texts: Help with what MS Word insists is a comma splice

texts: I usually either accept or work around Word's grammar suggestions (I hate having red/blue lines in my documents) but this particular suggestion has me stumped. The sentence is "Striding forward with purpose, she bit her lip and suppressed a shiver." Word insists that this is a comma splice, but "Striding forward with purpose." would be a sentence fragment due to the lack of subject, right? Am I being an idiot?


texts: Why does the name 'John' have an 'h' in it?

texts: I have always wondered this since I was little, and nobody seems to have asked or answered this before anywhere on the internet.  What is the origin of the 'h', and why is it still with us?


texts: Which preposition to use with diagnosis?

texts:
The sentence is: "It has been 2 years since my diagnosis of/with cancer".

Which is correct, "diagnosis of" or "diagnosis with" cancer? The meaning i want is: "It has been 2 years since I was diagnosed with cancer."

My impression is that "diagnosis of" implies the speaker is the person who performed the diagnosis (i.e. the doctor), while "diagnosis with" implies the speaker was the person who was diagnosed (i.e. the patient).

Thanks,


texts: When to use 'had been' + past participle of the verb

texts:
I read the sentence below in a news article:

  "The couple had been engaged since the summer," her spokeswoman said in a statement.

Why was "had been engaged" used in this sentence. Is it wrong to say "The couple have been engaged since the summer"?  Is this sentence in passive voice so "had been + past participle" used?

PS: I read other questions on stackexchange about tenses, but I couldn't understand why was had been + past participle used in the sentence.


texts: Usage of brackets for missing or unclear transcription

texts:
I have for many year wondered what is missing when I read sentences like

  David Canton, the Education Department spokesman, stated:
  “(It) shouldn’t have happened. (C)ommon sense should prevail.”

I can understand that (It) might mean mean that the transcriber did not hear the "It" - perhaps the person omitted the word, but "(C)ommon"?

Would that mean that the recording might have some noise drowning the "C" out and the transcriber could not hear it or how do you interpret this?


texts:
In the sentence below, is the pronoun "I" used correctly?

"If you mean that letter, then it was I who tricked you."


texts: When do I say "front-left" vs "left-front", or how do you differentiate between sides?

texts:
Suppose I have a box in front of me. I have labeled the front, rear, left and right sides of the box (overhead view). Each side has two handles, labeled A through H.

     A        B
 ------------------
 |l     rear     r|
H|e              i|C
 |f              g|
G|t              h|D
 |      front    t|
 ------------------
     F        E

How do I refer to each handle by its position with a short but precise phrase? Assuming that box is always in front of me like this -- e.g., the left side is always unambiguously on the left.

For example, handle G is on the left side, and of the two handles on the left side (H and G) it is the further front one. So is it the "left-front" handle, or the "front-left" handle?

Put another way, does "front-left" refer to position F or position G?


texts: Proverb about how sometimes you get two of something you'd rather get one of, and sooner than later

texts:
I'm looking for a proverb to describe this situation:

You break up with a girl and months elapse without you dating anyone, not for lack of trying.  Suddenly, you meet someone and hit it off.  Shortly thereafter, you meet someone else and again find yourself on cloud 9.

Another example I can think of is this:
You're waiting for the bus at the bus stop, and a long time goes by without any bus to speak of.  Suddenly, two buses show up at the same time.

What's a proverb that would get the irony of such situations across?  Initially, I was thinking of "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.", but the latter is not ironic and it is premised on the fact two birds is be better than one (all else being equal), whereas in the situations I described above, the second thing is pretty much redundant.

Let's hear it.  Thanks in advance.


texts: Idiom that means 'to present one thing in many different ways'

texts:
I am translating something from Spanish and there is an expression that literally says (about a teacher driving home a single idea by repeating it, but presenting it in many different ways each time) "his skill consists of dressing that idea in a different wrapper each time: e.g. talking about an anecdote from the news, a historical event, etc.", i.e. he is trying to present it to the students in many different ways.

Is there an idiom for this? First I thought 'dress up the idea in many different ways' But Cambridge dict. says "If you dress something up, you add something to it in order to make it seem more interesting or pleasing than it really is:"

That is not what it is trying to say. It just says the teacher has to present the concept in many different ways until the students get it. Is there such an idiom?


texts:
The phrase 'glib uniformity' has been used in at least a few books. For example, in Political Ideals (1917), Bertrand Russell wrote

  The state is justified in insisting that children shall be educated, but it is not justified in forcing their education to proceed on a uniform plan and to be directed to the production of a dead level of glib uniformity.

I'm not sure which dictionary definition of 'glib' is nearest to what was meant by Russell. Did he mean superficial uniformity?


texts: Should questions phrased as declarations end with a question mark?

texts: Should a question masquerading as a declaration—like, "I wonder if you have any suggestions?"—end with a question mark or a period?


texts: How to describe a person who cares only about beneficial things?

texts:
I am trying to describe the following kind of person/personality:

He who cares only about doing beneficial (or useful) things. Before any decision is made, he asks a question like "Will it definitely generate some practical benefits?" For example, before he chooses a subject to study, he needs to see first if the subject can lead to any good job, not subjects like pure mathematics or theoretical physics. Interest and curiosity are not the driving force.

His happiness comes more from his (material or physical) need being satisfied, not metaphysical needs like curiosity being sated.

How can I describe this "benefit-pursuing" personality? Is utilitarianism a right word? Is pragmatism a right word?


texts: "They perform" vs. "they are performed" in specific context

texts:
Our experiments include simulated falls by several subjects. They
  perform in a user-independent setting, where, for each test  video,
  the subject appearing in the test video does not appear in any  of the
  training data used to detect falls in that video.

In the above sentence, is the usage of perform correct, or should I use "they are performed" instead?


texts: What does “Seeing right through them” exactly mean?

texts:
I was drawn to the phrase, “Seeing right through them“appearing in the New York Times (October 5) article written by Daniel Goleman under the title, “Rich people just care less.” It begins with the following sentence:

  “Turning a blind eye. Giving someone the cold shoulder. Looking down
  on people. Seeing right through them. These metaphors for
  condescending or dismissive behavior are more than just descriptive.
  They suggest -- the social distance between those with greater power
  and those with less — a distance that goes beyond the realm of
  interpersonal interactions and may exacerbate the soaring inequality
  in the United States.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/05/rich-people-just-care-less/?hp

When we were listening to teacher’ words in class, or a boss's instructions in office, didn’t we see right through him or her in order to be attentive? Is “to see right through people” perceived as a condescending / dismissive or rude behavior?

I happened to find the same “See right through them” phrase in the English version of the teaching of Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), the founder of Aikido – martial art for self defense derived from Jujutsu. He says:

  “If your heart is large enough to envelope your adversaries, you can
  see right through them and avoid their attacks. And once you envelope
  them, you will be able to guide them along the path indicated to you
  by heaven and earth.”

It appears to me Goleman uses “Seeing right through people” in “condescending and dismissive” manner, and Ueshiba uses it in different, rather positive way.

What implications does the expression “Seeing right through them” have?


texts: What is another way to say the need for?

texts: What is another way to say "the need for" in regards to mental health system reform


texts: I am trying to assess errors regarding lexicology in an English-as-a-second-language-learner's spoken English. Does the use of tense fall into the 'Lexicology', Phonology, Syntax or Discourse? I need something in the lexicology area to focus on!


texts: Did I show you my graduation photo or have I shown you my graduation photo?

texts:
So I was on my way home from school, and I overheard two people talking about something. The one asked the other:

''Did I show you my graduation photo?'', I asked my self whether it shouldn't be ''Have I shown you my graduation photo?'', since it is a link to the present.

The two people weren't native speakers and neither am I, but I have a feeling that both are correct in AE.

Could anyone enlighten me about which one is correct.

Thank you


texts: What do you call the time period between notification of an event and the event?

texts:
I'm in the situation where I have an event, and I want to notify some people 15 minutes before that event happens (but it could be 30 minutes, or 1 day, or any amount of time).

What do you call that 15 minutes?

UPDATE: My specific case is for a program I'm writing. I have an event and I want to create a notification that happens X time before the event. I'm having trouble finding a name for that X time.

NOTIFICATION             TIME LAPSE                   EVENT
     |                       | (belongs to              |
     |                       |  notification)           |
     |<------------------------------------------------>|

I was trying to name it something like "Notification premure" or "Notification ahead-time", but none of them convince me, and I'm having troubles thinking of other alternatives. Any ideas?


texts:
With the article the preceding an adjective, the resulted phrase is usually treated as a plural noun. Examples are "the poor", "the free", "the brave", "the wise", etc..

It seems that the phrase "the left" or "the Left" (when it refers to political groups) is an exception. Sometimes it is followed by singular verbs, sometimes it is followed by plural verbs. My question is:

What is so special about the phrase "the left"? When it is used as a singular noun, does it somehow convey a subtly different meaning than it being used as a plural noun?


texts:
Trying to get the idea from the sentence.

  What I am saying is these are only differences of degree and not of
  kind, as in labelling a minority as religious or political or social.

What is the meaning of "differences of degree and not of kind"?


texts: A word for a man who offers his services to have sex with a woman unable to conceive

texts:
Recently, I read an advert in a local Chinese daily, it read:

  Surrogate father services available for unpregnant, unable to conceive woman: Healthy, medically certified and fit male companion till you achieve a positive pregnancy test.
  Free  service with no strings attached- neither emotinal nor financial.
  Anonymity guaranteed.

This guy can not be called a "surrogate father", because he is not going to serve as a father figure.

Another expression could be  sperm donor or more specifically, a sperm bank. However, the ad does not seem to fit in this category.

Gigolo came to mind but since the service is free, it cannot be categorized in the same league as prostitution.

What can he be called?

Edit- A natural inseminator?


texts: Are there other well-known examples of the type "Illigitimi non carborundum"?

texts:
Illegitimi non carborundum, mock-Latin for "don't let the bastards grind you down", dates to early WWII, and later in the war was adopted by Gen."Vinegar" Joe Stillwell as his motto.  For more, including variants, see Wikipedia.

Do users have any other well-known examples of this type: an English phrase translated into mock-Latin?  It should be pithy and witty. Maybe the example I have quoted is sui generis.

Let's accept that it could be dog-Latin and that it is possible to dog-Latinize anything, anything at all.  I'm not asking obscure dog-latinized doggerel.

I'm also not asking for a standard Latin aphorism known to Cicero. There are plenty of those, and they are easy to find.

Annus horribilis is not exactly what I was asking for, but it is close.  Pithy, witty, not a standard Latin phrase, well-known.  Illigitimi non Carborundum is of the same family, but a different species.  I'll settle for canid, not necessarily canis familiaris.


texts: Meaning of "But no Source never made me not buy an album when they say it was wack"

texts:
I cannot get the real meaning of this AAVE sentence from rapper Kon Artis, a song lyric transcribed at Genius:

  But no Source never made me not buy an album when they say it was wack

Source is the name of a magazine.


texts: An 'h' or a 'h' when just saying the letter?

texts:
I know for words starting with the letter 'h' the usage of "A" vs. "An" depends on how its pronounced.

  A - Before a word starting with a pronounced, breathy “h,” use “a.” Examples: A hotel; A happy time; A historical day; A healthy, happy baby.

  An - Use “an” with words beginning with an unpronounced “h.” Examples: An herb garden; an hour; an honor; An heir.

  http://editingandwritingservices.com/a-or-an-before-words-beginning-with-h/

But what about when your word is just the character 'h' such as in the sentence:

  This word starts with a/an 'h'

"An" seems to fit better when I say it, and I suppose it fits the definition of not starting with a breathy "h" sound. But also its not an unpronounced 'h' because that's literally all you're pronouncing.

Which is correct?


texts: What else could "have to" mean except "must"?

texts:
It seems that in almost all cases "have to" means "be obliged to" and "must" and "have to" are interchangeable.However, I’ve noticed that in some cases it doesn’t seem to make sense if "have to" is replaced by "must".

1.Shaker is a courageous, resilient, kind and thoughtful person who has faced the worst the world has to offer and survived.

2.Let’s listen to what she has to say.(seeing she is an expert)


texts:
Apparently "adherable" should not be used in formal language (if the opposite is true, please correct me).

Are there any more concise ways of saying "easy to adhere to", such as in this phrase:

For example:

  His workout routine was easy to adhere to.

As a side note, I think "easy to follow" is too ambiguous here, because it could mean "easy to read".


texts:
There was a shepherd that did live,

And held his thoughts as high

As were the mounts whereon his flocks

Did hourly feed him by.

............

This beautiful little piece is quoted in "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau.
I want to know how the grammar of the last line is interpreted.

What does "did hourly feed him by" actually mean? Are there any missing punctuation marks?


texts: Does calling "convenience" a "loyalty" make sense?

texts:
Does this sentence make sense?

  "In the world of banking today, convenience is the new loyalty."

I think it means convenience is the new reason for a customer to be loyal to a bank. However, does it make sense to call "convenience" a "loyalty"?

Or am I being too nitpicky? The writer is obviously trying to come up with a cute spin on a trendy expression ("30 is the new 20").


texts: Can "treat" be used as a generic term for junk food, drinks or sweets?

texts:
I'm looking for the shortest word that can capture the idea of guilty pleasure, limited to the products we consume (it doesn't have to be extended to activities).
For example, you would say "no xxx for me today" when you resist an impulse or desire for products like junk food, drinks, sweets, or maybe even cigarettes.
Ideally, this would include any activity involving the consumption of a product that gives you pleasure but that you consider bad for some personal reason (health, environment, finances...).
The best I could come up with is "treat".
These things may be too ordinary to be considered treats, but I think that's only because they've become very affordable in recent years. You still "treat yourself" a little bit when you give yourself one, and part of the guilt comes from the fact that you give yourself one without deserving it. Or is it just my perception?


texts: Should Units of Measure be capitalized inside a title?

texts:
There is a similar question regarding capitalizing units of measure, but mine is for titles, specifically. For general applications (ie; not inside titles), the consensus seemed to be no for most units (although there were a few special cases mentioned). I am wondering whether this changes for titles. And if so, how it changes. Should you capitalize the first letter? The entire thing?

My specific example is for pounds per square inch (psi). "Tire psi Below Minimum" vs. "Tire PSI Below Minimum" vs. "Tire Psi Below Minimum".

Edit: The commentator below raises a good point. But what if it's "Tire Below 72 PSI Requirement"? I don't see a way to get around using a unit there.

More info: These titles are used as alert titles to display to a user in an application.


texts: Is Word always correct in suggesting either a comma before 'which' or else using 'that'?

texts:
In Microsoft Word, the grammar engine in certain situations suggests either placing a comma before which or replacing it with that (and not using a comma).

Does the meaning of a sentence ever change between these two alternatives of , which and that, or is this just a style choice?

Here is a similar question that/, which was posed where the accepted answer states in part:

  Supplementary (or non-defining, or non-restrictive) relative clauses are by convention set off by commas and integrated (or defining, or restrictive) relative clauses are not.

Would the use of that be more appropriate for a defining or restrictive relative clause?


texts: Is "the same" widely used in any native-speaking population of English speakers?

texts:
I often see "the same" used regularly in discourse from and among South Asian speakers of English, particularly among speakers of IndE, as in

  I visited the tiger preserve in Ranthambore, and I highly recommend the same.

But in my experience with speakers of American and British English, it's hardly ever used.

Is there any population of native speakers of English (i.e. populations who have English as their first, and typically only, language1) which uses this construction regularly? Perhaps in some sub-population of Britain or one of its historical colonies, like Australia, New Zealand, et al?

Or is this principally an IndE usage?

NB: I'm particularly looking for authoritative references, perhaps from corpora, academic studies, or other reference works, rather than anecdotal data.


texts: Is panda "a kind of a bear" or "a kind of bear"?

texts: Or, perhaps, it's not a kind at all? A type maybe?


texts: What does "Booney II" mean in this context?

texts:
What does "Booney II" mean in this conext?

It is in the name of a product from Columbia:

Men's Silver Ridge™ Booney II


texts:
I've always thought "to slumber" meant to sleep deeply or for a long period of time. Several colloquial but less reputable dictionaries agree with me (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=slumber, http://www.yourdictionary.com/slumber) but Merriam-Webster and the OED disagree, defining slumber as "to sleep lightly" and "to sleep, esp. to sleep lightly; to doze or drowse," respectively.

Which is correct in modern usage?


texts: Is “get somebody off the couch” a well-established idiom?

texts:
I found the phrase, “get (sb.) off the couch” in the headline of the article of Time.com (June 24) and also in a caption of YouTube. Each reads:

Jobless graduates: Six ways to get your kid off the couch, into a good job. – Time.com
At eDiets Live Jillian Michaels speaks to a woman on how to get off the couch. – YouTube.

From the context of the lines, I can easily guess it means to let someone rise up from the couch to start to do something or to work, but I don’t find “get off the couch” as an idiom in dictionaries at hand, neither in Free Merriam Webster nor Cambridge Dictionary online.
Is this well-received idiom? Did it come from a title of song?


texts: Single word for 'to become known or famous'

texts: I want to describe  an event that through the years has become known or popular, like the celebration of, say, Holloween for instance. We could say that Holloween  became popular or (...) a long time ago.


texts: When should antibody/antigen be pluralised?

texts:
I am doing my thesis corrections, and my examiner (an engineer) has different ideas about whether the word should be pluralised than those I am used to, as I am a non-biochemist, I wanted advice on the accepted practice.

When talking about multiple types of antibody I am used to people in my lab saying antibodies, however as my lab is very international I realise that the way we talk may be idiosyncratic.

  e.g. "within the polyclonal serum we found antibodies against a number
  of targets";

but when we are talking about antibody of one type we use the singular;

  e.g. "the pipette contained 25mg/ml of SN607D8 antibody"

not

  "the pipette contained 25mg/ml of SN607D8 antibodies".

Is this correct? Are there any documents that lay out the grammar for such things?

Similarly when we are talking about multiple types of antigen we say antigens

  "the antibody bound specifically to HLA-A2, but non specifically to a
  number of other antigens";

but when we are talking about a number of a single type of antigen we would use the singular

  "the cell had numerous HLA-A2 antigen on its surface"

not

  "the cell had numerous HLA-A2 antigens on its surface".

Again is this correct?


texts:
Can we reduce adjective clause in this sentence?

"He'd also tell me off for cooking food that made the house smell"

Is the following sentence correct?

"He'd also tell me off for cooking food making the house smell"


texts:
Why are these World Championships (f. e. the ongoing one) called Aquatics and not Aquatic? I understand that the whole event should be called plural Championships because many sets of medals are available to be won, but why is the adjective plural?

Although the Championships represented by different disciplines, I think the adjective Aquatic suits them all, so I still don't get why the plural form is necessary.


texts: Please explain to me the meaning of the sentence below

texts:
From an Op-Ed piece by Bryce Covert in The New York Times (1/13/16)

[But as president, Mr. Obama gets to take time to crow about what’s good in the economy, not just focus on fixing what’s bad, as nearly all candidates of both parties are doing.]  It's a tricky line to work and a nearly impossible one on the campaign trail, because, according to recent polls, voters mostly feel that the economy still has a way to go until they will personally feel financially secure.


texts:
here I am again.

I do know about How + adverbs or adjectives (e.g.: How tall is he?, how handsome is he?, how deep is the river?..); however, I'd like to know three little things,

First: What is this rule's name? If there is one. (The grammar topic which talks about it);

Second: Is "How + adverbs or adjectives" always complements of the verb? E.g.: How deep is the river? - It is 100 feet deep - 100 feet deep is the complement of the verb Is, since it's a linking verb; therefore, How deep" means = "100 feet deep" which is the complement, so,  is it the complement being placed in the beginning?

Thirdy: Could I say: Is it how deep? If not, why? What rule talks about placing the adverb in the beginning of the sentence?


texts: Where did "You know what thought did!" come from?

texts:
"You know what thought did" is a catch-phrase addressed to someone who has just made a stupid mistake and attempted to excuse himself by saying "But I thought..."

Does anyone know the origin of this saying; in particular, does anyone know what thought actually did?


texts: Why do some people say “We need to know what is it”?

texts:
I notice a lot of people—even native speakers sometimes—change the order of certain words when asking a question (e.g., “We don't know what is it”).

As far as I know, it should be “We don't know what it is.”

Is changing the order of certain words, as in the first example (is–it), correct at all?


texts:
Page 229 of Garner's fourth edition reads

When couple is used with comparison words such as more, fewer, and too
many, the of is omitted <have a couple more shrimp>.
In the predicate
of the previous example, shrimp is the direct object. It is modified
by the adjective more, which in turn is modified by the adverbial
phrase a couple. There is no place in the example for of (neither ✳a
couple of more shrimp nor ✳a couple more of shrimp makes sense).
But
if the informal sentence structure can be slightly inverted, the of
becomes idiomatic again <I’ll have a couple of shrimp more>.

I need a more comprehensive technical explanation of the grammatical point this paragraph is trying to unfold, but avoiding imprecise wordings such as "with comparison words such as more, fewer, and too many, the of is omitted".
Furthermore, the highest Ngrams show dissimilar highest percentages:
a few more {days/of them/people} but a few thousand more or a few thousand dollars more
a couple more of them but a couple more days.


texts: How to read mathematical formulas in English?

texts:
I am trying to learn a coding language while learning the same I realized the codes are simple English sentence converted into complex codes using special character similar to that of short-hand.

For example
{names(M_dash)[order(x, decreasing = TRUE)[1:10]]}

In the above example the function output is 10 column names with values in decreasing order.

My question is : Is there any handbook where I can get the English interpretation of mathematical functions and special characters.
for Example dx/dy in simple English is rate of change of x with respect to y

Please help.

Regards
Jitendra


texts: Why is the spelling of "company" different from the pronunciation?

texts:
My students regularly pronounce the word "company" with [o] in the first syllable.
Why do we pronounce [ʌ] in this syllable? but write "o"?
Thank you.


texts: Is "pick me up some dinner" correct? It sounds alright, and I said it in conversation, but I can't help but wonder whether it's wrong now.


texts:
What's the origin of the (I believe Brit) slang "L7"?
In particular what decade (or even century) did this come from?
Region?

Footnote - entirely possible it is not British; IDK.  Could have an earlier origin?


texts: How to know when the z can't be used instead of s in an ending?

texts:
I'm familiar with -se -ses -sation etc endings being British and the American equivalent being with z rather than s. However, I stumbled on the word "improvisation", which apparently can't be spelled with a z.

How can you know which words are spelled using 's' in American English?


texts: What is the meaning of "40 leagues and 2"?

texts:
League is a widely found but rarely used unit of measurement, measuring roughly "one hour's hike" in many definitions. It tends to mean around 3 miles, or 5 km, in English use.

Tolkien often wrote distances using leagues. For example, Gimli once described one of his journey's distances as "40 leagues and 2".

What does the 2 mean in this case? Is he simply saying 42?


texts:
In Russia and the former Soviet Union there is such thing as propiska/registration - an official address of a person where he is entitled to live. It may be a place owned by that person or the place where he/she is included in a rental contract.

I wonder to you in English-speaking countries have a legal address (for example for the purposes of tax collection) and how is it called?

If you rent a flat from the government (does it happen in your country?) how do you call the right to use this flat?


texts: Does the phrase "perceived slight" indicate a slight is not real?

texts: Can the phrase "perceived slight" be used to mean any slight a person perceives, whether that slight is grounded in reality or not, or is it synonymous with an "imagined slight" (a slight that is only perceived and not real)?


texts: Does the letter C serve any unique purpose?

texts:
Does the letter 'C' make any sound that cannot be made by other letters?

"Cat" could be spelled "Kat," "Cinder" could be spelled "Sinder," and "Watch" could be spelled "Watsh."

Edit:

An excerpt from a comment by Kosmonaut:

  There is no difference between ["ch" and "tch"]; both
  are /tʃ/. Thus, "witch" and "which"
  are pronounced exactly the same:
  [wɪtʃ]. (Actually some Southern
  American dialects pronounce "which" as
  [ʍɪtʃ], but that is only a difference
  in the "w" sound, not the /tʃ/.)


texts: What's the best word that can be used to describe level of activeness?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that can be used in a question like "how is his * right now?", where a possible answer is 'calm'.

Another example is:

Person 1: Calm down!

Person 2: My * is none of your business.

I think that 'temper' is a possible candidate but I am not sure and can't find any better alternatives.


texts: Is the question "Did I say I would take the job even if it was offered?" logically correct?

texts:
I'm actually curious as we've had a little debate online about whether this usage is logically correct. I am aware that gramatically this sentence is fine, however, due to the negation value of "Did I say", making "even if it was offered" at least redundant, and perhaps even illogical in my opinion.

The reasoning for that is "Did I say" negates the following statement, while "even if it was offered" strengthens the "I would take the job" part.

It'd be a different matter should the order be "if it was even offered", because that would actually serve as a negation to "I would take the job", strengthening the "Did I say" part.

At this point I'm not even curious who was right, but rather whether my reasoning is right. Thank you for your time. :)


texts: Naming Duos: Why "Hall and Oates" over "Oates and Hall"?

texts:
When listing a pair of names (like Laverne and Shirley) or a duo of terms connected by "and" (such as "peanut butter and jelly"), is there a reason why one word order would sound better than the reverse? For example, why would "Kenan and Kel" sound better than "Kel and Kenan"?

Is there any evidence of a convention, tradition or unconscious practice that dictates naming conventions (perhaps similar to how there is a specific order to adjectives depending on what type of description they are)?

Obviously there is the factor of which is more familiar (We've always heard it as "Hall and Oates", so naturally it sounds better that way), but is there a rhythm to which might "roll off the tongue" better?

NOTES ON EDITS

I've removed references to my own specific case, because it is ultimately irrelevant. Suggestions have been helpful to me personally, but don't help me understand the concept any better.
I've removed the word "rule" from my question (the "r" word is practically blasphemous in the English language).


texts: What does it actually mean to be "in suspense"?  It's not a place, or a verb.  How would you define "suspense"?


texts: I know the contraction of  am not, is not, are not, has not, have not, do not, does not, and did not  can be represented as ain't. How can I understand correctly which contraction the speaker meant?


texts: Does 'knockoff', meaning 'copy', come from the German word 'nach'?

texts: Does the English expression 'knockoff', meaning 'copy', come from the German word 'nach'?  I am researching an old flute which is marked 'nach Myer', and it turns out that it signifies something like 'a copy of a Myer'.


texts:
I remember hearing a phrase that meant someone had a stroke of bad luck that ended up good - "he fell off X and landed in Y" - but I can't remember what X and Y were.

This was something said by my grandparents (WWII-era, southern Plains US). Has anyone else heard it, or is it a very localized/generational idiom?


texts: How widespread is the use of the term 'sidemeat'?

texts:
In Grapes of Wrath (1937) John Steinbeck uses the term sidemeat, sometimes hyphenated side-meat.

The OED confirms this is North American (I have never heard it used in Britain), and refers to salt pork or bacon, cut from the side of the pig. (Americans I discovered years ago don't eat back bacon.)

However one dictionary I looked in, specifically quoted Grapes of Wrath, suggesting that the term was unique to Steinbeck. The OED does give five references dating from 1868 to 1975. But clearly this is not a widely used term. Presumably Steinbeck mentions it to emphasise that his paupers were reduced to seeking out the cheapest cuts of meat. However the character 'Ma' (her name is never mentioned) talks about sidemeat. And if that sort of person would not normally have used the word in the 1930s, then presumably it would have sounded out of place in the text.

But I would be interested to know whether the word sidemeat is still used today, and whether there is, or has historically been, a particular stigma associated with purchase of sidemeat being indicative of poverty.

I would also be interested to know if Americans use the word offal, and how the eating of it links to an image of the poor.


texts: What's the word when you're describing how someone is, how their day was, etc.

texts:
EG, "I didn't even bother with the _."

I can't seem to find the word for it! (I think it ends in 'ties' like 'profanities' lol


texts:
We pronounce 1923 as nineteen twenty-three; but 1900 as nineteen hundred. Why isn't year 2000 pronounced as twenty hundred instead of two thousand?

What are the rules for pronunciation of years in English? Does it change according to the first two digits of year? Could you give examples for special cases, if any?


texts: Singular or plural verb after "my experience in X, along with Y,..."

texts:
Singular or plural?

Would it be "make" or "makes" in this case:

  I believe my experience in program management and evaluation, along with my Master’s degree in Sociology with a specialization in migration, makes/make me an ideal candidate for this position.


texts:
While reading an answer on another StackExchange site I noticed someone had written

  According to wikipedia, the world record is 69 and is owned by Mrs. Vassilyev.

This caused me to wonder if "owned" was the correct or commonly used term for possession of a record, since I had never before heard it used in this context, having myself always used the term "held" when referencing records. Is "owned" correct to use in this situation? And is there an accepted term for this?


texts: Noun for a time spent with a child doing some kind of activity

texts:
I'm going to develop an application for a kindergarten for kids with special needs. When I was speaking with the domain expert, she was quite often speaking about some kind of activity (užsiėmimas in Lithuanian, which can be roughly translated to being busy with something).

Based on conversation, it is something that:

Takes 30 minutes
Is usually done one-on-one, sometimes one-on-two where a teacher spends time with multiple children
Is taught by a teacher, held by a psychologist, done by a social worker
Can be of any type:

Swimming in pool
Playing music
Exercising
Painting
Learning social skills
Psychologist
Dancing
Playing
Some other form of therapy
Really any kind of activity that would help children to develop faster and integrate into society easier

I came up with a couple of nouns that could represent it:

Class
Activity
Occupation

But my gut feeling says there's something less ambiguous and I'd like some help to come up with something better.


texts: Is the relative clause always an adjunct/modifier of the antecedent?

texts:
The first two sentences mean the same thing, and so do the last two.

(1) She's obviously the person to finish the job.
(1') She's obviously the person who should finish the job.
(2) She was the first person to finish the job.
(2') She was the first person who finished the job.

The emboldened clauses are all relative clauses, and those in (1) and (2) are infinitival relative clauses.
In general, the relative clause is not a complement but an adjunct/modifier of the antecedent. In (1) and (1'), for example, both the relative clauses are adjuncts/modifiers of the antecedent person. Clearly, they are not complements of person.
In (2), however, it seems that first licenses to finish the job. If so, is the infinitival relative clause complement of the antecedent first person? Or is it still adjunct/modifier of the antecedent just as it is in (1).
How about (2')? Does first licenses who finished the job? Is the infinitival relative clause complement or adjunct/modifier?
In short, is the relative clause always an adjunct/modifier of the antecedent? Or is it sometimes a complement of the antecedent?


texts:
In this sentence,

  My research for Point of Origin was some of the most intensive and dangerous I've done to date, and the story I tell here remains the most painful. (Seen at the introduction part of novel, "Point of Origin", by an American writer)

Can we say "to day" instead of "to date" in the above sentence? Because "today" comes from "to day", though I'm not sure about whether we can still use "to day".


texts:
I was wondering whether the adjective "incensed" meaning "enraged" had any relation with the noun "incense" meaning "a product producing a smell when burnt"

Can anybody answer this ? Maybe it has something to do with fire of being lit up ? What do you think ?


texts:
I've been an Australian English speaker my whole life but this was pointed out to me recently. Apparently I've been pronouncing "where" differently or incorrectly? Most of the people around me pronounce it this way:
/wɛː/ (or like this: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/where)
However I found myself pronouncing it this way:
/wɪəː/ (like saying "hear" but replacing the first letter with the usual /w/ sound)

Example of both: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0DYaRzH5heN

Is this an Australian English thing? I only know of one other person who says it like I do. Or am I just pronouncing it wrong?


texts: The use of OP's in a sentence in english stack exchange

texts: I have come cross the use of OP's.What does OP's mean as used in a sentence.


texts: Meaning of Corsican Proverb "Ropes that are too long become snakes"?

texts:
I came across this proverb recently

  Ropes that are too long become snakes.

This is a direct translation from the Corsican of I funi longhi diventani sarpi.  However, I could neither understand its meaning nor the context in which this proverb could be used.  Does the translation make sense in metaphorical English?  Is there a more-commmonly used English expression that has the same meaning?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


texts: "have/has condition" or "need condition"

texts:
Yesterday, I put a message in a social network environment to inform other members about lottery:
"Lottery for year 2016 is now open, try your chance. It does not have any especial condition."
But a member answered:
"'It does not need' is closer to English instead of 'does not have' ."
Are both forms grammatically correct? and which of them is more common and suitable?
Thank you.


texts: What is meaning of "on the fly" in computer science?

texts:
I am not native English speakers, I often see " on the fly " in some program docs or blogs. I don't know the exact meaning of it. Is it a idiom?

e.g.:

  Since sandman doesn't have any advanced knowledge of the database structure, it can't rely on pre-made model classes to register tables. Rather, it needs to introspect the database and create these classes on the fly.

update: The paragraph above is from here. In the chapter named "When Is This Ever Useful?".


texts: 'Such' in place of a demonstrative pronoun. Such a configuration or such configuration?

texts:
I read some explanations about the use of 'such' as a determiner, but I still could not figure this out. If, in scientific/formal writing, I want to use 'such' instead of 'this' to specify a previously mentioned noun, do I need the article a? E.g.:

  By adding a correct constant voltage on one of the plates, the AC goes to zero. In such configuration, the DC-voltage is the same as the original potential difference between the materials.

Which one would be correct: such a configuration or such configuration?


texts: Is there any exception in the usage of since and for especially with reference to the inclusion of word last?

texts:
I have been working here for 5 years.

or

  I have been working here since last 5 years.

Does the word "last" have any effect on period of time, thereby changing the context to the point of using "since" instead of "for" just because of adding last to the sentence?

I have much difficulty dealing with the educationists related to English discipline. All this happens because I live in a country where English is used as a second language.


texts:
I just heard this word for the first time; it’s defined in the dictionary as

  the condition or fact of being in, or occupying, a certain place or position; location; whereness; ubiety.

How is this used in a sentence? Are there any nuances? When would it commonly be used?


texts: What size of number should be written in digits as opposed to spelt out?

texts:
I was taught that small numbers should be written with letters and not numerals. For example "5" would be "five". I've heard conflicting rules and am wondering what the largest number that should be spelt out and not written with digits is? Is it really a matter of opinion or is there a general consensus?

Also, when writing ordinal numbers what is the largest that should be written as opposed to spelt? For example 1,000th vs one-thousandth.


texts: Question on the comma placement in specific sentence

texts:
A comma before that seems to be very uncommon 1,2. But I am quite unsure about the following sentence:

For each state and word, we calculate its orbit, that is, the set [... a mathematical formula defining the term orbit appears here ...].

Are the commas here valid (I am also unsure about the other ones to be honest)? According to the ''pause of speech''-rule they seem valid, but they also seem to be "to much".


texts: Unit of text with inline number-less bold heading

texts:
Is there a name to specifically refer to a unit of text that starts with an inline number-less heading in bold followed by one or more paragraphs as below? If there is, what is it called?

About Blah Blah Blah Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.


texts:
Omission of articles is often, in my opinion, quite confusing, as they are often omitted in cases I'd find them needed. I know that some of it might just be for simplicity sake- teachers can't always be bothered to write everything down on the blackboard, and in informal language, generally a lot of formal stuff is omitted.
So, the specific example which always kinda bothers me when I hear it, is:
'please remove card', spoken by the self checkout in the supermarket (UK). Card isn't really a proper noun, neither is it uncountable, so why is it omitted? Is it just informal language? And when writing a formal essay, to what extent can I omit adjectives in this fashion?
Best regards,
Adam


texts: The best description word for 'something you can sense'

texts:
In a context, you are blindfolded, and you are trying to pick up on any of your surroundings (sound, smells, etc). In other words, you are trying to pick up on any information that you can sense.

The best word I could think of was like 'sensable' information (such word does not exist) or 'tangible' (but it is only limited to touching sense).

What would be the best description word alternative for it?

  I was killing time by picking up on any bit of >insert word description there< information regarding my “blindfolded” surroundings.


texts: What is the difference between 'reprimand' and 'scold'?

texts: Can someone tell the difference between these?


texts: Is “girl” a valid synonym for “young woman”?

texts:
This question emerged out of a discussion on Mastodon about Ivanka Trump being called a girl, where it was claimed that “girl' is synonymous with 'young woman' in English”.

Is this true?
Is it sexism if adult women are called "girls"?


texts: How can I figure out this grammatical mistake?

texts:
I am not an english speaker and I need some help with a grammar mistake that has up to now costed -4 reputation to me (I am this user  posted this question as guest by mistake and cannot actually find the "delete" button).
What actually happened is that I posted this question in which I stated that the following two statements concerning an abortion that took place in 1973
''It never harmed anybody -- it was a dead embryo so the cells back then (were used), instead of being discarded, they were used for research.''
''  ... The kidney of the fetus was, with an unknown family history, was obtained in 1972
probably. The precise date is not known anymore. The fetus, as far as I can remember was
completely normal. Nothing was wrong. The reasons for the abortion were unknown to me. I probably knew
it at that time, but it got lost, all this information...''
where contradictory in the sense that an embryo (=fetus) may be "completely normal"  or "dead" but not both.
Then I realised that I had run into some terrible grammatical mistake since I received the following two comments:
"Why exactly do you think one of those two statements has to be false?"
"Completely normal from an aborted from an aborted fetus tends to mean that death was involved. Just because someone dies doesn't mean that their cells are not normal with nothing wrong with them."
I seems that somehow "completely normal" refers to the kidney and not to the fetus itself!
But how can that be?
Probably it is the context that matters so here are the full-texts from which I took these two statements:
The first one was taken from France24:
''It never harmed anybody -- it was a dead embryo so the cells back then (were used), instead of being discarded, they were used for research.''
and the second one from
Alex van der Eb. "USA FDA CTR For Biologics Evaluation and Research Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting" (PDF). Lines 14–22: USFDA. p. 81. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
''  ... The kidney of the fetus was, with an unknown family history, was obtained in 1972
probably. The precise date is not known anymore. The fetus, as far as I can remember was
completely normal. Nothing was wrong. The reasons for the abortion were unknown to me. I probably knew
it at that time, but it got lost, all this information...''
English grammar had never been my best but now it is of vital importance to understand.
Can anyone help me?


texts:
I saw a post on another forum that sparked an interesting though-process for myself. Can which-clauses such as the one I am about to show example for be considered adverbial? The reason I ask is that I have always known these relative-pronoun led clauses to be adjectival clauses.

  My son chews with his mouth open, which aggravates me.

Seemingly, "which aggravates me" applies to the main clause completely. So is it functioning adverbially? I could also see how one could say that the which-clause is taking about the action of "my son" chewing "with his mouth open", but then again, if we let that presumption call for an adjectival designation, I believe a lot more brick-and-mortar adverb clauses could be adjective.


texts: Nuances when returning physical mail in the UK

texts:
“Return to sender” carries very little meaning to the sender:

Who returned it? The postal service, the intended recipient, or some other person?
Why was it returned? Was it considered spam, was the address wrong or incomplete, or was there some other reason?

Are there norms, rules or laws associated with what is entered on the item when returning? For example, if marked as “spam”, can I assume that the company will behave, or is it rather like email, where trying to unsubscribe will result in even more spam (since now the address has been verified as active)?


texts:
I read the word in a children book,

What is a "zip-zap"? Where did the word come from?


texts:
What's a name for mistakes like in the following sentence: "time flies even faster as a parent"?

Requested edit to clarify where the error is: time as a parent is the subject in the sentence above, which was not the intended meaning. "Time flies even faster for a parent" or "For a parent, time flies even faster" would better communicate the intended meaning.


texts:
I'm working on an employee manual and I came across this one: "Our team philosophy is to become the best of which we are capable."

Is this a correct sentence? The point it's trying to get across is clearly that there are all these things of which one is capable and we would like to become only the best of them, so should it be, "to become the best of that which we are capable?"


texts:
TV shows, other than ones that have new episodes year-round (e.g. news, soaps), typically group episodes in batches — most often per year, although not necessarily calendar years, and sometimes there will be multiple batches in a single year.

The term I am familiar with for these batches is "season", and the term to refer to the entire set of episodes that have ever been made of the show is "series".  For example, there are 24 episodes of the TV show 24 each season, but there are 192 episodes in the entire series.

I've been told that in the UK the correct (perhaps "most commonly used"?) term for a batch of episodes is "series".

Is "series" indeed the correct1 term in the UK?

If it is the term for a batch, what is the UK term for the entire set of episodes?  (I.e. what I would call a "series".)

Finally, assuming that a "season" is a "series" in the UK, if I am referring to a UK TV show, is it more correct (e.g. if I was writing academically) to refer to a "season" as a "series", even if the rest of the writing does not use UK English?

1 "correct": most likely to be understood correctly by a UK native.


texts: What's the corresponding term for the mouth?

texts:
To wear blinkers or blinders is used metaphorically to mean choosing deliberately not to see or ignore the truth; to wear ear plugs refers to one voluntarily choosing not to listen. How about the mouth?

Can choosing to keep silent when one oughtn't be metaphorically referred to as wearing a muzzle?


texts: Is "and" used correctly in this sentence? How does it change the meaning if I remove it?

texts:
It's hard for me to figure out why the writer uses "and" in the end of the following sentence. Like "and of which we and those who come after us have a right to be proud."

  "It is no good talking about the greatness of our fatherland,
  pretending to be proud of it, unless we who live in this country do
  something to make it great and of which we and those who come after us
  have a right to be proud."

So, I think it will be better if I change the sentence like this,

  "It is no good talking about the greatness of our fatherland, of which
  we and those who come after us have a right to be proud, pretending to
  be proud of it, unless we who live in this country do something to
  make it great."

Is the original sentence right or makes sense?
Is the second sentence right or makes sense?
If both of the sentences make sense, which is better?


texts:
One of my references is an audio file.  It feels funny to say

  bla bla bla (see such-and-so audio recordings).

Is there some Latin I could use in place of "see"?


texts: Does the word "another" correctly substitute for the indefinite article in this sentence?

texts:
I was reading a short story by Ray Bradbury and stumbled on a zero article case in the sentence below.
"Years passed without another visitor, be it boy, girl, tramp or travelling man, knocking at her door."
I feel that this way it sounds good without an article but I cannot explain why it does.


texts: Does "moving a meeting forward" mean the time will be earlier or later?

texts: Suppose I say "We're moving the 12 PM meeting forward 2 hours", does that mean the meeting is at 10 AM or 2 PM?


texts:
"Grammarly" tells me that sentence:

  I am a bad table.

is correct, but the following sentence:

  I am a bad trash.

is not correct.
Can you explain me why?


texts:
What is the best word to describe someone (a person) who acquires a digital image with any instrument (which could be a digital camera, microscope, telescope or any other instrument that will produce an image)?

I was thinking of the terms "imager", but a simple Google search gives me the definition "software or equipment that makes images". "Photographer" is, I consider, too narrow.

If such a term does not exist what is the smallest way to describe this concept? "image creator"?


texts: Do the words 'gift' and 'present' have the same meaning?

texts: As the question says, do these two words have the same meaning?


texts: Is there a word for thinking of something as a disease?

texts:
I am look for a word meaning to think of something as a disease such as if a speakers says:

  James's influence is corrupting the area, and it spreads from person to person like an influenza.

Is there a verb that describes the act of thinking of Jame's influence as a form of disease in particular, in similar vein as to otherize, to feminize or to animalize?


texts: Term for a person who is from the same college or university as yours?

texts:
If two American strangers (or for that matter any nationals) are compatriot for each other What is equivalent of a person who is from the same college or university as yours?

See below example:

Somboon to Jim: Hi, Do you like the Philippines?

Jim to Somboon: Hi, we liked Philippines a lot. Jack and me are compatriots. We are US citizen. So we like to travel different countries.

Somboon to Jim: Oh you are from the same country, but you look different. I thought you are Filipino.

Jim to Somboon: No I am not. But Jack and me are in fact ___________ (from same college).


texts: Origin/reason for the "hit by a bus" phrase

texts:
Often at my job when someone is becoming a single source of knowledge or otherwise has a skill that no one else on the team or the department has, a common expression is:

  If John was hit by a bus, there would be no one that knows enough about what he does to take over.

I don't believe that this phrase is specific to my job as this also seems to be a common phrase in articles I have read online, for example:

http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3023-why-programs-become-territorial

My question, what is the origin of this phrase and is there any reason that it is phrased like "hit by a bus" instead of "in a plane crash" or something else entirely?


texts: How do you say 'Twisted' Congress power balance?

texts:
Currently Japan’s ruling party (Democratic Party) holds a majority in the Lower House, but fewer seats in the Upper House than the opposition party (Liberal Democratic Party). We call the state of power balance as such a ‘Nejire Kokkai’ in Japanese – Twisted Congress meaning the Congress in 'twisted (reversed)' power balance by verbatim translation in English.

What is the proper counterpart to this Japanese term for “Twisted Congress” in short (one) word? I was asked this question recently by one of my friends who is English learning enthusiast like me.


texts: "My last couple of years" — singular or plural?

texts:
Should I use "wasn't" or "weren't" in the following sentence?

  My last couple of years as an Edison Eagle wasn’t all about fighting
  and bad friendships.


texts: What is the name of this kind picture, a vertical cut of some object or terrain

texts: I think it's common in geology to show the different minerals and soils, and in construction to show how the elements are fastened, but I can't find the right term.


texts: A better way of articulating 'ataractically candid'

texts:
I'm trying to convey the sense of a rare moment of tranquility in the mind of a confused, flawed and tormented character.

  This is the most ataractically candid thing I've ever written.

This occurs at the end of a sincere, formal letter to a business partner asking for forgiveness.

I want to convey that the candour comes from the rare state of ataraxia the character is feeling at the time. Rare because they suffer from extreme bipolar disorder, and they are out of their mind more often than not.


texts: What does the phrase "lowest common denominator" mean?

texts: I'm not a native speaker and was wondering what exactly does "lowest common denominator" mean? I was always under the impression that it referred to something base that is shared by the largest amount of people, like sexual urges, envy, greed etc. So if somebody said: "the show is targeted at the lowest common denominator" I took it to mean that it caters to these primitive universal tendencies. But lately I have seen it used as an insult or basically a verbose way to say that someone is stupid. I never thought that the phrase was meant to refer to actual people and tend to see it as a misuse, but found out that according to some online dictionaries, this usage is correct. So how is it?


texts: Is this the correct way to write this sentence?

texts:
Okay, so I came across a strange, yet interesting dilemma, There was an English test in my high school in which I got a challenging MCQ. Here it is:
Anyone can have ________ name in the newspaper.
Choices given were:
1- Their
2- His
3- Her
I selected the option 1, all my friends did! But my teacher sort of challenged me to verify whether I was correct or not! I'm not sure myself, so I'm asking this question on Stack Exchange. Thanks.


texts: I have heard from some of TV series. They are saying "suite your self", what does it mean?


texts: Ambivalence about the 'respective' rate of increase (or decrease?) in the statements of type

texts:
Here is a sentence:

  "In the United States between 1850 and 1880, the number of farmers
  continued to increase, but at a rate lower than that of the general
  population."

Now, from this, I infer that the rate of increase in the number of farmers during the 30 years was not at par or higher than the rate at which the whole population increased.

Eg. The population may have increased by 3% but the no. of farmers increased by 1%.
Correct?

As an hypothetical example, if the population was 100 persons with 10 farmers, now it is 103 with 1 farmer (total 11). Right?

My doubt is,
The place where I read this text had a related question asking what contradicts the statement.. and the answer read:

  "The proportion of farmers in the general population increased from 68
  percent in 1850 to 72 percent in 1880."!

EDIT >>

For the reason that members are not interpreting the question as it deems to be, here's some additional info:

First of, note that the doubt is NOT related to the 'math' or values involved in the example. The doubt is about the fact that where I read the original statement, had an accompanied question asking that which of the statements 'contradict' the original statement.

Hence, the doubt that I had is that how the second statement that mentions that there 'was' an increase in the proportion of farmers, contradict the original statement.

Hope I make my point clear now and yes, this question IS related to ENGLISH and not MATHS.

Any further doubts, kindly consider clarifying in the comments.


texts: Difference between alien and foreign language

texts:
When we speak of aliens, we usually refer to life outside the Earth. But we do have words such as "alien countries", "alien landscape" and "alien customs" where the meaning is "different", "foreign" or "strange".
However, as I understand it, when we say "alien language", we mean a language spoken by aliens (e.g. life outside the Earth).

Are the two terms "alien language" and "foreign language" very different?


texts: Is the use of "bid" and "sell" as adjectives documented by any dictionary?

texts: E.g. "the market is very bid", meaning a bull market.


texts:
A native of Hong Kong, John Chen studied in La Salle College in Hong
  Kong up to F5 before he went to US and graduated from Northfield Mount
  Hermon School, an elite prep school in Northfield, Massachusetts.

The paragraph is taken from this Wikipedia page. I'm wondering what F5 means in this context.


texts: What does the phrase "I didn't bring my permits" mean?

texts:
I came across this gif. Apparently actor Chris Pratt is cracking some kind of a joke here, but I'm not sure if I get it. He said this line after he had showed off his guns.

Any tips would be appreciated.


texts: What is a word for a philosophy that only focuses on efficacy and what is useful?

texts: I thought that utilitarian was the correct word but a friend informed me that utilitarianism wasn't the correct word for what I was trying to describe. What word am I looking for?


texts: Why "he is known to me" instead of "he is known by me"

texts: Why do we say he is known to me instead of he is known by me? We know that the passive is formed by by. Then why is it not he is known by me? Actually I want to know the structure.


texts: What’s the term for “hearing” words when you read or think?

texts:
If you’re anything like me, you may hear a little voice in your head when you read (e.g., this post) or think to yourself. THAT VOICE MAY GET LOUDER ON CUE, or it may get softer on cue.

At any rate, is there a word for this?

I ask, because I am writing an essay on how the language of set theory has facilitated mathematics in probability theory.  One of my sections is on the vocabulary that the former has contributed to the latter, and I would like to point out that having specific words to describe concepts not only provides us with an efficient medium for discussion, but it can also concrete our thought processes.

As @HotLicks said in the comments, I am asking (more or less) if there exists an auditory analogue of visualize.

I just remembered from my psychology class that a scientist might call this an auditory memory being rehearsed in the working section of one’s short-term memory.


texts: If there is a way, I'm not aware of it. -> help

texts:
I watched an anime called Puella Magi Madoka Magika and in Episode 9: I'd Never Allow That to Happen, and there is some dialogue at around the 11 minutes and 10 second mark which I do not quite understand:

In the English subtitled version of it the dialogue reads as follows:

  Sakura Kyoko: Is there a way to get her Soul Gem back?
  Kyubey: None, as far as I know anyway.

However, in the English voice-overed version of it, they say the same lines like this instead:

  Sakura Kyoko: "Is there a way to get her Soul Gem back, the way it was?
  Kyubey: If there is a way, I'm not aware of it.

Now here is what I do not understand: It bugs me that Kyubey used "not" in his answer. Would it not be better if he said "If there is a way, I maybe aware of it" or "If there isn't a way, I'm not aware of it"?


texts: Why is "viva" pronounced `/ˈvaɪ.və/` in the academic sense?

texts:
Usually, (and intuitively), the word is pronounced /ˈviː.və/ or /ˈviː.vɑ/

However, I recently learned that in the academic context, the same term is pronounced
/ˈvaɪ.və/. Why is this the case, and what is its etymology?


texts: Word that includes laptop, tablet, smartphone etc

texts:
What's a word (or phrase) that includes laptops, tablets and cellphones (or similar portable electronic devices that resemble a computer)? I would prefer it to be a short (and intuitive) term.

I know computer could be a possible answer but  while technically computer may refer to anything that computes, often times people think of a desktop PC rather than a portable device when a person says computer.

Any other words besides 'Computer'?


texts:
I came across this sentence in a blog.. "You'll receive no more than 1-2 emails per week, as we hate spam just as much as you. "

While I appreciate the sentiment, i can't help but wonder if they hate me!
So here's my question : Is this sentence correct? To me, it seems like it should be "we hate spam just as much as you DO".

In the third person though, there are two different forms, owing to two different words for the subject pronoun and object pronoun (unlike "you")
1."we hate spam just as much as SHE". (girl + bloggers hate spam)
2."we hate spam just as much as HER". (bloggers hate girl + spam)

Since this is not the case with "you", should there absolutely be a "do" at the end of the sentence, or are we supposed to just understand it based on context?
Or is "we hate spam just as much as you" the actual right way of conveying that they hate spam, making me completely wrong (and a little paranoid)?


texts: Breaking down "Of his honour and his glory, the people would sing" into subject, verb, predicate

texts:
I recently listened to the lyrics of Lucky Man by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and noticed the following line.

  Of his honour and his glory, the people would sing.

It struck me as being non-typical of modern English syntax, albeit fitting the context of the song. I have a Russian speaking wife, and a 10-year-old daughter, both of whom sometimes get confused about dealing with different sentence structures such as this. This leads to vague recollections of my primary school English class where we did exercises breaking sentences down into subject, verb and predicate.

Pondering the above line I wondered whether it should be...

  Subject: his honour and glory. Verb: sing.  Predicate: the people.

or

  Subject: the people.  Verb: sing. Predicate: his honour and glory.

Is there only the one right interpretation, or can there be two?


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "pay attention"?

texts:
If this were a "modern" phrase, you could (perhaps) justify it based on psychological science, related to the usage of energy by brain activity, including putting attention into something. As such "pay attention" could have emerged as "pay the cost of some mental energy into giving attention to something".

However, it seems this phrase dates at least from half of the XVIII century (axis below from 1600 to 2008):

So, the scientific justification given above might not apply to such phrase. I cannot find any answer for this online (other forums are unhelpful, e.g. here or here).

So, what is the origin of such phrase?

Note: there are several question in this site about when to use that or an alternative expression (e.g. here, here, and here), which is not what I am asking.


texts: Primary and secondary stress in IPA transcriptions on Cambridge Dictionary when two words are involved

texts:
I am trying to understand IPA transcriptions in https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/ when two words are involved. In particular, their rationale for changing some stresses, compared to the stresses in the independent transcriptions, when the words are put together.
For example, roller skate was transcribed as /ˈroʊ.lɚ skeɪt/. There is a space between "ˈroʊ.lɚ" and "skeɪt", and roller and skate were independently transcribed as /ˈroʊ.lɚ/ and /skeɪt/ respectively. This is intuitive to me: first word + space + second word.
rubber band on the other hand, was transcribed as /ˌrʌb.ɚ ˈbænd/. However, rubber and band were independently transcribed as /ˈrʌb.ɚ/ and /bænd/ respectively.
Finally, safety pin was transcribed as /ˈseɪf.ti ˌpɪn/. However, safety and pin were independently transcribed as /ˈseɪf.ti/ and /pɪn/ respectively.
Why the transcriptions are not always first word + space + second word, where first word and second word are the independent transcriptions, such as in the first example? Why the stresses changed in the transcriptions?


texts: "Is this what shock felt like?" confusing sentence structure

texts:
Is this what shock felt like?

I came across the sentence and it seems a bit confusing to me. While the meaning is completely clear, the sentence structure seems wrong.

According to me, it should be:

  Is this what shock is felt like?


texts: Using Past Simple when talking about an event which was happening for a while before another event

texts:
I always thought when a person is speaking of two past events, they should use the Past Perfect tense for the earlier event. Like this:

  "I had been explaining (Past Perfect) this rule to you for half a
  lesson before/when I gave (Past Simple) a test"

But recently I've come across this sentence:

  "They were married for a few years before divorcing in 2016"

Evidently it's about two events, and one past event (married for a few years) precedes the other past event (the divorce in 2016).

Why is it incorrect to say "They had been married for a few years"?

Why is it correct to use Past Perfect in one example and it's not correct to use it in the other one? What is the rule of thumb here?


texts: What is a term for an operator/function in which the order of parameters makes no difference?

texts: I'm trying to recall the term for an operator/function where f(a, b) = f(b, a).  For example, a + b = b + a for all values of a and b.  However a - b != b - a unless a = b.


texts: Is it "that's the same story, know?" or "that's the same story, no?"

texts:
I am getting quite confused by:

That's also the same story, know?
That's also the same story, no?

Which is correct formation?  This is very confusing to me.


texts: Using "the" or "a" for an item already mentioned

texts:
I was reading a topic article in a English grammar book.

In an explanation, the following guideline was mentioned:

  Use the to refer something that has already been mentioned.

While I was doing an exercise, I faced the following sentence.

  Our teacher gave us ______ test today. It was ______ really hard test.

There were questions on there which I didn't even understand. But based on the explanation above, the answer in the first sentence should be a, and the answer in the second sentence should be the.

But when I saw the answer, there was a in first sentence and a in the second sentence also.

How is this possible? Based on the explanation, the answer in the second sentence should be the! Please explain.


texts: When should one use the "recent past"? How much time should have passed?

texts: When we can use "recent past"? How much past time qualifies for "recent past"?


texts: What is the correct term for this juxtaposition of words?

texts:
He has a soft spot for playing hard ball

Not really a pun, I think. What is the exact term?

And correct me if the title can be made better.


texts: Should you use first word capitals for an advertising slogan used in a descriptive, adjectival way?

texts:
If you're using a slogan in a sentence to describe something in an adjectival way, should the first letters of each word of the slogan be capitalized, or not? For example:

  Nike has a 'just do it' attitude to business.

or

  Nike has a 'Just Do It' attitude to business.


texts: Idioms / Proverbs - forgetting bad things, value of an ordinary life

texts:
I've got two questions but they're very similar - looking for English idioms / proverbs.

(1) A proverb that means about the same as 好了疮疤忘了痛 (Chinese, lit. to forget the pain after the wound is healed).
(2) A proverb about the value of living an ordinary / uneventful life.

I'm ... pretty sure there's semi-common equivalents in English? I really can't think of them, though, so I'd like to ask you guys for help. c: Thanks!


texts: What do you call one of the first members of a club or organization?

texts: I've heard of this position being called a pioneer member or charter member, but to me those imply that that member founded the organization. I didn't found this group, but once it became an offical organization, I was one of the first to join it.


texts: Can you use "perhaps" at the beginning of a sentence and omit the verb?

texts:
For example:

More students are emerging with A grades in A level exams. Perhaps as a result of sheer hard work and competition.
More students are emerging with A grades in A level exams. This is perhaps as a result of sheer hard work and competition.

Is number one a normal usage in English, and is it preferred to number two? The reason for asking is because this sounds very odd to me and it’s not something I've come across often.

For example, I have come across the use of perhaps more often in the middle of sentences rather than at the beginning. Hence the reason for this question: are there any rules regarding the use of perhaps at the beginning of a sentence?


texts:
We are creating an online marketplace, so we need some word suggestions.

Someone who sells the goods online.
Someone who buys the goods online.

Given that we already know seller, vendor, customer etc. words; we would like to choose something more creative.


texts: Formal way to say you bumped into someone

texts:
What is a formal way to say you bumped into someone? I'm referring to an unplanned encounter with someone you know.

Can you say "Yesterday I met John at the doctor" if you didn't plan to meet him?


texts: A word for "colors of a team or an organization"

texts:
I know this may be a dumb question, but I am trying to think of a word that doesn't come to me and I need it for a presentation.

The best way I can describe the word is:

  A color palette or single color in which a team or organization is represented.

For instance McDonalds will always be gold and red, and Burger King is yellow and red, and then of course is the sport teams. They never change colors.


texts: "torrential rainfall promoted unhealthiness ..."

texts:
During the monsoons, it rained heavily and continuously. The ditches, pits and channels all overflowed with water...

In the (....) I want to say something like:

  this whole scene of torrential rainfall promoted unhealthiness, due to which the postmaster's health deteriorated.

Although it doesn't sound quite right, is there a better way to put this in?

EDIT: The whole story takes place in a village. The protagonist, who spent all his life in a city, comes here for his first job. Although due to his background he's unable to mingle with the other residents of the area. As a result, he feels lonely and out of place.
    Due to the abundant rain of the monsoons, the whole place develops a very gloomy ambiance – which promotes illness (I hope you get the idea).


texts:
What is meant by "mushroom grandeur" in this context? Is it  metaphorically means instant, like how mushroom blooms?

"What do you think of that?'' asked his expressive little eyes, when
something cruel in "mushroom" grandeur or crude style passed by.
-Ceylon, the Paradise of Adam By Caroline Corner, pg 45-


texts:
I have watched a few videos on this theme, but still don't understand when I would use one and cannot use another. Example from one of BBC English videos:
"I have been cooking soup for 20 minutes when the phone rang"
Here they used pres-perf-cont (and not past-cont) only because there is a note that the process was continued for 20 minutes?
What exactly would happen if I said "I was cooking soup for 20 minutes when the phone rang". 'cooking' is a progressive action, that happened in the past at the precise moment(phone rang), it's also OK according to the grammar, not?


texts:
1) What is the difference between Corner, Junction, Intersection, Crossroad and Crossing?

As per google dictionary the definitions are:
Corner - a place where two or more streets meet.
Junction - a point where two or more things are joined.
Intersection - a point at which two or more things intersect, especially a road junction.
Crossroad - an intersection of two or more roads.
Crossing - a place where roads or railway lines cross.

2) Which of the above 5 would a native speaker use for the following sentence? ( In India we almost always say crossing)

Meet me at the ____ of Park Street and Bishop Road.

3) Do we say "at the corner" or "on the corner"?
4) Which is correct "take the second left (On/Onto/Into) Park Street"


texts:
Which is the right verb to use? Is smelling as a verb strictly connected with air or what fish do is also called smelling?

I ruled out "detect" as it sounds too formal, or is it?


texts: Definition of "albeit" and how it's different from "although" (if it is)

texts:
I'm trying to write good English even if I'm not a native speaker. My phrase goes something like:

  I then realized program X doesn't provide classes for Y (albeit its excellent support for Z).

Is the word albeit used properly? I tried a dictionary, and one definition says it's similar to although, although I'm pretty sure that word doesn't fit in that particular sentence (see what I did there? I do know how to use that word, at least).


texts: "Order something done" for "Order something to be done"

texts:
As far as your variety of English goes, can the verbal turn "order something done" be used interchangeably with "order something to be done"?

  "We ordered this item sent to our local store."

  "I ordered this item sent to my son in Utah."

  "I ordered this item delivered to my girlfriend's workplace."

  "Yemen ordered him caught dead or alive."


texts: What is the appropriate verb and preposition to say "play the lottery"?

texts:
Do we play the lottery? Do we play in/on the lottery? Do we bet the lottery?

What is the appropriate verb for the sentence and is it necessary to use a preposition?


texts: Synonym for "get affected by" in academic form?

texts: I am writing a paper and I have some measurements and factors which change according to the change of some others. I have already used several times "A affects B". Therefore, I need to use a different way of expressing this phrase, like "B gets affected by A". I would be grateful if you gave me some examples.


texts: Is there a hypernym for animal noises like "bark", "meow", "roar", et cetera?


texts: How can you encourage native speakers to correct mistakes non-native speakers make?

texts:
My English is pretty advanced, yet I still make mistakes (not many, but some).

I am constantly talking to native speakers and always tell them to correct my mistakes.

My problem is that in most cases they just won't do that! The keep telling me that my English is so advanced that they always understand what I am up to and I keep telling them that I still feel embarrassed when I find out afterwards that I made a mistake.

Obviously this is some combination of misconceived politeness and laziness.

My question
How can you encourage persons to correct the mistakes you make?


texts: "Typical liberal bulls-t" or "typically liberal bulls-t"?

texts:
My liberal friend wrote that he's gonna do some research soon.
I asked, "Into what?"
"[Redacted.] Typically liberal bullshit," he replied self-depricatingly.
Then he corrects himself: "*typical"

But which is correct? "Typical liberal bullshit" or "typically liberal bullshit"?

Is typical an adjective or an adverb in that sentence?


texts:
According to The Grammarist: till, until and 'til:

  Till, as a variant of until, is a preposition meaning up to the time of. Till—not ‘til, an unnecessary abbreviation—has been in the language for centuries, and there’s no reason not to use it.

Actually, until is derived from till as Etymonline explains:

Until

  c. 1200, from till (prep.). The first element is un- "as far as, up to" (also in unto), from Old Norse *und "as far as, up to," from Proto-Germanic *und- (cognates: Old English oð "up to, as far as.

Till:

  Old English til (Northumbrian)  "to," from Old Norse til "to, until," from Proto-Germanic *tilan (cognates: Danish til, Old Frisian til "to, till," Gothic tils "convenient," German Ziel "limit, end, goal").

My question: is there a plausible explanation for the different end spelling of the two prepositions, single l vs double l?  Apparently the original term till had a single l in its Old English form. Is it a phonetic issue which makes the sound of till more natural with a double consonant?


texts:
I am looking for a word which describes the act of taking someone famous or respected, an idol, and turning them into a symbol of what they represent instead of a person, i.e. they lose their human characteristics and become a sort of god which other people can worship.

I find this really difficult to describe, but it should fit in these types of sentences:

  The novel does not ______ Wilfred Owen, which in turn allows the audience to see him as a normal man with problems they can relate with.
  The biography over-_______ Bill Gates, which is a shame because the audience is left uninterested in his stories and detached from him as a character.
  She's ______(past tense) him completely, creating a soulless effigy of the person he represents.

Maybe the word means the act of making an idol out of someone? But I don't think it is idolising....


texts: meaning of two , four and eight in this conversation

texts:
I was watching How I Met Your Mother when I heard a conversation between some actors and it just bounced over me. But from the background I could hear people laughing and I was sitting static without getting a single point:
It started like this:

Robin: Look at that guy, I had a crush on him long back
Ted: [sarcastically] That guy is like a four.
Robin: Oh , if he is like a four then what are you.
Ted: Then I am eight and... a half.

Later that guy [sarcastically] talking to someone on phone about Ted. He is "a two."
Can anyone please explain what does this conversation imply?


texts: If I connect two independent clauses with a semicolon, do the subjects of the two have to be the same?

texts:
ex:
Their motivations varied and often intertwined; but, whether it was due to a desire for glory, wealth and power, knowledge, or religious converts, the entire worldview of Europe and Asia radically shifted after these expeditions.


texts: The Yellow Wallpaper - What does *Smooch* mean?

texts:
I was reading a brilliant piece of Feminist Literature : The Yellow Wallpaper by  Charlotte Perkins Gilman which uses the word smooch three times, all in reference to the yellow wallpaper:

  Then she said that the paper stained everything it touched, that she had found yellow smooches on all my clothes and John's, and she wished we would be more careful!
  There is a very funny mark on this wall, low down, near the mopboard. A streak that runs round the room. It goes behind every piece of furniture, except the bed, a long, straight, even SMOOCH, as if it had been rubbed over and over.
  I wonder how it was done and who did it, and what they did it for. Round and round and round—round and round and round—it makes me dizzy!
  But here I can creep smoothly on the floor, and my shoulder just fits in that long smooch around the wall, so I cannot lose my way.

What does smooch mean in these contexts?


texts: Seasonal parsing: "enjoying Re-run's of Christmas' past" — fragment, pluralization and ownership

texts:
enjoying Re-run's of Christmas' past

I just saw this posted as a Facebook status update, and it has boggled me as to how it should be considered or how it should be rewritten. If re-runs belong to Christmases of the past, and if the past owns Christmases then there is ownership present. What about Christmases' ?

I'm not focused on the fact it's a fragment of speech. Maybe that imbues some ambiguity upon it in my mind's eye and prevents me immediate resolution.

What's the most accurate, or else, your best interpretation of this fragment?


texts:
Sometimes i face people use will to express a future in questions (rarely, though):

  What if we will get just 30–60 active accounts?

I know what-if-will may be used in some cases, but, as i understand, in the example above will must be omitted. I'm i right ?
I believe native speakers would have understood me if i had asked such a question, but what it sounds like for them ?

Any explanation is appreciated :)


texts: Should this be "ensure," and not "insure?

texts:
The assure vs. insure vs. ensure has been discussed frequently on this site. But I came across a New Yorker article, which has excellent editing, which uses "insure" when it seemingly should have used "ensure." Here's the sentence in question, talking about a jumpshot in basketball:

  The shooting elbow travels upward on a narrow path within inches of the torso, to insure an efficient and steady glide; the other arm folds over, framing the face of the shooter.

I hesitate to second guess the editors at the New Yorker, but shouldn't that be "ensure"?


texts:
I was under the impression that all Americans pronounced aunt like the insect, ant (/ænt/), or relatively similar sounding variants such as the southern aint (/eɪnt/). According to both Webster and ODO, some Americans pronounce it as ah-nt (/änt/, /ɑnt/, or /ɔnt/) which is pretty close to the British ah-nt (/ɑ(:)nt/). Webster offers a similar alternative for the contraction, can't.

Who are these Americans who favour the British pronunciation?


texts: I hear people say names at the end of the sentence, to identify who they are speaking about

texts:
I'm wondering what culture in the U.S. or what region of the U.S. has this language style.

"He just threw a left hook, John."

(John is who threw the left hook.)  Who puts it as first described?


texts: Syntactic structure of a ''contracted'' question

texts:
I'm a teacher and I'm preparing the simple dialogues for my students. Here's one of them:

  Hi!
  Hello!
  How are things?
  Could be better. You?
  Pretty good.

May I shorten the response to "you" here? As I understand now, "you?" only follows the previous question with the you-subject (how are you doing/how are you). And if I can't shorten it this way, is there any other way to make "How are things/how is it going" shorter and thus less formal?


texts:
In the New York Times,

  An adjacent lounge, called Collage, looks like a modern airport bistro. It serves breakfast by day (a continental spread of sweaty pastries), and drinks and bar food by night.

Does sweaty pastries sound correct to you?  Could it be a typo for sweet pastries?


texts: Can a verb and an adjective be linked by the word "and"?

texts:
So I'm having a sentence:

  He was active and played with his friends all day

I wonder whether it is correct to use this sentence, because readers may be confused and think that the word "played" used in this case is also in passive voice.


texts: Comma or no comma before a proper name in a "tag question"?

texts:
First question. Which of these "tag question" variations is most correct?

You're going, right John?
You're going, right, John?
You're going. Right, John?

(1) looks best, imo. (2) seems more proper, though. (3) seems way too emphatic.

Second question. What is the technical/grammatical name for the person being addressed in these sentences? "John" is a proper name, obviously, but how do you describe its function within the sentences above? "Target"? "Object"? "Addressee"? I assume there's a more technical term for it.


texts: Use of "to" with no verb at the end of a sentence in reference to the previous sentence

texts:
Consider:

She told him to break it up.
He didn't want to.

I know it means he didn't want to break it up, but how does one explain the use of to in the second sentence? I understand what's left out, and I get it re: the ellipsis—but I don't understand why to is there at all.
Couldn't one simply say He didn't want and leave it at that?


texts:
The thumb has a different name compared to the other fingers (index, middle, ring, little) and it does not end with "finger".

Also, when referring to the hand, I have seen literature where it is described as "5 digits on each hand" and that is probably more accurate.

In light of that,

Is saying that I have "5 fingers on my left hand" technically just wrong?
Or is the thumb a "special" type of finger and so it is acceptable to treat it as a finger in general?

Are there any rules/guidelines related to this in English that anyone can throw light on or is it that I am just nitpicking?


texts:
What is the correct spelling of "web browser" (e.g. Chrome, Firefox, etc.) in the context of a software user interface, either as single word (e.g. as a menu item caption) or inside a phrase (e.g. "Output the data in your web browser")?

WebBrowser
Web Browser
Web-Browser
webbrowser
web-browser
web browser


texts:
If a person uses the wrong form of your or you're, would that be considered a spelling or grammatical error? I can really see it swinging both ways...

A sentence with the incorrect use of the word is technically grammatically incorrect, but the root cause could be simple spelling error. If a person speaks a sentence with an incorrect use of the word in question, it seems grammatically correct. When you look at the reader's script, it is then determined to be a spelling error.

When shown in writing, should the error be marked as a spelling or grammatical error?


texts:
Is this sentence correct?

  I've never been to Toronto before; do you get the opportunity to visit
  Montreal often?


texts: Should noun be singular or plural in a phrase like "... one (if not many) [noun]"

texts:
Consider the phrase:

  You have come one (if not many) times to my house ...

I am not sure if the noun "times" should be plural or not. It sounds better with plural, but this answer states that parenthesis are used for things which can be safely removing without affecting the meaning of the sentence. In that sense, if you get rid of the info in parenthesis the singular should be used.

Is there a canonical answer here? This related question has just one answer, which to be honest is not very helpful (and has just one vote). Also, my question has the extra issue of having a parenthesis, which surely makes it distinctive from the one linked above.


texts: Correct expression for "time of the day" greetings?

texts:
What is the correct description of good morning/good evening/good afternoon, etc? Are they called greetings of the day, or time of the day greetings?

If not, what are they called?


texts:
I am trying to fix this and name the appropriate rules.

"Dr. William Brooke O’Shaughnessy supported hemp being used for medicinal purposes during the 1800s he was a rich Irish physician who became recognized for his work in pharmacology his inventions in telegraphy and his experiments with non-traditional therapeutic treatments."

Should it be written like this?

"Dr. William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, supported hemp being used for medicinal purposes during the 1800s, he was a rich Irish physician, who became recognized for his work in pharmacology, his inventions in telegraphy and his experiments with non-traditional therapeutic treatments."

Rules:

1) "Commas often indicate sharply contrasting elements." (avoiding dangling modifiers)

For
1800s, he
pharmacology, his

2)"Place commas after introductory elements."

for
Dr. William Brooke O’Shaughnessy,


texts:
As I was preparing for the ACT, I came across this question:

Phrase: "Key and Peele is at its best when it deals with questions of
what is expected of mixed-race people, in a society reluctant
to let go of racial stereotypes"

Is that right? Or is the phrase below correct:

Key and Peele is at its best when it deals with questions of
what is expected of mixed-race people in a society reluctant
to let go of racial stereotypes" (No comma before in a society)

If so, why? Thanks.


texts: Word for someone who makes you feel good about yourself

texts: I'm looking for a word that would describe someone who is really good at making others feel good about themselves. Someone who is always bringing others up and who is kind and genuine.


texts: What's a word that suggests having very long ears?

texts: I'm looking for an adjective that describes a living being as having very long ears (rabbit, donkey, etc.) preferably ending in "-uous".


texts:
How does refractory make sense? On etymonline.com, refract, when broken down into its etymons, means:

"to bend" (light, sound, heat, etc.), 1610s, back-formation from refraction, and in part from Latin refractus, past participle of refringere "to break up," from re- "back" (see re-) + combining form of frangere "to break" (from PIE root *bhreg- "to break"). Related: Refracted; refracting.

Refractory on the other hand just means stubborn. Can someone explain to me the semantic links between the two?


texts: Could you give me clear differentiation between different types of Illative Conjunctions?

texts:
Please, I want to differentiate clearly between these three Sets of Illative Conjunctions, which have a relationship with Causality, and Inference:

to, in order to, in order that, so that. Ex: "He has been working hard, to pass."
wherefore, therefore, so, that. Ex: "He has been working hard, so he will pass."
because, for. Ex: "He passed, for he had been working hard."

Thank you.


texts: word analogy - accelerate is to velocity as

texts:
Accelerate is to Velocity as

sound is to decibels
incarcerate is to prison
levitate is to elevation
commiserate is to weight
denigrate is to reputation

Please choose one option.


texts: Is saying "it has someone as its writer" correct?

texts:
If someone writes a book for example, can you say "it has Michael as its writer"?

Or is it necessary to say "its writer is Michael"?

There are possible connotations for each form? (like for example that in the first sentence more people wrote it).


texts:
I am wondering what is the meaning of this sentence.

You are not being let go.

For me it can have two meanings:

You are not allowed to leave
You are not asked to go

But, I don't know which one is accurate?

Is it even a correct sentence?


texts: Tense selection to describe previously-developed software

texts:
I am in the process of writing documentation for a software project. I would like to understand what would be the best tense to use for the description of the code/tools that had been (?) developed by the time I started writing the document.

For example, consider the following sentence:

  This document describes the programming conventions used in the library development, the library directory structure and the supplementary tools that were/have been/had been developed to support and manage the library development. The main part of the library is/were/have been/had been written in C++.

What would be the best tense to use in each case?


texts:
You don't need to play
You need to not play
You need not play
You needn't play
You need not to play

What does each of these mean, and which ones are equivalent to the others?

Is the meaning of the negation equivalent to what I would get if I replaced need with "must"/"have to"?


texts: Is it a correct expression to use "impressed upon" this way?

texts:
I would like to know if it is correct to use the word "impressed" in this way by saying that someone is impressed upon by daily pressure?

Edit: Not in the sense of being convinced but to be negatively impacted or affected.

Thank you.


texts: What is the difference between "suitable" and "convenient" in this context?

texts:
Here is a CAE part 1 (multiple choice) exercise I am struggling with:

  The students would find the flat more

  A suitable

  B adequate

  C convenient

  D practical

  if it were closer to the college.

The answer is convenient according to the answer key. However, I believe suitable has an appropriate meaning as well.

Here are the Cambridge dictionary definitions for suitable and convenient which sound pretty similar to me.

What do you think?


texts: I think I believe I feel statements should be introduced properly

texts:
In English, a subjective statement or a likewise question is often introduced by either of these phrases:

  I reckon [that] … – Do you reckon [that] …? (dialectal)
  I think [that] … – Do you think [that] …?
  I believe [that] … – Do you believe [that] …?
  I feel [that] … – Do you feel [that] …?

The first three have been dealt with in Are there any differences between "I believe" vs "I think" vs "I reckon"? already, but feel hasn’t been covered as far as I can tell. To me, I think is the strongest statement about the validity of what follows, but I believe can imply at least as strong an endorsement. When I hear or see I feel introducing a testable statement it leaves me with the impression that the individual uttering it neither has the commitment shown by I believe nor the expertise required for I think and lacks the confidence of either.

Am I right to do so or do most native speakers use think, believe and feel interchangeably in a truly synonymous fashion? What are the reasons to choose one over the other then, different levels of politeness perhaps or just personal habits?


texts: Last comma in a list of comma-separated adjectives

texts:
"Big, white, mountain goat."
"Fast, red, Japanese car"

Should there be a comma before "mountain" and before "Japanese"? Adjectives in a list are separated by commas in English, but somehow this last comma seems wrong to me. I've seen sentences with and without this comma. Can someone clarify this for me?

I apologize if my question is unclear, I'm not a native English speaker. I'd appreciate edits for clarity.


texts: Is there any difference between "there is no possibility to do something" and "it's impossible to do something"?

texts:
If the context is important, I'm building a website along with other people. One of my colleagues wrote the following error message:

  There is no possibility to edit invalid something.

It sounds a bit strange to me, and I think

  It's impossible to edit invalid something.

is more appropriate in this case, but I don't have any arguments.