texts: "I am poor in english" or "I am poor at english" Which one is correct?

texts: Well the title pretty much speaks for itself. Also all kinds of other suggestions are accepted. I just want to know the correct usage.


texts:
Which is more correct: "Her water broke." or "Her waters broke."

I've been searching online and I've found uses of both "water" and "waters" in various places, but none of them very authoritative. I was hoping someone might be able to shed some light on whether one version is more correct than the other, why, and if it truly doesn't matter.

Thanks!
David


texts:
What is the single word for the select\deselect. I can think one word "Manage" but not sure how relative it is to select and deselect really.

Please don't ask for context as it confuses people then.


texts:
I'm an English-learning Japanese student. I want to know if I'm using the word 'via' properly. This is the sentence:

"...by telling Sato how you can meet people even if they live overseas via the application."

Should I have a comma before via, or is this fine now? Thank you for your help!


texts: What we've gelost — why doesn't English use the prefix "ge-"?

texts:
The Germanic languages that I'm familiar with all use a prefix similar to ge- on past participles:

German: Ich habe mir den Fuß gebrochen.
Dutch: Ik heb mijn voet gebroken.

But English doesn't do this at all:

English: I've broken my foot.

Where did this prefix come from? Did English ever have the ge- past participle prefix? If so, why was it lost?


texts: Is there a word to describe someone who has healthy eating habits but isn't necessarily fit or muscular?

texts:
I'm looking for an adjective to describe someone who eats healthy.  I'm not looking for general reflections of physical health like "fit" or "in shape" or "healthy".  I'm looking for something that specifically calls out dietary quality - nutritional is the best I can come up with but that seems wrong / awkward.

Edit - to clarify intent, I'm allowing characters in a lifestyle simulator to demonstrate competency across various factors.  These are phrased as adjectives.  Others include:

Physically Fit
Disciplined
Energetic
Committed
(having a healthy diet?)
Hygienic
etc


texts: The second verb of subject should be express according to number or not?

texts:
He is a man who has a bad heart.

or

  He is a man who have a bad heart.

Which one is correct?

I tried to search "He is a man who have" and "He is a man who has" on Google but I got quite the same number of matched result, So, I'm not sure which one should be correct.


texts: If a profession is very pain inflicting is it a sadistic profession or a masochistic profession?

texts: I know the difference between the words, my question is more on the lines of, if I choose to pursue a profession, and I want to talk about how painful it is yet I continue doing it, then how would I address the profession as. Is the profession sadistic because it is inflicting pain on me, or is it masochistic because I am choosing to pursue that profession


texts: What the meaning of "faster than you can say Indiana Jones"?

texts:
I met with "faster than you can say Indiana Jones" like following:
Now, faster than you can say Indiana Jones, Spielberg has changed course, leaving behind the place where he made such classics as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, and Jurassic Park.
I searched the web and some english dictionaris , couldn't figure it out.Now who could lend me a hand?


texts: What's a word for "to eliminate the need for"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is there a word that means “make someone (or something) redundant”?

I'm looking for a word that I can use in a context where I say something like

  If you let me look in your garage it will eliminate the need for a warrant.

Even if I have to rearrange the sentence, I wouldn't mind.


texts: Term for when people lack the experience or knowledge to understand a metaphor?

texts:
A few years back I stumbled upon a term that illuminated my understanding of why some metaphors fall flat. I have waded through the muddy waters of the Internet and have no seen neither hide nor hair of the elusive term. It has truly become my white whale.

I don't remember if it was a term from literature or psychology, but basically it was a term used to describe why a statement like "she was trying to thread an elephant through the eye of a needle" does not make sense to people who do not know what a needle or an elephant is.

EDIT

The phrase above does not actually describe what I'm looking for. The phrase I'm looking for has to do will me using a metaphor to describe some personal discovery. For instance, someone finds a novel solution for a long standing problem. When asked to explain how he came find the new solution he says "I thought of the problem as wanting to boil a pot of water. After that it was simple." When the problem at hand had to do with physics or engineering. Thinking of the problem as "billing a pot of water" has nothing to do with the problem and noone else sees the connection, but it let him glean some insight that helped him solve the problem.

The term I'm looking for had to do with "the boiling put of water" having some significance to him that other people can't understand since they did not make all the thought gymnastics to have that view point.


texts: Is there a proper way to quote something someone said in a press release without using the form: said Nate?

texts:
For example:

  "The English StackExchange site will pwn the crap out of all the other English language resource sites on the interwebs," said Jeff Atwood, CTO of Stack Overflow.

Though I can't find a reference at the moment, I feel I have also seen this form before:

  "The English StackExchange site will pwn the crap out of all the other English language resource sites on the interwebs."
   — Jeff Atwood, CTO of Stack Overflow

Is the second form acceptable? Is it proper?

Furthermore, is the person's title in the second form proper? Or should it be:

  — Jeff Atwood, CTO, Stack Overflow

PS. No, it's not a real quote.


texts: Is this sentence grammatically incorrect?

texts:
Tears escape my fingers and drip into the bottle, with the salt mixing with the water.

I know the sentence would flow better without the first
"with" but would it still be grammatically correct in the above phrasing?


texts: What's the meaning of "large hug" in definition of "bearhug"?

texts:
Context:

  I have an uncle who is huge and any time he hugs anyone in the family, it's so tight that they are almost choked. We call this the bearhug among the family.

Researching the term, and seeing its origins in wrestling

  a wrestling hold in which the arms are
  locked tightly round an opponent's
  chest and arms

My question is on this definition

  any especially large, tight or
  enthusiastic hug, usually friendly

Does the large here imply the hugging person is bigger and stronger than the hug-ee (like a bear) or is it the length of time of the hug, or something else?

Does the usage give the impression of Hagrid from Harry Potter? It does to me, but I don't know if thats the right idea.


texts: Word that covers Manga, Comic book, Graphic Novel and Bande dessinée

texts:
Is there a word that cover all these terms:

Manga
Comic book
Graphic Novel
Bande dessinée

Edit:
Got a few interesting answers:

Comics (I was expecting that one)
Graphic narrative
Sequential art

I was also expecting the ninth art.


texts: Semantic implications of "The President and we are disbanding the Forum"

texts:
In a widely publicized statement, a group of CEO's on President Trump's "Strategic and Policy Forum" wrote that because of contention surrounding recent statements by the president:

  As such, the President and we are disbanding the forum

A question was asked a while ago:

“Bob and us” or “Bob and we” or “Bob and ourselves”?

To avoid using the phrase "Sarah and we are going to build an aircraft," multiple suggestions were offered:

We are going to build an aircraft with Sarah.
Sarah is going to build an aircraft with us.
We and Sarah are going to build an aircraft.
Sarah and us are going to build an aircraft.
Us and Sarah are going to build an aircraft.
Sarah and the rest of us are going to build an aircraft.

These suggestions all seem appropriate when discussing an action that is performed together with the group designated by the pronoun "we" along with "Sarah" in unison.  However, it seems to me that in this case the decision to disband the organization was made separately, and for different reasons, by the President and by the Forum members.

I assume the writer who drafted the statement was emphasizing that We made this decision, while also acknowledging that the President had made a decision separately to disband the group.  Perhaps the writers could have chosen the phrase:

  The President is and we are disbanding the Forum.

At the same time, I see no reason why the statement as is would be grammatically "incorrect," even though it sounds awkward.

Assuming the intent is to express that the decision was made independently by the President and by the Forum members, is it correct to write "the president and we are?"  Would it also be acceptable to write "The president is and we are?"  And if so, would this change the message?


texts: In this sentence, why people say "if reading is to accomplish anything more than passing time, it must be active?" Why isn't "wasting time" a right answer?


texts: I am looking for a word that encapsulates "teenager-ish" - that sort of petulant, contrarian, immature behavior. Any ideas?


texts: Term for knowledge that is unintuitive but obvious in retrospect?

texts:
Once learned, some bits on knowledge are so intrinsic to one's job or skill that one cannot remember what it felt like without that knowledge (and therefore difficult to document or teach to newcomers).

What is the name for this phenomenon?


texts: Does anyone besides my husband insist on adding an -ed to sour cream? Etymonline dates "sour cream" to 1855, but has no mention of "soured", so I don't think this is analogous to "iced tea" or "ice cream". Is this a regional thing? He grew up in New England, but English is not his parents' first language, so his accent is more Uncle Walter than This Old House.


texts: How does the use of definite article when proper noun abbreviations are involved depend on the noun's function in the sentence?

texts:
I know that in general, the definite article "the" does not usually precede proper nouns:

Verizon introduced two new phones today (not "The Verizon")

but it gets trickier when the proper noun is an abbreviation that stands for a phrase that would require preceding with "the", if it were stated in an unabbreviated form.

"BBC added two new shows" vs. "The BBC added two new shows" (British Broadcasting Corporation)
"MBTA added two new trains" vs. "The MBTA added two new trains" (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority)
"Caltrans added two new exit ramps" vs "The Caltrans added two new exit ramps" (California Department of Transportation)
"Win32 API added two new functions" vs "The Win32 API added two new functions" (Windows 32-bit API)
"WinAPI added two new functions" vs "The WinAPI added two new functions" (Windows API)
"DOD added two new aircraft carriers" vs "The DOD added two new aircraft carriers" (Department of Defence)
"NATO added two new offices in Poland" vs "The NATO added two new offices in Poland" (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
"NYPD added two new task forces" vs "The NYPD added two new task forces" (New York [City] Police Department)

Can anyone help provide guidance for which form to use, depending on how it is used? As far as I can tell:

Subject -- not sure; see my examples above
Direct object -- not sure (example: "I love NYPD" vs "I love the NYPD") but "the" sounds better
Indirect object -- not sure (example: "Someone gave NYPD two new cars" vs "Someone gave the NYPD two new cars") but "the" sounds better
Adjective forms -- do not use "the" (example: "Two NYPD officers", "I like MBTA trains")
Object of a preposition -- not sure (example: "Two officers from NYPD" vs "Two officers from the NYPD"; "Two functions in WinAPI" vs "Two functions in the WinAPI") but "the" sounds better
When the noun is pronounceable like "Caltrans" or "NATO" then it sounds wrong to add "the" in front of it


texts:
Which of the two sentences below is correct?

(i) Three hours is a long time.
(ii) Three hours are a long time.


texts: Which one is always acceptable: "i.e." or "i.e.,"

texts:
I had made an native English check before proof reading of my article. The native check company had changed all "i.e.," and "e.g.," to "i.e." and "e.g." in the article. When the publisher made an English proof by themselves they changed all "i.e." and "e.g." to "i.e.," and "e.g.," in the final article.

Now I am wondering which is actually always acceptable. This may be an duplicate question of Should I always use a comma after "e.g." or "i.e."?
 But I found that it varies from publisher to publisher depending on the style they use.

So my question is why does it vary in different English writing styles. What are the differences? What's good or bad whether or not use a comma after i.e. or e.g.?


texts:
I have recently discovered the term 'lightworker'.

  Noun. "A person driven and motivated to do work which makes the world
  a better place, improves people's lives, and/or elevates people to a
  higher level of consciousness." (Wiktionary)

Wanting to learn more about the origin or religion associated with the word, likewise more about what a lightworker does or is; I have learned:

Lightworker's entry had been deleted from wikipedia

Whereas, it still has an entry in thespiritwiki

Is anyone able to provide me with more insight?

I am led to believe there is no concrete historical evidence in support of ‘lightworker’. If this is the case, I wonder if anyone would confirm this is why it had been removed.


texts: Shakespeare chose Hoist, why not be more grammatically correct with foist?

texts: Shakespeare used the term Hoisted in Hamlet with the line "hoisted on his own petard" and there are many responses already to why he did so, most make a good arguments for the proper use. Foist is defined as to impose an unwelcome or unnecessary person or thing on. Seems to me, that being blown up by your own device would be a somewhat unwelcome event! If a character is working events to bring about the demise of a malefactor, foist just seems most appropriate. What say ye?


texts:
What is the word when someone does something nice for you then does something bad?

For example, someone gives you a ride home to your house. And then later on comes back to rob you. What's the word used to describe the circumstances or the series of events?


texts: Idiom or expression for describing a situation in which you cannot easily reject a request

texts:
Suppose someone (like a boss, friend, cousin,.., to whom you can not say "no" easily) has a personal request for you which you find difficult to decline, but you cannot bring yourself to say no, because you feel embarrassed or too shy to say no (i.e. you do not feel free to say no), or just simply don't like them to feel offended or hurt.
What is the expression or idiom that would convey this meaning: "to accept a request in this situation, unwillingly but under your own moral pressure or just out of shyness".
I have found this idiom: "to put somebody on the spot", can I use it in this situation?
For example:

My mother-in-law asked me to accompany her to the market, and I was actually put on the spot by her request so I went shopping with her despite having a severe headache.


texts: "give me five" and "slap me five", any difference?

texts:
What's the meaning of "slap me five"? Any difference between "slap me five" and "give me five"?

There is a book called Slap Me Five.


texts:
I use the phrase

  How long is a piece of string

every now and then, usually when somebody asks me when I'll finish some programming task that I haven't even looked into yet.

I know what it means:

  English

  Phrase

  How long is a piece of string?
  1. (colloquial, often humorous) Used as a response to a question such as "How long will it take?" or "How big is it?" when the length or size is unknown, infinite, or variable.-How long is a piece of string?, Wiktionary.

But I'd like to know what is the origin of this phrase?

Why is it used to denote an unknown size, length or time? As in, what is it about the string that makes it supposedly hard or impossible to measure?


texts:
You've just told your friend a secret, and your friend says:

(1) I would find out eventually.
(2) I would have found out eventually.

Are both possible English?


texts: What'a the difference between "spacious" and "capacious" "source" and resource"?

texts:
I'm doing translation exercise, and it comes to a problem.

I used "capacious" to describe a big yard.

(because I learned this word lately.)

Then I check out the answer, it used "spacious".

I consult the Oxford Dictionary, and it says:

Capacious: having a lot of space to put things in.

Spacious: large and with plenty of space for people to move around in.

well, I still can't figure it out.

Are they just the same ?

Or there is a nuanced difference ？

Next is "source" and "resource"

I think "resource" is a abstract word, like "human resource", "social resource".

While I think "source" is a concrete word, like "water source" and "food source", which we can touch or drink or eat.

Is that right?


texts:
Is it correct to use the expression "hundreds of times higher" when the difference is 3.08 - 3.85 times higher?

This is coming from Twitter, someone said that there was an increase of "hundreds of times higher" between numbers, however, the difference was actually between 55 (units) versus 20 - 25 (same unit).

To me, that's 3.08 - 3.85 (308% - 385%) higher.  Shouldn't "hundreds of times higher" mean a bigger difference, such as 20,020 versus 40 (as an example).  That really would be hundreds of times higher (500.5 times higher) than the number it is being compared to.  Which is the correct usage of this phrase?

It seems the user is conflating percentage (%) with a factor (3.08 or 3.85 respectively).  While the numbers are significantly larger, to me "hundreds of times higher" denotes a very much larger difference (by a factor of 100) than the actual difference is.

Which is it?


texts:
Serve is a ditransitive verb: “I served him; I served him dinner.” Dinner is served when it is delivered; and a person is served when food is placed in front of him.

In which sense is justice served in American English? Say for example in the sentence “He was led away for justice to be served” which occurred in an American documentary recently broadcast in the UK? It appeared to mean that he would be served with justice.

Does it primarily mean that the offender receives his just deserts, or that justice is honoured by what happens to the offender?

Meta:

I've tagged this american-english because it seems that using serve with justice is more American than British, particularly when an offender is punished. Brits are more likely to have justice done (“and seen to be done”) or carried out, or even meted out. Those verbs make the usage clear: justice is delivered to the offender. If justice is served in the UK, it could easily mean that a defendant is acquitted (that is, justice is satisfied with a just result).

The CSI episode “Justice is Served” (Season 1, episode 21) played on this dual meaning.


texts:
"I took you for a girl with brains"
Is this sentence right?

Technically and scientificically.
Cause humans have only 1brain I presume.


texts:
What's the difference between “Is that OK to you?” and “Is that OK with you?”

Thank you in advance.


texts: Is using 'to discriminate between' correct/idiomatic in the mentioned context?

texts:
The company didn't tell us all that we needed to know about our rights. They told us
  only some of the information we needed to know. They discriminated
  between the facts of equally all of which we had the right to be aware. Or they commited discrimination between such facts.

By 'they discriminated between the facts ... ' I mean to say they told us only some but not the others, illegitimately and without any good reason and just because of their own interests. Is 'to discriminate between' idiomatically used here where it is about things and not persons?

This is one of the meanings of 'discriminate between' that is most close to what I have in mind.

  discriminate between sb/sth (and sb/sth)

  The government was accused of putting up tariffs and discriminating
  between domestic and foreign firms.

But the above is also about treating two legal entities differently, while in my example discrimination is not made between two persons or legal entities, but between two things with regard to some persons.

If my usage is not idiomatic, what else I can use instead? What I want is a verb meaning to illegitimately treat two things differently concerning certain persons.


texts:
I'm writing a fantasy short story taking place on a platform that was built in a lake, but is tall enough to be above the surface. Since it's a short story, I don't really want to spend much time explaining it, but there's a decent chance I'll use that location again in future works, so I'd still like to give my readers a good idea of what it looks like. What would be a good way to do that in a single sentence?

As the title indicates, I've found three possibilities, but I'm not sure which would be best:

"in the lake" - sounds like it's submerged, but could be what I'm looking for all the same
"above the lake" - sounds like it was built on the shore, sort of like "overlooking the lake"(?), "looking over the lake"
"over the lake" - sounds like it's floating over it

Any other ideas are welcome as well (as long as they are concise, of course), but I'd really like to just focus on those three, if possible


texts: What does it mean to show sympathy for the other ticket

texts: In the movie "All The President's Men", the vice president says that at the airport. What does it mean? What is "the other ticket" referring to?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is using the possessive 's correct in “the car’s antenna”?

Can we add apostrophe S, 's, to a word for an inanimate object as in the phrase

  the problem's underlying assumptions

to denote possession? Would it be natural and grammatically correct?


texts:
I want to know which of the following would be the correct way to phrase my sentence, pasted below. I've come across this problem several times in my writing and want to settle this for good so that I don't always second guess myself:

  "When he learned of the sins he had committed, Oedipus blinded himself as punishment"

or

  "When Oedipus learned of the sins he had committed, he blinded himself as punishment"

Is one of these more grammatically correct than the other, or are they essentially the same? Is there a general rule for phrasing such sentences?


texts:
Sometimes, on the internet, particularly in online games, I see people using the  indefinite article before someone's name: "I see a Joey" or "I hug a Polly". I know some of these people and I'm positive that they are from English-speaking countries, which means it is not a mistake, they do it intentionally.

I was always taught that articles are not used in front of people's names. Maybe it is some sort of slang? What does it mean, when the indefinite article is put in front of someone's name?

Edit: There is a group of people standing somewhere. And somebody, named Joey, appears. They all know Joey. And someone in this group says "I see a Joey". So it is used when someone sees his or her friend. But I don't understand why they use the indefinite article here.


texts: Present simple and present perfect in this context

texts:
I have been told that the following are the same:

It has been twenty years since I last saw her.
It is twenty years since I have seen her.

But I somehow do not understand why; usually the present perfect is somehow related to present ("I have not seen her recently"). I would tend to say that he has been seeing her since then (twenty years ago).
Also why does the first one contain "It has been" and the other one "It is". Does it matter?


texts: What is the word for a person who doesn't do what he says he will do?

texts:
Somebody who first says that he will do something, and later kind-of forgets, or assumes that people forgot. The Russian word for it is "необязательность". I guess I am looking for a translation.
It can be either an adjective, or a noun meaning such quality or condition.
Sample sentences could be:

This person is very {fill-the-word}.
{fill-the-word} has always been his weakness.


texts:
I am looking for a word which might be used to describe the unnecessary and lavish expenditure of money.

I seem to recall this particular word roughly being the opposite of 'frugal'.

An example sentence might be; "The Decor of Sir Wilfred's house pointed to a _____ lifestyle"


texts: What is the meaning of "them" in this sentence?

texts:
In Leon the Professional, Leon put a knife over a rich man's neck and the rich man said this to him.

  Hey, relax, man. I got half of Bolivia sitting in them suitcases over
  here.

What's the meaning of "them" and can you give other examples using it?


texts: I found these folders (think pee chees) among a pile of school supplies. They reference "rap" in sort of a hippie look (and... is that John Wayne??), dated 1970. Presumably wrap is referring to folder, and rap is describing the type/style/design of the folder. Today, to me, rap is a type of music, but this link suggests rap (the music format) started in 1973. So what did rap mean in 1970?


texts: Semantics and frequency of use of different adverb orderings

texts:
Is there any semantic difference between these two sentences? Also, is any of them more "correct" or frequently used than the other?

  This problem has been recently
  addressed by several authors

vs

  This problem has recently been
  addressed by several authors


texts: Is "fish" starting to be treated as countable?

texts: Recently, I've passed through a phrase "a fish" in several serious contemporary books on international politics. Is "fish" coming to be used as countable?


texts: Which tense should be used while comparing one dead and one living person using the word 'both'?

texts:
My question is related to this question about dead and alive people but it does not answer my question directly. The highest voted answer says that two verbs should be used for both people.
But if I have a long detailed paragraph about two people, I cannot keep using their names. In many instances I must use the word 'both' for brevity and clarity.
How do I compare two people (one dead, one alive) in one sentence without using two subjects in the sentence?
Some examples:

Both leaders have/had an agenda to..
Both are/were rumoured to..
Both of them are/were unhappily married..

In cases like these, which tense should be used? The present tense or the past tense?


texts: How to describe this text alignment feature with varied font sizes

texts:
I see it all the time in Facebook posters and memes where each row of text is of a different sized font, but with the margins justified. There are even animations that use this feature. What is this called?

Sample usage: "How to [my word]" as a google query.

Reason for asking: I am sure that there must be an automated way of doing this feature without a compass and slide rule, and that such a feature should be "googleable".

(The content in these examples happens to be religious as I randomly took the first two examples from my Facebook feed. However, I have seen this feature in political memes and animated infomercials.)

Edit: Add vertical text justification example


texts:
I'm trying to figure out proper way to use past perfect tense. I came out with a few phrases but I'm still confused with the differences. Can someone explain to me the difference between each phrase?

The police had stopped him because he drove too fast.
The police stopped him because he had driven too fast.
He drove too fast so the police had stopped him.

Thanks guys! If I made any other mistakes, please point it out kindly.


texts: What is the grammatical name of prefixing a word by "A"?

texts:
I've noticed that in English, "some words" (I don't know if it could be used on all words) could be prefixed by the letter "a" to change the meaning,
here are a few examples:

  Side and Aside

  Like and Alike

  Live and Alive

  Way and Away

  Mount and Amount

  Round and Around

Questions:

  What is the name of this "grammatical phenomenon" ?

  Is there a general rule to know the meaning of a prefixed word from
  its base word without using the dictionary?


texts: What is the origin Of the expression “there is no denying him”?

texts: When speaking about biological offspring, what is the origin of the phrase “there is no denying him?”


texts: Is there a word, phrase to describe a kind but corrupt person?

texts:
Context:

In the NBC television series Chicago P.D, the character Sergeant Hank Voight (played by Jason Beghe) is a dirty cop who is associated with shady, unsavory characters in the Chicago underworld, regularly breaks police protocol and takes bribes.

However, despite his ruthless, morally ambiguous methods, Voight is extremely dedicated to the victims of his cases. Furthermore,he goes out of his way to protect and help vulnerable young people, and does have his fellow cops' and Chicago's best interests at heart.

So in the above context, what positive, negative word or phrase can be used to describe a person like Sergeant Hank Voight who despite being corrupt is a kind person ? While researching, I came across the word Maverick in the thesaurus.Can the word Maverick be used in this context ?

Example Sentence :

Sergeant Hank Voight can be described as a ___________

So based on the context,in this sentence above, what word or phrase can be used ?


texts:
I need the correct term for this one:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_book#/media/File:Exercisebook.jpg

In the German language we just say "Heft". The English term seems to be "exercise book".

But "exercise" is just one aspect of this thing. I can write cooking recipes, my to-do list, my thoughts.

I do not EXERCISE in this thing!

The specific attributes for this thing are:

a) It has about 30 to 80 pages, so it does not need much space.
b) The "cover" is not solid, so I can bend it and it can't break that easy.
c) It is EMPTY at the beginning.
d) It is cheap.

My question is now:
Is there another term for it, when I do not use it for school or exercise?

I need special help with the word "book" in "notebook":
In the German language, when a thing has "Buch" in it, it is THICKER (more pages). Is this similar in the English language?


texts: Are there verbs that conjugate with the person in the simple past or simple future?

texts:
We all know that verbs conjugate according to the person in the simple present, typically with the third person singular.

My question is: Are there verbs that change according to the person in the simple past or simple future tenses? Is "to be" the ONLY such example? (Was/Were)

Thank you


texts: 3 commas and 1 or, where does assignment go?

texts:
"They shall be laid before the bishop and his counselors, two of the elders, or high priests, such as he shall appoint."

Is this saying that the bishops' counselors have to be elders but he can also call high priests who are not his counselors?
Or is it saying that his counselors can be either elders or high priests???


texts:
A friend wrote this as a tribute to her father for his birthday:

  I'm proud that you are my father

I am not a native speaker either, but it to me it sounds like "you are the father of someone great so you must be great".

Or does it sound OK?


texts: What is the difference between "work in" an organisation and "work with"?

texts:
I have work experience in local NGOs.
  I have work experience with local NGOs.
  I have experience working with local NGOs.

Changing the preposition can change the meaning. Is this the case here, or are these sentences effectively identical in meaning?


texts: What is the meaning of "far from inevitable"?

texts: I know that "inevitable" means that something will definitely happen, but does "far from inevitable" mean it's more or less likely to happen?


texts: What exactly do "not very good" and "not very good at all" mean in English?

texts:
Here is my current understanding of these English phrases:

very bad (=not good at all, =not very good);
bad (=not good at all, =not very good, =not very bad);
not good, not bad (=not good at all, =not very good, =not bad at all, =not very bad);
good (=not very good, =not bad at all, =not very bad);
very good (=not bad at all, =not very bad).

Is that correct?

In my native language "not very good" can rarely mean "good" but "very not good" means "very bad". So it confuses me what "not" really negates "very" or "good"?

For example, I understand the phrase "I am not very good at English" in such way that it can mean any one of these:

I am very bad at English;
I am bad at English;
I am OK at English;
I am good at English (but not very).

And I understand the phrase "I am not good at English at all" in such way that it can be any of these:

I am very bad at English;
I am bad at English;
I am OK at English.

Is my understanding correct or both phrases actually mean "I am very bad at English"?


texts: Which of the two sentences is grammatically correct ?4

texts:
The constitution of our country has provided complete freedom for followers of all faiths to practice their religion. We are fully satisfied with and strongly deny the possibility of any change in them.

The constitution of our country has provided complete freedom to the followers of all faiths to practice their religions. We are fully satisfied with it and strongly deny the possibility of any change in it.


texts: Does this sentence use the word "myriad" correctly?

texts: "Linezolid is an antibiotic with myriad uses worldwide, including treatment of pneumonia and skin infections."


texts: When whoever vs. whomever fails the he/him test

texts:
The following example fails the he/him test for whoever/whomever:

  Please give the key to whoever needs to open that cabinet.

Give the key to him or he? Give the key to him.

However, when asking who opened that cabinet, he works instead.

So the question, then, is which part of the sentence do we perform the trick on? The predicate is "open that cabinet," which would mean whoever does take on the subject and is correct here. But why isn't "give the key" the predicate?


texts: What kind of human character or regional trait does the habit of “the g-dropping” represent?

texts:
Further to the question I posted today about the meaning of the expression, “treat somebody pretty ugly,” which appeared in New York Times’ article (September 17) titled “Rick Perry, Uber Texan,” I wonder about implications of the term, g-dropping, a question I earlier put aside.
The term g-dropping appears at the beginning of the article:

YOU think of Rick Perry, you think of Texas. And more Texas. Perry the cowboy coyote-killer, the lord of the Texas job-creation machine, the g-dropping glad-hander with a “howdy” for every stranger in the room. He barely exists in the national mind outside of the Texas connection.

I understand g-dropping means the habit of dropping g in pronouncing –ing.  However, what does this trait represent?  That is, what sort of people  habitually drop g's? I've heard Texans drawl.
Does g-dropping represent a particular talking style, character of speakers, educational background, regionality, or something else?  If not, why did the author insert the term, g-dropping, in describing the character of a Presidential candidate?


texts:
What is the meaning and usage of why in the sentence below:

  All my aunts and uncles talked it over as if they were choosing a prep-school for me and finally said, ‘Why—yees’ with very grave, hesitant faces.

Is it a form of confirmation and agreement? Is it equal to yes?

In what kind of prose is it used? Is it archaic or contemporary?


texts: Can participial adjectives be placed without a noun after them?

texts:
Adjectives are placed before nouns. But sometimes I've seen (though I'm not sure if they are correct), things like:

  The item placed there

I know that it may be a short way of saying "The item which is placed there".

Is the past participle "placed" considered as an adjective in that sentence?
Can any past participle used in this way by ommiting the relative pronoun+subject of the relative clause?
Is there any exception for the rule that adjectives must be placed before noun?


texts: What is the term for an item/entry in a compendium?

texts:
A compendium is a concise, yet comprehensive compilation of a body of knowledge.

Source: Wikipedia

What then would I call an entry or item of knowledge that is contained by a compendium? Is there a general term for what a compendium is made up of?


texts:
I have a question about the usage of plural in mathematics in the following context.

  Suppose we have functions f1, f2, ⋯.

Which of these sentences is correct (if any)?

Among the functions fi's there is no repetition.
Among the functions fi there is no repetition.
Among the functions fi's there are no repetitions.
Among the functions fi there are no repetitions.

The focus is on whether I should use 's or not. Also, is or are.


texts: "armed to the teeth", "mortgaged to the hilt", okay, but what about "mortgaged to the teeth"?

texts:
I just read mortgaged to the teeth, which I think sounds really weird.

I'm used to "armed to the teeth" and "mortgaged to the hilt", but I've no idea what the metaphorical connotations are in either of those.

Is "armed to the teeth" a mixed metaphor?

EDIT: I'm sure I never registered or posted anything on the site linked to above, but prompted by @Hot Licks's comment I just tried to follow it now, and got the message Sorry Guest, you are banned from using this forum! Spammer.

Whatever - here's a link to a handful of written instances in Google Books.


texts: What is the name of the process of rephrasing a question using different terminology?

texts: as the title states, imagine a situation where you enter an air condition shop and the shop keeper ask you "how much BTU do you need in your air condition?", you answer that you don't know what is "BTU" so he rephrase the question using a common terminology such as "what is the size of the room you want to cool in square feet?", what is the right way to describe this evolution of the question?


texts: "To buy a bed with" vs "to play a ball with"

texts:
I got into a discussion with a friend and we're trying to figure out why we omit with when we say

  I have no money to buy a bed [with]

when, grammatically, it's the same as

  I have no ball to play soccer with.

In this case, having with is correct, while in the case of the first sentence, it feels weird to have with at the end of the sentence.

Also,

  I have no time to study.

  I have no one to study with.

Again, how would I explain why we omitted with in the first sentence? I understand why we need it in the second one though.


texts: Other phrases or words that are synonymous with ‘to miss out on (something)’?

texts:
Definition of ‘miss out on’ from Merriam-Webster:

  to miss the opportunity or obligation

Here’s my problem: I have used ‘missed out on’ in my context as a way to refer to an experience that someone didn’t get to have. This person didn’t ‘miss out on’ having the experience by their own choice, but because of external factors. The phrase ‘miss out on’ perfectly expresses what I’m trying to say, but messes up the flow of my sentence, so I looked up synonyms for the phrase. Unfortunately, all of the synonyms listed, as well as those I found on sites other than Merriam-Webster, seem to imply that an experience/event was ‘missed out on’ voluntarily, which is not what I want to insinuate at all.

Synonyms from Merriam-Webster: fail, forget, omit, neglect

Words Related To ‘miss out on’ from Merriam-Webster: disregard, ignore, overlook, overpass, pass over, pretermit,

Here is an example of the way I used the phrase: Henry wanted to know what he’d (missed out on) when his dog jumped the fence.
(Imagine that he was in a conversation with two other people, but mostly listening, as they had the most to say about the topic. Because his dog jumped the fence, he had to chase after it and missed out on the rest of their exchange.)

I’d prefer a single word, though I think it’s unlikely that there is one, but any suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.


texts: What do you call the other bit of a word with a prefix

texts:
Let's say I have a word like unhappy.

The "un" is called the prefix. What is the other bit called?


texts: There is a certain type of memes that contain the phrase "The guy she told you not to worry about". I am confused about the use of "she" on it, since the only person who tells you something is a guy. Is this proper English?


texts: Conjugation of answer to "How much money is there?"

texts:
I'm using a website - www.ixl.com - to teach my child how to count American coins, amongst other activities. The site also has many questions on English grammar.

One thing that doesn't seem right - and perhaps I'm missing something here - is their conjugation of the response to "How much money is there?"

Here is an example of what I'm referring to:

I've never encountered the question where there's only a single penny (1¢) displayed. Thus there are always several cents. I would have thought that the answer should be conjugated with the plural conjugation.

Is the correct answer to "How much money is there?" (in the case of the three 1¢ coins and the 5¢ coin shown in the image) "There are eight cents."? Or am I missing something?

EDITED: There might be a previous question on this site whose answer would be applicable to this OP's question, but neither of those two threads cited to mark this OP's thread as a "duplicate" has an answer for the OP's question: the 1st "duplicate" thread discusses "A total of X" and its number when it is a subject, the 2nd thread involves a possible subject-dependent inversion with a measurement phrase with a sentence beginning with "Here". This OP's specific question deals with numerous topics, and its sentence also involves a leading "There", which ends up making the issue even more involved. Please get the duplicate mark off this thread so I can give the OP an answer. -- F.E.


texts: Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

texts:
As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind.

Example:

  This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code.

Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this?

EDIT

My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices.


texts:
While solving a question I encountered a situation when there was a subtle difference between the two:

  After meeting together near Mediolanurn in 313, Roman Emperors
  Constantine Augustus and Licinius Augustus issued The Edict of Milan
  in the hope of/with the hope of ending years of internal religious strife and the persecution of minorities.

I think with sounds more appropriate. But I am not sure about the usage of in.

Could anyone explain the correct usage in this sentence? Also give some instances where we can use the latter one.


texts:
There's a site http://getmilked.com/ with satirical comics. I already googled for the definition of get milked.

What I got from googling is the following definitions:

To draw out or extract something from..., To obtain money or benefits from...

so based on the satirical context, the site has, these definitions doesn't really make sense. So  what's the real meaning of get milked?


texts: What do you call the action of making desserts?

texts:
A person who makes desserts is called a pastry chef, but is there a name for the action itself of making desserts?
"Cooking" is too general, and "baking" implies bread, cakes, etc. which is not quite what I mean.
Any ideas?


texts: Origin and meaning of "along the lines of"

texts:
Where does the phrase along the lines of come from, and what are you really saying?

For instance, if you were commissioning a sculpture you might sit down with the artist and a pen and paper and say

  I want something along the lines of this

and then draw a sketch.

Or if you were describing a book you wanted you might say

  The plot was something along the lines of a murder and a police man.


texts: What is the difference between a "part" and a "segment"

texts: What is the difference between the two and and should I say "a part of the text" or "a segment of the text"?


texts:
I am wondering if the following two sentence are correct.

We can divide children on the ground into two groups: those playing
soccer, and those not.
We can divide children on the ground into two groups: those playing
soccer, and those who do not.

If both are correct, which is better?

Update:

Thanks for Brad's comment, for comparison, the second sentence should be:

2*. We can divide children on the ground into two groups: those playing
    soccer, and those who are not.

Update 2:
And as he points out, it is better to say "We can divide the children in the yard into two groups: those playing soccer, and those who are not." or "We can divide the children in the yard into two groups: those playing soccer, and those who are not."


texts:
I'm wondering about the grammaticality of a sentence like "That might have been a far-fetched argument. But anything to make my point." (I'm curious specifically about the sentence in bold.)

Although the sentence seems technically to be a fragment, I wonder if it could be considered acceptable (even in an academic paper), or if it would have to be somehow re-written/re-worded.

My argument that it's correct is that there would be an ellipsed "I would do" in the sentence, as in "But [I would do] anything to...", which I would think is allowed. All help appreciated!


texts:
What does the expression mean? I've heard it multiple times, but never grasped its meaning. Does it mean to have the same eyebrows? Or the same eyes or face expression?

Example:
"She has her father's brow."


texts: Can someone tell me how to pronounce the word "code"? I am in Hong Kong, and people always pronounce it like "coke," but without the voiceless consonant "k". Is that correct?


texts: Use of "purdah" metaphorically: appropriateness

texts:
When I was a kid, the word "purdah" was regularly used in the UK metaphorically to mean a (usually voluntary) screening or separation. For example, the chancellor had a period of pre-budget purdah.

Given its original context, is this still considered appropriate in professional contexts in the UK?


texts: What is the meaning of "limpin' to the barn"?

texts:
I was watching an episode of Family Guy and came across this expression:

  Peter Griffin: Now stay tuned for whatever FOX is limpin' to the barn with.

(Emphasis added)

It was said at the end of the episode, when the next show to be aired was also a Seth MacFarlane creation.

Is it a common idiom in English?


texts: Can the phrase "make a death wish" have a double meaning?

texts:
I could be wrong because I'm not a native-English speaker but I think the phrase make a death wish can have two meanings:

To make/create a wish to die
To make/create a wish before or in the process of dying

Are these two definitions accurate? Why or why not?

Like, a birthday wish isn't wanting to have a birthday, but making a wish during a birthday.


texts: "isn't much" vs "aren't much" vs "aren't much of"

texts:
I am quite confused between

  There aren't much of a differences between those two
  There aren't many differences between those two
  There isn't much of a difference between those two
  There isn't much difference between those two

Can anyone point out the right ones and explain why please?
Thank you


texts: Choice of plural and singular, definite and indefinite articles for multiple nouns

texts:
Which of the following is correct?

There are apple and orange.
There is an apple and an orange.
There are an apple and an orange.
There are apple and orange.


texts: What's the meaning of "she is a real pip"?

texts:
I heard this expression  in the TV series Better Call Saul. A character spoke to a secretary, and  he seemed annoyed.
After he spoke to her chief and said "your secretary is a real pip".
What that could mean? I imagined something negative, but I don't know.
The dictionary does not report a clear explanation of the meaning referred to a person...

Pip


texts: Using "since" in interrogative sentences

texts:
I am confused about the usage of these conjunctions. Please help. My answer is 2/1, but I am not so sure.

(1) Why did you buy these books ___ you hardly read?

since
when
because
as

(2) ___ you hardly read, why did you buy these books?

since
when
because
as


texts:
I believe in English you say:

  That boy is handsome.

  That girl is beautiful.

I am from Sweden. And in Swedish we have the word "Snygg", which basically has the same meaning as "handsome" and "beautiful", and it can be used for both boys and girls.

Is there anything similar in English? Is there any word in English similar to handsome/beautiful that can be used for both boys and girls?


texts: Which category of nouns do 'driver', 'cleaner', 'writer', 'processor' belong to?

texts:
What category of nouns describes this group?

Verb -> Noun

To drive -> driver
To compute -> computer
To paint -> painter
To clean -> cleaner
To process -> processor
To calculate -> calculator
To write -> writer
etc.

I am looking for a list of nouns, derived from a verb, that represent the person or thing doing the action. I've found lists of action verbs and lists of action words, but not lists of "action nouns" (assuming this would be the category name).

This page shows different categories of nouns (common nouns, proper nouns, abstract nouns, concrete nouns, etc.), but none of them seem to match what I'm looking for.

Thanks


texts: How would you abbreviate "sixteen dollars and fifty cents an hour"?

texts:
The full sentence is

  Some mechanics are now earning sixteen dollars and fifty cents an hour.

Should I let it be or change it as follows?

  Some mechanics are now earning $16.50.


texts: Term for a one-time, short-lived, pre-meditated plan of action

texts:
It's something that you come up with in advance, a plan of sorts, in preparation of an opportunity arising, such that you may capitalize on it. "Plan" is too long, however; it's not so much a plan as a simple "we quickly do X". And emphasis on quick; this is a rapid, pre-meditated move - it was come up with quickly, triggered quickly, and executed quickly. The situation arose, the action done, and then it passed. It can have had lasting consequence, or done nothing at all. It may be proactive or reactive. Maybe you don't even know why or when you'd do it, but you've prepared for it nevertheless. The effect is simple and singular, not a complex series of events. Just one thing like "everybody wearing a hat run into the basement" - potentially independent of the context that prompts the execution. It may also have a modifying context, like "if it's raining, paint one car blue" - to carry out this while it isn't raining, obviously has no effect. So it's like an instruction of sorts, waiting to be given.

What word, preferably on the short side, would describe such a thing?

'Trick' is the best I've come up with, but it has connotations of deception. Need something more straightforward.


texts: Is there a word/phrase for doing something good to hide something bad you did for the same cause?

texts:
For instance a defendant in a court case where he is accused of domestic violence might tell the jury that he donated money to domestic abuse charities and helped sufferers, so it would seem unlikely that he was guilty. He does this to cover his tracks and to ensure that he mitigates his chances of getting sentenced.
Some sentences I considered: 'It appears that the Defendant has donated to domestic abuse charities as a screen for his iniquities'.


texts: A generic word for any 'specialized genre'

texts: Is there one? For example, "Bill was a hipster who only enjoyed [very strange and specialized genres of] music".


texts:
As the title asks, what is the best name for the expression made with the mouth when sad?

To expand, frowning involves furrowing the brow, crying involves... crying. You can look sullen, you can pout or wince but these all convey specific emotions relating to the broader emotion of sadness.

Smiling on the other hand conveys happiness, and the multiple 'sub-emotions' (excitement, contentment, etc) to happiness.

So is there a word that conveys the upturned smile, without being specific to one type of sadness?

EDIT:
k1eran suggested adding from my comments that Thesaurus.com offers the antonyms frown and glower, both relating to specific angry emotions. Other sites list, again, either expressions relating to specific versions of sadness, expressions which aren't the opposite of smiles (eg. pursed lips) or just the emotions themselves.


texts: Morphology of mobster, gangster, webster, hipster

texts:
Where the letter "t" came from in these words? Is it part of the suffix -ter- or a separate suffix? Where the "s" comes from?

Can other words on -ster be formed this way?


texts: Are nouns like 'Create' appropriate in a compound?

texts:
I'm solving a problem where I must choose between 'CreateMethod' and 'CreationMethod'. The first one fits me better because I want to indicate an action, not the process invoked by that action.
I'm sorry if CamelCasing offends anyone, its how we software developers make our words.


texts:
I just want to make sure that these examples are correct. Is "change" being used as a verb in the following sentences?

Her hair began to change to gray.
It’s interesting to think about how people change throughout their lives.


texts:
It’s a sentence from The New York Times, “I understand the health risk, but why are schools not a priority in being reopened?”
I googled and there are far more “health risk” than “healthy risk“.
Whether in AmE or BrE, Which one is correct? Could someone help analyze from the grammatical view.


texts:
What is the meaning of these two sentences:

  The truth is, the belief 'I'm Not', is a lie.

  Before we ever agree to believe I'm Not, it was someone else's
  opinion.

I tried my best but still need to understand them properly in their real context.

Any help would be much appreciated.


texts: How to ask a question and correctly tell its logic in the following case?

texts:
My question is about logic in English. (In my native language (it's Russian) the logical words used in this case may differ, I'm not sure.)
Available variants of the question are:

How to list all branches that are not merged into none of the given branches?
How to list all branches that are not merged into any of the given branches?
(Maybe you'll propose a better wording.)

The logic is the following:

I have a lot of branches: A, B, C, ..., Z.
Any of them may be merged to any other.
Some of them are special: I, J, K.
For each branch I want the following:

if the branch is not merged into I and it is not merged into J and it is not merged into K
then I want to include this branch into the resulting list,
but if it is merged into any of I,J,K - then I don't want this branch.

How do I pose my question in English correctly in this case?
N.B. The question is from here: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/62653225/how-to-list-git-branches-not-merged-to-given-branches
P. S. It seems to me that "not merged into any" seems like "if it is not merged into I or not merged into J or not merged into K then I want this branch". Am I right?
UPD.

"(not merged) into (any)" =
"(not merged) into (J or K)" =
"(not merged into J) or (not merged into K)"
but
"not (merged into any)" =
"not (merged into (J or K)" =
"not ((merged into J) or (merged into K))" =
"(not merged into J) and (not merged into K)"
(according to De Morgan's law)

notice the difference in resulting operator: or vs and


texts: Meaning of "we're a slenderer pair than you would make the half of" in Byron's "Don Juan"

texts:
From Byron's Don Juan:

  Here Lolah interposed -- "Mamma, you know
       You don't sleep soundly, and I cannot bear
  That anybody should disturb you so;
       I'll take Juanna; we're a slenderer pair
  Than you would make the half of; -- don't say no;
       And I of your young charge will take due care."
  But here Katinka interfered, and said,
  "She also had compassion and a bed.

What is the meaning of we're a slenderer pair than you would make the half of?

When we lie together, we take up less than 50% of your width?


texts:
I was reading this:

  A new sensitivity in today’s pastoral consists in grasping the positive reality of civil weddings and, having pointed out our differences, of cohabitation. It is necessary that in the ecclesial proposal, while clearly presenting the ideal, we also indicate the constructive elements in those situations that do not yet or no longer correspond to that ideal.

Synodal document from the Vatican published recently.

I could have sworn I've read news articles trying to use the term "positive reality" to show that there's a good deal of happy truths in modernity.  I don't think I've ever read "positive reality" anywhere else so I don't have a basis for contradicting that claim.  I'd think it would mean something akin to "positive law", which doesn't usually mean "laws that make one feel good".

So, what does this document mean by "positive reality" and is there a difference between "reality" and "positive reality"?

The closest thing to what I think they meant is in this Hilary Clinton quote:

  "So sitting here today, I think that the glass is slightly more than half full in terms of the positive reality," Clinton concluded. "If there are things that are going to undermine quality, increase cost, than we have to know about them."

  cnn.com


texts:
I have a simple question.

  over centuries / for centuries

what is the difference?

Thank you.


texts: Can "it" be used as "which" to represent what the previous sentence means?

texts:
The priority is to lay down the moral base of this society: including ethical principles and political justice. It means that  what we are going to seek out and construct is the “republican virtue” which is a full virtue, concerning both institutional justice and individual duty.

Here I use "it" of the second sentence to represent the whole first sentence. It is equal to  "A. which means B...".
Can it be used in this way?


texts: Is there a word that means "not knowing when to stop"? I haven't been able to think of one as of yet.


texts:
In today's USA today, the following sentence appeared:

Delta later emailed the flight’s customers with an apology, according to the Aviation Herald.

What is the with doing in that sentence?  I'm assuming this is a typo.  I would write the sentence without with.  Am I missing something here?

The article.


texts:
I was wondering what number the verb 'to snowboard' should take in the following sentence:

  A group of men, led by Olympic athlete John Rider, snowboard(s) down the gently sloping hills.

Because 'a group snowboards', but 'they snowboard'. The second one sounds better to me.

But can anyone explain me the difference, and which one is right or wrong?


texts: Term for a trainer who conducts training by outer standard programs

texts:
Is there a word in English for a person who conducts trainings with a use of some already written programs?

It's not about program made by him - he just realizes outer standard programs.
And it's also not about qualification or junior role. It could be a very professional person.
In Russian, there is word "ведущий" for such meaning. But in this particular connotation it does not mean neither: presenter, principal, anchorman, master, narrator, etc. It is close to "conducting" - a person who conducts trainings or conductor of trainings.
But if I google "conductor of trainings" I would not find many examples of such phraseme.

Update:

1) It could be "Conductor of training" - it seems to be ok unlike "Conductor of trainings"

2) It could be "Training facilitator" but I am not sure about it. Thanks to Graffito

3) And yes, I do try to differentiate between "Training Program Developer" and "Trainer". Thanks to Jim. And I'd like to show that both roles were taken. At the same time context implies that "Trainer" is also "Training Program Developer" so I should find some options.


texts:
While watching the following video by Buzzfeed, entitled $1 Sushi Vs. $133 Sushi • Japan, one of the guests invited on the culinary road trip, a Japanese woman, used the expression “work wife”.

  Stephen: Where we're goin' next Andrew?
  Andrew: So next we're on our way to a place called Shun Sushi, is that right? [Rie: “I'm here”] And it comes recommended by one of our colleagues named Hitomi, actually.
  Rie: Yep, my work wife
  Andrew: Your work wife?
  Rie:  Yeah so this restaurant is neighbourhood sushi joint. Somewhere you wanna go once in a while when you're craving sushi.

In my naivete, and never having heard this expression before in my life, I thought Rie had a romantic partner with whom she worked. Instead,   a little sleuthing revealed that a work wife or a work husband (note the absence of the present participle suffix -ing) is someone who works with you in close proximity. In other words, more than a co-worker or a normal colleague but not somebody you're actually married to. A BBC article defines it as “…‘work spouse’, a significant, but platonic, other whom you pair up with at the office.” and they throw in a few statistics for good measure

  Career website Vault.com found that every year since 2010 about 30% of the people they surveyed said they had a ‘work spouse’, with the exception of 2013 when that share jumped to 44%.
  Having a ‘work spouse’ makes you happier,  7 November 2016

I would like to know how common this term is in the UK and in the US. Is it used among informal or in business settings?
When did workers begin calling their closest work colleagues a work husband or work wife?
If I really had a spouse with whom I worked, what would I call him or her? My working partner? My partner and work spouse?


texts: Which one is more correct to say? "Sit" or "Sitting"?

texts:
The sit of her dress was perfect.
  The sitting of her dress was perfect.

I didn't know that "sit" could be a noun form of the verb "to sit". I've been using "sitting" so far, but I came across "sit" as a noun form in this sentence. I don't know which one is more suitable to use.


texts: Is the use of "extremely rarely" grammatically correct? (To use In place of "very rarely")


texts: What is the common name for brackets, braces, and parentheses?

texts:
I need to name a variable containing ()[]{}, what is the common name for all of them?

Two side questions:

parentheses is plural, or singular, or both?
is abbreviating it as parens understandable?


texts:
I am not a native English speaker. I look for a proper English word for a “re-lyricized” song. I mean the case when someone writes his own lyrics for a melody of a well-known song. For example, if I take the melody of The Beatles’ Yesterday and sing it with my own lyrics like “Funny thing, let me sing a really funny thing…” (or any other words that fit the melody). It is not a parody as such, because I have no intention to mock or imitate The Beatles; the lyrics are not related to the original song, its author or performers.

I have heard this kind of songs in stand-up comedy and student performances. What is the word for this? A skit, a cover, a rendition, maybe a filk?


texts: When is the plural 'es' pronounced "ess/ez/izz" vs. "eez"?

texts:
I was just thinking about this when I typed out "processes" and realized that I've heard it pronounced both "process-izz" and "process-eez".  Is one incorrect, or is it considered an accent thing, or are they both completely acceptable?

I also thought of words like "parentheses" and "menses" as being strictly -eez but can see how those may be special exceptions.

Are there any other questionable words like this?


texts: Difference between "had been ...-ing" and "was/were ...-ing"?

texts:
I couldn't understand the difference between these sentences:

َ1.We were watching TV when he arrived.
2.We had been watching TV when he arrived.

OR

1.I was listening music when you called.
2.I had been listening music when
you called.


texts: Difference between "scheme" and "schema"

texts:
What is the difference between scheme and schema? Where do you use one and not the other?

schema

a diagram, plan, or scheme. Synonyms: outline, framework, model.
an underlying organizational pattern or structure; conceptual framework: A schema provides the basis by which someone relates to the events he or she experiences.
(in Kantian epistemology) a concept, similar to a universal but limited to phenomenal knowledge, by which an object of knowledge or an idea of pure reason may be apprehended.

scheme

a plan, design, or program of action to be followed; project.
an underhand plot; intrigue.
a visionary or impractical project.
a body or system of related doctrines, theories, etc.: a scheme of philosophy.
any system of correlated things, parts, etc., or the manner of its arrangement.

The funny thing is that the dictionary entry of schema refers to scheme. Does that mean they can be used interchangeably? If not, can someone please give practical examples of how and when to use one and when the other?


texts: Who or whom? "I wanted you to listen to this interview by an author who(m?) many of you read"

texts:
Which word should I be using in the following sentence: "I wanted you to listen to this interview by an author who(m?) many of you already read". Who or whom?

I saw this answer What’s the rule for using “who” and “whom” correctly?, but who/whom in this case cannot be replaced by neither "he" nor "him", so I'm still unsure.

Please advise.


texts: Is there an adjective for "Made of Air"?

texts:
I was trying to think up a name for an ability in a fantasy game which conjures up a shield made of air around oneself, like ____ Shield (analogous to "Earthen Shield", for example). I tried google and came up empty.
The Idea is that strong wind contained in a spherical shape surrounds the user and diverts anything that touches it.


texts: How would you translate 'what have you come as?' I've never heard this expression


texts: LOL: Spelling double l or single l for 'lolled, lolling' vs 'loled, loling'

texts: The word 'lol' (lower case) is now sometimes used in the English language. Should we spell its past tense as 'lolled' or 'loled'? And should it be 'lolling' or 'loling'?


texts: List of numbers in a sentence with thousands-separators (commas)

texts:
I need to list off a few large numbers (with thousands separators) in a sentence.

  The total number of observations, N=55,123, comprises 92596, 51456,
  7714 and 2445 from the first, second, third and fourth rounds,
  respectively.

I've tried structuring it as follows, but it doesn't look right.

  The total number of observations (N=55,123) comprises 92,596; 51,456;
  7,714 and 2,445 from the second to fifth round, respectively.

Any suggestions as to the best way to do this?


texts: What's the meaning of bold sentence in the given excerpt from the economist

texts:
The local population in Venice has roughly halved over the past 30 years. So, over the past two decades, has that of Dubrovnik in Croatia, an old walled city best known as King’s Landing in “Game of Thrones”. Academics now worry that services for ordinary residents, such as cheap cafés and doctors’ surgeries, will collapse if populations continue to fall.

In the above excerpt, what's the meaning of- So, over the past two decades, has that of Dubrovnik in Croatia, an old walled city best known as King’s Landing in “Game of Thrones”.


texts:
For example:

  Making new friends is important to your happiness.

and

  To make new friends is important to your happiness.

I know the second sentence sounds odd, but I'm not sure if it's grammatically wrong or just not used as much.

Thanks a lot.


texts: Is "meet with X and me" (instead of "X and myself") liable to look wrong to stupid administrators?

texts:
My natural instinct is to write, "X met with M and me in June."  But I've noticed that school officials tend to use "myself" in place of "me" in this type of sentence.

A related ELU question elicited an answer that quoted an article in Collins.  I haven't been able to find it online, and the author didn't record a link, but here's the quote:

  Usage Note: The -self pronouns, such as myself, yourselves, and herself, are sometimes used as emphatic substitutes for personal pronouns, as in He was an enthusiastic fisherman like myself. The practice is particularly common in compound phrases: The boss asked John and myself to give a brief presentation. Although these usages have been common in the writing of reputable authors for several centuries, they may not sit well with many readers today. A majority of the Usage Panel dislikes them, though resistance has been eroding over the years. In our 1993 survey, 73 percent disapproved of the fisherman example quoted above. In 2009, only 55 percent disapproved of the same sentence. The Panel still finds the use of -self pronouns in compound constructions even less appealing, but here too the percentages have fallen over the years. In 1993, the John and myself example was rejected by 88 percent of the Panel. In 2009, 68 percent rejected the same sentence.

I myself don't like "X met with M and myself in June," although I do understand that it's acceptable.  My question is, in a formal letter sent to a school bureaucrat, that I don't know very well yet, is "X met with M and me in June" likely to look wrong in the eyes of an unsophisticated reader?


texts: A way to express an overreaction to something positive

texts: I am looking for a word or an expression to describe an overreaction to positive news or positive events. Something that has to do with excessive enthusiasm like when you you are unable to control your emotions. Thanks


texts: English term corresponding to German “Ausgangssperre”

texts:
I’m a native German speaker looking for the correct term for a condition
when people are restricted from leaving their homes (German:
Ausgangssperre). For example, in the case of a virus outbreak.
I’d have picked the term curfew (and my favorite online dictionary agrees
with me). But I got told by a native English speaker that she’d expect that to be only a night-time thing.
A suggested term from her was confinement — but that sounds prison-ish to me.
What are the correct English terms for German Ausgangssperre?
Extra information which might be helpful for people who are not native German speakers
Ausgangssperre in German:

Implies compulsion.
Does not imply a reason; it could be military, civil unrest, dangerous animals, disease, weather, and so on.
Does not imply a certain time of the day.
Has a negative vibe to it.


texts: Is there a word for the "call of the closing door" / "closing opportunity"?

texts:
"Vertigo" partially refers to the nausea caused by observing a void, or large drop, with the overtone of the "calling of the void".
Is there a similar word for capturing the feeling of strong pull towards deciding to "go for it", in the context of a soon-to-be-expired opportunity?


texts: A term for a particular makeshift lock (image included)

texts:
How would one call a (sort of makeshift) lock on a door (not a shutter) that consists of a hook and eye like the one in the image below?

This is needed for a work of fiction, so a paraphrase would be fine.


texts: Can adjectives always be used as nouns when they denote a plural and are preceded by the definite article?

texts:
An adjective appears to be used as a noun when denoting an animate plural and preceded by the definite article:

  'The successful are those who strive.'

  'The foolish are those who procrastinate.'

Is this always the case?


texts: meaning of “go up five places” in this sentence

texts:
A person is recollecting his college days in Oxford. He used to be in the team of an eight, rowing a boat.

  In the year I got my colours the Wadham boat went up five places on the river. It was the happiest week of my life.

What is go up five places on the river supposed to mean?  Five victories or something else?


texts: Can an independent sentence stand alone if the subject is implied

texts:
I came across this sentence today:

  Consider, for example, William Carlos Williams, who worked as a physician for over forty years.

I understand that the "for example" part of this sentence is nonessential, and the "who worked as a physician for over forty years" is a nonessential relative clause. Because they both are nonessential, you should be able to take them out. This leaves you with "Consider William Carlos Williams". Is this a sentence (independent clause)? If it is, is it because the "you "is implied? Is it because of something else? Let me know. Thanks


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Sold” in the meaning of “bought”?

I've read a tweet about iPhone 4S and this is what I saw:

  Totally sold on the iPhone 4S - for the dual core CPU and dual antenna
  alone. I like fast things.

Can you guys give me an explanation about "sold on" and maybe some more usage.


texts: An ambiguous usage: "Apologia for" vs. "apology of"

texts:
Suppose someone is using the word "apology" in the theological sense, i.e., a "defense". I'm inclined to use the word "apologia" because it immediately distinguishes it from the typical meaning of "apology", but I'm wondering if this is considered correct:

"In Dr. Salien's apologia of Quebec French..."

or is this better:

"In Dr. Salien's apology for Quebec French..."

You see the problem - Dr. Salien is defending Quebec French, not saying that he is sorry for it.


texts:
In a short interview where people were introducing themselves I saw something that grammatically sounds erroneous. Is the use of How's things instead of How're things a kind of expression or a simple mistake?

David: Hi. I’m David.
Rachel: Hi. I’m Rachel. Pleased to meet you.
David: Likewise. How's things?
Rachel: Great thanks. And You?


texts: Verb tense/placement in an appositive/participle phrase

texts:
I'm having trouble with verb tense/placement in an appositive/participle phrase. Which of these is correct:

(1) Jane wrote a letter to the restaurant, complaining about the new menu.

(2) Jane, complaining about the new menu, wrote a letter to the restaurant.

(3) Complaining about the new menu, Jane wrote a letter to the restaurant.

(4) Jane wrote a letter to the restaurant, in which she complained about the new menu.

(5) Jane wrote a letter to the restaurant and complained about the new menu.

Thanks!


texts: How to hyphenate a whole number and fraction as an adjectival modifier

texts:
When a fraction is used as part of a compound adjective it is conventionally hyphenated: e.g. a quarter-million pounds.

And when a whole number and a fraction are used together, it is conventional to not include a hyphen between the whole number and fraction: one and seven-eights rather than one-and-seven-eighths

But my question is what is conventional for hyphenating whole numbers and fractions when they form a compound adjective and precede a noun? Is it, if you will forgive the absurdity of the example, a sixteen and one-quarter centimetre cake, a sixteen-and-one-quarter centimetre cake, or a sixteen-and-one-quarter-centimetre cake?


texts: Is the phrase "My current educational and residential situation" correct?

texts:
Is the phrase

  ... because of my current educational and residential situation

a correct way to refer to where and why I study what I do and why I live where I do? Or should it be "education and residence situation"?


texts: The difference between "anyway" and "any way"

texts:
When to use anyway and when to use any way?

  Anyway I can do it.
  Any way I can do it.

Are these the same?


texts:
I try Googling but couldn't come up with a valid answer.

If I were to create a quotation, what is the correct unit to use for various kind of services. For other object, the unit would be like  piece, unit, device, pair, roll, box, etc

For example,  heater installation, repairing 3 phones, wiring 2 rooms.

Here is what the quotation template looks like.

From the picture, the unit behind "1" is currently "ea" (default value). I can change this unit to something else. Would it be appropriate to put in "job"? or to omit it completely? or other unit ?

Thanks


texts: How has pathetic fallacy's meaning changed?

texts:
When John Ruskin first coined the term pathetic fallacy he truly did mean that people were committing a fallacy when describing inanimate objects as having characteristics (or having pathos so were, therefore, pathetic).
The more modern meaning, however, is pretty much the same literary technique, but as an actual technique rather than a fallacious over-description.

The phrase pathetic fallacy is a literary term for the attributing of human emotion and conduct to all aspects within nature. It is a kind of personification that is found in poetic writing when, for example, clouds seem sullen, when leaves dance, or when rocks seem indifferent.
(Wikipedia)

The same article shows that the original meaning appears to have mostly survived in science, but it is considered fallacious in a more modern meaning of being logically false rather than Ruskin's original meaning of being simply a lie. Nowadays the fallacy is to attribute human characteristics to non-human concepts in scientific papers (although a good educational tactic for teaching science).

In science, the term “pathetic fallacy” is used in a pejorative way in order to discourage the kind of figurative speech in descriptions that might not be strictly accurate and clear, and that might communicate a false impression of a natural phenomenon. An example is the metaphorical phrase "Nature abhors a vacuum", which contains the suggestion that nature is capable of abhorring something. There are more accurate and scientific ways to describe nature and vacuums.

How and why has pathetic fallacy undergone such a semantic shift both  in literature and in science?


texts:
I prefer placing punctuation next to the closing quotation mark like this:
I'm watching "Titanic".

However, when there is already a punctuation within the quote, is it right to add another punctuation after the quote?
Did you say "Hello?"?
No, I didn't say "Hello?".
Then did you say "Hello."?
Yes, I said "Hello.".
A punctuation, before the closing quotation mark, for the quoted sentence. And another one, after the mark, for the main sentence. It might have made sense, if only I have ever seen such usage. (Especially the last one, which contains two full stops. It looks so wrong.)


texts: Is the word "colic" a right word in this context?

texts:
If I drink too much water and run or do some extreme activities, I will feel something in my stomach. I also want to stop doing the activities because of that feeling as well. It's not hurting, aching, or feeling nauseous.

I use a dictionary to translate this word from my native language to English and it says "colic." But when I look up this word, it is not the same.

What word should I use to describe this feeling?


texts: Is the bolded comma needed in this sentence?

texts: Shortly before he murders Duncan in effort to usurp the throne**,** Macbeth experiences a hallucination of the dagger that will be used to dispatch King Duncan.


texts: Is there a saying or idiom for "trying to get the truth from someone by lying"?

texts:
context

Mary-Ann got home late from school.  Asked where she had been, she said she had spent the afternoon at the library.  Her father thinks she is lying and says: "I know you haven’t been there because I was there myself".  He is lying because he thinks she will tell the truth if she realizes she has been caught.
boyfriend – “your sister told me everything” (sister did nothing) -
girlfriend – “Oh, did she? I’m gonna kill her.

The rationale for doing this is to catch someone by surprise so he will admit having lied.  Soemtimes, however, the person isn’t lying and the real liar will have to reap the consequences of his reproachable action, having to admit he was just/it was just ...........(saying or idiom).....


texts:
This has puzzled me for a few years now. When preceded by 'a', shop becomes a noun. Does "do a shop" even make sense then? The correct phrase for me was always "go shopping", or similar.

Can anyone tell me where "do a shop" came from and whether it's grammatical?

Take the article in the following link, from an Irish broadsheet newspaper:
http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/parenting/i-have-seven-children-and-my-weekly-shop-includes-200-nappies-and-20-litres-of-milk-3217903.html
The headline, which appears to be a quote(but is not contained in the actual article body) shows an example.
Take the following line from the article "it takes two trolleys to carry the weekly shopping". If we were to replace 'shopping' with 'shop', would it still make sense?


texts:
I've used an expression like, "Forward, the Light Brigade!" a couple times in our endless IT group meetings, although it's always more along the lines of, "Forward, the endless meetings!" and a co-worker complained about my grammar.

I'm comfortable that my grammar (and Tennyson's) is correct, but I don't know exactly why.  What kind of expression is, "Forward, the Light Brigade?"


texts: Another phrase for "wear and tear inspection" of tools and equipment report

texts:
I am looking for a word that could substitute "wear and tear" in a resumé.

The original was:

  "Wear and tear inspection reports for the preliminary maintenance of tools and equipment."

I had found:

  depletion, depreciation, erosion, ablation, attrition, consumption, decrement, dissipation, hard wear, overuse, ravages of time, wearing away, and weathering.

(None of them quite fit since I was talking about offshore drilling tools and equipment. In this case "upkeep" deals with the concept in a better way.)


texts: I'm a stay-at-home person—but who  isn't these days?

texts:
Should I be using "who" or "whom" in this sentence?
How would I form the deep structure of this sentence?
Is it "These days, a stay at home person is not whom"?


texts:
What does "beginning of the year" mean?

example: He will graduate by the beginning of 2015.

Does this mean 1-January, January, Jan & Feb, etc...?


texts: Meaning of "fix" in the provided context

texts:
How to fix fake news? (Source)

What is the meaning of "fix" in the above?

Among all senses of "fix", it seems to me that the following is closer to meaning of the word in the above sentence.

  mend or repair. "you've forgotten to fix that shelf"
  synonyms: repair, mend, patch up, put right, put to rights, set right,
  get working, make as good as new, see to; More

But, then I don't understand how can one mend/repair fake news. Is there any better suggestion?


texts: A derogatory term for a book or other printed material

texts:
I am looking for a contemptuous or belittling word or phrase that would describe something that has been published (not necessarily a book) but is of inferior quality, and a waste of paper. It can be a slang/informal term.

Specifically, I'm NOT looking for a term for a cheap novel (like 'pulp fiction' or 'airport literature') - there's plenty of expressions both here and in wikipedia, but the book I wanted to refer to does not have any plot. It's actually an activity book, if this information happens to be of any use.
I just wanted to write something like:

  This book turned out to be an unremarkable/uninspiring/etc. <...>.

I haven't managed to find anything satisfactory so far. I could probably just use something generic like 'piece of crap', but I was wondering if there was any more specific, paper-related term.


texts: Can 'Too+an adjective' be used to make a non-negative statement?

texts:
When one says the following type of sentences, they have a negative connotation.

You are too nice.
You are too fast.
You are too intense.

I am curious if there are any instances when we could use 'too' but in a positive way?

According to http://blog.myhappyenglish.com/2011/05/26/english-lesson-so-too-very/

Too + Adjective

Too + adjective is used to show something is excessive or problematic. Too is used with negative adjectives like expensive, tired, difficult, etc. Too implies a negative feeling and perhaps an unstated negative consequence. Look at the following example:

Justin: Do you want to come to the party tonight, Mike?

Mike: Sorry, Justin. I’m too tired.

My old car is too unreliable.

Economics is too difficult for many students.

When we want to show that because something is excessive or problematic and there is a consequence, we use too + adjective, as in the above examples. When we simply want to emphasize an adjective, we use very.


texts: How to correctly assimilate dots, if at all?

texts:
I see this sentence:

  There are many examples like mining, farming, foresting etc., that are dangerous to society because they cause environmental damage.

Shouldn't "etc.," be written instead with the one dots assimilated i.e. "etc," so that the comma assimilates the dot? Or is this not a practice to assimilate the dots?

Samt way for instance with an acronym immediately before a comma then I think the dots should get assimilated e.g.
 "N.A.S.A, U.S.A, and other "

or should all dots be left there?

I also wonder about the dot in use with brackets:

" ...other countries (such as U.S.A.).  "

Is the above correct? It looks like too many dots and I think that the closing of a bracket assimilates a dot in English as a rule which is not in other languages.

Could you answer about or comment on what the rules and practices are in these cases?


texts: What is meant by the "benefit of the doubt"?

texts: I think doubt is a negative emotion, so I find it difficult to know what is meant by "benefit of the doubt".  How does this phrase work, and how did it arise?


texts:
I would rather go home.

I would rather that I went home.

Could you tell me the difference between these?


texts: Does 'each other' function as singular or plural?

texts:
Are either of the following sentences grammatically correct?

  We know what each other are doing

and

  We know what each other is doing

Neither of them sounds right to me, but surely one of them must be, depending on whether 'each other' functions as a singular or plural? Of course there are workarounds like "Each of us knows what the other is doing", but is it possible to keep the words "each other" together in such a sentence?


texts: Word order: already had been or had already been...?

texts:
Here is the sentence from a New York Times article:
"...and three women whos homes already had been feng shui-ed by our instructor..."
Could the words 'already' and 'had' been flipped in this case? Why or why not? I am just trying to understand this a bit more.
Thanks!


texts: What is "as American as April in Arizona" meant for?

texts:
I was reading an article that was telling a story about Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov:

  Paris Review asked the Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov, "Do you
  consider yourself an American?" He said, "Yes, I do. I am as American
  as April in Arizona."

What does he really mean by "as American as April in Arizona"?


texts:
When you say "he doesn't fail to disappoint", to me it has a negative meaning as in he always disappoints. But I've heard some people using it as a compliment and in a positive way. So, am I wrong about the meaning or it's the other way around?

For example, Christina said on Voice:

  My glam team doesn't fail to disappoint and they took the Monday blues
  and turned it into a stunning look any girl would love.


texts: Is "The State it was In when it was..." too wordy?

texts:
I saw this message:

  Reset all save data and return the game to the state it was in when it was newly purchased

Is the the state it was in too wordy or redundant? Can it be just the state when it was newly purchased? Which grammar rule am I breaking if it were the later?


texts: what is the difference between employee and staff and worker

texts:
I am reading Human Resource(HR) book, and I can not understand employee, staff and worker.
Please explain in detail, thank!


texts: Noun + Noun = Noun (Singular or Plural ?)

texts:
Which is correct or better for the title of an academic article?

Machine learning and cross-validation approaches for the evaluation of anti-spam softwares
Machine learning and cross-validation approach for the evaluation of anti-spam softwares

The word approach or approaches is used as noun (not verb) in the title of the article.


texts: Synonyms of the "Recent" to avoid appearing twice in a sentence

texts:
I am constructing a sentence which uses the word "Recent" twice.
The sentence is "the land use changes in recent years are greatly affecting the recent climate."
I would like to avoid one "recent" in the above sentence.


texts:
I frequently find my writing style to be less than optimal when it comes to the structure of my sentences. For example, when I ask questions most of my sentences resemble the following:  Are we able to access the demo also?

Should this sentence rather be written as: Are we also able to access the demo?

Any insight is appreciated. Thanks!


texts:
What would be a single-word verb for making something immutable (= unchanging over time or unable to be changed; generally used to describe objects in computer science)?

What I actually want to say is

  UnmodifiableMap is a map with immutable keys and values. UnmodifiableKeySetMap is a modified version of UnmodifiableMap that only ??? the keys.


texts: When did "to forgive" lose its primary meaning for pardoning and become solely about an emotional response?

texts:
During a recent debate I was having with a peer, I was shocked to find out that the word "forgive" no longer carries a primary association with the act of pardoning another individual (i.e., informally cancelling indebtedness or absolving deeds done).  In fact, when I search both Google's and Oxford's websites, the definition (for both) is given as follows:

for•give

stop feeling angry or resentful toward (someone) for an offense, flaw, or mistake.
cancel (a debt).
used in polite expressions as a request to excuse or regard indulgently one's foibles, ignorance, or impoliteness.

Merriam-Webster's online dictionary is seemingly no better, offering this:

for•give

to stop feeling anger toward (someone who has done something wrong) : to stop blaming (someone)
to stop feeling anger about (something) : to forgive someone for (something wrong)
to stop requiring payment of (money that is owed)

In stark contrast, when I reference my 2001 version of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, I'm given this:

for•give

to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt.,etc.); absolve.
to give up all claim on account of; remit {a debt, obligation, etc.).
to grant pardon to (a person).
to cease to feel resentment against: to forgive one's enemies
to cancel an indebtedness or liability of: to forgive the interest owed on a loan
to pardon an offense or an offender

So, if what appears to be a wild difference in usage/meaning has occurred over the past 13 years, I guess what I'm wondering is:
a) When did this happen?
b) Why did this happen?
c) Am I the only person who thinks this is crazy?


texts: Words/expressions for achieving the most wins

texts: I am looking for words or expressions that I can use to describe the most successful team/individual in a tournament/competition (having won it the most times, like Brazil at the FIFA World Cup.) One word I can think of is "most-decorated", but that seems to only apply if the winning team receives a major award for and it wouldn't be as appropriate if it's a gaming/chess tournament. I am also aware of the term "winningest", but that sounds awkward and really informal. Appreciate any suggestions.


texts: Should "that" and "the" be used in these situations?

texts:
I'm always uncertain whether or not I should use "the" and "that" in the following cases:

  There is no guarantee (that) measurement values are the cause of . . .

and

  Which will lead to (the) correct evaluation of the measure . . .

Yes or no?


texts: What do you call a person who keeps on going despite setbacks? (in one word, a noun)

texts:
I'm looking for a word (a noun) to describe a person who faces the challenges of life (small and large) courageously despite the risk of failure.

It would be nice if this noun does not necessarily imply that the person has experienced setbacks himself, rather that this wisdom of having courage could also have sprung out of reflection about possible risks. But that's just a bonus.

I'll be using the word as the name for a character type in a game (other characters include saint and criminal), so it needs to be a single noun.


texts: "Whose turn to" vs "Whose turn is it to"

texts:
Is it correct to say "Whose turn to" instead of "Whose turn is it to"?
"Whose turn to put the rubbish out?"
"Whose turn is it to put the rubbish out?"


texts:
Please tell me how to do it correctly.

Twenty divided by five is four.
Twenty divided by five equals four.
Twenty divided by five is equal to four.

Tell me please. Are all the options correct and do you use them all?


texts: Meaning of the political phrase "he has bottom"

texts:
What is origin & meaning of the phrase "he has bottom" or "he lacks bottom"?
This is a phrase used in UK politics a great deal.


texts: Possessive form of Mrs. (with full-stop/period)

texts:
Let's assume I have a text talking about Mrs. Jones and I want to start a section talking about her childhood. Which of the following forms, if any, is valid?

  Mrs.'s childhood

or

  Mrs.' childhood

or

  Mrs'. childhood

Is there a rule for the possessive of "Mrs." whose last letter is an s but not the last character? Or should this simply be avoided and

  Mrs. Jones's childhood

has to be spelled out?


texts: Idiom/phrase which means "to pretend not to understand or know"

texts:
Sometimes (well, often) people pretend not to understand what's going on (or pretend not to understand what the other person means, etc.) when in fact they do perfectly well.

For example, Person A is hoping that his friend Person B would let him crash at his place for a couple of days, but, so as not to appear too intrusive, he wants Person B to invite him instead of asking directly. So, he says to his friend:

  Hey, Person B! I've just been kicked out of my house and I have nowhere to go. I really have to figure out where to stay the next couple of days.

Person B understands that Person A is hoping that he would offer him to stay at his place. But he chooses to pretend not to understand, and, instead of saying sorry and explaining why Person A cannot stay at his place, person B says:

  There's a nice hotel near here, and it's not very expensive. I can give you the address.

Another example. Person B has secretly stolen the wallet of Person A. Person A has figured out that it was person B and when they meet, he says:

  My wallet was stolen the other day.

Person B says:

  Really? Oh, that's so unfortunate!

What idioms in English would one use to describe the behavior of Person B in the sample situations? I.e. pretending to be stupid or pretending not to understand something rather obvious, or pretending not to know something that you know; in other words, consciously imitating ignorance, indifference, or innocence.

In Russian, the idiom is to pretend to be a fire hose (прикидываться шлангом) or to pretend to be a boot (прикидываться валенком). The Armenian idiom is to pretend to be a donkey (իրեն էշի տեղ դնել). For me, these phrases are not quite unimaginative and cause a certain amount of amusement. I am hoping to find an English equivalent (or equivalents) that would be informal and/or sound funny(-ish), but that's not essential.

Naturally, I tried to look up the translation in the dictionary before asking, but to no avail, presumably because the phrases mentioned above are rather informal.


texts: Have I used the word "manifests" correctly?

texts:
Have I used the word "manifests" in this sentence correctly?

The American Dream manifests the opportunity for success regardless of social class or background; however, Alex Gibney’s Park Avenue argues the dream is no longer true due to America's rich who have corrupt the system for their gain.


texts:
I'm working for a truck manufacturer and I have to analyse what our customers do with their vehicles (for example, how many kilometres do they usually drive per day, or how much fuel do they use?).

I'm not a native English-speaker and I'm not sure if I should say I'm studying "customer usage" or "customer use".

I've read many pages explaining the difference between both words, and I think "usage" is the right word, but I would like to be sure.

Thank you.


texts:
“I met a friend walking down the street.”

Does it mean I was walking, or that my friend was walking, or both are possible?


texts:
What verb would mean "to lose calibration" through some (edited to clarify initial intent) intentional action? This would imply an object that previously was calibrated but intentionally changed to a state of uncalibration, e.g., if you deformed the spring in a scale such that it would no longer measure accurately.

"Decalibrate" seems the logical choice but it doesn't appear in Webster's.

Another example: "Don't use a torque wrench to break loose rusty bolts. You might [decalibrate] it."


texts: I have a student from Virginia who says she has heard the use of all y'allses; does anyone know about this? Is it that the second person plural being used is all y'alls (with the -s at the end here not indicating possessive but plural) and then the es is the possessive being added to that?