texts: What's a verb used for someone or something you can't get enough of?

texts:
The adjective may be "irresistible", but I specifically mean, and am requesting, a verb:
Like, for a partner whom you can't get enough. In my language, for example, we literally say, "you're so amazing, I could never 'thirst' from kissing you". It doesn't have to be a romantic setting. It could be a song you enjoy a lot - Again, in my language, "I enjoy this song so much, I could never 'thirst' from listening to it".
So, in English, what's an (appropriate) verb used as instead of "thirst" (which probably sounds outlandish in English)?


texts:
I recently requested a quote from a web hosting provider. In the quote details, below the quote id number and the validity expiration date, I can read "Term - 6 months".

What does it mean? Is it a period of engagement or some other sort of commitment for me?


texts: "I often go to Paris" could mean that you go twice a year, however, you wouldn't use "I often go to the dentist" even though you have your teeth checked twice a year." Why is that?


texts: Why is it "time of day" but "hour of the day"?

texts:
Well, the title is a little misleading, because both "time of day" and "time of the day" are possible and can have the same meaning.[here] But "time of day" is more commonly used (when we're not mentioning a particular day, of course):

So you're more likely to hear:

  We love to eat around this time of day.

But after we substitute "hour" for "time", the article is almost always in there:

So the previous example would become:

  We love to eat around this hour of the day.

I imagine that native speakers of English would agree that it sounds a little off (or at least less natural) to say: ?We love to eat around this hour of day.

These 2-grams† bellow will show that the tendency to omit the definite article after time of exists in other similar phrases too:

Month of the year is used with the, whereas time of year is more commonly used without.
Day of month is comparatively rare, but time of month can be acceptable.

† or bigrams, or n-grams, if you will

To complicate things further, take a look at this 2-gram, which tells you that any time of the day is a little more common than any time of day; i.e., adding any kinda swaps the results around!
I guess this is because you're more likely to talk about a nonspecific time of a specific day, than to talk about any time of any day, for there is not much to say about it; hence the definite article before day.


texts: Suppose, in regards to a class of people, one says that "about 50% of people in this class have a grade of C". Would this statement be incorrect if it turns out that exactly 50% of this class have a grade of C? In other words, does "about" exclude "exactly"?


texts: According to protesters - correct; according to THE protesters - possible?

texts:
Source: http://rt.com/news/mariupol-base-shooting-ukraine-008/

  They called on the troops to abandon the base, but the soldiers didn't listen, the demonstrators said. Instead, the troops opened fire at the protesters, injuring at least four people. One of them took a bullet in his chest and is in serious condition, according to protesters.

I know that generally you don't need definite articles when using the expression according to someone or something. But is it possible, in theory, to use one? Or would it sound just plainly wrong to your ear?


texts: Can LGTM and SGTM be used interchangeablay?

texts:
LGTM = Looks Good to Me
SGTM = Sounds Good to Me

I see these two abbreviations used frequently to express "I agree with your idea, go ahead". Can they be used interchangeably? Is there any subtle difference between them?


texts: Is it correct to say you're trying to protect yourself from or against something?

texts:
For example: "I'm trying to protect myself from the brainwashing aliens."

My idea is that against seems like a stronger word to me. Making the item or topic at hand seem more... how should I say... of a negative thing? Not clear. But I also know it's more common for people to say, for example "I'm trying to protect myself from you/the aliens."

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


texts: "...three years in." What does it mean when placing 'in' at the end of a sentence?

texts:
I read on Gabriel Weinberg's recent blog:

  "Startups are a long-term game. My best advice is to treat entrepreneurship as a career path, but it is easier said than done absent some amount of success. For me, I had a taste of it three years in and some real success six years in."

How does the grammar of in work here:
I had a taste of it three years in and some real success six years in.


texts: How did "like" change from a noun meaning "body" to the modern verb?

texts: As pointed out here, saying "I like X" in old English would have to be formulated as "X pleases my body" and the word "like" would represent "body" in that sentence. But it's not clear to me how "like" became a verb in modern English.


texts: Correct usage of pronoun: "their" vs "its"

texts:
Which word goes in the blank (their or its)?

  The stones are small, but ___ value is great.

I think it is their but my child's paper says it is its. Which is correct and why?


texts:
I was wondering if it is correct to use the expression if to speak about. For example, suppose we wanted talk about one subject and then change it to another one:

  These are very dangerous mountains, and a lot of preparation is needed. If to speak about salary for this kind of work, it is very…


texts:
Firstly, as far as I am aware, 'unjustifiability' is not an actual English word. However, is it ok to use it within the contexts of a philosophy essay?
The The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy on a topic called 'Contactualism' uses it frequently to explain what it is for something to  be 'wrong.'

Secondly, Which is correct?

As previously stated, what establishes whether something is wrong (for Scanlon) is its unjustifiability

As previously stated, what establishes whether something is wrong for Scanlon is its unjustifiability.

As previously stated, what establishes whether something is wrong, for Scanlon, is its unjustifiability.

Many thanks


texts: How to phrase multiple descriptions each applied to multiple objects

texts:
Let's say I've got two departments: Sales and Marketing.  Each department generates Reports and Recommendations.

To refer to all of that, I've written: "Sales and Marketing Reports and Recommendations".  However, that sounds kind of ambiguous to me.   Is there a better way to phrase this that makes it more clear while not becoming too unwieldy?


texts: Form of notice to indicate children's prices, and those that are free of cost

texts:
Our company finds it difficult to word the notice indicating that infants under certain ages are either "free" or go at "half-price".

What should we use?
"Free child age?" or ...? we're not native english talker so it make it lot harder...

thank you

I'm not sure what tags should be used. I will leave it up to the moderator to decide if more should be added.

Edit

As people suggested, i moved the question to: https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/155126/form-label-to-indicate-childrens-prices-group-and-those-that-are-free-of-cost


texts: "you wouldn't know it to see it" vs "you wouldn't recognize it to see it"

texts: Is it more correct to say, "you wouldn't know it to see it" or "you wouldn't recognize it to see"? I have tried looking both up on google, and only the first return's actual usage. Also, the formulation of "you wouldn't know it" + "to see it". Is there something special about this construction, it seems odd. I feel that it works in the first example but wouldn't work if I were to apply it formulaically, for example, "You wouldn't eat it to taste it". However, I might be wrong about that.


texts: What is the plural of learning? Is it learnings?


texts: Is there an expression to indicate the strategy of wearing someone down with numerous small irritations?

texts:
I would use rope-a-dope, but it's got connotations of pretending to lose that I don't need. I'm trying to describe the behavior of someone who sends twenty detailed emails a day about various projects, and the recipient of his emails has finally gotten tired of trying to parse them, so the recipient just agrees to whatever he proposes. I'd like an expression that evokes both outward earnestness and hidden creepiness, like Uriah Heep, Dickens's "Humble servant" with veiled ambition, who overdoes it with professions of humility until he's in power.
Water torture would work, but comes too close to a more racist expression that I'm not comfortable with.


texts:
This phrase is from Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe by Josh Allen (2019) and I'm not sure what it means by whisper thin.

  The cat was whisper thin and had a notch in its ear.


texts: Is there any verb or phrase for "making something incomplete"?

texts: For example, a customer asks a jeweler to sell her a set of jewelry except for a ring in the set. But the jeweler says that he can't exclude the ring because it would make the set incomplete.


texts: Does the adverb phrase modify "I" or "you"?

texts:
"I love you as a friend"

I think it modifies Object, but I want to know if adverb phrase could modify Subject?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Why is “to get” sometimes used where “to be” could be used?

Sometimes I hear people say things like this:

  I just got robbed.

(Personally I would rather say 'I was robbed' or something.)

It seems correct to me, but is this a good style? And if so, in which cases is it possible to replace a word with get or got?


texts: Difference between "meaning of life" and "purpose of life"

texts:
I have seen and heard both, but I cannot tell the difference between "meaning of life" and "purpose of life".

Could anybody explain it to me? When to use which?


texts: What’s the meaning of “purchase” in “the purchase for changing a rule”?

texts:
On page 118 of Thinking Like a Lawyer by Frederick Schauer, I found this passage:

  If the purchase for changing a rule[,] is
  a perception of what the optimal result would be in the absence of the
  rule, and if every case in which the rule generates a suboptimal result is
  understood to be one in which the rule should be changed so that it no
  longer produces these suboptimal results, then it appears as if the rules
  are not operating as rules at all and that all of the work is being done by
  the rule-free determination of the optimal result.

I see that purchase is being used as a noun here, yet what does it mean?

None of these three Oxford Dictionaries definitions under noun seem to apply to this context.

I’d guess its meaning here as “reason, rationale”, but I don’t know.


texts: Word/phrase/tactic for falsely calling yourself someone of the opposite side to use as a tool to discredit that side

texts:
I wanted to know if there's a word for a sneaky tactic involving falsely calling yourself a person of the opposite side to your actual viewpoint (perhaps in an anonymous setting) to use as a weapon to discredit that opposite side's argument.

Eg. Someone commenting online anonymously on some relevant message board "As a radical feminist myself, I think that the gender pay gap is a myth" when they are actually secretly a misogynist portraying themselves as a radical feminist.

Sorry if I mistagged this. It's my first post.


texts:
I'm learning English as my second language.
Now I want to improve my vocabulary by reading because I have heard that the best and the fastest way to explode

vocabulary is reading as much as possible. I have been following this advice.

But I have a problem of understading. While I am reading a small sentence, I catch a word which I don't know what it

means, I use my dictionary application (Longman, Cambridge) to translate it, after that, I find a new word in the

definition, and I search with this new word, oh no, I find another new word,...so on.  Finally, I still don't know what the

sentence means.

I'm very stupid or something's wrong?
What should I do?


texts:
Please help me with the words 'descent', 'ancestry', and 'lineage'.  Dictionaries show that they are loosely the same:

  1a. He has German descent.
  1b. He is of German descent.
  2a. He has German ancestry.
  2b. He is of German ancestry.
  3a. He has German lineage.
  3b. He is of German lineage.

Could they be all the same, or are there subtle differences only known to native speakers?


texts: How can word "and" be deleted in this sentence?

texts:
This food looked horrible, (and) even grotesque.

In this sentence, do I have to put the word and before phrase even grotesque?
And if I don't have to put the word and, what is the rule that allows me to delete the word and?


texts: Using a comma in a list of two when the first item is very long

texts:
I am writing a sentence containing a list. The first item is a long clause. I know it can be rewritten, but what is the rule for creating clarity? Should I use a comma, a semi-colon or just leave it?

Here is the sentence: The standard package includes all court forms on your behalf to progress the divorce matter and filing of documents in court.


texts:
I was wondering how we use number in front of two nouns, as in:

  There are three  advantages and disadvantages of smoking.

Does it mean three advantages and also three  disadvantages as well?


texts:
I tried to do my best to describe this

I wanted to buy one. And when I tried to explain to the man what I wanted I looked like an idiot moving my hands back and forth to show him how it works. A 3D globe can confuse people, undoubtedly.

How would we most clearly refer to it? Is there any single word describing it?


texts: Word to describe an absorbing activity which causes one to fail to notice the passage of large amounts of time

texts:
The phrase,  "Time flies when you're having fun," is often used when one has become absorbed in an activity and lost track of time. I'm looking for a word to describe something that has a tendency to cause someone to lose track of time. I want a word that can be used similarly to something like:

  It is a very time-consuming activity.

However, I do not want the word to imply the activity necessitates a large amount of time. Rather, it should imply that the activity is absorbing enough that one spends a large amount of time doing it, without noticing if it's been a long time. I feel as if I know the word I am looking for, it is simply on the tip of my tongue and just out of reach. I'm sorry if my examples and descriptions make little sense. Any help is appreciated though.


texts: The phrase for when: working in a group to divide responsibility and reduce malicious intent

texts:
I am trying to think of what the name of the word/phrase is for when:
An important task (not a difficult one, but a mission critical one) is at hand and instead of one person being assigned to it, a group takes on the responsibility to mitigate any consequences happening to one person in case something goes wrong and also to prevent a mistake or malicious intent occurring from one persons doing. (NOT because the task is big and needs to be divided in a group.)
E.g.

Two different people needing to turn a key each in a device simultaneously to launch a missile.

Group of people tallying up votes for an election in case one of them were bridged to rig the outcome.


texts: Is "disclude" a word and what authority says a word is a word or isn't?

texts:
So far this is what I found from Wiktionary and Merriam-Webster except the latter doesn't have disclude.

Exclude — To keep something out.
From Latin excludere, from ex-, “out”, + variant form of the verb claudere, “to close”.
Preclude — To prevent something from happening.
From Latin praeclūdere, “to shut up”, from prae- + claudere, “to close”.
Disclude — To shut apart.
Latin discludere, “to shut apart”.


texts: Is there a word for capitalizing in the middle of a word, as in "eBay"?

texts: Usually this sort of word is a trademarked name, such as eBay or BlackBerry.  Is there a word that describes capitalization mid-word?


texts:
Is it allowed to have multiple hyphens in one word? I want to use the word semi-self-sustaining in the sentence

  However, the ability to produce semi-self-sustaining stations is
  possessed by up to a quarter of all nations.

Should we use semi-selfsustaining or avoid it by using partially self-sustaining?


texts:
I am not a native English speaker. Suppose I wish to ask an audience whether they have ever had some particular drink (alcoholic)? How am I supposed to ask it?

  Have any of you drunk Carlsberg Beer?

Is the above question grammatically correct? If not, can anybody correct me? How do I change the question when I'm inquiring about a non-alcoholic beverage, such as tea or juice?


texts: How do you express having a mutual acquaintance when you introduce yourself?

texts:
Let's imagine that Jack told me about his friend who is a lawyer, called Mark.

And that Jack also told me that I have to mention to Mark that I know him (Jack).

How can I introduce myself to Mark and get this information across?


texts:
I'd appreciate some elaboration on the part in bold:

Hutton had to modify some of these views when George Eliot appeared on the scene, and he might have modified
them sooner if he had understood Jane Eyre, Villette, or Wuthering Heights. But literary stereotypes adapted very
slowly to any real evidence of feminine achievement. If we break down the categories that are the staple of Victorian periodical reviewing, we find that women writers were acknowledged to possess sentiment, refinement, tact, observation, domestic expertise, high moral tone, and knowledge of female character; and thought to lack originality, intellectual training, abstract intelligence, humor, self-control, and knowledge of male character.

source


texts: Is it correct to say "The software was installed ON the xyz partition" or "The software was installed IN the xyz partition"?

texts:
I guess the title sums up my question perfectly.

Some examples:

"Disk Utility was installed on the Recovery partition" or "Disk Utility was installed in the Recovery partition".
"Download and save your file on the Files partition" or "Download and save your file in the Files partition".

Is only one usage correct? Or are both on and in acceptable?

And, would the answer be different if the meaning of partition was different? For example, partitions referring to countries (e.g. divided into states) as opposed to a hard drive as per my examples above.


texts: How do I say "full of obstacles" with one word?

texts:
...paving the [full of obstacles] way to fluency.

Is there a one-word adjective I can use to replace that outrageous 3-word one?

I swear I've heard of it somewhere, but I've been searching for it for almost an hour now, and have come no closer to success than when I began.


texts: What is the diffence between brusque and curt?


texts: Why does this use of "of" sound incorrect?

texts:
A recent thread on ELL has raised a question in my own mind regarding something in an answer.  Consider these two sentences:

  All the computers in this section are the same price.
  These watches are different designs.

An answer originally suggested adding "of":

  All the computers in this section are of the same price.
  These watches are of different designs.

"These watches are of different designs" is a construction you would routinely see in formal or technical writing.  In casual speech, people would tend to leave out the "of".  But the "of" sounds perfectly normal.

However, "All the computers in this section are of the same price" is something I would never expect to see in speech or in writing (at least in AmE).  Looking at the words, they seem grammatically correct to me, and I can't see any reason why it would be wrong.  But it just sounds totally unnatural for some reason.

I speculated that the reason might be that in this context, "of" is associated with being part of something larger or part of a set.  "The same price" means that they're equal, which conflicts with that usage.  That explanation seemed logical.  However, even "are of different prices" sounds off, so I don't think that is the issue.

Addendum: discussion in comments makes the issue clearer.  I'm not sure if it is "of" that's the problem, or the "are of" combination, which is commonly used with some words but rarely with others in AmE.

"Xs are of different designs" would be common enough, but "Xs are of the same price" would not.  English Student comments that "are of different prices" is common usage in India, so it may a regional thing.  Let me refine the question, then.

In AmE, some words that refer to properties or attributes, like "designs", "materials", "sizes", "ages", and "colors", all might be used with "are of" (although the "of" would likely be dropped in conversational speech).  Others, like "prices", are not typically used with "are of" (off the top of my head, other examples don't come to mind).

Perhaps "prices" was not always an exception but fell out of use with "are of" at some point. But in recent times, "are of" and "prices" aren't typically used together in AmE.  So my question: is there a pattern, rule, linguistic quirk, something inherent in the definitions, grammatical oddity, etymological basis, or other reason why this specific word, "prices", (and I assume some others), doesn't fit the normal pattern?


texts: What is another way of saying "less premium?"

texts:
I'm looking for another way to say "less premium." This is the context:

  The competition's brand was less premium.

I do not want to change the overall structure of the sentence. This is not a super complex question, but I am having a difficult time with it. Thank you!


texts: We can see the shrine "become/becomes" big

texts:
I'm correcting some writing and the student wrote,

  We can see the shrine become big, little by little, from the ferry.

As far as I'm concerned, it's grammatically okay, but I'm having trouble explaining why it shouldn't be 'becomes big'. For the life of me I couldn't find the correct way to refer to the grammar involved here. Also, I feel like becoming bigger or getting bigger might convey her meaning more accurately, but that become big still gets a pass. Am I right?

I appreciate any help you can give me.


texts:
Is it correct to say 'a very great refrigerator'. Isn't just 'a great refrigerator' enough? Should we use 'very' before 'great' as in a very great man, or is it 'a great man'. Why? Thanks.
sundaresh


texts: The difference between "shy" and "ashamed"

texts:
What is the difference between shy and ashamed as in the following example?

  He is not shy to tell the truth.
  He is not ashamed to tell the truth.


texts: What do you refer to an alternation between 3 things? or the like

texts:
For example: 1-1-2-1-1-2-1-1-2 ( pattern of 1-1-2 repeated) and another pattern with more than 3 units and more complex and so forth.

I would normally call this: 1-2-1-2-1-2 an alternation between 1 and 2 (if you have other interesting ways to address it, please share).

Because I have to refer to '1-2-1-2-1-2' in one sentence and '1-1-2-1-1-2-1-1-2' in the next. I'm trying to use a word to connect the two, alternation in 2 and alternation in 3 for example, but that doesn't make sense.


texts: How to tell the difference between predicate adjectives and action verbs

texts:
While analyzing essays, I often get confused between whether a word is a predicate adjective of an action verb.

I found the definition of a predicate adjective to be "An adjective used in the predicate, especially with a copulative verb and attributive to the subject."

I also found the definition of an action verb to be "A verb that expresses something that a person, animal, object, or process in nature can do."

However, even with these definitions, I am confused about how to tell these apart.

For example, the sentence "A list of objects was written."
In this sentence, what would the word "written" function as? Would the "was" be a linking verb and the word "written" a predicate adjective? Or would "was" be a helping verb and the "written" be an action verb?


texts: Usage of 'that much more' in a scientific article

texts:
Would it be acceptable to use the phrase "that much more" in the context of a scientific article?

Basically, I want to convey this:

"The results were obtained doing A. We expect that doing B, taking into account C and D, is that much more cumbersome.".

I'm not sure if the phrase is used rather colloquially, or whether it can be used in a formal context.


texts: What word or phrase is like a more negative version of “astonished”?

texts:
Is there a better word for the following example than astonished?

  I was astonished at the lack of respect Joe showed to his parents.

I’m trying to use the word astonished in a sentence, but I want to convey that I am surprised at a negative outcome.  Here, the lack of respect towards one’s parents is the negative part, but astonished is neutral, not negative.


texts: What's the difference between "tell somebody something" and "tell somebody about something"?

texts:
We often say "He told me a story/the news" (1) without a preposition but we use "about" in "Please tell me about him/your holiday" (2).

My 10 year-old daughter asked me the difference between (1) and (2) but I didn't know how to explain.

When do we use "tell about"?


texts:
Is using the expression "pain in the ass" considered rude ?

I'd like to use this expression in a public talk about diffucult outdoor activities, like for instance: "crossing this river was a major pain in the ass" (is actually was).

If yes, what other expression could I use to convey the same idea ?


texts: “ into the driveway” or “ onto the driveway“?

texts:
I’m not sure which one is correct ? Drive into the driveway or drive onto the drive way ?
Thanks.


texts: Is there an abstract word for the environment in which a vehicle can move?

texts:
I am looking for a word (or short construct of words) that could be used to refer to things that a given vehicle could traverse: "sky, land, water. etc."

To give an analogue, I can refer to "gasoline, diesel, electricity, rocket, etc." as "fuels"

In my specific case, I can't use "environment" because it's being used to describe other things in the same work, and would become ambiguous.


texts: What is the function of "west" in this sentence?

texts:
Little House on the Prairie contains the following sentence:
"Santa Claus had the longest, thickest, whitest set of whiskers west of the Mississippi."

Is "west" acting as an adverb that modifies "had"?


texts: Using plural and singular to refer to the same thing(s)

texts:
I often have trouble expressing myself when I want to talk about some things (plural) holistically as a single thing.

For example, "differential equations are a form of expression...".

It doesn't seem right to say that somethings (plural) are a something (singular), but I would like to say something like this if it can be done at all correctly.


texts: Which is the best way to say that I have substituted for someone in his work tasks?

texts:
I am struggling to understand the best way to say that I have done for a couple of days the work tasks of the Company owner. So far I have find these solutions:

  I have covered for the Company owner, during a few days at the exhibition
  in New York.

  I have stood in for the Company owner, during a few days at the
  exhibition in New York.

  I have substituted for the Company owner, during
  a few days at the exhibition in New York.

Is there a more formal phrases I can use?


texts:
"Our rivals who paid a lot for their training performed worse than we, a bunch of amateurs united by common goals, did"

Is the did obligatory in this sentence, or does it work without it?


texts: What is the etymology of the word blueprint? Why is it blue?

texts: What is the etymology of the word blueprint? Is this a fairly recent word? I'm wondering why the word "blue" is there.


texts: Is there a single word meaning "things I want/desire"?

texts:
As in the title, I was creating a list of things I want and couldn't think of a word for the file name.
Is there a single word I could use to mean "things I want/desire"?


texts: Is there a way to condense "put back" into one word?

texts:
The example in question involves a sentence of the structure:

  I'm putting my changes back.

Is there a one-word equivalent for "put ... back"? E.g.:

  I'm ______ing my changes.


texts:
So if someone posts a message, and someone responds to it, we call that a 'reply'.

However, I am struggling to think of a good phrase for the situation where you have the reply, and you want to see what it is a reply to? What would we call the entity that it is a reply to? "See message" doesn't seem to semantically capture it.

e.g. something like "antecedent", but that seems overly wordy.

Any suggestions?


texts: What is a term/phrase for an event that never occurred, as it was dealt with before it happened, then the original event seriousness is questioned?

texts: What is a term/phrase to describe a potentially serious event where prior mitigation has resulted in either nothing, or little, happening, causing people to question the actual seriousness of the original event? eg Y2K bug - $300 billion meant it never happened, and it's now considered a bit of a joke, or COVID-19 lockdowns resulting in no viral transmission in a community, and people then questioning whether there was actually a need for the lockdown.


texts: "Freedom is slavery" and "Ignorance is strength" - What kind of rhetorical strategy is this?

texts:
What kind of rhetorical strategy (or fallacy?) is it when someone uses words with opposite meanings and combines them in what seems to be a contradiction?

  In George Orwell’s 1984 we can find:

  “War is peace.”
  “Freedom is slavery.”
  “Ignorance is strength.”

  In that context they were used chiefly as slogans to back up the totalitarian philosophy.

Other examples:

“Life is often a form of death.”
“The ordinary is extraordinary.”


texts: What is the opposite of 'identity' in this case?

texts:
I am looking for a word that describes the exact opposite of identity.

I have this sentence that says The identity operator returns true if the operands are strictly equal.

In other terms is there a word for not strictly equal / strictly unequal?

There is an operator that does the opposite: The opposite word operator returns true if the operands are strictly unequal.

I tried to google the antonyms and such, but none of the proposed words match or satisfy this case in my opinion. Or did you see or do you think one them could be used?

difference
dissimilarity
opposite
non-identity
other suggestions?

Definitions for this case:

equal - only very few characteristics cannot be in common.

strictly equal - all characteristics are in common.

unequal - only very few characteristics can be in common.

not strictly equal - none of the characteristics are in common.

I don't want it to be a Math question. They use symbols not words.


texts: Capitalisation of geographical entities in lists

texts:
I cannot seem to find an agreement on the proper capitalisation of geographical entities that use common nouns as part of their full name.

Specifically my example is:

  ...was found in the Pacific, Southern, and Indian Oceans.

since both Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean etc. are the correct terms.

or should it be:

  ...was found in the Pacific, Southern, and Indian oceans.

As, strictly speaking, Oceans (plural) is not part of either name?


texts: When I'm following up with someone about something, i would like to ask if there's anything I can do to make it faster. Should I use "facilitate the progress" or "facilitate the process"? Or there's no big deal to use either of it?


texts:
In the below two sentences, how intend(verb) has been used? Transitively or Intransitively?
Dictionary is saying that it is used as a transitive verb. But my question is there are TO and FOR after the verb; hence, they should be used as intransitive verbs right?
1.We intend to leave in a month.
2.A fund intended for emergency use only.


texts: Is "I would understand everything you said if you said it in Portuguese" correct?

texts:
"I would understand everything you said if you said it in Portuguese."

Is it any kind of conditional? And if it is, can you tell me which one?
As I wrote this I had the feeling that it should be:

  "I would understand everything you say if you say it in Portuguese."

or,

  "I would understand everything you say if you said it in Portuguese."

But for some reason they don't seem to have the same meaning.


texts:
What is the difference between 'need to + verb' & 'need to be verb-ing'?

For example:

1 You really need to be using argan Oil on Your Face.
2.You really need to use argan oil on your face.

As above, which sentence is correct?

Thank you!


texts:
1/ Can all noun modifier + head-noun constructions be regarded as compounds ?
2/ How can we test or identify that a two-noun word is a compound or just an
   attributive noun + noun construction ? Please give examples.

Thank you.


texts: Analogous concept for word::synonym, but for sentences

texts:
The best way I can ask this question is algebraically: "word is to synonym as sentence is to X"...what is X?

I'm looking for the name of the concept where two different sentences convey the same idea.


texts: Is "Are we supposed to deliver an extempore or a prepared speech?" correct? As "extempore" is an adjective, does it describe "speech" here?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the difference between “I've been to China” and “I've gone to China”?

I know the difference between saying "he's gone to the shop" (he's away) and "he's been to the shop" (he's back). The use is clear.

What is not clear is why it's like that. I mean is there some grammar, historical or cultural background behind the fact we can say "he went to the shop yesterday" but it's impossible to use the form of the verb "to go" with the same meaning in the present perfect, but "been to" has to be used instead?

Thanks.


texts: Does every countable noun have to be preceded by an article?

texts:
The usage of articles is a little tricky for me.
My question is do we have to add an article to every singular countable noun?

For example:
License is the credential for using various value-added features and storage capacity...
My colleague says there has to be an article before "license".


texts: Looking for a series of word to describe the state of war a nation holds

texts:
OK i need a series of 5 words (or 6/7 if suitable words and descriptions are found) to show how some fictional nations behave, (governed of course by their leaders)

Will highlight current words i have in bold although I'm only happy with 4 and 5, each has a appropriate description of what how the nation acts/reacts.

1) Warmongering.
Aggressive and consistanly looking to gain terrortory or riches, will attack other nations for any reason.

2) Activism.
Aggressive but without desire for gain, attacks for pure sport or to revel in the disruption such activity creates.

3) Completely stuck on this one.
Aggressive but with values, will only go to war to provide a better world for either their own nation, or to liberate another.

4) Defensivism.
Inherintanly peaceful, will defend themselves, but rarely help others.

5) Pacifism.
Inherintanly peaceful, abhores all violance, will always seek a diplomatic resolution and will only ever engage if something directly threatens to harm them or thier way of life.

Thanks for looking


texts:
The plural for spectrum is spectra, but when talking about multiple groups of spectra, is it correct to use the word spectras ?

How can multiple groups of spectra be referred to in a single word ?


texts: Primer is to First, as ____ is to Second

texts:
Is there an analog of Primer for "second" in the English language?

If not, here's what I need help with:  I have written a handbook entitled "Primer" that serves as an introductory tutorial.  I am looking for an apt name of a second handbook that serves as a tutorial at an intermediate level, with the "Primer" being a prerequisite.


texts: Is there a colloquial phrase to describe a sports heckler?

texts:
What might you call someone who verbally harasses a player from the stands?

  Hey Lincecum. I've seen better curves on a square!

Who is that guy?


texts:
Recently I've come across this sentence in Keynote Advanced:

Over 50 per cent of our materials come / comes from local suppliers.

The answer provided in the teacher's book is comes. I've checked several grammar textbooks and all of them say that it should be come. For example, here is an excerpt from Advanced Grammar in Use by Martin Hewgings:

When the first noun in a complex subject is a percentage or a fraction the verb agrees with the nouns closest to the verb. E.g. About 50% of the houses need major repairs.

I'm inclined to think that comes in the answer key is a typo, but maybe I'm missing something. Could you please advise?


texts: Can the word 'fluently' be interchanged with 'fluidly' in this sentence, "I see I can't write fluidly either."

texts: I was asking a question concerning the use of the words 'fluently' or 'fluidly' in a particular sentence.  I did not mean to post it as an Answer.


texts: Commas after introductory pieces of information

texts:
I got confused by the sentence:

  An investigation took place,and five months later Dan was exonerated and returned to active duty.

I wonder whether a comma may(or should) be inserted after the word "later"


texts: In layman's terms what does The O.D.O.'s definition note for the usage of the word "number" mean?

texts:
English is my first and only language, but when I read the Oxford Dictionary's (O.D.O.'s) definition note for the usage of the word "number" it was like I was reading an explanation meant for academics only.

Could somebody please be so kind as to water this down to layman's terms for me?

  The construction the number of + plural noun is used with a singular verb (as in the number of people affected remains small). Thus it is the noun number rather than the noun people which is taken to agree with the verb (and which is therefore functioning as the head noun). By contrast, the apparently similar construction a number of + plural noun is used with a plural verb (as in a number of people remain to be contacted). In this case it is the noun people which acts as the head noun and with which the verb agrees. In the latter case, a number of works as if it were a single word, such as some or several. See also at lot.


texts: Word for "official school interest group"

texts:
Is there a word that refers to an official interest group held in school where registration is totally optional but members once registered are expected to come? Official means the school keeps records and members who do not reach a certain attendance threshold would be kicked out.

I was thinking of school club but that seems to suggest that attendance is totally optional since clubs have the notion of come-and-go-whenever-you-like. On the other hand, the word association or organization sound too business-like.

Besides school club, is there a better word that has a closer meaning to official school interest group?


texts: "These sort of things": is it grammatical? (2,670,000 hits on Google)

texts:
I was interested in the following sentence which appeared in an article titled “Colorless, Tasteless but Not Dangerous" by Dwight Garner in The New York Times (November 15, 2010).

  People who do gravitate toward these sort of things, he warns, sotto
  voce, might be “the wrong kind of white person.”

Can someone clarify if the fragment "these sort of things" is ungrammatical, as I think it is?

I would reword "sort" with "sorts", but I'm not sure on this correction because the phrase "these sort of things" occurs on many occasions on The New York Times, it frequently occurs in others newspapers and, more generally, it has 2,670,000 hits on Google Search. So I am wondering if it is in common usage, albeit it isn't the highest register.


texts: Seeking Generic Word: Place where opponents fight

texts:
I have a definition in need of a word: A universal term for a place where opponents compete. Unfortunately, most words are specific to one type of sport or combat, but I can't think of one that would apply universally.

Limited examples: Boxers fight in a boxing ring; MMA fighters have a cage or octagon. A circus act has a ring, card players have a table, cars have racetracks, punk rockers have mosh pits, and politicians have districts.

The significant constraint is that it has to be a place with a boundary or demarcation, and the only people inside these places (excluding support personnel) are the opponents.


texts: What is a single word for "little experience"?

texts: I am looking for a word which displays more experience than beginner and I do not want to say "intermediate".


texts:
I'm a software developer and occasionally write user documentation and project proposals for my boss. I've been running into a punctuation problem recently that I've been unable to solve. I have a sentence in the form

  SUBORDINATING CLAUSE + "and" + SUBORDINATING CLAUSE, MAIN CLAUSE.

For example:

  If Jack and Jill were going up a hill and Bob were simultaneously driving down the hill, Bob would run over Jill.

I've been rather confused whether there should be a comma before the and. I realize the two subordinating clauses actually share the if, but a part of me still wants to insert a comma like one would do if the and separated two main clauses. Is there any standard (American) punctuation rule that applies in this sort of corner-case? I realize I could rewrite the sentence in a way to avoid this problem, but I'd really like to know what the generally accepted (American) standard for this is.


texts: Is "will have had been" a valid verb tense?

texts: As in: "By the time you arrive, I will have had been walking for 2 hours".  Meaning that you had been walking for 2 hours but stopped.


texts: The only objects which can constitute [the space-time framework essential to interpersonal communication] are those which confer upon it their own fundamental characteristics.


texts:
Unsatisfactory, unsatisfactorily, and dissatisfactory are real words, but why is dissatisfactorily not a real word?

I understand the difference between the two forms (un- vs dis-): What's the difference between "dissatisfied" and "unsatisfied"?

In constructing this sentence:

  Dissatisfied employees work dissatisfactorily

I was disappointed to learn that dissatisfactorily is not in any online dictionary I consulted.

I know I could say:

  unsatisfied employees work unsatisfactorily

but I think that changes the meaning significantly. Unsatisfied is almost passive and invokes thoughts of disappointment, while dissatisfied describes disapproval. So it makes sense to me that since one has an adverb so would the other. Is there something about the word dissatisfactorily that it fails to make logical sense? Is there some other reason why it is not a word?

A similar question comes close, but the OP is clearly looking for unsatisfactorily to describe what is felt in the given situation.


texts: Implication of the sentence "... can ... if ..."?

texts:
When saying "Someone can A if B", does it imply "If someone does not B, someone cannot A"?
So if I want to say "B is an option for A, but B is not necessary to achieve A", is "Someone may A if B" closer to this? Or is "Someone can A if B" good enough for this meaning?


texts:
I'm a Chinese living in NYC. How do Americans call these things? Are they all named "trash can"?

And If I want to drop something, like an empty bottle, what is the right way to say that? "drop garbage"? "litter" ? "throw away garbage" or else?

Thanks!


texts: Is there a word for tremendous happiness coupled with relief?

texts: I'm looking for a single word that would describe the feeling of say, getting a happy ending at the end of a tragic movie--like 'glad', but stronger. Feels like it exists but I just can't recall it--but if it doesn't, is there a better way to describe it other than what I put in the title?


texts:
I have noticed that some authors refer to the amount of money that a firm makes (net of costs) as "the firm's profit," while other authors refer to it as "the firm's profits." For example, consider the following sentences,

"The firm made 5 million in profits." vs. "The firm made a profit of 5 million."
"The CEO wanted to maximize the firm's profits." vs. "The CEO wanted to maximize the profit of the firm."

Which form is correct? Is one form more common than the other?

If the context matters, most of my audience consists of U.S. or international academics.


texts: Which preposition to use in "to live in fear [...] one's life"

texts:
I am being threatened by unsavory sorts. I am now living in fear for my life.

or

  I am now living in fear of my life.


texts: Using adjective as noun with "a lot of" quantifier

texts: Why we should say “a lot of homeless people” and can’t say just “a lot of homeless” ?


texts: Word or phrase expressing [pretentiousness of intentional/efforted design]?

texts:
I am trying to find a word that expresses the pretentiousness of an obvious design, or maybe the feelings of disgust/disdain associated with such pretentiousness. Something like the feeling you might get from an affected art piece or performance. I feel like "pretentious" is probably the closest word, but I think it's vague/general enough term that further explanation is required to describe the sensation.

An example usage: "While Osamu's novel about the waning cultural influence of aristocratic families in in postwar Japan was generally well received by critics, the book's title The Setting Sun was often criticized for its [pretentiousness of intentional/efforted design]" Where "The Setting Sun" is an obvious, even gross metaphor for the book's theme.


texts: A cloud condenses, compost decomposes, a battery charges, what does a spark do?

texts:
What's the word that refers to what a spark does as it is forming? "Energizing"? "Igniting"? What I'm looking for is akin to a fire "starting" or "igniting", but the word for what occurs as a spark comes to be.

Edit: One term someone suggested in EE.SE chat is "jumps", but jumps and discharges are more what sparks do once they are fully formed. That's their action. I'm looking for the word for their developing or formation.


texts:
What is the differences between "dominate" and "predominate" ; "typical" and "stereotypical"
I looked them up in dictionaries but couldn't really differentiate them. in other words, Can it be interchangeable?


texts: Word for a team from company 'A' working for company 'B ' at B's workplace? what this process can be called?

texts: I think we can call it 'remote team' but is there any other more formal word for team and the process?


texts:
Say there’s an embossed star in a wall (a). If the star’s surface is closer to the viewer than the wall’s surface (b), you can say the star is protruding. Similarly, if the star’s surface is farther from the viewer than the wall’s surface (c), you can say the star is ____.

Looking for antonyms of “protrude” hasn’t been much helpful.

Here's a sentence showing how it would be used:

  The position of the light source and the shade it casts is what determines in most cases if the star is perceived as protruding or as ______.

The closest I got is "carved in the wall", but that's not quite it. Also, the etymological opposite of protrude seems to be intrude, but I don't think "the star is intruding" makes sense.

I’m looking for a verb, but adjectives or adverbs would be appreciated too, as long as I can rephrase the sentence so it conveys the meaning I’m after.


texts: How do you search for a specific english word

texts:
Consider that you are writing a blog post or an essay.  No one will have all the words we need at the tip of the tongue at all times. So when you struggle to find the appropriate word, what resource do you use to find the appropriate word?

There are more than one ways to find a specific word.  One is where we know a related word and look for its synonym/antonym. For example the word 'beautiful' is so overused, you would like to use a synonymous word which is more exact.  The other is finding a related word where we know the surrounding context and try to use the appropriate word for that context. For example "a ________ pupil" you might want to describe a person who is a perfect pupil disciplined and intelligent. So how do you go about this type of search?

Do most of your search fall into 'synonymous' type or 'related words' type?


texts:
If you’re critiquing something, you might say that you’re giving it “bonus points” for an aspect that wasn’t essential or part of your original grading scheme, but you liked and consider to add something to the work.

Please suggest a similar phrase to use for an aspect that, as with bonus points, wasn’t essential or part of your original grading scheme, but that you disliked and consider to detract from the work.  I’ve tried “negative bonus points,” “bonus penalties,” and “penalty points,” but none of them sounds quite right.


texts:
Which is correct?

1) Has their board voted yet?
2) Have their board voted yet?

Or does it depend whether we are using American English (Has their board . . .) or British English (Have their board . . .)?

Thanks.


texts: Is there a single word that refers to a vagina secreting lubricant in response to sexual arousal?

texts:
I'm seeking a single word. An analogue is "salivate" which is what someone sometimes does when they experience hunger and refers to the mouth secreting liquid.

"Elsa was hungry and began salivating"
"Elsa was horny and began _________"

I'm looking for a word where the person is the subject, not the vulva. A mouth waters but a person salivates-- I am seeking the "salivate" analogue.

Some Background

This is the best I've found so far, but "Elsa started sweating" is very likely to be misinterpreted.

  A woman’s vagina usually begins to lubricate shortly after stimulation— what looks like beads of sweat form all over the vaginal walls; this is sometimes called vaginal sweating. Just below the vaginal opening are the ducts that connect to the vulvovaginal glands, which secrete a few drops of thick fluid that contribute, along with the sweating of the vagina, to the lubrication of the vaginal opening.

Kerner, Ian (2009-10-13). She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman (Kerner) (Kindle Locations 816-819). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.


texts:
Which of these two sentence form is more accurate and why:

Ramiro is anything but professional.
Ramiro is anything but not professional.

These both sentences conveys the same message about Ramiro being anything except professional. But which sentence should be used.
I would really feel grateful if one explains the answer.

Ps.
Hi, English is not my native language and this is my first question here so please be kind.
Thanks. ✌


texts: Alternative to "I'm sorry" as meaning "I empathize" when speaking to my spouse

texts:
I use the words "I'm sorry" to mean two different things. One being "I apologize for wronging you" and the other, "I empathize with your situation".

90+% I'm using it as the latter, however, my spouse (and other people) often respond along the lines of "It's not your fault".

What is a good alternative to way to convey "I empathize" to my spouse to show her I care for her troubles without always sounding like I'm apologizing?

This question is very similar to this and somewhat this, however, the answers to those are more targeted at responding to strangers, acquaintances, friends, etc. They are not as relevant for someone I spend a significant amount of time with, and say this to as often as a dozen times a day.


texts: Idiom-request: What do you call a book/movie with a poor story line and excessive pathos?

texts:
I'm not a native English speaker, but I think there was definitely an idiom that describes a book, a movie or a screenplay that has a poor story line, shallow characters, too much heroic pathos etc.

I think it was something like "cranberry sauce"... Or "cranberry jam" maybe. Definitely something with berries (I think).

"Golden Raspberry Awards" mentioned in the comments does ring a bell, thanks. But is there an established idiom to describe it? Something close to "pops", "bubblegum culture", "kitsch"... We do call it "cranberry" where I live in the EU, that's why I'm asking.


texts: Idiom request for describing a situation in which someone give advantages to their enemy or opponent

texts:
I'm looking for an idiom or proverb that can be used for describing a situation in which someone's actions or behaviors are in favor of their opponents or enemies; in other words it seems that they are serving their enemies' or opponents' interests (usually unintentionally).

There is an Iranian proverb that says :

  "To provide water for (turning) the enemy's mill"

This proverb mostly is used among politicians when they are accusing each other of giving advantages to the country's enemies, their opponents or the opposite parties.

For example:

It is supposed that a public election be held for choosing the members of the parliament on 26 February in Iran. Regarding the importance of this election,  the supreme leader of the country has asked the politicians  to stop using discouraging words or showing reactions that would lead people not to participate in the election. Because if the election is not recieved well by the people, it would be considered as a sign of their dissatisfaction from the current leaders and thus "would provide water for the country's enemies' mill".

What do English speakers use in this situation that can convey the same meaning?

I have come across this title " loading the gun of the enemy" in a website, but couldn't find it as a set phrase in available dictionaries.


texts:
What is the word, a noun or an adjective that describes majority of comments, on an article for example, as “useless” compared to just one brilliant comment. “Useless” comments are dull, idiotic, stupid, ignorant, nonsense,  etc. The word Garbage would be accurate, but it is insulting. The word should not insult anyone. The point of that word is to emphasize the opposing brilliance of one comment compared to 100 of others.

Example sentence:

"Most of these comments are ________, but a few are brilliant."


texts: What is the function of "do" in the following sentence?

texts:
Only by being forced to defend an idea against the doubts and contrasting views of others does one really discover the value of that idea.

What is the function of "does" in that sentence?


texts: What does "a minor variation" mean in the following sentence?

texts:
Under the terms of the deal, Company A is allowed to pursue a minor variation of this technology of Company B.

Does "variation" mean "type"?
I cannot figure out what it means.


texts: Are there semantic differences between encrypt, cipher and encode?

texts:
In French we have specific words to mean

"take plaintext and transform it into encrypted data": chiffrer
"take encrypted data and, knowing the key, decrypt it": déchiffrer
"take encrypted data and, without knowning the key, decrypt it (via brute force or whatever)": décrypter

We would not be French if there was not a web site dedicated to this question: https://chiffrer.info/. Note that the word crypter does not exist (the counterpart of the existing décrypter)

I was wondering if there are similar differences in English, spcifically between the words "to encrypt" / "to decrypt", "to cipher" and "to encode" / "to decode".

Wikipedia seems to use encrypt and decrypt as the equivalent of my two first versions.

Cipher (used as a verb by extension of the noun) seems to be a kind of encryption (substitution). Encode is rather the action to transform something into something via an algorithm.

My question is especially around the concept of "decrypting without a key" which I cannot find a word for.


texts: What do you call a "schizophrenia attack"?

texts: Attack as in panic attack. I don't know the term for it.


texts:
I want to use a with or. Which of these two sentences is the correct one?

  Do you want a full time or half time?
  Do you want a full time or a half time?


texts: looking for word that describes the phenomenon of taking sides with an aggressor

texts:
I was wondering if there was a word that describes when people prefer to be "in the right hand of the devil than in his path"? Most of us have experienced bullying ourselves or witnessed it, or even watch it on youtube clips. Sometimes you see the victims being ignored until they retaliate, and then teachers break up the fight and punish both. But no one payed attention before hand.
I've had toxic friends in the past that would rip on me in a public setting trying when trying to hang out, in a non-kidding way. I basically had to put a stop to it myself because no one else would.
I feel like the word is cowardice but that can be a little broad and generic. Was wondering if there was one for that one type of situation.
Cheers


texts: My Boyfriend and I's favorite song... How would you phrase this?

texts: I was always taught that if you want to make sure that the possessive pronouns are correct when referring to more than one person, you should try to say the sentence alone and use that pronoun. My boyfriend's favorite song is... Sounds good right? I favorite song...not so good.  So I would suggest stating the sentence like this. My Boyfriend's and my favorite song is... Still sounds a bit clunky, but I believe this is grammatically correct. What do you think?


texts:
any more requests
anymore requests

Are these two the same? It seems that "any more requests" is grammatically correct while "anymore requests" is not. Am I right? Why are they different?


texts: Is there a word for constructions that involve intentional false language, with corrections in parentheses?

texts:
I realize that the title may not be entirely clear, so here's an example of what I mean:

  I yelled at (sent a politely worded email to) tech support about their utterly broken (mildly annoying) system.

I've seen constructions like this before employed for comic effect (for example, I believe the Valve Corporation has used this on the TF2 Blog, although I can't find the example right now). It seems related to the satirical use of "read:", as in:

  The CIA engaged in enhanced interrogation techniques (read: torture) to get information from suspects.

However, I have never seen this device be given a name. Is there one?


texts: Is there a name for the genre that "movies of the future" fall into?

texts: Is there a name for movies/stories/whatever that intend to represent the future (i.e. the year is 2100 and blah blah, like Star Wars etc., actually anything that is not real and is an imagination fantasy of the future).


texts: Meaning of "engage with" in the given context

texts:
Here is the sentence:

"Are there ways you will use what you learned through our academy to engage with other male members of your community?"

The text is from a survey which deals with the gender-based discriminatory practices of communities.


texts: "I am acquiring a skill that only 1% has" Has or have?

texts:
What should I say?

"I am not making money, I am acquiring a skill that only 1% has"

"I am not making money, I am acquiring a skill that only 1% have"

So 1% people has/have this skill but I am getting confused what to use in this sentence because people is plural not singular word but in this case it says few people.


texts: Correct structure of a comparative-type sentence with dependent clauses

texts:
The original sentence says:
"The greater the amount of total suspended solids the higher the turbidity of the water."

I think it feels off because it lacks a verb. Would the following be an acceptable edit, and does there need to be a comma before "then"?
"The greater the amount is of total suspended solids then the higher the turbidity is of the water."

I'm struggling because this sounds like two dependent clauses with no independent clause present. I would appreciate any advice or explanation. I have been staring at this sentence too long!

Update: Is an implied verb acceptable in formal writing? Is a comma required?
For those who have answered or will answer, thank you!


texts: Does use-mention distinction warrant breaking conventions?

texts:
Does use-mention distinction sometimes warrant breaking the following capitalization and punctuation conventions?

American convention recommends placing punctuation within quote marks.
Sentences should begin with a capital letter.

What is the proper way to deal with the quoted parts in the following sentence?  I would usually write:

  There’s a typo in the third paragraph. “through” should be “thorough”.

But might these other options be the right way?

  There’s a typo in the third paragraph. “Through” should be “thorough”.
  There’s a typo in the third paragraph. “through” should be “thorough.”
  There’s a typo in the third paragraph. “Through” should be “thorough.”

The above could be fixed by placing the words in italics.

If the typo included a punctuation error, I would be inclined to write:

  There's a typo in the third paragraph. "I waited," should be "I waited.".

Using two periods around the end quote seems wrong, but without them, maybe an American would interpret it as a suggestion to just remove the comma in "I waited,".

These questions seemed related, but not quite what I was looking for:

What's the rule for punctuating quoted words or phrases?  (suggested to follow convention)
Quotes and Punctuation (only dealt with punctuation, break convention to follow standard technical usage)


texts: An alternative word for "non-evaluativeness"

texts:
I'm looking for an alternative word to use instead of "non-evaluativeness" which is long and not very common. Any ideas are appreciated.

Example:

Non-evaluativeness: Abstract should report the findings and data, it should not evaluate them.


texts: Is there a difference between storytelling and narration?

texts:
I'm preparing a university homework on Foer's "Eating Animals" and I'm supposed to analyse "the use of storytelling to make food meaningful".

However, I have a hard time finding definitive references about storytelling. Most "storytelling" work seems to be done in advertising and management context, and literary theory uses the terms narration and narrative. I couldn't even find a clear definition of storytelling.

Is there a difference between these terms?


texts: Is "induction" about inducing or inducting?

texts:
Earlier today, I realized that I didn't know whether induction was about inducting or inducing, so I decided to look it up.

According to Merriam-Webster, “induction” is “the act or process of inducting”.

However, the page for “induct” does not even mention this word, while the page for “induce” gives a definition of induce as “to produce by induction”.

Which is it? The above leads me to believe that it could be both, but in which circumstances is it which?


texts: Are there any specific words for the first events and first things like the first rain, the first fruit of a plant, the first grey hairs, etc.?


texts: Why use "of" in the phrase "delivered of a baby"?

texts:
With all the "Royal baby" craze comes something that really confuses me. All the news media used pretty much the same sentence to make the announcement:

  The Duchess of Cambridge has been delivered of a son.

A couple of questions:

Why not "The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a son" or "delivered a baby", or something along those lines?
Why is "of" used in this structure, and what purpose does it serve?

From a non-native English speaker's perspective, this sentence doesn't seem to make any sense at all to me.


texts: Synonym for 'fundamentally upgrade/enhance'?

texts:
I would like to express that I fundamentally upgraded something in a concise way. That is, I did not create that something, but it is almost as if I completely redesigned it and made much better. The word would be used in the following way:

  I fundamentally upgraded the manufacturing process to allow for
  considerably higher modularity and efficiency.

'Improve' or any of its synonyms are too weak, whereas 'fundamentally upgrade' seems too clumsy to me.

I guess 'revamp' is pretty close but it seems to me that this word might be too informal or not be appropriate in the given context.

Do you see any alternatives?


texts:
Can one use "Yet" at the beginning of a sentence as follows?

  Yet, he came late.

Is this grammatical?


texts: What is one word to describe someone who plans and manages and whom one consults about a new plant/factory?

texts:
I want one word to describe a guy who is a manager, a planner, and a consultant for new startup factories or plants.

Can you please help me?


texts:
"Nearly 21% of the land is now national parks"

This really confuses me. A part of the "land" "IS" "parkS"?! Shouldn't it be like "21% of the lands are now parks"?


texts:
In the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language; Huddleston and Pullum 2002, they make the following qualifying comment:

  ... reported speech covers the reporting of spoken and written text but also that of unpoken thought. (p. 1023 - bold H&P's)

We can immediately see from this excerpt that reported speech is being used as a technical term to represent a particular linguistic phenomenon, not as a literal interpretation of the two words 'reported' and 'speech'. This is demonstrated by the fact that reported speech is given by these authors to include not only written text, but also unspoken thoughts.

In comments on this thread: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/205730/what-exactly-is-reported-speech-does-it-really-exist-and-how-do-you-recognise it is proposed by various commentators that to be reported speech, there must first be some speech or thought to be reported. Reported speech, it is claimed, is a report 'of what someone else said' (italics original).

However in their section on indirect reported speech (p.1024), two of the first examples of indirect reported speech given by CaGEL are:

Did she say if I'll be invited?

and

Will I be invited, did she say?

Now the answer to both of these example questions (which are the same question framed in two different ways), may well be: "No, she didn't". One thing, for certain, is that the person producing the 'reported speech' here has no knowledge of the original spoken text at all. In fact, they don't even know if there even was such a text in the first place. There may very well have been none.

So, on the basis of the views given by the commentators on the linked-to thread, which do not seem altogether unreasonable (with the caveat that the views are not unreasonable if based on either established practice or authoritative sources), this should not be classed as reported speech. There is no known original speech being reported.

My question is, are the two examples above, examples of reported speech? If so, what are the specific criteria for reported speech which are satisfied by the two examples. I have not been able to find any such criteria in CaGEL. If these are not examples of reported speech, which criteria of reported speech do they fail to meet? - and what authoritative sources can be referred to, to back up this point of view?

Apparently, such problems are easily resolved by recourse to readily available resources, but I have not been very successful. Any help or genuine insights, therefore, would be greatly appreciated!


texts: What is a word for "bringing someone over to your side of the argument"?

texts:
I am looking for a word for "bringing someone over to your side of the argument"?

  By doing so Enoch ____ [the audience]

What I want transmitted: By doing so Enoch makes his audience believe him ...

Edit: I should note that the reader has no opinion yet...

Based on responses this is what I currently have:

  By doing so swaying the audience his way right from the start.


texts: Can the following sentence be literal (or is it a metaphor)

texts:
I have the following sentence which I thought was implying that a metaphor is like a moustache

Today I learnt how to wax a metaphor

Having checked through wiktionary the only literal (i.e. transitive verb) meaning of "wax" that may be applied is:

  5 (transitive, archaic, usually of a musical or oral performance) To
  record

But the term is archaic, and I can't quite place the idea of learning to record a metaphor (rather than recording its expression).

Is the above bulleted statement a metaphor?
Is that because it cannot be read literally?


texts:
I am writing a math paper and my teacher said there are some English errors in the sentence that I use below; but, I don't know how to fix it.

See Conway's book for more information that set A is closed.

Thank you in advance!!


texts:
Which of the following is most correct?

  The distance of the shortest path must not be higher than 10km.
  The distance of the shortest path must not be greater than 10km.
  The distance of the shortest path must not be bigger than 10km.

Or is there an even better word?


texts: Using 'in the current moment' or 'at the living moment'?

texts:
I'm having a discussion with someone online and it takes each of us a day to respond, so I told him
'We should converse at the current moment instead of after a few days', would there have been a better way to say this?


texts: Would this type of construction be considered pleonastic?

texts:
I'm talking about the combination of such a and very in one nominal group:

  He is such a very remarkable man.

When broken down into its emphatic constituents, we get:

  a. He is such a remarkable man.

  b. He is very remarkable.

Do such a and very semantically annul each other into a pleonasm?


texts:
I checked Thesaurus for incident, but the synonyms are "milder" version of the word.

Is there one that has the connotation of being bizarre?
(e.g. a pet hangs itself on a tree).

  After hearing about the [...], she almost went crazy.


texts: What does "There's got to be more to you" mean?


texts: I own an antique store and found a canapé plate of a bar scene and two gentlemen toasting.  The words under the scene are "Here's How!"  What is the country of origin? This plate is dated 1933 from a series of international toasting scenes.


texts: What is the word for someone who doesn't care about the consequences but is fully aware of them?

texts:
I am looking for the word for a person that is fully aware of the consequences of his actions or inactions but just doesn't care about them. Neither about the good consequences for himself/others nor about the bad consequences for himself/others.
Is there a specific word for that? Or does imprudent fit it?

Example: Tom is such a not-about-future-consequences-carer! He knows this will cause him trouble in the future, it has caused him trouble in the past, but he just does it anyway.


texts:
In previous questions we learnt how to use words like 'asinine', 'bovine', 'canine' and 'feline', so, after some deep thoughts,  a question arose in my  mind: why does English, in some cases, not use the suffix -ine when describing an animal trait or characteristic present or recognizable in the human beings?

For example, after some searches I observed that you cannot say 'bulline' but you must say 'bulllike', you cannot say 'birdine', but you must say 'birdlike', and so on.

Can anyone explain, also in reference to 'bull', why in some cases you prefer '-ine' and in others you use '-like'?


texts:
I tend to use two phrases randomly with speech but I'd like know to what's exactly the difference between the two?

Let's suppose for example:

Spend at most $20 on the lunch.
Spend at least $20 on the lunch.

It seems in both the cases someone will spend $20.


texts: What is the proper hyphenation of "# and a half year old" in the context of age?

texts:
I'm trying to write "3 and a half year old," as in, "He is a 3 and a half year old dog".

I know a hyphen or two is supposed to go in there somewhere.  Per Ways to write "2000 year old" , I suspect it should be "3-and-a-half-year-old", but that reads like death-by-hyphen, even if it is correct.

What's the proper way to hyphenate "# and a half year old" in this context?


texts: If you want to run a program you have previously, do you say "rerun" or "re-run"?


texts: What do you call the process immediately after peeing?

texts: Despite a provoking title, I am looking for a word, phrase or eloquent sentence to describe the process a male performs after taking a piss, that is, shaking off remaining pee off the tip of his penis. I apologize for being vague, and I am sure you're getting the drift.


texts: 's' or 'z': 'musealisation' versus 'musealization'

texts: As I understand, the term in itself is not consensual, but is there a preferred spelling for musealisation/ musealization, or is it just the 'usual' question of the British/American spelling?


texts:
I saw in a grammar book a sentence that looks weird to me.

  Kyle gave Loren the keys to his new car.

I would have hoped to see of instead of to but it must be correct since it was the sample sentence.

  Kyle gave Loren the keys of his new car.

What grammar rule is this?


texts: How do I present a word ending in “‑f ” that may be plural or singular?

texts:
When we don’t know if a word refers to one or more, it is common to use a parenthetical s:

door/doors: door(s)
lamp/lamps: lamp(s)

What’s the best or least awkward way to render this for words that change their form when pluralizing, such as words ending in -f ?

shelf/shelves: shelf(ves)?
dwarf/dwarves: dwarf(ves)?


texts: What is the etymology of "close" as a description of the weather, or temperature?

texts:
OED sense 6 of the adjective close, relates to the weather. and is the opposite of fresh.

Why do we describe warm and slightly oppressively humid weather as "close"? It has been the case since the sixteenth century.

  Of the atmosphere or weather: Like that of a closed up room; confined, stifling, without free circulation; the opposite of fresh.

  [1533   J. Heywood Play of Wether sig. Diiii   Wynde rayne nor froste
  nor sonshyne wold she haue But fayre close wether her beautye to
  saue.]

  1591   R. Percyvall Bibliotheca Hispanica Dict. at Bochorno   A close
  hot weather.

  1599   T. Moffett Silkewormes 48   Keepe them not in roomes too hot
  and close.

  1748   B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. vii. 213
  We had now for several days together close and sultry weather.

  1834   F. Marryat Jacob Faithful I. i. 5   The little cabin being so
  unpleasantly close.

  1855   A. Bain Senses & Intellect i. ii. 165   The opposite of
  freshness is shown in the close or suffocating odours.


texts: Do you suppose the boys in her went before I knew her? (To Have and Not Have by Hemingway)

texts:
I don't understand the last sentence, "Do you suppose the boys in her went before I knew her?"

This is from Hemingway's To Have and Have Not.

  He sat at the table and looked at the piano, the sideboard and the radio, the picture of September Morn, and the pictures of the cupids holding bows behind their heads, the shiny real-oak table and the shiny real-oak chairs and the curtains on the windows and he thought, What chance have I to enjoy my home? Why am I back to worse than where I started? It’ll all be gone too if I don’t play this right. The hell it will. I haven’t got sixty bucks left outside of the house, but I’ll get a stake out of this. Those damn girls. That’s all that old woman and I could get with what we’ve got. Do you suppose the boys in her went before I knew her?


texts:
I'm in the process of filling in the "About me" section on another SE site. When I was reading/reviewing it before posting, I noticed a construct that I had used and that I'm not entirely sure is correct, but seems to me most appropriate in that context.

Here's a snippet of the sentence I had written, followed by my question and reasoning:

  ... But ultimately, I had to come back to the thing I was most good at ...

Is the use of "most good" ever correct?

I know most good is just a dumb way of saying best, but I don't feel like best is the best option in this context (not even the "most good" option). Using best here, at least to me, sounds like I'm the best at the thing, implying that I'm better than other people are at that thing (for clarity's sake, that thing is programming.)

What I meant by writing that sentence is that out of all the things I did, programming was the one I was the most good at. I think using best would lose the intended meaning of the sentence. So that's why I chose most good instead of best, and now I just want to know whether or not it's correct to use (grammatically or otherwise).

In school when we were learning English, most good was often used as a joke to point out someone's bad English. Google search was pretty much useless as usual, the closest to a "definition" was an urban-dictionary entry, which funnily enough gave the same definition that I used here. A search on the ELU site didn't yield much either, so I'd appreciate any help.


texts:
I'm currently watching House of Cards and I keep hearing the expression "being on the ticket". It's always in relation to a presidential candidate, but I'm not quite sure what it means, particularly because of this bit of dialogue:

— Did he offer you a cabinet position?

— ...

— More than that?

— ...

— He offerred to put you on the ticket, didn't he?


texts:
Recently asked a question of a colleague:

  Are you sorting this list by acronym?

He responded:

  Yes, I’m sorting on acronym (ascending).

Emphasis mine in each case.

Is one correct and not the other? Or does it depend on what is being sorted?


texts: At this point, are “military” and “armed forces” synonymous?

texts:
Looking at the free definitions online, and not including too much history, it seems to me that at one point the Navy was not directly associated as ”military”.  Or rather, that the Navy included not only military ships, but all ships of a nation.

Today the terms at top seem synonymous.  Only perhaps that the word military carries more weight, and can be used for either a more powerful sentiment, or more pejorative, depending on the context.

Likewise ”armed forces”, and even more so ”armed services” seem to be softer representations of otherwise exactly the same thing.

(..not unlike ”dead” vs. ”deceased”? [Sorry, couldn't resist.])

Is there any technical difference, or situations today, where these are NOT interchangeable?


texts: A word for choosing wrong no matter what...?

texts: I'm looking for a word (that may or may not exist) that embodies the feeling of having to choose between two things and knowing that whichever you choose, you will feel like the other was the better choice. Any ideas?


texts: What is the difference between desire and motivation?

texts:
The words 'desire' and 'motivation' often appear in different kind of sentences for (what I assume is) grammatical reasons, but I have a really hard time separating them as concepts.

When we talk about desire or motivation it seems like we ultimately are talking about why we act; we are seeking some kind of explanation of our actions and without desire or motivation there will be no action. We act because we desire/are motivated by X.... What motivated you / what desires caused you to do that? Do you desire x / are you motivated by x?

It can be a physical (causal) explanation, e.g. the increase in dopamine drove me, it can be a design explanation, e.g. humans are 'designed to' pursue sugar, fat, sex etc, or it can be an intentional explanation, e.g. I work hard because I want money.

It might feel like an explanation is sometimes about desire and sometimes about motivation but are we really talking about any conceptual difference?

Please help me sort this out.

A side point (about MY definition of a value)

I understand that we can value something without being motivated by it. But a value to me is just a type of belief i.e. a belief about what we desire or should desire. Hopefully our values correspond to our desires; our values can influence our desires over time, but believing we value something does not automatically make us act accordingly; we have to make it emotional if we want something to drive us to action i.e. if we want something to motivate us / be a desire.

Wordnet says that desire is "the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state" or "an inclination to want things". The first definition I would say describes a force of motivation i.e. the two words refer to the same phenomenon (the feeling which causes the action), the second definition describe a phenomenon which is either a force for motivation or what I referred to as a value.


texts:
Consider following that is followed by a parenthetical sentence. Which one is correct according to punctuation rules?

Xxx yyy zzz. (Aaa bbb ccc.)
Xxx yyy zzz (Aaa bbb ccc.).


texts: Word request for the action of throwing the sheets over a bed

texts:
This is something pretty much everyone has done. The act of throwing but also holding onto a sheet or blanket or beach towel to spread it out in the air so that you can lay it flat on the bed, ground, or whatever surface.
I don't think there is a word for this. Whenever I've asked this question people just zone out with a blank expression on their face.
words like open, unfold, unfurl, throw, blanket just don't seem enough.
In my mind, the word spread comes closest, but I feel it still isn't quite right.


texts:
Sexy, let’s go to AC for the whole night this or the following Friday night. We can leave around 8-9 pm and come back in early am.

Is this correct?


texts: Would it be correct to say "Writers' Contest" or "Writers Contest" for a competition that invites writers to submit their work? I believe there should be an apostrophe because the contest is for the noun (writers), but someone else says that the writers are not possessing the contest and instead participating in it, so there should not be an apostrophe.


texts: Why there is an "h" in proper names like Afghanistan, Baghdad and Lamborghini?

texts: An "h" may be used to prevent the "g" from being soft, as in spaghetti, but there is no need for an "h" in the mentioned proper names.


texts: Title or word to describe the first, original member of a family tree

texts: I'm looking for a word to signify the ancestor from which a family tree is derived. They would be the first, from whom all other family members are descended. Does such a word exist? I imagine, given the long history of creating family trees, that someone at some point decided on a word other than 'the first guy'.


texts: Does "the cornet of horse" mean a knight/rider?

texts:
The original sentence:

  The first that stood up, to open the ball, were a cornet of horse, and that sweetest of olive-beauties, the soft and amorous Louisa.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Fanny_Hill:_Memoirs_of_a_Woman_of_Pleasure/Letter_the_Second/Part_7


texts: What is the meaning of the expression "handsome devil"?

texts:
I found answers on many web sites and they differed too much so I decided to ask the community.

edit

  I call him the devil because he makes me wanna sin... Urban Dictionary
  A good-looking cheeky fellow.
  Yahoo! answers
  Symptoms of being a handsome devil include
  being good-looking, rich and a jerk. Often a playboy.
  TV Tropes
  The very Devil, himself, is supposed to look amazingly-charming, and
  can attract almost any woman. Therefore, a guy who's " devilishly
  handsome / good-looking " is a man who looks so attractive, especially
  to the opposite sex, that the women swoon over him, in huge numbers.
  Yahoo! answers
  It's a very common expression, used as a compliment of sorts. It is used to compliment someone, a man, but at the same time, usually to give a little jab, like saying "You're a handsome man, and you're very much aware of it. Word Reference


texts: What’s the difference between “line” and “row”?

texts:
I’m not exactly sure under which circumstances is line or row the more suitable term.

In Portuguese, they both translate to the same word linha, which can be used for both a drawing line or for an item in a table.


texts: What's the meaning of "I'm slinging mad volume and fat stacking benjies"?

texts:
Recently I was watching the television show Breaking Bad. There's a sentence of dialogue from season 2, episode 6 that confused me:

  Jesse Pinkman: You got something for me?
    Skinny Pete: Yeah, I found 'em.
    Jesse Pinkman: Is this a "five" or an "S"?
  Skinny Pete: Five, yo. No wait... S. No, no... yeah, five.
  Jesse Pinkman: Yeah? Jesus, how the hell do you spell "street" wrong? S-T-R-E-A-T?
  Skinny Pete: Hey, man, I'm slingin' mad volume and fat stackin' benjies, you know what I'm sayin'? I can't be all about, like, spelling and sh-t.

I am really confused as to the meaning of the last sentence, especially the words slinging and stacking here.


texts:
According to oxford dictionary, to backstab means

  The action or practice of criticizing someone in a treacherous manner while feigning friendship.

while to betray means

  Be disloyal to

however, I have seen backstab and betray being used to mean "doing something that harms your friend"

I do not understand the difference.
For example, A trusts B with his bank account, but B steals from A by spending the money in A's account. Is that considered backstabbing as well? I understand that in this context, B has betrayed A's trust.


texts: Is there a word for a location where there is no signal or means of digital communication?

texts: Is there a word or slang word that can be used to describe somewhere that is no signal or means of digital communication?   (i.e Off the Grid)


texts: Why indefinite article with "imagination"?

texts:
Imagination can't be counted. But I have seen some people using the indefinite article in front of imagination.

For example, "Everyone has an imagination."

What makes that correct, grammatically?


texts: Why do some words containing a form of “philia” have it at the beginning and some have it at the end?

texts:
There are words like “philosophy”, “philology”, “philanthropy”; these have a form of “philia” at the beginning. Why don't these words have it at the end?
Also, there are words like “haemophilia”, “hydrophilia”, “paedophilia”; these have a form of “philia” at the end. Why don't these words have it at the beginning?
Why don't all words with a form of “philia” have it on the same side? What is the rule for deciding if it goes to the beginning or the end of the word?


texts:
My mother was raised in a family that had  placed extreme importance on filial piety.

Is had superfluous, wrong, or correct?

I can see arguments in both directions:

Perfect past (raised) requires pluperfect (had placed).
Reflexive participle makes raised imperfect, even though it's a completed action, therefore placed is sufficient.


texts:
I understand inversion but I have a difficulty when it comes down to "there."

A: Under the window there stood a vase.
B: Under the window stood a vase.

Here my teacher said that option B is correct.

C: Under the window there was a vase.
D: Under the window was a vase.

And here he said that option A is correct.

Could someone explain why I can't say option D?


texts:
I'm having some trouble with sentences joined by "And" , like
I like to go ciclyng and I like to play chess.
can I say, I like to go ciclying and to play chess ? or do I need to repeat the verb ?
Also, I have a similar phrase
MARKETING is the art of promoting products to compete with other companies and to boost your sales.
is that properly said ?  I'm not very sure about this Double "to's"
thanks :)


texts: Name for a device purposefully put together from faulty parts

texts:
A tech jargon question: A friend thought he once heard a funny (?) jargon word for a device that was put together from faulty parts on purpose, maybe even with the very questionable intention to sell it as an online auction as "broken, but ready to get fixed by someone who knows a little electionics". If you were to buy the device, knowing typical failures and using good troubleshooting skills would not help you much because the device is pretty much a good-looking heap of junk sub-assemblies and has not failed for the reasons things usually fail.

Example: Someone has three bad laser printers of the same brand and model, and lucks out and is able to build two good ones from all the parts and sub-assemblies. Then, everything that's left is taken, being put together into a third, very broken printer and maybe even sold "as is" (very bad, of course), "with need to be fixed" (still bad, because someone intentionally sells junk and not just a device that went bad for just one reason), or "for parts salvaging" (still bad, because someone knowingly offers more bad parts than anybody could reasonably expect from the offer).

Now, ... what's the word for the junk device?

Any chance the word my friend is trying to remember was "diva" or something similar? As in its derogatory/slang meaning - good-looking but often useless - sometimes found with high-nosed personalities, and not limited to the original female context, but also heard when talking about male soccer stars.


texts:
The office establishment where the Secretaries (say, of a Government) sit is called:

  "Secretariat" (without "e" in the end of the word).

Then, why does the office establishment where a Director (say, of a Government) sits is called:

  "Directorate" (with "e" in the end of the word)?

Why this difference? Has etymology anything to say in the issue?


texts:
I'm just wondering if you can actually say this in certain contexts. I thought of this just recently and I thought it sounded strange, mainly because I could only think of one time you'd ever say this.

My idea was that if you wanted to tell someone "Improve yourself!" or "Get better!", then you could also maybe say "Go greater!"

English is my native language, and I don't see a grammatical problem with this statement (besides the lack of a noun, but then again "Get Well!" doesn't have one.) But, I've never heard it before, and I would like to know if anyone else thinks it could be said, and doesn't have some kind of "incorrectness" that I can't see.


texts: Is the sentence "for feedbacks given by ourself, there need to be measurable goals" grammatically correct?

texts:
I would like the convey the message that feedbacks given by ourselves as individuals (ourself) need to have measurable goals.

Is the usage of 'ourself' correct?
Is the verb 'need' agreeing with the correct subject 'feedbacks given from ourself?'
When using the dummy pronoun 'there', is there a rule saying that we need to use the singular tense?


texts: Why do British people pronounce "idea" with an "r" sound at the end?

texts: Non-rhotic dialects tend to drop "r" sounds, so why is one added here when there is no "r" in the word?


texts: Extremism: what’s the cultural history of this word?

texts:
“Extremism” sounds like an ideology, by analogy with Marxism for example. Or it could be akin to a behavioural state like mutism or autism. With respect to these different directions, I’m wondering what the word’s political and cultural history is.
Lexico defines extremism as

The holding of extreme political or religious views; fanaticism.
‘Otherwise their anger and frustration can lead to religious extremism’


texts:
When I chat, I'll sometimes hear "I'mma ..." as in:

  "I'mma go now" or "I'mma open that for you"

I am not sure how it's written, I have never gotten a precise answer when I've asked.

Where does it come from, and what does it mean?


texts: What does “I don’t think we figured in his day at all” mean?

texts:
In the film 127 hours (screenplay) the character Kristi says:

  Know what? I don’t think we figured in his day at all.

What does she mean by I don’t think we figured in his day at all?


texts: Where does the 'up' in 'coffee up' come from?

texts:
I want to know what phrasal verb(s) 'coffee up' (as in 'it's good to coffee up for the day') is modelled on.

What does 'up' mean in such examples?


texts: Can ‘calorific value’ be used without an article?

texts:
While reading the following sentence, I was wondering why the term calorific value doesn't take an article. I have been taught that a singular noun always takes an article unless it is part of an idiomatic construction. Is there any other rule that I am missing?

  A good fuel should possess high calorific value because calorific value
  determines the efficiency of the fuel.


texts: Is there a name for speaking to the person you're talking to as if you're speaking to somebody else

texts: For example if you were on an airplane and somebody was kicking the back of your seat, you might say to your companion "Please stop kicking my seat", when what you actually mean is "It's annoying that the person behind me is kicking the back of my seat"


texts: Why does my grammar book say "whom" is more correct than "that" in this example sentence?

texts:
According to a grammar book, it is incorrect to state "The company directors realized too late that the man that they had just brought in was unsuited to do the job." They claim it is better to state: "The company directors realized too late that the man whom they had just brought in was unsuited to do the job".

Why is using "that" wrong here, when Oxford Dictionaries claims that “that” can refer to objects and humans alike (per Tragicomic's answer to How to use “who” vs. “that”)?


texts: How does 'going forth with others' semantically shift to mean 'going at the same as they do'?

texts:
Can someone please expound 'the process of transition' (from this explanation) that I pinpointed with a red arrow below?  The website doesn't detail how " this sense of time eventually took over". Can someone please speculate or detail "the process of transition"?

It seems this sense of time eventually took over, though the process of transition isn’t very clear, and it’s mixed up with other phrases that also referred to time.


texts:
If I give a bank note of 100 and get back three 20 bills and a bunch of coins, I have less money, but more physical units. How could one express it? Assume an informal setting.

In other languages, one could say something that roughly translates to "I made a good deal, now I have more moneys!", and it would be clear that the total pecuniary worth is less than what I started with.


texts: Could somebody explain the difference between these ways to make food directly using fire or heat?

texts: When you use fire or head directly to cook or make something, there are so many different ways, like grill, roast, toast, bake and broil, maybe there are more else. What is difference between them?


texts: Expression for a choice which isn't really one

texts:
What would be a nice short expression to describe a choice which isn't really one, in that all of its possible outcomes are ultimately equivalent despite being presented as different?

My first thought was "false choice", but this turns out to have a different meaning, and my next idea was "empty choice" which doesn't seem to exist. Does anyone know of such an expression?


texts:
In which cases is a word, or a group of words written in italics?
Is italics used in specific contexts, or it is quite normal to write words in italics?


texts:
I live in Australia, and I went back to Jordan for a holiday. I went to a barber's shop and as usual in there was a conversation between me and the barber.

All of a sudden he told me you don't live here, you must be from a foreign country. I was shocked because I did not say anything about that.

I told him yes, but how did you know?

He said when you were thinking you filled the pause with "mmmmmmmm" while in Jordan we fill it with "aaaaaaaaa"

Is it true that "mmmmmmm" is the English way of filling a pause? Is there another letter to fill the pause with beside "mmmm" and "aaaaa"?


texts: "Curious X": X is the subject or an object

texts:
When 'curious' is used as an adjective (e.g., in the construction "A is a curious B"), there is ambiguity as to whether the noun it modifies is:-

The subject: A feels curious (e.g., "Humans are a curious species" meaning humans want to know about everything)
An object: A is an object of curiosity (e.g., "Dung beetles are a curious species" meaning dung beetles are interesting to us)

How can we resolve this ambiguity? Is there an official way to do it? Both are correct 'de facto' as both versions of usage are common.


texts: When was the term “reality” first used referring to a TV show?

texts:
According to Etymonline the expression is from the early ‘90, but they add no details:

  Reality television from 1991.

Reality television as a genre appears to date back at least to the ‘40s as suggested by Wikipedia :

  Television formats portraying ordinary people in unscripted situations are almost as old as the television medium itself. Producer-host Allen Funt's Candid Camera, in which unsuspecting people were confronted with funny, unusual situations and filmed with hidden cameras, first aired in 1948, and is often seen as a prototype of reality television programming.

but it is not clear when the term reality was first used to refer to a TV show and which the  show in question was.

Questions:

When and for what show was “reality” first used for a TV program?

Was it a BrE or an AmE usage originally?


texts: What does "in the heat of the night" mean?

texts: "In the heat of the night" doesn't simply mean hot weather at night, does it?


texts: What's the meaning of the expression "without the presence of God and Jesus."

texts:
When I was reading an article, I came across a particular phrase and couldn't figure it out.

  The secret formula of Coca-Cola is fiercely protected, so much so that
  only two people who work at the company know the exact ingredients
  that make up this unique soft drink. While this is a disappointment to
  many, it's not at all surprising that one of the world's most
  profitable companies wouldn't give away the formula of success so
  easily.

  The only official written copy of the formula is said to be stored in
  a US bank vault in Atlanta. In order to keep it safe, the company gave
  the bank almost 50 million shares of stock and introduced some bizarre
  policies to keep everyone away, such as:

  The two people who know about the formula aren't allowed to fly on    the same plane.
  No one can read the formula without the presence of God and Jesus.