texts: Is there a word to describe the following emotion?

texts:
Heiii lovely people, could anyone perhaps tell me whether there is a word to describe such an emotion. An emotion when you feel sad or disappointed due another person's success because: A. you desire the fruits of his success B. you could have achieved similar success yourself, but did not, due to your own volition.

An example of this would be:
You have just come to a new social environment and have a premonition that all the people will not like you there and therefore you actively decide to not even begin to socially engage, although you would completely love to make friends.
Few weeks later another new person comes to said social environment, he is more or less exactly like you. He however tries to make friends. He does it in the exact same manner as you would have done initially if you would have not deemed to not try to make friends.

This is my example of when the emotion, which name i am trying to figure out (or whether there even is a name for it), is felt.

I will also describe here my reasoning for why the feelings for "mystery" emotion arise. You don't need to read this as this is just my rambling.

In the above given example, i think that the emotion is combined of two parts:
1. Desiring what the other person has (pretty simple).
2. Second is much more complex, i think a disappointment is felt, because it turns out that your judgment about the world (which comes from your world view) is incorrect. Said judgment made you either to deny yourself joy or endure "suffering" ( As in the example above, where you forced yourself into isolation, due to your own volition ). When it is proven that your judgment is incorrect, then the reason to justify the "suffering" or denial of joy, which you made yourself endure, disappears.
This makes you feel "mystery1" emotion, because all of the sudden for no reason you have been making yourself "suffer" or have been denying joy to yourself.

The feelings which come from reason 1 and 2 in my opinion make the "mystery" emotion, which name i am trying to figure out. :)

Thanks for the help :)


texts: Is this a proper usage of the word "gist"?

texts:
I am currently in a dilemma with my significant other.  We woke up this morning and one of us said.

Person 1: "I am going to brush my teeth and gist."

Person 2's argument was that gist is an overall idea of something, or a snapshot so to say, and should be used in a way such as :

  "The gist of my morning is that I got ready. In detail, I brushed my teeth, I combed my hair, and I ate breakfast."

Person 1 agreed with Person 2's definition of gist, but said that their sentence is capturing the same idea.

So who is right, and is there a more definitive way to describe why one is right versus the other?


texts: How is "ought" used in this King James Bible verse?

texts:
There's a use of the word "ought" from the Bible I don't understand.

I've highlighted the relevant word:

  Acts 4:32
  And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
  King James Version

I've checked dictionaries and I can't find a meaning of "ought" that makes sense to me within this passage.


texts:
The word "prominence" seems like it is being used as a verb in the definition below – am I wrong?

  work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole

This sentence comes from the definition of the word teamwork by Merriam-Webster's online dictionary.


texts: Adjective/noun to describe a small but extremely useful thing

texts:
I'm looking for an adjective/noun for a thing (e.g computer) that is small/not fully functional compared with other, similar such things, but whose performance is extremely advanced.

[Updates]

My English may not be good enough to express my idea, but I find @sameyeam's is the best fit for my unclear question.

"Pared down and streamlined, the thing's great performance has been unleashed by shedding features you don't need."

Also helpful:

Streamlined emphasizes efficiency and ease of use more than specific but powerful functionality.

I'm still looking for an noun to describe it. Peppy may be a fit, but I need more suggestions.


texts:
"pay out" vs "pay off"

In my company we are selling things and expecting to get money from customers by instalments.

English is my second language.

But I often hear things like "pay out payments" and "pay off payments" and they mean different things for native speakers.

I'm not sure but it feels like

A)all the instalment payments are "pay out payments"

B)and the last payment, even if it comes before the due date and cover all current debt named "pay off payment".

The biggest problem is that the vocabularies don't help me. They don't have these phrases.

Now, my questions are

1)Do I understand it correctly?

2)Is there any limits in using these phrases? I mean - I'm in Australia, may it be an Australian lingo? or maybe some special use area, like finance vocabulary? or maybe it was commonly used some time ago and now these phrases are not in a vogue? Please give me some hints of how common these phrases are?

I call them phrases, but maybe they are official phrasal verbs. Are they?


texts: "So must the X be" vs "So must be the X" vs Neither

texts:
I am not sure whether either of the following sentences (in quotations) are grammatically correct. They both sound awkward to me. Is anyone able to judge whether they are?

"Since the latter is large, so must the former be."

or

"Since the latter is large, so must be the former."


texts:
What is the difference between these two sentences?

  I have searched for it over the years.
  I have searched for it for many years.

Thank you.


texts: Using and meaning of "social responsibilities"

texts:
Can I use a phrase "social responsibilities" talking about things I have to do with social meaning?
e.g. " I have some social responsibilities today so I will be back late." Taking about a few business meetings with clients or taking friends for coffee.


texts:
Which is the right one: in case or in cases? What's the difference?

For example, what if I'm just trying to FYI a team?

  If in (case/cases) you are not sure, we'll be using this form moving forward.


texts:
Can I say: "I feel poorly" or do I have to say: "I feel poor" for "I feel ill"?
Or is it more correct to say:"I am poorly"?


texts: Would 'determine' or 'decide' be more correct when talking about a target audience?

texts:
In the phrase:

  It may be best for you to decide on your target audience.

would replacing "decide" with "determine" be more correct, and why?


texts: Can someone please help me understand what "barefoot notes" means?


texts: What is going on grammatically when we speak of a "happy day"?

texts:
Ordinarily in English, adjectives directly describe the noun being modified; thus an adjective indicating an emotion attributes that emotion to the noun - "I am happy" means that I am the one experiencing happiness. But if I say "it was a happy day", I am not claiming that the day experienced happiness - it is not a conscious entity. To my mind, these are two entirely separate functions performed by the same word "happy".
In other languages, adjectives (or what might reasonably be labelled as such) commonly work this way - I have often seen native speakers of Chinese or Japanese confuse the English "scared / be afraid" with "scary / be frightening" because (as I understand it) in those languages, both concepts would ordinarily be expressed with the same word, inflected the same way.
Yet as far as I can imagine at the moment, English does this only in very limited cases. I may be scared, but the cause was scary. I may be hungry, but my food is not - and neither is my mealtime, nor anything else related to my proposed solution to hunger.
Am I overlooking something? Is there a term for this way of using adjectives in English, and are there a bunch more examples that aren't coming to mind at the moment? Or is "happy day" just a magical set phrase that I've been using unquestioningly all these years?


texts: Word for "obsession with reliving past mistakes"

texts:
I am looking for a word that is close in meaning to nostalgia, but not so passive. Something that is compulsive. It should also be unambiguously negative. A bonus would be a connotation of anxiety.

Edit: I am looking for a noun, like nostalgia, that describes the state or emotion.


texts: What's the expression used by Americans when referring to a "postcode" outside of the US?

texts: I always assumed "zip code" was the American way of referring to a postal code regardless of where the address may be. However, a friend is telling me that the use of "zip code" to refer to addresses outside the US is incorrect. I find this very curious. Why would Americans use one word for addresses located in the US and a different one for the ones abroad.


texts: something the matter (strange word order: indefinite pronoun + noun)

texts:
ldoceonline.com:

  1. There was nothing the matter with it when I lent it to him.

  2. She had something the matter with her back.

oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com:

  3. There's something the matter with my eyes.

It's a strange word order for me.

Is there any rule of using "indefinite pronoun + noun"?

If there's an ellipsis, then what text is omitted?

Thanks!

My question has nothing to do with the question: How does the phrase "Is something the matter?" make sense?. In that question a non-inverted word order is "Something is the matter." We see the verb "is" between "something" and "the matter". In my question there isn't any verb between them. I absolutely can't understand how someone could think that this is the same questions.


texts: Why the word 'mean' in the phrase 'No mean feat'

texts:
Just started wondering this after seeing the phrase in an article. I assumed mean in this context came from the mathematical mean, basically making the phrase mean 'no average feat'. I googled it anyway out of curiosity, the only thing I could find on why this word is used in this phrase (rather than 'it just means small') was it originates from meager which didn't seem right to me.

Just here to see if any of you could clarify that my assumption is correct on its origin.


texts:
When you have submitted a manuscript to a publisher, and the publisher is still reviewing it to see whether they should publish it or not. Does that mean that your manuscript is pending review or pending publication.
Pending can be defined as Undecided or Imminent so it's really confusing.


texts:
What is wrong with this? I have quintupple checked it, but grammarly tells me that I have passive voice misuse. Can someone help?

  "The Japanese were warned that one of their cities, Hiroshima, which is also where their 2nd army was, would vanish."


texts:
Which should I use: allows not or does not allow?

Can I use both?

Are there verbs that does not allow the two forms?


texts: Is there a word for wearing distinctive jewels, clothes, makeup, hairstyle?

texts:
I am looking for an English word describing wearing of jewelry, distinctive clothing, using makeup or a specific hairstyle (e.g. Roman or Egyptian culture).

I don't know if there is a generic word for that in English.

When I try to translate the word from my native language in English and get things like "adornment" or "set" but I don't know if it fits for a person.


texts: Answering a singular question with a plural answer

texts:
If somebody asks a question in the singular, how do we give a plural answer?  Here's an example, with three different possible ways to answer. (The part of the answer that has the plural sense is marked in bold):

  Q: What's the most important thing to you?

  A1: The most important thing to me is my friends.

  A2: The most important thing to me are my friends.

  A3: The most important things to me are my friends.

I am a native speaker of British English. I prefer A1. An American told me she preferred A2. I suspect that a formal prescriptivist would recommend A3.

Is there any rhyme or reason to this? What should I recommend to a student learning English?


texts: Is there a single word that means a life change for the worse?

texts:
I cannot think of any single word that means a person's life changed for the worse. While there are many phrases, i.e. fallen heroes for good guy turned bad, or take a turn for the worse, turning to the dark side,I cannot think of a single word that describes this phenomenon. An example would be in my subjective opinion, how Lindsey Lohan a child star took drugs as she grew older or Harvey becoming Two-face in Batman.

The sentence structure should be: He/She __________. And they would get the idea that their life turned bad or took a change for the worse.


texts: What is meant by "steep learning curve"?

texts: What should I understand from "steep learning curve"? When a computer program (for example a translation program) has a steep learning curve, does it mean that it is not good at learning or it's hard for it to learn?


texts:
"What you hold in your hand, then, is a written record of my..."
Is the word 'then' in the above sentence means 'thus, consequently, as suggested in the similar but little different theard "the use of then"
Thank you in advance...


texts:
Can would be used like this -
I wonder how tired those people would be who have been doing it for weeks ,
Here would is not reffering to past it's actually used to talk about present condition , could it be correct ?


texts: Which of the following sentences is correct

texts:
Which one of these sentences is correct:
1) No regular classes will be there for Sunday School during June.
2) Regular classes will not be there for Sunday School during June.


texts: "something replaced with a company's design" single word

texts: I am a design engineer, and I sometimes take some reference designs and replace some sections with our own customized designs. I need a single word to indicate the "our own design". Something like Legendary design. I need to say it as "design completed and xxx section replaced with legendary (for example) design.


texts:
This graph shows in detail the relationships between x, y, and z.

I'm limited in word count and this expression costs three words. How can I reduce it to one word?


texts: Looking for a word the describes a common belief is often not the case

texts:
What word describes the concept of how what is generally held as to be true, is in fact false (at least most of the time). I think a fictional story illustrates an example the best:

Tinkerbell lives in Never Land. Tinkerbell got lucky and secured a job as a fairy. Everyone knows being a fairy is the best job that exists in Never Land. However, after becoming a fairy, Tinkerbell learns that most fairies find the job terrible and it is actually really unenjoyable being a fairy.

Another example (completely made up):

Most people assume Olympic Athletes are fit, but in turns out this is untrue as a great deal of the time and to compete in the Olympics is determined more by connections than athletic ability.


texts: Two different german words ("Raum", "Zimmer") both translates to "room"

texts:
I'm searching for an English translation of "Raum" and "Zimmer". It is related with this question. Is a translation to two different words possible? Or is it only "room"?

To put this more into context:

"Raum" ... a place, where students come together to learn at the university for example. This could be lecture room, but not every room is a lecture room.

"Zimmer" ... The patient lies in room XY on ward YZ.

I think the solution would be to be more specific with room like KarlG said: living room, lecture room, waiting room, ...


texts:
I have a feature of a device that I can enable or disable. When this state changes (from enabled to disabled, or disabled to enabled), an alert is sent to me. However, if a change is attempted that does not end up changing the state (from enabled to enabled, or disabled to disabled), an alert is not sent to me.

  I am alerted if and only if the ________ of the feature changes.

Is there a single word that will fit in this blank? It should be specific to the "enabled/disabled" state, and not, for instance, the "togglable", "loading", etc. states.

Note that this is not indicative of whether or not it can be enabled, but rather whether the specific state of being enabled has changed. For instance, "state" is too general, since everything in this product and its features either is or has a state of some sort. I want this to specifically refer to the state of being enabled or disabled.


texts: "Took the Russia out of Vodka" or definitive articles with country names

texts: I'm trying to better understand the meaning of the phrase in the Skyy Vodka ad ("Vodka so filtered we even took the Russia out of it"). AFAIK the name Russia is never used with a definitive article, but I also doubt that Skyy promoters are uneducated. Can someone please explain why "the Russia"?


texts:
Object of Preposition

  Some people consider my interest in gardening an obsession. (The
  gerund phrase is “gardening an obsession.”)

As I was searching around for the correct use of gerund phrase, I found this seemingly wrong information from a website called DAILYWRITINGTIPS (http://www.dailywritingtips.com/4-types-of-gerunds-and-gerund-phrases/).

It states that the phrase "gardening an obsession" is a gerund phrase working as the object of preposition. But what I think is this:

  Some people consider {my interest [in (gardening)]} [an obsession].

So here, {my interest in gardening} is a noun phrase. [in gardening] is a prepositional adjective phrase modifying my interest, and (gardening) is the object of preposition. This [an obsession] is the object complement used after the object {my interest in gardening}, because of the verb consider.

Therefore, gardening, not gardening an obsession, is the object of preposition and also just a gerund. However, I'm not sure whether my conclusion is correct or not, since I am just beginning to learn those stuffs.

Also here.

  Direct Object

  I am enjoying my gardening this year. (The direct object of the subject is “my gardening this year.”)

In this sentence, I don't know how you can conclude that "gardening" is used as a gerund. Can this "my gardening" not be a deverbal noun with no verbal characteristic and this year as an adverb phrase modifying enjoying?

The reason I posted this question is because I believed that this DAILYWRITINGTIPS website is credible, so I thought that I might be wrong.

Thank you so much in advance.


texts: Present Perfect with simple past allowed?

texts:
Background: I had the following Past Perfect sentence:
I had talked to the teacher before she left school.

Question: Is it's Present Perfect version also allowed?
I have talked to the teacher before she left school.

Usage
I'd say the Present Perfect version could be used e.g. when the teacher is just leaving right now and everybody is waving goodbye. So the teacher already left (therefore simple past for leaving), but the leaving process is kind of still going on in the present.


texts: What does "look" mean in the phrase "you don't look your age"?

texts:
I am not a native English speaker. I don't quite understand why the phrase is "you don't look your age" instead of "you don't look like your age" or "you don't look like you are at your age."
I understand that "you don't look your age" means you look younger than people at your age. Just I don't understand how come the meaning of "look" is different from its usual meaning which is to stare / gaze / watch something.


texts: Phrase request: emphasizing benefits of performing an activity that is often perceived as boring

texts:
I'm trying to convince readers that performing a particular activity -that is often perceived as boring- might be the best thing they can do for their business.

For instance:

  "The act of clarifying your vision statement might not be the first thing you want to clear your schedule for, but it might be the best thing you can spend your time on today."

Do you know any phrases or expressions I can use to make this sentence more elegant and/or powerful?


texts:
I was watching TV series "Prison Break" and in the first episode I came across this kind of strange to me sentence.

HALE: We're all clear on the Burrows execution.
KELLERMAN: Good.
HALE: Except for one thing. Bishop McMorrow is not in the fold.
HALE: He's got a lot of influence with the Governor. They went to prep
school together apparently.
HALE: Look, the closer it gets, the more I'm worried that the bottom
is  gonna fall out of this whole thing.
KELLERMAN: Well, maybe it's
time we arranged a visit with the good bishop  then.
KELLERMAN: Look, in one month it'll all be over.

I don't get why there has been used a definite article. I learned that articles always come before nouns. In this situation "more" doesn't seem to be a noun, I would say it's an adverb. Maybe I'm missing something, any suggestions ?


texts: Are the commas necessary in this type of sentence?

texts:
Here's the sentence:

  From what I could see, Brom's facial expression turned from a neutral look, to a surprised one, and then to displeasure.

I feel that no commas are necessary when in the form, "X went from A to B." However, when there are more than just A and B—for example, "X went from A, then to B, and then to C"—that commas are potentially better. Are the commas in the example sentence above recommended? If not, should one or both be removed? Thanks!


texts: That doesn't necessarily mean acceptance of the contract from your "part" or "side"?

texts:
A)

  Your engagement in these practices doesn't necessarily mean acceptance of the contract from your side.

B)

  Your engagement in these practices doesn't necessarily mean acceptance of the contract from your part.

Are the two sentences equivalent?. If not, which one is the correct within the context?


texts: What kind of tense should I use in this paraphrased sentence?

texts:
Our English teacher wants us to paraphrase some sentences from an article (published in 2000, written by Froning) used as evidences in our critical paragraphs, and here is a model answer for me to imitate.

This is the original sentence:" Free trade policies have created a level of competition..."

This is the model answer:" According to Froning (2000, para. 1), free trade has resulted in increased competition..."

I want to know why the model answer is using the present perfect tense. Because the published time of this article is 2000, we don't know anything about free trade after 2000 until now. In my opinion, if we use the present perfect tense in this sentence, we would mean free trade still has the same influence (of resulting in increased competition) until today. But actually we don't know about it. So I think if we use the present perfect tense in this sentence, it's not accurate enough.

So I think it would've been more appropriate if the model answer had been:" According to Froning (2000, para. 1), free trade had resulted in increased competition..."

I asked my teacher about this question, but as she was so busy and I didn't organize my question well, she just said if something has the possibility to influence today, even though I cannot make sure, I still can use the present perfect.

Is my teacher right? Which tense should I use in this paraphrased sentence?

Thank you very much!!!


texts:
I found the following sentence in a preposition-quiz.

"Working parents often find it difficult to keep children who are at home entertained during the summer months.

I think it is a "Defining relative clause" that gives essential information with "who are at home". So there is no need for a comma. But i am unsure - can you confirm ?


texts: "least riskiest" vs "safest" - double superlative or single is better?

texts: Is "least riskiest" stylistically correct? Can it be considered a double superlative? Would "safest" be a better choice?


texts: How should I understand "archaeocyte" in this sentence?

texts:
Consider the following sentence:

  The fossil consists of a complete skull of an archaeocyte, an extinct group of ancestors of modern cetaceans.

Does it mean "the fossil consists of a complete skull; the fossil consists of an archaeocyte; and the fossil consists of an extinct group of ancestors of modern cetaceans"?

Added:
What does the sentence mean and how should I understand "archaeocyte" here?

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "archaeo-" means "ancient" and "-cyte" means "cell". It seems that it doesn't make sense if "archaeocyte" means "an ancient cell" in this sentence.

The sentence is from an article in ETS's The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test(third edition).


texts:
Kindly explain what is loop or Loop epicenter in this sentence?
I guess it is a place when a road runs a loop but I am not sure.

A closer look at the map, in which dark colors represent higher median income levels, shows patches of dark jade starting in the city’s Loop epicenter and running north, along Lake Michigan.

http://www.eater.com/a/starbucks-income-map


texts: Collins Dictionary error: “a new design”?

texts:
I am looking up the Collins Dictionary today for the word "design".

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/design

In meaning 4, I see this:

  uncountable noun
  The design of something is the way in which it has been planned and made.

  …a new design of clock.

Here, design it uncountable. But the example uses "a" before "design". Is this an error, or I am missing something?


texts:
I'm not talking about the meat itself. Could be a corpse or something lifeless.

I think I've heard of the term "lamb" (British English). Is that the case though? (as lamb is sheep's meat).

EDIT:
Eventually the context I heard the word was not meat specific. Also the word is "lump" as an answer in the comments.

Usage: - I won't stand a chance against a big lump like you (ref)


texts: Is there any difference netween Trade and Business?

texts: As I faced before with these two (trade and business) words I understood there is not any different between them, but when I searched in English to Persian (my language) dictionary for exact meaning of them, I found some difference. In addition I should say I haven't trust to this dictionary because it showed me some mistake meanings before.


texts:
I am not sure if it will last

  I am not sure that it will last

  I am not sure it will last

What is the difference between these sentences?


texts: Is there a word for words that represent letters?

texts: Is there a word for the category of words that represent alphabet characters? e.g. zee, bee, see, es, etc. This is required for purposes of textual banter.


texts:
Do the following sentences sound the same to you? Is the active voice or passive voice more commonly used?

She has to quarantine for 14 days.
She has to be quarantined for 14 days.

Thank you.


texts: "Nose" is to "nasal" as "ear" is to what?

texts:
If the adjective relating to the nose is nasal then what is the adjective relating to the ear?

I don't think it's "aural". I think it begins with ot-.


texts:
Would like to know which of the below two are correct in the absolute sense.

In Ukraine, martial law will be enforced from 28th November 2018

or

In Ukraine, enforcement of martial law will be from 28th November 2018

Does the former sentence have an issue about being in the passive voice


texts: concerning the usage of the measurement scale "meter"

texts:
Would you answer my question? Thanks in advance.

A:  The meter is easier to use than the yard when the cloth is sold.

B:  The cloth is sold by the meter.

Both examples are of my own making for seeing if the measurement scale "meter" is rightly used.
  I sometimes see a sentence like B and I think it's right.
However, how about A, in which "the meter" is used at the position of a subject, not after the preposition "by"?

One more please.
  Can I say "the meter" generalizes individual meters?


texts: Why does the comma, period, and question mark always go inside the quotation marks?

texts: I see that this question has been asked before, but it was resolved as a duplicate. But the question that it supposedly duplicated was clearly not the same question because it didn't address the question "Why."  I would really like to know the reason for this convention, especially since it's not the same in England and our language is English. Did we change it as a way of revolting against England? I don't buy the answer that we did it just because it looked better.


texts: In what contexts is "gross" commonly used to mean 144?

texts: Are there specific items that are commonly bought/sold in a gross, or certain industries in which the term is used frequently?


texts: Can I use a colon at the end of an incomplete sentence (see two example)?

texts:
Thank you for your help. Examples are provided below.
Example A.

Some people feel they must...:

Prove their worth all the time.
Put others down all the time.

Example B.

The pairings were as follows:
Women:
Janet: Alone, and with Phil.
Karla: Alone, with Phil, and with two random research assistants.
Men:
John: Alone.
Tom: Alone, with John, and with two random research assistants.


texts: British English form of the word playoff

texts:
I've recently been across quite a few British sport(s) websites and Wikipedia articles and kept finding the wording "play off" show up to discuss the battle between two teams after the regular season.

In American English, I tend to think it's quite ingrained to use playoff, and that play-off is a rarer backup.

But seemed that play-off and even play off both come up more regularly in relation to British events... with play off even showing on some major sites (in the header of a Wembley Stadium Article, in a BBC Facebook post).

Google (searched from the US) shows
487,000 results for "NFL playoff" vs 17,100 for "NFL play off" compared to
62,900 for "League one playoff" vs 214,000 for "League one play off"
(The complexities of the plural form seems to further muddle things, as playoffs is a common term in the US, but perhaps not so much in the UK?). Also, Google lumps play-off and play off together under either search, and I can't find a way to overcome this?]

A quintessential comparison of the imbalance seems to be in
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_playoffs vs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_League_One_play-offs.
Even though it's just Wikipedia, it seems to follow the larger scope?

Looked into dictionaries for more info... M-W indeed found play-off, with playoff only in the unabridged dictionary... and Oxford American redirected to playoff in the American English dictionary... but was surprised to see dictionary.com favors play-off over playoff.  Seems US sport league websites and even the AP style guide for the World Series use playoff without discussion.  But each just seems to list one form, without mention of regional usage.  Is there any site that hammers it down to that?

Alternatively, for "play off", I didn't find anything in any official capacity... and the articles with mention didn't consistently use it as separate words... so I'm thinking it's perhaps fully incorrect (outside of its valid usage as a separate phrase with unrelated meaning)?  But with the range of results, and the apparent tendency for it to show up more in the UK, would welcome some further experience from the other side of the pond (or other regions) to confirm that.

[And to make matters worse, the only thread here that really touched on US vs UK hyphenation (When is it appropriate to use a hyphen) had opinion suggesting perhaps the US hyphenates more than the UK?]


texts:
"The writer mentioned although it deals with eastern mysticism and sexuality, the content is not erotic." - This is a sentence I am copy editing. I am under the impression that "mentioned" should be followed by "that" in this sentence. Could you please let me know your thoughts on this as well?

When I wrote about this to the person who wrote this sentence, this was their response "I have checked it through several proofreading sites like Grammarly, Paperrater, Scribens, etc. The sentence is correct with or without inserting "that" after "mentioned."


texts:
There is this sentence which I can't work out the meaning.
"They have a unique identity between language and thought that means they cannot conceptualize a lie. This also means that deception, fiction and metaphors are completely
alien to them."
I can't understand the 1st sentence "They have... that". What is the meaning of Identity here and what is the effect of between prep and it's complement on the meaning of identity? Can somebody kindly explain to me what is the meaning of first sentence?

Thanks.
Alex.


texts:
Do I need a comma before "whose" in this sentence:

John was a wonderful son, brother, uncle and friend whose charming personality made a mark on everyone who met him.


texts: Is 'lightning' here a noun or an adjective or even an adverb?

texts:
Oxford Dictionaries has this example under ADJECTIVE 'lightning':

(1) Roman is lightning quick and improving every day in practice, and Bean showed playmaking ability in the preseason.

The adjective is categorized in the dictionary as [ATTRIBUTIVE], which the same dictionary defines as:

(Of an adjective or other modifier) preceding the word that it modifies and expressing an attribute, as old in the old dog (but not in the dog is old) and expiry in expiry date. Contrasted with predicative.

At first glance, this lightning in (1) does not seem to be used attributively. For starters, the quick clearly is not a noun modified by the lightning. Then, is it used predicatively somehow not following the dictionary's own categorization as [ATTRIBUTIVE]?
The only possible way to make that happen is as if the lightning were in coordination with the quick. But that's unlikely, because without the quick, it sounds funky:

(1a) Roman is lightning and improving every day in practice, and Bean showed playmaking ability in the preseason. (?)

Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary says that lightning in similar cases is an adverb:

— lightning adverb
— used in combination
(2) an athlete with lightning-quick reflexes
(3) making lightning-fast adjustments

This just sounds absurd.
And I'm thinking maybe it's just a noun. But I need some feedback on this. Any thoughts?


texts:
Context: tree (data structure).

"... and some components were 2 or 3 levels nested" (to refer to the second or third level of the tree)

Is the sentence above correct? Otherwise, how should we refer to nested components? Maybe "some components were nested 2 or 3 levels"?


texts: What term means "comprehension of one's own words"?

texts:
Comprehension typically refers to one's ability to understand another's words, whether heard or read.

There may be some contexts, such as in a school, where students say things without really knowing the meaning. Comprehension may refer to this as well, but I need something more specific and professional that will be understood to mean "understanding one's own words".

What is a term that specifically refers to one's ability to understand what they themselves are saying?


texts:
I understand it's grammatically correct to use apostrophe s for the plural of letters.

  Dot your i's and cross your t's.

But not for proper nouns that end with s.

  Here come the Jones's Joneses.

What would the plural of the name Jess be?

Jesses?

Which is also the plural of Jesse. So...

  Both Jesses are dating both Jesses. Wait what?

English is just silly indeed peculiar.

I understand Jess can stand for Jessica and to reduce confusion we could use Jessicas. However not all Jess..es (lol) are birthnamed Jessica.

And if that wasn't bad enough, we can give the plurals possession...

  Both Jesses's cats are playing with the Jesses's dogs.

Now answer this, do the Jesses own cats or dogs? Oh English, you.

If Jesses is the correct plural for Jess, how can English avoid confusion with the plural for Jesse?


texts: How to describe the smell of a stagnant pond in hot climate?

texts:
When you have a stagnant pool of water (like a pond) in a hot climate, the water smells a bit.  Stale perhaps, but not quite reeks or stinks or foul.

How do you best describe this smell?


texts: "greater than I am" versus "greater than myself"

texts:
If I look in the corpus of contemporary American English, I mostly find the ... greater than I am/he is/etc. ... version. But there are a couple of instances, even in academic texts, of the sort ... greater than myself/himself etc. ... sort.

As far as I understand the rule, comparative + than is followed by a clause - i.e., subject and verb.  Where do the reflexive pronoun ...self instances come from?

Am I missing something, or are they just falling for the "looks like an object position, so let's use an object pronoun" trap?


texts: A question regarding syntax, along with a slightly more abstract question

texts:
I am curious to know whether the following is a grammatically correct sentence:

"In the following section, we define first those concepts intrinsic to our problem, followed by the problem itself."

The first part I am unsure of is the first comma, straight after 'section'. The more I look at it the more I think it's incorrect with it there. I think it would still be valid if I removed it, but I'm not one-hundred percent confident about it.

The second part is the portion of text in between the two commas: 'we define first those concepts intrinsic to our problem'. I like the sound of it but I'm not actually sure that it's correct English. Do I need to rearrange the words in some way? I have used this style of writing a lot throughout my thesis, and I am now having these thoughts two days before the deadline - I would call that sod's law.

I suppose I have one, slightly more abstract question: Is there a summarising word alluding to the aesthetic quality of a sentence? I thought perhaps 'tone', for example you could say 'the sentence had a formal tone'. I apologise if this makes no sense, I am know next to nothing about linguistics but I am curious to learn more.


texts: What does over-the-counter mean literally?

texts:
I've found references that this term is originally used for the purchase of stocks that not listed on the stock exchange.

From etymology.com:

  Adjective phrase over-the-counter is attested from 1875, originally of stocks and shares.

It seems like it could mean two things:

Stock is sold retail rather than through an exchange. The exchange takes place simply by handing the stock "over the counter" rather than through a third party exchange.
Stock is sold "on the other side of the counter" rather than "behind" the counter which implies unlisted.

I would be appreciative if someone with an OED subscription wouldn't mind taking a look and seeing if maybe this was derived from another term or if some of the earlier documented references of its use could give some hints.


texts: Can "comprised" be used as a verb in this instance?

texts:
A co-worker of mine posted an article he wrote in which he used the sentence,  "The majority of terminals and buildings that once comprised the airport are literally in rubble."

Having never seen this before, it didn't sound right to me. Of course, he can't possibly say comprised of in this instance. Would it be more correct for him to have written, "The majority of terminals and buildings that the airport was comprised of are literally in rubble"? (on a side-note, I've also read that comprised of is redundant)

I guess what I'm getting at is can comprised be used as a verb?


texts: Is 'I would rather...' without an infinitive immediately following it correct?

texts:
Consider:

  I would rather the walls remain painted in a neutral tint.

Is this proper use of 'I would rather..', without an infinitive immediately following it?

EDIT This suggests that 'I would rather ...' is either followed by an infinitive or by an object (?) + past tense if you would want to include other people. But not the use I propose.


texts: What are some formal alternatives to Mr./Ms., particularly in the context of job-hunting?

texts: I've always been told to refer to people by an honorific followed by their last names, especially when discussing job opportunities etc. However, I would rather not misgender anybody in doing so. I would appreciate if someone offered an alternative honorific or an alternative way to address people in emails, cover letters etc.


texts: Different pronunciation of the suffix '-ege-': 'allege' vs 'renege'?

texts:
1. What are some terms that relate to this phenomenon? I want to beware of similar cases.

2. What are the reasons?


texts: Are two commas needed around proper noun in article title?

texts:
Suppose the title of an article were to describe a new service:

  New service Blank offers summer jobs for students

I’m wondering if the rules are bent somewhat for titles of stories, or are the commas are still necessary?

  New service, Blank, offers summer jobs for students


texts: Use of the phrase "it seems" vs. "it seems that"

texts:
On another stackexchange site, I used the following phrasing:

  I want to do X.  It seems I can only do so when Y.

Someone edited the second sentence:

  It seems that I can only do so when Y.

This made me realise that the edited form is perhaps more common -- but is my original phrasing grammatically incorrect?  What role does "that" play in the second variation?


texts: How to enumerate adjectives without using the same noun? How to give preference to the noun?

texts:
I like orange, chocolate, strawberry & banana, kiwi, pineapple and vanilla
  milkshakes.

Imagining there are many more adjectives, in case someone wants to emphasize and give preference to the noun "milkshakes", is there any possibility to correctly say: "I like milkshakes of..." or something similar?

What about the next example? How would you phrase it?:

  I like orange milkshakes as well as chocolate and kiwi ones(?)


texts: Can I use the word vacua when referring to multiple vacuum cleaners?

texts: The word vacua is a plural of the word vacuum, one definition of which is a vacuum cleaner. While I imagine that the plural vacua is usually reserved for referring to multiple spaces devoid of matter, can it also be used to refer to multiple vacuum cleaners?


texts: Should I use "was" or "were" in this sentence or when I list items?

texts:
Working out, riding my bike, yoga and a good massage was all that I needed today.

Or should I use "were" instead of "was"?


texts: Does “Let me know if you have any questions.” mean “reply only if you have a question”?

texts:
Does "Let me know if you have any questions" mean that there is no need to reply unless you have a question?
I get informational emails sometimes that end with some form of "Let me know if you have any questions" or "Let me know with any questions", for this specific instance it's my landlord telling me about scheduled maintenance of the elevators.
Should I reply with a short thank you or should I not reply anything unless I have a question?


texts: Is 'low speed' finally proving its merit?

texts:
Technically, you should expect the term low speed, not slow speed (which is obviously illogical).

However, it seems the two phrases co-existed as long as one can look back: with low speed fighting a desperate battle to prove its merit.

It is only recently that English users seem to have seriously recognized the difference as this nGram shows.

How did this obvious error survive and even now continue to assert itself? Or is it that  from the language point of view, there is an argument that both the phrases are correct, grammatically, especially, semantically?

[Edit-1] Some backgrounder on slow and speed
slow /slō/
Adjective: Moving or operating, or designed to do so, only at a low speed.
Adverb: At a slow pace; slowly.
Verb: Reduce one's speed or the speed of a vehicle or process.

If slow = low speed
then slow speed  = ?


texts:
Let's look at Present Simple. As far as I understand there is [almost] no difference between

I play this game.
I do play this game.

The first question: can I form negative sentences this way?

(1) I play not this game.
      I do not play this game.

I know, (1) seems weird, but I have found a lot of examples of using this:

Forget not the tyranny of this wall, ... [1]
Death or healing, I care not which you seek. [2]
Speak not those words. [3]

The use of (1) seems quite logical to me as for beginner English learner. So, if we look at Present Perfect:

I have played this game.
I have not played this game.

We can see the same (or not?) way of forming  negative sentences. Present Continuous:

I am writing now.
I am not writing now.

It's still logical for me. And now Past Simple:

I played this game.
I did play this game.

The second question: can I form negative sentences this way?

(2) I played not this game.
      I did not play this game.

(2) is VERY weird, but seems logical. Or not :)
Thanks!


texts:
This is excerpt from a site:

The CIA has announced its new deputy director as Gina Haspel, who took part in covert interrogation programs on Al-Qaeda suspects, and even ran a ‘black site’ prison in Thailand that used torture for questionings, the Washington Post reports.

What is the significance of the  run  verb ???


texts: Pronunciation of words like thanks, land, and

texts: This words are always written with æ but I always hear them pronounced like thenk, lend, end... I read that this pronunciation was and old-style, but I have hardly ever heard them pronounced -[ænd]. How would I have to pronounced them ?


texts:
In singular English say:

  The thing is an end in itself.

How does plural look like then?

  The things are the ends in themselves.

Am I right?


texts: Do these two prepositions mean the same thing? “You have got until/to the count of five”

texts:
You have got until the count of five

You have got to the count of five

Do these two mean the same thing?


texts: When should you write "answer" versus "response"?

texts: In context, when would it be appropriate to use "answer" or "response"? I always tend to use "answer" personally, but I have always this nagging feeling I could be wrong.


texts: Is there any idiom or proverb discouraging knowledge?

texts: I have only found "Ignorance is bliss", is there any other?


texts: A single word for the most important person in one's life

texts:
The concept of a "Lebensmensch" plays a dominant role in Thomas Bernhard's works. At Wikipedia one reads that

  »Lebensmensch [is] a predominantly Austrian term [...] which refers to
  the most important person in one's life«

This is a somehow typical usage of the word by Thomas Bernhard (from Wittgenstein's Nephew, translated by DeepL):

  »But in truth, even without Paul, I would not have been alone on the
  Baumgartnerhöhe in these days and weeks and months, for I had my
  [Lebensmensch], the decisive one for me in Vienna after the death of my
  grandfather, my [Lebensmensch], to whom I not only owe a great deal,
  but, frankly, since the moment she appeared at my side over thirty
  years ago, more or less everything. [...] The initiates know what
  everything is hidden behind this word Lebensmensch, from and through
  which I have drawn my strength and survival over thirty years, from
  nothing else, that is the truth.«

For the sake of comparison, here the translation by Google:

  »But in truth, I would not have been alone at [Baumgartnerhöhe] these days and weeks and months without Paul, because I had my [Lebensmensch], the one who was decisive for me after the death of my grandfather in Vienna, my [Lebensmensch], who I not only much, but, frankly, since the moment she appeared by my side over thirty years ago, I owe more or less everything. […] The initiates know what is hidden behind this word "living person", from and from which I have obtained my strength and my survival over and over again, from nothing else, that is the truth.«

I wonder if there is such a beautiful one-word-term for the most important person in one's life (except for oneself) in the English language.


texts: A google image search for "nails" displays almost exclusively painted nails, whereas searching for "fingernails" displays almost exclusively unpainted nails. Is this due to a difference in the meaning and common usage of the two words, or for some other reason?


texts: Which is correct — as much as ... or as many as ... used with a percentage?

texts:
I’m unsure which is correct to use in the following sentence — “as much as” or “as many as”? Here’s the sentence:

  As ___ as 88% of all real estate transactions come from repeat and referral business.

I originally assumed that "much" refers to "88%," but when I read the sentence with "many," it sounds fine, too.


texts:
You dropped him like he's hot.

Could you explain this phrase in plainer language?
(I understand 'he's hot' means, 'he's so cool'.)


texts: Term for people who are in the same city

texts: I found the term "fellow citizens", but the term I'm looking for should also refer to people who are not be a citizen of the city but are located there.


texts:
I saw this in an article about which British accents sound more intelligent, apparently Yorkshire was once deemed as a place with "trouble at pit".

It probably has an origin related to auto racing, but I would like to know the exact meaning and how to use the phrase.


texts: What does it mean "to blow out one's arm"?

texts:
I've watched the episode of The Vampire Diaries today, and here's the question: what does it mean "to blow out one's arm" in the following context?

  So guess who came into the hospital for a shoulder arthroscopy this morning. Lady Whitmore, the girl from the bonfire, the one you miraculously saved from certain death and I can't figure out how. Turns out she was here on a tennis scholarship before she blew out her arm last year. Now she needs to get her cartilage cleaned out every 6 months.

Thanks :)


texts: How would I describe someone who is coding a new app? It’s for a story I’m writing but just can’t think

texts: I need to write about someone coding an app but I’m not tech-y. Someone please help


texts: Muzzle or not? What would you call this thing?

texts:
What would you call this in English?

What's this white thing on cat's or rabbit's muzzle? Or is this a muzzle itself? Would it be right to say, "This is a head with a white muzzle?"


texts: is there a word or phrase for the family unit that only includes "immediate family" but not spouses and children?

texts: This word would include me, my brothers and sister as well as my mother and father.  It would not include my wife or kids.  And as a bonus, is there a word for the group that would only include myself, my wife and kids?


texts:
Does "self-parodying" imply that some of Rockman's artworks are  parodies of his own previous artworks?
Does "puncture" imply that his self-parodying works lack the romance found in his previous works?

  Context:

  Rockman bring a whiff of Romanticism to science, presumably derived
  from his childhood pottering round museum displays with his mother at
  a comforting distance, but in his provocative self-parodying works he
  punctures this romance.


texts:
If you say, "it is fun playing golf", I think "fun" is a noun.
When I hear people say, "it sounds fun," is it a noun or an adjective?
I understand the verb "sound" is followed either by a noun or an adjective, and I think they should say, "it sounds like fun" if they use it as a noun. Or can the word "fun" be used as an adjective on its own?
Please clear this up once and for all.


texts: A word for a scrawny, ghastly but wise and academic or studious person

texts:
I'm looking for a word, not necessarily a direct “reverse dictionary” sort of word that has the definition above, but even a creative word that can describe, label, or represent that sort of person with just the one word. Having a slightly negative connotation is an added bonus, and a balance between negativity and positivity is also fine.

Again, the label sought is to describe, stand for, or attach to a wise and studious or academic person, but who is also frail and ghastly.


texts: What is the word for what someone is doing when they say, "Don't worry", or "Cheer up"?

texts:
When someone tells you, "Don't worry," or "Cheer up," that's sort of like commanding you, but not really? Is there a verb like "command" that indicates what they're doing, either transitive or intransitive?

  He reassured me, "Don't worry."

  He consoled me, "Cheer up."

I'm looking for a verb that would work for both.

I originally included "Be well" in my question, but as it has been pointed out to me, "Be well" is more of a nicety that carries no hint at all of an imperative. I would also add "Relax" or "Calm down" to the examples, but as has been pointed out, those can carry some demeaning connotations.

My sample sentence is,

  After catching his breath, he admonished(?) them, "Don't worry guys, problem solved."

The criteria for an accepted word: I'm looking for a word more specific than "say", softer than "command" (even softer than "admonish", but that's the best I've heard so far), and applicable to both examples above.
Words I didn't like, besides those I've mentioned:

tell, say: too generic
reassure: not applicable to both cases
counsel, admonish: as others have indicated, the typical connotations make them less than ideal

I did a thesaurus search on command and exhort; seeing the synonyms listed for these two, I realized that I don't recall ever having heard a word that could apply — admittedly, my recall isn't great, but ELU seemed like a good place to turn


texts:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era.

The above line is cited from the article on Mozart in Wikipedia.
As all English learners learned, the non-restrictive phrase "which is (was)" or "who is (was)" must be always left. In this line, however, it seems that "who was" is omitted before "baptised as ...", that is, I think it should be like this:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era.

Why the non-restrictive phrase is omitted?
I need justification for this matter. I'd be so happy if I could solve this.


texts: What is the most vulgar word one could use when describing "LIFE" and a phrase for an "ALL-HATING GOD"

texts:
I am writing a play and have reached the conclusion where the main character utters a soliloquy of just how "despicably stupid" the concept of "living" and reaching the heights of "happiness" is. Everything has lead up to this most severe moment and thus I am in need of some personal insight.
I would like to ask of a word which profanely describes an "all-hating God" who gloats upon the face of his creation's misery and woe.
So I am asking two questions:
firstly, what is a word or phrase (kenning) to describe an "All-Hating God" rather than the more illustriously thought of "all-hallow God."
And secondly, a word to describe "Life" most vulgarly (context: life is damned due to its, in the play's context, "futile nature") and in an almost taboo sense. A word which would instantly put an audience at unease (along with of course the way the actor would say the line) when it is used in the connotation of a concept so "sacred" as "Life." (think of Macbeth's "Out, out brief candle" effect).
Of course, I don't expect a single word could so immensely affect a large-scale basis, but I am just in need of some overall opinions.
There is one catch thought, the word(s) must be confined to the vocabulary of the 17th century, more specifically, London 1660s, and I am being extremely uptight on the play's language-timed-authenticity."
For this, I have been mainly using the wonderful and virtuous help of "etymonline.com"


texts:
Does ontology refer to the study of being or the study of the nature surrounding being? I found conflicting definitions.

nature:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ontology

direct:

http://www.reference.com/example-sentences/ontology
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ontology


texts:
In my master thesis power point presentation I have written:

  Attacks consist of sending HTTP requests by
   - Tools
   - The Hacktuator itself

What I want to say here is that the Hacktuator can perform Attacks by running tools (which will send http requests) or by constructing and sending http requests on its own.

Is by correct? Or I should use through?
Thanks a lot.


texts: What's the word that means someone who can't adapt to nature?

texts: I heard a word some months ago describing someone who was not the type who could handle being dropped in the middle of nowhere and surviving. I forget if it was an adjective or a noun - I think it was a noun.


texts:
As far as my understanding goes, English does have a predicate nominative for the copula to be as well as semantically related words (to become, to seem) if the entity in question plays the role of subject in the activity it is involved in.

  It is I who stole the hen's eggs.

It does use the oblique case if the entity has the role of object

  It is me whom you saw.

However, the following defeats that rule

  You are me

There are a bunch of songs with that title. Same for

  He was me.

Would it be correct and idiomatic to say "You are I? /"He was I?"
Is there any mention of that behavior in grammar references?
Is the predicate nominative on the decline in general (have there been tendencies over the centuries)?


texts: How should I understand this quote from Mark Twain about life and love?

texts:
There isn't time -- so brief is life -- for bickerings, apologies, heartburnings, callings to account. there is only time for loving -- & but an instant, so to speak, for that.

A friend was quoting a translated version of this on social network. I got curious
and did some Googling, found that the general translation of this quote is different between Simplified Chinese version and Transitional Chinese version.

The confusion part is about the last bit. While the first translation, stating that the time for love is very short, so it's such a pity.
The other translation, looks more blur, as it's something like: we only have time to love, and everything is fleeting.

While reading the original English version, me myself is more keen to lean toward to the first translation, which highlights that time for loving is instant, and the but shows how pity that is. I tried some more Googling but unfortunately it looks this type of sentence is not a problem to native speaker hence no one bother to explain it further. But to me Mark Twain's sentence is giving me most confusion among all those English sentence I've seen. So am I understanding it correctly?


texts: Etymology of adding articles to insulting or negative adjectives

texts:
I recently saw Deadpool (great movie), and noticed that Negasonic Teenage Warhead responded to something Deadpool said with "That a stupid."

But a few months before that movie was released, I heard some teenagers telling each other "You're a dumb!"

Where did this process of adding an article to dumb or stupid come from?


texts: What's a good word for 'clear mindedness' and 'an ability to see something as a whole'?

texts:
I'm looking for a title for something I'm working on, so ideally it would have to flow and be attractive.

The two best words I can think of is clarity, and panoptic. But I can't have the meanings separate between two words. I'm trying to find a word that takes the best from the meanings of both of those words (or words of a similar nature).

Something along the lines of a noun (such as a real life object/thing) rather than an adjective would probably be ideal, but either works.


texts:
It is a translation question and the right answer is

  The women gives cookies to the kid.

I put an extra "the" before cookies and it is marked as a wrong answer. Would anyone care to give a detailed reason as to when to put article?

Unrelated side note: I can't believe after so many years studying English, I am still struggling with these basic questions..


texts: "Initial" is pronounced "inishal," so why isn't the verb "initiate" pronounced "inishate"?

texts:
Trying to answer a recent question about the pronunciation of the consonant "c" in the word word appreciate made me realize something I'm ignorant about: although I've read in a fair amount of places about the process of palatalization that caused words like issue to be pronounced with a "sh" sound /ʃ/, most of what I've read is about "yod coalescence" (see this Wikipedia article) which from what I understand involves a change like [sj] > [ʃ]. The two consonants "coalesce" or merge into one, and neither one is left over. But in some words, such as the verbs appreciate or initiate, the /ʃ/ doesn't seem to result from coalescence because the "i" is still pronounced as a separate vowel. In addition, the Wikipedia article says "Yod-coalescence has traditionally been resisted in RP" but I think even the most traditional British speakers would use /ʃ/ in words like initial and initiate (correct me if I'm wrong about this). So it seems to me that there must have been several processes of palatalization that applied within English at different times.

My question here is about words with the spelling pattern CiV where C stands for any palatalized consonant or group of consonant letters, such as "t," " c," "ss," "s," "g," "st" (corresponding to pronunciations like /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /dʒ/ /stʃ/) and V stands for any vowel letter.
Why and when was the "i" completely lost in words like initial /ɪˈnɪʃəl/ (presumably after going through a semivowel stage), and on the other hand, why was it retained (or restored) as a syllabic unstressed vowel in words like initiate (v.)/ɪˈnɪʃiˌeɪt/?

The only pattern I can find is that words spelled with CiV that have the "i" pronounced as a separate vowel tend to have it followed by a primary or secondary stressed vowel. Here are some example suffixes to show what I mean:

With /i/:

-tiate /ʃiˌeɪt/ (verb ending)
-tiality /ʃiˈalɪti/ (noun ending)
-tiary = /ʃiˌɛri/ (in American English) (noun ending)

Without /i/:

-tial /ʃəl/
-tion /ʃən/
-tious /ʃəs/

The second set is composed of suffixes that are all pronounced with the completely unstressed "schwa" vowel. But I have no clue why this would make a difference.

Compare these related words:

differential /ˌdɪfəˈrenʃl/,  differentiation /ˌdɪfəˌrenʃiˈeɪʃn/
religious /rɪˈlɪdʒəs/, religiosity /rɪˌlɪdʒiˈɑːsəti/
beneficial /ˌbenɪˈfɪʃl/, beneficiary NAmE /ˌbenɪˈfɪʃieri/

I'd be interested in a description of either the historical sound changes or of the current phonological rules and patterns that result in this alternation.

(Note: I know this is sort of a technical "linguistic-y" sort of question, but I believe it still falls clearly within the scope of this site. I've decided to post it here rather than on the Linguistics Stack Exchange because I think I will have a better chance of getting an answer, or at least some useful comments, by asking here.)


texts: Is "to dovetail seamlessly" a redundant pleonasm that should be avoided?

texts:
Here is my sentence. English obviously not being my first language, I am unsure about this construction.

  Written shortly after the publication of the second edition, the text
  seamlessly dovetails both argumentatively and terminologically with
  the completely reworked chapter...

Many thanks in advance.


texts: How to describe a process that "isn't adaptable to customization" in fewer words

texts:
I would like to describe that a process isn't adaptable to customization in fewer words.

A full description of the process might be:

  "The entire process is rigid and is only good at doing one thing in a very inefficient manner with little to no capability of being adjusted or adapted to meet simpler requirements run in parallel."

I am hence looking for something along the lines of:

  The process isn't {adaptable to customization}

or

  The process is {not adaptable to customization}


texts:
Although as stated in this question (concerning the seemingly contradictory senses of the definition of peruse)

it's like saying "peruse is A" and "peruse is not A"

The senses provided by Merriam-Webster may appear to be semantically contradictory, however they do not preclude each other's use, due to the nature of the senses being positive claims.
So in light of this, do there exist definitions that rather than affirming a word's meaning within a context, restrict the meaning of a word such that it is deemed illegitimate within a given context?
Or otherwise phrased, as Mitch suggests in his comment, do dictionaries provide definitions that involve "using a more general definition and excluding portions of the general set"?


texts: Common expression for starting grammar school later than expected

texts:
There's a expression for children who go to school one year later than their peers, because they are deemed not yet ready, in Hungary this is at age 6 after kinder-garden, and they could wait with grammar school for one more year. (Hungarian word "évvesztes")

Do you have a similar word in English, or would this be just described, as "oh, I went to school one year late"? Could "deferred" be used in this context, or is that just for higher education applicants' admission postponing?


texts:
I am measuring a pollutant on a device from point A to B or B to A (beginning to end of a street). The device starts measurement of the pollutant, logs it at one-minute intervals, calculates the average for the entire route, and records the total duration in minutes.  Then I will start a new recording for a new route (say from G to F or C to D) or street and continue the process. As an example, the first measurement on May 06, 2011, recorded 891 ug and the total duration was 9 minutes. What can I call each of these individual routes which produced the measurements listed under pollutant? Path, passage, route, stretch or any suggestion ?

date    pollutant   minutes
06-May-11   891     9
06-May-11   666     7
06-May-11   360     7
06-May-11   928     11
06-May-11   1123    9


texts:
The common refrain for my entire tenure here: We all get too much email.

https://glyph.twistedmatrix.com/2016/04/email-isnt-the-problem.html
Of course I googled separate words and phrases from this sentence, but it still doesn't make any sense.

Refrain means "to stop yourself from doing something that you want to do"


texts: I work from 8 AM to 5 PM, but sometimes have to work from 10 AM to 6 PM instead. Some days my boss moves a shift from Tuesday to Saturday. What is the English term for this? Staggered (working) hours?


texts: I just saw a news report in which the reporter said: "They used the term injured and not wounded". I am wondering what the difference between the two is. Is wounded used only when there is an open wound?


texts:
The folks said they’d rather starve nor eat the corn meal.

Does it mean 'to choose starve than to eat the corn meal'?

The context is as below:

  Oh, yes, I mind the famine years. An’ the cornmeal that the ‘Mericans
  sent. The folks said they’d rather starve nor eat it. We didn’t know
  how to cook it.


texts:
Is to hear of perfectly synonymous with to hear about? Or are there contexts in which one excludes the other?

Hearing of... is great news.

Hearing about... is great news.


texts: When saying someone is 'full of themselves', what type of phrase is this? Is there some sort of literary device that describes a phrase that literally means something else from what the user is trying to convey?


texts: What is a name someone would describe a false homophobe?

texts: What would you call a person who calls another person a "faggot" in a very hateful way, when this other person is not a homosexual.


texts: What does the phrase 'odiously precocious' mean in the following passage?

texts:
'He thought of the half-caste children in Apia. They had an unhealthy look, sallow and pale, and they were odiously precocious'

In my point of view it simply means that the children have so many talents that they seem odious, but that doesn't make any sense and is kind of funny too.

Thank you .


texts:
I have a question. Is this sentence correct grammatically??

What have you tried for it?

Or I should use this instead :

Have you tried anything for it?


texts: What is the difference between "to allege" and "to claim"?

texts:
What is the difference between to allege and to claim? Can I use them interchangeably? Or perhaps I can only allege something illegal?

For example, from CNET:

  Over the past several months, the two companies have been embroiled in
  litigation in which Apple alleges that Samsung illegally copied
  technology and design aspects of the iPad to create the Galaxy Tab.

If I replace alleges with claims, does it change the meaning at all?


texts:
In this week's edition of The Economist there is a review of Edith Pearlman's latest book of short stories. In it, the reviewer says the volume is

  characterised by prose that is bolshie yet nuanced, elegant but not fussy, stylish without being vain.

Dictionaries I've consulted* inform me that bolshie means "radical" or "left-wing." These don't seem productive contrasts to "nuanced" in my view. I surmise that bolshie has to mean more than the dictionary is telling me. If so, what?

*NOAD ("A Bolshevik or socialist"), TFD ("difficult to manage, rebellious; any political radical"), Random House ("Bolshevik"), Webster's 3rd New Int'l, ("Bolshevik"), etc.


texts: Is there an alternative meaning of "dated someone"

texts:
When you say you dated someone, does it always mean you are trying to go out with someone (as in this implies something more than friendship) ?

Can I say I  dated my families and friends? Am I using it incorrectly ? Can it not mean a simple friendship thing ?


texts: how to use a periods/commas when putting a title within quotes (no italicizing on instagram)

texts:
I have to do social media for an instagram page that often times references books, movies, and tv shows. 1) how do punctuate correctly when using the title at the end of the sentence. 2) how do you i punctuate the title in the middle of a sentence. Where would insert periods/commas in the following?
ex at end: The Beatles just released their latest album "Abbey Road"
ex in middle: their new album "Abbey Road" is going to be a hit.


texts:
Sunday morning following the 2008 Trump inauguration, NBC´s Chuck Todd questioned statements made by Whitehouse spokesman Sean Spicer concerning proof of the actual size of the turnout for the event.
When asked about this, Kellyann Conway told Chuck that Sean was only offering "alternative facts", to which Todd replied, "Alternative facts are just falsehoods".

Is there such a thing as an "alternative fact"?  Is this another way to say "facts which present an alternative view"?

[EDIT]
A simple ngram search shows this is not a new usage.
And I found numerous usages of the phrase. Here is one, in an appropriately titled book.

from Dimensions of Change: Conceptualising Reality in Organisational Research
By Lars Bo Henriksen


texts:
I do not know where did it fall

Or

I don't know where it fell.

Or

I don't know where has it fallen

Or

I don't know where it has fallen.

Which one is right or appropriate?


texts: What is the verb for criticizing someone (especially juniors) in an annoying way?

texts:
I am looking for a verb (or a phrase) to describe a situation that someone criticizes you in an annoying and constant way. For example, an elder in your family (mostly in conservative environments) might criticize your outfit or your make-up. The following is an example conversation between a mother and daughter:

Mother: You young people! Really, you do not respect anything. I do not know what has happened to you. At least, you should have cut your hair.
Child: Mom don't start inquiring again, please. What is wrong with my hair?

Persian word for this is "گیر دادن" (prounced /gIr daadan/), where /gIr/ means gripping, scraping, sticking to, etc. I hope this helps to clarify what I mean.
I have used inquire as in inquisition, but I want a better modern-day alternative if any.


texts: Medium of instruction - "is in English" or "was in English"

texts:
I have requested for a certificate from my college and received the same. In that certificate I am seeing one grammatical error. But I just want to confirm.

Here is the sentence in question:

  He has passed the course and the medium of instruction for the entire course of study is in English


texts: Why do people often say 'hambag' for 'handbag'?

texts:
Edit

The comments here are full of disbelievers!

"I've never heard handbag pronounced that way. Which country are you from?"

Oh ye of little faith! So - I've attached a couple of examples here from that video site place. Watch the first from 23 seconds in. There's about five or six 'hambags' in the next half a minute: Hambag. Here's a second one, an American English speaker this time. He also says it about 23 seconds in too: A bag for sweet hams. Lastly, here's an altogether different pronunciation which you may find rather interesting. It's by far the best: A handbag?

The question

It's all in the title really. The other day I was hanging out with some teachers. They were all talking about /hæmbægz / i.e. 'hambags'. Ever since then I've been hearing people do this all the time. What's with the bags for ham?

What are the restrictions there on dropping one of the letters. I mean I can't say 'bangroll' /bæŋrəʊl*/ for bankroll. And I can't drop the /d/ in 'bedroom' and say /berʊm*/. Why can I drop a /d/ in 'handbag' when I can't drop a /k/ in 'bankroll'?

Secondly, what's happening to the /n/ there? Is it changing? If so why? After all we can't change the /m/ for example in 'hemlock' to 'henlock', although that would be much easier to say.

What's with the ham?


texts:
I need to find a word that would have a reasonably close meaning to:

  a collection of facts and arguments used to arrive at an explanation [of some (thing|concept|idea|...)]

More generally, I would appreciate if someone can give leads to how to create|construct or search for words expressing a given meaning. I've found the OneLook Reverse Dictionary. What other tools are available to achieve this?


texts: Where does the term "on the nose" come from?

texts:
Where does the term, "on the nose" (to mean accuracy) come from?

Dictionaries such as Oxford Dictionaries list the expression both under "nose" and on its own page, but the only etymology they list is of "nose":

  Old English nosu, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch neus, and more remotely to German Nase, Latin nasus, and Sanskrit nāsā; also to ness.


texts:
I have the follow example sentence:

"I made the decision to work toward these goals. But, I was stuck. Should I choose goal X or goal Y?"

Using 'should' here feels a bit awkward to me, so I'm not sure if it's grammatically correct.

Update: I read that it's possible to use "should" in either past or present tense, but I couldn't find a lot on the internet about it. And so, I wanted to figure out if in this particular instance it was grammatically correct. I thought perhaps it would be more correct to say, "Was I to choose goal X or goal Y?"


texts: Pronunciation Rule for "nt" in the Middle of Words

texts:
Is there a "rule" or pattern for the pronunciation of "nt" in the middle of words, followed by a vowel (or "er" sound)?

Here's what I have so far:

1) "t" is often omitted in words like "wanted," "mental," and "international" when "nt" is followed by a vowel or an "er" sound.

2) If the syllable following the "nt" is stressed, the "t" is pronounced: "integrity," "intoxicated," and "intact"

3) In words with "int," the "t" is sometimes obligatory, such as in "interrogation" and "interpretation," BUT it is not obligatory in others like "interception." The only pattern I see so far is that when the root word has a stressed syllable following the "nt," this carries over into the longer forms of the word. For example, "inTERRogate" is pronounced with a "t" and "interrogation" is also pronounced with a "t" (even though the syllable following the "nt" is no longer stressed).

4) In words like "attention," the "ti" is pronounced as /ʃ/ ("sh").

Can anyone think of additional examples or rules? Are there any examples which would contradict my reasoning so far?


texts: What is the term for when someone is lazy and it backfires and they end up doing more work than they would have if they just hadn't been lazy in the first place?


texts: How do we use the words 'electric' and 'electrical' correctly?

texts:
These two words are used differently as shown below:
Electric engineering (incorrect✖)
Electrical engineering (correct✓)
Electrical lamp (incorrect✖)
Electric lamp (correct✓)
And sometimes, they're used interchangeably as shown below:
Electric appliance (correct✓)
Electrical appliance (correct✓)
I am curious to know how these words are used correctly, how to know which one to use, for instance, with 'substation'.


texts: Will organize/is organising/ is going to organize/has organized

texts:
Which of the following verb forms are correct? The following are short notices. Can I use the following tenses interchangeably in an exam.
1 - This is to inform all the students that our school has organized/is organising/will organise/is going to organise a dance programme from 15 February, 2021 to 18 February 2021.
2- This is to inform all the students that our school is going to celebrate/will celebrate/is celebrating Mahatma Gandhi's birthday at the school ground on 2nd october this year.


texts:
I have a question regarding the proper usage of the word "refuse"

Let's say someone made a request to me, and my desire is to grant the request to the person. However let's assume that I am unable to grant the request despite my desire because the request entails something that is impossible for me to do. So if I say to this person, "sorry, I can't grant your request although I wish that I can do it for you", am I "refusing" to grant the request? or is there a better way to put it?


texts: Person who is decided on, acted on, judged, voted on, or is reviewed

texts:
I'm looking for a word or words for a person who is being analyzed, judged, or reviewed, and a matching word for the person doing the reviewing, judging, or analyzing. Preferably the words would be somewhat generalized.

For instance, there is a reviewer, analyzer, or judge, but I can't think of any specific words for the person on the receiving end.

More generally for the person being acted on there is "subject", or "target", but I can't think of anything that generally describes the person reviewing the other person other than "actor".


texts:
I've recently heard "that is" being used in a sentence with the following structure:

Beethoven has created the masterpiece that is Symphony No. 5.

This sentence feels a little bit awkward to me. Is it a valid use of "that is"? And Is there a better way to express the same meaning?
I've gone through past questions involving "that is", but this phrase is more commonly short for "that is to say" and convey "in other words". Is it being used in a similar fashion here?


texts:
Is this an OK sentence?

"I will continue to seek for opportunities to improve myself as a teacher, and for the school I belong to."

A little awkward but I dont know how to better it.


texts:
I googled about this "be it" thing and I found a little sth about it, I learned it's an old subjunctive inversion, but I can’t understand meaning of the sentence below:

But such an “objective” account is not adequate to resolve the
conflict—be it to resolve the conflict by defeating one side.


texts: Expression for losing something that you never really had

texts:
A friend keeps whining about "losing n reputation points" on Stack Exchange.

My instinctive interpretation is that some of the votes he had earned were reversed due to vote fraud.  What he really means, though, is that he hit the daily reputation limit and can't take advantage of up votes that are still coming in.

What is a better phrase to use to talk about points lost due to the rep cap?  Something similarly short, but less confusing.


texts: Meaning and origin of the phrase"on the tapis"

texts:
In a letter to Winston Churchill in 1917 was used the phrase "on the tapis". What does that mean?

"I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis --O.M.G.- (Oh! My God!)--Shower it on the Admiralty!"

Where does this expression come from?


texts: What is the origin of the shift of meaning of "sauté"?

texts:
As I'm dealing a lot of recipes and text on cooking written in English, I'm confronted all the time with a trend which makes understanding quite hard sometimes.

The original French word "sauté" has a very specific meaning. It requires very high heat, so high that the vegetable pieces would scorch if left for more than a few seconds on the pan - so they are continuously moved around in a "jumping" motion. This is the meaning which is used in cooking textbooks like The professional chef, and also in the Wikipedia article. This is what cooking professionals are taught, and what they think about, when they see the word.

There are tons of recipes published in popular media which start with "sauté the onions". From a culinary point of view, "sauté" (in its professional meaning) would be the wrong thing to do, or at least suboptimal. But from my observation, nobody is doing it anyway. What they are doing is "shallow frying" the onions, with other, more specific words, also applicable in some cases, such as "sweating" and "caramelizing".

By now, I have seen such prevalence of the term, that I think it's fair to say that it can be considered a second meaning. We have the worst sort of polysemy: the same word is used by two groups (but confusingly in the same domain) with two conflicting meanings.

Can anybody shed some information on when this trend started, and is there known evidence for the reasons why it started at all?


texts: I am writing a novel.  I want to write an accusatory interjection e.g., "You rascal."  My grammar checker rejects this.  My whole life I have heard people making accusations this way.  Is it incorrect grammar?


texts: Does the term "E-post" exist (in English)?

texts:
If I'm not mistaken, the term for the place, at which we receive mails in the "physical world", is called a post (or a post-box). However, when referring to the "electronic world", I've never encountered the word e-post; thus, I'd like to ask whether it exists?

Remark: I'm asking for the generic term depicting the place, where emails are received, not for how its particular description (i.e. the email address) is called.


texts: How do I express 'pen to paper' in relation to a computer?

texts:
I wrote an email to someone this morning and said that I had not yet 'put pen to paper' and then I attempted to express that in modern terms.

But I stumbled to express 'paper', uncertain what 'substance' I am producing when I  take up the 'pen' of my keyboard.

What, exactly, would be the modern idiom, using computing over the internet, to express 'putting pen to paper' ?


texts:
I've been reading a book that includes extraterrestrials that shift from female to male during the course of their lives. During the transition phase, the other characters in the book use the neutral pronouns "xe" and "xyr" to refer to them.

What would be an appropriate pronunciation for these?


texts:
I heard this phrase: checkout solution. What does that mean exactly? Here is an example.

  Bongo Checkout is an integrated and secure international checkout solution that enables your business to reach international consumers through your existing eCommerce infrastructure. Checkout enhances transactions and offers a wealth of benefits.

Does it mean a solution for paying?


texts: "that there was _there_ insufficient evidence"

texts:
A lawyer has filed a court document listing issues to be determined in an upcoming trial. He has phrased one issue as follows:

Did Judge <X> err in not accepting the "new evidence" following the
delivery of his decision that there was there insufficient evidence to
justify a trial in accordance with s 26(2) of the Criminal Procedure
Act 2011;

(Judge's name redacted, bold emphasis added)
At first I thought that the second "there" was just a typo. But I decided to search the web for exactly the same phrase and found two other occurrences in similar context. Which has made me think: what if this is not a typo but rather some weird legalese?
So, is it a typo or not?


texts: Is 'I would like to make laugh from you' correct?

texts: With the meaning to make jokes about somebody. Or, 'They love to make laugh from me', is it correct? or should it be 'at' instead of 'from'?


texts: What is the term for when you become more aware of something?

texts:
For example, when you buy a car, you start becoming more aware of cars with a similar make and model. The number of that type of car hasn't increased, but your awareness of it has.

Similarly, when you learn a new word, you start hearing the same word used in different places. You probably just filtered the word out previously, but now you've become aware of it.

How do you describe the phenomenon when you become more aware of something after an initial or significant exposure or experience with that thing? What term or word can you use?


texts: The English usage of the subject pronoun "We"

texts:
Can "We" be used as an indefinite pronoun such as "Everybody" or "One" to refer to people in general.

Example: One cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs.

It is a (French) proverb originally with "You" as the subject pronoun. Is it correct to use "We" in this case to refer to people in general?


texts: Is "helped paved" construction correct? (It's very prevalent—perhaps it's dated?)

texts:
I am proofreading a text with the following sentence: "By the time Henry died, he had helped paved the way for the future of economics."

If "helped paved" is incorrect (and should be "helped pave" instead), why does the internet list so many published instances of it? Please see link:

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22helped+paved%22&source=lnms&tbm=bks&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj33fP01P_gAhWl8oMKHelOAAkQ_AUIFCgB&biw=1261&bih=718

Thank you very much!


texts: Grammar matters - explanation of example

texts:
I just stumbled over this from http://braythwayt.com/2015/05/04/grammar-matters.html :

"I'd like to thank the employees of FormerCo, who made me feel that my contribution mattered."

"I'd like to thank the employees of FormerCo who made me feel that my contribution mattered."

One is a lovely tribute to a good company’s people. The other is a passive-aggressive criticism of a flawed company’s toxic culture.
Grammar. Matters.

I am not an English native speaker and I do not get how that comma would discriminate a passive-aggressive tweet from a employee-praising tweet.
Can somebody explain?


texts:
The word for snakelike is ophidian.
The word for froglike is batrachian.
Is there a word for batlike?


texts: Are there single word alternatives that incorporate the "quantitative/ cumulative increase" aspect of the word "upvote"?

texts:
As per Wiktionary, the definition of "upvote" is the following

To vote for, increasing a cumulative tally of popularity.

Note that the phrase "a cumulative increase" in the above definition emphasizes/ denotes a "quantitive" change.

I was searching for synonyms for upvote and these are the closest alternative words/ phrases -

approve; agree

However, I believe that these words do not indicate a "quantifiable" increase

My question is the following -

Are there single word alternatives that incorporate the "quantitative/ cumulative increase" aspect of the word "upvote"


texts: "click on the image" vs. "click the image"

texts:
Transitive verbs take object directly. Source - http://grammar.about.com/od/tz/g/tranverb02term.htm

If "click" is a transitive verb, why do we say "click on the image" and not "click the image"?


texts:
I know it isn't "longcut", although the term is used sometimes, humorously.

How do I correct someone who believes a way to be the shortest route when it is in fact

a longer route, or
the longest route.

  It's not a shortcut, it's a ______ (preferably single word)

Please note that I'm not looking for a way to paraphrase this. It's just an example sentence. I'm looking for a word that specifically serves as an antonym to shortcut, in this sense and others.

EDIT: Dan's comment below: "I'm struggling to find reasons why one would want longer-than-normal routes. The 'antonym' doesn't seem to make sense", calls for an edit.

Let's say there are two paths: One shortcut and the other, for the lack of a better term, longcut.

You might wish to take the longcut if:

Someone you like is in the passenger seat and you want it to last as long as possible.
As Mary pointed out, the shortcut might require you to drive on a hellish road.
You're a cab driver and want to extract the maximum fare. (It's based on distance travelled here in India.)
The shortcut is shorter in distance but might take longer to navigate: traffic jams, accidents... any number of reasons.
You feel like it.


texts:
Here's a phrase from a song:

  There's nothing a god can give to me that I can't give to myself

  I put my beliefs in the things I believe and a god can take care of himself

It might seem kind of offensive, please don't pay much attention to the meaning of the phrase, what I'm curious about is solely a grammar stuff.

So,
1. Is it correct to use indefinite article before 'god' at all?
2. If god's already mentioned in the first sentence, would it be better to use 'the' before 'god' in the second one?


texts: Does "last July" refer to July 2013 or July 2014?

texts:
Writing/speaking in December 2014, if I say "last July", am I referring to July 2013 or July 2014?

If the answer is the former, then how do I refer to the latter? And if the latter, how do I refer to the former?


texts:
I've just read this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_question

So regarding this passage:

  The term "question tag" is generally
  preferred by British grammarians,
  while their American counterparts
  prefer "tag question".

If a British person uses the term "question tag", does it refer to the American term "tag question"? Is this passage saying the terms are synonymous?

As far as I can tell, "tag question" is a term referring to the "question" and "question tag" is a term referring to the "tag" itself, which means they refer to different things and are NOT synonymous. So why does Wikipedia say that the term "question tag" is generally preferred by British grammarians, while their American counterparts prefer "tag question" when they in fact refer to different things (which means that both British and American will have to use either depending on which term they are talking about)?

"Here's a question tag" means "Here's a tag, and the tag is the question tag".

"Here's a tag question" means "Here's a question, and the question is a tag question."

So are "tag" and "question" synonymous? If not I can't see how "tag question" and "question tag" are synonymous.


texts: Comma or not in "help people discover, and grow in, faith"

texts:
There is some difference in opinion whether or not the below sentence should have the commas as shown or not. Are there any rules that this would be based on? Do they make the sentence clearer? Any opinion together with clear reasons would be much appreciated.

  Our aim is to help people discover, and grow in, faith in Jesus Christ.


texts:
The following sentence is from The Invisible Man by H.G.Wells. Please explain the italicized part:

They heard the chink of money, and realised that the robber had found the housekeeping reserve of gold— two pounds ten in half sovereigns altogether.


texts: Is the acronym "PET" only used in some countries?

texts:
A sign above a recycling bin, written in Korean, saying "PET・캔" (the last character seems to be the Korean word for "Can") was not recognised by some people in this blog post as referring to the plastic used in bottles.

Is the term "PET" only used in some countries? How do other countries talk about these bottles in the context of recycling?


texts: How to use the the words "rollover hours" correctly in this sentence and context

texts: I am writing bullet points of what is included in a website maintenance service. The way I have phrased the sentence is "Rollover up to 12 Unused Hours". I am not sure if that is correct. How may I use the words "rollover hours" correctly in order to express that if you don't use the maintenance hours we can rollover your hours for next month? Thank you in advance for your help.


texts: A single word for a silent conversation/expression?

texts:
I am branding my work and need a word to name my brand. I have words like silent, tacit and tête-a-tête.
But i am not completely convinced. I want to say self conversation/ silent expression.
I don't mind words in other languages or origin-etymology.


texts: A name for a well-informed person who is not believed?

texts:
Is there a term for a well informed person who is not believed, or not listened to, or is even ridiculed?

I do not necessarily mean some one before their time... I am thinking in more general terms.

(I have googled this but the question is too broad and has too many keywords and if I try to narrow it down I lose the original meaning.)


texts: What is a good substitute word for the X-cum-Y construction?

texts:
I wanted to use the word "cum" to avoid repeating "and" in the following phrase:

  example.com is a teacher-cum-student search and listing site...

But on second thoughts, the word "cum" is also a vulgar slang, which certainly would raise a few eyebrows when readers come across it. Is there a good substitute for this word?


texts: When should you use a semicolon *with* a conjunction?

texts:
I know the basics of a semicolon—at least I think I do.  Aside from delimiting verbose lists, it separates independent clauses of a sentence.  So, if you have two independent clauses in a sentence, you can either separate them with a semicolon, or a comma along with a conjunction—like "but".

However, I've noticed a few authors actually using a semicolon with a conjunction, like:

<independent clause 1>; but <independent clause 2>

Can anyone shed some light on when this is preferable to just a comma?  Is this simply a matter of personal preference?


texts:
I am now reading The Clean Coder book and have noticed a couple of cases of weird (for non-native speaker) future tense usages.

The point of the kata is to train your fingers and your brain. I'll
do a kata or two every day, often as part of settling to work. I
might do it in Java, or in Ruby, or in Clojure, or in some other
language for which I want to maintain my skills.`

The phrase about doing a kata or two every day looks perfect for Present Simple. Why does the authoer use Future Simple instead?

However, a professional also knows that there will be times when he will fail, his risk calculations will be wrong, his abilities will fall short; he'll look in the mirror and see an arrogant fool smiling back at him.

Shouldn't we use Present Simple after when/if in this kind of cases? I am especially curious about this case as sometimes I forget to switch to Present Simple after if/when and I thought it is a critical error (which I didn't expect to see in a book).


texts: What do you call a series of words connected by hyphens?

texts:
I am doing an English Language AS Level past paper and in it is written "They all pop up in the film in a when-brands-collide whirlwind" and later on "Emmet is mistakenly drafted into a save-the-world mission".

What do you call a series of words ("when-brands-collide" and "save-the-world"), rather than just two, that are connected by hyphens?

Written in another part of the paper is "Thanks to the host of iconic characters, and unique cross-generational appeal, the bricks may be...".  I believe "cross-generational" is a compound adjective.  Am I right?


texts: Need help with the sentence structure for my pitch, thanks!

texts:
Back story: I am to give a 3 minute pitch on a task i worked on.

I would like to something like,
"As a general knowledge, we know that smartphones are dominated by IOS and android. Which is why working on these operating systems are important"

Something like that... But i don't know if i have to give like a solid quote from a credible source or i can just throw the word "allegedly" in there.

Please help me with constructing this sentence!

Thanks and with Love,
English newbie <3


texts: What is the original connection between "nurse" and "sister"?

texts:
In Hebrew, the difference between the words "Sister" and "Brother" is that "Sister" has an additional suffix, as might be expected given the structure of the language. Also, the Hebrew word for a female nurse and the word for "Sister" are the same word, and likewise for a male nurse and the word for "Brother".

These are three things I've been wanting to know and haven't found any conclusive information about:

It occurred to me that in UK English, "Sister" is another term for nurse (a female one I guess). What about a male nurse? Would he be called a brother, a sister or a nurse? The uncertainty indicates, for me, a rather archaic background (which I think is associated with different gender roles).
What are the roots of referring to a nurse as "sister"? This could shed light on the previous question. It sounds very biblical to me.

I would really appreciate perspectives on this topic.


texts: what's the difference between Transfer, Transport and Transmission as the noun

texts:
Here are some examples
FTP is short for File Transfer Protocol, while TCP is short for Transmission Control Protocol, the layer in which TCP resides is called Transport Layer. What's the difference of them?


texts: How do you say "question de cours" in English?

texts: In French, une question de cours, is a question in a test for which you just need to know the content of your course. It is an easy question (usually) which does not require any reflection.