texts: single word or short phrase for the principle of defining any term on first use?

texts:
I sometimes wanted to emphasize the importance of defining any term or acronym on its first use.
I was just wondering if there is a single-word or shorter expression of this principle (define on first use) that is well-established or recognized by native English speakers.
For example,
Keep in mind, define-on-first-use/define-on-first-occurrence is very important in writing.
Any shorter or more idiomatic phrase for expressing this?


texts:
What is the meaning of 'but' in this sentence?

  "Remember the lady who moved across the hall? So I get into the elevator today and who else gets in but her!"

What does the 'but' mean here, and how else could I express it using different wording?


texts: Word for choosing the desire of a majority over a minority

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes the act of prioritizing the wishes of a majority of some community over the wishes of a minority.

Before, I would use the word chauvinism for this purpose, but apparently the word chiefly refers to exaggerated or even bigoted patriotism or sexism. It also carries a strongly negative connotation, whereas I'm trying to put my finger on a milder term.

The phrase peer pressure doesn't hit the nail on the head either, as it implies that a person is bullied into doing something that many of his peers want him to do so that he would fit in with them. But what if his peers have no intention of forcing him to follow their example, and it's a governing body of some kind that merely ignores his unique request in favor of a more  popular request?

I also don't feel that the word democracy would fit, for the opposite reasons: it carries a strongly positive connotation, as a democratic decision implies that it is a decision that everybody wants or can agree with. But what word would imply that a certain decision is something that many people want and can benefit from, but would ignore or hurt a select few?

Examples of what I mean:
A local government decides to stop funding their town's art gallery due to low attendance rates, and re-allocates the money to a popular sports club instead. This would be discriminatory against art-lovers, however few they may be.

Or, the student council of the Computer Science faculty is trying to convince professors to focus more on web applications because most of the students that will graduate want jobs in web development. However, this would be of no value to the very small minority of students that want to work in embedded systems, and the student council ignores these students' request for a course in programming micro-controllers.


texts: do you skip the a at the beginning of a word after a previous word ends in a consonant?

texts:
For example:

All American => All Merican

Automated analysis => Automated nalysis

You get the idea?


texts: How to form the possessive case of indefinite pronouns?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Should I use “everyone's”, “everyones'” or “everyones”?

I was writing a sentence in Google Docs that contained the following fragment:

  ...is in everyone's best interest...

The word "everyone's" was flagged as a spelling error and the suggested replacement was "every one's."

Which form is correct?


texts:
There are few questions and answer on the choice of gerund versus infinitive.
From what I understand, when conveying a purpose the infinitive should be used:

  I use my key in order to open the door. [correct]
  I use my key in order to opening the door. [incorrect]
  I use words to describe my dream. [correct]
  I use words to describing my dream. [incorrect]

Yet I read the instruction on an English lesson book:

  "Use similes to describing the animals here below."

Could you please confirm what should follow "(in order) to": the gerund or the infinitive?


texts: Is it okay to write i.e. at the beginning of a sentence?

texts:
Is it aceptable to write "i.e." at the begining of a sencnce?

For example:

  Does the above formula equal 2?
  i.e. does (insert simple formula here) equal 10?

or should it be

  Does the above formula equal 2?
  I.e. does (insert simple formula here) equal 10?

or both capitalised?

  Does the above formula equal 2?
  I.E. does (insert simple formula here) equal 10?

Or would it be better to write

  Does the above formula equal 2?
  By that I mean does (insert simple formula here) equal 10?

or

  Does the above formula equal 2?
  That is, does (insert simple formula here) equal 10?


texts:
There are three ways I know to pronounce the -ed at the end of an adjective:

/t/ as in cracked.
/d/ as in lined.
/ɪd/ as in naked

I realise naked is a special case because, as etymonline states, it comes for Old English nacod, so the suffix isn't added.

This answer shows the pattern of pronunciation of -ed in all other cases. However it doesn't explain why wicked ends with /ɪd/ (or /id/ or /əd/ depending on the dialect).

Etymonline says that wicked comes from OE wicca, so the d wasn't already there.

Why do we pronounce wicked as /ˈwɪkɪd/ and not /ˈwɪkt/?


texts:
The following passage is taken from an article in the Financial Times, titled "Shinzo Abe will not revive Japan by rewriting history."

  When the Japanese prime minister tips up at the next month's meeting of the Group of Eight advanced industrial nations, it is a fair bet his fellow summiteers will want to get to know him.

Emphasis mine. What does the phrase I have put in italics mean? Does it have anything to do with football?


texts:
Searching for the structure "that which", I saw in this site "that" refers to  the noun coming just before it and "which" is usually a relative pronoun. However, I still cannot understand the following sentence:

  It has become part of your system because of your liking for Uncle Charlie, which has produced in you a tendency to incorporate into your life that which is his.

When I changed "that" to "life", it became "life life which". I must have missed something, but what?


texts:
Is there an antonym to the verb form of "able". If my English is correct, you can say the following:

  My large backpack is abling me to bring all my books to school.

(I see that a far better word in that circumstance would be "enables", but I'll let it stand.) However, is there a way to say something akin to the following?

  Arguably, this effect lessens as the obstacles get larger, as they now fill a larger part of the length of the passing wave, unabling the flow to onset hydro-elastic vibrations.


texts: What does 'Ibid' mean in reference/footnotes?

texts:
Every so often I read a book with footnotes, and I've seen them use Ibid. followed by page numbers - but I have no idea what this term means.

At first I thought it was a reference to a classical author (spurred on a little bit by the character of Ibid in a Discworld book), but I realise now that it must have some technical meaning for referencing sources.


texts: Words to describe a semi-literate person

texts:
I once had a manager whose level of literacy was lacking to the extent that he would nearly always return my technical reports with sections rewritten such that they became either ungrammatical, or would convey an inaccurate notion to most readers (due to poor wording).

One of my colleagues would often describe that manager as being illiterate, or (if he happened to be feeling magnanimous), semi-literate.

I was wondering, are there any better words or phrases to describe someone who is prone to such things as grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, tautologies and misinterpretation of (relatively) common words/terms?

In other words I'm looking for descriptive terms, or even colloquialisms, that would apply to someone who is particularly poor at expressing themselves in writing.

As an aside, I am also interested in what words could be used to describe the opposite quality... I.e., descriptors for someone who is particularly articulate and eloquent in their writing style, and good at finding the most concise, and effective  way of conveying even the most complex ideas. (Perhaps something along the lines of well-spoken, or well-versed in the art of written communication?)


texts: A replacement exclamation for "Gee" or "Man"?

texts:
Sometimes, I might say 'Man', as the precursor to a statement as in this recent example I said to myself after reading something: "Man, to  give anything a label will always technically be reductive, and thereby cause assumptions..." or "Man, there are a lot of people here."

I don't like using 'man' since it sounds too casual to me, and I've never used 'gee' since it sounds outdated. I sometimes use a 'Hmm,', but it sounds pretentious. "Eureka" eureka wouldn't quite fit the situation here.

To simply omit the exclamation changes the implication of the sentence, indicating it is a fact, rather than something that came from your thoughts.

Right now, my choice of interjection would be a brief "Hnn,".
Can anyone suggest a nice more 'scientific' alternative, maybe something you've seen on a show, read an intellectual say, or use yourself?

Side Note: Google's dictionary (oxford pocket) doesn't actually list 'gee' as a synonym for 'man', maybe this should be added.


texts:
Most sources on the Internet seem to indicate that English "v" in words like "vodka" or "raven" is /v/, identical to Polish "w" or Russian "в".
However, my pronunciation seems to differentiate between the two - I pronounce the Polish "w" as /v/ with a strong labiodental component, but English "v" is more of a /β/ sound, with lips puckered rather than touching the lower teeth. Trying to pronounce "vodka" with a Polish "w" feels unnatural and reminiscent of a sort of fake Russian accent.
Is it common for native English speakers to approximate "v" to some extent, or am I the one that's in the wrong here?


texts: Is it ok or common to use "are you able" to make a request instead of using "can you" or "could you" when you know that the person is able to do the task and you are just requesting something? I suspect that "are you able" may sound as if the ability of the other person is in doubt. If the intention is just to request politely that the other person do a routinary task, is it ok/common to say "are you able"?


texts: "leads back in the time of" or "leads back to the time of"?

texts: Is it correct to say "leads back in the time of Reunification" or "leads back to the time of Reunification"?


texts: Could you please explain the meaning of this? I have it in a sentence - The speaker was, by some margin, the youngest person in the room. I am a translator from English to Czech and I can´t find it anywhere. Thanks.


texts: "Thousands of thousands" vs. "Thousands upon thousands"

texts: Is "thousands of thousands" grammatically correct? Why does it seem that "thousands upon thousands" sounds better, even though the former is closer to the logical truth? Is there any difference at all?


texts: Present tense mixed with past tense in diaries?

texts:
Need some help with the tenses here.

I'm not a native English speaker. In reading Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt, I've noticed many cases where tenses are mixed together within one paragraph. The book is based on his diaries written when he was a doctor. I'm very confused by the tenses. Can anyone please explain a bit the logic behind to me? Many thanks.

Here's an example:

"Having a poo on labour ward when the emergency buzzer goes off, and within minutes I’ve delivered a baby at crash cesarean section. The second the buzzer sounded I crimped it off, but my wiping was cursory at best, which is why my arse is now unbearably itchy while I’m scrubbed into theatre."


texts:
I’ve read this expression in a news article related to a Hawaiian politician: “He is well-regarded in both Washington and in the islands for his gracious manner and spirit of aloha.”

I understand that aloha is a Hawaiian greeting and, as such, I understand the expression in the quote above as “his gracious manner and openness”. I tried to look up the entire expression “spirit of aloha”, but search engines’ results are polluted by commercial uses (including a Disney show).

How would you express this sentence to exclude the Hawaiian-specific reference (if at all possible)? What are the cultural elements that I am missing (as a European who doesn't know much about Hawai, except that it's a popular holiday destination).


texts: What is a long, complicated word for adding many unnecessary details to make a story seem more believable?

texts:
I remember the basic definition of this word, but I can't remember the word itself. To paraphrase the definition (if I remember correctly):

  To include many unnecessary details with the objective of making a story or
  narrative seem more convincing or believable.

The correct answer will be a long, complicated word not ever used in everyday speech. It could also be a non-verb that encompasses that basic idea.

Update

Just to provide more context. This is going to be a tough one. I've never ever heard this word used in real life. It was introduced to me when I noticed at a climbing gym; one of the routes had this word as its name. Later that night I went home and looked up the word, which revealed something similar to the above definition. Since then I have not seen the word, and since then the route has changed :/

I'm fairly accomplished at Google-fu, so I wouldn't recommend trying to answer this with a cursory scan of Google. I already spent quite a bit of time on that approach. At this point I'm really just hoping somebody on here is a professor or something with some very esoteric knowledge of obscure English words and happens to recognize it.

Update 2

A couple of people have suggested Verisimilitude. This is very close. What I'm looking for is a word which describes embellishing or embroidering a story or narrative with the end result being verisimilitude. I suspect that although difficult, verisimilitude could be achieved without the embellishment or embroidery of details, and therein lies the difference between verisimilitude and this word.


texts:
I was reading a technical requirement documentation and it says:

  A Save Event preceded by the user un-checking the "Active" check box...

So does it mean that they un-check the "Active" check box and then they Save?


texts: "Drag & dropping" or "Dragging & dropping"

texts:
"Drag & dropping" sounds better to me, but "Dragging & dropping" has more Google results...

Which one is correct and why?


texts: What do you call something that causes fear?

texts:
Example:

  The wind and the owls weren't the/my only [...] that night.

I didn't using fear as a noun is a bit weird in this situation? What's a better alternative?


texts:
I've seen a few helpful posts on this, and understand that there is no rule necessarily, but I'm trying to wrap my head around something like the following example:
"For the purposes of Chapter 3, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivatives shall have the meaning stated below."
From what I've read, the singular of "meaning" would be appropriate if all the terms, words, phrases, etc., shared the same meaning. But what follows is a list of definitions of many terms. I can't quite put my finger on why "meaning" sounds OK, but would "meanings" be preferable? Or is "meaning" collectively OK because they're all defined below in a collective list of definitions?


texts: Is there a term for when you complain about something, and then it just starts working right?

texts: I often find that when working with different forms of technology it breaks then when you have someone watch it or complain to someone it works. Is there a term for this?


texts: phrase for when something is a benefit only if you're strong enough

texts:
I'm looking for a well-known phrase/idiom/quote/expression to express the meaning that something is good for you but only when you can handle it.

For example, some medicine can cure a disease but only when the person being treated is otherwise healthy enough. If the patient is weak, the medicine may do more harm than good.

I'm struggling to find a well-known and concise way of expressing this. Any suggestions are welcome.

UPDATE: Can I offer another example?

Imagine there is a competition and you can decide either you participate in it alone or together with a friend as a team. Now, having a team member can increase your winning probability only when yourself is strong. Otherwise, your friend will drag you down.


texts: Hyphenated abbreviation of component-sharing compound

texts:
In German it is unconspicuous to write 'An- oder Abwesenheit', but
writing 'pre- or absence' in English would be conspicuous and perhaps
either jocular or affectatious.  I cannot think of an example of this
kind of hyphenated abbreviation of one of two compounds sharing a
component that would seem natural in English.  Can you?  Or can you find
a literary example?


texts: The meanings of these kinds of sentences such as “It has been three years.” “I have been married.”

texts:
I am learning the present perfect tense, and confusing a lot.
Here are three sentences.

a. It has been three years.
b. I have been married.
c. He has learnt a lot.

What do they mean exactly?


texts: A word for surpassing/outdoing one's teacher/master?

texts:
What do you call someone (say, a student) who surpasses, or outdoes, his/her master or teacher, in skill or achievements?

I'm looking for a single word, preferably; if not, as succinct a phrase as possible.


texts: have wanted to do/ have been wanting to do

texts:
Could anyone tell me the difference between "have wanted to do" and "have been wanting to do"?
I often say "I've been wanting to go there!" when someone invite me to the restaurant that I got to know before and has been thinking I want to go since then.
But one of my friends said "I've wanted to go there." in the same situation today.
Which is correct/common usage?


texts: Is it correct to use "could" when confirming something?

texts:
"I just want to confirm that I could be included in the committee although I am no longer affiliated with the university"

Is the sentence above correct or should I use "can" instead of "could"?


texts:
What is part of speech of "evening" in sentences below?

1. She meets her friends every evening.
2. She met her friends yesterday evening.

I find that evening is only a noun or a adjective instead of a adverb from Collins.


texts: When I needed you most vs When I needed you the most

texts:
This question happens to remind of an oldie song by Randy Vanwarmer, but I was wondering if the two are the same in effect or if they can be different, if at all, or if it's just a matter of preference.

I believe I know the basics of how the word "most" is used. And I did as much as research, including corpus searches, as I could. But I'm still not sure. It's confusing to English learners no matter if it matters or not.


texts:
In what context do we usually use 'Go With A Swing /Full Swing'?
Can I use it when I'm having a casual conversation with my family and friends?


texts: Should the verb "die" be used in the present simple tense when talking about an individual?

texts:
There's this quote from the game Batman: Arkham Origins in which there's the phrase "She dies" which Ferris says about Mr. Freeze's wife Nora, who's suffering an uncurable disease.

Shouldn't it be something like "She's dying", given that that's what she is, "dying", as in "suffering an uncurable condition and awaiting certain death"? What would such a phrase as "She dies" mean?

Unless you were a phoenix whose gimmick is to keep on dying and reviving, or you're talking about things in general as a matter of fact (as in "People die" or "Male shrews die after mating"), or you're using it in a hypothetical/conditional or future sense (as in "if/until/the day I die"), using the verb die in the present simple when talking about a single individual doesn't seem to make much sense.


texts: Can anyone please explain to me why the answer is expertise? Why not experts, as I believe the answer should be experts?


texts: What would be the right word for "meme" in the original, Dawkinsian sense?

texts:
"Meme" coined by Dawkins, has an original sense that's very useful for describing units of culture:

  A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices, that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena with a mimicked theme. 1

But now, it seems that the meaning of the word has been co-opted to specifically describe jokes on twitter and instagram that follow a specific format.

"Trend" seems to be the closest, but I don't think it really captures the original sense of "meme".

1. Meme (Wikipedia)


texts: A word to describe an excessively formal process or procedure

texts: I'm looking for a single word which may describe that a given process is overly formal in a sense it requires plenty of steps or involves myriad subprocesses. For instance some company is about to introduce a new development methodology and employees complain that this methodology is ??? and therefore it would be tiresome to follow it due to the fact it has many phases. The word ceremonial I think has a religious connotation. Another option is to merely use overly/exceedingly/very to emphasize this fact but it would be great if there exists a single word.


texts: love vs like, His mother loves him vs His mother likes him?

texts:
What does a native English speaker understand from each one of these sentences :

His mother loves him
His mother likes him

is like only a weak version of love or imply a different meaning ?


texts:
a. It costs $10 a person.
b. It costs $10 per person.

Is a person part of the noun phrase $10 a person? Or is it an adjunct of the verb?
How about per person?


texts: Is there an umbrella word for cancer treatment?

texts:
I know that there is a noun for cancer as an area of medicine: oncology. But is there a word for things under the umbrella of the art and science of cancer treatment?

I was thinking of something other than "cancer therapy." Something like "oncologics", although that's not actually a word.


texts:
what does " crack thumb" and also " Balck fall" mean in this sentences from a Play:
" that is the House of shaws! blood built it; blood stopped the building of it; blood shall bring it down. see here! I spite upon the ground, and crack my thumb at it! Black be its fall! if you see the laird, tell him what ye hear..."


texts: Is there a word for the desire or emotion of wanting to prove someone wrong?

texts:
Is there a word for the motivation to do something only because of the desire to prove someone wrong? When someone is using reverse psychology like:

  You won't do this chore, you'll probably just mess it up anyway.

Are they preying on a particular characteristic? If successful, is the manipulated person acting with a particular emotion?


texts: What is a different expression/phrase/word for someone who lets others do their "dirty work" for them?

texts: I am currently writing an essay on the movie Paths of Glory and how one General  (General Broulard) is more dislikable and villainous than the other. One facet of my argument addresses how he lets others do the dirty work for him - though he does not directly spill blood, he is responsible for a lot of strife, and he keeps his hands clean through manipulation and his status as a General. I know there is a better phrase to use than "lets others do his dirty work" but cannot think of it.


texts: Is the expression, “Who do you trust (speak / teach / give / vote / fire ...)?” predominantly used today?

texts:
The popular TV game show, “Who Do You Trust?”, aired from 1957 to 1963. I learnt this from the New York Times’ (March 29) article written by Dick Cavett under the title “Tonight, Tonight, Its World Is Full of Blight.”
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/tonight-tonight-its-world-is-full-of-blight/?hp

  “When Jack departed the show for good in 1962 it was predicted that
  “Tonight” would die on the vine. Who could replace that sentimental,
  explosive, compellingly neurotic master of late-night? And where would
  you even begin to look for such a one? The answer came. The boyishly
  nice-looking guy from Nebraska, collegiate and witty, who killed ’em
  out of the public eye at Friars’ roasts and trade lunches while
  hosting the ungrammatically named game show “Who Do You Trust?” (TV’s
  earliest dumbing down?)

Though it comes with the author’s proviso (‘TV’s earliest dumbing down’), is the expression “Who do you trust (speak to/teach/scold/fire/vote for, and any transitive verbs)?” predominantly used today?

At middle school a long, long time ago, we were taught we should use the objective case for an interrogative followed by a transitive verb. If an English teacher corrected my writing “Who did you teach?” to “Whom did you teach?”, can I counter him by saying this usage is common among Anglophones?


texts: Referring to the Seasons correctly: Summer versus Summers

texts:
Which of the below seems the correct usage:

(A) The family spent the academic year in Berkeley, retreating to a Napa Valley estate in the summers.

(B) The family spent the academic year in Berkeley, retreating to a Napa Valley estate in the summer.

(C) The family spent the academic year in Berkeley, retreating to a Napa Valley estate in summer.

Context: This is not something they did just one year, but seems a habitual, year after year trip.

Follow up question: Is "in the winters" also used? I somehow hear of it less often than "in winter".

More Context: The original sentence was taken  from Wikipedia and conforms to Usage (A) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin

Since (A) is on Wikipedia I tend to go with that but in reality none of the three sound odd to my ears.


texts:
What is the difference between the two?

  The weather is not bad at all.

  The weather is not at all bad.


texts: "That should do it / That ought to do it", do you say it before the last thing is done or after?

texts:
Longman Dictionary says:

  that should do it  also    that ought to do it (spoken):
  used to say that you will have finished doing something if you just do one more thing:
  I've just got to prepare the dessert and that should do it.

So you should say it before the last part of the job is done. But many times I've encountered this idiomatic expression that it was said after the job was finished off. I did a search in Google Books:

The airplane kept climbing. That should be high enough, I thought. The plane continued to climb. That should do it. But no, we continued ascending. C'mon, we're really high enough already! Hey!

Furthermore, this usage is suggested by all the answers to this question. For example:

  If I bake a cake, let it cool, put icing on it and add some decorative sprinkles, after the final sprinkles are added I might step back, examine my cake and say, "That ought to do it!" Which signifies both to myself and anyone present that the cake has now been completed to my satisfaction and is now ready to be eaten.

So there should be no doubt that "that should do it" could mean "that should have done it". I have two question:

1- Is it used before the last part at all? (as Longman Dictionary claims)
2- Why is it in the present tense? Why isn't it like : "that should have done it"?


texts:
Present continuous tense Rules. Auxiliary verb “am or is or are” is used in sentence. 1st form of verb or base verb + ing (presentparticiple) is used as main verb in sentence.
Question: Can we form the with verb ill?
For example:
I am illing or I am ill. What is the right and why?


texts: Wr discuss with our teachers for one case.We negotiate with our teachers for one case

texts:
We discuss with our teachers for one case.  Wr negotiate with our teachers for one case.
Which one is correct? Clarify the difference between them?
I think  2nd one is correct.
The 1st one needs an object for discuss is a transitive verb.


texts: What word means "inspire towards action"?

texts:
I've seen inspire mean two things,

To be inspired to go out and make a difference
To be inspired, and feel good about something.

Is there a better word to refer to the first definition? I want to say I was inspired to act.


texts: A single word to describe a young, successful team or organization

texts:
My kid's youth soccer club (let's call it Team A) is merging with another club (Team B).  I am working on a website banner to announce the merger.

Team A has been around for over 40 years and quite successful for most of those years.  To describe that club in one word I have chosen Tradition.

Team B is a young, but also successful team.

I want the banner to be a simple formula:  Team A + Team B = Excellence

Under each team I want the best word to describe that team:

Team A      +   Team B
Tradition       [blank]
            =
       EXCELLENCE

Help me fill in the [blank].  :)

What would be a good word to describe a young, but successful team/organization?

Bonus:  If you can think of a better word than "EXCELLENCE", that'd be great too!


texts:
I am just curious as to whether 'diverse range' is pleonastic because a range implies that there are already different things, which implies diversity.

Is it redundant to modify 'range' with 'diverse' despite the fact that the range is already diverse? I've seen this phrase before. A simple online search reveals plenty of authors that have decided to use it in their writing.

Any answers are much appreciated.


texts:
Yesterday, I asked this question on Web Apps:

  If a Facebook user dies, what happens
  to the account?

Actually, I wanted to ask it this way:

  If a Facebook user dies, what happens
  to his/her account?

I chose the easy way and used the instead of his/her. Could I use just his in this case?:

  If a Facebook user dies, what happens
  to his account?

What would you recommend for similar cases? Which pronoun is more appropriate to be used?


texts: What are the origins of "take you up on it"

texts:
A common English idiom "take you up on it" is apparently used to indicate a general willingness or predisposition to accept something that is offered or granted. For example,

  If you make an offer to help a stranger in need, don't be surprised if they take you up on it!

Does anyone know the origins of this common English idiom?


texts: "Make it so!" - where does it come from, how does it "feel" for native speakers?

texts:
The catchphrase from Star Trek captain Jean-Luc Picard "Make it so!" was first used in "Encounter At Farpoint" (28 September 1987)  and thereafter  in many episodes and films, instructing a crew member to execute an order.

My question
Where does this phrase come from? Was it "invented" for Star Trek? What are the associations for native speakers, when they hear it (apart from Star Trek ;-) Does it feel strange or like Old English?


texts: Is past perfect tense a must when reporting 2 things happened at different time in the past?

texts:
Is the word "had" necessary in the following text?

This is a retrospective study covering the period from 2001 to 2010. Prospectively collected data of 500 consecutive patients who (had) received liver transplantation at our center were reviewed.


texts: Confused by 'Carrot is my favorite food' / "Carrots are my favorite food"

texts:
I am so confused by these two sentences.

'Carrot is my favorite food'

"Carrots are my favorite food"

Are they both correct?

Or...

English is so confusing. Help me, please...


texts:
Now, I don’t have to tell a crowd of Red Sox fans that we are wired
  for tribalism. But beyond rooting for the home team, tribalism has a
  much darker side. Instinctively and maybe even genetically, we divide
  the world into ‘us’ and ‘them.’ So the burning question must be: How
  do all of us together find the ‘we?’ How do we do that? There’s still
  so much work to be done, and sometimes I feel the work hasn’t even
  begun. And it’s not just anti-Semitism that’s surging --
  Islamophobia’s on the rise, too. Because there’s no difference between
  anyone who is discriminated against, whether it’s the Muslims, or the
  Jews, or minorities on the border states, or the LGBT community -- it
  is all big one hate.

Steven Spielberg Speech | Harvard Commencement 2016


texts:
The verb-derivative “machine” of Latin, by which scores, and even hundreds, of semantically and morphologically related words can be built from a simple (primary) Latin verb.  While much of the derivative “machinery” involved, here, is not a living part of the current English word-formation system, it is highly relevant to the understanding of the Latinate vocabulary that is such an important and large part of our total lexicon (vocabulary).  And, today’s English speakers and writers feel quite free to form quite new words by analogy to the Latin words already in use, even though they may not understand the actual structure of the imitated word.
Base on this point, are the endings –tion or –sion or –tive or –sive, strictly speaking, the true formative suffixes?


texts: "When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all" meaning

texts:
I am trying to understand the meaning of "won't be sure" in the following sentence from Futurama episode S03E20 - Godfellas.

When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at
all.

In this case, my interpretation "people will not be sure you did not act at all" it doesn't seem to fit the context. Because it means that people think that you have done something. But the sentence is quite ambiguous and I don't understand the double negation influence in this context. I was wondering if there are any meanings that I did not catch. What I thought it could mean (without using double negatives to clarify) is "if you do things right, people think you sat on your hands."
I report the whole dialogue.

God: Bender, being God isn't easy. If you do too much, people get
dependent on you, and if you do nothing, they lose hope. You have to
use a light touch. Like a safecracker, or a pickpocket.
Bender: Or a guy who burns down a bar for the insurance money!
God: Yes, if you make it look like an electrical thing. When you do things right,
people won't be sure you've done anything at all.


texts: How does one cite a source that one knows only indirectly?

texts: I used a quote in my essay that I got from the rubric for the assignment. How do I cite it? I know it's like citing a handout but who’s the author, the teacher or the person who said the quote (Napoleon Bonaparte)?


texts: What are the correct names of English cases?

texts:
I have seen the three extant cases in English referred to with several different names.  Which of these is most correct in describing the respective case?

Nominative or subjective?
Accusative, objective, or oblique?
Genitive or possessive?


texts: I could not find the definition of giving substance from my bilingual dictionaries and could not infer also from example sentences? Could you help out?


texts: What are the real rules for choosing between the simple past and past perfect when both actions are in the past?

texts:
What are the real rules for choosing past perfect versus choosing past simple when you have two different past actions?

I ask because the English sequence of tenses rules I was taught would have made me choose different tenses than those the writers in all three examples I show below chose.

That makes me think I wasn’t taught the correct, or at least the complete, rules.

What are they really, and why?

Why is past perfect used here for the second verb instead of past simple again like the first one?

  They soothed him with hugs and the first kind words he had heard since the beginning of his chastisement.

Why is it had heard instead of simply heard, like this?

    They soothed him with hugs and the first kind words he heard since the beginning of his chastisement.

Is the second version also right?
Why are both verbs in the second sentence in past simple instead of the first one of them being in past perfect to show that it (had?) happened first?

  We played tennis yesterday. Half an hour after we began playing, it started to rain.

Wouldn’t it be correct to use after we had begun playing here, like this?

    We played tennis yesterday. Half an hour after we had begun playing, it started to rain.

Is the second version also right?
Here again, why is  the first verb in past perfect instead of in past simple like the second one?

  One of the young men who had been injured in an attack on our supply lines was a laborer on the construction site.

Why not use this version instead?

    One of the young men who were injured in an attack on our supply lines was a laborer on the construction site.

Is the second version also right? What about this one?

    One of the young men who were injured in an attack on our supply lines had been a laborer on the construction site.

If the originals are all perfectly right, then are my proposals also right or are they wrong? Could they ever be right?

Could the originals ever be wrong? How do you decide which to use?

Do they mean different things to a native speaker?


texts: Does "yar" (or "yarr" or "yargh") in Pirate English imply an affirmative?

texts:
In honor of International Talk Like A Pirate Day, I’d like to ask a question about the pirate dialect of English.  Most pirate sentences begin with a standard pirate-sounding hedge to lend authenticity.

A frequent hedge is arr, but the variations yar, yarr, and yargh are also quite common. Is there a distinction in meaning between arr and the yar variants, or are these simply different spellings of the same exclamation? For instance, is yar a contraction of yes and arr, therefore implying an affirmation or agreement?


texts: Difference between is and are to say how is your family

texts: How is or are your family.?difference between is and are to address family?


texts: Adjective for a community which deliberately distances itself from others and becomes hostile

texts:
What is an adjective for a community (often a minority) which deliberately distances itself from other communities (the majority), potentially for reasons such as discrimination, ostracisation?

You may say:

  Due to increasing tensions, this ethnic community has become more ____.

I am specifically looking for a word which conveys hostility towards other communities (violence, etc)


texts: Word for great liking of salty-tasting foods

texts: According to the Cambridge Dictionary, if someone has a sweet tooth, (s)he likes eating sweet foods and meals. So, what's the word for who is interested in salty ones?


texts:
I've come across this sentence.Do you think it is grammatically correct ?For me it seems as if there are two unnecessary/redundant "it"s in this sentence.Because we should not use the subject of a relative clause again in the same relative clause.

  His voice is so monotone that it lulls me to sleep every time I hear
  it.

It was supposed to be :

  His voice is so monotone that lulls me to sleep every time I hear.

or

  His voice that lulls me to sleep every time I hear is so monotone.

or

  His voice, which lulls me to sleep every time I hear, is so monotone.

On the other hand, because relative clause does not place next to the thing( here 'his voice') it refers to should we use another subject pronoun here.Which kind of relative clause is this?


texts: What is the correct word for a person whom I am interacting with?

texts:
I need to program computer agents that interact with each other (for example they play a computer game with each other). Sometimes it happens that two agents are interacting with each other. I need to find a word to describe who they are to each other. I have the following options:

opponent
companion
partner

My main requirement is that the word should be neutral (since the interaction can be of different kinds: cooperation, competition, fight). I am afraid that opponent is a bit "negative" (in the sense that it assumes that two agents are enemies, that they are fighting). Partner, in contrast, seems to be positive to me (assuming that agents cooperate with each other). What about companion? Or may be you can propose other words?


texts: In the English language, should the "d" be capitalized when writing "American Dollar"?

texts: When writing "American Dollar," should the d in dollar be capitalized?


texts: Meaning and etymology of the “ite” and “ine/ene” endings of mineral names

texts:
I’ve noticed that a very large proportion of the names of mineral species and mineral groups end in -ite and (less commonly,) -ine or -ene.

Here are some examples off the top of my head:

-ite: wüstite, haematite, fayalite, cristobalite, toblerite, chalcopyrite, hydroxyapatite, magnesite, wollastonite, zeolite.

-ine/-ene: cuspidine, olivine, nepheline, sapphirine, serpentine, pyroxene, spodumene.

Why is this the case, (is there an infrequently discussed or assumed common knowledge rule amongst mineralogists?), and from whence did the abovementioned endings originate?


texts: Word for preventing unnecessary action: “you don't need to bother…”

texts: If I say to someone "do not X", I have (say) “prevented” them from doing X.  If I say “you don't need to bother doing X”, how do I express saving them from the unnecessary work of doing X?  Is there a better word than "prevent"?


texts:
You sound like a broken record
You're like a broken record skipping

They mean someone repeats something over and over and it's annoying?

Are they both common?

She's is poor as a church mouse

Is it still in use?


texts: Is it appropriate to use "and/or" in a sentence, and how else might I achieve this?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Alternatives to “and/or”?

Is it okay to say "and/or"? How else might I phrase a sentence like the following?

  The amount of happiness displayed by
  the bunny increased when either the
  bunny was well fed and/or when the
  bunny was watching a sunset.

I am writing a scientific paper, and it is important that the events have the same effect when they occur separately or together; I have written a trivial example replacing esoteric words with more familiar ones.


texts: Is "pay for the purchase" correct? Would it not mean something like "pay for the privilege of being able to buy something"? The context is a school newsletter and the phrase is as follows: "These funds were also used to pay for the purchase of an agenda for each student...". Thanks!


texts: What part of speech is 'say' ? If I were, say, to use it?

texts:
I can use 'say' as a noun :

  (Chicago Tribune 2007) Aflac Insurance - the first U.S. company to voluntarily offer its shareholders a say on pay.

OED

(Presumably it is an uncountable noun and the shareholders were able to have their say.)

But I can also use it as a 'limiter' or 'definer' :

  If I were to, say, crash my car : would my insurance company lend me a courtesy car under my policy ?

What part of speech is 'say' in this sentence ?

And what does it, technically, mean ?

Does it mean 'let us say' ?

Does it have the same meaning in :

  Say, man - have you got a light ?

I have found it difficult to take this any further as I do not know what part of speech to look up and the word is so common in its other uses that I am frustrated in defining this particular usage.


texts: Would it be 'meet' or 'have met' in this structure?

texts:
If I bumped into someone, who happened to be called John, yesterday, and I am telling someone else of the encounter, would I say:

  I happened to meet John yesterday.

or

  I happened to have met John yesterday.

?

The question, in other words, is this:

Does the sense of past lie in the act of 'happening,' or the act of 'meeting,' or in both. It confuses me because a) I already happened to meet [?] him, and b) I already 'met' him.

Thank you in advance.


texts: It was done with the help of John, Sam, and "me"—or "myself"?

texts: Which is correct: "It was done with the help of John, Sam and me" or "It was done with the help of John, Sam and myself"


texts: What to call certain types of vague words that trigger strong emotions

texts:
I guess I can call them 'politician words' but....

What do you call a word/phrase that has a lot of emotion behind it, but doesn't necessarily have any specific meaning. E.G.: Freedom, Liberty, Terrorism, Patriotism, etc.  Speech words doesn't quite get it. Rhetorical dynamite words? Nahh.  Sending vague messages to your medulla oblongata to scare you into voting for me is highly accurate, if unwieldy.


texts: Does "native Japanese" indicate Japanese people or indigenous people in Japan?

texts:
I want to simply indicate that I was born and raised in Japan. I think I can say "I am a native Japanese", but when I google the expression, the results include information about indigenous people in Japan.

If this expression can mean both mere Japanese people and Japanese indigenous people, how can one distinguish between those two?

I thought I could say "I am a Japanese native" for mere Japanese, then I thought this sounds like "I am a native Japanese speaker".


texts:
I was studying and I saw a sentence that went like this: "Have I done something wrong?"

I was wondering, instead of writing "something", shouldn´t I write "anything", since the sentence is a question?

Thank you people.


texts:
I am confused about the meaning of the phrase "inner skater bro" in the following sentence:

  They are expressing their "inner skater bros" through this excellent
  game.

The text is a description of a new game. The game involves fishing in a digital farmland. The players earn points by catching animals and birds.

Thanks for you help.


texts: Is 'which' when referring to a person archaic?

texts:
In many older texts, it's common to see the word 'which' being used as a relative pronoun instead of the more modern (?) 'who'.  One may see: 'He had already told John, which was not there, that it was he.'  The more modern version would switch 'which' for 'who'.
Of course, 'who' must be considered more, because it is subjective.  The sentence 'John, who had already done it', could be restructured into 'John, whom it had already been done by.'  Using 'which' is equally correct whether it is the object or the subject.
But I'm sure using 'which' to refer to a person gets caught in many ears, because it's not seen anymore.  Is it archaic?  I've seen it in the King James Bible and old translations.


texts: Intentionally committing hypocrisy, to show a wrong-doer why you think what they do is wrong

texts:
I am looking for a word/idiom to describe the act of doing something against your beliefs so another person can experience the receiving end of the act.

  You dislike being blinded by high-beams while driving, so you retaliate by turning the high-beams on yourself.

Another usage may be to repeat bad behavior by amplifying it, in an attempt to bring awareness to the issue.

  A house-mate leaves the kitchen in a mess - forcing you to clean it before you yourself can cook. Return the favor by leaving a bigger mess for them.

I feel like hypocrisy doesn't exactly fit judging by the literal definition.

  hypocrisy

  the practice of professing standards, beliefs, etc, contrary to one's real character or actual behaviour, esp the pretence of virtue and piety
  an act or instance of this


texts:
Stephen Pinker published an essay entitled "Science is not your enemy", addressed to researchers in the humanities.  Suppose one wanted to make an analogous suggestion to researchers in the sciences?  Here are some options:

  The humanities is not your enemy.

But "humanities" has the form of a plural, whereas "is" is singular.

  The humanities are not your enemy.

Gloria Origgi posted article with this title, but if there are multiple humanities, wouldn't there be multiple enemies, i.e. that they are not?

  The humanities are not your enemies.

That just sounds odd.  I'm referring to the humanities as a whole.  Although I suppose it would be different if I wanted to specify that each individual humanity is not your enemy:

  Art is not your enemy; history is not your enemy; literary studies is not ... oops, are not, um ....


texts: Where is great in "Great Britain" coming from?

texts: Is it just because of the colonial history of Britain?


texts:
What's the meaning of run here?

  P1: I've been thinking of getting a Levi's Filson jacket. But can't find anywhere to try it on.

  P2: They run small.

A close definition I found is "to make a service, course of study, etc. available to people" from OALD.

So does run here mean "to make available"? And in this case, small is the only size made available?


texts: What's the etymology of "long stretch of the bow"?

texts:
Somehow I think that describing something as a long stretch of the bow is the same as calling it a long stretch. Does that long stretch indeed refer to a long stretch of the bow? We're talking about archery, really, aren't we? So what's the issue with a long stretch of a bow, in terms of the archery of it?

No (on-line) dictionary that I've tried -- and I've tried a few here -- has any mention of a "long stretch of bow" in any way. although a general on-line search shows a few examples of such usage.

Can anyone help me here, or would you rather simply suggest that my quest is indeed a very long stretch of the bow?!


texts:
Why is "high" pronounced "hiy" but is not spelled as the latter, but the former?

Wouldn't "high" be read as "heeg-h" or "haig-h"?

The other possible duplicate's examples all have a "t" prefixing, and also, the accepted answer for that question does not address why GH is occasionally pronounced out.

Example's of other words starting with "GH" is Ghillie, or ending with GH as in Edinburgh


texts:
What is the hypernym for movie and TV series?
I read that medium might be possible, but it doesn't sound that good.


texts: What is the sentence starter, "as a result"? Is it a transitional word?

texts: What part of speech is "as a result"? Is it transitional or a conjunction or neither.


texts:
Next, previous work shows, the scout recruits a new scout to join her on a trek to the good site. She dashes around tapping her antennae on other ants and releasing a pheromone from her sting gland, explains Stephen Pratt of Arizona State University in Tempe. Usually she finds a volunteer within a minute or so, and the two set off tandem running.

Please help me comprehend why two predicates, shows and recruits, were used in one sentence by the author ? I think a period should've been used here.


texts: Use of 'enjoy' with respect to a status or position without pleasure?

texts:
I've seen a sentence construct in several places where something or someone is said to "enjoy" a status or position, but said status doesn't imply any pleasure or joy.

Due to her visa conditions, our cleaner enjoys temporary residency status.

I doubt the cleaner actually derives any pleasure from the temporary nature of her situation, so why do we describe her as 'enjoying' it?
Some real-world examples:

The data is for your general information and enjoys indicative status only. (BBC News market data)
[...] the film enjoys temporary status as a new release. (British Film Institute)
My organization enjoys consultative status with ECOSOC. (United Nations)
[...] they are recognized as a "refugee" and enjoy refugee status. (Amnesty International)

I could understand the use of enjoy in cases where the status is clearly something to be enjoyed, e.g.

Our high-rollers enjoy VIP status for the duration of their visit

but in the examples above there is arguably no pleasure or benefit to be 'enjoyed' in the usual sense, and in some cases the subject is not capable of enjoyment.
So what is the definition of 'enjoy' when used in this context?


texts: Grammatical rule used in "change it will" in the following sentence

texts:
The sentence is:

  That's why the future Internet will have to change, and change it will.

This looks like a kind of an inverted sentence but I didn't see such a structure before in the explanations given for inverted sentences from the websites which I looked at.


texts: A Question On Relative Pronouns & Conjunctions

texts:
I came across this quote from the movie RocknRolla:

  Oh, beauty is a beguiling call to death and I'm addicted to the sweet
  pitch of its siren. That that starts sweet ends bitter, and that which
  starts bitter ends sweet.

I understand the metaphor. But I'm confused with the sentence structure of

  That that starts sweet ends bitter, and that which
  starts bitter ends sweet.

Are the first that and the that before 'which starts bitter ends sweet' conjunctions while the second that and which relative pronouns?


texts:
I want to use "Forward out" to indicate that no matter which port messages are sent out they always arrive at the same destination. Are the following sentences grammatically correct and serve the intended purpose?

All messages arrive at the same destination regardless of out which ports they are forwarded.
All messages arrive at the same destination regardless of which ports they are forwarded out of.

Also, let's say I want to know which port was used to send out message X. Would it be correct to ask the following?

Out which port was message X forwarded?
Which port was message X forwarded out? OR
Which port was message X forwarded out of?

Could anybody please explain whether or not I'm using "forward out" correctly? And include examples if possible.


texts: Using "woman" without article: "I am woman"

texts:
I heard the lyrics of a song by Helen Reddy:

  I am woman, hear me roar
  In numbers too big to ignore
  […]
  I am woman watch me grow
  See me standing toe to toe
  As I spread my lovin' arms across the land
  But I'm still an embryo
  With a long, long way to go

The noun woman is used without an article throughout the song. Yet, when the singer says she is an embryo, the indefinite article is used.  Is this usage of "woman" correct?

I think that "woman" in the song, is similar to "God" in the phrase "In God we trust." Am I right?


texts: Word for subjecting an animal actor to extreme distress in order to film its "performance" for a film?

texts:
The excellent answer to the Movies SE question Did they torture and kill a monkey during the filming of Andromeda Strain? explains in detail that in the filming of this 1971 feature film the monkey was exposed to a high level of carbon dioxide in order to evoke a very convincing "performance" that it died in a horrible way. It was convincing because it was genuine; this experience was known to be extremely distressing, an the convulsing monkey was within seconds of death when it was revived with oxygen under ASPCA supervision. (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; the film was released in 1971, things have changed)
I don't know if this meets a definition of torture because there was no attempt to coerce nor any threat; e.g. "tell us or we'll hurt you" nor if it meets a definition of sadism because I'm pretty sure nobody on the set nor viewers of the film derived any amount of pleasure from watching this.
Question: Is there a word for subjecting an individual or animal to a severe level of distress in order to evoke a very real display of suffering in order to film it for a movie and conveys that the experience was very distressing, without ambiguity?


texts: Is it idiomatically to say "It is  doesn't ..."?

texts:
Several times I met the phrase as: "It is currently doesn't ...", for example "It is currently doesn't work...".

First of all, it seems that the phrase itself is grammatically incorrect, because the verb "to be" used in the beginning ("is") implies an object, which seems to be not present here.

However, I am wondering if this phrase could be used and be idiomatic. For example, can we consider as an object in this case the whole sentence "...doesn't work" (="not working")?


texts:
the excerpt below is about life becoming cheap after people began to be cloned because thanks to cloning, people go on living in their new bodies after they die. Can you tell me what is meant by Rage Kiddies? I couldn't find any cultural references to it on the internet.Thanks in advance.

" 'Life became so cheap, when we got cloning' Joanna said. "Euthanize yourself and just skip over terminal illness. Rage Kiddies inventing impossible sports, taking massive risks with their lives because who cares?"

source: Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty


texts: "In X, I found not only" vs "In X, I not only found."

texts:
What's the more correct/idiomatic version? And why?

Example sentence:

  In him, I found not only/had not only found a drinking parter, but
  also someone with whom I could talk about anything.


texts:
I stumbled upon this YouTube video, and I really like the accent of the speaker. How is his accent called?
I'm not British, but I'm quite sure it isn't the "standard" British accent (e.g. the one you would hear on BBC); it seems thicker, but I don't know which region or class it is typical of.


texts: "they had renovated" vs "had been renovating"

texts:
How can I understand the sentence 1b?

1 a When I last went to Moscow, they had renovated St Basil's Cathedral.
   b When I last went to Moscow, they had been renovating St Basil's Cathedral

The explanation to 1b is: “they are still renovating the cathedral when I went to Moscow”, but as far as l know “had been doing” can also mean “had just finished something”, why does the answer give only one possibility? If it does mean “still doing”, is there any difference with “was doing”?


texts: What are the different resources to announce a digression?

texts:
I'm writing a paper, and I want to add a digression to enrich the line of argumentation. I can't find good figures or resources to announce that I will introduce a digression. I came across eggresion and paradiegesis, but although related, they doesn't seem to fit my purpose.

To come back from the digression there is the resource of the "reditus ad propositum", but could someone please suggest some proper transition figures to announce the digression?

Thanks!


texts:
It seems agreed (for example in this question)
 that wish is usually** counterfactual; that is you wish that something actually the case were not.

I quit my job last month: I wish I hadn't.

I have to go to work tomorrow: I wish I didn't (because the emphatic form is I do have to).

But The office just called: I will have to go in tomorrow after all. I wish I...?  Not didn't, because that means something else.  Not won't; wish never takes will because in the case of a simple future you can just act differently, rather than wishing.  Hadn't seems as if short for I wish I hadn't had to; again , different meaning. It looks simple, but I am at a loss: can anyone give a reasoned answer?

Edit: StoneyB has pointed out that will have to here may be equivalent to have to. I am not sure about that, but in any event there are other cases where the difference is clear. If Joe keeps coming in late, I shall have to fire him is obviously not I have to. If you then say I wish I..., then what next? In other words, how do you say in normal speech I wish that it were not the case that I may/shall have to fire him in the future?

** There are edge cases/other uses (according to taste), like I wish it would rain, I wish you'd keep quiet, and We wish you a Merry Christmas; subject to correction, I don't think any of them are relevant.   And, if you have Aladdin's lamp, you can wish I had a million pounds and have it appear: whether that's counterfactual is rather too metaphysical for this site.


texts: What's a word to describe people who blindly follow their government without question?

texts:
I want to describe someone who fanatically follows one of the following:

Governmental body
Political party
Country

Basically, someone who will agree with their government/party/country regardless of what actions/decisions they make.

I was thinking of words such as zealot, follower, etc..

The word most similar to what I want is slang: sheep.

example in a sentence:

  Elise constantly agrees with anything the liberal party says and does without having any personal opinions; she is but a sheep.


texts: How would pretty be classified in this sentence

texts:
The sentence is "You look pretty tonight". I believe that pretty would be an adjective as it's referring to "You".

However in the sentence "You look pretty gorgeous tonight" I believe that pretty would be an adverb.

In the first sentence is pretty saying how "You" looks though, meaning it would be an adverb?


texts: Why is the word "partiality" pronounce the way it is?

texts:
par·ti·al·i·ty (n.)
As title. why is the t slient in the word partiality?


texts: Is aquamarine considered to be a compound word?

texts: We've been debating whether or not aquamarine is a compound word or not. To me, I view "aqua" as being just a prefix rather than a standalone word, so I don't think aquamarine would be considered to be a compound word.


texts: "And" or "but" in this sentence from CNN?

texts:
She may be one of Hollywood's highest-paid women but Charlize Theron
  is using her star power to help prevent the spread of HIV in her
  homeland of South Africa.

That is a sentence from the CNN. And I am wondering whether the use of but on that sentence is correct. As far as I understand, but is used to connect two contradictory things which I cannot see in this sentence. I personally would have written that sentence as follows:

  Charlize Theron is one of Hollywood's highest-paid women and she is
  using her star power to help prevent the spread of HIV in her homeland
  of South Africa.

I use and as having money and philanthrophy go together.


texts: How did "party" come to mean "gathering"?

texts:
Is it just related to the fact that people participate in it?

UPDATE. Judging by the comments, dictionary articles are absolutely exhaustive, and it just must be obvious to everyone how 'to take the side of' transformed to 'have a good time' without any explanation. Strangely, it's not obvious to me. There is some story behind this shift of meaning, and I can't find this story in the etymological dictionaries. If you know a dictionary that contains it, at least tell me the title of this dictionary.


texts: "All of a sudden" vs. "all of the sudden"

texts: According to Google (63 million results), it should be all of the sudden, though, 22 million results say otherwise, which one is correct?


texts:
This is a sentence in an advertisement of a zoo:

  Then feel what it is like to stroke a crocodile or leopard at one of our regular touch table teach-ins.

I have looked up the word teach-in in OALD and its meaning seems to have no relevance to the zoo:

  An informal lecture and discussion or series of lectures on a subject of public interest.

I also looked up this word on the Internet but there is no result which is related to zoos. So what does touch table tech-ins mean?


texts: How do I pronounce "wrong" correctly instead of "long"?

texts: When I say "wrong" people always mishear as "long". Pronouncing "r" and "l" correctly is always a big challenge for me. In Chinese we also have a syllable pronounced like "r" and a syllable pronounced like "l" and I can never pronounce them correctly. So how do I practice that in English?


texts: Is the second "to" grammatical in "I plan to help build and then to start"?

texts:
I wrote this sentence:

  I plan to help build a strategic vision for Arabic digital content and then to start implementing that vision. I want to produce value-added information in a specific context bla bla bla.

Is the to grammatically correct in that position?


texts:
Every time I catch an Acanthopagrus australis, commonly known as a yellowfin bream, I wonder why its name is prounced "brim", (as in the same way you would pronounce the brim of a hat).

Merriam-Webster does list the secondary pronunciation, /brēm/. However, when I first uttered the word in that manner, I was immediately admonished by at least three people who were within earshot, and quickly learnt that fishermen (or at the very least, Australian ones,) always say /brɪm/.

Why is this the case? Does it have something to do with the way in which the name was derived?


texts: What does "living the first line of my obituary" mean here?

texts:
I came across a new phrase while reading an appeal letter from Wikipedia programmer here.

Excerpt:

  I feel like I’m living the first line of my obituary.

  ..........

What does "living the first line of my obituary" mean in this context?


texts: What is the subject in "The gift Karen gave to her brother is a teddy bear"?

texts:
I am unable to ascertain what would be the subject in the following sentence.

  The gift Karen gave to her brother is a teddy bear.

Here the relative pronoun (that) has been omitted after the word gift. If I keep this in mind, then I can rewrite the sentence as

  Karen gave the gift to her brother. That gift is a teddy bear.

This gives Karen as a subject and gift as the object of the sentence.

Is this right?


texts: How best to use the phrase “on the whole”?

texts:
Is the phrase on the whole used correctly in the following sentence?

  The information, on the whole, was inaccurate.

If not, what other ways are there to express it?


texts:
We will have a lot of skills, but certainly, we also have limitations.

I don't know whether it's right or wrong to place "but" and "certainly" together. Since "but" is conjunction, while "certainly" is adverb here.
Should i change it into:

  We will have a lot of skills, but, certainly, we also have limitations.

Can you give me some help?


texts: Synonyms / slang words in American English to express "I am very excited for something"?

texts:
In British English we can say "I am keen to do something with you". Also: "Would you like to go to a concert?" A: "I'm keen for that!".

What are some equivalents in American English? Is it "I want to do that" or "I am excited for that"? Those seem very generic.

I'm looking for a phrase that is used in everyday conversation.


texts: Are the words "phoenix" (denoting the bird) and "Phoenicia" cognate?

texts:
Are the words "phoenix" and "Phoenicia" cognate?

The phoenix had a purple-red colour, similar to or the same as the colour produced by the purple-red dye that Phoenicia was famous in both Greece and Rome for trading in. Some leaders of the Roman republic wanted the Phoenician city of Carthage destroyed (Carthago delenda est), given the instances of its being able to arise again after defeat, a bouncing back that recalls the repeated rebirth of the mythological bird. But I haven't found unassailable evidence for the words being cognate - it's tantalising!


texts: Is the [partial] statement "Essentially in theory" grammatically correct?

texts:
Ok so my full statement was

  Essentially in theory, the answer would be yes.

Is it grammatically correct, or should I use one or the other: essentially or theory?


texts:
One can use the copula to connect noun phrases of different number.

Example:

  The conversational topic that kept us pleasantly chatting was the different Southern dialects in the US.

Here it sounds far clear that "is" should be singular. When the order of the NPs is reversed, it's a little less clear that "is" needs to become plural:

  The different Southern dialects in the US was the conversational topic that kept us pleasantly chatting.

My question is, Is this simply an artifact of the order in which I came to this example, or is the ability to bundle multiplicities into singular entities behind this? And, do stylistics handbooks opine on the issue?

PS: I tried to do some searching around for information about this, but without knowing how to talk about copulation (e.g. are the actors of copulation called "copulands"?) it was difficult to get anything useful.


texts:
Anticipating a delicious meal shortly, we have found ourselves in rival camps of gourmets and epicures.  My OED searching suggests these are, essentially, the same.  Do you agree ?

OED entry for gourmet:

  A connoisseur of good food; a person with a discerning palate.

OED entry for epicure:

  A person who takes particular pleasure in fine food and drink.


texts: The use of 'of' at the beginning of a sentence

texts:
Besides expressing the relationship between a part and a whole, recently I found another interesting use of preposition 'of':

  Mr Harper's call for a rise in interest rates should not surprise us. When the national economy is growing fast, many economics analysts will claim that interest rates should rise to prevent a situation of boom and bust. Of greater surprise are his optimistic long-term projections for growth in the Australian manufacturing sector.

What is the significance of placing 'of' at the beginning of the sentence? Is it still used as a preposition in the sentence?


texts: "that" as a determiner or complementizer

texts:
On projects in the built environment, people consider safety and functionality nonnegotiable. But the aesthetics of a new project―how it is designed―is too often considered irrelevant ― The question of how its design affects human beings is rarely asked. People think that design makes something highfalutin, called architecture, and that architecture differs from building, just as surely as the Washington National Cathedral differs from the local community church.

Q. I was curious about the grammatical role of the second "that". Some teachers think it functions as a complementizer linked with the main verb "think". Others think it functions as a determiner as in "that cousin of ours".
Thank you for your feedback in advance


texts: Meaning of "I'll break it for him," (Chapter 3 Moby Dick)

texts:
I'm Indonesian, and currently reading Moby Dick. In chapter 3 I found a phrase that I can't get to know its meaning. The sentence is:

  "Landlord!" said I, "what sort of a chap is he - does he always keep such late hours?" It was now hard upon twelve o'clock.

  The landlord chuckled again with his lean chuckle, and seemed to be mightily tickled at something beyond my comprehension. "No," he answered, "generally he's an early bird—airley to bed and airley to rise—yes, he's the bird what catches the worm. But to-night he went out a peddling, you see, and I don't see what on airth keeps him so late, unless, may be, he can't sell his head."

  "Can't sell his head?—What sort of a bamboozingly story is this you are telling me?" getting into a towering rage. "Do you pretend to say, landlord, that this harpooneer is actually engaged this blessed Saturday night, or rather Sunday morning, in peddling his head around this town?"

  "That's precisely it," said the landlord, "and I told him he couldn't sell it here, the market's overstocked."

  "With what?" shouted I.

  "With heads to be sure; ain't there too many heads in the world?"

  "I tell you what it is, landlord," said I quite calmly, "you'd better stop spinning that yarn to me—I'm not green."

  "May be not," taking out a stick and whittling a toothpick, "but I rayther guess you'll be done brown if that ere harpooneer hears you a slanderin' his head."

  "I'll break it for him," said I, now flying into a passion again at this unaccountable farrago of the landlord's.

  "It's broke a'ready," said he.

  "Broke," said I — "Broke, do you mean?"

  "Sartain, and that's the very reason he can't sell it, I guess."  Moby Dick

What does it mean? Is it 'fleeing' or 'stopping'?

Best Regards.


texts: What is the difference in nuance between these sentences?

texts:
It's probably / certainly going to rain in minutes.

  It'll probably / certainly rain in minutes.

Is the 1st one based on something we can see now and the 2nd one based on our personal opinion or knowledge?


texts: Is it correct to write: "I would appreciate it if you could inform me when you could contact my manager" in a formal email?

texts:
I want to know if someone has eventually contacted my manager. I therefore want to send him a formal email to ask him very politely.

Is it correct to write as follow ?

"I would appreciate it if you could inform me anytime/when you could contact my manager."


texts: What do you call it when the video is not smooth?

texts:
What is an English phrase to describe a video that is not running smoothly, but rather has interruptions in it, becoming sort of like a GIF? This typically happens due to technical problems such as low memory or CPU power, which is why I'm afraid I can't think of a way to demonstrate exactly what I mean (e.g., I cannot paste a link to a video like that). I am not necessarily looking for an adjective; any phrase will do.

I would also like to include another related question: what's a word/phrase for almost the same situation but with sound rather than video? I.e., when the sound comes and goes (e.g., over the phone).


texts: What is the origin of the word "comorbid"?

texts:
Is the meaning just as I literally read it, i.e. 'awful and occurring at the same time'?

Can it apply to things outside of medicine that are also awful and occurring at the same time? Why or why not?

If possible, I'm interested in more detail than the dictionary definition can tell me.


texts:
I know the answer seems pretty obvious, but I looked everywhere I could and found no answer. I found no reliable source clearly stating that “use to” is a phrasal verb. Allow me to explain to you why I am confused about this issue. Take the following sentence in the past simple:

“I used to eat watermelon.”

“Use to,” has only one use: to introduce past habits (which were lost, obviously).

The sentence above also makes it clear that “use to” is a transitive verb. But what kind of object is “eat” then?

The true source of my confusion is that it seems that “use to” takes the “to” away from the infinitive, probably to avoid repetition. If you tell me that “eat” in the sentence above is, indeed, in the infinitive, then I am at peace. It will be clear to me that “use to” is a phrasal verb. If not, does “to” belong to “eat” then? And if he latter is the case, is “use” always common verb and most people simply incorrectly write it together with “to?”

Thanks in advance.


texts: Would it be possible to respond "Not" if someone ask me that "Do you ~", or "Did you ~"?

texts: Is it alright that I say just a word "Not." about the question starting with "Do you~?", or "Did you~?"? (Not Are you~?, Were you~?)


texts:
I was wondering if in the construction to be in labour, the verb be is stative, and for this reason we can't use it in the progressive aspect.

Or, is this next construction grammatically correct: she is being in labour. The idea behind this is to focus on the fact that this is temporary, and therefore a present progressive would be appropriate.


texts: The word for the tipping point. Point of change

texts: Looking for the word that displays the point of change, the apex, that point or event that changed something it was the "" of the day, her thoughts, the game, etc.


texts: "Brief" and "complete" — need an intermediate between them

texts:
Let's say you have some ideas and are going to share them on the Internet. You have a Twitter account, a blog and an ability to publish your thoughts in a magazine. You're writing three articles, all containing exactly the same information, but these articles differ in their level of detail:

The first is the shortest one, it's for Twitter. There are no details, so I'd call it a pretty brief article.
The second one is for your blog, it's several times longer.
And then the third one is pretty large, a couple of pages probably. It's well-detailed, so I'd call it a complete article.

So, the question is — what's the right word for the case 2?

Any other three words to reflect these differences also will do (these should be single words, not phrases).


texts: Near-universally applicable alternative to "sanity check"

texts:
The phrase "sanity check" is ableist language as it implies that there is something wrong with people who have mental illnesses and the word "sanity" has been used to discriminate against such people.  Therefore, it should should be avoided.  What is a better alternative in the context of software?

Example usage:

  _: if this is not what it should be, we have memory corruption (a fatal
  error) and should terminate the program.


texts: Inverted commas used around a letter or single word

texts:
In a sentence we find a word in inverted commas or a single letter. Why?
Example 1: My 'first' experience of ...
Example 2: The letter 'g' in the word gnaw is silent


texts:
I am looking for similar words to task for a document on scheduling tasks in the context of a project. My goal would be to find words that would denote meanings for three things.

A word for a small atomic task of short duration that is to be done. This would be the fundamental unit. I'm thinking of: job, assignment.
A word to denote that this small task has been done. I'm thinking of: work.
A word for a larger task that is made of several small tasks, or even several tasks. I'm thinking of: task, labor.

As a non native English speaker, I am having troubles finding the exact meaning of all these words, and if my hierarchy, from small to large, is correct. Do native speaker have suggestions for other words?


texts:
Excuse me for what you are going to read now.
If you don't accept the taboo lexics, please don't read this.

There is a taboo phrase in Russian: "ебись оно всё конём" /jebis ono vsjo konjom/ which means that the speaker doesn't care absolutely of the matter of the discussion or can't do anything with curcumstances and gives up.
In that taboo phrase figures a sexual process in imperative mood /ебись - jebis/, the word combination /оно всё - ono vsjo/ meaning 'everything, all this matter' and a horse /конём -  konjom/ as the instrument of the action.

The history of that phrase, they say is from chess. because the horse in the game is very tricky, or because the angry player could throw it into the face of another player. The others say it is from the horse races.

So, my question is: is there in English anything with this meaning, equally rude and funny?

I need as many taboo equivalents of the described expression as possible.


texts: How did “tongue-in-cheek” get its current meaning?

texts: A statement is said to be tongue-in-cheek if it is not to be taken seriously. How did this meaning come into vogue? Where did it originate from?


texts: When did possessive *it's* fall out of favor?

texts:
Here are two parts of the US Constitution that would today be treated as having spelling errors:

  No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts
  or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely
  necessary for executing it's inspection Laws. (Art. I, Sec. 10, Cl. 2)

  ...no State, without it's Consent, shall be deprived of it's equal
  Suffrage in the Senate. (Art. V)

When did prescriptive grammar specifically begin to target the preposed possessive pronoun it's as a bad spelling, and recommend exclusively its?

See related question on SE.


texts: What do you call a day that never comes?

texts:
Searching on Google Books I discovered that 'a day that never comes' has 2.060 results.

As an example usage, among a lot of others, in 'Healing Words' by Susan Brozek it is written:

  If we wait until we feel like obeying, we will be waiting for a day
  that never comes!

I would like to know whether there is a short phrase or expression to refer to a day that never comes.

I focused my attention on 'a never day', but, checking for this phrase, I didn't found anything confirming it is a common usage.

Thus, what do you call   a day that never comes?


texts: What is the exact translate of "number of listening"?

texts:
The words I want to translate is that how much a song is listened? Number of listening or number of listened or anything else? the translate of the number how much a song is downloaded would be good.
Thanks in advance.


texts: How do native speakers think about phrasal verbs?

texts:
I would like to ask a question about phrasal verbs.
Do native english speakers think about the meaning of each individual word of the phrasal verb when they will say it or they just think about the meaning of the entire phrasal verb?
Example:
You will say: Yesterday I came up with a brilliant idea.
Do you native speaker think about the verb "come" and that you have to put "up" after that and before the object(a brilliant idea) you have to put "with"... Or do you just think "come up with" like if it was just one word with the meaning it has?
If I didn't made myself clear, please let me know.
Thank you all.


texts: Common Literary Techniques for Drama Texts?

texts:
Right now we're studying a piece on drama (Disclosure: This is for school, but not necessarily for an essay or homework - It's just further study on other literary techniques that are used within drama texts.)

As drama texts are part of English Literature (Short stories, etc), they share some literary techniques with normal English Literature as well as English Poetry; However, it appears to me that there are numerous different techniques utilised for drama texts.

Could anyone list commonly used techniques for drama texts please?

So far, the words that I've compiled in my techniques list are:

Sub-text
Bathos
Dramatic Irony
Hyperbole
Comic Relief
Juxtaposition


texts: I'm imagining a knife. Not very sharp = dull, right? Is that the origin of the use of "obtuse" to mean "not very bright"?


texts: What's the word for the reversability of equal and opposite actions?

texts:
I'm trying to describe a desirable behaviour in user-interfaces (computer interfaces and machine interfaces) such that if you do the action and its opposite action once or more than once (assuming you don't reach an edge/limit) you should end up in the same state.
For example:

Pressing right moves the cursor right one character and pressing left moves the cursor left one character. If you press right five times then left five times the cursor will be in the same place, because right and left are ______.

Undo and Redo are ______. If you Undo 3 times then Redo 3 times you should be back to the same state.

Of a tool where the effect of one control depends on the current value of another control:
The length and radius controls are NOT ______ when used together. Length is ______ while radius remains fixed and radius is ______ while length remains fixed, but adjusting either breaks the ______ity of the other one.

Answers to this question offer some good hints, but I don't think any of those are quite right. "Commutative" and "Associative" seem somehow appropriate, but are clearly specific to mathematics.


texts: The difference between "to someone" and "for someone"

texts:
To many people, we are the scariest animals in the world.
For me, English is the easiest of all subjects.

Why does the former sentence use "to" someone and the latter use "for" someone?
What are the differences?


texts: Can the word "spunk" [AUS] be used to describe women as well as men?

texts:
The word spunk is used to describe an attractive man. Can it also be used for a female? This is an Australian English word.

E.g. :

  He's not really a spunk. I mean he's nice but...


texts:
I am editing a court transcript for a class (cannot alter the text). For each change I make, I need to cite a rule for it. I have read a lot about the use of which and that, and I am still confused on this sentence.

I feel that it needs a comma before which, but I am unsure what the “official” reasoning would be. I know that, normally, that should be used for restrictive clauses, and which should be used for non-restrictive clauses, but I am unsure if it was spoken correctly.

Or is it because there is only one Exhibit 2, making the which clause non-essential (non-restrictive), and therefore a comma is needed?

  We’ve put in front of you Exhibit 2 which is a Visa statement of account.


texts: Is "the general public" redundant? Or is it different from "the public"?


texts: "You had to come in now?" One word for describing a negative reaction

texts:
X is annoyed, but not angry. I'm thinking of a couple of possible options:

Protests
Groans
replies

One person opens the door, and X (a kid) is in the middle of something. What word best describes how X is feeling? It doesn't have to be any of the above.

  "You had to come in now?" _________ X.

where ______ is the qualified response. Is there a good word for this kind of reply?


texts: "I have no charge on my cellphone" or "my cellphone is out of charge"?

texts:
Situation:
The batteries in your cellphone are running out of charge.

How would a native English speaker quickly and naturally describe this situation?


texts: What goes better with "first" -- "second" or "secondly"?

texts:
Say you're making an argument that has two parts:

  Why did such and so happen?  First, bla bla.  Second, bla-pity bla bla bla.

I'm thinking "secondly" would sound better.  But if I use "secondly," do I have to use "firstly" -- which sounds so -- yuck.

The tone of the piece of writing is medium formal.  I mean, it's formal, but not formal at the level of a brief submitted to the Supreme Court.


texts: What's the word or expression when you do something that the outcome is already decided?

texts:
I have to submit some paperwork for the approval of an activity. However, I have already got approval, the paperwork is only necessary to submit the specifics (the date, people involved, and other details which have already been approved) for sign-off.
What is the word (or expression, but preferably a single-word) to describe this kind of action?
Examples:

I already have approval, so submitting this paperwork is a ____ act.
I already have approval, so the paperwork is just ____.

It's not "futile" as it's still necessary, I'm not "going through the motions" as I really mean it and my heart is in it, so how can I describe this paperwork?


texts: 'on' vs. 'in': 'Keep the discussion on the [IRC] channel'

texts:
From shlomifish.org:

  Note that one common mistake that newcomers to IRC do is to private-message a user that helps them (using the /msg command) instead of keeping the discussion on the [IRC] channel.

(Emphasis added.)

Should it be “on the channel” or “in the channel”?

In case you are not familiar with IRC (Internet Relay Chat), then the longer story is that the chat rooms on the various IRC networks are called “channels” in the IRC parlance, and one can speak on (in?) them. Thing is "keep the discussion on the chat-room" sounds weird to me, and "keep the discussion in the chat room" sounds better. I've usually always said "on the channel" when chatting on IRC and so far no one complained, but a commentator on the text in question said he thought it should be "in the channel".

I'm not a native speaker of English, so insights would be welcome.


texts: When to use words quite, rather, pretty, fairly etc: degree of downtoning

texts:
Is there any logic to this or just decision?
I would use the following combinations:

quite amazing
rather large
pretty good

I would not use the following combinations:

pretty amazing
quite large
rather good

There're also the words pretty and fairly and of course we say "pretty good" instead of quite good/rather good. Is there any grammar rule that states which word to select to give strength to an adjective without depending on the adjective for no appearant reason?


texts: what is the verb used when getting rid of evil spirits

texts:
What is the verb that means "to get rid of evil spirits"

Not ghost-busting. Something more serious, less comedic.


texts:
Is there a word to describe a person who is both of the following?

a) insidious - in the traditional sense...that they have a tendency to use or harm people in such a way that the victim does not realize that harm has begun and may not realize that it's been done until much later.

b) cunning, but licit -- someone for whom the ends justify even the most devious of means but ONLY insofar as the means are aligned with the letter of the law or with otherwise-accepted social norms (irrespective of whether said means are in alignment with the spirit of the law or with the nature and severity of the ends). A sleazy personal injury lawyer, a patent troll, and a professional plaintiff would all be examples of this.

There's a Russian word for this: коварный. Was wondering if there's an English equivalent with matching nuance.

Please note: this is not a request for translation.


texts: Is there a Germanic word for the Latin "number"?

texts:
Really just a curiosity, but I've been unable to find such a thing on my own...

I figure something as simple as a word for the thing you count with should exist in any language which has terms for counting. It's definitely possible we had no such thing ourselves, and had to borrow the term.

My knowledge of other Germanic languages (Icelandic, Faroese, and Dutch mostly) only includes cognates of "number". If we were using a Germanic word before, does anyone know what it was?


texts: “I am not going to use it recently” Is this technically correct?

texts: I want to say I'm not going to use something in the recent future. Can I say it like “I am not going to use it recently”?


texts:
When would you use "expert in" and when would you use "expert on"?

A quick google search yields about the same for both, but I have a feeling "expert in" can occur in sentences somehow with a different meaning altogether.


texts: What's the difference between these sentences?

texts:
What's the difference between

  I'm going to eat my lunch

and

  I have to go for my lunch

and where can I use these sentences?


texts: Where did the idiom "giving a heads up" come from?

texts: I know giving heads up means to inform someone, but how does that relate to the literal meaning i.e. giving heads up? What's the background? Where did it come from?


texts: How is this structure formed? A case of 'inverted adjective'?

texts:
Here are the structures in question:

  Is there a region in the United States of America that has a
  pronunciation similar, .... Tuscany)?

compare with:

  ... that has a similar pronunciation, .....

Source: Where is standard American English derived from?

I know that some people may find this question silly, but can we actually write it in inverted form and mean the same thing?

These examples are of course different:

  Someone made a different pronunciation

vs

  Someone made a pronunciation different


texts: Question about the phrase "interests me"

texts:
The teacher marked the words "interests me" in the following sentence to be gramatically wrong, why? I think the sentence is gramatically correct.

  "I never thought that I was going to be accepted straight into the
  advanced level classes to learn the advanced material that interests
  me and that will help me to get better grades in english exams."

Someone had told me that it is because of the fact that the teacher might be a "prescriptivist" instead of a "descriptivist". Is that the only possible explanation for "interests me" beign marked as wrong there?

Or is there any grammar rule that says that it is gramatically wrong to write "interests me" there in that way?

Please note that in this case "interests me" refers to "the advanced material" so i think it's the same that in the sentence "I will do something that interests me" in this case "something" would be "the advanced english material". So since "I will do something that interests me" is gramatically OK ( i think because saying "something that interests me" is common ), then my sentence should be ok gramatically too then. What are your thoughts about this?

Your help is really apprecciated thanks.


texts: Origin of "If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times"

texts:
I've searched the web and found only definitions and paltry speculation as to the origin of this scolding phrase. How did it get put together this illogical way? Are there tacet words in the phrase that, if said, would make it seem more logical, such as

  If I've told you once, I [might as
  well] have told you a thousand times
  [for all the good it did].

Where does this phrase originate, and how did it end up getting phrased that way?


texts: Meaning of "if you want to exchange gear for promo"

texts:
What is the meaning of this model's response to a photograph?

  Well I have enough work on my plate, but if you want to exchange gear
  for promo, I'm always cool with that!


texts:
Does this sentence:

  When no data is being transmitted, D remains high

has the same meaning as

  When there is no data transmission, D remains high


texts: Word order in subject sentences (questions)

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Usage of “What” + verb without auxiliary one

I have probably not used the correct term but I am sure you will get it.

If a question has do-support, then in the answer the word order changes back to indicative:

  Q: Where does he live?
  A: I do not know where he lives.

But if there is no do-support in the question, does the word order remain the same in the answer?

  Q: What is wrong with him?
  A: I do not know what is wrong with him.

Is it like that?


texts:
The letter o is used in different combinations with words to make them more colloquial as suggested from the following extract.

-o generally does not change the meaning of the word, only making it more colloquial, often with elision (like clipping, but with a suffix), and is primarily applied to nouns, as in kiddo (“kid”) or preso (“presentation”). Common words that are shortened with the -o include journalist/journo, repository/repo, distribution/distro. Can change the way a word is written, like ugly/uggo and dog/doggo. (Wiktionary)

Where does the above connotation and usage of the letter o as a suffix originate from?


texts: I am looking for a general term for a person that people "suck up" to or ask favors of often so that they can advance themselves. Essentially, I am looking for a term that would describe a person in power who can give people opportunities, and is also broad enough to encompass multiple areas (academic, government, workforce, etc.).


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “People” or “peoples” when referring to an indigenous population?
  Person, Persons, People, Peoples

Is it possible to add "s" at the end of the word "people" to make it plural? If so, what does it mean?


texts: Is "heinz sight" an eggcorn of "hindsight"?

texts:
I've spotted a new eggcorn in the wild, that isn't mentioned in the eggcorn database.  At least, it certainly has some of the elements of an eggcorn but is it a proper one?  I'll let you decide.

  Im fairly sure in heinz sight he perhaps regrets the decision ...

Unfortunately the interlocutor later asked the question

  Why is it called heinz sight anyway?

casting doubt on the plausibility of the replacement.


texts: I know that the game which is called football in Europe is called soccer in the U.S. But I wonder to what extent this differentiation is strict. What do people from England call their favorite game in conversations with Americans? Is there a misunderstanding in this case?


texts: I think I've looked everywhere I could, but I couldn't find any dictionary where the difference between "to target at/on/for/towards" would be explained. Can you please fill me in as to how they are used? I need to explain it to a student and say more than just... "you'll know what to use" :)


texts: "Infantile" vs "puerile" vs "childish" vs "immature"

texts:
My understanding of these words is:
Infantile indicates behavior of very small children (infants), in contrast to immature that says someone is unexperienced and callow. Childish and puerile sounds to me as something between infantile and immature.

In regular use, do these words allude any differences or are they used fully synonymic.
Which word is most common?
I've already taken a look on ngram, frequency seems to be quite equal.
Which words are more formal or informal, which one are more or less colloquial?


texts: Ways to say “someone who messes with forces they don’t understand”

texts:
I want to describe a character who experiments with sciences they don’t understand, at a great peril they are unaware of.
A hypothetical example of such a person would be a scientist who, in an attempt to study atomic behavior, splits an atom (obvious logistical challenge aside).


texts:
What's the meaning of Pioneers Often Die with Arrows in their Backs

I mean i can roughly gauge it to be the first to move dies, but why arrows in the backs ?


texts: 'I need you!' 'So do I' Is this grammatical?

texts:
Evelyn: I need you!
  Sam: So do I!

Is this grammatical? What is the meaning of the response?


texts: I want to know the difference between ease and easy. Please give me some examples of places to use these words.


texts: "Two types of user" or "Two types of users"?

texts:
Which is the correct sentence to use?

  Two types of user are identified: . . .
  Two types of users are identified: . . .

I would have said the former (#1), but a colleague has suggested the latter (#2). The first one just sounds right to me.

Which is correct (if indeed either of them is)?

Thanks.


texts: Conjunctions, commas, and multiple sentences

texts:
I've browsed a lot on the Internet and couldn't find the answer on how to use commas on the next examples. Probably, it's because I don't know how these constructions are called? I'd appreciate some help with this aspect, too. I'll drop a few examples.
1. And, if I had to guess, I'd say she is the one.
-->Here, I used the commas like this because I think the logical order is "And I'd say she is the one if I had to guess." ( I know about "and" at the beginning, just an example)
2. He was in danger, and, by the look on their faces, there was no coming back.
--> Here, I used the commas like this because I think the normal order is "He was in danger and there was no coming back by the look on their faces"
3. I wanted to eat a pizza, but, because I had already eaten, I just drank a glass of water.
--> Here, I used the commas like this because I think the normal order is "I wanted to eat a pizza, but I just drank a glass of water because I had already eaten."
4. I came home from work, and, eventhough I was tired, I still repaired the fence.
--> Here, I used the commas like this because I think the normal order is "I came home from work, and I still repaired the fence eventhough I was tired.
Please let me know if/where I am wrong and how are these constructions called. Any comment/ link to an article is very helpful and appreciated.
Thank you all in advance