texts: Can I say "where I expect to use them for certain"?

texts: I am correcting a document where a sentence like "Where we expect to use them for certain" appears. From my point of view, the word certain implies, well, certainty, while the word expect implies uncertainty and I don't think they should be used in the same sentence.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  When is it appropriate to use 'that' as opposed to 'which'?

I can't figure out whether to use that or which:

"and initiate collaborative projects that will extend beyond the conference"

or "and initiate collaborative projects which will extend beyond the conference"


texts: What is the collective noun for a group of scorpions?

texts:
I was reading Walter O'Brien's AMA on Reddit and came across this:

  oscarveli: How did you choose your hacker name?
  O'Brien: It was chosen for me in high school as I was a very docile person until pushed too far
  and I am very loyal to my circle of friends (a group of scorpions is called a cyclone). So I had
  the nature of a Scorpion

I looked up 'cyclone' in several online dictionaries, but not once did I come across the definition, "a group of scorpions" (and I even looked it up on Urban Dictionary!).

However, according to Answers.com and a few other sources, 'cyclone' is correct.
Could anyone enlighten me on the proper collective noun for scorpions?


texts: What do you call a thing that raises something (e.g. an event)?

texts:
Let's say I want to describe event model in some software. Conceptually there are two sides: the one which raises an event and another which receives it.

While I do know the difference between to raise and to rise, I'm not sure whether I should say
"rising side" or "raising side".


texts: The term "Fathered" but in a negative/absent way that does not insult the child

texts:
Directly below is the excerpt from my novel. I cannot think of a single word, or even a short phrase, that would insult him without insulting the child as well.

"He fathered - no, scratch that - he {BLANK}ed a illegitimate child whom I've felt the moral obligation to help raise in his absence."

I want to avoid using the word 'spawned' due to its negative connotation.


texts:
Here is the context: "Write your essay in a regular font".
What does it mean by "regular font"? What classifies as a regular font?
Thanks!


texts:
Prolly is given this definition at Wiktionary:

  Clipped pronunciation of probably.

I was reading an interesting article today that claimed prolly dates from 1947 and that surprised me. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a listed source for the claim. So how old is prolly?


texts: What's the origin of the stock phrase "tall, dark, and handsome"?

texts: Most everyone has probably heard the phrase "tall, dark, and handsome" being used to describe the physical qualities of a perfect male romantic match.  Where did this phrase come from, and who, if anyone, made it popular?


texts: How should foreign words (with foreign characters) be written in English text?

texts:
This question is not about italicisation or how to construct plurals. I wonder what are general guidelines for writing foreign words based on a Latin alphabet in English text. I know that, for languages written in completely different script systems, there exist more or less standard per-language “romanization” procedures (such as writing Japanse in rōmaji). My question is about words from languages with Latin script, where some glyphs are not found commonly in English. Examples of such characters include:

accents of all kinds (é, ô, ñ, etc.)
ligatures (æ, œ, ĳ, Å, ç, ķ, etc.)
characters not found at all: thorn (Þ), eth (ð), german ß,

How should these words be written in English text? Should they be copied entirely, normalized in some way (e.g., ß → ss, é → e), or transliterated so that they can be read as they should be spelt?

My personal preference is to borrow them as they are, but I would like to know what style guides recommand and what is common usage in press.

Added: data from some research is inconsistent:

New Oxford American Dictionary has piñata, but Anschluss (vs. ß) and oeuvre (vs. œ).
The Guardian uses the two variants of both Anschluß and œuvre
I don’t know other languages well enough that I know what to look for :)

2nd addition: I’m starting a bounty on this, because I style haven’t found any reference to actual style guides, or research from data in open-access corpuses/corpora (which I don’t know how to do myself).


texts: Tendency of using pronouns 'she/her' when talking about a random person

texts:
Reading different specifications and manuals I've noticed that more often and often pronouns she or her are being used when some unknown person's behavior is described.

For example: "when user opens the first screen, let she be notified about something" or "let user input her address". Actually, I've seen more versatile examples but cannot remember anything nice now.

Is it a last-years tendency? Or is it something only UK-specific? Are there any rules about it? Or, maybe, is it applicable only for written document/spoken language?

I'm not an informant (as you've already guessed) and it's very important to me how should I write in official correspondence with British/US customers and not to hurt their feelings?


texts: What does “There’s a few trees in here that it’s just kind of a ‘Where’s Waldo?’ if something happens.” mean?

texts:
Washington Post (August 2.) introduces a 390-year-old bonsai tree displayed in the Arboretum’s National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington under the title, “This 390-year-old bonsai tree survived an atomic bomb, and no one knew until 2001.”

According to the paper, the mushroom-shaped pine tree with the trunk in a foot and half in diameter survived the blast of an atomic bomb, dropped over Hiroshima on August. 6, 1945, less than two miles away from the hypocenter.

The tree which was owned by a bonsai master, Masaru Yamaki then, was placed against a wall at the time of bomb dropping, which shielded it from the blast. It was donated by Yamaki as a part of a 53-specimen gift to the United States for its 1976 bicentennial.

The job to ensure the continued survival of such an important piece of the collection falls onto the shoulders of Jack Sustic, the curator of the Bonsai and Penjing Museum since 2002.

He says:
“One of the things that makes it so special is, if you imagine, somebody has attended to that tree every day since 1625. I always like to say bonsai is like a verb. It’s not a noun; it’s doing.”

He joked that tending to a centuries old tree every day can be enough pressure to keep him up at night. Unlike other museum pieces, there is no recourse when a plant dies.

“I have a packed suitcase at home,” he said. “There’s a few trees in here that it’s just kind of a ‘Where’s Waldo?’ if something happens.”

Bonsai article. Washington Post Local News: August 2, 2015

After a long story, here comes my question. What does ‘Where’s Waldo?’ here mean?

Does it mean “Who is blamed for, responsible for, or stupid enough to have withered 360 years-old bonsai? Does the curator need to keep a packed suitcase at home for runaway in case of being accused of letting the bonsai die? Could you paraphrase it in plainer words?

P.S.

I know somebody has asked the definition of 'Where's Waldo' on this site. But I'm venturing to ask the specific 'nuance' of this phrase in connection with this particular episode.

'In training since 1625': title on placard in front of bonsai


texts: What is the term for an expression such as, "Now we're cooking with gas."

texts: I have been looking for the term used for expressions such as "Now we're cooking with gas" for a while and even google couldn't answer it.


texts: "I will do as you said." vs "I will do what you said."

texts:
I have searched the Internet, it seems both are correct. But, I'm not sure whether the first one is correct or not.

Could you tell me which one is correct? Thanks in advance.


texts:
Regarding a policy meeting I read:

the meeting was a complete disaster, all members got their wires crossed before everybody left.

Does it mean that they quarrelled and came to blows?


texts:
Is there a term for the use of exaggeration or hyperbole, when it is used to the opposite effect of demeaning or minimizing? This often occurs in informal disagreements.

For example, woman says, You left dirty dishes in the kitchen.  A man answers, You make it sound like I'm an axe-murderer!

Neither reduction to absurdity nor straw man quite capture this bit of conversational bombast.


texts:
Why is it "played a main role", not "played the main role" in the example statements below?

Before the invention of transistors vacuum tubes played a main role in electronics.
He played a main role in granting rapid independence for Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea. (thetimes.co.uk)
According to the magazine, Rice played a main role in trying to persuade Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to offer training and funding to the Fatah fighters. (theguardian.com)
The passive safety system played a main role in the past and the active systems so-called advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)
will become...

Isn't it that main meaning the most important should be preceded with the article?


texts:
I'm writing a document for an exercise-project spec. The line goes:

  A simple registration website where visitors can view registered users and signup for registration themselves.

Is this being redundant? I feel the need to use the word register as this will make it apparent that signing up makes a visitor registered.


texts:
currently I'm TRYING to read some articles about the economy, however, I face one weird word, soft patch. I know what this word means but I don't know why it has that meaning, temporarily slowing down.

Someone explains that it was derived from the word, large patch, which is the place golfers have difficulties to get out of.


texts: When do we use 'will be' + v3 form of verb? Example, 'I will be finished in an hr vs I will have finished in an hr.' What is the difference?


texts: Adjective for someone who is really good at cooking or baking and/or bakes frequently

texts:
So and so is the most "bakiest" person I know! She's so good at baking!

What word could feasibly replace "bakiest" which I obviously made up. :)


texts: A laudatory expression for “an expert in grammar”

texts:
All too often, the 19th century scholars who wrote volumes on English grammar are today accused of being pedantic; persnickety; puritanical and  prescriptivist poppycock grammarians.

In the 21st century the  epithets grammar Nazi and grammar police are launched at anyone brave (or foolish) enough to point out that the word photo's does not require an apostrophe, or that noone should be written as two words "no one". Which aren't even grammar corrections but spelling ones. Anyway...

What do call a person who is an expert on the English language and its grammar? A person who always provides a clear answer to any language problem, a person who is infinitely helpful, modest and kind.  Do we only call them an "expert" on grammar?

Is there a laudatory expression that we can use?

Here are just two I found on EL&U, the third was coined by me, but I'm sure there are many others.

crazy grammar genius
punctuation czar
grammar queen

N.B
EL&U rightly frowns on long lists, so no more than three suggestions please.


texts:
You may think you know how to pronounce the word "lost," but Alexander Pope apparently has other ideas. One of the couplets of his poem "An Essay on Criticism" (which are all intended to rhyme) runs as follows:

  Ah ne'er so dire a thirst of glory boast,
  Nor in the critic let the man be lost!

So is he pronouncing lost as "loast," or boast as "bost"?

(Note: the idea that Alexandrian poetry has non-rhyming couplets expressed in some of the comments and "answers" is an absurd idea that would only occur to someone who had never seriously read or studied Pope. It is a point of fact, that ALL of Pope's couplets are meant to rhyme. Pope's couplets are known in theory as heroic couplets, and it is a feature of this type of poetry, that they are composed of perfect rhymes. There is a book entitled "The Heroic Couplet" by William Bowman Piper published in 1969. If you have some question about what a perfect rhyme is, or some doubt that heroic couplets are composed of perfect rhymes, please read that book.)


texts: Use of the verb form "review" vs "reviews"

texts:
When referring to a team of people, would it be appropriate to say that the team "reviews" something, or that they "review" that thing? Wouldn't both usages be correct depending on whether you're referring to the team as a whole, or the individuals that make it up?

Ex: "A team of trained monkeys reviews the best jobs."

It's possible that the "team [...] reviews the best jobs," but not possible to have "trained monkeys reviews" the best jobs, even though the latter section is part of the overall sentence.


texts: A number of questions "has been" or "have been" asked?

texts:
Formally, is it correct to write:

  A number of questions has been asked here.

or:

  A number of questions have been asked here.

As a non-native speaker of English, I would prefer the former: the subject seems to be "number", therefore the verb ought to be singular, I'd say. However, the latter seems more common, and therefore I believe that my gut feeling is just plain wrong — but I would really like to have a definite answer.

Moreover, is it the same for "a myriad of", "a plethora of", and so on?


texts: Idiom for bringing up a topic in text prematurely

texts:
I'm writing a thesis, and have to bring up a concept which is part of the topic in the following section. I suppose I am looking for an idiomatic way to "excuse" this break of flow.

In Norwegian there is a phrase/idiom for bringing up a topic earlier than what would seem natural: "foregripe begivenheten". Directly translated it is "anticipate the event", but this does not seem fitting.

Edit: Many great answers below. I simply accepted the one I ended up using. This is not to say that any of the other answers are less good. I wouldn't know.


texts:
Contango is a very common term in financial business that originally referred to:

  (on the London stock exchange) a fee paid by a buyer of securities to the seller for the privilege of deferring payment. (Dictionary.com)

and is mow more commonly used to mean:

  (Contango) is a situation where the futures price (or forward price) of a commodity is higher than the expected spot price.(Wikipedia)

According to Etymonline the term is a fanciful invention of a stockbroker,
Contango:

  1853, a stockbroker's invention, perhaps somehow derived from continue, or from Spanish contengo "I contain, refrain, restrain, check." As a verb, from 1900.

  1853 N. & Q. 17 Dec. 586/2 Contango, a technical term in use among the sharebrokers of Liverpool. (OED)

Questions:

1) Was the term really invented or was it taken from  other contexts, from a local dialect or a foreign language for instance?

2) The opposite of contango is the more obvious literal term "backwardation". Wasn't the stockbroker  imaginative enough to make up an eccentric term for it also?


texts: Do i say, “why do you have to eat after I eat/ate?”. Im confuse because I ate and they havent.


texts: Difference between “experiment on” and “experiment with"

texts:
I have two sentences:

We experiment on both cases.
We experiment with both cases.

The different preposition will change the meaning. But it's difficult to find such nuances in a dictionary. What are the subtleties here, if there are any?


texts:
What is the correct way to quote this piece of text? The issues here are the initial letter which is now capitalized (I believe that is correct) and the omission of a few words near the period. Should the period still be present, should I remove it, is there any need for space there?
Original phrase:

This is how the clerk obtains user details and verifies its authenticity. Then, he is ready to proceed with the activation of the user account.

My attempts at it. Are these properly constructed?

[T]he clerk obtains user details ... . Then, he is ready to proceed with the activation of the user account.
[T]he clerk obtains user details.... Then, he is ready to proceed with the activation of the user account.
[T]he clerk obtains user details ... Then, he is ready to proceed with the activation of the user account.
[T]he clerk obtains user details ... [t]hen, he is ready to proceed with the activation of the user account.

Usually I read through OWL when I have these kind of doubts but I could not find anything regarding the specific case where you take out the words near the period but keep quoting right after it. I don't think it will matter but this is for a technical document.


texts: What is the tense in: “…under a green-lined parasol held in a big white hand.”

texts:
I am doing an analysis on the verbal form "simple past". For this, I have used a book titled Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad from which I have extracted the following sentence. However, I have doubts about whether the verb form I have put in bold are a simple past or another verb tense. What tense the statement is in? Do you think it is simple past? Why? Or why not?

  No hat. Hair parted, brushed, oiled, under a green-lined parasol held in a big white hand.

I attach the context in case it can help the deduction of the verb tense:

  I saw a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket,
  snowy trousers, a clean necktie, and varnished boots. No hat. Hair
  parted, brushed, oiled, under a green-lined parasol held in a big
  white hand. He was amazing, and had a penholder behind his ear.


texts: Is the word “Galapagos” transferable into adjective and verb to mean “outdated, fossilized” in English?

texts:
We have a word “Gala-kei-ガラ携” which is an abbreviation of “Galapagos (shortened as Gala” and “mobile phone (shortened as “Kei”) meaning outdated mobile phone as opposed to advanced smart-phones in Japanese.
We also call a person who sticks to old way of thinking “Galapagosu jin –ガラパゴス人.” Jin means people.

I heard in this site that most nouns can be used as a verb as well. For instance, an aggressive restaurant waitress retorts the patron by snapping back "Don't you 'young lady' me, smart guy," to the patron's growl,"You listen to me young lady," in the episode (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2014/06/lunch-at-gitlitzs.html) in the New Yorker magazine I quoted in my previous post, "What does “There she blows’” mean?"

Is the word “galapagos” transferable into adjective (e.g. galapagos mind-set) and verb (e.g. galapagosize) in English to mean “outdated” or "anachronistic" in  the same way as ‘fossil’ verbalized into ‘fossilize’?

If it’s not transferable, what would it be the equivalent English word to “Garakei,” Garapagosu jin” and “Garapagostic bigotory?


texts: What to do now- Is the statement incorrect

texts:
A novice to this "learning forum".

  I was working on sth that was a solution to a SQL query and it did not
  work out.  So I uttered- What to do now. My manager, who is from
  Italy and whose english usage is followed a lot, stated it is an incorrect statement .

A few google searches did not help me.
My first question might be pedantic but please correct me.


texts: "a" vs. "an" when the following word is in a bracket

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “A/An” preceding a parenthetical statement

Let's say I send a text to someone saying:

  Can you get me a coffee?

Over here, I use a as the following word doesn't begin with a vowel, which is all very good.

Now what if the person got me a bad coffee (like decaf or something). So I send another text:

  Can you get me  (actual) coffee?

Now what would I use? a or an? As actual is in brackets, does it enforce the rule of requiring a to become an?


texts: Word for somebody who does a trial of something new

texts:
I'm looking for a noun that describes a person that experiences something while he is experiencing.

As an example (I look for the word for the general case), a young person (John) that accompanies a farmer at his work for few days, to check how is it feeling for him, in order to decide later if he wants to study agriculture. The missing word would be one word that describe John while he is in the farm:

  John is a _____.

Another example: someone who is considering participating in a surfing camp, and takes a one-day trial to check whether it is for him. What I'm looking for is what to call him during that day.


texts: Is "get" (in the sense of "become/make") appropriate for formal writing?

texts:
Is the use of "get + adjective/participle" appropriate for formal writing (for example, scientific papers)?  I am thinking of usages analogous to

get fat
get inflated
get sick

where the meaning is "become".  What about cases where the meaning is "make (sg)", such as

get (it) done
get (her) dressed

Not being a native speaker, I cannot easily judge the level of formality of these constructs.


texts: What's the official rule regarding use of "welcome" versus "welcomed"?

texts:
Which is correct, and why?:

  Growing my business has been a welcomed challenge.

OR

  Growing my business has been a welcome challenge.


texts: A word to describe a person who loves to perform

texts:
I am looking for a word that fits the following criteria:

A person who loves to perform, or craves attention
Preferably without a negative connotation (such as attention whore)
Suitable in writing
Suitable for describing a person in the 17th century France


texts:
Seen this in a few movies, spelling is probably incorrect.  It appears to be an irish-american slang for an idiot in usage.  Mostly interested in the correct spelling/actual word(s) and origin.

The usage I noticed this in recently was in 'The Equalizer (2014)', the quote's context is reproduced on this page (search for 'flipperhead' or scroll down).

This is the scene in question (warning; NSFW language).  I'd swear i've heard the term before in the same context (movie american-irish people insulting people).


texts:
I'm looking for an expression (hoping one exists), for when you think someone is nodding, smiling, waving etc. to you, and you respond--but in fact they were addressing someone just behind you.
That's the "three-man version". A "two-man version" could be when Person 1 nods, smiles, waves etc. at Person 2, but P2, assuming P1 is addressing someone else, looks over his/her shoulder to check P3, only to find there's no one there, and they've just snubbed P1.
An example might be the footage of Donald Trump's inauguration. He turns and appears to say something to Melania, who beams at him, and when he turns back, she looks crestfallen. Apparently he was addressing his daughter Ivanka, who was standing just behind Melania. This may be similar to the expression "third wheel" or "fifth wheel", possibly with the verb to pass over, or to overlook? To blank is not quite what this involves. Possible examples:

He turned around and _______ Melania.
He turned around and treated Melania to _______ .

Possibly a phrasal verb.
I think most if not all of us have been there. It needn't be an existing expression; any creative suggestion would be welcome, too.


texts:
One day the man could not but go to a market.

The sentence is to be transformed into affirmative. But I am just not getting how to transform it using 'must'. If I write- 'The man must go to a market', then it makes a sense of present tense...but it has to be in past form as the negative sentence was in past form. So I thought about this- "One day it was must for the man to go to a market". I'm not finding any other way except it.


texts:
Si.. How can I phrase or quote the below sentence in a better meaningful way

  "You have to open up about yourself first (like introduce self or answer the question asked by the other person or to know him first) so that the other person is comfortable with talking to him about his issues or personal life."

Much like talking to a therapist. The patient wants to know about the doctor (anything). Why I refer the therapist and the patient here as an example, is because the other person is the one who is offering the help and the patient can discuss anything with the therapist.

Edit:
I am really sorry for the confusion. Seems like everyone is taking it in the wrong way. What I actually want is to replace the above highlighted sentence with one short sentence like a quote in a polite way. Like "Open oneself before asking" would this be the appropriate one or is there any other phrase or quote.


texts:
I would like to say something like

  The boy, Adam's, favorite toy was a bike.

What is the proper way to say this?


texts: Being a movie lover I like watching lots of movies vs Being a movie lover,I like watching lots of movies

texts:
As I am a movie lover, I like watching lots of movies.

By using participle rule,we can write -1) Being a movie lover, I like watching lots of movies.

But I have seen many times this type of sentences without "comma" in the newspaper - 2) I like watching lots of movies being a movie lover.

My question is, is the number 2 correct? If it's correct,then in which rule ?


texts: How should I say an action or an institution is still needed and available?

texts:
I am looking for a good word or short phrase to communicate the fact that an action or an institution is needed, available, in common practice, meaningful, useful, and implemented.  It should have some regard to the passage of time.  In the following sentences, I use the phrase "need and course" to communicate that meaning, but I ma looking for a better, widely accepted word or phrase

Even in our automated society of high technology, there is still a "need and course" to farm by hand.

Even in our age of advanced military technology and magic, there is still a "need and course" for hand to hand combat.


texts: How to change this to passive: No one knows when he has come into the room?

texts:
How can I change this sentence to a passive one?

No one knows when he has come into the room.

I feel it is probably wrong to say

When he has come into the room is not known by anybody.  (wrong)

So what would be the right way, given that 'when' does not seem to  fit for introducing a adverbial clause? Thanks.


texts: Verbs after adjectives, gerund or infinitive?

texts:
What's the difference between these sentences?

Ted was surprised to see his computer shutting down.

Ted was surprised seeing his computer shutting down.

It was nice to talk with you.

It was nice talking with you.

it is impossible to understand him.

it is impossible understanding him.

What's the rule? when do we use infinitives after adjectives and when do we use gerunds when we have a verb after an adjective?


texts: Can a non-person have “qualms” about something?

texts:
Is this a correct use of the word “qualm”?

  This theory has no qualms about challenging everything that physicists believe to be true.

If “qualms” cannot be used by an impersonal thing, can you please suggest an alternative word that can be used by an impersonal thing?


texts:
By the time he had reached the door, he remembered the pink diamond.
By the time he reached the door, he remembered the pink diamond.

Are both sentences grammatically correct?

Thank you!


texts: "... a risk that it exists or will exist" - Sentence Wording

texts:
in the following piece of legislation, can you tell me if the correct grammar is being used?

"A person acts recklessly within the meaning of section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 with respect to -

a circumstance when he is aware of a risk that it exists or will exist.

I'm guessing "a circumstance" is the object of the preposition "to", but how is the remaining text ,  "when he is aware of a risk that it exists or will exist" behaving. As an adverb adjective clause phrase?

I've probably been very confusing, but your help is appreciated!


texts:
Kalipedia, he prophesied, would soon be generally adopted..
   - James Joyce, Ulysses

I cannot find any information about this word! It doesn't help that there appears to be a Spanish online encyclopedia of the same name. What does Kalipedia mean in this context? It sounds as if it's an ideology or way of doing things perhaps?


texts: What does 'as' mean when followed by v-ing?

texts:
I need help in fully comprehending the sentence below. Please take a look and thanks in advance. :)

-From a passage about Semiotics

"Various typologies of signs have been proposed, but three fundamental classes of signs seem to stand out as requiring different approaches: the icon, the index, and the sign proper."

What does 'as requiring different approaches' mean? I can understand the sentence only up to the point where it says 'but three..stand out'.

What is requiring what?
Can I replace 'as requiring' to 'which requires'? If not, how can I say this confusing part differently?
Is as + v-ing certain usage of 'as'?


texts:
It's common for people to use the word "genetic" when referring to traits that are inherited, for example eye colour, near-sightedness etc

Is that usage necessarily incorrect though, as it relates to genes themselves ? Is "hereditary" a more correct choice ?

Example:

Everyone in my family wears glasses, it's ___


texts:
In Portuguese we call "carola" a (usually old) person who lives through the rules of church, and has no ears for any other reasonable argument. What is this called in English?

Some examples:

"Aquela velha é uma carola: não sai da igreja, tudo que faz é pra agradar o padre." (That old woman is a carola: doesn't leave the church, everything she does is to please the priest.)

"Aquele cara é muito carola, vive com a Bíblia debaixo do braço, e mesmo sendo um estudante de biologia não quer nem entender como a evolução funciona." (That guy is too carola, he lives with a Bible under his arm, and even being a biology student don't even want to understand how evolution works.)

If someone "has no ears for any other reasonable argument", how can this NOT be negative? Not be pejorative? In which world to be irrational, biased and prejudiced may be a good thing?

This site brings nine definitions, with the four most voted bringing only pejorative meanings. It also brings a synonyms list, which includes words like
fofoqueiro (gossipy), fanático religioso (religious fanatic), santarrão (sanctimonious), energúmeno (idiot), hipócrita (hypocritical), barata-de-igreja (church-cockroach), chato (annoying) and fanático (fanatic), among others.

Antenor Nascentes dictionary (Bloch Editores, 1988) says: "Carolice = Qualidade de carola; ato próprio de carola, carolismo, beatice." Also "Beatice = Ato de fingida devoção; hipocrisia."

Electronic Houaiss 3.0 says: "Beato = [Uso: pejorativo] Que ou aquele que frequenta muito as igrejas ou que exagera nas demonstrações exteriores de sua fé e virtudes; carola."


texts: The difference beetween 'nasty' and 'horrible' or 'terrible'

texts: For the most situations adjectives 'horrible' and 'terrible' are synonyms. But I often come across with word 'nasty' with similar meaning like 'nasty cough', 'nasty smell'. Is there any difference or 'nasty' is the same like 'terrible' (or 'horrible')?


texts:
Is this correct?

  the candys 're in the box, the
  womens're at the car

I know 'you're', 'we're', 'they're' are valid usages, but can it be used for nouns?


texts: "I can say this:..." Can I replace "this" with "that"?

texts:
A grammatical sheet writes, "I know him better than any of you, and I can say ____: nobody's going to make him work any faster."
There are options:
A. this
B. that
C. which
D. what
The right answer is "A" and the explanation confuses me — “When the author refers to the thing narrated, you have to choose 'this' rather than 'that'. ”
Won't the original sentence be treated as the object clause if "that" is adopted?
I will appreciate it if you can help me.


texts:
I am confused about the definition of "rationale" and hope someone with more knowledge can share their insight.

Merriam-Webster defines "rationale" as

"an explanation or an underlying reason"

It's very clear and easy to understand.

However, Oxford dictionary (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com) defines "rationale" as

"A set of reasons or a logical basis"

The definition of "a logical basis" is similar to what Merriam-Webster has. But I have trouble with "a set of reasons". "A set of reasons" is countable in that there can be two sets of reasons. But generally speaking, which of the following sentences makes more sense ?

"he explained the rationale behind the change" Or

"he explained the rationales behind the change"

Do we use the second sentence only when there are more than one set of "reasons", while the first one is restricted to only one set of "reasons" ? And what are "two sets of reasons" and what is "one set of reasons" anyway ?


texts: Why does binomial nomenclature seem to break case rules?

texts:
According to the Wiki page for binomial nomenclature, we are supposed to capitalize the first word when naming species regardless of where it occurs in the sentence. To me, this seem very incongruous with not only the English language but all languages that I know of which use Latin characters. So what is the justification for this (if any)?

For example, I have a house cat but my biology teacher has a Felis catus.

--

I see where people may be having trouble with this now. I don't know if this is a rule or not but I can find no other real examples of capitalization being used like this. virmaior has shown me that there is a seldom used rule about Platonic forms which would apply if creatures where forms. That is not the case (they have actual bodies and so on) but perhaps that really is the best answer as incorrect as it may be.

--

Oldcat has brought up an interesting point below:

  Felis is the proper name of the genus, not of any particular cat. We do capitalize breeds of cats, like Persian and American Curl, because they are the proper name of the group.

This is similar to points made by a few others and may be related to Platonic forms. I'm still not seeing what would make the less specific term Felis catus capitalized while the more specific term catus by itself isn't (aside from the seemingly arbitrary explanation that Felis catus is a Platonic form while catus alone isn't)? Unfortunately, the fact that we then again begin capitalizing the even more specific breed name only confuses the issue further. Do you see my point?

--

It occurs to me that there may be multiple answers to this. In scientific technical writing it could be proper to use Felis catus and in common usage it may be more proper to simply use felis catus (or possibly Felis Catus but not Felis catus because that would be a ridiculously arbitrary rule for a common language). It isn't lost on me that a very similar idea has been mentioned several times but the difference is that here I'm accepting that these terms have, in fact, become part of the English language while rejecting binomial nomenclature as part of the English written language. Is that a common consensus? If it is then shouldn't there be a general rule about this instead of a bunch of specific cases where groups are considered proper nouns in some cases and improper nouns in others?


texts:
Okay, I'm probably being a bit slow here, but I don't quite understand this story:

  Supposedly an editor had clumsily rearranged one of Churchill’s sentences to avoid ending it in a preposition, and the Prime Minister, very proud of his style, scribbled this note in reply: “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.”

I mean, it made me laugh, but that was mostly because of how stupid it sounded, not because I actually understand what's going on here. Anyone care to explain it? In particular, which are the prepositions?


texts: What's a word for describing people who only search for happiness and joy in their lives

texts: I can't think of this word and it's driving me crazy. I've used it before and I believe it ends with ist/ism.


texts: Is it correct to use "immigrate" for cities too?

texts:
I read before immigrate is used for countries. Is it correct? Can you say that you immigrated from one city to another? For example:

  I immigrated from Miami to Orlando two years ago.


texts: How do you describe someone who can hear you or see you but pretends or ignores your presence while you are trying to get his or her attention ?

texts: you are trying to get somebody's attention  by waving your hand or saying hello! but he or she ignores you;  I am looking for an Idiom or word to describe the situation or attitude of that person.


texts: What is the difference (“I had been writing” vs "I wrote")?

texts:
What is the difference between these sentences?

  I saw that I have given Harry lots of my own feelings about my own mother's death, though I hadn't been aware of that as I had been writing.

  I saw that I have given Harry lots of my own feelings about my own mother's death, though I hadn't been aware of that as I wrote.


texts: How does "have to" function in this sentence?

texts:
Usually, I think "have to" indicates obligation, which is pretty similar to "must". But today I found this sentence and its usage of "have to" confused me: (it is from NYTimes.com)

Long-term forecasts seem to me rather like time capsules, designed more to provide retrospective amusement for those who eventually have to read them, than to be taken seriously as they are first uttered.

It would be uncomfortable to interpret have to as must since we are not "compelled to read them".
Can anybody explain this for me?


texts: Omitting the “hundred” from the name of numbers

texts:
I’m not a native, so I’ve always spoken numbers in English as our textbooks tell us to do: 452 would be “four hundred (and) fifty-two.”
But I’ve recently heard natives say something like “four fifty-two” in a couple of movies. (The numbers could be different.)
Is this grammatically correct? Is it common in informal speech? What about formal speech? Can it be used in formal contexts?
Also does this usage depend on the context? Or can you use this system in any setting? I remember at least once (in the movie Get Smart) this style was used to refer to the number of a page (from a report). But I’m sure I’ve heard it in another context too. I just can't remember what.
I couldn't find the answer myself, mostly because I didn't know what to search.
By the way, I’ve been taught US English, but I’d like to know the UK usage too (in case there is any difference here).
Thank you in advance.


texts: Symbolism/figure of speech for honor or equivalent

texts:
Not sure if I'm posting in the correct stack; my apologies in advance if it's not:

In medieval times (low/mid/high), what would be the equivalent to a figure of speech for something like "my word is my badge of honor" ?

Many thanks


texts:
Which one is correct:

  Clive never worries. He's really easy-going.

OR

  Clive never worries. He's really easy going.

As per my understanding, hyphen comes between compound adjectives if they are before noun; so the correct one is second one. But as per BBC website correct one is first one with hyphen.


texts: Can you use a gerund in past tense to signify that is happening at the same time

texts:
Ex. "He spoke softly, narrowing his eyes as they adjusted to the light"
"'I'll never agree,' he said lifting his head in defiance

I know gerunds are present tense but it seems like they can be tied to the tense of the verb preceding it to signify things happening simultaneously.

Am I just mistaken.


texts: Why do people pronounce 'Inventory' differently depending on the intended context

texts:
Recently I have been noticing how people say 'Inventory' in different ways, for example when talking about inventory as in a supermarket stock amount, they say it like this:
I would like a report on our monthly inventory gains
''' In-vn-tree '''
Whereas the same person might say when talking about the inventory of a game character,
Your character picks up the health potion and puts it into their inventory.
''' In-ven-tor-ee '''
Why are the vowels skipped out in certain contexts such as these examples?


texts: Defining an acronym when using the plural of the term?

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

I am defining an acronym which will be substituted for some unwieldy term in a document.

  One thing Gary has talked extensively about is his inclination towards
  extracting domain objects into Plain Ruby Objects (PRO).

The trouble is that the first time I use the unwieldy term (Plain Ruby Object), it is plural. However, the acronym is more useful in the singular.

Should I just hold off defining the acronym until I use its singular form further down the page?


texts: A good phrase/verb to replace "introduce"

texts:
I am giving a presentation to introduce the career path of bioinformatics researchers to a group of Ph.D. students.

In the presentation abstract I have:

  I will [introduce] the responsibilities and skill sets of a bioinformatics researcher.

I feel the word "introduce" is inappropriate. I am also considering "dig into".

What are some alternative phrases to express that I'll "discuss the role in detail"?


texts: "black ice" vs. "glare ice" vs. "glaze" in NAmEng

texts:
What's the difference between those varieties of ice forming on paved surfaces during the cold season?
black ice

sometimes called clear ice: a thin, nearly invisible coating of ice that forms on paved surfaces. AHD

glare ice

: a thin coating of ice (as from freezing mist) on a road or sidewalk; nearly invisible but very hazardous Memidex

glare

n A sheet or surface of glassy and very slippery ice. AHD
adj (US and Canadian) smooth and glassy: glare ice. CED

glaze

: a thin glassy coating of ice. AHD
: a smooth slippery coating of thin ice M-W
: (US: ice) verglas
(Collins-Robert French and English Dictionary, Ed. 1985)


texts: Need a word / exp for instantaneous, effortless perception of displayed data

texts:
I am trying to describe why a certain display doesn't work well. I have to look closely and make an effort to read it, because pixels are too far apart and have low contrast.

I've been looking at 'glance value', 'gestalt principles' but didn't really find a perfect term. It might be somewhere in graphic design, UI design, cognitive science, psychology?


texts:
What does this idiom mean?
Where did it originate from?
In what circumstances could I use this phrase? (Because it is so cool.)


texts: Looking for a suffix that is opposite of "-prone", but softer than "-proof"

texts: Say I'm talking about a car that has less of a tendency to crash than other cars.  It is the opposite of a "crash-prone" car.  But it isn't "crash-proof" either, in that you can crash it if you try hard enough.


texts: Idiom meaning that something doesn't happen often, but happens more than needed when it does?

texts:
I remember that there was an idiom that describes something that doesn't happen often, but happens more than needed when it finally does.

Hypothetical scenario that could be described by such an idiom: Let's say that I spend the whole year asking for a Playstation 4. When Christmas comes around three family members offer me the same console.


texts: This sentence comes from VOA standard English, "Los Angeles County has seen sixty four cases of typhus so far this year, double a typical number with a cluster among the homeless.". I don't understand what "with a cluster" mean.


texts:
The sentence is,

  Our Supervisor finally noticed that it was we, Kim and I, who always turn in our reports on time.

Should it actually be you and me or you and I?


texts: idiom, saying, proverb for if things are oversensitized then the ideas lose value

texts: Is there a idiom, saying, proverb for if anything and everything (ideology, news, gadget, media, game or sports, etc) is over-sensitized (continuously spotlighted/too familiarize in public eye) then people become insensitive/lose interest/the idea, news... lose value.


texts: "Strike gold" but without the implication of searching?

texts:
Whenever I hear the phrase I struck gold the fact the person had to have done a certain search is implied to me. Is this correct?

For example, if I say:

  Janet loves sex so much! I've struck gold with this one!

In the above example, is the fact that I've been looking for a woman implied in the phrase or is it possible, from how the sentence stands, that I wasn't looking for a woman at all and she just came to me out of the blue?

If the effort is implied, what would be the phrase for an "effortless gold strike"?

EDIT: According to the current comments, I'd like to add that this question is not related to sex only. The example was just an example. I'm referring to the phrase generally as used in any situation.


texts:
He was buzzing my door.

I googled 'buzz the door' and it says it means 'To remotely and electronically unlock a door for someone'.
But the speaker didn't mean that.

So, maybe 'buzz one's door' means 'unexpectedly drop by one's house'?

(My native language is not English. Please be kind to me. :-))


texts: Are both 'If he calls you, you should go.' and 'If he called you, you should go.' correct? Is there a difference in meaning between them? Thank you!


texts: What verb form is contained in 'books are written by authors'?

texts:
If I say 'fiction is written by those with a creative flair'; and 'Oliver Twist is written by Dickens', what part of speech is the word 'written' in each of these?

I recognise that it may not be the same for each of them.


texts: More idioms like "needle in a haystack" relevant to hidden/hard to find items?

texts:
Are there more idioms, sayings or phrases similar to "needle in a haystack" that are relevant to hidden objects, or difficult to find items?

Also interested in similar nouns relevant to the somewhat oppositional concepts like "needle" and "haystack" or "3-leaf clover" vs. "4-leaf clover" where one object is significantly harder to find.


texts: A word that brings up an idea that is the opposite of what is said

texts: I am looking for a word that describes the act of saying something like, "You shouldn't feel guilty," when what you really want (consciously or subconsciously) is the opposite. In other words, saying "Don't feel guilty" is meant to bring up the notion of guilt. I know there's a word for this but I can't remember it.


texts: Less-experienced vs less experienced employee

texts:
As an Android developer with 3 years of experience, I also help less
  experienced team members.

Do I need to put a hyphen between "less" and "experienced"?


texts: When someone creates drama where it didnt exist?

texts: My friend uses phrases to belittle me when I provide suggestions as to what his friend should order on the menu at a restaurant, he says things like,"He's a big boy let him decide" or "stay out of it". What word or phrase would you use to describe this behavior?


texts: Subject/Complement Agreement. How to describe problem with "The thing is the objects."

texts:
In my ell answer, version 32, I provided the following, problematic,  wording (especially bold italic), and I need help to better understand this issue so I can fix my answer:1

    The thing is the books. (Reduced form of Sentence 2.a)

  Fundamentally, Sentence 2.a (the so-called "correct" answer), is grammatically defective. Recall there is another grammatical rule: the subject and subject's complement should match in number.

A clarification is needed here. I am not suggesting here, in this EL&U question, that there is any such singular grammatical rule as indicated in the quote above.  The quote continues as follows:

  The reduced sentence makes the disagreement between the subject's and complement's plurality obvious. What is one to do? Language is linear and we know "The thing is X" is better than "The thing are X", so we go with the former, which is the subject-verb agreement rule. But what is "the books" then? It must be thought of as a collective noun, even if it doesn't look or feel like one. Forcing something to be a collective noun is related to the idea of notional agreement.

Others noted that grammatically defective is too strongly worded.  There is no such "grammatical rule" for subject/complement agreement.  Please help me understand/improve upon my line of thought here.  I'm stating that Sentence 2.1 presents a fundamental "conflict" or "error" (however one might define error) at some level (morphological, syntax, grammatical, semantic):

  The thing is the books.  (Or, "The thing is the objects.")

Based on the "obvious" morphosyntactic plurality conflict, the above sentence feels so wrong that I think many native speakers would think it "simply" grammatically incorrect. However, @F.E. gives counter examples:

  And here are some more grammatical examples, where the number of subject and predicative complement don't agree: "They were a problem to us all", "That so-called work of art is simply four pieces of driftwood glued together" (CGEL, page 254-5). As CGEL says: "What is required is semantic compatibility, not syntactic agreement . . .". There are more examples on page 512: "The only thing we need now is some new curtains", "The major asset of the team is its world-class opening bowlers", "Our neighbors are a nuisance", "This gadget is five different tools in one".

I think all the examples given above can be explained as notional agreement.

Question 1: If we explain this phenomena in terms of notional vs syntactic agreement, where does "grammatically correct/incorrect" fit in?

Question 2: Can a simple sentence such as "The thing is the objects." be grammatically incorrect while more complex sentences such as "The thing is four pieces of driftwood glued together." be grammatically correct?  (The answer, in my mind, must be no; this is my conundrum.)

Question 3: Would it be better to say that Sentence 2.a has a low level of (linguistic) grammaticality?

Question 4: How about a low level of gradient well-formedness and that it's semantically difficult to be (linguistically) acceptable?

Question 5: Do we simply draw a hard line and say "The thing is the objects." is 100% grammatically correct?  I didn't particularly like this option based on intuitive notions of "grammatically correct".

1. Please help me and be kind; I'm trying to improve my understanding. I'm looking for cool, objective advice on how to look at this.

I numbered my questions so they can be easily referenced, if desired.  My preference is the final answer would sufficiently answer all the questions, but of course that can be done explicitly or implicitly.


texts: What does the expression "With a twist" means?

texts:
I would like to know the meaning of the expression "With a twist" and the context in which it can be used - examples are welcome.

I have an understanding of it in the lines of "Traveling with a twist" that I perceive as traveling with something special or somewhat different in a good way.


texts:
My grandmother uses the term batchy to refer to food and drink with tastes that young palates won’t appreciate. For example:

“Nana, can I try some coffee?”
“No, dear. You don’t want that. It’s batchy.”

If you ask her, she just says it’s a word and it means what it means. I can’t find a definition online that matches her usage.
Is anyone familiar with this term? Where does it come from?
I’m assuming it’s regional. I’m hoping it’s not specific to a (truly) singular old woman.


texts:
In some other stackexchange group, someone used the words "nadir of unprofessionalism" to express that in his opinion, some behaviour was very, very unprofessional.

Now "nadir" is the lowest point, and "zenith" is the highest point. But the words may also be used as "worst" and "best". Being very, very unprofessional is the highest degree of unprofessionalism, but at the same time also the worst case of unprofessionalism.

Is "nadir of unprofessionalism" a correct way to express "very, very unprofessional"? Or should it be "zenith of unprofessionalism"? Or would either be correct?


texts: Is 'ponder' acceptable as a quotative verb, for instance with inner dialogue?

texts:
There has been a question on ELU about the acceptability of transitive ponder (ponder an issue) versus ponder about (etc) an issue. This question asks rather about the acceptability of ponder in an (especially inner-dialogue) quotative verb role, obviously retaining the usual sense of 'consider deeply and carefully, ruminate'):

Was she coming? he wondered.

?And just what pleasure have I found, since I came into this world? he pondered.

I haven't found a single relevant sentence supporting this usage among the many examples given at TheCambridgeDictionary, Merriam-Webster, Lexico, Macmillan, and CollinsCobuild, nor any at AHD or Wiktionary. And I'm finding it difficult to restrict searches to the quotative usage.
Collins CoBuild: Verbs: Grammar Patterns 1: Simple Patterns ... Section 13 {Verb with Quote} lists only 3 quotative verbs in the 'think' semantic group: muse think wonder.
However, I just used he pondered as an emphatic version of he asked himself almost without thinking (almost ... hence this question), and I've managed to track down the following recent example of what is probably a central (verbal) quotative usage:

... But Walter Shapiro last month reported Biden's complaints against
the oft-expressed intention of the ultra-liberal netroots to 'take
back' the party. "They don't own the Democratic Party. What are they
talking about?" he pondered.

[Niall Stanage; the Guardian; 2020 but reference to 2008 article]
I can't see how the opposite can really be proved, but are there better supporting references licensing the quotative usage?


texts: "Which we discussed" vs. "about which we discussed"

texts:
Which one is correct?

  I’ve added changes/fixes which we discussed yesterday.

or

  I’ve added changes/fixes about which we discussed yesterday.


texts: Should I exclude the suffix when referring to someone using only their surname?

texts:
If I'm writing an article about John Smith III, I'll use his full name, including the suffix, when I first introduce him in the article. For example:

  "The owner of the dog, John Smith III, was surprised at the size of the [...]"

After that, if I refer to him by surname, I don't use the suffix:

  "When questioned about the damage, Smith was evasive."

I see and hear people include the suffix when referring to someone by surname, which seems wrong to me:

  "Smith III continued on as if nothing was wrong."

Is there a formal rule that states to not use the suffix with surname references?


texts: Word similar to "collusion" but without negative connotation

texts:
I am writing a piece where multiple seemingly disparate (even juxtaposed, without a common mission) government organizations are combining their efforts in somewhat of an unpublicized task force.  This collaboration is not necessarily classified or secret, but it doesn't become known until when they make their bombshell announcement.

  In a rare ______ of inter-agency cooperation, ...

What is a good word to describe this sort of arrangement that doesn't have the negative connotation associated with collusion?

EDIT: I'm looking specifically to include the unpublicized/secret aspect.  Also, I'm not tied to a noun answer per se, other parts of speech are welcome as well.


texts: What does "The weather naturally also matters" mean?

texts:
The weather naturally also matters. Fewer spectators will visit your arena in bad weather, but those who come will be more interested in buying more expensive tickets and sitting under aroof. It is therefore possible that your total income will be similar in any weather, provided there enough appropriate stands.

What does it mean ?


texts: Is there a word for judging thoughtfully?

texts:
Being in the act of, at least. For example:

"After several (insert word here) sips, she declared the drink to be acceptable." (The woman has judged her drink with thought and knowledgeable consideration.)

Please note that when I say thoughtful, I do not mean the adjective for showing compassion; my usage of the word would be a synonym to "musing" or "contemplative." I have already researched synonyms for both "thoughtful" and all parts of speech relating to the verb "judge," and none have proven satisfying, nor have I come across a word combining the two terms.

Is there an appropriate term?


texts: US pronunciation of short vowels as long

texts:
I'm an Australian and have been watching a lot of soccer via US Fox Sports.

I've noticed the US presenters pronounce a lot of words using a long vowel sound where I would use a short vowel.

For example,

The mi in semi-final: I say it like me, whereas they say it like my
The pen in penalised: I say it like pen, they say it like peen

Edit: I think I misremembered penalised as penalty

Some questions:

Is this common across the US?
Is the difference applied uniformly? (i.e. are there any rules to it)
Is it a recent variation in pronunciation?
When and where can the difference be traced to?


texts:
I know that Australians pronounce Aussie like Oz-ee.  However, how should Americans pronounce it?

I have, in the past, politely corrected Americans when I hear the typical "aw-see" (\ä-sē\).  It seems to be pretty widely unknown that Australians say Oz-ee.

Then, I came across a website that specifically listed Oz-ee in the wrong pronunciation column (not even in the "alternate" column).  I emailed the author saying that I did not understand why this pronunciation was explicitly in the "wrong" column, and not at the very least in the alternate column.

This set the author off into a rant about how tiny dialects should not be indulged with setting the correct pronunciation for the rest of the English-speaking world.  However, amid all the ranting, the only objection I really received was that the ss shouldn't become a z.

So what's the answer?  Should English-speakers, no matter their dialect, use the pronunciation that the subject of the word itself uses?  Or was this author correct, that the generally-accepted North American usage of aw-see is categorically "correct" for general usage, and Oz-ee should be relegated to "tiny, insignificant, meaningless dialects"*?

In other words, which is the correct pronunciation for North American speakers? I guess this question has three possible answers:

The Australian pronunciation is correct.
Both are OK.
Americans should regard the Australian pronunciation as wrong for the North American accent/dialect.

* His words, not mine :)  I repeat it here to give a sense of the tone of the rant, not because I (even remotely) concur.


texts: An employee called me "boss", but I don't like it. How can I colloquially say that?

texts:
I'm a Coordinator at an English course in a small city in Brazil, and one of the teachers called me "boss" today. However, I don't appreciate being called that, therefore I'd like to tell him not to do so. I'd rather do it in a colloquial way, though. So, how can I say it?

  Hey, man. There's no need for this "boss" thing, you know.

  Come on, man. Don't "boss" me. There's no need for that.

Could you guys give me other examples of how you would say it with your own words?! I have no idea how to say that colloquially.


texts:
Can I drop the noun ("text) in the following clause:

1) ..., regardless of whether a literary work is a pre-war text or a post-war text, ...

2) ..., regardless of whether a literary work is a pre-war or a post-war text, ...


texts: Describe a person who intentionally uses a saying out of context for their own purpose

texts:
This manager worked in a grocery store. It is a hard job that requires him to arrive at the store at 5:00AM, do various tasks to make the store ready, handle deliveries, staff management and unexpected issues.
He had this habit of always sarcastically saying "Just another day in paradise" often saying it to others but most often muttering it to himself. He did this every day, multiple times a day.
One day while he opened the store in the morning he got shot dead by robbers.

With do you call it when he "butchers" the saying intentionally.
What do you describe someone who intentionally uses a saying out of context  for their own purpose?
Not necessary only negative but rather describes the act of "butchering/abusing" the saying for your own purpose.
Another example for clarity:

Every time John drinks a glass of water he says "I just touched the hand of God"

I thought of hypocrite but that doesn't fit what I'm trying to say.


texts: I came across this sentence in an e book. "Why aren't I afraid?"  Is this the proper way to phrase the question?


texts:
I am aware that adverbs are relatively "Free" in terms of their place in sentences.

For the adverb "simultaneously", I could use it in a sentence either like

"I am doing A and B simultaneously" or

"I am simultaneously doing A and B".

I was wondering if it was possible for the word "simultaneously" to be placed between A and B.

If I were to, would I write out the sentence like

"I am doing A simultaneously to B"?

Or is this sentence simply ungrammatical? If so, is there another way to make a sentence so that "simultaneously" goes between A and B?


texts: Shorter way of saying "I find this funny because it happens all the time in my life"

texts:
I'm trying to find a way to say that I find some cartoons funny because they accurately reflect situations that happen all the time in my life.

I considered:

"hit the spot", but I think it means more "fills a need" as opposed to "reflects the situation".
"hit home", but that seems to have more of a serious connotation than what I'm looking for


texts: Noun for a persons overall financial status

texts:
I am looking for a noun that encompasses the abstract idea of a persons overall financial status.

For example, a persons body (a noun that describes his/her physical presence) can have a disease that is causing it to be in poor health, while a persons word I am looking for can have toxic debt causing it to poor health.


texts: Are there any rules on the positioning adverbs should take in a sentence?

texts:
For example:

  Ever wish you could share information broadly

Could it be rewritten to:

  Ever wish you could broadly share information

Are there any rules for the position of the adverbs.


texts: "Reference" vs. "credit" — which word to use when we have to mention sites we referred to?

texts:
Reference or credit — which word should be used in which context when we are talking about blog entries?

If we have taken the information from ten different sites, and put it all together in one place, which word out of the above would be appropriate then and why?


texts: To pretend that a mistake was intentionally done so as to save face

texts:
I am looking for a expression, phrase or word that describes a person or behavior that pretends a mistake made was intentionally done so as to save face.
There is a phrase in my language saying "To pretend that the fall was a technique/stunt". I am looking for an equivalent for this in English.


texts: Inversion for adverbial prepositional phrases

texts:
I do not fully understand how to use inversion for prepositional phrases. If I am not wrong, not all the sentence with prepositional phrases can be inverted; it depends on the verb. Thus, I'd like to know more verbs that can be inverted. I just know a few, for example, lie and be.
Example:
- under the tree lies a tall dog.
- at the corner of street is my sister.

I've seen people inverted the verb 'cover'. As in, Inside the room was covered by mondern paintings. Is it correct?


texts: "Hooker", "whore", "prostitute", when to use which?

texts: "Hooker", "whore", and "prostitute" all mean whore; what are the differences between them?


texts:
I found several mentions, only online, and have no idea what this means. But obviously people repeat this phrase, so they mean something particular.
Here is one example:

It is still morning here so we have to have coffee cake. And I think a variety of coffee cake/pastry is OK. It's just can I have tea instead of coffee?
Guess you just woke up with a case of fuck-arounds.
Wow. You're a dick.
But I love coffee cake...

Then, there is a Twitter message:

Patty woke up with a bad case of fuck arounds...

Then there is this Reddit message:

Guess you just woke up with a case of fuck-arounds.

Facebook has a message:

I woke this morning with a case of fuck arounds

Then, another web site has this message:

Black Hippy shit, got the case of fuck arounds.

Now, after I post, this page will add to the popularity of this phrase.
(Reminds me of quantum mechanics, when one can't measure something without affecting that same thing to some degree, modifying its state.)


texts: Is ‘eclectic bunch’ trendy instead of simply saying ‘a group of different types of constituents'?

texts:
I found the words ‘eclectic bunch’ in the following sentence of a New York Times (July 29, 2011) article reporting increase in foraging in city parks, which is titled ‘Enjoy Park Greenery, City Says, but Not as Salad.’

  Foraging used to be a quirky niche, filled most notably by “Wildman” Steve Brill, who for years has led foraging tours in the Northeast, including in Central Park. But foragers today are an eclectic bunch, including downtown hipsters, recent immigrants, vegans and people who do not believe in paying for food.

As the word ‘eclectic bunch’ was new to me, I checked its meaning on Google and found a flood of examples of its usages including the name of a musical band. From those quotes and examples, I deduced that ‘eclectic bunch’ simply means ‘hodgepodge’ — a group of different types of constituents. Is this right?

However, I wonder why this ‘eclectic’ expression like ‘eclectic bunch’ became so ubiquitously used as I saw in Google. Is it because the word ‘eclectic bunch’ sounds trendy?


texts: What is the appropriate term for a modifying clause that generalizes, rather than limits, the preceding statement? For example: "It is crucial to bring a canteen on the trip, even if the sky is cloudy."


texts: where should the adverb 'yet' be put in the sentence?

texts:
I am always not sure where to put the adverb 'yet' in a sentence.
In my example below, for me, both versions seem to be correct but if anyone could
double check that would be great.

  I was wondering if you have heard anything back from ... regarding my ... yet?

Or

  I was wondering if you have yet heard anything back from ... regarding my ... ?

Best wishes!


texts: Can you use "procure" to mean "think of"?

texts:
He procured a proper way to fix his relationship.
He thought of a proper way to fix his relationship.

Are those equivalent? Is the use of "procure" here unnatural and weird? Or does it work well?


texts: What is the slash before a signature name?

texts:
I sometimes have seen a signature like these:
/Fred
Why is this slash in a position here? What is it signify? More common is the simple
Fred
or maybe the
-Fred
. Alternate form here with a slash is not common so why the difference? Only a differing convention?


texts:
I am an audio transcriber. One of my clients systematically dictates sentences such as :

I feel that,  if the company wanted to use the procedure, that it would seem likely it would have to ..

To me, the second that should not exist.
Am I wrong ?


texts: When did "Easter egg" begin to mean "hidden feature"?

texts: Can anybody trace the origins of 'Easter egg' for this meaning?


texts: What letters of the alphabet are followed the most by the letters ei?


texts:
I was reading this thread, and I thought asking this question again in Usage forum would make my understanding more clear.
I am briefly explaining the question here.

She plays it cool.
He plays / acts stupid.
The headlines showed you played them proudly.

Here cool and stupid are adjectives, but adverbs should be placed there in general.
My question is how to determine which adjectives can be used this way and which aren't?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  When is it correct to use “yourself” and “myself” (versus “you” and “me”)?

Are both It's ideal for you and It's ideal for yourselves grammatically correct? If not, why certain persons use 'you' while other ones use 'yourselves'?


texts: Is there a better word for a news website besides "aggregator" (which implies the source only curates information) or "blog" (which implies the source only does opinion/commentary/no real reporting and also implies there is only one contributor)?


texts:
From the website of Cambridge Dictionary:

  We can use quite + a/an before a noun to give it more emphasis or
  importance:

  There was quite a crowd at the party.

  It makes quite a difference when the wind isn’t blowing.

  [He's quite a guy.]

My question: What if the noun is plural? What would be the right construct? Because the following sounds off to me:

  *They were quite champions today.

  [*They're quite guys.]

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/quite


texts: Infinitive construction of a relative clause - "to be" or "to have been"?

texts:
Let's consider the following sentence:

  This is the first white rhinoceros which has been born in captivity

Would the corresponding construction with an infinitive be:

  This is the first white rhinoceros to be born in captivity

or

  This is the first white rhinoceros to have been born in captivity?

Is the second sentence grammatically correct? If so, I'd suppose that sentence comes closer in meaning.


texts: Adding a definition of a word in a sentence is confusing the reader

texts:
Problem description
In the following paragraph. I am talking about the update of an Entity Linking system by using a Supervised Model. I also added a definition of what Entity Linking is in order to help the reader understand what I am talking about.

The objective of our work is twofold: first to update the existing
Entity Linking system which represents the task of linking a word in a
piece of text, to an ‘entity’ or ‘concept’ from a knowledge base by
using a Supervised Model well suited for Large-Scale datasets and
second to incorporate the Entity Linking system in applications such
as the study of Temporal Data and Sentiment Analysis in forums.

Question
My question is the following: Is it clear that we are updating the system by using a Supervised model? I feel that adding the following definition

which represents the task of linking a word in a piece of text, to an
‘entity’ or ‘concept’ from a knowledge base

is confusing to the reader. The reader has to read to whole definition before getting to how system is updated. But then again the definition is important


texts: A machine can be programmed, and different programs can be chosen for different tasks. One such task may be to initialise the machine, while the main purpose of the machine is to manufacture something. Could such a program, that causes the machine to process/manufacture something be called a "work program" or "working program"? What other scenarios / classifications of programs can you think of?


texts: Sudden shift to present perfect in McCarthy's "The Road"

texts:
I have a question regarding "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. The book is written in past tense and uses past perfect form to tell us of what had happened before, but in this sentence Cormac uses present perfect instead:

  "In the produce section in the bottom of the bins they found a few ancient runner beans and what looked to have once been apricots, long dried to wrinkled effigies of themselves."

My question is why Cormac haven't written:

  ...and what looked to had once been apricots...

Is this a case of unwritten modal, as if: "and what looked to must/could have once been apricots"

Also in a spirit of the question above, how would native speaker react to such construction:

  "They partied all night, loads of alcohol, not less drugs and sexual levity. The party has been sublime."

What if a whole chapter before this fragment had been only using past simple and past perfect, and then it tacked on this present perfect sentence; does it change the narrator from an observer to an active participant?


texts: I know the only difference between the two is that "Older" has an "L" sound. But I want to know if that "L" is obvious to native speaker? Or it could be easily mistaken.


texts: Is there a technical word or term for the words that mispronounced mostly by foreigners?

texts:
As a non-native English learner and speaker, I faced many words in dictionaries or in articles that those words have surprising pronunciations that I didn't expect their productions of their appearance and letters order and mostly I mispronounced them at first and remembering those were a little difficult for me and still is for new ones that are new for me. I listed a few of them below and I wonder if there's a technical term for these kinds of words in English Language or not?
Leopard (I pronounced Leo-Paard)! comptroller, subtle, draught, chaos, lieutenant, niche, and many many others.


texts: Phrase or One word for those who actually work for an achievment

texts:
Suppose, there is a project which has been successfully completed by a group of people (including seniors, juniors and labour class). we want to appreciate not only the people at management level, but also those who actually worked hard and implemented the tasks allocated by the management team to achieve those results.
what is the one word / phrase for such people, who implemented those tasks.


texts:
I have seen this word used in the media, I think it's a (British?) profane word and that is why it has asterisks in it. What is the full word spelled out though? Here is an example where it is used:

  One furious Brit said: 'It's an utter p***take that we're being left here like this.'

Daily Mail


texts: Which is the right There "seem" / "seems" to be?

texts:
I was writing an essay when I became confused.

My question is which sentence is the right one?

  There seem to be two main causes of long-distance relationships.

or

  There seems to be two main causes of long-distance relations.

Which one is correct?


texts: What word describes a word which by definition encompasses another?

texts:
Hopefully the title conveyed my request with clarity.

An example:

*

  Egalitarianism encompasses feminism.

*

What word describes that relationship?
Where the former contains the latter and more (in context to the question).


texts: What is a word for the receiver of a notification?

texts:
I don't believe "notified" is accurate, as it implies the notification has been already made and received.

I'm looking for a word that labels a recipient that specifically is waiting for a notification.  The word "recipient" is technically viable, but then one asks "what are you receiving?  A gift?  A punishment?  An inheritance?".

Does a word exist that encapsulates being a recipient of,  specifically, notifications?


texts: Repeated phrases such as 'four times it stopped on the very threshold of the gate, four times the armour clanged'

texts:
I was wondering if there is a phrase or word for this language technique. Virgil, and other classical poets use it quite a lot. For example

  'three times she lifted herself on her elbow. Three times she fell back down...'


texts: Information given versus given information

texts:
In exam question writing, suppose that some information is given for a question.
When the question is referring to this information, which of the wording “Determine something based on the information given” or “Determine something based on the given information” sounds better?
I am puzzled, as English is my second language.

Thank you so much.


texts:
A student is a classmate, schoolmate, etc. to another student. But what is a teacher to another teacher?

Couldn't it be colleague? Surely not, because a colleague could be any employee working with another.


texts: Is there a word for when racism is used in a power dynamic?

texts:
I am wondering if there is a specific word that can reference a type of racism used through abusing a socioeconomic power dynamic wherein one group controls vastly more resources than another. I thought I heard of such before, but I cannot remember it. Example sentence:

  Due to the ______ that oppresses this racial group, the resulting socioeconomic disparity has caused higher unemployment, higher incarceration rates and increased victimization.


texts: I am trying to understand subjunctive mood/mode. Would the following sentence be subjunctive? If I ever meet a sycophant, I will walk away.


texts:
Why does the last line in the short story The Necklace treat necklace as plural?

Mine were false. They were not worth over five hundred francs!

But the translation by Jonathan Sturges reads:

...my necklace was paste. It was worth at most five hundred francs!

Can someone provide some clarification on this?


texts: Word that expresses the state of being finite or infinite without specifying which one it is

texts:
I'm looking for a word similar to saying, "It could be black or grey or green, regardless of colour it still holds ....."

I want to say

  It could be finite or infinite,
  regardless of <the word I'm looking for> it still holds....

If you need more clarity I'll reply within the minute; so please ask.


texts: How to pronounce ‘TH’ when it comes right after [s] sound?

texts:
It feels like impossible to pronounce something like [sð] (e.g. ‘it's there’). I have heard a lot of natives pronouncing this conjunction, and every time it sounds a bit different for me, so I can't get what sound(s) exactly I hear.

Would appreciate some examples with IPA transcriptions.


texts: Looking for a word to describe being shot by a sniper

texts: Is there a verb that characterizes being shot by someone from a hiding place, perhaps at long range, like a sniper?


texts:
Technically proficient with Microsoft Office Suite?
Or
Technically proficient in Microsoft Office Suite?

Please help me to understand if the sentence is correct?

Thank You!


texts: From the movie Coriolanus, what does this sentence mean?

texts:
From the movie remake of Shakespeare's Coriolanus, during a battle scene, he said to his soldiers before leading them into a frontal assault:

Make you a sword of me

How to interpret this sentence?

I (Coriolanus) make you (his soldiers) a sword of his?
I (Coriolanus) make myself into a sword of yours (his soldiers')?

Thanks


texts: How do you say in English that something is "genuinely good regardless of its disadvantages"?

texts: I'm writing about a certain product. I want to describe all its shortcomings but then move on to make the point that it is still good, and I can't find a word. Google and Ludwig Guru translated it: 'overweight something', but that doesn't sound right.


texts: A better way to phrase "his masterwork" or "his epic"?

texts:
In the context of an artist. Like, let's say, Dali's "melting clocks" painting; we would call that his (blank), AKA his most recognizable/meaningful/popular/"epic" work.

I think there is, perhaps, a French/Latin term Americans use? I'm not sure...


texts: What do you call slapping someone at the back of their head

texts:
I know there is bitch-slap, that is when you you hit someone a male or a female with back of you hands (sometimes) when they act or do stupid. I want to know the word that is subtle in nature, that when we hit someone at the back of their head when they do stupid thing. Like an elder bro hit a younger one to correct him...

I know a word Gibbs-slap, but that is so american and I want a global term.

Thanks.


texts:
In this answer about the non-word disabilitated, the word preventative is compared (unfavourably, if my reading of the implication is correct) to preventive.

However, I have always used preventative, and can only recall hearing it in its longer form. Merriam-Webster online lists preventative (defining it as equal to preventive) as being first used circa 1666, and lists preventive as first used circa 1639.

Is this is a BrEng/AmEng difference? What is the etymology of these words?

(There is a question about this on World Wide Words, but more, or more precise, information would be appreciated.)


texts:
I was reading "A fault in our stars" by John Green and he did something rather interesting. The scene is one in which the mother wants her child to attend support group. All the child wants to do is watch America's Next Top Model. The mother wants her to participate in activities to which she responds that television is an activity to which the mother exclaims that television is a "passivity".

Is the mother's definition of the action of watching television linguistically correct? I tried to search for examples of where "passivity" was used this way, but I came up with nothing. Can anyone else find an example of this use?

Either way I think this is a very interesting use of the word and one that describes actions that are not inherently active.


texts: What's the old saying that means "the written word is more powerful than the spoken"

texts:
I'm looking for that old saying that means "the written word is more powerful than the spoken"

It suggests that getting an idea on paper and publishing it can reach many more people (because of books, newspapers, magazines etc) than simply saying it one time


texts:
I'm correcting a text that is narrated in the past tense and has many sentences like the following:
Bob realized he'd been lied to; he shouldn't be so naïve. He could go back and get revenge, it would be easy.
Am I correct in thinking that these should be replaced with "shouldn't have been", "could have gone", and "would have been"?
Does it matter if some of these verbs represent actions or states that are valid over an extended period of time in the past?


texts: Meaning & Origin of phrase "Step into [him/her]"

texts:
I've done a bit of searching for this phrase and found the following:

  "step into"

  Idioms & Phrases

  Involve oneself or intervene, as in He knew he'd be able to step into a job in his father's firm , or Jane asked Mary to step into the matter and settle it . Also see step in.

However, the place I first heard the phrase is on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, where Deakins, the supervisor of the Major Case Squad, uses it with a direct object of a suspect or a witness, which barely fits the definition. The definition implies usage towards a situation or position.

Exchanges on the show usually go something like this:

  Detective: "We don't have any real leverage on him to find out what he knows!"

  Supervisor: "Step into him."

Or:

  Detective: "As long as his lawyer is protecting him, we'll never get him to talk."

  Supervisor: "Step into him. Hard."

  Detective: Re-enters the interrogation room and squeezes the information from the suspect over the lawyers increasing complaints.

That seems to imply there is another, even more idiomatic usage for the phrase with a meaning closer to "investigate" or "harass". How common is this idiom? Is the screen writer mis-using a legitimate idiom? Or is there another meaning or police/detective slang that's not so documented around the web?


texts: Hyphens in words with prefixes like neo-Nazism

texts:
I have a question regarding the use of hyphens in words with certain prefixes. For example,

  Neo-Nazism
  Neo-Confucianism
  Neo-liberal

are words with a hyphen, but

  Neoplatonism
  Neocolonialism

are words without hyphens. I'm especially confused with neo-Confucianism and neoplatonism: one contains  a hyphen and a capital letter and the other doesn't.

Is there a specific rule for hyphens in words with prefixes or is it purely arbitrary?


texts: Quotation marks for interpreted statements

texts: I interviewed a Spanish speaking individual with the help of a Spanish/English interpreter.  I am writing an article about the individual and want to quote him in English.  Can I use quotation marks around the interpreter's words and attribute them to the individual?


texts:
I was listening to some gentle, slow, emotionally warm music by Aaron Copland, and I thought of the word "languid" to describe it. But I wasn't sure of what languid means, so I looked it up, and it mostly means lethargic, lazy, lacking energy, and other somewhat negative associations. It also can mean "slow" but that was almost the only neutral synonym.

This music on the other hand is relaxed in a delicious way. It's "low-energy" in the best sense: like a slow massage.

In fact, the word "languid" is onomatopoeic, at least with respect to this music. It feels like I'm savoring the syllables as I say it. It doesn't "sound" like bored and lazy to me.

Then I looked up "languorous" and it has mostly negative connotations as well, like "depressed." Although one example sentence was "languorous cats lying around in the sun" which would fit this music, assuming the cats are enjoying themselves.

So I am wondering if "languid" can be used in this positive sense I want to give it, or if there would be a similar word that can.


texts: Hypernym for "business" and "private individual"

texts:
An example sentence:

  Whether, and how much VAT is collected depends on your _________ (private or business) and the country you are located in.

Both formal and informal words are welcome. As long as it's commonly understood in the English-speaking community.


texts: the usage of the word 'before' before a temporal noun?

texts:
In my understanding, usually the word 'before' is used before a temporal phrase - e.g., before I left home. May I confirm if it is also correct to put it before a temporal noun, as with the following sentence?

Before its present layout, the book's design has been changed many times.

Many thanks!!


texts: Is there another word for a sub-team specialized in a certain subject matter please?

texts: Is there another word I can use to name a sub-team specialized in a certain subject matter? A few of us within a leadership group are getting together across job functions to form a sub-team for Food Safety. Purpose of group is to update each other across related functions, agree then communicate to the clients to whom we consult. Thanks in advance!


texts:
It seems I can't use "angst" anymore to refer to unspecified "philosophical anxiety about the world or personal freedom." (definition by Wordnet).
In a discussion with a friend - let's call him Abe - about a mutual friend - let's call him Doug - I wanted to express this exact idea, as in "I had coffee with Doug the other day. He sure seems filled with angst. Going on about life and the right decisions and all this stuff in the news that depresses him..."
So that's what I said, and Abe questioned my use of "angst," which led us on a race (friendly, for the most part) down the semantic rabbit hole.
Some definitions...
From The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Ed.:

(n) a feeling of anxiety or apprehension often accompanied by depression.

From Wordnet:

(n) an acute but unspecific feeling of anxiety; usually reserved for philosophical anxiety about the world or about personal freedom.

From Merriam-Webster online:

(n) a strong feeling of being worried or nervous : a feeling of anxiety about your life or situation.

From Google dictionary:

(n) a feeling of deep anxiety or dread, typically an unfocused one about the human condition or the state of the world in general.
informal: a feeling of persistent worry about something trivial.

From the Free Dictionary online:

(n) a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.

From Cambridge Dictionaries Online:

(n) strong worry and unhappiness, especially about personal problems.

There seems to be disagreement - at least among dictionary makers - about whether angst derives from anxiety about the state of the world (as I thought in my conversation with Abe) and our existence or from more trivial, less existential personal problems. And yes, I'm familiar with teenage angst, which could stem from all of these sources; teenage angst seems to have changed many of the primary connotations of angst, such that now many people believe angst is about listening to broody music and unwarranted adolescent self-pity. Much of this debate around the meaning of angst can be seen at Urban Dictionary (which I don't turn to as an authority but as a reasonable indicator of popular semantic disagreement).
Our rabbit hole led us to look at usage in media, which turns up headlines like these:

Expat Angst: The Stress of Going Home for the Holidays
GOP Angst Over 2016 Led to Provision on Funding
Angst over China's online lenders may be over the top
Ferrari 'Fleeing' Italy Prompts Angst About Losing Icons
Exploring the angst over football head trauma, onstage
Overcoming App Angst: How Procurement Can Avoid IP Issues

What strikes me about these (and thousands of other) examples is that they violate the "unspecific" element of many definitions of angst; indeed, angst is being tied directly to some problem or situation, appearing roughly synonymous with "worry," "concern," or "forlornness."
Q. Has the meaning of angst shifted?
Q. If "angst" now means (to most people) either a) pathetic adolescent navel-gazing, or b) "concern" or "fretfulness" because of some problem or situation, then what other word might I use to express "an acute but unspecific feeling of anxiety, particularly about the world in general and the human condition?"


texts: What is the equivalent of a click in a touch screen with the finger?

texts:
In computing, "an act of pressing a button on a mouse or similar device is called" : click.

Does the action of pressing or touching the screen with the finger has a special name?


texts:
I'm checking a technical paper submission and came across the phrase

    We propose spherical Gaussian based approximations to calculate this analytically.

and wondering if this needs a hyphen or not. I'm inclined towards

    spherical Gaussian-based

but could it also be

    spherical-Gaussian-based

which is what some of the other questions on hyphenation here are based on.


texts: Question regarding English in an old maths book

texts:
I'm currently working through an old British maths book, released around 1910, on the whole the language is quite manageable however I've reached a part of the text where there's talk of circles and this was written:

  "The circumferences of circles are to one another as their radii"

What does this mean? Does it mean that the circumference of circles are dependent on their radii or what?


texts: How do you punctuate an if/then when both the "if" and the "then" are implied?

texts:
Examples:

If you lie, then you're out.
If you do it right, then you can have a cookie.

The above are standard if/then clauses.  "If" is a subordinating conjunction introducing a subordinate clause, so it is separated from the main clause, the "then" clause, by an ensuing comma.  Now I know that if you leave the "then" implied, that you still use a comma.

Examples:

If you lie, you're out.
If you do it right, you can have a cookie.

HOWEVER, it has become common to leave the "if" implied as well, but how do you punctuate it?

Examples:

You lie, you're out. --or-- You lie; you're out.
You do it right, you can have a cookie. --or-- You do it right; you can have a cookie.

Part of me thinks that a comma is necessary because the first clause is still subordinate with or without the subordinating conjunction "if."  But then another part of me thinks that lacking an explicit "if," it isn't actually a subordinate clause, so the two clauses become interdependent, so a semicolon instead of a comma is called for.

Here's why I think that:

I like it, but I don't love it.

When we use a conjunction to introduce an additional clause, we separate them with a comma.  However, when we omit the conjunction but leave the conjunction implied, we can no longer grammatically use a comma to separate the clauses but must instead use a semicolon.

I like it; I don't love it.

So following that line of thinking, maybe a semicolon is required in the examples above.

I have searched the internet for how to punctuate if/then sentences when both the "if" and the "then" are implied, but I have not been able to find anything on the subject.  All I can find are grammatical explanations for omitting the "then," not the "if" too.

Any light you shed would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Is the use of "acquainted with" correct here?

texts:
Accidentally, I was acquainted with a NGO called Liren University, which was dedicated to providing a universal education for youths on liberal arts.

I do not know how to describe this sort of knowing. I only know a little about this NGO. In this case, can I say "acquainted with"? or better "acquaint myself with"?


texts:
I was wondering if the following sentence was grammatically correct:

"Only now am I sure who is my real friend."

I found it in my grammar book and I am confused.
Thanks in advance :)


texts:
a. I entered the room extending my hand to my host.

c. He forgot his wallet in the restaurant realizing it two hours later.

d. He forgot his wallet in the restaurant, realizing it two hours later.

e. She entered the room weeping.

f. She entered the room, weeping.

Do the above sentences work?

Are the commas needed?

Many thanks.


texts: How to understand "particularly if other things" in below sentence?

texts: The terms on which the emerging undemocratic superpower invests in the outside world are of interest of all countries-particularly if other things, such as foreign policy, may be affected.


texts: What's the difference between say "I started working" vs "I started to work"

texts:
Simple question

What's the difference between someone say

"I started working on something..."

And

"I started to work on something..."


texts: "When people talk listen completely" <- isn't there a comma missing there?

texts:
I was innocently poking around on wikiquote and I came across this tidbit:

When people talk listen completely. Most people never listen.
Ernest Hemingway as quoted on wikiquote

Which at first I thought was some accidental editing mistake.  Like any good wiki user I starting gearing up to fix it, especially when I noticed it used to have a comma in the history but being the paranoid guy I am I thought I'd confirm the quote independently.  And I found these:

http://timetowrite.blogs.com/weblog/2014/01/hemingway-on-how-to-practice-to-be-a-good-writer.html

https://bibliophilewannabe.wordpress.com/2015/07/22/ernest-hemingway-on-listening-and-obsering/

https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/11/13/hemingway-on-writing-2/

All have no comma.  Am I crazy thinking there should be a comma between talk and listen?
Far be it from me to second guess the great Hemingway but I think this is from an interview.  So it could be this isn't his writing I'm questioning.  It's his interviewer's.
Anyway, I'd just like to know if this is one of those subjective things that could go either way, and so should be left alone lest I start an edit war, or if this is objectively wrong and should be changed.


texts: Parsing of a compound noun with many words

texts:
How should I understand this phrase: "threat analysis model", which means:

An analysis model of threat, or put in parentheses: (threat(analysis model)
A model of threat analysis: (threat analysis (model))

If it has 4 words: "threat analysis modeling tool", then:

Is it: (threat (analysis (modeling (tool)))
Or: (threat analysis) + (modeling tool)
Or: (threat) + (analysis modeling) + (tool)


texts: What is the difference between “fitness” and “suitability”?

texts:
I apologize if this is an obvious question, but I have not been able to find the answer in a dictionary.

The specific problem I'm having is distinguishing between

  [certificate] which certifies the suitability of a product for [purpose] vs. [certificate] which certifies the fitness of a product for [purpose].

Personally I feel suitability has a slightly more positive bias, but at the same time might be less rigorous, while fitness seems more rigorous but also more neutral.

If anyone can explain the exact difference between these two I would be much obliged.


texts: Less vulgar alternative to "bee up my butt"

texts:
In my corner of the world, the two exressions given in the accepted answer to this question have become conflated.  Now, to "have a bee up one's butt" is to have a sudden and obsessive need to do something one does not normally do.
Example uses:

Alice: So what made you want to plant a garden in your front yard?
Bob: I don't know.  I guess I just got a bee up my butt.

Or

Dave: Where has Eve been all week?
Char: Ah, you know how it is.  She and her husband got bees up their butts and flew off for a tropical vacation.

While the "butt" variant is not blatantly obscene, it is perhaps not suitable for all social situations.  I suppose the original version with "bonnet" is better, but seems a bit antiquated- when did you last see anyone wearing a bonnet?
Is there an expression or idiom that would:

Be acceptable in polite company
Convey a similar whimsy
Fit in with modern fashion and norms


texts: What is the English term used for legal representation power?

texts:
When someone assigns a lawyer to represent him or her, what do we call this document/certificate/letter/paper? Is it power of attorney? Procuration?

Let me explain the context in the following example:
I am a judge and there is a lawyer who wants to represent a client. I ask the lawyer to present something that proofs he has the right or power to do so.

So, what shall I, as a judge, ask the lawyer to provide to allow him or her to represent a client?

I hope I have made it clear.


texts: Help me understand "The actions one takes are answered by consequences waiting at the conclusion"

texts:
I just watched the dubbed version of Code Geass anime series, and there's a sentence puzzling me.

  The actions one takes are answered by consequences waiting at the conclusion.

I was wondering whether the usage of the sentence is formal or not.

Can action use answer as a verb? I found nothing on the internet about "the actions are answered by..."
What does "consequences waiting at the conclusion" mean? Can wait use at as a prep?

I'm a non-native speaker of English.