'
'She cleaned the cleanest, in my house.'
'She cleaned the-cleanest-in-my-house.'

Isn't 1. a better disambiguity to simply say she, herself, is the best cleaner?  Because in 2., 'the cleanest' can also be a noun phrase and in 3. 'the-cleanest-in-my-house' is in emulation of another person?

About 1: 'in the house' is a location set by the adverb so there is an ambiguity; however, when setting groups by the adverb (i.e., 'of my house'), 1. is sufficient, right?

Update

Additional disambiguities:

She cleaned, the cleanliest in my house. - Uses allusion to suggest that the subject, herself, is the cleanliest person.
She cleaned [the] cleanliest in my house. - Shows that 'the' is unnecessary.  Perhaps, for example, it is added for euphonic purposes.


texts: English equivalent of Tamil proverb - "A tiger won't eat grass, no matter how hungry it is"

texts:
In Tamil, there is a proverb that translates to something like this:

  A tiger will not eat grass, no matter how hungry it is.

It essentially is used to describe a situation in which no matter how dire of a situation you're in, you will not use your last resort. In this case, it's used to describe that even if a tiger is starving to death, it won't eat grass (because it's a carnivore). I really couldn't find any sort of English idiom that can accurately describe this Tamil proverb. Please post all related English idioms as answers, even if they are only partially accurate.

A possible situation I might use this in: Alice was a hardworking student who believed that she could receive an A in her class without using extra credit.

I might use the idiom to describe Alice in this situation, as she refuses to use her last resort (extra credit), no matter desperate she is (because she believes she can earn an A without extra credit.)


texts:
I am looking for a good opposite for "mixed reactions". For example:

  The movies with the most mixed reactions from viewers are: ...

Now I want to use the opposite:

  The movies with the most [words meaning agreement in reactions] from viewers are: ...

Note that I used "agreement" above. That's intentional because I am not looking for something that conveys the movies were great or terrible. I am just trying to convey that, say, most (> 70-80%) people rated it X out of 5 scale, where X can be 2 or 4 (it doesn't matter). I have "homogeneous reactions" in my mind but I was wondering is there any better alternative?


texts:
Where should I put stress in the sentence below?

  If only I knew who it was from


texts: Is there any particular reason why days of the week are proper nouns?


texts: "The default measuring unit is inch" vs "The default measuring units are inches"

texts:
What is the correct way to say that I will take measurements in inches?

The default measuring unit is "inch"

OR

The default measuring units are inches

OR

Other expressions?


texts: What is the right way to start a sentence: "To avoid wasting time trying to figure out" or "To avoid to waste time trying to figuring out"?

texts:
I have some problems when it comes to the usage of "to" vs "ing" to express the infinite form like in:

[1] To avoid wasting time trying to figure out ..."
[2] To avoid to waste time trying to figuring out ..."

what is the right way to start the sentence and why prefering "to" or "-ing"?


texts:
I'm a native English speaker and I've learned the word "comfortable" by example, but based on the structure of the word and all of the other examples of "V-able" that I've heard, it seems that "comfortable" is usually used inaccurately.

To say "I am comfortable" would seem to mean "I can be comforted", but most people would seem to think it means "I have been comforted".

Does "V-able" not mean "can be V-ed"?

Is there a more accurate word for the way most native speakers would seem to use "comfortable"?

We say "I am pleased", not "I am pleasable".


texts: How should I understand 16.8 hours a week?

texts: I'm from Poland and I need to know what does it mean to spend 16.8 hours a week on something. When I first saw 2.4 hours I thought it was 2 hours 40 minutes but with 16.8 it makes no sense. Please help me, in Poland, we don't use such things and I need it to my work.


texts: Would the shortening of a word constitute the use of an apostrophe?

texts:
The first example I see often is usually along the lines of "Go get 'em!".

In personal training muscles are often spoken of in a shortened manner, for example triceps are called tri's. Would this be valid use of an apostrophe?


texts: Trailing interjection? "So, I'll just take that, then" Is the "then" now? Should it be "than" because I'm taking it rather than you?

texts:
This question Are constructions like "That's me out, then" primarily British rather than American? is more about "that's"
This question's answers When a person replies with a sentence starting with "then"/"than", should it be then or than? are very close, but the "then" is almost a conjunction there, not an offhand interjection
Related, the "yes", "right", "no", "ja", and "okay" in

The one around the corner, yes?
And we'll meet again on Tuesday, right?
We don't want to be too hasty, no?
We've covered this topic before, ja?
So we will only stay a little while, okay?

do not read like classic question-tags as they do not use a form of "to be". They might confirmatory  or leading
This is not in the form of a question, but it feels the same to me

We'll see you at the party, then

Even when the sentence has a question mark, sometimes it's not really asking (allofunctional implicature); I just want to know what that last word is called and if it should ever be "than"
Cheers


texts:
"It may not amount to anything," he said slowly.  "It is difficult to
  get any perspective on things around here, because every one down in
  the village is sure he saw the murderer, either before or since the
  crime.  And half of them will stretch a point or two as to facts, to be
  obliging.  But the man who drives the hack down there tells a story
  that may possibly prove to be important."

Stretch a point can be interpreted as 'far fetched' ?
'to be obliging' could be understood 'at most'?

I am not a native English speaker.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Referring to objects as “she”

English officially does not have genders like German or other languages; for example, a chair is an it, not a he or she.

However, when you refer to a spaceship you say she, and you say daughter molecule  in DNA replication narration, which implies a molecule is a she.

Where can you find out the “hidden” gender of nouns?  Is there a rule to go by? Why not say “son molecule”?


texts: Is there a word for a word that someone hears often but never has learned the real definition to?

texts:
Is there a word for a word that someone hears often but never has learned the formal definition to and can only guess the meaning of from the contexts it has been used in? I know I've been in the position in which I've heard a word used so often I haven't consulted a dictionary and so I didn't know the real definition and would struggle every time I heard it to figure out what it means really.
An offshoot of my question is: is there a word for a word that someone thinks one knows the definition to, but is actually incorrect? I've also seen this phenomenon a lot, where someone thinks he knows the definition and uses it just incorrectly enough for me to tell he doesn't really know what it means.


texts: Is it correct to use "of" in this manner?

texts:
For the following sentence:

  We request that they identify a faculty sponsor from the pertinent department to ensure awareness of activities of interest.

Would this be the proper way to use "of" in this case?  I feel that the phrasing is awkward when I read it aloud.


texts: Can "3D printer" refer to both types of printers?

texts:
Ignoring the social norm:

May one technically call a printer, that exists in 3D space but prints in 2D space, a "3D printer", where "3D" is an adjective and "printer" being the noun?

In addition, is it fine to also say "3D printer", where both "3D" and "printer" together acts as a single noun describing the printer that can print in 3D space?

In summary, may one say "3D printer" to technically refer to both a printer and a 3D printer?


texts: The difference in the meaning bristle and stubble

texts: Talking about short stiff hair. Do bristle and stubble mean the same? Is there any subtle difference? Dictionaries say roughly the same thing and yet they're not synonyms


texts:
A friend of mine who's a native English speaker corrected me the other day. I said something like "it's not something no-one has done before". He told me about the rule that states that double negatives cancel out, thus making the sentence affirmative. He told me I should rather say "no-one hasn't done before".

I can see at least two ways of saying the same thing:

"It's not something no-one has ever done"
"It's not something someone hasn't done before"

According to the rule, these sentences will convey an affirmative meaning as well.

What I want to say is basically:

  Someone has done this before.

Which is an affirmation. What's wrong with double negation then?


texts: regarding the correct/incorrect use of the comma

texts:
There is a building which is taller than all others known as the Burj Khalifa.

Is a comma necessary after "others", which makes the sentence:

  There is a building which is taller than all others, known as the Burj
  Khalifa.

Should a comma be there or is it unnecessary?


texts:
He shouldn't have posted the PM's that were meant to be private. [PM = Private message]

Is the above sentence correct if we are talking about specific messages? Suppose that, on a forum that I am on, one poster sent 2-4 messages to another person in private, who then posted the screenshots of those messages. So wasn't I supposed to say he has "posted THE messages" (I have those 2-4 messages in my mind when I was talking about them there) instead of "posted messages"?

Is "the screenshots of those messages" or simply "screenshots of those messages" correct?


texts:
In my CV, I have a line that says:

  OSs: Windows, Mac OS X and Linux

Is there a word (that a human could understand) that laconically says that I am able to work on all OSs?

Example:

George is able to work on all operating systems, i.e. Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

Find X so that one could say:

George is X. // or something like that


texts: Can you call an university girl a "schoolgirl"?

texts:
The Google definition is:

  a girl attending school. characteristic of or associated with
  schoolgirls. modifier noun: schoolgirl "schoolgirl French"

But I'm not sure if it refers to elementary school to high school.

Can it be used for a woman who's attending university?


texts:
I have seen (the) Magna Carta referred to both with and without an article, a distinction that doesn't seem to have any relation to nationality (i.e. I've seen British sources and American sources both use and omit the article).

"Stop Revering Magna Carta"— The New York Times

  Through Coke’s treatises, Magna Carta traveled across the Atlantic. William Penn published an edition in 1687, and in the 17th century several colonies enacted Magna Carta as part of their law. With the Stamp Act of 1765, the imagery of a tyrannical government impinging on ancient rights proved useful to both John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, who invoked different provisions of Magna Carta in calling for repeal. The founding fathers thought they were drawing on the document in drafting the Constitution, for example, in the clause “due process of law” — though that phrase was added to Magna Carta in English law only in the 14th century.

The Magna Carta enshrined our liberties - now we must fight for them again
— The Guardian

  It’s because of the Magna Carta that, in 2003, 3 million of us were able to come together to protest against the Iraq war. It’s the Magna Carta that means we can legally fight cases where a severely disabled person is confined to a single room because her local council has failed to provide suitable housing. And, ironically, it’s the Magna Carta that has ultimately allowed us to vote in a government that seems hell bent on destroying it.

Is one usage preferred or more acceptable? Does the Latin nature of the phrase "Magna Carta" remove the normal need to attach an article?


texts: Is it okay to say "what ja doing?" instead of "what ya doing?"

texts:
I live in the Midwest and it is very common to hear people say "what ja doing?" instead of saying "what ya doing?" or "what are you doing?".

Is this okay? Is using the 'j' sound instead of the 'y' sound okay as long as the other person gets the gist of what you are asking?  I wonder if the 'j' sound will confuse people who use English as a second language.


texts: Difference between "ten years old" and "ten-year-olds"

texts:
They are all 10 years old.
They are all ten-year-olds

What is the difference between these?
And, what is the reason why we must add s to the following?"

They are all ten-year-olds


texts: Correspondence of French "exercice" and English "year/period" in a specialized, economic sense

texts:
In French, we use the term exercice to refer to a period of time between two events. We say exercice fiscal for fiscal year, exercice comptable for accounting period, etc. One of the senses given by the online monolingual Larousse French dictionary for this word is:

  Période comprise entre deux inventaires comptables, entre deux budgets. (En France, l’exercice comptable, qui sépare deux bilans, est égal à douze mois, sans qu’il y ait obligation de le faire correspondre à l’année civile.)

So it means the entire period spanning two accounting inventories or two budgets. (The parenthesized portion merely explains how in France, the twelve-month accounting year need not correspond to the calendar year.)

Can you use the same term exercise with this same meaning in English as well?

Or should you solely use words like year and period to refer to this?


texts: What's the word for having a very long scrotum?

texts:
I've forgotten the word for having a very long scrotum, it's like rapscallion or scallywag but I just can't remember.

I've searched but the majority of references are medical conditions and it's not a medical term I'm looking for.

I'm hoping someone just knows the answer.

Thanks.

I'm not looking for swollen testicles, it's a word that means you have a very long scrotum - like an old man. If you've seen the movie Bad Grandpa with Johnny Knoxville, the part where he does a strip in a bar on ladies night and his scrotum hangs out of his underpants, that's the look I'm thinking of.

It's just one word and I'm sure it has the letters 'all' in it like the two words above (not like ball).

(I keep wanting to say "It's on the tip of my tongue" but that's just wrong)


texts:
Shall I write 'In case of n dimension' or 'In case of n dimensions'?

Clearly, for n>= 2 the latter will be the case, but what for n = 0 and 1.


texts:
I'd like to express that the steak I had (last Sunday) was the best one I have ever eaten. Is "Have ever eaten" correct or do I have to use the past simple "I ever ate", since the process (of eating) is already over. If I won't refer to any date in the past, which tense is the correct one?

Nonetheless, "Have ever eaten" sounds correct to me. But sometimes the usage of past simple and simple perfect just confuses me.

Thanks in advance for your help, guys!


texts: What's the relationship or logic this sentence indicates?

texts:
Then, late last year, other scientists began reporting failures replicating Mr. Han’s results. Facing mounting pressure, he and his co-authors finally retracted the paper, though they have since vowed to clear their names. (source)

I felt quite confused upon reading this paragraph. There are mainly two problems. What should we know from this piece of text, they vowed to clear their names before they retracted the paper, or after that? What does "since" refers to, since they retracted the paper, or since other scientists began reporting failures?


texts:
What is the meaning of "blend in" according to the context of the following sentence?

Now, I just want to do something stupid and mindless, you know? Where I can just like totally blend in.

Thank you,


texts:
I'm writing an advertising summary for my software.

Example usage:

  The software is opensource, straightforward, modular, and ______. ("Feature rich" or something that has a lot of useful options)

I would like to replace "Feature rich" with something more shorter and sexy in term of marketing.

Does "Capable" sound sweet for native speakers? I guess not really... Maybe "Flexible"?
Thanks for your suggestions!


texts:
Which of the following sentences is correct English, and why?

As I heard that Greenday got a new CD, I went to the store to buy it.
As soon as I heard that Greenday got a new CD, I went to the store to buy it.
When I heard that Greenday got a new CD, I went to the store to buy it.


texts: Wording of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

texts:
The following bit of Lincoln's Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation of September 22nd, 1862 was quoted in the Emancipation Proclamation:

  That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand
  eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any
  State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be
  in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward,
  and forever free

This sentence is a bit hard to parse, particularly "all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States" might be read by some to indicate that a state which holds slaves is to be considered "in rebellion against the United States".

We know this was not the intended meaning, because the rest of the document explicitly defines "in rebellion against the United States" as excluding the border states and parts of the South under Union control (where slavery was still in effect).

As I read it, it seems like "the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States" qualifies "any State or designated part of a State", limiting it to those States still then "in rebellion" on January 1st, 1863. Such a limitation was necessary, by the way, since the proclamation was issued under the limited authority of Lincoln's War Powers.

Since we know which was the intended and understood reading, this is not a historical question, my question is rather: is the first reading (the non-intended one) semantically admissible? Is the intended reading semantically admissible? Is the sentence even grammatical?


texts: Why, out of a number of function words, only prepositions are "heads" of phrases?

texts:
According to Biber et. al. in the Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English:

  For each class of lexical word, there is a major phrase type with an
  example of that class as the head: noun phrase, verb phrase, adjective
  phrase, adverb phrase, and prepositional phrase. The head is the
  principal, obligatory word. In fact, each phrase type can often
  consist of just one word: the head.

In the previous chapter, the author divides the words, as a grammatical unit, into three major 'families': lexical words, function words and inserts.

As silly as the question is, i'd like to know why do we discuss lexical words, such as nouns/verbs/adjectives/adverbs, as the heads of phrases and out of a number of function words only prepositions serve that role?

I apologize if the question is still unclear and/or inane.