texts: Should I use a plural noun when grouping two cancers? “Pancreatic and prostate cancer(s)”

texts:
My girlfriend (non-native speaker) recently approached me with the following question - which of the following would you use?

Glycemic variants affect pancreatic and prostate cancer, but not colorectal and breast cancer.
Glycemic variants affect pancreatic and prostate cancers, but not colorectal and breast cancers.

As a native speaker I felt like both were appropriate - in the first, you're implying the missing 'cancer' after pancreatic - the expanded form would be "pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer".

In the second, you're grouping them together and saying (pancreatic and prostate) cancers.

Does this analysis make sense? Which of the two would be a preferred or more common usage? The context is academic writing, if that makes a difference.


texts: How to use "you" word in a way that suggests it's singular/plural form?

texts:
In my mother's language there are two words for "you" - for singular form and for plural one. I want to translate a joke which happen to rely on this particular characteristic of my language.

What words should I use to say e.g. "How can I serve you?"

Is "Ye/Thou" still recognizable or is it too archaic?

Edit: An example: Let's suppose I am a fan of FC Barcelona, the soccer club. Me and my friends are in England to see the Champions League finals. There is a pub with "Manchester United fans only" sign on it and we hear some loud yells coming from inside. I ask my friends if they are willing to go in with me and they say "Yes, sure, we are just behind you. Go!" So I grab my FC Barcelona scarf, go inside and see many MU fans in the middle of the party. Suddenly place goes silent and all the gazes point at me.

That is the point when bartender should say "How can I serve YOU?" in a way that makes me realize my friends are not with me. So, what says bartender?


texts: Is there a word for hating a specific place, such as a town?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that refers either to hating a specific place, or someone who hates a specific place.

If there is a word for hating the place you're in, that would also work.


texts: A word/expression for "Making a problem simpler by sharing it with a group of people".

texts:
One strategy to solve some problem or make it simpler, is to share it with someone who has a lot of knowledge about the subject. We use the idiom "Pick sb's brains" to express this way of breaking up the problem or this strategy.
Another strategy is to share the problem with a group of people or friends, so that it becomes many brains unified in finding a solution for the same problem instead of 1 brain. Is there a word/expression used to refer to this strategy in English?


texts: A word for a wooden platform on the river bank used in the old times for fishing or laundry

texts: Is there a word for a small wooden platform on the river bank used in the old times for fishing or laundry (not for docking boats)?


texts: What is the proper use of phonetic alphabet for the weak "e" in Joseph?

texts: I recall seeing an italicized 'i' to indicate that the second vowel in Joseph should be pronounced like the weak sound of the second vowel in "tendon," instead of a regular "i" sound. Can you tell me about any incidents of similar phonetic alphabet usage on the weak "i" sound elsewhere?"


texts: What is correct? 'At d/m/y hh:mm' or 'On d/m/y hh:mm'

texts:
What is correct, if I want to be specific?

On 12/7/2015 12:35 I made a purchase
At 12/7/2015 12:35 I made a purchase


texts:
What is the plural of learning? Is learning always singular? For e.g., if I have done research on a number of topic and gained sufficient knowledge, do I call it as "my learnings" or "my learning"? Is there a word called "learnings"?

Or is "learning" always in plural form? Then what is the singular form?


texts:
Is there another word for misspeller? I think there ought to be a word for someone who commonly misspells.
Is misspeller even a word?


texts:
Is there a proverb that advises  not to  panic in bad times and not be overjoyed in the good times? I mean to be patient in both the good and the bad times.

Or, in other words

● Don't be overly delighted in happiness and don't panic in sorrow. Keep balance/be patient in both.

● Life has its ups and down, don't be overjoyed in good times and don't panic in bad times.

Is there a commonly used 'Proverb/phrase' in English that says it ?


texts: I remember at one point knowing a word that meant "overly proud of your own heritage or culture", and basically being racist or at least biased toward your own heritage/culture. Anyone know some words that fit this description?


texts: Is "Wrong side business" used in real life?

texts:
In the film "Australia", the phrase "Wrong side business" (or "Wrong sided"?) is used as slang for sex.

It sounds like typical Australian Aboriginal English. Wikipedia's article on the topic gives a definition for "business" by itself, though not "wrong side business"

  Business

  Many Aboriginal people use the word business in a distinct way, to
  mean matters. Funeral and mourning practices are commonly known as
  Sorry Business. Financial matters are referred to as Money Business,
  and the secret-sacred rituals distinct to each sex are referred to as
  Women's Business and Men's Business.

However, I've lived in Sydney most of my life, and I haven't ever heard "Wrong side business". Is it used in real life?


texts: What are some colloquial English phrases for 'a child acquiring its parents' characteristics or features'?

texts:
I am not sure if the title is clear enough to you, so let me briefly explain what I'm looking for.

We sometimes see children who look very much like their father or mother, or even behave typically like either of them. I don't know if there is a formal or literary phrase to express this occurrence. But I wish to know some colloquial phrases which are used to convey the idea that I am talking about.

Please bear with me if this topic sounds too mundane to you, and help me learn.

Edit:

For example, is it correct to say 'he has gone on his father?' This phrase, which I think is an effect of language transfer from Hindi, can be often heard in some parts of India


texts: Having + past tense as a subject in a sentence?

texts:
is it possible to use the form "having + past tense" as a subject in a sentence? For example, is it grammatically correct to say:

  Having applied at the right time resulted in getting an admission.

Is having applied considered the subject in this sentence? My gut feeling tells me this sentence is correct, but I would like to be 100% sure. Thank you for help.

Best regrads,
Kate


texts: Is it correct to use a comma before naming a list of items in a sentence?

texts:
The question is about the first comma use in the sentences below. I have not seen such comma-punctuation in a sentence that continues with naming several listed items. Is the first comma in these sentences grammatically correct? Or should we replace this with a colon?

I bought several items from the shop including, tomatoes, bananas,
ketchup, chocolate, cucumber, bread, butter, green tea and milk.

I bought several items from the shop such as, tomatoes, bananas,
ketchup, chocolate, cucumber, bread, butter, green tea and milk.


texts: Using a hyphen when describing measures (e.g., a 300-meter asteroid)

texts:
Here's some examples. Please tell me which ones are right, and which ones are wrong, and why.

"A 350-meter asteroid impacted the Moon."
"A 350-meters asteroid impacted the Moon."
"A 350 meter asteroid impacted the Moon."
"A 350 meters asteroid impacted the Moon."

There's also extended versions.

"A 350-meter wide asteroid impacted the Moon."
"A 350-meter-wide asteroid impacted the Moon."

Etcetera. Which ones are right/wrong, and why?


texts:
Can anyone please explain why this sentence is incorrect?

  When Russell Wallace and Darwin independently proposed similar
  theories, Darwin had already accumulated extensive evidence with
  which to support his ideas.

I thought the error was at with which because it seems wordy; to me, evidence to support an idea sounds better and less wordy than evidence with which to support an idea. But the error occurs at his, and it's an ambiguous pronoun error.

Thank you!


texts:
When you perform an action again, you can usually just put "re" in front of the existing verb - e.g. "shuffle" becomes "reshuffle".

However, "resort" is its own word that doesn't mean "to sort again" - is there a word that does mean that?


texts: draw my attention/ catches my eye/ attracts my attention

texts:
Can I use the three phrases in the title interchangeably? For example:

The woman in the tight black dress definitely draws my attention/ catches my eye/ attracts my attention.


texts: What is the difference between a phrase and an idiom?


texts:
Adjective for something coming in from all directions and corners.

[adjective] influx of people.

[adjective]  pressure overwhelmed him.


texts: Should I use "like a..." or "like the one of a..." in the following sentence?

texts:
What sounds more natural? This:

  Her body was warm, like the one of a sunbathing cat.

or this?

  Her body was warm, like a sunbathing cat.

(I'm open to other suggestions).

EDIT

Here's some context:

  She put her glass down on the floor and wrapped her arms around me.
  Her body was warm, like the one of a sunbathing cat.


texts: Word for "a single published thing" and "many published things"?

texts:
If I have a bunch of "things" which have been published, and want to refer to them generically, what word would use? E.g. I have a book which has been published 10 times. So this book has 10 ___________.

I was thinking "publishment" and the plural "publishments" (I'm looking to use the word "publish" because it has special meaning in this case). Are these accurate/correct?


texts: In "Lucifer Rising" - grammatical explanation for use of -ing form instead of "Rises"?

texts: How does that work grammatically? I guess it's primarily used for titles (movies, songs etc.) but why?


texts: For native speakers, what are dumplings?

texts:
When I started to learn English, my teacher told me dumplings is a translation for Chinese 饺子 (a food, also widely found in Japan or Korea). But after a few years, I was surfing on the internet and get the information that dumplings actually can be used for all kinds dough-wrapped-with-inner-filling food.

So, what do English native speakers think exactly of this word? If I have a shepherd's pie or 包子 or 烧卖, can I call them “dumplings”?

Edit: Some images showing what I'm talking about.Do they considered as dumplings?


texts: Is there any rule for pronouncing words beginning with “re-”?

texts:
It’s hard for me to guess how to pronounce words beginning with re- correctly.

Sometimes it is /rɛ/ as in reference, but sometimes it is /ri/ as in report.

Is there any rule about this?


texts:
I found the following statement:

  Reading in the whole file at one time is called slurping.
  It can be useful but it may be a memory hog.

What is the meaning of hog, and how does it relate to the above statement?


texts:
I'm wondering how these very adjective-sounding words came to be used as nouns.  Were they originally part of longer phrases such as "constant value" or "variable amount" that became abbreviated for efficiency's sake?

According to OED and Merriam-Webster, the words are derived from late Latin and their adjective forms have been in use since the 15th century but the noun forms didn't appear until the 19th century.  What was the cause of this change in usage?

Also, are there other common words whose part of speech has changed or expanded over time? I have a feeling this happens frequently but can't think of any other examples.


texts:
Is there a name for the strategy of weakening your enemy via generosity, such that they become dependent upon your kindness and thereby unable to confront or disobey you?

Taking that one step further, is there a name for a similar strategy of providing your enemy with the knowledge and resources necessary for them to destroy themselves?

In the first case, I'm looking for an unconventional and academically advanced way that an extremely literate character might describe the actions of a drug-dealer or loan-shark.  In the second, that same character's assessment of a serial killer who uses psychological manipulation to induce suicide.


texts: Expressing distance on the road "Xth mile" or "mile X"

texts:
I would like to say that you can see a certain landmark on a road at a certain distance from, say, the start of the road. Can I say "At mile/kilometer six on the road to town X, you will see Y."?

If not what is the proper way of saying it? Should we say "At the sixth mile/kilometer on the road ..."?


texts: What does "play games" mean in this paragraph?

texts:
Being this direct (saying directly to other people) is easy when you know there is no need to play games with them or to impress them.

This sentence is in a paragraph that says you should talk directly to other people (especially women). Can "play games" in this sentence mean "deceive other people"? Or does it has another meaning?


texts: Is there a distinction between "within" and "in" as in, "upon finding a violation within the preceding four years" versus "upon finding a violation in the preceding four years"?


texts: Joining two sentences into a compound predicate sentence using conjunction "and"

texts:
Which is the correct way to join the sentences and make a compound predicate sentence?

The boys are playing football. They are enjoying themselves.

The boys are playing football and enjoying themselves.

Or

The boys are playing football and are enjoying themselves.


texts: A particularly prominent example of a rolled r user is the actor Jeremy Brett, who played "Sherlock Holmes" in the 1980s Granada adaptations. I've noticed that several other actors, especially from the older generation, also use the rolled r. Is this something that actors are or were taught to do at drama school? If so, why?


texts:
Ok, I am really confused regarding apostrophe with the s and the end of the word. I have looked through multiple sites only to see multiple viewpoints. And, on tests they test it differently. So, can anyone help me with the following problem:

  The only evidence of the species survival before its rediscovery at the end of the century was an unconfirmed recording.

Would it be species' or species's ?

There is a lot of advice on the internet about how to use possessive S with names such as the following:

  Per APA Style, the answer is that the possessive of a singular name is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s, even when the name ends in s (see p. 96 in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual). Therefore, in the example above, the correct usage would be “Adams’s (2013) work.” Although this presentation may look awkward to some writers, the rule for forming the possessive does not change just because the name ends in s.

  However, it is important to note the following exception to this rule: You should use an apostrophe only with the singular form of names ending in unpronounced s (see p. 97 in the Publication Manual). Therefore, if you were writing a paper about the philosopher Descartes, to form the possessive with his name, you would need to just add an apostrophe (e.g., Descartes’ theory).

  To help illustrate these guidelines, let’s look at a few more examples of properly formatted possessives:

    Sigmund Freud’s method

    Jesus’s disciples

    Charles Dickens’s novels

    Socrates’s life

    François Rabelais’ writings (note that Rabelais ends with an unpronounced s)

However, the word species in the sentence above is not a name. The case with species does not seem to be a normal case like dog's or dogs' or even on a par with bus's or buses'. It's difficult to put ones finger on why, though.


texts: "Nikki's and Alice's X" vs. "Nikki and Alice's X"

texts:
Which option is grammatical?

  There will be readings from Nikki Giovanni’s and Alice Walker’s writings.
  There will be readings from Nikki Giovanni and Alice Walker's writings.

Saying it out loud the latter sounds right, but looking at it the former looks better.


texts: Need help to understand job ad eligibility criteria

texts:
I want to apply for a researcher position. This is the homepage I am refering to.

Now I have serious trouble to understand this part of the eligibility criteria:

  Early-Stage Researchers will, at the time of recruitment by the host
  organisation, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent
  research experience) of their research careers and not yet have been
  awarded a doctoral degree.

  At the time of recruitment by the host organisation, researchers must
  not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies,
  etc.) in the country of their host organisation for more than 12
  months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date.

Concerning the first part:

"Researches will [...] be in the first four years of their research career." What does this mean? Is researches career refereing to a PhD programme? I just graduated and got my master of science degree, but I have not yet started a doctoral programme.

Concerning the second part:

"Researches must not have carried out their studies in the country of their host organisation for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date."
What does this mean? I studied in my master programme in Berlin for the last 2-3 years. So I started my studies in 2011 and I finished them and I am still living here. So does this mean that I cannot apply for those projects where the host organisation is settled in Berlin? So that would mean I cannot apply for project no. 13?


texts: Which is correct: "higher distance" or "longer distance"?

texts:
I would like to know which one of the two options in the title is correct: "high" or "long distance"?

Thank you very much!


texts:
I placed a phone call and introduced myself this way: "Hi, This is from " and a coworker pointed out that the sentence is grammatically wrong.

While I understand that it sounds a bit weird, I'm wondering if it is entirely wrong. Is it? If yes, What are alternative correct usages that do not require me to provide my name?


texts: Which of these relationships are dichotomies?

texts:
Are these dichotomies in the context of software engineering?

Precision vs Accuracy (concensus so far: NO, and I agree)
Authorization vs Authentication (concensus so far: NO, and I agree)
Validation vs Verification (concensus so far: NO, and I agree)
Security vs Convenience MAYBE (when making engineering decisions it is important to identify which is more important depending on the problem being solved. Adding Convenience does not necessarily diminish security, but it seldom improves it. But these aren't quite complementary.. I think?)
Space vs Time tradeoff YES (as far as I can tell, trade-offs are good examples of dichotomies if they complementary, such as: mind vs body, nature vs nurture, good vs evil, memory heap vs stack. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichotomy - I was tempted to include "male vs female," but these days gender is, uh, complicated)


texts:
Is there any verb for 'yes-man'? So that we can express as, he 'say yes' with his superior.

Or in other meaning. e.g. My wife is angry now, so it is better to "say-yes" whatever she says :)


texts: What do you call the raised platform at the entrance of a room

texts: I always see some kind of raised platform in a bathroom. This is used to prevent water getting out of the room. I wonder what is it called.


texts: Do you know the word to describe a cool rushing current of uphill air? I think it has something to do with the air coming from a cool place on a warm day.


texts: Which of these sentences use proper grammar?

texts:
Unfortunately, there currently is not a way to make it default to a lower resolution.
  Unfortunately, there is currently not a way to make it default to a lower resolution.
  Unfortunately, there is not currently a way to make it default to a lower resolution.
  Unfortunately, there currently is no way to make it default to a lower resolution.
  Unfortunately, there is currently no way to make it default to a lower resolution.


texts: correct tense with 'exist'. has not existed?

texts:
It feels like last year hasn't existed.

I found myself writing this sentence, but then it suddenly felt weird. (I live in Britain but used to live in AmE speaking country)

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/present-perfect-tense/

  The present perfect tense refers to an action or state that either occurred at an indefinite time in the past (e.g., we have talked before) or began in the past and continued to the present time (e.g., he has grown impatient over the last hour).

How would I interpret above with 'exist'?

EDIT (clarification):
If I say "It feels like last year hasn't existed, then 'last year' is not something that occurred in the past nor began in the past and continued to the present time. Isn't the use of present perfect denied by using negative of exist?


texts: Passive voice after the verbs "to order, command, tell, ask for"

texts:
I found the following sentences in an English language texbook (written by a non-native speaker) and I'm not sure about them. I've tried to find similar examples elsewhere, but couldn't. I think the sentences exist only in this book and not in real speech. Here they are:

1) He ordered the letter to be translated.
2) I told the books to be brought.
3) He asked for the dictionary to be brought.

The question is: are they correct? Shouldn't it be something like:
He ordered that the letter (should) be translated?
Are these three sentences fine or wrong? Do native speakers construct sentences like that frequently?


texts: Which of "game names" and "games names" is correct?

texts:
What it's supposed to designate:

A list of the name of each game.

So there are multiple games and therefore multiple names.

But should either or both take an s at the end in a list of game(s) name(s) ?


texts: What type of colloquialism is 'soon as it ready'?

texts:
I am wondering if there is a specific name for the type of speech pattern (I am not sure if that is the right term) or vernacular used below.

Example:
"I'll beep you, soon as it ready."

Being a contraction of "I'll beep you, as soon as it's ready".

Also, please tell me if I should improve the title/clarity of my question.


texts: Preposition use: ON or AT the Dragon Boat Festival?

texts:
To clarify, I've asked the question on ELL, and received unsatisfactory results, and this site seems to be my last hope.

In an English textbook used in China, a sentence reads like this:

  We (Chinese) eat boat cakes at the Dragon Boat Festival.

I think the preposition AT is wrong, and ON should be the right one to use in this sentence because: there IS a set date for the Dragon Boat Festival, which lasts for one day, and there are almost NO activities held at home NOR events for anybody to go to, except that some Chinese eat the "boat cakes" (at home). The festival in question commemorates an ancient patriotic poem in Chinese history, but in reality, modern Chinese baically take it as a very good excuse to have a day off, and hence it became a 1-day national holiday as of 2008.

Am I right to use ON?

Please feel free to believe or confirm that "the Dragon Boat Festival in itself is a problematic term or translation", and hence the sentence is invalid and has to be rephrased.


texts: I cannot bear to hear separate out, but maybe it's just me. Is this correct? When I do the laundry, I need to separate out the red shirts so that my underwear doesn't turn pink.


texts: Which tense would be correct in this context?

texts:
Since I moved to my parents' old house, I have been going to work by
  bus.

Is this tense correct? I am currently living in that house, so I believe a perfect tense is the right one, and I assume that it must be progressive since this is happening everyday...?


texts: How to understand time through sentences?

texts: I have a hard time understanding where someone refers to time in sentences. For example, "The manager of the team X is in Spain". There have been many managers through time for a single team. Shouldn't it be better to say "The current manager of team X is in Spain"?


texts: What is a word for a person who is always concerned with what might have been?

texts: Is there a specific word for a person who is always concerned with possibilities? For example, they decided to not go to a party with their friends but then wonders what may have happened if they had gone? Or perhaps what would have happened had they not decided to go buy a sandwich and coincidentally meet an old friend at that shop who offered them a much-needed job?


texts: I am doing a project on wasting food and was wondering which phrase would be grammatically correct. "40% of most household bins are food" or "40% of most household bins is food", thanks :)


texts: Placement of comma before quotation mark

texts: What is the rule for comma placement before a quotation mark? When should the comma go before and when should it go after the quotation mark?


texts: Using the phrase, "Look at the blue dolphin." to divert everyone's attention away?

texts:
I was told this pertaining to diverting everyone's attention from what that person is doing wrong. Example:

The people around here love to point out the blue dolphin.

That way the focus is off of them because everyone looks away at something else.
Any info on this? Or has anyone ever heard of it?


texts:
I am trying to recall an idiom I heard a long time ago (could be a line from a poem or novel perhaps), that dealt with the appearance of strength even until the last moments before something is about to collapse. The quote went something like "the tree seems strong right until the moment the storm breaks it in two"...

Anyone know what quote that is please??

Cheers.
Ancat


texts: "Please advise" -- why is this a common turn of phrase for foreign speakers of English?

texts:
I was just browsing through StackOverflow just now, and randomly hit on this question, where the question-asker signed off his request with a "please advise."  Certain I'd heard this turn of phrase before from foreign speakers, I searched "please advise" in quotes and received about 25,000 hits, from what seemed to be many non-native speakers, which was enough to be intriguing.

Now, pardon me if I'm wrong, but this isn't common in American English is it? If I'd ever heard it, I'd expect the phrase to be please advise me, where advise takes an object.   Moreover, "advise" as an ending pleasantry seems a bit stilted and formal to my ear.  Perhaps this is U-English, that I've read is commonly taught to foreign speakers in ESL courses? Or is it a kind of a direct translation of a common construction in many languages? Does anyone know where it comes from? I'd appreciate  any enlightenment.

Incidentally, it seems that I'm not the only person to have noticed this.

EDIT: So, to be clear, constructions such as "please advise if...", "please advise on...[XX topic]", "please advise for..." are commonly used in business emails?


texts:
What verb would I use to fill in the blank?

For more context, this is the full sentence: "As with other merit goods, they _____ a benefit when consumed."

I guess you could say "they have a benefit" or "they create a benefit" or maybe even "they cause a benefit", but I was hoping that there is a more suitable verb.


texts:
I found issues were used on some websites like "$1 an issue". (Some magazines.)

But I found another word periodical was used on my vocabulary book as follows:

  The periodical is published every month.

Can I replace the periodical with issue here?

Appreciate your comments and replies.


texts: Meaning of "at least a quarter" in the quoted sentence

texts:
Consider the sentence,

  Any small and medium startup validates and rethinks the focus area at
  least a quarter which might change the approach towards their
  offerings

What does the "at least a quarter" mean here? Is it same as "at least a quarter of every year"?

Is it grammatically right?


texts: What do I call a word with roots from multiple languages?

texts:
As best as I can tell, a good example is sociopath:

sociopath — from socio- on model of psychopath
socio- — combining form of [Latin] socius
pathos — from [Greek] pathos

Hence, sociopath is a word coined from roots found in two different languages. Is there a good term that describes this?


texts: "Meeting was spoiled due to some unavoidable circumstances". Is this line correct?

texts:
Meeting was spoiled due to some unavoidable circumstances.

Is this line correct? I don't want to use the word spoil. I want to mean that the meeting started, some discussions were made but due to some issues, the meeting stopped before completion. There was an intention to continue the meeting and to discuss on the remaining agenda but it was not possible. What should I write?


texts: Term for a person who disagrees but says the same thing

texts:
I am not sure whether there's a clinical term for it but if you can help me find the closest term for such behaviour I can do some research on it.

What do you call a person that disagrees with your statement but then is effectively saying the same thing?

NOTE: The person in question has been exposed to very simple questions that can't be classified as complex and yet failed to notice what he/she was doing there.

I will explain this in practical terms using one example (this example is not the same the person was exposed to)

I: The football match is on Wednesday (saying this Sunday)
He/she: No it's not, it's in 3 days. (which effectively is Wednesday)

I know the example is a bit late but it's to give you the gist of the situation I'm trying to explain.


texts: Collective nouns with plural verbs: the 'American practice/s' versus the 'British practice/s'

texts:
"The group are all here."

The British seem more inclined to use a plural verb ("are") in sentences like this than Americans are.

At some time in the past it struck me that there are some singular collective nouns with which Americans do normally use a plural verb, so maybe the list of verbs with which Americans do that is simply smaller than the corresponding British list.  But I find I can't remember what examples I had in mind.  Has anyone compiled those lists?


texts: Is there a single word for someone who likes or loves to examine statistics?


texts: Word to describe someone who makes frequent bodily sounds

texts:
I am wondering if there is a word for someone whose bodily noises are especially loud. Example actions include:

Sample sentence:

  The world had never quite seen a body like Jared's. Between the lip smacking, farting, and labored breathing, he was the embodiment of .

-Lip smacking

-Breathing heavily

-Frequently humming/murmuring

-Flatulent

-Heft or weight to all their actions resulting in noise

Someone similar question here, except this word would extend beyond eating. The character is not dirty, so words like slovenly don't really work.

I thought the appropriate word might be gesticulating, but that is more concerned with the behavior of how someone delivers speech.


texts: "There was/were my brother and two sisters?

texts:
"There was [or were?] my brother and two sisters, hugging and tears streaming."

I've come across a sentence while editing, and I don't know whether to use "was" or "were." The object of the "be"-verb is a compound joined by "and."

Thanks for your help.


texts: What is the rule for spacing between words and the character &? For example, do I have to space Espresso&Tonic - Espresso & Tonic, although I am talking about one drink made with an espresso and tonic? Thanks


texts:
Often in mathematical writing I read (and write) constructions such as

For G a finite group, the character algebra is defined as ...

For X and Y sets, a function from X to Y is ...

The general structure here is

For NAME a TYPE, SOMETHING is true

i.e. we give something of a certain type a name, and then state some property or definition.
I'm not a native speaker, so I'm wondering if these constructions are correct in standard English, or if it is simply a product of a lot of non-native speakers contributing to science, and adding their own language's quirks into their writing.
My questions: Does it have a name? Is it formally/grammatically correct?


texts: What is the grammatical term for “‑ed” words like these?

texts:
In English we say things like:

a calibrated device
a distributed product
a founded company
a destroyed house

Those ‑ed words there all signify that some verb (here respectively calibrate, distribute, found, or destroy) has been “done onto”
the noun that follows it.   What is the term for this grammatical device? Or, what is a single term for something having been done unto X as a
characteristic of that X?

Assuming that we’re talking only about words that derive from verbs and used with nouns
here like my examples all do, can that grammatical term you’ve chosen
also be applied to any sorts of words that do not end in ‑ed,
and are there any sorts of words that do end in ‑ed which this
grammatical term would not apply equally to?


texts: The use of definite article with phrases including "of"

texts:
Can we sometimes write the "of-phrases" without the definite article? I give few examples. Can we remove the definite articles marked boldly?

However, the identification of relevant covariates needed in modelling can often be challenging.

These allow transparent dealing with confounding bias by enabling the controlling of causal assumptions.

The provided code allows the full production of our findings.


texts:
My apologies if  this question seems out of place, but I wasn't sure about where else I should ask it (I also couldn't find anything through Google).

I'm in the process of updating my resume, and I'm trying to describe a project that I sold.

Starting the description with "Sold a project worth $xx-xxx" seems somewhat colloquial. Is there a better (more professional) way that I could phrase "sold a project"?

Thank you in advance!

Edit: By "sold a project", I mean from a consulting point of view, i.e. convincing a potential client that their company should use my team's consulting services rather than our competitors'.


texts: What's a good term/phrase for things of a specific branch everybody should know?

texts:
There are a lot of questions on SE asking

  what a professional in a specific branch should/has to know?

What are common short terms/phrases one can use for tagging/searching such topics/questions? Im thinking of phrases like standard knowledge, but this is as far as I know not very common in English. Any common foreign words expressing this?


texts:
Most dictionaries define the verb form of travesty, more or less as "to make a travesty of". For eg.

  The portrait travestied the king by exaggerating all his ugliest features.

But this usage as a verb seems extremely uncommon in modern English-- it's more natural to most people to say "make a travesty of."

My question is etymological: when was travesty as a verb popular, and when did it start dying out as a verb form? I've tried searching online but nowhere really seems to discuss it.


texts: Which way to write 7th or seventh, 19th or nineteenth, 27th or twenty-seventh, 127, etc

texts: I type reports for the federal government.  I need to know what to do about writing numbers such as 7th or seventh, 19th or nineteenth, 27th or twenty-seventh, 190th or one hundred twenty-seventh or one hundred and twenty seventh please.  I know that consistency is key, and I need to know if there is an actual rule or right way to write these numbers.  Thank you very much for you time and assistance!!


texts: Are "measles, mumps, Diabetes, rabies, rickets, shingles" uncountable nouns or singular nouns?

texts:
Page http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv259.shtml say that these words are uncountable nouns, but page https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/nouns-singular-and-plural say that are only singular-nouns. Who to believe?

Sorry, I had to edit again because I had to write "uncountables" and not "countables".
The first link doesn't work, but you can paste the link in Google and you can see the page.


texts: how to use the word "contrary" as a noun

texts:
how to use the following word "contrary" as a noun ?
the wife feels contrary to her native China


texts: Are there any extremely effective phrases that set up a counterargument well other than the standard "Skeptics may say" or anything of that nature? I feel like though phrases are heavily overused, but I can not think of any good phrases.


texts: How did the various meanings of "fare" come about?

texts:
The word 'fare' has many different usages that are seemingly unrelated to its root meaning given in the dictionary: "to go or travel".

  Bus fare
  - the fee for getting on the bus

  Thanksgiving fare
  - the foods prepared on Thanksgiving

  How are you faring?
  - how are you doing?

Nowadays, it seems to be used to mean everything except "to go or travel". I have never heard anyone say anything like "I fared to Europe on vacation". How did this come about?


texts: Meaning of “either”: “not /A or B/” = “not /either A or B/”?

texts:
In a positive sentence, "either . . .or" is sometimes used to express an exclusive disjunction.

However, what happens when “either” is used in negation, as in sentence two below? Is the meaning the same as in sentence one?

  1: John is not in the kitchen or the bedroom.

This sentence indicates that John is not in the kitchen and John is not in the bedroom.

  2: John is not in either the kitchen or the bedroom.

This sentence indicates what?


texts: Distinct terms for a monolingual dictionary and a bilingual dictionary

texts:
I am writing a text where I need to address two types of dictionaries distinctly;
The first type of dictionary presents words alongside one or more possible definitions, constrained to a single language. The second type is a bilingual/multilingual dictionary where words are presented with their translations.
I feel like monolingual does not automatically infer a dictionary of definitions. Also in general monolingual/bilingual/multilingual feels excessively technical and I'd resort to them if the distinction I'm trying to make cannot be conveyed by a simple term or phrase.
A quick Google search shows me https://www.merriam-webster.com/ is the first type of dictionary I'm trying to define while
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-german is the second type.
I would like to know if distinct terms or phrases exist for these two dictionary types so I can clearly phrase which one I'm talking about during my writing.


texts: use English or local language for the address when writing a formal letter?

texts:
I am writing a cover letter in English to The Netherlands. I don't know whether to use English when writing the address or Dutch (in the letter, not on the envelope). All the terms are translatable to English (department code, attention, mailbox, etc.). Using English or Dutch seem both out of order. I was thinking to use English for the terms, such as department code and attention, but Dutch for the actual address (mailbox/postbus).

What is common when sending a letter abroad in English writing?


texts: "Upliftment of poor" vs. "upliftment of the poor"

texts:
The Government has decided to introduce the new scheme for the upliftment of poor.

Should it be "of the poor" or not?


texts: Is "another link in the daisy chain" an idiom?

texts:
I've found the phrase "another link in the daisy-chain" in Nabokov's Lolita. Here's the whole sentence:

  I do not know if the pimp's album may not have been another link in the daisy-chain; but soon after, for my own safety, I decided to marry

I understand it as similar to "another notch on one's belt"—perhaps a more poetic version. Is it an idiom or just a linguistic invention of Nabokov's?


texts: Is "Provincial Centre for Public Administration Services" correct phrase?

texts:
My little province in Vietnam has just established a center, which is meant to be a central place for all services provided by the local government that the provincial citizens can come and deal with services, such as paying taxes, renewing driver licenses, applying for building permits, etc... in one convenient place.

I know the phrase in Vietnamese, but I need to translate it into English.

I wonder if my translation below is correct for the above context?

"Provincial Centre for Public Administration Services"

Thank you in advance.

Regards
Tien


texts: Is there any difference in meaning between "apt to" and "likely to"?

texts:
Just as there is a difference in meaning between "likely" and "liable" in terms of a desirable or undesirable outcome, is there any subtle diference between "apt" and "likely" ?

  Does the use of "apt to" and "likely to" in the following sentences convey the same degree of expectation ?

  "John is apt to call on us on Wednesday afternoon."
  "John is likely to call on us on Wednesday afternoon."
  My dog is apt to run away if I don't close the gate.
  My dog is likely to run away if I don't close the gate.


texts: Using multiple commas per sentence to increase the number of concepts that can be mentioned

texts:
I have a pretty loaded sentence with numerous commas and I am not sure whether the comma usage is appropriate.

"Pyrene was shown to bind weakly, and one of its derivatives, 1-aminopyrene, more strongly to THRA and THRB, using competitive binding immunoassays."

Can someone please assist?

I have recently adopted this style of writing, using multiple commas per sentence in order to load it with information. I am not English and I may be totally off track!


texts: The proper time to use "zero article", though the noun is countable followed by

texts:
I basically know that when I want to use some nouns then I need to consider the proper form of the articles ahead of the nouns and if the noun is countable or uncountable.

Sometimes I see some cases which don't use proper articles like "a/an or the", called "zero article"

I understand when the noun is uncountable then the noun can stand alone without any article (or with zero article), but I see there are some cases "zero article" was used though the noun is countable noun obviously.

Is there some grammatical rule for it?

I hope I could know the grammatical rules precisely because I want to use it properly. Sometimes it is frustrating to use "a/an or the" over and over again. And I know it can be omitted when it is obvious like setting the title or theme of some exhibitions in the leaflet or banner etc.


texts:
I had a colleague today who had been staring at his database code too long.

  "This database call works over here, but the same code doesn't work over here. I don't know what is going wrong."

At a simple glance I could see the JDBC string had been doubled up - it was right in front of him and yet he couldn't see it.

Now this happens to me all the time. (As in - I don't see things). The term that comes to mind is 'domestic blindness' but in a work situation that doesn't seem right - there must be a different term. Something like 'staring at the code too long'.

My question is: What is the effect called when you stare at something long enough you are blind to the issue in front of you?


texts:
Why doesn't the English language have accent marks?
I have been trying to understand the critical differences that are present between the English and Spanish language, however I just can not wrap my head around the concept that some languages have accent marks while others don't. Why can't we all be equal?


texts: What grammatical term applies to "And then"

texts:
I'm helping an Indian buddy out at work by correcting the grammar on something he wrote and as I go I'm putting more thought into grammar so that I can more precisely explain why something is awkward. The sentence he wrote is:
And then, when defining the infrastructure, just add the *endpoint* and *ssl_insecure* values:
I'm correcting it to:
After the user specifies their credentials, they will next need to define the infrastructure. Instead of defining credentials for each endpoint they need only provide the *endpoint* and *ssl_insecure* values.
I'm fixing some grammar and also making it a bit easier to understand (I didn't originally follow from a technical perspective).
I'd like to be able to provide him a better explanation of why I changed things than, "It sounded weird." To that end what is the name of the grammatical function And then, serves? I know it's specifying time - do we have a special name for that in English?


texts:
I'm making some software which allows users to enable extra features. These extra features are currently called 'plug-ins'.

I'm not a fan of 'plug-in' because of its technical connotations. I also find 'plug-in' unattractive as a word. Can anyone think of an alternative?


texts:
Possible Duplicates:
  Gender neutral pronoun
  Is it correct to use “their” instead of “his or her”?

I am writing software documentation. I have this issue: I am talking about a generic user of the software.
Should I say “his preferences”, “his/her preferences” or “its preferences”?


texts:
If some validity period, say a promotion, specifies "valid through 2021", does that mean until Dec 31, 2021, or Jan 1, 2021?

This is in the USA, if this differs around the world.


texts: Is there a way to say an object is susceptible to being carried away by wind?

texts:
I'm trying to think of a word that describes the capacity of an object to be carried away by wind. In particular, I would like to know if there is an adjective that indicates an object could be easily moved in this way.

For example, I would want to be able to fill in the blank in the following sentence: "That umbrella is too ___ for you to let go of it in this wind."


texts:
A Physics.SE question had me reading up on D-branes on Wikipedia, where I found the following sentence in the section on black holes:

The concept of black hole entropy poses some interesting conundra.

I had never seen conundrum pluralized this way before. At first I thought it was a hypercorrection, and the citations from Wiktionary would certainly be consistent with hypercorrection.
The Guardian has a long (and hilariously contentious) thread on the topic.
Another blog post from Ask the League of Nerds suggests that both are fine but since conundrum was a cod Latin term to begin with, conundrums would be the really (really really) correct plural.
I thought I'd put the question to this site and get some more scholarly answers (ideally, with citations from reference dictionaries or other reputable sources). Is there a "correct" English plural of conundrum, and if not, which of the two plurals--conundrums or conundra--is to be preferred in usage?


texts: "Those box" - part of a studied dialect or merely an idiolect?

texts:
My wife, who is from northern New Jersey, USA, and who has a cold, was looking for a box of Kleenex/facial tissues this morning; she said to herself, "I need those box of tissues." This was not simply a slip on her part; she's used similar constructions elsewhere—using "those/these X of Y" where X is singular and contains several instances of Y. Thus she may say "those box of tissues", "these bag of presents", etc. Her demonstrative adjective will agree in number not with the noun that it modifies, but with the object of the "of" phrase modifying that noun—but only in this situation, where "of" denotes containment.

Is there a well-studied dialect (one that, for example, is described in a language map of the United States) which uses a construction like this, or is this just her?


texts: How can we distinguish between "I would" and "I had" if someone says "I'd"?

texts:
How can we unambiguously distinguish between I would and I had, if the native English speaker used the contraction I'd?

For instance, I'd read the newspaper.

We can mean the above sentence as either

I had read the newspaper.
or
I would read the newspaper.

Any help will be appreciated!!!


texts: Concise word for "common default but with individual appearance"

texts:
Imagine an editor with multi-language support. You’re able to open multiple documents at once, and the language of each document can of course be different to the languages of other documents.

First of all, the editor itself has general settings which affect all documents, independent of language. For example, font settings or whether a status bar is shown or hidden. These I call “general settings”.

Secondly, there are language-specific settings, such as indention or special features peculiar to each language. I call these “language settings”.

Last but not least, there’s a third type of settings. At first glance, these appear to be applied across the whole editor again — that is, to all documents — but they really aren’t. They just determine the default look-and-feel for brand new or for newly loaded documents. The settings themselves can be changed individually for every document at any time.

As an example, consider a split-view layout.1 If you regularly use this layout, you activate it by default, but in some circumstances you want to be able to deactivate this feature for the current document only.

For the last type of settings, I’m looking for a concise word as header in the settings dialogue. On the one hand, these settings are common or ordinary, but this is too similar to the general settings, and the slight difference might not be obvious.

On the other hand, these settings are default settings, but I’m not satisfied with default. For one, the other types of settings are to some extent also default settings, and for another (in my humble opinion), that designation is more appropriate to values of controls such as combo-boxes, for example. But not to settings.

Finally, the last type could be named document settings or editor settings. But again, how these particular settings differ from general settings isn’t obvious in their respective names.

So, I need a word (or phrase) which fits here.

A split view is often used when using a declarative language, like XAML. You can change the code in one part of the view, while the other displays the actual look.


texts:
I have the following sentence and need your help:

"Electric heating devices can use existing infrastructure (s), like a hot water tank or the building mass, for thermal storage."

The question is, whether I should use the singular or plural form of 'infrastructure' in this context? I'd appreciate every comment.


texts:
In an article I read, there was this line:

  And most simply, using and consuming fewer products result in less waste.

I know sentences aren't supposed to start with the word "and," but I'd like to focus on the bold word: "result."

When used in this sentence, "result" sounds wrong. It seems to refer to "using and consuming," so shouldn't it be "results?"

  And most simply, using and consuming fewer products results in less waste.


texts: Specific verb for "training an apprentice"?

texts:
Does a specific verb exist for the process of passing on information or skills including the passing of responsibilities between an experienced worker and a new one? The verb train is too general, as it applies to any time frame during a job, not necessary during the beginning of one's employment. Moreover it does not include passing of responsibilities.

There exists a slang term for this verb in Hebrew (loosely transliterated as "overlap"), and I'm looking for its English equivalent.


texts: Usage of 'last June' in newspaper archive

texts:
I found a UK newspaper article from October 1918, which made reference to 'last June'. What's the likelihood of that meaning June 1917, as opposed to June 1918?

I assume if it was 1917, they would have said 'June last year', but I don't know if that was correct English at the time.

Btw, I've checked through some of the old questions, and none seem to be about the same time period, so I'm assuming it's alright to post this one.


texts:
I was trying to understand how to properly pronounce certain names. My teaching has said words and names with apostrophes require a separation for a missing letter, like O'Malley would be pronounced like "oh"+"mally". Or a name like D'Andre would be "deh"+"andray". Basically an apostrophe is substituted for a vowel.

My question is when you run into names where the vowel is present, do you double pronounce the vowel, or another presumed vowel.

Example: De'Andre
Is this pronounced "day"+"eh"+"andray"

Another: La'Quanda
Is the apostrophe for another a or e, such as "Lah"+"ah"+"kwanduh" or "Lah"+"e"+"kwanduh"?

Is there a missing consonant? Reading these names make it difficult to understand how they're supposed to be pronounced.


texts:
What is the correct way of saying the sentence?

My teacher doesn't approve of the first example that I have listed.

My teacher doesn't approve the first example that I have listed.


texts: Am I using “gush” and “blast” correctly?

texts:
I would like to know whether I’m using gush and blast correctly in the following sentence:

  I felt as if I had accidentally opened a fire hydrant and let a gush of
  water blasting out uncontrollably.

Whereas in Spanish, my mother tongue, there’s only one word to describe a powerful flow of water (chorro), in English there are many:

  jet, squirt, spirt, stream, blast, gush, effluent

So, I’m a bit confused.


texts: I’ve heard the phrase “flip your script” or “flip the script” in various hip-hop songs. What does it mean?


texts:
Would you please explain the difference between the following?

  The average American city requires a prodigious amount of fish daily.

And:

  An average American city requires a prodigious amount of fish daily.


texts: What is the aural equivalent to the word "appear"?

texts: Appear means to come into visual consciousness, but what word do we use to indicate a sound has come into consciousness?


texts: Role Title Word That Conveys a Sense of Direction/Command as well as Engagement of Particular Skills in Work

texts:
I'm looking for an eloquent word, if one exists, for a role in one's profession whereby they direct and mentor a team with a particular set of skills, but also clearly engage in work with said skills themselves. My concern is that one might think a "Director" may not necessarily engage in the work themselves, but rather oversee it without getting their hands into it, per se.

For example, a "Design and Development Director" may not actually sit down and do design or development work, but rather oversee a team of designers and developers who actually do the work. That's how I've always thought of that type of role, at least.

I know roles that include "Lead" or "Senior" in the title are common, but I don't feel like those terms convey a true sense of the level of leadership and directional command that the term "Director" does.

Am I asking for a rare word, or even a word that doesn't exist? Or is there a common word that conveys both a sense of command as well as a sense of engagement, simultaneously? Alternately, if there's an eloquent word pairing that fits this quest, I'm open to exploring that as well.


texts: When and how was the verb "to screen" coined as to examine systematically?

texts: In the dictionary of etymology it says that this usage of the verb dates back to 1943. What happened in 1943? Was there a new dictionary published? Or how else was "to screen" officially repurposed?


texts: What is a word for purposely trying to avoid answering a question?

texts:
Is there a verb for someone trying to avoid the question at hand by digressing. Or to mess up the answer so as to create confusion? Or to give a vague answer?

(At the back of my mind, there is a word that is something like 'subfugate' - which is not an actual word I realised - but something similiar or along those letters? Or I could be plain mistaken)


texts:
The fundamental, simple meaning of the phrase "hold up" is "keep in upper position" or close derivative meanings: "keep it active", "keep it running", especially in situation when it would stop/drop by itself without holding.

Unfortunately, due to it being a phrasal verb with a truly impressive list of meanings, using hold up in its simple meaning becomes awfully ambiguous, especially if there's no context to qualify the meaning.

In particular, I need to name a hold-up time, the time during which a signal remains active after its normal activation source is gone, and not have it confusable with the meaning of hold up as something that prevents start. Can you help me find a neat synonym for such a meaning?


texts: Does this sentence use the semicolon correctly?

texts:
I'm really confused about the semi colon. From what I read you can use it if you A) need something in-between a punctuation and a comma B) connect two different statements C) both clauses are independent.

I'm having trouble with the sentence below as I don't know what I'm supposed to replace the semicolon with. Do I have to rephrase it? I'm confused because of the 'which' clause, which is dependent on first clause and I need some kind of pause.

  The one thing that sets you aside from the other sharks is you: your personality, your experiences and your ambitions; none of which can be replaced by fins and teeth.


texts:
Is the following sentence valid?

  They did this in stead of that.

What is the correct usage of the phrase instead of?


texts: Is it valid to say 'I'm incredulous." all by itself as a standalone sentence? The intent is to convey that I am in disbelief. Thanks.


texts: What single term or expression is used to rename a type of name for an object?

texts:
I am seeking guidance on alternate words or grammatical rule for renaming a type of name that an object might have.  As an example you might refer to you cell phone with a number of different types of name.  Model name (i-Phone 6), Family name (Apple i-phone), pet name (Apple phone the destroyer), common name (i-Phone, Phone, etc) etc.

If I were to change the     Would I say         As opposed to
-----------------------     -----------         -------------
short name                  reshort name        change the short name
reference name              re-reference name   alter the reference name
local name                  re local name       modify the local name

So to change a name of a mountain is to rename the mountain.

To change the short name of a mountain is to "what?" the mountain?

What is your suggestion for an alternate word or grammatical structure?


texts: Is this grammatically correct? I am not sure of the sentence structure. "She saw two boys in white dresses standing by the road?"

texts: I am kinda confused of the participial phrase in that sentence. Is that grammatically correct? Do I need to put a comma? Does the sentence make sense?


texts: Word referring to all letters with the long ē sound

texts:
I read something a while back that defined all letters pronounced- and phonetically ending-with a long /ē/, i.e.:

Bee
Cee
Dee
Ee
Gee
Pee
Tee
Vee
Zee

I can no longer find the aforementioned reference; Google has been challenging.

Do you know of a word to describe this set of letters? Is there a reference that categorizes letter pronunciations this way?


texts: Can we put "How many" in the middle of sentence?

texts:
Ok, see these examples:

  How many days on earth equal a day in heaven?

  How many calories equal a pound of weight loss?

We have no problem so far, right?

Now suppose I want to emphasize a day in heaven and a pound of weight loss, so I put them into the beginning like this:

  A day in heaven equals how many days on earth?

  A pound of weight loss equals how many calories?

Do those two questions still sound right when we put How many in the middle of the sentence?

If not, then how can we emphasize a day in heaven and a pound of weight loss"in question sentences?


texts: A term encompassing both 'salary' and 'wage(s)'

texts:
Your employee income tax is calculated as a fraction of your overall ________, be it through wages or salary, but not your gains from invested savings."

what do I put down in the ______ ? Is it "income"? Something else?


texts: what is the grammar of "whose works it should be ...."?

texts:
We are all children of one Father, whose Works it should be our
  delight to study

What is the meaning of this sentence?


texts:
Where should "in its entirety" be used in place of "in entirety"?

Consider the following paragraphs. Which usage is correct, and is the alternative incorrect / less correct, or simply not as common?

"We received a lot of information. Therefore, we elected to relay it in entirety."

"We received a lot of information. Therefore, we elected to relay it in its entirety."


texts: What types of words/phrases are "this" "here" & "they"?

texts:
I'm currently doing an analytic essay on my drama coursework (fun.). I'd like to explain how the playwright never reveals the exact setting of the act, by using only phrases such as "this","here", and "they".

The exact sentence is:

  The overall effect of these two pages is that the audience becomes wary of a suspicious underlying element of the whole act, whilst maintaining the ambiguity through use of X such as “this”, ”here”, and "they"

Are they indirect pronouns?
Many thanks!


texts: Explicitly mark a conversion as destructive

texts:
If I convert some eggs, milk and flour into pancakes, then I have destroyed, or at least modified, those ingredients.  But if I convert a distance from miles to kilometers then I destroy nothing.

Is there we brief, elegant way to make explicit that destruction is involved?

Athough I am interested in this as a point of English, I want to use the result in choosing names in a computer program.  The routine

create_pancakes_from(ingredients, recipe)

uses up the ingredients but leaves the recipe alone.  How do I make this distinction explicit but non-horrible?   How would I do that in an English sentence?


texts: What were the rules for capitalising nouns in the 17th and 18th centuries?

texts:
It seems to have been common practice in the 17th and 18th centuries in English-language sources to capitalise the first letters of nouns, as in

At which Time he prov'd himself the Noah's Dove, that finding himself no Rest anywhere, was receiv'd again into his own Ark, and brought a peaceable Olive-Leaf in his mouth.
— Titus Britannicus: an Essay of History Royal (1685)

Most original sources I can find on the web have used modern rules for capitalisation, so I have a few questions:

Was the practice used for all nouns (Note mouth isn't capitalised in my quotation above.)?
When did this practice begin?
When and why did it end?


texts:
I was just wondering if it was necessary to put "Because" in this sentence

Sorry my mother randomly messaged you last night. Because, she couldn't contact me so she decided to message a few people on my friend list.

or is this one better

Sorry my mother randomly messaged you last night because she couldn’t contact me. So, she decided to message a few people on my friend list

Also, if it's not necessary. Would it be wrong to still put it there?

Thank you.


texts: Any difference between "I suggested that we eat out tonight" and "I suggested eating out tonight?"

texts:
What's the difference in nuance and meaning, if any, between the following two sentences?

I suggested that we eat out tonight.
I suggested eating out tonight.


texts: Difference between "Mollify" and "Pacify"?

texts: Also, which word is suitable in a context of hunger?


texts: Are multiple colons in technical papers allowed?

texts:
Here is the context:

There is a set of parameters defined by them, x: the number of boys,
y: the number of girls, and z: the overall population size.

I feel the punctuation usage is kind of a mess here, but I can't figure out how it could be corrected.
---------added----------
When I searched for the usage of colons on Internet, there are many discussions related to how colons are used to introduce a list or separate two clauses. In the sentence above neither applies. So I am wondering, is that a misuse?


texts: Single word for expressing underwear marks on skin

texts: I'm looking for a single-worded or a slang term for expressing those marks. I've googled a bit but it did not help. Thanks


texts: Looking for a categoratisation of a poetic expression

texts: I really like the poetic expression “Three peas in a pod” does anybody have a categoraisation for this type of expression so I can find more like it? This is really important to me I would really appreciate your help! Thanks in advance !


texts: Word for an idea that quickly comes to dominate discourse on a particular issue?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes an idea that captures people's attention and quickly eclipses discussions of other ideas related to a particular issue. Incendiary is almost the word, but without the suggestion of inflammatory content.

Thank you!


texts: Is using quotation marks in this sentence necessary or not?

texts:
Which of the two sentences given below is correct? If both of them are correct, which one is more grammatical?

My answer to all these questions is "yes".
My answer to all these questions is yes.

Should I use a capital 'y' in the first case?


texts: "As" between "sth being considered" and an adjective

texts:
It seems natural to me that something could be "considered as a [noun]" or "considered [adjective]", but trying to find some examples I found ones both confirming my assumptions as well as a few that seem to deny it:

  The following payments shall be considered as ‘very critical’ and the
  [insert name of CB] shall use best efforts to process [...] them in
  contingency situations

– from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:237:0071:0107:EN:PDF

  [...] quotas for bananas pursuant to this Regulation should be
  considered initially as non-critical within the meaning of Article
  308c of Regulation (EEC) [...]

– from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:282:0003:0005:EN:PDF

Is there some other rule in action here, e.g. putting the adjective in quotes requires the additional article?
Or is the article simply optional here?
Or are these examples wrong?
Finally, should there be an article in the following sentence:

  We have 21 comments, none of them considered as critical.


texts: If someone is electrocuted, do they have to die or can they just be injured?

texts: Is it correct to say I electrocuted my friend if he was only injured by electricity?


texts: When to use semicolon and comma in a list of clauses?

texts:
Case 1

  The probability that event A equals to 1, B equals to 2, and C equals to 3 is X.

and

  The probability that event A equals to 1; B equals to 2, and C equals to 3 is X.

which is correct?

My concern here is according to "https://data.grammarbook.com/blog/commas/how-to-punctuate-between-sentences-using-commas-semicolons-and-colons/", it states that

  "Rule: Use the semicolon if you have two independent clauses connected without a conjunction"

I am not sure if this rule applies to 3 clauses, and if it does apply,

  The probability that event A equals to 1; B equals to 2, and C equals to 3 is X.

looks very weird to me.

Case 2

  The probability that (1) event A equals to 1, (2) B equals to 2, and (3) C equals to 3 is X.

and

  The probability that (1) event A equals to 1; (2) B equals to 2, and (3) C equals to 3 is X.

which is correct?

There is a need to use (1), (2), (3) because my original sentence for "event A equals to 1" is actually quite long. In case2, which way to use "semicolon" is correct?


texts: Which is right, "worst nightmare" or "best nightmare"?

texts:
When we refer to the most negative dream, we say it as worst nightmare. Since that nightmare is negative, does that mean that the meaning of the worst nightmare is the least negative of all nightmares?

If so, does the phrase best nightmare mean the best negative dream or simply the worst nightmare?

Is it right to use a negative adjective (worst) in its superlative form to describe the level of the negative term? Is my reasoning right?


texts:
I know that include is a verb while including is a preposition but they made me confuse when it comes to their usage.

I usually confuse when to use include with including.

  Most Thais like spicy food, (include/including) myself." (My guess is including)
  Many Asians (include/including) Thais like to learn English." (My guess is including)
  The price is (include/including) free-flow water." (My guess is include)
  This book is (include/including) a free CD." (My guess is include)

Please give me an example of their usage.


texts: Do you say,  to effectively communicate or would you say to communicate effectively. As ENL learner I get this confused quite often. Thanks.


texts: Rephrasing "Audience-minded" or "Audience-attentive"

texts:
I am struggling to find the best flowing combination of the words "Audience-minded."

I would preferably like to have it read "x-minded". Although, I am not opposed to a synonym that better flows. By flow, a good rule of thumb would be the phrase, "Editorial-minded" as that flows very nicely in my eyes.

The sentence itself reads as of right now as: "Audience-minded digital producer and..."

I basically would like it to state, that this person keeps the viewership in high regard when completing his work.

Bonus points if it's alliterative.

If anyone could come up with something better, it would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.


texts: "We've determined that you have" or "We've determined you have" - and why?

texts:
Apologies if this is an existing question. I am not familiar with the terminology required to tag this appropriately or come up with keywords for the search. Something along the lines of accusative case or what have you.
Perhaps this is a simple case of style.
Take these two sentences;

We've determined that you have previously visited Elbonia.

and

We've determined you have previously visited Elbonia.

Which is the correct structure, and why?


texts: Meaning and etymology of the "Rhodesia Solution"

texts:
An example of the term "Rhodesia solution" being used is in The whisky Priest, an episode from the BBC comedy series Yes Minister, which follows a government minister and some of his closest staff while he faces all sorts of problems. Here is a link to some of the scenes in which the term "Rhodesia Solution" is used and put into practice.

On July 13th 1978 the Washington Post published an article with the heading: Young Foresees Rhodesia Solution. This article was in reference to the Rhodesian Bush war, which lasted from 1964 till 1979, so it does not seem to be directly related to the scene(s) in the television series.

My question is as follows: what is the meaning of the term "Rhodesia Solution" as it appeared in the television series? Secondly, could someone elaborate on the origin of the phrase, perhaps its relation with Rhodesia (the former country)?


texts: Past Perfect Continuous vs. Past Continuous

texts:
Every now and then I come up with a sentence, that eventually undermines my confidence as to whether it's correct or not - just a part of my OCD issues I guess.

Same thing happened yesterday and since then I've been dwelling on that, unable to find any examples that could prop up my thesis. The sentence I formulated was:

  Do you expect me to believe that you were running for 20 minutes flat?

My concern is: did I get tenses right or perhaps I should've used "had been running"? Can I use "for" and "since" with past continuous while I'm talking past unrelated to present, or are those used solely with perfect tenses? As in:

  They were fighting Nazis for three days.

Or

  I was studying for six hours yesterday.

Or

  I was working there since I graduated from school.

These things are pretty basic, but I tell you: OCD may really get on your nerves and make you doubt your own skills. Therefore I just want to make sure if these are correct.


texts:
There is a famous sentence:

  This very superficial grammatist, supposing empty criticism about the
  adoption of proper phraseology to be a show of extraordinary
  erudition, was displaying, in spite of ridicule, a very boastful
  turgid argument concerning the correction of false syntax, and about
  the detection of false logic in debate.

In this sentence. I changed "detection" to "detecting" and I think it is still grammatically correct. Some say

  the detecting of false syntax

is grammatically wrong and there is no need to have "the" before and "of" after it (detecting false negative). What is more, they say it breaks the parallel structure with the previous part, "the correction of false syntax".

Is it correct to change "the detection of" to "the detecting of"?


texts: The deeper meaning of "not enough coffee yet on my end"

texts:
What's the deeper meaning of this phrase?

  not enough coffee yet on my end


texts:
Alice: Do you want some cookies?
  Bob: No thanks!

Does it mean that Bob doesn't want cookies but still is thankful or its just opposite of thanks?


texts: Which is correct: "feedback is welcome" or "feedback is welcomed"?

texts: I am used to writing feedback is welcome. Is that correct, or should I write feedback is welcomed? Why?


texts:
For example, William Bank head was the 47nd Speaker of the House for the 74th congress.

Is there a word to describe 47 and 74?


texts: Does this statement tell how much work was done?

texts:
On a physics test the instructor asked the following question:

  If you do work on an object in twice the usual time, your power output is?

I said that you could not answer the question because I did not know how much work was done.  He countered that it was implicit in the sentence how much work was done. I do not intend to use the answer that I get here to go back at the instructor, I am just curious if I am missing something in that statement that tells me how much work was done.


texts: Comma rule with 'however' - is this pedantry?

texts:
I have seen, on the website of an illustrious university, the use of 'however' which I always thought to be wrong. It is used twice in the same way, which makes me think it isn't a typo.

Changing the context a little, the sentence is:

  You are not required to take exams for this subject, however coursework is continually assessed.

The rule for the punctuation as I know it is:

[...]. However, [...] (We didn't study. However, we passed.)
[...]; however, [...] (We didn't study; however, we passed.)
[...], however, verb [....] (We didn't study. We, however, passed)
[...], however. (We didn't study. We passed, however.)

The only time this isn't true is when 'however' means 'no matter how' (We will not pass however hard we study.)

My question is this: Is the website wrong, or has this punctuation usage now moved on enough that it is now seen as somewhat pedantic to worry about it if the meaning is clear?

There are numerous answers on the site about the standard rule, and this is not exactly my question. I would like to know if anyone is aware of a shift in modern usage that would mean publishers, editors etc. nowadays accept the removal of the superfluous punctuation if the meaning remains clear.


texts: Subject–verb agreement — two schools of thought?

texts:
I wrote a sentence for our web site that was submitted for proofreading. The proofreader "corrected" my sentence. I asked how sure he was that he was correct and that I was incorrect. He explained that there are two schools of thought on what's correct and he chose his way as the right way.
I suggested that there were certainly two schools of thought: the right way and the wrong way.

School One:

There is a large number of companies.

School Two:

There are a large number of companies.

Can you tell me which is the correct school of thought and why?
Update. I think I should be able to reverse the sentence and still have it makes sense.  When I attempt that, it works only with one of these sentences:

The number of companies is large.
The number of companies are large.

This suggests to me that the correct sentence uses "is".  Does this make any difference?


texts: "Underclassman" vs. "upperclassman" for juniors in high school/college

texts:
Is a junior a underclassman or an upperclassman? According to Oxford University Press, an underclassman is

  a student in high school or college who is not a senior

However, also according to Oxford University Press, an upperclassman is

  a junior or senior in high school or college

in the US (I live in the US). These definitions are contradictory for juniors, so under which stratum is a junior?


texts: Is it proper to use ordinal suffixes on fractions?

texts:
I know in more formal writing, spelling out fractions is preferred (e.g. two-thirds), and in math no suffix is used, but I frequently see ordinal suffixes being used on fractions (e.g. 2/3rds), even from reputable news sources.

2/3 is already pronounced two-thirds and, to me, the addition of rds just looks weird and is certainly unnecessary.

Google turns up millions of examples:

  https://www.google.com/search?q=2%2F3rds

Even legit news sources:

  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57369226-503544/florida-primary-exit-polls-2-3rds-say-debates-mattered/

Wikipedia has nothing to say about it:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraction_(mathematics)#Pronunciation_and_spelling

Is this proper English or just an undefined grey area?


texts: Is there a single word for speech with a double meaning?

texts: How could one put, in a single word, language that has multiple meanings at once?


texts: How can I say "Credited as an inventor" as if I am part of many inventors


texts:
I am wondering why "steak" is pronounced as [steyk] instead of having the "ea" phoneme pronounced as in creak[kreek], cheap[cheep], meat[meet]...

Is it an exception or is there a rule for when to pronounce it one way or the other?


texts:
In the following sentence:

  After an enormous argument, the two boys set off for home, in silence, their anger barely below the surface the whole time.

what does "barely below the surface" mean?

I have two guesses:

they couldn't hide their anger
their anger was very high


texts: Word for person who became rich by cheating others

texts: Is there a word for a person who became rich by cheating others? I want to use it in formal language.


texts: What is the difference between "in my opinion" and "to my taste"?

texts:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/to+my+taste

http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-definition/for%20my%20taste

I don't see in those links any mention of opinion, it's not even a synonym.

Are those two expression totally different and what is the difference? What about to use "to my taste" metaphorically for the same meaning as "in my opinion"?


texts:
I was researching the etymology of 'commission {noun}' which just diverts you to:

  commit (v.)
      late 14c., "to give in charge, entrust," from Latin committere "to unite, connect, combine; to bring together," from com- "together" (see com-) + mittere "to put, send" (see mission). Evolution into modern range of meanings is not entirely clear. Sense of "perpetrating" was ancient in Latin; in English from mid-15c. ...

Please help me dig deeper than the definitions , which I already understand and so ask NOT about. I heed the Etymological Fallacy, but what are some right ways of interpreting this etymology and filling in the gaps that are not entirely clear, to make them feel reasonable and intuitive? I don't quote the even brusquer OED.

Would someone please explain how com- combins with mittere to mean 'to commit' and finally the noun 'commission'?


texts: Can "individual" be referred to as "it"? Or only he/she/they?


texts: What's the difference between adjectives "supplementary" and "supplemental"?

texts:
I'm writing a multiple choice test (MCQ) and I'll add a page of extra questions. I'm hesitating between naming them "supplementary list/page of questions" and "supplemental list/page of questions", but I don't get the difference of meaning.
According to Wiktionary, they have distinct meaning and aren't considered synonyms:

supplemental (comparative more supplemental, superlative most supplemental)

Acting to supplement.
Appending.

supplementary (comparative more supplementary, superlative most supplementary)

Additional; added to supply what is wanted.

I could potentially use alternative formulations like additional questions or extra questions, but my concern here is to understand the difference between adjectives supplemental and supplementary.
I tried to look at some well-reviewed conventions, like from unicode.org lists, but they use both terminologies without me understanding why:

Supplemental Mathematical Operators
Supplemental Symbols and Pictographs
Supplementary Private Use Area-A


texts: Is this a proper use of a semicolon and the word "whom"?

texts:
PCAs are usually assigned to an individual with a physical, mental, behavioral, or emotional handicap; whom they work with throughout the year.

Is this sentence grammatically correct? I know that semicolons are sometimes used when you have a list at the beginning of the sentence, to prevent confusion. Is that accurate?

Also, would "who" or "whom" be proper in this usage? I thought it would be "whom" because it's referring to the person who is helped, not the person who is helping, but I am not completely sure.


texts: Do ordinary native English speakers know the meaning of "plasmid"?

texts:
Plasmid is a biological word, so I guess most people don't know about the word, but I also heard ( I can be wrong ) native English speakers can presume a word's meaning by the roots.

As the roots of Plasmid are "plasma" and "id", where "plasma" can be blood plasma or physical-state plasma (as StoneyB and Andrew point out), while "id" means "shape, form, picture".

So to a native English speaker who see the word for first time, shall he take it "plasma form", "plasma shape" or something else? And does it sound like a cool word to you?


texts: there is a single person whose/whom/who being a person contains the events of his career

texts:
'And': Conjunction Reduction Redux By Barry Schein (linguist) has this passage:

How natural does whose sound?

Can you use who or whom instead?

If this were a personal pronoun, the nominative wouldn't be possible:

  *He being a person contains the events of his career.

And either the accusative or possessive would be possible:

  His being a person contains the events of his career.

  Him being a person contains the events of his career.

Even though we need not a personal pronoun but a relative pronoun here, I wonder if the same case treatment is in order, i.e., if the nominative who is banned and only the genitive whose and the accusative whom are allowed.

EDIT

In case the meaning of the sentence containing whose is difficult to grasp from the given quote, the metaphysics known to the speaker is this:

Just because you're involved in some isolated events where you act like one doesn't mean you're a superhero. You're a superhero only if you make a career out of being involved in all such events. And the same is the case with being a reporter.


texts: Can I use the phrase, “open and shut” for other subjects than legal cases?

texts:
There was the following passage in New York Times (April 28) under the title,
“In Baltimore, we’re all Freddie Gray.”:

  “We’ve watched as Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, in conjunction with
  Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts, spent over a week investigating
  what appears to be an open-and-shut case. I’d like to think that if I
  broke a person’s neck for no reason, I’d be charged in minutes. But
  the system — even when it’s run by a black mayor and a majority of the
  City Council is black — protects the police, no matter how blatant and
  brutal they are.

As I am unfamiliar with the expression,“open and shut,” I searched the meaning on Google, and found the following definition by the Free Dictionary among several sources:

  Open and shut - If a legal case or problem is open and shut, the facts
  are very clear and it is easy to make a decision or find a solution

Is the usage of idiom, “open and shut” limited to legal matters? If it came from the instantaneous action of opening and shutting something like a box or drawer, why can’t we use it on anything, questions (e.g. simple calculation) or problems that are manifest or easy to solve other than legal cases?


texts:
How do you define structure in this context? I'm unsure which definition is appropriate from the dictionary.

  P1: Healthy, fit people that can't die are like poison to big pharma. The new technology won't replace the lost profit from slinging drugs by a longshot.

  P2: How can you possibly say this without having the slightest clue of the potential demand and cost structure of this treatment?


texts: "To ride a bicycle" vs. "ride a bicycle"

texts:
I want to describe my hobbies and would like to say that I like bicycles.

  ride as noun: I like ride a bicycle
  ride as verb: I like to ride a bicycle

Which variant is right?


texts:
What is the difference between saying "He referred to something" and "He made reference to something"?

Is it a question of mood? Emphasis? Agency? Different paths to English since the latter is a common French construction?

I want to say "make reference" but I am wondering if I am just being needlessly wordy.


texts: Can one compensate down? Is that an appropriate use of the word compensate?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Usage of “compensate” as a recompense for gain instead of loss

Can the word compensate be used to adjust downward, i.e., compensate down?


texts: Can "pigtail" be insulting in certain context?

texts:
I'm Chinese. Manchurian regime (Qing dynasty, 1644~1911) used to enforce their hair style upon all Chinese men, which looks like the middle one in this picture.

I know it's called "pigtail" in verbal English, but I've read historical stories about Westerners & Japanese mocking Chinese people with the word "pigtail" back then. It does sound unfriendly in some sense because "pig" is not a compliment in most cultures. However, I don't find the word insulting by any English dictionary.

So my question is, can "pigtail" be insulting in certain context, like referring to the Qing Chinese hair style in the age of imperialism? Or it's totally a misunderstanding across cultures? Could it offend other people besides Chinese who have read those stories?


texts: What words or concepts describe how something feels like/ is experienced like for the first time?

texts: I can’t explain myself better than this, but I’m looking for something that describes a first impression, the experience of doing something new for the first time, specially something meaningful. For example, how you feel when you listen for the first time to your soon-to-be favorite song, or when you see a girl that you find extremely beautiful, but with a beauty that is different from all beauty you have seen.


texts: Meaning/origin of "You bet" as a response to "Thank you"

texts:
In a radio show (such as APM Marketplace), when a host interviews a guest, the conversation ends with the host saying "Thank you" and the guest saying something similar in response.

Usually it is "Thank you" or "Great to be with you" or "My pleasure".

Often they respond with "You bet", which really puzzles me. I am aware of the idiom, but even that doesn't make sense in this situation.

My questions are:

What exactly is that supposed to mean here?
How did it become one of the standard responses to "Thank you" in this context?
Is it a good response to "Thank you" in real life, i.e. outside of the radio show?


texts: enough better, better enough, sufficiently better, sufficiently well, or well enough?

texts:
Someone asked about using "enough" in front of a comparative adjective e.g. "he felt enough better to go back to work." A lively discussion ensued between the BrE and AmE contingents about whether a) enough can ever be used with a comparative and b) if it can, whether it ever appears in front of the adjective. Once it became clear that BrE speakers do not use such constructions at all, a heated discussion followed among AmE speakers about whether such constructions are a perfectly normal, even sophisticated, part of standard (is there such a thing?) AmE or instead represent colloquialisms confined to some geographic region or social niche. The Corpus of Contemporary American English has a small number of hits, mostly in fiction, which seems to support some level of use, albeit limited.

So now to a concrete question:

Which of the following, if any, sound correct to AmE speakers in a written, but not  necessarily formal, context?

A. Art  felt enough better to go back to work.
B. Bart felt better enough to go back to work.
C. Curt felt sufficiently better to go back to work.
D. Dirk felt sufficiently well to go back to work.
E. Erik felt well enough to go back to work.
F. Fred felt improved enough to go back to work.
G. Or some other way to express the idea?

BTW, I looked at prior questions in this forum. One, which I'd hoped would provide some insight, used the term "enough better" as part of a larger example but didn't ask for or receive any comments on that particular point: Q: How much not better than average is enough?

Another, Too X, X enough, enough X didn't address the use of enough in front of a comparative.


texts: Can I use -ing verbs within a sentence that's in the past tense?

texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct? The dashes are em dashes. This is the last sentence of a paragraph that is in the past tense:

  But I continued to work—building, learning, and simply loving what I did—and nothing has been more rewarding.

And if not, can someone explain why and provide the correct way to structure it?


texts: Is there single name for Web Design, Web Development and Web Based Software Development?

texts:
We can use "Digital marketing" or "Online Marketing" word to use instead of SEO + Social Meia Marketing + Google Adword + Facebook Ads etc.

Like that, Is there any single name we can use instead of Web Design, Web Development and Web Based Software Development?


texts: "Would you have liked to have been" vs. "would you have liked to be"

texts:
I was interested in the following sentence which appeared in an article titled “No Rest for the Weary” in The New York Times (February 15, 2008).

  Would you have liked to have been president from 1862-1864?

It sounds ungrammatical to my ear as the journalists (MICHELLE SALE and YASMIN CHIN EISENHAUER) did use "to have been" rather than "to be", but I am not able to find what rules govern this problem.

So, I would write:

  Would you have liked to be president from 1862-1864?

Am I right? If so, why?


texts:
Which one is correct?

  They are accustomed to not talking at meals.

or

  They are accustomed not to talking at meals.

I'm inclined to think it's the first one, as we normally expect a to after be accustomed in the same way we expect an in after be interested.

So what do you guys think? Thank you!


texts:
In the San Francisco Call on 8 May 1900:

  Maria de Bolcoff, an old lady, who has a ten-acre ranch at Millbrae, swore to a complaint in Judge Fritz's court yesterday for the arrest of William Code on the charge of felony embezzlement.... Code, who is a son of the well-known canner, returned from Mexico in March last and three weeks ago ex-Supervisor Becker secured a warrant for his arrest for passing a worthless check upon him, but the matter was settled out of court.

Mr. Code, the elder, lived from 1828-1895. Was he literally well-known known for putting nonbotulized food into cans, or could "canner" here be a dated regionalism or term of art, or a typographical error?


texts: Is there a term that refers to the part of the line after the indentation?

texts:
The correct term would describe some text... in the following example:

          some text ...
\ indent /\     ?     /


texts:
I'm Russian and I don't understand this sentence:

  "It was obvious that there would be no shortage of WPF books in the marketplace."

So, were there books in the marketplace (they exist) or not (a shortage takes place)?

(Thanks. I'm learning English.)


texts: What are rules on 'so that' vs. 'such that'?

texts:
When I want to emphasize a result or aim, I use a phrase with 'so that'.  Other authors use 'such that'.  I wonder if there are any rules or if both can be used interchangeably.

For example

  Experts from different backgrounds are invited so that diverse opinions can be heard.

vs.

  Experts from different backgrounds are invited such that diverse opinions can be heard.


texts: When do introductory adverbs modify the entire sentence?

texts:
I have a sentence that begins with the word "today" and a sentence that begins with "frankly." My style guide says to add commas after introductory adverbs when they modify the entire clause after it, but I'm having trouble deciding when it does. Let me use "today" in a sentence.

  "Today she didn't have time to visit her grandfather."

In that sentence, I am told that "today" doesn't modify the entire clause; I think otherwise. Isn't "today" technically modifying the entire clause? I'm not sure, and that's what I need help with. What are some clues to help determine if an introductory word modifying the entire clause after it?


texts: "Content of the book" OR "Content in the book"?

texts:
I'm not sure which one is appropriate.

Here's the sentence I want to fit it in -

  Any resemblance with the content {of | in} the book is purely intentional.


texts:
How can I refer to the bold word in the following text?

  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, ea usu erant laboramus, ut vocent
  consequuntur nec. Usu partem gloriatur ut, eam te quas legendos, est
  accumsan accusamus argumentum te.

Is it correct to say "the last word but three"? I am looking for a general and commonly-used-by-people term.

  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, ea usu erant laboramus, ut vocent
  consequuntur nec. Usu partem gloriatur ut, eam te quas legendos, est
  accumsan accusamus argumentum te.


texts:
I am editing the following sentence, and having an issue with identifying the proper pronoun.

  “Her and her husband’s journeys and careers have allowed them to travel extensively.”

I know the rule about taking away the other subject to determine the proper pronoun, and if I do that here, it’s clearly “her”. Her journey, her career. However, I just can’t shake the feeling that “she and her husband’s” just “sounds” correct. I often get this feeling about a sentence (and usually I’m correct), but can’t put my finger on the grammar rule that would back up my “feeling”.

Any help would be appreciated. I’m kind of going around in circles on this sentence.


texts: Prepositions 'in' or 'of' for referring to a population of a country

texts:
I was wondering about these prepositions in and of. Actually I was making an assignment in Spanish and I came across this problem and I translated it in English but I am still puzzled as to what the difference is in:
 "The population of America..." and "The population in America..."

when do you use each or is there no difference at all? thank you in advance.


texts: How do you express high proficiency in a succinct way?

texts:
I heard the following phrase in movies:

-- Do you know how to use A?
-- I am a f****g surgeon with A

I like it a lot, but I can imagine a lot of people will not understand the meaning.
I would like to ask for something polite enough, that I could use in a cover letter.
In my country we say "A is like my right hand", but I do not remember anybody say that in English.


texts: How much shorter are your hands than mine?

texts:
or How much more expensive is your phone than mine?
Are those questions well-formed?
Do i have to use much here?


texts: I am looking for a single word to describe a person who believes that they are special because of an important ancestor. I wrongly believed it was animism.


texts: Term for a single surviving copy of a printed text

texts: I know that there is a precise word which refers to a single surviving copy of a printed text, but I can't recall it or find it anywhere in my notes. Help?


texts:
"Everyone want their homes to be at the centres of cities"
Is this correct usage or is there any alternative way to convey the same?


texts: Difference between have been + ing and ed

texts:
What is the difference between following sentences, which is correct to express the present situation (I am into GRM)

I have been associated with GRM

I have been associating with GRM


texts: Word for very long and/or very complex mathematical expression?

texts:
In some Latinamerican countries (Spanish speaking) the word "chorizo" is sometimes colloqualy used to refer to a very long and/or very complex mathematical expression. This use is almost slang and it is not recognised by the official language academy, RAE.

An example of a magnificient chorizo (from here):

Is there any word to convey such idea in English, ideally already being used in/formally in a mathematical context? Notice that the word "chorizo" is not used as an adjective, but as a noun. As in "the professor gave us a chorizo as homework". As such, searching for synonymous of complex is unhelpful. I've tried using Thesaurus.com without success.


texts:
I got a bit mixed up just now regarding the difference between "complimentary" and "complementary".  My colleagues were arguing about the correct spelling of "complimentary drink" at a nightclub event, and I proposed that it be with an "e" but apparently a free promotional gift is, in fact, spelled with an "i"... Egg on my face!

My question though is if it's always as simple as this.  Obviously a glass of wine can also be complementary, if it's specially chosen to go with a meal.  (I wonder if any restaurant has ever offered a "complimentary complementary glass of wine", or would that be too silly?)

And it still feels to me as if as "complementary breakfast" could quite logically be one that is included in the bill, "making up the complement" of the price charged.  Am I just crazy?  Has it always been unequivocally "complimentary" when a service is provided free of charge as a sweetener to a deal?  I kind of prefer "complimentary" to relate specifically to compliments.  A restaurant owner is not really paying you a compliment by not charging you extra for breakfast, he's just doing business...