texts: How to pronounce "do you", "would you" and their negative contractions

texts:
I don't know now how to pronounce phrases like "do you", "would you" and their negative contractions.

For a while ago I though it's correct to pronounce "do/would you" (and even have [not] + V3) separately as well as use contraction form.
But it turned out that not contraction form assigns another more stronger meaning. And in common situations it's preferable to use a contraction form
to not outline emphasize in those situations where it doesn't need to.
But I've found some cases I don't know what to do with:
There was a scene I heard where a British lady said
"Do you two
(like "Dzhu too", there was a week "zh" sound (here I'm trying to express sounds not the meaning, I got what she said))
have any plans to the evening ?"
And after some time and phrases another lady (seems from Canada) asked the first one "Do you ("Due", no sound "zh") have any suggestions?"

From another scene I heard some person said (I don't know where that person was from) "would you" like "woo'zhu".

So, how to pronounce these phrases ?
Should I put sound "ch"
(like from the song "Don't cha" performed by The Pussycat Dolls feat. Busta Rhymes (but there was "don't cha" = don't you))
or "zh"
(if we are talking about "would you", "do you")
?
By the way, how to pronounce "wouldn't you" ? I've never heard any "ch", "zh" sounds in that phrase ))))


texts: Can "no need to run" mean "no need to hurry/rush"?

texts:
I'm a Brazilian lyricist and I have this doubt regarding the phrase "no need to run". Here in Brazil, people understand "running" also as "doing something fast". That said, I'm writing lyrics in English (for American listeners) and I was about to write the following lines:

  "Let's fade out the end of lovemaking/
  slowly through the hours, no need to run."

Translating it to Brazilian Portuguese, the intended meaning ("doing it slowly, without the need to hurry") works just fine, but I wonder if it actually works for a native speaker of English. I'm worried that people won't get the right meaning and understand it as "escaping".

Can anyone shed a light on this question for me?


texts: Voiceless noun endings with voiced verb endings

texts:
We can use that idea.
That idea has no conceivable use.
It is necessary to house these students.
The will reside in that house.
I cannot prove that.
I have no proof.
I can breathe.
Every breath I take is worth it.
Live long and prosper.
Have a long life.
Save your money.
Your money is safe.

Here we have pairs in which a verb ends with a voiced consonant and a corresponding noun with a corresponding voiceless consonant (except that "safe" is a noun perhaps only in the sense in which that term is used in a Latin grammar that I saw that was published in 1709, and disinguished between two kinds of "nouns": substantives and adjectives).

Is there a name for this sort of pair?
Is there any list of such pairs in standard use in English?


texts:
Which group is correct (in British English)? Is there any difference? And which group do you use?

Group 1 (the one I use)

English man, English woman, English men, English women
Irish man, Irish woman, Irish men, Irish women
Scottish man, Scottish woman, Scottish men, Scottish women
Welsh man, Welsh woman, Welsh men, Welsh women

Group 2 (from the dictionary)

Englishman, Englishwoman, Englishmen, Englishwomen
Irishman, Irishwoman, Irishmen, Irishwomen
Scotsman, Scotswoman, Scotsmen, Scotswomen
Welshman, Welshwoman, Welshmen, Welshwomen

I am not a native speaker and I would like to know if what I use is wrong or less correct.


texts: Which one is correct use of "each", "each may contribute what he can" or "each may contribute what they can"?

texts:
I read a sentence stated as:

  "The voluntary organisation come forward to help the victims and said that each may contribute what he can."

In that sentence I'm confused which one is correct , each may contribute what he can or each may contribute what they can?


texts:
Can I use it in the following sentence:

  You may need my services in the now, or perhaps two months later.

With in the now meant to be used in lieu of immediately.

Is this correct use of the phrase? Or is it an altogether incorrect phrase?

I tried to find anything useful on Google, but I couldn't


texts: Is there a term for a shorthand word formed by pronunciation?

texts:
The chat shorthand that started me thinking on this was oic which represents Oh, I see.

This is not an Acronym or an Initialism, as both of those are based on spelling.

This is not just a shortened form of a word, like “ex.” for “example”.  Though that is just an Abbreviation, neither an acronym nor an initialism, it is still based on spelling.

This is not an Onomatopoeia, a word crafted to be similar to the sound it represents, as pronouncing this would be so close to the sound a pig makes. oink

This is shorthand needing another way of interpretation to be properly understood.  Abbreviation is the closest term that I know for something like this, but it does not seem to fit.  Does anyone know a term for this kind of word?  Just curious.  Perhaps giving it a term would legitimize it too much.


texts: Translating Gerunds from Spanish to English (verb+ing)

texts:
In Spanish, the gerund form (-ando, -endo) is frequently used adverbially to modify and describe the verb:

El alma es dichosa dando y sirviendo.
El niño anda bailando.
El artista vive provocando emociones.
¿Porqué hablas gritando?

Can you use the same form in English, with an -ing verb where Spanish had an -ando/-endo one?

I ask because these all seem awkward when translated word-for-word directly into English:

The soul is happy giving and serving.
The little boy walks dancing.
Artists live provoking emotions.
Why do you speak shouting?

Is there any verb (perhaps only be?) with which it may work?

And anyway, what is the correct way to translate this form from Spanish to English?


texts: I heard a friends say that he's going to take a small nap. Is this correct usage? I thought we only take light naps.


texts:
Is that understandable in English? Or maybe there is a better way to illustrate what I want to say.

What I want to say is that maybe I have exaggerated.

For example,

  God is always good.

He kind of committed genocide with the big flood. So he's not always good but most of the time likes everybody.


texts:
Imagine that you are the president of a company, and there was another person playing the same role before you.

How should I describe the former president using the expression like "He was the former president *** you"?

Question

I believe "of" can be chosen.  Is this correct?
When "of" is correctly used, how about the sentence "He was the former president of yours"?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
How do I pronounce "ratio 1:1"?

Should I pronounce it "ratio 1 to 1"?


texts: Word describing a specific kind of movement

texts:
I am looking for a word or expression (if it exists) describing the movement that a plate makes when you lift from two nearby points of the edge, and then you release one a bit before the other. It looks like a rotation, but it is not.
When this movement is done with the hips, apparently it is called a hip roll: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5Btyc_io4U
However, none of the definitions of "roll", such as "move in a particular direction by turning over and over on an axis" seem to fit the movement I describe.
The closest I can come up is rotational wave but it sounds very technical and I am trying to use this word in a literary context.


texts:
I'm a student in China and I read this in my textbook.

The whole sentence is:

  I have already put away some savings since I made a budget.

In my opinion, you can only "put away a hundred dollars" or "put away some money" and the money you put away will turn into your savings. Thus I think there's a mistake in my textbook. But since I'm not a native speaker, I want to know whether native speakers will use this phrase.


texts: Does "taking the heart out of something" mean to defeat it?

texts:
Does the idiom "taking the heart out of something" mean to defeat it?

Context:

  rituals of science have taken the heart out of the rituals of religion


texts:
I recently came across "whitewash" used to refer to a (racist) practice of erasing visible minorities in film and advertising by making them appear more white (or even replacing them with white actors).

Here are some examples of this use of the word:

The Daily Mail referring to controversy surrounding an alleged lightening of Beyoncé's skin in an advertisement "Beauty brand L'Oreal accused of 'whitewashing' Beyonce".
A blog "stop whitewashing" definition from blog.
A lot of discussion surrounding the latest Star Trek film, since Khan is being played by a white actor.

My questions:

Can anyone provide some references as to when this meaning of the word a
appeared?
How widely accepted is this meaning? How [in]formal is this? The Daily Mail put quotes around it in their headline. Why?

It strikes me as a very playful modification of the older meaning (cf. Wikipedia definition), transforming the meaning of "white" in "whitewashing". (In the older meaning, one is covering over a filthy barn with a thin layer of chalk, to hide cow dung. Everyone agrees that a white barn looks better than a dung-splattered one, but the accusation is that the filth is still there underneath... by extension, the superficial appearances look good while hiding evil underneath. In the meaning I an describing, what is being hidden is actually of value and it is the act of hiding what is underneath that is the evil.)


texts:
What would I say as the opposite of downvoted to hell? So if I wanted to say, "Wow, that question on the Hot Questions list really got upvoted to xxx!", what word would I use in place of xxx?

'upvoted to hell' just sounds weird, with both positive and negative connotations. 'upvoted to heaven' sounds off, I can't place my hand on it exactly.


texts: What does "should something happen" mean?

texts:
What is the meaning of should loss occur in the following text?

  Backup and recovery procedures protect your database against data loss and reconstruct the data, should loss occur. The reconstructing of data is achieved through media recovery, which refers to the various operations involved in restoring, rolling forward, and rolling back a backup of database files. This chapter introduces concepts fundamental to designing a backup and recovery strategy.


texts: Can you not: Complete Sentence or Elliptical Formation?

texts: I recently heard a sentence: "Wow, can you not?" A friend stated that it was missing a verb. I said that Can worked as the verb in that sentence, and then he responded that Can could be used as a Main Verb but in this usage it was an Auxiliary. So, is "Can you not" an elliptical construction or a complete sentence?


texts:
There is a banner in StackOverflow pointing to the careers website (programmers):

  Do you haz teh codez?

My questions about the sentence/question are:

What's the question in plain English?
Why do they write it like that?
Is it like a word game?
How should I read it in terms of pronunciation?


texts: What is the difference between "as a result" and "with the aid" in this context?

texts:
"The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco achieved worldwide fame almost immediately after its completion in 1937, not just because it was a technical masterpiece but also as a result/with the aid of its elegant design."

Why is "as a result" the right answer according to the answer key? Why can't both work?


texts: “dimension less than 8” or “less than 8 dimensions”?

texts:
This question is midway among English and mathematics, meaning that it requires acquaintance with both, but since I am interested in the correct English way to say something, I ask it here.

Is it more correct – or usual – to say “a space of arbitrary dimension” or “a space of arbitrary dimensions”? (I am referring here to any kind of vector, Euclidean or other geometric space.)

Analogously, should I say “a space of dimension less than 8” or “a space with less than 8 dimensions”? Or are both correct?

EDIT: I am referring here to the mathematical notion of dimension: for a vector space, the maximal number of linearly independent vectors (and corresponding definitions for other kinds of space).


texts: Are 'probably' and 'actually' mutually exclusive?

texts:
I had an argument with my acquaintances:

[discussing the same translations of the phrase to various languages]

xxx: the German sentence is wrong, for what it's worth
yyy: the French one is too
yyy: they probably all are, actually
me:  yyy, congratulations. The last sentence, that you wrote is an oxymoron
xxx: how's that an oxymoron?
yyy: probably … actually? Arguably, the actual fact is that it is likely they all are wrong

[this is followed by an argument]

To tell the truth, none of us is a native English speaker, but my knowledge of the language is worst out of the three people.

So, I have a question. Is 'they probably all are, actually' sentence an oxymoron or not?


texts: "A", coupled with "B" will be considered singular or plural?

texts:
Rising urbanization, coupled with fast growing infrastructure projects is projected to fuel the demand for construction aggregates in the U.S. market

Should it be "is projected" or "are projected"


texts:
Consider this sentence, please:

He was jailed five years ago and could be released next year.

Can I say that sentence 1) has two interpretations depending on the the degree of stress placed on "could"? For example:
a) With unstressed "could":
It means that the authority have the legal right to release him early, so they could do it if they so chose.
b) With stressed "could" (speculation):
It means his release may possibly happen next year, and it is interchangeable with "might":
He was jailed five years ago and might be released next year.
Is this correct?


texts: Confusing examples; Apostrophe-“s” vs “of ”

texts: These examples are very confusing to me and I still can't understand the difference between 's and of. For some sentences, it is grammatically wrong but for some sentences it is correct. Please help me out. Thank you in advance! :)


texts: What are names for territories in space?

texts:
So in my universe the galaxy is divided up into cubical volumes of space of 50, 500, 5000, and 50000 light years (roughly it's actually divided into my own unit types, but they're roughly equal). There are 1000 of the previous areas in the next area up.

Currently I'm calling them Sectors, Blocks, Grids, and Octants, but that doesn't really work, nor does "Quadrant" for the last one, especially since a sector really applies to any area of space in reality so the 50000ly area can be called a sector as much as the 50ly area.

So what are some other names for areas like this?

I'm talking about titles like sector, zone, territory, region, etc. None of those fit and I'm sure I am missing more and limiting my scope of thinking largely due to star trek.


texts:
I debated with my peers that we can use the word emails when referring to more than one and it would be grammatically right.

  But most of them said since we don't say we received mails today, similarly we won't say we received emails .

Quick advice please.


texts: Is "Roach Motel" now an established English term for some kinds of buisiness behaviour?

texts:
I found the origin of the word and the statistics about its usage.

I found these two links about facebook and Oracle’s Public Cloud using the term figuratively. Is this usage common today?


texts:
I make a hundred k a year.

How much money does someone earn when he says the above? I understand it as

make = earn
hundred = 100
k = kilo

With this the sentence translates to:

  I earn 100000 CUR a year.

where CUR is an undefined currency which seems to be known by all parties.

Is that correct? If not, why not?


texts: What's a reception room / parlor / parlour / drawing room?

texts:
What's a reception room/parlor/parlour/ drawing room?

I'm thinking, is it just another word for the living room of my house?


texts: Is afeast or possibly affeast, afeest etc. a word?

texts:
My English (vai Liverpool)-Canadian mother used this word to mean 'disgusted by' or 'repulsed by.' Example: "he is afeast of mixed foods." meaning you think mixed foods are disgusting or inedible.

I have been unable to locate any use or reference to this word, even in the unabridged dictionary, although I have seen 'afeard,' and similar variations, as archaic versions of afraid.


texts: Is there a word expressing a hostile unwillingness to give someone the benefit of the doubt / consider their viewpoint?

texts:
I'm confronting someone and originally wrote that they didn't care about something. That's what I believe. However I realize I'm asserting how they feel and being extreme; I can't know they didn't care.

I'm looking for a word that describes that sort of arguing style--that is, making an extreme and hostile assertion about something I do not know for a fact, and thereby assuming the worst of someone and/or not allowing for shades of gray--so I can express how I feel but acknowledge some room for their point of view.

  I want to tell you "you didn't care" but that's unfairly _________. [But I can assert] You didn't try to fix it.

I've thought about "contentious", "strongly worded", "belligerent", "unsympathetic", "close-minded", "worked-up", and "dictative". They're all dancing around the concept but not quite right.

--

PS I hope this is an appropriate question. I know it's a very specific concept, but it's common enough I thought it could still be useful to others ;)


texts: The use of the definite article in a definite context

texts:
We use the definite article to talk about specific objects, but does the same logic apply when we speak about a set of objects that is restricted by another definite noun phrase:

1) All (the) plates in the kitchen were broken

2) (The) plates in the kitchen were broken

3) All (the) cars in Italy are expensive

4) (The) cars in Italy are expensive

5) I drank all (the) water from the tank

6) I drank (the) water from the tank

"Plates" is restricted by "the kitchen"

"Cars" is restricted by "Italy"

"Water" is restricted by "the tank"

Would dropping "(the)" in the above examples affect the meaning ?

I have seen example such as "all members of the group" instead of "all the members of the group". Both seem OK, but if anyone requested an explanation, I wouldn't be able to give one.


texts:
My browser's spellcheck says it is, but I can't figure out why.

Is Firefox sexist?


texts: Why is the plural form of Moose not Meese?

texts: Is there a reason that Moose becomes Mooses instead of Meese (as in tooth/teeth and foot/feet)


texts:
Does such a thing exist?

I am aware of the irony mark but it appears the backwards question mark symbol doesn't exist in most modern fonts (U+2E2E). That seems to be a good indication of its popularity or relevance, or lack thereof.

I personally use a tilde (~) to denote a sarcastic statement, but I am unsure as to its effectiveness nor can I recall where I learned it.


texts:
St. Pete is what folks calls the town, though they also call it the Sunshine City, as they claim they's no other place in the country where they's fewer days when Old Sol don't smile down on Mother Earth, and one of the newspapers gives away all their copies free every day when the sun don't shine. They claim to of only give them away some sixty-odd times in the last eleven years. Another nickname they have got for the town is "the Poor Man's Palm Beach," but I guess they's men that comes there that could borrow as much from the bank as some of the Willie boys over to the other Palm Beach.

It's from Ring Lardner's Golden Honeymoon, the short story published in 1922.

What does Willie boys mean and what does exactly the sentence mean?


texts: When you open the windows in the house in order for fresh air to come in?

texts:
I just cannot find this in any dictionary.

How is it called in English when someone opens the windows (and/or the door) of a house in order to let the fresh air come in? Please note that I'm interested in the phenomenon that occours naturally (and not through artificial ventillation).

Also, what is the name of when in this situation the air starts to flow and there is a wind-like movement of air in the house? Capable of slamming the door.

In Hungarian, letting the wind in is called szellőztetés and the wind itself is called called huzat (although the latter has multiple meanings).

(In my language, the same word is also used when you open a car window when it moves and you can feel the air on your head, some people dont like it. On the other hand, in the house it's usually a good experience.)


texts: Word or phrase for mere coincidence that brings happiness

texts:
I wish to state that my exposure to a certain area was a mere coincidence, and I am happy about the area.   Moreover, I want to convey the idea that the incident was like a fairytale, something no one would easily believe, but because of it I ended up where I am.  The same incident happening to someone else might go unnoticed but it rang the bells for me.

Stating this idea as above is too long and boring, and such language seems childish or out-of-place in a statement of purpose. I want to make it succinct.  Is there any word or phrase that conveys the same idea?


texts: A term for the phrases of exaltation following the utterance of a holy name (ie. god or prophet)

texts:
In the Islamic tradition, whenever the name of God or the prophet Muhammad is uttered, the speaker often injects a short phrase of exaltation immediately after: for instance, the words Subhanahu wa ta'ala may be spoken (or some other variation on the same theme).

Is there a technical or theological term for this practice?

I have tentatively settled on 'exaltation', as per the definition "the action of praising someone or something highly," but given the colloquial nature and everyday usage of these utterances, I suspect a more fitting word exists.

Edit: There is a Wikipedia article that addresses this topic specifically, referring to the phrases as Islamic honorifics.

From the article: "Strictly speaking, it is incorrect to describe this or any of the following phrases as 'honorifics', since the latter are titles (as in the Persian form Hadrat-i Muhammad, where the honorific precedes the name). There seems to be no precise English word for the terms discussed here, but salawat could translate as 'blessings' or even 'prayers'."


texts: Is something illegible even if the words themselves are clearly written?

texts: Say you have a photo of a piece of paper with printed words, but it's hard to read either because the words are too small, or the lighting is bad, or maybe the focus is not sharp, would you still call it "illegible"? We tend to associate "illegible" with words/letters that are hard to read because of the words/letters themselves being sloppy or poorly printed, but what if the words/letters themselves are clear but you can't read them because of your perspective? By definition it seems to work, but it never sounds right when I use it that way.


texts: Contractors becoming part of company they are working for

texts:
What's the term when a contractor (or other person) who is technically employed by company A but works so much/closely with company B, that they feel more loyal to company B or assimilate better with company B? May or may not lead to the person actually switching employers to company B.

Going native? Going rogue?


texts:
A singleton has an established meaning in programming and mathematics, but I'm curious about the more general use of the term (as defined by Merriam-Webster):

  2a : an individual member or thing distinct from others grouped with it

Suppose I have a group member that is not distinct from the other group members. What is the opposite of a “singleton member”? Google results are surprisingly unhelpful. The closest I can get is this SO answer, specific to the programming context.


texts: What is the origin of extra prepositions added after verbs in Indian English?

texts:
It seems that speakers of Indian English often add prepositions to create phrasal verbs in situations where the verb would have been sufficient on its own.
Some examples I have noticed:

to “pass out” of college (source (#2))
to “discuss about” a topic (source)
to be “stuck up” on a problem / in traffic (source)
to “reply back” to a message (source (#5))
to be “called as” a name (source (#8))
to “emphasize on” an item (source (#13))
to “order for” a pizza / sandwich (source (#28))

So, what is the origin of this phenomenon?

Edit: I crossed out the first example because it is not really a case where the verb would have been sufficient on its own. To “pass college” is not idiomatic. Moreover, it was pointed out in the comments that “pass out” of college sounds right to a UK native speaker.


texts: Discrimination on the basis of profession

texts: I was wondering if there is any particular word for 'discrimination on the basis of profession/professional rank'.


texts:
When one is expressing the idea of maximum effort being exerted sometimes we hear the phrase “the work is going on full swing.”

What is the etymology of this expression?


texts: Difference between Slice up and Slice off

texts:
Slice up/off some onions for me.
What would be more appropriate if both are correct and what's the difference?


texts: which of the following sentences are correct

texts:
Glow and glowing are different forms of a verb, but does the tense make any difference?
Which one of these (in each pair) is correct and why?

"I saw you dancing" or "I saw you dance".
"I will watch you cook" or "I will watch you cooking".
"I am watching you sing" or "I am watching you singing".


texts: Usage of "got" as a subsitute of "taking care of"?

texts:
I want to represent a situation in which the character is sad because her boyfriend isn't there, then a guy says:
"in any case don't worry, I got you". It is meant to be something like "I will take care of you", but it's also meant to be pretty mischievous, potentially.

Is it correct to use "got someone" instead than "take care of someone"? Otherwise, which expression may I use instead?

(The specific scene in which the usage of the verb is involved in this Question is meant to provide a double-faced interpretation of it, in the sense that it should express "taking care of" both in a genuine and in a mischievous sense, for the peculiar situation allows the second character flirting or trying to do that)


texts:
Zia said to Ria, "What a crisis this man has created!"
what will it be in indirect speech?


texts:
(Originally posted to travel.stackexchange.com)

A common theme I've noticed in many "big-beat" songs and the electronic genre, especially songs by British artists, is to use voice-samples of a particular American accent, or imitiate this accent if the music artist is doing their own vocals.

An example of it can be heard in this Underworld song "Push Downstairs" from time 1:01.

Other artists whose music I've heard similar, or the same, accent in include Fatboy Slim and, I think, the Chemical Brothers - but Underworld in particular are regular users of this accent (I note Underworld, Fatboy Slim, and the Chemical Brothers are all British big-beat/electronica music artists)

I have a personal mental association of the accent with 1970s Vegas culture: I visualize a thin (not overweight) MC at a mid-market casino or event wearing a 10-gallon hat and bola-tie and sideburns talking with this accent (looking like Bob from Bob's RV Roundup. This mental association might be from someone I saw on TV that spoke like this (Bob himself sounds almost similar, I note - but I wouldn't describe it as a "cowboy accent").

Having been to Vegas in person, and as a 4-year resident of the US West Coast, I can't say I've ever heard this accent spoken by a person in real-life.

So where is it from? Is it a real accent with a geographical or historical basis - or a manufactured accent like the Mid-Atlantic accent?


texts: What is the justification for the difference between "venom" and "poison"

texts:
In the last few years an Internet meme has been going around that "poison" is a substance that has a negative effect when ingested, while "venom" has to be injected. Ergo, "poisonous snakes" should really be "venomous snakes" etc. I have also heard people repeat this definition both in-person and online.

However, this doesn't align with my intuition, nor can I find a source to substantiate this distinction. From my research, "poison" derives from the same root as "potion", so there is some reason there for it to mean exclusively a substance that is eaten. But one can very easily make the argument it means a liquid that needs to enter the body via some means to have an effect. On the other hand, "venom" is from "venenum", which itself shares meaning with "poison". In French for example you would use either "venimeux" or "toxique", but there's no word for "poisonous" with a root derived from "poison". Same for Italian. You would definitely describe a "poisonous beverage" as "venimeux".

From this it seems there is no real historical justification for the contemporary usage I see repeated around the Internet. The modern descendants of Latin themselves don't make this distinction and use "venom"-derived words for "poison". I know a bit of Russian too and there is just one word for both "venom" and "poison" when speaking of substances and a completely different word for the metaphorical meaning of speaking negatively with passion (i.e. to spit venom).

Can anyone point to an actual historical reason for the modern definition of "poison has to be eaten, while venom has to be injected"? Or is this a new development in English?


texts: Why and how did "a sensible boy" become "intelligent and prudent"?

texts:
Italians often get confused by sensible and sensitive. If I tell them

  He's a sensible boy; he studies hard, saves his money, and plans ahead.

They are quite bewildered. To them, sensible is indistinguishable from the Italian "sensibile" which means impressionable, easily moved to tears and sentimental.
È un ragazzo sensibile =  He's a sensitive boy/young man

Online Etymology Dictionary states that originally, sensible meant

  late 14c., "capable of sensation or feeling;" also "capable of being
  sensed or felt, perceptible to the senses," hence "easily understood;
  logical, reasonable," from Late Latin sensibilis "having feeling,
  perceptible by the senses," from sensus, past participle of sentire
  "perceive, feel"

Then sometime in the early 15th century, the meaning of sensible evolved to:

  "having good sense, capable of reasoning, discerning, clever,"
  mid-15c. Of clothes, shoes, etc., "practical rather than fashionable"
  it is attested from 1855.

Meanwhile the word, sensitive with its more modern interpretation (as far as I could tell) has origins in the early 19th century

  sensitive(adj) Meaning "easily affected" (with reference to mental feelings) first
  recorded 1816; meaning "having intense physical sensation" is from
  1849.
  Etymonline

Why did this shift occur? The original Latin term, sensibilis, and consequently sensible, could have continued meaning “capable of sensation and feeling” and “to perceive” i.e., to achieve understanding of; apprehend. What happened in the 15th century that wise, common sense and sound judgement replaced the original meaning of sensible?

I am bored of telling Italian students and friends that sensible is a false friend. Is there a better explanation?
Or am I to suppose that it is William Shakespeare's fault (or merit) again?!


texts:
What's a big-vocabulary word for someone with a big vocabulary?

I'd like to say I'm looking for a "_____".


texts: What do the highlighted parts mean in this piece of writing?

texts:
From The Paris Review:

I was away from home and walking to a bar to celebrate something privately, and I paused on my way to watch the moon move, its blond glow shifting bonier as it tracked its path higher into the coppery blue. “Beautiful night,” said the bartender when I took a seat. “Beautiful night, beautiful moon,” I said. He poured my drink and an older gentleman on the stool to my right leaned toward me and asked with a sticky blue cheese voice, “What does a young woman like you think of the full moon?” I laughed.

Could anyone please throw light on what the highlighted parts mean?


texts:
I am going to paraphrase this sentence:

  It is one of the mostly used methods in ....

and I want to replace mostly with widest, but it is an adjective, not an adverb:

  It is one of the widestly! used methods in ....

Unfortunately, widestly does not exist. How can I write that sentence close to widest? (I am aware of other solutions such as most common etc.)


texts: Take vs taking - Which is more appropriate here?

texts:
Having a small confusion between the following sentences:

"Enigma combines organic and electronic sounds, and  takes you on a mystical
journey..."

OR

"Enigma combines organic and electronic sounds, taking you on a mystical
journey..."

Which of these is more appropriate? Also, is the comma really required after the word "sounds" in either sentences? Somehow I feel that the comma should be there.

Looking for some advice. Thanks.


texts: When "etc." is at the end of a phrase, do you place a period after it?

texts:
Example:

  It's all about apples, oranges, bananas, etc.

VS.

  It's all about apples, oranges, bananas, etc..

Update

What happens if the abbreviation is inside parentheses, do you place a dot after and before the closing parenthesis?

  It's all about fruit (apples, bananas, etc.).


texts: Using a word to describe that something can be detailed

texts:
I want to find an adjective to describe that something can be detailed.
From my google search I found that "Detailable" isn't a word.

EDIT:

I am actually trying to find an interface name for a class (Programming).
The idea is that objects that will implement the "Detailable" interface will be asked for information to show details.

Example:

  Car is detailable so I can ask which is it's description.

PS: Something similar happens with "Commentable".


texts:
In a fan-translated story I read a while ago, the protagonist uncharacteristically said some sentences using what I understand to be "Early Modern English."

He said, "I am Hathaway, the one pledged to protect only thee, e'en it mean the betrayal of all others and their eternal enmity."

I didn't see anything wrong with it when I read it at the time, but looking at it now, the sentence isn't correct in the second half. Since "e'en" is the same as "even," the sentence could be re-written as:

"I am Hathaway, the one pledged to protect only you, even it mean the betrayal of all others and their eternal enmity."

It would make more sense to add an "if" after the "even" and change "mean" to "means" (which is referring to the pledge). However, those changes don't sound very nice in the EME version if I were to add them in there.

So my question is whether maybe the original sentence was somehow grammatically correct if it was written in EME? Or, keeping as much of the original structure as possible, how could I add the changes to make the original EME sentence correct?

By the way, sorry if my question somehow isn't appropriate or is in the wrong section! (Or if my tag's wrong.) Please move it if necessary.


texts:
What's the meaning of "country- years"?

  Democratic legislatures approved only 76 percent of bills proposed by the executive branch during 783 country- years

Democracy and the Limits of Self-Government
 By Adam Przeworski


texts: What's the proper term for either incrementing or decrementing?

texts: Not so much a term for each but one that could account for either direction.


texts:
I thought that the idiom, "bring someone back/down to earth", meant taking someone off a pedestal, and seeing them for who they really are. For example:

  She needs to bring him down to earth and see that he's an asshole.

But when I look it up in a dictionary, I don't get this definition. Instead, I find this.

  Fig. to help someone face reality; to help someone who is euphoric become more realistic. (source)

Is my understanding also correct? Is there another way of saying what I want to say?


texts: English word that means the use of out of place uncommon words

texts: I am looking for a word or short phrase that best describes a scenario in which an author seems to have copiously placed uncommon or higher educated vocabulary in a lower reading level book. Meaning that the book seems to be for a fourth grade reading level and then every few paragraphs an English Doctorate level word appears, possibly to impress readers.


texts:
There is a verb that sounds like kwel/quel that means "to calm". My best attempts to get a butchered spelling close enough that a digital dictionary can tell me the proper spelling are failures; and none of my thesauri have the word of which I'm thinking.

Can anybody help out a frustrated and spelling-challenged English speaker?


texts: Difference between "a people" and "people"

texts:
I googled but I couldn't find a proper answer. In movies I often hear phrases like:

"We are a good people" or
"Asgard is not a place, it's a people".

Why put an "a" in front of the word people? Wouldn't it be the same to say "We are good people" or "Asgard is not a place, it's people"?

Is that just another form of saying it (old style?), or does it give another meaning to the sentence?


texts: What does "the must of dried leaves" mean?

texts:
Can I say "must" here, means smell?

  . . . the smell of the air that day: piñon burning somewhere in the distance, the must of dried leaves, the lingering smoke of a campfire clinging to his wool shirt . . .

Source: Note To Self written by Tracy Guzeman


texts: What do you call a person who prefers the company of the opposite sex over their own (not in anyway sexual)

texts:
Example: a guy who is used to being around the opposing sex and has been for a long time, therefore he will usually be more comfortable with female friends than male ones

(I'm not good at explaining things and I have searched all over for a good word that describes this attitude so I hope you get gist of What I'm saying)


texts: Why doesn't "ninth" have an "e", like "ninety"?

texts: Is it just because "ninth" has only one syllable?  That wouldn't make sense, though, because saying "NINE-ith" wouldn't be worse than saying "NINE-e-tee".  If we were used to "nineth", we would have no more trouble pronouncing it than "ninety" or "nineteen".  Where did the "e" go, and why didn't it disappear from the other words with "nine" in them?


texts:
Which of these is the right usage?

John's financial situation is not good.
John's economic situation is not good.

When is the usage of financial justified over economic and vice versa, given their similar meanings?


texts: We are level one/at level one in English

texts:
If there is  a language center that teaches different levels of English, for those who are level one, which one should they say?

We are level one
We are at level one in English

And is it correct for the teacher to say

  I usually teach the letter sounds in level one classes


texts:
In the 1928 Scribner’s (NY) edition of The Plays of J. M. Barrie, I’ve noticed an odd convention: where a contraction happens in middle of a word (e.g., “don’t” for “do n(o)t”), the apostrophe has the usual appearance. But when the contraction removes the entire first part of the word (e.g., “it’s” for “it (i)s” or “I’ll” for “I (wi)ll”), the typesetters consistently left the inter-word space there: not “it’s” or “I’ll” but “it␣’s” or “I␣’ll”:

Was this standard usage a century ago, either in the U.S. or in Britain? or
Is this the sort of authorial quirk (like the use of “sha’n’t” in Winnie the Pooh) which should be preserved in a reprinting?


texts:
When writing I find myself using the phrase "in that" when tying together an opinion or point of debate. I am needing some alternative phrases that have the same meaning to spice up my writing. Any suggestions?

Example:

  The same can be said about Twinkies; in that over-consumption can lead
  to obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.


texts: Is the reflexive pronoun in "he showed me myself" correct?

texts:
I heard an actor in a TV series say this:

  He showed me myself (or to myself)

Is this slang or correct?

(He was shown a letter by his father earlier that day.)

If any of this is correct, please explain why! I have learned that you can only use a reflexive pronoun with the subject of the sentence. The word "me" is the object here, isn't it?


texts: How do I distinguish between several meanings of "as of"?

texts:
In a few answers here, people quote Cambridge dictionary and state that "as of" means "starting from a particular time".

  starting from a particular time or date:
   As of next month, all the
  airline's fares will be going up.

However, if you look up "as" in the same dictionary, you can find "as of" explained (also) as follows:

  at a particular date or time:
  1) The data is correct as of May 13.   // so it is like a snapshot of data taken on May 13.

  2) This issue may need attention later but, as of now, we are happy with the
  decision that we have taken.*

In addition, other dictionaries clearly state that it can also mean "up until a point in time", for example:

  As of now, only two bodies have been discovered.

As shown above, it can also indicate "on a particular date (only), and this is confirmed in the Longman dictionary:
https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/as-of

  on a particular dateSYNas at BrE
  As of August 1, the company had $44
  million in long-term debt.

So, how do I tell? And why so many people tend to know only the "basic" meaning (starting from a particular time)?
E.g. in this dictionary, the meanings are not clear to me:https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/as%20of


texts: I need help with punctuation while using conjunctions

texts:
Do the two sentences below need a comma before "and"? If so, why?

1 "Juanita is brilliant and Shalimar has a pleasant personality."

2 "Use your credit cards frequently and you'll soon find yourself deep in debt."

Why is there a comma before "but"? I thought commas were not needed when the last clause is a subordinate clauses.

1 "The club never invested foolishly, but used the services of a sage investment counselor."

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


texts: What do you call a word that's been used unusually (not according to definition)?

texts:
For example, when you say:

  They smelt music

or

  He forged a meaning out of it

According to dictionary definitions, the word choices in the above sentences might not fit. The usage is more figurative. Is there a word that describes this?


texts: Questions about the verb "coin" when coining an idea

texts:
I want to say "Rieger coined the notion of deep solidarity." However, I'm not sure about several aspects of this:

Can you coin a notion, or only a phrase?
Can I say he coined the phrase, even if other people used these words with their typical meanings, but he first defined them in a technical sense different than merely "strong solidarity"? (See Rieger's definition of the phrase and others discussing it)
How might others suggest I word this statement?


texts:
What is the meaning here of 'launder stub' in this summary from an abstract:

The container is connected in parallel with a metal supply launder via transversal metal launder stubs respectively provided between the inlet and outlet openings of the container and the metal supply launder . On the other hand, the launder is provided with a dam or valve device by the outlet of the container  and another other dam or valve device between the two launder stubs"

REMOVAL OF UNWANTED INCLUSIONS FROM METAL MELTS


texts: I want my friend to step aside from wash basin so that I can spit after brushing. What is a decent word for spitting? Is there a better statement to ask him to step aside?


texts: How to split apart the word order in English?

texts:
I've got the following sentence:

'Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver blue blood on the fallen leaves.'

It's originally from the Harry Potter book.

Here we have the part 'through the branches above' that cracked up the SVO order.

I don't know how to explain, but it seems quite strange.
If I say 'a ray of moonlight shining through the branches above lit a spot of blood', it's fine

but if I don't have an adjective clause it looks weird.

It seems more natural to say 'a ray of moonlight lit a spot of silver blue blood through the branches above'

Simplifying, we could say 'A ray lit a spot through the branches', not 'a ray through the branches lit a spot' A Method comes after.

Here is the question: Could I write sentences such as the last one and what's a grammatically correct way to do it?

Update:
I've found an answer.

  "I ate steak in pepper sauce"

Ordinary people think that ''in pepper sauce'' is adjectival, whereas I ate steak while sitting in pepper sauce. I couldn't see how ''through the branches'' could modify 'a ray' without adding one more word

  ''a ray shining through the branches lit a spot''

Without 'shining' there was just one possibility for me, which is to light something through branches.

however, the original Rowling's sentence could be interpreted in both ways.
But it is archaic to put an adverb before the verb it modifies. (And this is why I asked the question. It felt weird in terms of an adverbial interpretation)

So...an adverbial version:

  Every now and then a ray of moonlight faintly lit a spot of silver blue blood on the fallen leaves.

an adjectival version:

  'Every now and then a ray of moonlight shining through the branches above lit a spot of silver blue blood on the fallen leaves.'


texts:
I can't tell what is meant by "to get enough feet".

Here is an example quotation:

  Aug 6, 2014 - But some how not managing to get enough feet through our doors. I don't have a budget for marketing but get told I am not marketing enough.


texts: Why is the sound 'air' in words like 'chair', 'pear' and 'where' considered a phoneme? Should it not be considered a blend of the sound?

texts: We know that phonemes are the smallest unit of sound in speech, and that in the IPA, each character represents only one sound. Wouldn't 'air' be considered two sounds - the combination of the sound /ae/ and /r/?


texts: Do we have other professions other than astronauts who are named based on the country the work for?

texts:
The other day I was reading an article and came across the word:
taikonaut, which Wiktionary defines as:

Noun
taikonaut (plural taikonauts)
A person who travels in space for the Chinese space program; a Chinese astronaut. [from 1998.]

The Wiktionary pages also links
spationaut, defining it as:

Noun
spationaut (plural spationauts)

A French astronaut.

(colloquial) A European astronaut, specifically one representing ESA.

Let's not forget, also, about:
cosmonaut

Noun
cosmonaut (plural cosmonauts)
An astronaut, especially a Russian or Soviet one.

Are there other professions that do this? Naming them based on the country that they work for?


texts: Using "for good" to denote altruism as opposed to longevity

texts: Is it valid to use "for good" to mean for the sake of good, as opposed to forever, as in "Doctors for Good" for example? How would one edit the phrase to indicate altruism without replacing the word "Good"?


texts: What is the word for someone who has earned the position to do what they worked for?

texts:
I thought the word was credibility, but that was not it.

The word should fit in this sentence:
After we finish our psychology class, we should be _____ to diagnose her with compulsive lying disorder.


texts:
Can we eliminate the comma after "2014" and "Indiana" below? The year and state are not parenthetical, and besides, the comma slows down the flow of the sentence. I think the two sentences below are correct without those commas. Do you concur?

The December 22, 2014 meeting has been canceled.
The Gary, Indiana man was arrested on a charge of grand larceny.


texts:
Which of the following are correct and which are wrong?

The 2000-year-old computer
The 2000 year-old computer
The 2000 year old computer
The 2000-years-old computer
The 2000 years-old computer
The 2000 years old computer

In a documentary, BBC4 used the title The 2000 year-old computer, which I believe to be wrong. Am I right?


texts: Why is it grammatically correct to use the past perfect tense and then the past progressive tense?

texts:
My attorney had taken his shirt off and was pouring beer on his chest, to facilitate the tanning process.

It's from a book. Does it make sense to you? Because the author uses the past perfect tense and then the past progressive tense, right? I can't really find anything regarding this form online.


texts: Does this stylistic guideline have a name?

texts:
The principle would be something like:  Avoid a long modifying clause that creates distance between your subject and verb
For example, according to this guideline, the sentence

One of his uncles who had made millions of dollars in the oil industry
in the sixties by inventing a new kind of pump left John a giant
inheritance.

should be rewritten as follows:

One of his uncles had made millions of dollars in the oil industry in
the sixties by inventing a new kind of pump.  This man left John a
giant inheritance.

Does this principle or guideline have a name? Bonus points for references to any books or websites that discuss it.
EDIT - A related link
This article discusses using noun phrases instead of clauses as a way to improve writing.  While more focused than the principle above (and still without a name), I thought it was a good guideline, and it's the closest thing I've found so far.


texts: When using a verb that has a noun form with a gerund, do you use the gerund or the noun?

texts:
This is the sentence in question:

  The last time he slept in a room by himself must have been that melancholy week between Stave’s passing and my arriving.

Now, in the above sentence, the structure is parallel, but using the gerund form of "to arrive" seems a little unnatural to me. Would it still be parallel structure if instead of using "arriving" - the gerund form - I used arrival, as in the sentence below?

  The last time he slept in a room by himself must have been that melancholy week between Stave’s passing and my arrival.

Are both of these sentences correct? More generally, can a gerund be paired with a noun and still maintain parallel sentence structure?

(I looked at this website here but that didn't provide the answer I was looking for and neither did this)


texts: Is there a more generic word, perhaps a term from math or engineering, that describes a disc that rotates about its centre, like a turntable?


texts: Should there be a line space after Thank you/Regards

texts:
Is the following correct ?

Thank you, Joe

OR
is it correct with a line space-

Thank you,
Joe


texts: What word means "pretend to know something to extract information"?

texts:
Is there any phrase or expression that can be used to indicate that someone who does not actually know something (about someone else) is trying to pretend as if they knew it (or talking in such a way that implies they already know it) to maliciously extract information from another person or get that person to admit it?
For example,

John: Hey, Jimmy, How's the new project?
Jimmy: What project?

John is pretending to know something that may or may not be true to gather information.

Edit: The word is not exactly "bluffing". Bluffing is more like lying or bragging.
I heard an exact match in a movie. I cannot remember what the verb was:

I was trying to _______ on you.


texts: What part of speech is “there” when used in “There is (blah blah)”?

texts:
What part of speech is there in the sentence “There is a book on the table?”

Also, while typing it out, another question pops up vis-à-vis punctuation. In my complete first sentence above, I ended it with a question mark since my main sentence is a question. The quote is not a question, but it looks like it because of the question mark. Is this the right way to punctuate?


texts: Generic term for different types of industrial machines

texts:
For our product we are dealing with companies that predominantly have industrial-scale printers and other machines used for post-processing. Those other machines are simply referred to as 'machines' while the printers are called 'printers' even though they are machines, too.

I am now looking for a generic term for printers and these machines. Only using 'machines' for both would be very confusing since 'machines' is synonymous with all machines but printers.
Calling it 'printers & machines' will not be OK, it has to be one word. 'Assets' is a bit too non-technical, 'Fleet' seems inappropriate since I would apply that to vehicles or ships only.


texts: Need help in deciding correct punctuation.

texts:
So, I just wrote down the following sentence.

'Now my attempt is to understand the cause of such behaviour. Is it the childhood experiences, as we find in the movie?'

I'm not sure if I've got the punctuation correct in the last sentence with the use of question mark. If reading out, you'd expect the speaker to take a pause after 'experiences' and then provide more information. However, 'as we find in the movie' isn't really an interrogative so putting the question market after it seems erroneous. Kindly suggest the correct punctuation.


texts: How high is “probability” in terms of likelihood as compared with “possibility”?

texts:
There is the following famous line in the book, “Life Lessons” co-authored by Elisabeth Kuble-Ross, an expert on death and dying and her colleague, David Kessler,

  “We all live with the possibility of death, but the dying live with
  the probability.”

From this text, it seems “probability” has a larger chance of incidence happening than “possibility.”

Can we translate the level of likelihood of “possibility” and “probability” roughly into percentage of certainty?
We say high / low possibility (likelihood). Can’t we say low probability?

P.S.

In Japan, we express possibility (可能性 -kanohsei in Japanese) by percentage, like “There will be 100 (80, 50, 20, 2-3) % possibility of earthquake taking place in Tokyo area in next 30 years,” and we seldom use the word, “蓋然性- gaizensei,” which is a counterpart to English “probability.” “蓋然性- gaizensei,” is a big word, and its usage is limited to academic or scientific writings.


texts:
I'm confused with these 3 sentences for the adjective 'responsible'

The police seem certain they will find the people responsible for the attack.
The police seem certain they will find the responsible people for the attack.
The police seem certain they will find the people who is responsible for the attack.

Which sentence is correct, the first 1 I copied from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ but I don't know why "people (a noun)" stands before an "adjective (responsible)".


texts: Noun following a list of like items - plural or singular?

texts:
If you have a list of descriptors (probably names or colours, but could be other things) which refer to items of the same type, followed by a noun which applies to all of the items in the list, should that noun be plural or singular?

For example:

"If you choose the red, yellow or blue door/doors, then you win a prize."

"If you operate the 'On' or 'Activate' switch/switches, the machine will operate normally."

If neither is wrong, but it depends on the context, what does the plural/singular imply about the items in the list? For example if there is only 1 each of the red, yellow and blue doors (vs if there are 2+ of each colour) does that affect which noun should be used?

My inclination was that the noun should be pluralised as it refers to multiple items (there are multiple doors, multiple switches) however I can see the argument that if there is only one blue door, one yellow door, etc. then 'door' should remain singular.

Thanks!


texts: The use of "whoever" or "whomever" in complex sentence

texts:
Should the following say whoever or whomever. And why?

  Each of us is free to pretend to be whoever/whomever we wish to be.

This sentence needs an object, right?


texts: To talk angrily and provoked in a low voice

texts: I'm looking for a word that can describe a person continuously talking angrily as if fighting with someone, for example over a phone, but in a low and whispering manner.


texts: Is there any difference between 'baffling' and 'perplexing'? I'm especially interested in connotative aspect. Thanks in advance!


texts: Which of the "Which" or "That" should I use?

texts:
Which one would be better to use in the following sentence? How can I know in the future which of these I should use?

The study deals with the principles of a probabilistic decision support system which-that handles the problem of warning before users are trapped with the attackers’ first move.


texts: What's the difference between "a year", "per year" and "out of a year"?

texts:
Suppose I want to say that I'm at sea seven months out of twelve. (Just an example.)

I think I can say

  "I'm at sea 7 months a year"

or

  "I'm at sea 7 months per year"

or

  "I'm at sea 7 months out of a year"

and in all three cases I would be correct. (Again, I think, feel free to correct me!) But what's the difference? And which one would be the more appropriate?


texts: Is it improper to use the Right Quote character, if there's no Left Quote character paired with it?

texts:
Laying out a printed catalog (for distribution in the United States), I'm listing the dimensions (using inches) for numerous products.

I like Proxima Nova's Right Quote character more than the generic Quote character because I think it's more recognizable at smaller sizes.

But . . . might this be considered technically wrong?


texts: I don't get this joke. Sentence seems like nonsense to me

texts:
So, I was at the bar last week,

Behind the bar they have these signs with jokes on them. One of them said "If your drinking to forget, please pay me first"(This isn't the question, I get this joke).

Somebody at the bar, noticing it, said to the bartender: "I don't have a drinking to forget, but if I did, what about it?".

The bartender, looked confused, and then the guy pointed to the sign. The bartender still didn't get it, and he laughed at her.

But I didn't get the joke either. This sentence doesn't make any sense to me. Why is it funny?


texts:
Pandemic, as suggested by Etymonline, was originally an adjective   (mid 17th c.) which was later used also a noun (mid 19th c.). The term comes from Late Latin and, curiously, pandemic in English replaced in usage the original noun pandemia which, on the other hand,  entered and is currently used in most if not all other European languages.

How did the adjectival form prevailed and established as a noun? Was it because of its Late  Latin origin?


texts:
I read that when you classify or define people and things you use a/an:

Don't use your plate as an ashtray.

But then I found a news article which included the following sentence:

  Indian teenager allegedly raped twice after cops failed to follow her after using her as 'bait'.

Shouldn't the correct sentence be "using her as a bait?"

My question is as follows:

Which is grammatically correct? Using her as bait or using her as a bait?
If the former is correct then why is the indefinite article not used
after as? Isn't it defining her as a bait?
If both are grammatically correct then what is the difference in meaning or usage?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.


texts:
What’s the gender-neutral word for an individual mermaid (Ariel) or merman (Triton) of unknown gender?

Merperson?
Hiberno-English merrow?
Germanic nixie (Melusine)?
German: die Nixe (f.) and – rarely – der Nix/Neck/Nöck (m.), e.g. in Grimm’s “The Nixie of the Mill-Pond” and “The Water Nixie”.
Descriptive fish-tailed person, person with fluke or human-dolphin chimæra?
Most illustrations don’t use vertical tailfins but horizontal flukes as found in dolphins and whales, but often greenish scales, sometimes gills and no blow-holes.
Mermaid as a gender-neutral term, distinguished as either merman or *merwoman (or *merboy and *mergirl)?
Singular use of the plural words merpeople and merfolk?

This group of fictional beings is of course inherently sexist, with female mermaids usually being described as beautiful nymphs or sirens and less popular male mermen frequently being depicted as strong but ugly green-haired homo aquensis. Also, maid is archaic and not commonly seen as a neutral lexemic antonym of man.

Background

Unicode is adding a respective generic 🧜 emoji to version 10 of its standard at code point U+1F9DC. Its official name – which can be changed only until mid-2017 – currently is merperson.


texts: If I quote only the middle part of a sentence, do I use ellipses?

texts:
For example, if Peter is my source, should I say:

  Peter mentioned his '... unquenchable thirst, a fatigued body...' as being part of the reason for his actions.

Or would I have to leave out the ellipses?


texts:
What does Middle English “yreyn” mean?

Wycliffe's Bible

Isaiah.59:5

Studylight:

"Thei han broke eiren of snakis, and maden webbis of an yreyn; he that etith of the eiren of hem, schal die, and that that is nurschid, ether brouyt forth, schal breke out in to a cocatrice."

King James Bible:

"They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper."


texts: What do I have to say when I enter into a house?

texts: In Italy when you want to enter inside the house of a stranger or also of a friend you knock at the door and say, "Permesso?" meaning, "Can I enter?" or "Do I have the permission to enter in your house?" It is very mandatory to say that. Formally if you enter a house without the permission you are committing a crime, so in Italy you must say, "Permesso?" even if a lot of people don't wait for the answer. What is the equivalent of this in English?


texts: Does the origin of the English word fellow trace any origin or relation to the Arabic fellah? Not only do they sound similar but I also thought it might because, even though wiktionary doesn't link it, both words seem to denote some aspect of parity or companionship.


texts: Where does "pay through the nose" originate?

texts: Where does the saying  " pay through the nose" originate?


texts:
What is the function of “the doctor” in the following sentences? Is it a constituent of the matrix clause or of the infinitival clause?

I wanted the doctor to examine my daughter.
I persuaded the doctor to examine my daughter.
I expected the doctor to examine my daughter.
I told the doctor to examine my daughter.
I would hate for the doctor to examine my daughter.


texts: Bringing word into existence just by calling and using it

texts:
Sometimes, when I read essays, I see that writers make up words and by using them, they bring those words into existence.

For example:

  In her article "Juban America", Ruth Behar uses the term "Juban", which is just the Jewish-Cuban identity, and though we know this term doesn't exist, she uses it. We know this word doesn't exist but after using it, it is brought into existence.

Is there a single word to name this strategy or phenomenon?


texts:
There's a song "Winter" by The Rolling Stones, and there's a line

  And I wish I been out in California

What does it mean - he wants to be in California or he's sad about being in California?


texts:
With authors writing in English as a second language increasingly predominating, especially in technical fields, irregular verbs get regularized. As an editor, should I give up the Canute-like** struggle against the oncoming tide of forecasted and the like?

** Yes, I know ... !


texts: Word for a country that has enough water for drinking, crops, forests, etc

texts:
When we refer to a country facing an acute scarcity of water, we use the compound adjective 'water-stressed' for that country.

But what do you call a country that has enough water for drinking, crops, forests, etc?

Can I call that country 'water-abundant' or 'water-sufficient'? I am still not satisfied with those terms, because I couldn't find them through Google.

Also, the term 'well-watered' is mainly used for smaller areas (e.g., towns, villages, etc.) but not for cities or countries, as most of Google search results show.


texts: Why are customers referred to as "users" in software and drug industry?

texts:
An interesting observation that has always fascinated me: it is only in software industry and drugs industry where we refer to customers as "Users".  I don't know of any other.

For instance, we talk of "User Acceptance Testing" as opposed to "Customer Acceptance Testing" when referring to final software acceptance testing.

What are the origins of this?


texts: Where does the "busman's holiday" expression come from?

texts: I understand the expression to mean doing something on a holiday that you would normally do at your job. So, am I to understand that the expression simply refers to a bus driver going for a ride on the bus on his day off?


texts: Does the word "master" denote masculinity?

texts:
The other day, I had a little argument with a friend. He asserted that if the principal of a school is a female, she would not be called a "headmaster", rather - a headmistress.

But I disagreed with him, saying that headmaster is a gender-neutral  term. I couldn't believe that people still used the word  "headmistress"

Turns out I was wrong. So my question is about the word "master" - does the word have some masculine origin?

Or is it that "mistress" goes with "mister"?


texts:
In Collins COBUILD English Usage:

  for

  If something is for someone, they are intended to have it or benefit from it.

  He left a note for her on the table.

  She held out the flowers and said, 'They're for you.'

  I am doing everything I can for you.

  You use for in front of a noun phrase or -ing form when you
  state the purpose of an object, action, or activity.

  Some planes are for internal use, others for international flights.

  The mug had been used for mixing flour and water.

  You use for in front of a noun phrase when you are saying why
  someone does something.

  We stopped for lunch by the roadside.

  I went to the store for a newspaper.

  Be Careful!

  Don't use 'for' with an -ing form when you saying why someone
  does something.

  Don't say, for example, 'He went to the city for finding work'.

  You say 'He went to the city to find work' or 'He went to the city
  in order to find work'.

  People would stroll down the path to admire the garden.

  He had to hurry in order to reach the next place on his schedule.

Ok, the dictionary says that "I went to the store for a newspaper." expressing a reason (The reason I went to the store is that I want to buy a newspaper).

However, I would say that "I went to the store for a newspaper." also expresses a purpose (I went to the store with a purpose, that is I want to buy a newspaper)

So, How to tell which sentences expressing purposes & which ones expressing reasons?

For example, I do we know that this sentence "I went to the store for a newspaper." expresses a reason but not a purpose?? a reason & a purpose are almost the same.

Note: we need to know that because the dictionary says:

Don't use 'for' with an -ing form when you saying why someone
does something.


texts:
Which is more correct ?

...wine tasting in family winery run by the 8th generation of winemakers in the capital of Chianti.

or

...wine tasting in a family winery runs by the 8th generation of winemakers in the capital of Chianti.

Thanks


texts: What is a single word/phrase that can be used in place of 'mistaken assumption' or 'incorrect belief'?

texts:
What is a suitable word that can be used in the below story scenario?
I've considered the following words; Delusion, Conjecture, Fallacy, Belief, Erroneous assumption. Is there a better word anyone can suggest?

In a small village there was a girl afflicted with a mortal disease. The medicine to which was expensive and could only be obtained from a doctor who lived seven days journey away.
Her family had the money, but no one to make the perilous journey.
A man, her lover volunteered, and promised to return with the medicine. He got the medicine, but on the way back was mauled by a bear and succumbed to his injuries.
His absence caused the village folk to gossip that he had taken the money and ran away.
The girl's condition worsened, and at soon she passed away under the (mistaken assumption/incorrect belief) that the man had tricked her and ran off.


texts: I was just wondering if there is a verb for "to share an environment"; the word needs to depict how a non-indigenous organism can share an environment with an indigenous organism in harmony.


texts: Is "Finish him" grammatically correct or must it be "Finish him off"?

texts: I know it's just "Finish him" in Mortal Kombat, but is it really grammatically correct when, say, writing dialogues for characters in a story (eg. a villain saying the line in a superhero story)? All dictionaries say it's "finish him off."


texts: Meaning of “how do you close?” in this context

texts:
Source Comedy Bang Bang Podcast, Episode 1 Thomas Lennon Rob Heubel, 18.52 - 19.10

A: This is the scenario, you bring a girl back to your place, no  furniture, just an inflatable bed. How do you close?
B: How do you not close when the only thing there is a bed

I wonder if it means “how do you get her into having sex with you.” Is that wrong? Thank you.


texts: Meaning of "my having completed my packing"

texts:
I ran into this in a novel:

  This expedition began this morning almost an hour later than I had planned, despite my having completed my packing, and loaded the Ford with all necessary items well before eight o’clock.

I suppose "despite my having completed my packing" equals "although I had completed my packing". I would like to know if there is a rule for despite + possessive adj + having + p.p.. If so, any links would be appreciated so that I could study more on it.


texts: "Listen to music" or  "listen for music"

texts:
Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?

The music for which we heard last night at the concert was exceptionally good.

The music to which we listened at the concert last night was exceptionally good.

The music which we listened last night at the concert was exceptionally good.


texts: Word meaning "to tell the truth to someone"?

texts:
Example:

  I wanted to [...] him—to let everything out.

What's a common word to use in this cases?

I'm looking for something similar to spit as in to spit something out. Like, when you say something harmful to someone because of anger.


texts: "I get my paycheck on the last day of the month" -> Does this imply I get a physical check?

texts: Stemming from a discussion I recently had, does this statement imply that the payment I receive is physically a check? Or is it perfectly naturally to use for a situation where my payment is received entirely electronically?


texts: Is there a name for a domestic company that uses a foreign (sounding) name?

texts:
Is there a (British Engligh) word to describe a company that uses a foreign word as it's name for marketing purposes? For example, Tableau is an American data visualisation company and tableau is French for picture. Or Wagamama is a British restaurant that sells Japanese food and wagamama is Japanese for self-indulgence.

this has caused much debate in the office.


texts: What do you call a person who is regionally unbiased?

texts: What do you call a person who is regionally unbiased and has reasonable love/like for all people from other regions and countries/world? Something like someone who loves all people, not just of his own state within a country.  a loyal and disinterested supporter of all countries. Very obsessed with the whole world in a positive way.


texts: Is "tomorrow" as any specific day in the future a proper usage of the word?

texts:
I find it confusing when tomorrow is used to speak of a day in the future other than the following day.  Is it proper to use it in reference to any specific day in the future?

I am aware that the dictionary defines tomorrow as a time in near future. To me this refers to an ambiguous time and it is not confusing when used as such. But, is it proper to use it of any specific day in the future other than the day after tomorrow.

Ex. "We are going to the park tomorrow." Based on the dictionary definition, a student is using tomorrow to refer to a different day in the coming week. Am I wrong to correct this?

Is there a reputable source that confines the near future use of this word to metaphorical ambiguous future.


texts: Comma Placement: I applied, and was picked,

texts:
Is my comma placement correct in this sentence?

  I applied, and was picked, to play on the basketball team

or should it be

  I applied, and was picked to play on the basketball team.

Could someone also explain the 'grammar rule' that goes with this.

Thanks


texts: Noun for enable ("enability", "enabliness")?

texts:
I need a noun to describe the state of being enabled/disabled. Do any exist?

UPDATE:
For example, I have some device (or software control), which can be in an enabled state or a disabled state. Let's say I want to ask someone to check whether device is enabled:

  Please check device enability.

I need a real word to replace enability.


texts: Any other words that use “dis-” as an amplifying prefix?

texts:
I remember hearing once about the etymology of disgruntled, probably based around a joke about how people can not be gruntled. The explanation given was that there was never a word gruntled, rather the dis‑  in disgruntled is actually a usage of the old prefix where it acts like an amplifier.

Firstly, is this true?

Secondly, are there any other words that use this prefix in this way?


texts:
I'm currently reading Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. One sentence says:

[...] where there be mountains of gold, they say.

English is not my mother tongue, but I've found the same expression somewhere else, probably in song lyrics as well. I would like to know if it is correct to use (apart from literature context) and what it means and how it is different from "where there are mountains of gold". Thank you!


texts: Meaning of "generating new actualities" in context

texts:
Jordan Peterson at Oxford Union:

  ... a society that's only composed of the left-leaning liberal types is
  very good at generating all sorts of new possibilities, but very bad at
  generating all sorts of new actualities.

I don't understand the usage of the term "generating new actualities" here, what does he mean?


texts: What is another word for "likes to try new things"

texts: I'm looking for a word to describe someone who likes to try new things. Any suggestions?


texts: What is the equivalent of "noughties" and "tweens" for 1900-1920?

texts:
Possible Duplicates:
  What is the name of the first decade in a century?
  “nineteen-hundreds”

I have often heard the period between 2000-2010 called the "noughties", and the period between 2010-2020 as the "tweens". Was there an equivalent of this in the 20th century (or earlier!), or is this a modern invention?

Should we be using another, "correct" term?


texts: Is there a reason that Americans now pronounce luxury "lugsury" instead of "lucshury" while still pronouncing "extract" and "extra" with the more common "x" sound?


texts: What is the difference between "economic" and "economical"?


texts: Why is the plural form of "life" "lives", while the plural form of "still life" is "still lifes"?

texts:
Why does the plural form of "life" is "lives", while the plural form of "still life" is "still lifes"?

From Wikipedia:

  A still life (plural still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly
  inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be
  either natural (food, flowers, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made
  (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and so on).


texts: What's the term for a widely accepted cultural idea?

texts:
Example sentence: Racism was a ____ in the Elizabethan Era.

I'm looking for a word/phrase that works with "breaking". I was considering "social norms" but it doesn't really mean what I want it to convey.

Even if it doesn't work with "breaking", I'd be happy to hear your suggestions anyway!


texts: What is a good word to describe someone that is good at playing with others gullibility

texts: What is a word that shows some being good at playing with someone gullibility?


texts: What is the true gender-neutral equivalent of "man"?

texts:
Man is a social animal.

This sentence is understandable, but has two problems:

The gender-neutral use of man is nowadays often seen as sexist.
The phrasing seems archaic.

Let’s ignore the second problem and try to fix only the first:

  *Human is a social animal.

This is just wrong. But why? It’s exactly the same phrasing; the only change is that it now has a truly gender-neutral word instead of the pseudo-gender-neutral man. What’s wrong with that?

To truly render that phrase in modern English, you need to either pluralize it or recast it entirely:

  Humans are social animals.
  Humanity is a social species.

Somehow the “generic singular” which works with man does not work with human. Why not?


texts: "There was some attempts" or "there were some attempts"?

texts:
Is the grammar in the following Alice in Wonderland quote correct? Would it be more appropriate to use were given that the noun phrase is plural?

  There was some attempts at applause, which was immediately suppressed by the officers of the court,


texts: What does “was Troy” mean in this sentence?

texts:
I recently read this sentence:

  He was doing a good job, was Troy.

What do the words "was Troy" mean at the end of the sentence?


texts: The structure of "Even if China and America stop short of conﬂict, blabla......"

texts:
What is the structure of "stop short of conflict"?
Is it "stop + short of conflict" or "stop short + of conflict"?


texts: Can relative pronoun be omitted in the following sentence?

texts:
The color of house that I built is red.

This sentence can be written in following way.

  The color of house I built is red.

I can omit that, because that is indicating the house, and it is the object of the verb built. A relative pronoun can be omitted if it indicates the object. But if it indicates the subject, it can not be omitted. Am I right?

Let's see the following sentence.

  Apparel engineers are responsible for establishing and monitoring processes essential to maintain product consistency on time production and fair treatment of workers.

In this sentence, I think that has been omitted before essential. I can write this sentence in the following way.

  Apparel engineers are responsible for establishing and monitoring processes that  are essential to maintain product consistency on time production and fair treatment of workers.

Is it correct? Here that has been used to indicate to processes. In that are essential to maintain ... the relative pronoun that is a subject, not object. Please tell me why that has been omitted before the word essential? Please give proper explanation with some effective examples.


texts:
When a sentence begins with the letter A, e.g.,

  A parent called me about his child.

does it matter how the A is pronounced?  Is it 'A' parent or 'ah' parent?


texts: Difference between "opacity" and "opaqueness"

texts: What is the difference in the meaning und usage of the words opacity and opaqueness?


texts: relative pronouns: “where I'd never been before” or “to which I'd never been before”?

texts:
I did an exercise, and there was a sentence that make me confused. Can you help me with it.

  Yesterday we visited the City Museum, (______) I'd never been before.

There are 4 answers to chose: which, where, to that, to which.

I chose "where" but the correct answer is "to which". I can't understand it.


texts: Difference between "content" and "contentment"?

texts:
Given this sentence:

  I find (content/contentment) when sitting on a crowded subway train.

or in the sentence fragment:

  my place of (content/contentment)

In the dictionary, I see that content (as a noun) means "a state of satisfaction" and contentment means "a state of happiness and satisfaction". Therefore I am unsure of which one to use. Does the difference come down to formality or is there a proper use case for each one?


texts: Is it acceptable to put quotes around trending new words? .. in material that is long lasting?

texts:
The following page has the sentence

  That makes them easily "mockable" for testing purposes, so you could create a MyMockTable : IMobileServiceTable<TodoItem> that implements your testing logic.

I notice this trend for words the author doesn't assume the reader knows. In some cases, where material is delivered to a subject matter expert, it seems condescending, or makes them think this material isn't geared for them.

In this case, mockable is a term that has been in the industry for quite a while, and I'm looking for a style guideline for similar intents (which I'm also guilty of).


texts:
This question is specifically for those who are familiar with the 2002
edition of The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by Huddleston
and Pullum.

The book has this passage at page 272:

  Strictly speaking, an intransitive preposition may have a complement
  other than an object NP – e.g. owing in owing to the rain has a
  PP complement. In this section, however, we will be concerned only
  with intransitive prepositions that have either no complement at all
  or else a predicative, as in That counts [as satisfactory].

The book also says that prepositions can take finite clauses as
complements as follows:

  They ignored the question [of whether it was ethical]. (page 641)

Here, does the book consider the of a transitive preposition (because it takes a clause as a complement) or an intransitive preposition (because it doesn't take an object NP)?

Also, how about verbs taking ﬁnite clauses as non-object complements?

The book on pages 1017–1018:

  In the present subsection we turn our attention to content clauses
  functioning as internal complement to a verb, as in He feared that he
  might lose his job ([16i]). Traditional grammar not only analyses the
  subordinate clause here as a noun clause, but assigns it the same
  function as that of the NP in He feared the prospect of
  unemployment, namely that of object of the verb. Again, however, we
  believe that the subordinate clause is not sufficiently like an NP to
  justify that analysis.

The feared both in He feared that he might lose his job and in He feared the prospect of unemployment, traditional grammar considers a transitive verb.

The Cambridge Grammar agrees that the one in the second example (taking an object NP as a complement) is a transitive verb. Does the book considers the one in the first example (taking a that-clause as a complement) a transitive or intransitive verb?


texts: "To have someone do something" What does this really mean?

texts:
As a native Portuguese speaker, it's kind of hard for me to really understand what the structure "to have someone do something" means. For example in the following sentence:

I had him pick me up at school yesterday.

Would that be different from "He picked me up at school yesterday"? What is the difference?

Or for example: I'll have someone fix my car tomorrow.

Am I saying I'll pay someone to do that or I'm just saying someone is coming to do the job regardless of payment?


texts: Does the order matter in being "okay with"

texts:
Are the following two sentences interchangeable?

"Are you okay with that?"

"Is that okay with you?"


texts: Is there a clean version of "no sh*t, Sherlock"?

texts:
The phrase "no shit, Sherlock" or just "no shit" is a reply used when someone else points out something obvious.

I was thinking about it the other day and I realized I don't know if there is a clean version, i.e. something you could say in polite conversation or in front of children. I guess saying "no way" or "no, really?" sarcastically works, but is there a better phrase?


texts: What's the difference between "has gotten a divorce" and "has been divorced"?

texts: I recently read somewhere that says "Mom has gotten a divorce since 1980". Is it correct to say so, and is "Mom has been divorced since 1980" also correct?


texts: A relative pronoun acting as both object and subject?

texts:
I don't want to do anything you think might be good for me.

  This is something he said was good for me.

In the first sentence, the relative pronoun between anything and you think is omitted as it is an object. But, my concern is, might be good for me needs a relative pronoun to be its subject, and there's no relative pronoun in the sentence. Why? Is there any grammar rule that can explain this? The same question goes for the second sentence.

My theory is, that the omitted relative pronoun between anything and you think also acts as the subject of might be good for me even though it is omitted. But still, I don't know if this is grammatical and I've never seen any explanation about this type of construction in my grammar books.


texts: What is the term for solving more complex problems by building off of simpler problems?

texts:
A few years ago, I watched a video about learning through intuitive leaps by learning simple rules first.

The part I remember was talking about Mario Galaxy. When Mario entered a new land, he would be presented with a very simple puzzle to continue forward. As an unreal example, the first puzzle showed that jumping on a certain box would make some squares on a checkerboard solid and others ghosted. So you jump on the box to make a path across. The next puzzle took it a step further; there are multiple boxes and each one worked specific squares so you learned which boxes worked what squares. Next puzzle, you would have to turn on certain squares and turn off others. Then the final puzzle it added a 3rd dimension; not only a flat checker board, but some squares became walls you needed to turn off to pass through.

All of this is done by learning simple rules first and then applying them to increasingly harder puzzles.

Other examples of this concept would be "The Witness" and "Lemmings" video games.

In the video I saw, this concept had a clear, single word name. But I cannot remember that name. So I'm hoping that someone here knows that concept.

It is entirely possible that, since this was talking about Mario and its design, the word wasn't English. However I'm fairly certain it is.


texts:
I hear this phrase a lot these days:

The guys down at CompanyName…

And I also hear some people say:

Folks up at SomePlace…

Can there be any difference in the meaning of "down at" and "up at", like diminishing the importance of a place, or reference to the altitude of a location?


texts: Is there a word for "to be physically removed from" a public place, involuntarily?

texts:
I'm looking for a single word that means to be "physically removed from".

Imagine someone is being annoying in a public place, and refuses to leave when asked, so he is physically removed from the building. I'm looking for a single word.

Some of the ideas I had for words that may fit in are

Removed

  The beggar was removed from the restaurant.

I don't think this would work, because I want emphasis on that the beggar was taken and tossed out.

Thrown

  The beggar was thrown from the restaurant.

This one is alright, but I'm looking for something even more specific. Both of those words were what I could think of. I'm not too sure if there even is anything that fits better than "thrown", but I'm hoping there is an alternative.


texts: difference between 'heading' and 'headed'

texts:
Are both of these sentences correct?

I was heading to the city.

I was headed to the city.

If both are correct, is there any difference between them?


texts:
Here are my constructions:

  While carrying out his engineering project, he prepared the design
  of wired and wireless network infrastructure and developed the new architectural plans of the building.
  While carrying out his engineering project, he designed wired and
  wireless network infrastructure and developed the new architectural plans of the building.

So my question is, should I use 'he prepared the design' or 'he designed'?


texts:
I tend to write "whitespace" to talk about any negative space in type (in particular, the characters that cause it in ASCII & Unicode).

However I have also seen it written "white-space" and "white space".

I presume it doesn't matter, but are there any conventions that can guide my usage?


texts: Can a word have two separate etymologies?

texts: A separate etymology for the spelling and another for the meaning of the word?


texts:
If I am given a short story about a situation. Then at the end I am asked:

  Should this person complete task A?

Does that imply that I have to give my opinion and support it from points in the short story?

I believe it does imply an opinion.

The short story has been intentionally left out, so that we only focus on the implications of the word should.


texts: Recommended replacement for 'literally'?

texts:
Around lunchtime yesterday I overheard a coworker say "I'm literally so hungry right now"

Though misuse of the word literally was always common, it appears in the last year or so it
has lost any semblance of its previous meaning.

Is there a better word to use now when you want the reader to understand that your words should be taken at their literal meaning and not as a simple intensifier?


texts:
What is the difference between "section" and "part"?

The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English says for "section":

  one of the parts that something such as an object or place is divided into

and says for "part":

  a piece or feature of something such as an object, area, event, or period of time

I know that "section" is smaller than "part" in size, but I'm totally confused about their usage in sentences. For example, is "the front section of the car was damaged" correct grammatically? Or is "in sections of Canada, French is the first language"  correct?


texts:
What does "really" mean in this scenario?
A: "I don't really know much about the subject so I can't really help you."
1st really means?
2nd really means?
Context:
Person B wants Person A to promote his youtube channel, but Person A does not use any of the "promoting sites" but one that's not very good.
Person B: Can you help me promote my channel?
Person A: I can't really help you as I don't use reddit, only discord, which is not that good.


texts:
I like to read the Economist to keep my English up to date. And today, reading the following news I came across the above mentioned expression.

Merriam Webster defines it as:

  reacting in a readily predictable way

I'd like to know how come such words like knee and jerk could come up with such a definition.


texts: Is it a correct form of expression to say that one is impressed upon by stress?

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? Not in the sense of to be convinced but to be negatively impacted or affected. I was trying to be more explicit in emphasizing a greater degree of being affected. Or perhaps beleaguered or beset would have been better?

I tried to verify this by looking at the dictionary and it is defined tr.v. 1. To affect strongly, often favorably 2. To produce or attempt to produce a vivid impression or image of: a scene that impressed itself on her memory 3. To mark or stamp with pressure: impressed the wax with a design. 4. To apply with pressure; press: impressed the stamp onto the wax.

I am not sure.


texts:
I wonder if there should be commas in this sentence:

Method A translates votes into seats such that, for each
constituency, fixed seat-contingents are met.
Method A translates votes into seats such that for each
constituency fixed seat-contingents are met.

The expression "for each constituency" is not exactly parenthetical, but without the commas it seems harder to grasp the sentence.


texts: Is the “the Boredom Room” the best translation of Japanese employment jargon, “Oidashibeya” - the special section or unit to pen unwanted employees?

texts:
New York Times (August 16) carries an article reporting Sonny’s case of establishing “the boredom Room” to accommodate ‘regular' employees whom they want to get rid of under the title, “Layoffs taboo, Japan workers are sent to the Boredom Room.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/17/business/global/layoffs-illegal-japan-workers-are-sent-to-the-boredom-room.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Ahead of this article, the Asahi, a leading Japanese newspaper ran a campaign recently against the prevailing practices of Japanese big companies such as Panasonic, Sonny, Toshiba, Sharp, NEC, Ricoh, Fuji Zerox, IBM Japan and Asahi Life Insurance installing so-called “追い出し部屋 - Oidashibeya (chase-out room by its literal translation)” to streamline workforces under the titles of “Career Challenge Program,” “Career Development (Design) Room,” and “New Business Exploitation Room.”

As the firing and layoffs of regular employees for the employers’ one-sided reasons or convenience is strictly restricted by law, big companies have worked out the idea of setting up “chase-out room,” where they pen employees whom they no longer want to keep and wait them voluntarily leave the company.

‘Oidashibeya’ is not necessarily “boredom room” where occupants are not given job assignment. They are more often given never-achievable, heavy work quota on the contrary, and demanded by the managers to achieve it, or resign the company.

I don’t know whether such cruel labor conditions and irregular working system exist in any of English speaking countries or not. But I’m curious to know what is the right English counterpart to the word, ‘Oidashibeya’– chase (or force)-out room aside “Boredom Room,” which reflects only an aspect of the cruelty of ‘Oidashibeya.’

P.S.

I was surprised to see an inhuman description of reassignment unit which I’d never fancied when I was in office in this article. It says:
“The United Auto Workers and automakers had created, under union contracts, places where idled workers were essentially warehoused.”


texts: Name for type of adjective such as "porcine"

texts:
Is there a specific name for adjectives such as porcine that are special forms of words meaning "relating to" some other thing? They are often:

based on classical words and end in 'al' and 'ine'
can exist separately and mean differently than tyical English endings used to create adjectives (such as 'y' or 'ly', or 'ish')
more literal and restrictive than English endings when both exist

For example:

floral means "relating to flowers", even though flowery is a valid and more English word. But floral means more strictly and literally "relating to flowers" while flowery is often used in a figurative sense, such as "flowery language".
porcine means literally "relating to pigs", while piggish and porky are more English words but almost never meant literally.
piscine means literally "relating to fish", while fishy is the obvious English word that has both literal ("salmon is less fishy than cod") and figurative ("a fishy situation") meanings.

Their origin in English probably comes from scientific use, where literal and specific meanings are important, and classical sources are almost always used to create new terms. Still, is there a name for this? For bonus points, are there any examples that are not clasically derived words?


texts:
Can I use "no matter...or" in the following way? Also can anyone help me verify
the whole sentence?

  When I first joined the lab,  Haijing provided a lot of help for me no matter in study or in life.


texts: What are valid time-periods that can be used in the phrase "the other ________"?

texts:
"the other day" is a pretty standard and understood phrase. It usually translates to "on a recent day".
So you could say "I was talking to Rachel the other day..." which would mean "I was talking to Rachel on a recent day...".

It's been pointed out to me that I will often use the phrase "the other week" and this comment is usually followed by a judgement that that is not a phrase that is used.

My question is, what are valid time-periods that can fill in the blank in the phrase "the other _"?

Some [non-exhaustive] samples:

the other second
the other minute
the other hour
the other day
the other week
the other month
the other year
the other decade
the other century

To me, "day" and "week" sound fine, "month" and "year" are acceptable but sound a little funny, and the rest sound completely weird.

P.S.

A related question to consider that might help elucidate why some of these sound more natural than others and whether substitutes are acceptable:
What are the limits of the multiplier "the other"?
For example, how many days into the past can I safely refer to as "the other day"? Less than a week ago? Less than a month ago? Less than a year ago?

I'd venture to say that the phrase has a human-centered nature about it -- even if you're talking about a non-human ("the volcano erupted the other day") -- which somehow limits the bounds to being less than the lifetime of a human being. But this is purely a guess.


texts:
Consider the following sentence:

  The Bactrian camel is well adapted to the extreme climate of its
  native Mongolia, having thick fur and underwool that keep it warm in
  winter and also insulate against summer heat.

My question is about the italicized part. My usage of English is grounded mostly in “what feels right”  and not in solid grammar knowledge, so I am struggling with this one. I have been using such structure quite frivolously myself, but I never knew an ‘official’ name for it, nor when it is appropriate. Here is a generic example:

  Bob is a great guy, wanting to do great things no matter what the circumstances are.

Is this correct? What is this -ing ‘thing’ called, if it has a name? Could you briefly list when it is or isn’t appropriate to use a verb+ing form, perhaps noting the most common misuses or mistakes?


texts: What's the meaning of "Gets me every time"?

texts:
I've heard people say this several times, in response to a funny video they watched,

  Gets me every time.

This time I see this response the person put a laughing emoticon at the end. Does it mean it makes them laugh every time?