texts:
In Ireland all the counties are expressed as 'County....' followed by the name, e.g. County Kerry, County Galway, County Clare etc. This equally applies to the six counties north of the border, County Down, County Londonderry, County Antrim etc.

This style is not used anywhere else in the United Kingdom, where the counties of England, Scotland and Wales are simply known by their names, without the word 'county' appearing before, or in the American tradition after the name. We simply say Lancashire, Surrey, Norfolk etc.

There is one unique exception to this. That is County Durham. We always speak of County Durham, as if it were Irish. Does anyone know why?


texts:
From this sentence:

  And given Trump's uneven attempts to unite the nation in the past, he would face a huge assignment in making a meaningful impact, not to mention his habit of undermining his own scripted addresses with follow-up tweets that reignite controversy.

What did the author mean by deeming Trumps' attempts uneven?

Oxford defines uneven as "not having the same quality in all parts".

If the definition above is the one which fits this context does that mean some of Trump's attempts lacked strength, insistence, firmness?

Thanks!


texts: "You must stay for dinner!" is not a command or statement of an unalterable fact. What is it?

texts:
I'm writing a short article and now I'm stumped, thought I'd turn to your collective intelligence to help out.

"You must stay for dinner!"

It's not exactly an imperative, I think, because the subtext is something like, "We would be happy if you accepted our hospitality", which implies a request but doesn't command anything. So how might I describe that in a few words? Is it a "friendly offer"? But I'm hoping for something more exact, if there's a linguistic term for this kind of phrase, for example.

Thank you in advance!


texts: Is there a word that describes an individual who is always clueless when he has to face major challenges?

texts:
If a person does not have the ability to reason logically in  high pressure situations (and is consequently always clueless), what term can be used to describe such a person? I'm looking for an adjective but a noun will also do.

If there is a medical term to describe such a condition I will be interested in knowing about that as well.

Example Sentence:

  He sank into stormy contemplation, clueless how to handle the latest
  of his challenges.

So from the above example, such a person can be called a __________


texts: Where is the subject and verb here etc.?

texts:
The sentence "The principle is, the farther from the scene of horror, the easier the talk." looks and sounds fine to me, but if I wrote it my internal editor would worry vaguely.  To make things less vague here are some questions:

Is "the principle" the subject?

Is "is" the verb?

Are the phrases "the farther[...]" and "the easier[...]" adverb phrases or prepositional phrases or something else?


texts: Why is Major League Off-Season called "Stove League"?

texts:
With Kansas City winning the Wordl Series, we can no longer watch baseball games until next Spring except for international games "Premier 12" or Australian League.

Stove means:

  a portable or fixed apparatus that burns fuel or uses electricity to
  provide heat (as for cooking or heating).

[Merriam-Webster]

I googled the origin of the "stove league" and understand that people gathered around a stove in Winter to discuss baseball-related topics and issues and that's where it came from.

Questions:

What is the origin of it and was it coined only for baseball? Any other hidden/unknown connotation in the word "stove" to mean a baseball off-season?
Is it correct to say that "stove league" is used only for baseball in the U.S. (maybe in Canada, Australia, etc. I know it is used in Taiwan, Japan, Korea and other non-English speaking countries to mean the same)? You would never call any off-season of sports like association football or tennis "stove league"?
I know association football is played in Winter in England and other European countries. What would an "off-season" called for football in England? Any Summer or hot-weather-related word?

Thanks.


texts:
More often than not, I find myself using a comma as sort of a pause. In most cases, it feels right. But I fear that I overuse commas and put them in places where they are not necessary.
Some examples:

Both of which, are valid.

I was going to go to work but, I felt sick.

I find myself using commas after words like "but" or "then". Most reference works I've consulted have defined these commas as a preference. Am I completely wrong here? Am I overusing commas and confusing my readers?
Any additional documentation on commas of this type would be greatly appreciated.


texts: What is the proper name of a "line account"?

texts:
I've come across having to translate the Danish word "stregregnskab" to English. The direct translation would be "line account", but I seem to recall there being a proper name for this sort of account.

For the record, "stregregnskab" means an account such as the one shown below, usually used for counting consumption of beverages or points in games.

I feel that "line account" is a pretty poor translation, so I'm curious; what is the commonly accepted name for this sort of account?  (I am referring to the entire image here; not just the tally marks.)


texts: What do you call the wooden bridge-like structures that make up a harbor?

texts:
I’m referring to this:

image: Harbor Island Marina in Port of Seattle (probable source: portseatlle.org)

I added a red arrow.

Example sentence:

  Boats lined both sides of the [. . .], bobbing quietly under the blue
  sky.


texts: Is this use of present participle grammatically correct?

texts:
We are a Zhongguancun-based English training school looking for native English speakers from the US and Canada. If you are interested in this position. Please send your CV and photo to [email address]. For more info, pls check: [URL]

It seems like a sentence element; what does it act as? Why not two sentences?


texts: Can we use the word "steady" to describe a person?

texts:
I know it's possible to say steady arms or steady decision.

But what about people? I found in the student's book that this word is allowed to use when you describe personalities.

Is it true? And what does mean "steady person"?


texts: Does a comma indicate the conjunction "and"?

texts: Does a comma mean "and"  when used to separate items in a list?


texts:
ALL (determiner)
Used with plural nouns. The noun may have the, this, that, my, her,
his, etc. in front of it, or a number.
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/all_1

Does OED's definition imply after all you can't have both a determiner and a number, as in all these five answers are wrong, or all the five people wanted to go?
What about These five answers are all wrong and The five people all wanted to ?


texts: Positioning two instances of "it" in a question, is one option more likely to be confusing, ambiguous, or mis-understood than the other?

texts:
I'm torn how to position the two instances of "it" in this question. I believe that both sentences are acceptable and convey the same meaning, but I'm not sure which is more likely to be confusing, ambiguous, or mis-understood.
Does one stand out as the better title for a Stack Exchange question? Is there a standard rule at play here that I should know about?

A: Is honey really a supersaturated solution? Does heating to un-crystalize redissolve it or melt it?
B: Is honey really a supersaturated solution? Does heating to un-crystalize it redissolve or melt it?

I suppose I could also get rid of one instance all together as well:

C: Is honey really a supersaturated solution? Does heating to un-crystalize redissolve or melt it?


texts: Does "pants" more commonly mean "trousers" or "underpants"?

texts:
In the UK, I've heard pants being used as slang for underpants (or was it in Bridget Jones' Diary?), whereas in India it almost exclusively means "trousers".

Describing the meaning of "put your pants on one leg at a time", this link says:

  To say that someone puts their pants
   on one leg at a time means that the
   person is a human being no different
   from anyone else.

The idiom's origin seems to refer to trousers
but I'm wondering whether someone reading this might think "underpants" rather than trousers?


texts: How common is the word "trousers" in American English?

texts:
The Macmillan dictionary says the word trousers is "mainly" British, which implies that it's not entirely British and Americans also use it. I have read a few novels in which American writers use the word trousers not pants--the most recent being Alex Kava's "Stranded".
Do many Americans wear trousers instead of pants? Is it a regional variation or just a less common synonym that every American sometimes uses? Or might it be a particular type of pants that are called in this way?


texts:
Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard,
  To give the poor dog a bone:
  When she came there, the cupboard was bare,
  And so the poor dog had none.

It's always bothered me that "bone" doesn't rhyme with "none", especially since the other verses in the poem seem to try harder to rhyme the 2nd and 4th lines.

The third verse is worse:

  She went to the undertaker's
  To buy him a coffin;
  When she came back
  The dog was laughing.

Is this a case of a shift in pronunciation? Or does it simply not rhyme? (Or, does it rhyme, but only in certain accents?)


texts: What's the meaning of "the column's impediment"?

texts:
We see atop Arlington Ridge, the column's impediment of Arlington
  House, which is now the Robert E. LEE Memorial.

(CNN Transcripts; video and audio: CNN Student News)

What's the meaning of "the column's impediment" in the above sentence? When I interpret impediment as an obstacle, this sentence doesn't make a sense to me.


texts: When you use the opposite word by mistake

texts:
Is there a specific word to describe the following type of mistake?

I asked your brother about it. Sorry, I mean, I asked your sister about it.
You can see it on the left. Wait, no, sorry, it's on the right.
She will be very happy to see Jonathan. Dang, did I say she'll be very happy? I mean to say she will not be very happy to see him.

They're not really blunders. And they're not typos either. Maybe slips of the tongue, but not Freudian slips, I'd say. But are there more specific terms to refer to such mistakes? You basically end up saying the opposite of what you meant, more or less.
Note that What do you call someone who substitutes one inappropriate word for a similar word?, a similar thread generating answers like malapropism and spoonerism, already exists but does not specify the inappropriate word being an 'opposite'.


texts:
Are commas below correct, please?

In the solution, we except

From the beginning, we search for


texts: "I don't know nothing" vs "I don't know anything"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is there a rule about double negations that aren't meant as double negations (e.g. “We don't need no education”)?
  Double negation

I'm not a native English speaker, and this question may be very basic, but I want to learn English better, so don't hurt me with downvotes.

What is the difference between "I don't know nothing" and "I don't know anything"?

Do they have the same meaning or opposite ones?


texts: Is the choice of words appropriate ? Is the grammar right in the following statement?

texts: I hope you dont think any less of me because of this


texts: What is the difference between "another two" "two more" and "two other"

texts:
Like I said

  another two (or)
  there are two more (or)
  two other people were arrested

Do they have different meanings or implications?


texts: Would "mid-to-late" and "low-to-mid" hyphenated as compound modifiers?

texts:
Would "mid-to-late" and "low-to-mid" be hyphenated as compound modifiers?

Examples:

Temperatures are expected to be in the low-to-mid 60s.

Joe, I think, is in his mid-to-late 80s.

He was in his middle-to-late 40s.

She was in her middle-to-upper 60s.

Temperatures are expected to be in the lower-to-middle 70s.

Are all correct?

Thanks!!!


texts: Does "almost the first ten" mean "almost first" or "almost ten"?

texts:
If someone is talking "almost the first ten minutes" of something, should that be interpreted as being:

ten minutes, almost at the beginning, or
almost ten minutes, necessarily starting at the beginning?


texts: What do we call "A person who disowns during bad times and claims during good times"?

texts: Is there any single word to describe a mentality of a person who disowns something during bad times and claims the same during good times?


texts: Are there linguistic markers that indicate to subordinates a desire to be addressed less formally

texts:
It's a bit of a shame that Is "pal" too informal when the other person is much older than me? was closed, as it dabbles in a difficult topic for all non-native speakers of English. Although  I realise that this question, too, might be closed quickly for its open nature, I'd still like to try and find a way to put it in a useful manner.

As a non-native speaker of English, I often am in a situation where it is unclear to me how to best address a person older or in higher social standing than myself. In spoken conversation it is easy to circumnavigate the issue, but in written communication, the requirement for opening ("Dear...") and closing ("Best regards, ...") lines makes this much more difficult. As such, I would like to limit the scope of this question to written communication.

In short, and divided between BE and AE: what are the expectations of an older or higher-ranked (i.e. someone with a PHD title) person when being addressed by a younger or lower-ranked (i.e. someone without an academic title) person? And also, again divided by BE and AE: what are usual markers that might be employed by the older or higher-ranked person to indicate that they would prefer a lower level of formality, say, a drop from a last-name basis down to a first-name basis?

If the community feels that this question, too, should be closed, it would be helpful to get suggestions as to what changes might make it viable for English Language & Usage.


texts: Is it "the book that influences me most" or "the book that influences me the most"?

texts: I'm not sure whether a "the" should be added before the "most" in this phrase. Or are they both OK but have different meaning?


texts: Is there a single word to describe the aggregation of front matter and back matter for a book

texts: I have a technical document that has some front matter, like table of contents, abstract, forward, acknowledgements, and then the body of the work, containing normative text specifications, and then back matter, like appendices, an index, a bibliography, and so on.  Is there a word I can use that refers to the front and back matter but not the body?


texts:
consider the following sentence:

Once all data are collected, it is exported as ...

I am not sure whether it is correct to use the word 'it' in this context?


texts: Victory in the face of defeat - - what does this phrase mean?

texts:
I have seen this phrase being used multiple times, mostly in the written context. But I am unsure what exactly it means to have

  Victory in the face of defeat

I am confused between these 2 interpretations

To gain victory even when defeat was close?
To be victorious in some broader sense, in spite of the defeat?

Thanks.


texts: If I am your guardian, what does that make you to me?


texts: Can “it is” always be shortened to “it’s”?

texts:
For example, can we change

The car is blue, but the truck next to it is red.

into

The car is blue, but the truck next to it’s red.


texts: I have seen people say both 0.25 mile and 0.25 miles. Should we use plural or singular for a fraction of a mile?


texts:
For example, "Tables sizes" as far as I know, is wrong. Correct is "Table sizes". But it may mean either "sizes of the one table" or "sizes of many tables". How to specify that I want to say about many tables?
What rule is used there? Where can I read more about it?


texts: I understand the meaning of the phrase "passive aggressive", but I'm having difficulty interpreting what it means in the following context:

texts:
"We idealize the person who broke our heart. We spend hours remembering their smile, how great they made us feel, that time we hiked up the mountain and made love under the stars... All that does is make our loss feel more painful. We know that yet we still let our mind cycle through one greatest hit after another, like we were being held hostages by our own passive-aggressive Spotify playlist (the audience laughs)."

Pardon my wordy text. I just wanted to provide a clearer context.


texts:
How do you punctuate a sentence to indicate that the second phrase is contingent on the first, e.g. Waste not, want not?

You could read this typical punctuation as meaning "waste not and want not" vs. "waste not, and therefore want not". Same for Well govern, well serve yourself. Dashes don't work, I don't think.


texts: Is it possible to use “Go Galt” beyond political or business context?

texts:
I came across the expression “Go Galt” in Paul Krugman’s article titled “The Twinkie manifesto” appearing in November 20 New York Times. The phrase appears in the second paragraph of the following interesting remark:

  The data confirm Fortune’s impressions. Between the 1920s and the
  1950s real incomes for the richest Americans fell sharply, not just
  compared with the middle class but in absolute terms. According to
  estimates by the economists Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, in 1955
  the real incomes of the top 0.01 percent of Americans were less than
  half what they had been in the late 1920s, and their share of total
  income was down by three-quarters.

  Strange to say, however, the oppressed executives Fortune portrayed in
  1955 didn’t go Galt and deprive the nation of their talents. On the
  contrary, if Fortune is to be believed, they were working harder than
  ever.

I learned from Freedictionary that “Go Galt” means “to cease working in response to punitive taxes as a form of protest.”

What is the origin of “Go Galt”?

Is “Go Galt” used only for describing the business owners’ giving up business to protest heavy tax? Is it the wealthy’s or employers’ counter version of workers’ “strike”?

Can I use “Go Galt” for simply meaning “stop working / business” without a heavy-tax connotation?


texts: How did "yours truly" become a euphemism for "I" or "me"?

texts:
Rarely but occasionally I've seen yours truly appear in text when the author wishes to refer to him- or herself.

An example from The Cambridge Dictionary:

  Some folks, such as yours truly, can't resist a clever pun or play on words.

How did a valediction gain such a form and then maintain its usage despite its—at least, in my subjective view of colloquial language—awkwardness?


texts: "to get to know someone" vs "to know someone"

texts:
I'd like to know what is the difference of each of these options:

to get to know someone
to know someone

in the context of meeting someone for the first time, become friends, to know the identity of a person...
What is the different uses of each? Can I use them in any tense? Can you give examples?
Thanks


texts: Availability to meet vs availability to meeting?

texts:
I'm writing a thank you email to thank a person for finding the time to meet with me.
Which of the following two forms is correct, and why?

I wanted to thank you again for your availability to meet me.
I wanted to thank you again for your availability to meeting me.

Thanks for your help.


texts:
Every time I see the prepositional phrase held at being used, it is somehow related to a physical location. Suppose I'm in a process comprising many stages, is it possible/idiomatic to use the held at in the following way ?

  The validation of the data provided will be held at stage X in the validation process.

Any advice regarding my question as well as any other suitable option will be appreciated.


texts: Why is the order of the words in "so do I" or "nor do I" different from the normal order?


texts:
In Excel, we have a number set for the columns as such:

A
, B
, C, ..., Z, AA, ...

Is there a name for this "numbering" set? Such as hexadecimal for base-16, or binary for base-2? Or just natural numbers for base-10


texts:
The recent facts about the so called Brexit has generated new terms like brexiteer:

  (politics) Someone who supports Brexit, the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union.

Wiktionary also mention "brexiter" as an alternative form.

Since they are neologisms I can't find which, between the two, is more commonly used. For example the Macmillan dictionary cites brexiter while the Collins Dictionary cites brexiteer.

Are both forms correct (if so, why) or should I preferably use only one of them?

P.S. Wiktionary also cites "remainiac" as an antonym, but shouldn't it be "remaineer"?


texts:
What is the mean of "one's bearing" in the sentence "To be a conqueror in appearance, in one's bearing, is the first step toward success."? I referred to  dictionary and searched but I didn't understand the meaning in this sentence.

Thanks.


texts: Pronunciation of /æ/, when it comes before /m/ or /n/

texts:
I believe when /æ/ comes before m or n , it’s pronounced [ɛə] instead of [æ], (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//%C3%A6/_raising)
but is it always the case？For example, how about the main stress is not on /æ/, like the word “Transportation” (ˌtrænspərˈteɪʃən). In this case, "eɪ" has the main stress and /æ/ has the second one. Do you still pronounce /æ/ as [ɛə]?


texts: word/term: to wear the same outfit as someone else (in public)

texts:
I think there's a specific word/term for this but I can't seem to remember what it is: I'm trying to translate 撞衫 from Chinese in to English - one source defines it as:

to wear the same outfit as someone else (in public)

while another says:

two people wearing the same outfit by coincidence, causing embarrassment at social events

Chinese material insists on calling it a clash
China.org.cn Learning English says:

误译：When this actress was walking on the red carpet, she found her outfit clashed with another film star.
解释：to clash 的意思是to look ugly when put together，即“不协调”、“不搭配”。没有“撞衫”的意思。如：
Outfit clashes are taboo to movie stars.

It doesn't seem that any English references really corroborate this, though.
Is there a good term for this?


texts: Should I use the weak or the strong form in this sentence for the word "as"?

texts: "Went straight up as if from a factory" <---- for the word "as" in this sentence should I say it like /æz/ or like /əz/ ?


texts: Examples where a verb licenses different prepositions depending on its tense

texts:
In the course of answering this question, I've noticed that there are constructions where the verb be licenses different (non-temporal) prepositions depending on its tense:

[1]   i  a.  We've been to the movies. (source)           b.  ?We've been at the movies.
       ii  a.  *We were to the movies.                           b.   We were at the movies. (source)

We see that in this case, the present perfect licenses to, while the preterite does not; on the other hand, the preterite licenses at, while the construction present perfect + at is of somewhat marginal acceptability (to my ear, at least). These findings are confirmed if we search the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA): there are 15 hits for been to the movies, but just one for been at the movies. In contrast, there are 11 hits for were at the movies, and none for were to the movies.

It seems that the verb be, depending on whether it is in the present perect or in the preterite, licenses different prepositions in these constructions.

Are there any other cases where the licensing of a (non-temporal) preposition similarly depends on the tense of the verb?


texts: What is the correct "noun-verb" order when preceded by "only when"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Sentences using: [something] + have + they
  Inversion in “Only when the virus introduces its nucleic acid into a cell does disease occur”

In a sentence like this:

  Only when a gun is reliable, accurate and durable, do I trust my life to it.

Why do we swap "I do" into "do I"? Would both options be correct? I can't help myself but start parsing the last sentence as a question when the word order is as is.


texts: One word for students, faculty and staff at a university

texts: What word is used to include students, faculty and staff at a university?


texts: What does "What are you into here?" mean?

texts:
I personally don't use this question in spoken language but I often see it in written language. I also frequently see that when someone asks this question, it elicits in turn the question "What do you mean?".

Is this an ambiguous question?
What are the different meanings of this question?
It can depend on the context but in a casual conversation, does it
usually mean "What are you interested in?" or can it mean "What are you up to?" also?
What about sexual connotations?

I'm also not familiar with the usage in these contexts:

From the book "The Pillars of Solomon" By Jon Land:

  Man: "What the hell is going on?" he demanded...
  Woman: “I don't know what you're talking about.”
  Man: “If you don't, you're a bigger fool than I am. What are you into here?”
  Woman: “This is about the man I asked you to identify" she realized.
  Man: His eyes blazed at her from driver' seat. "You're damn right it is, and somebody's going to catch hell for it!"
  Man: "What are you — "
  Woman: "You sent me to check out one of our own men!"

From the book "The Twelfth Insight: The Hour of Decision" By James Redfield:

  I stopped and he stopped, and then I saw something familiar in his posture. It was Wil!  When I got to him, he pulled me down and looked back at the Pub.
   “What are you into here, my friend?” he asked in his customary half-humorous tone. “I don't know,” I blurted. “I saw several people watching me inside. What are you doing here, Wil?"

From the book "Reflection: Behind the Rain" By Robert Clayton Buick:

  Waehauf returned to his station and called out his cocktail order in flawless Spanish. As he waited for his drink order, he turned and continued to stare me down. I continued to stare back at him, and with willing confrontation, I calmly asked him, “What's your problem Fat Guy, and what are you into here?” His face turned into a bright red flashing light and I could hear and his feel breath increase in rapid succession.

Does it mean "What are you doing here?" or "What are you pulling here?" in these contexts? Did this question gain a new meaning in these contexts?


texts:
I think of an epiphany as a "eureka moment" as in a goldminer crying out, "Eureka!" upon discovering a vein of gold (I'm a native Californian (and former resident of Eureka), so that example comes readily to mind).

What about the opposite, though - an "Oh, no!" moment? Such as, "What I thought was gold turned out to be iron pyrite."?

Is there a word for it - an apiphany? Antipiphany? Malpiphany*? Or...???

Since "epiphany" seems to refer to a good sound (epiphone), would the opposite be a bad sound?


texts: In my example, can I remove the word--"that"?

texts:
This suggests that the current MLDA is not effective. However, the estimates in this paper challenge that claim and show that the effects of the current MLDA is statistically significant in all cases we observe.

This suggests that the current MLDA is not effective. However, the estimates in this paper challenge that claim and show that the effects of the current MLDA is statistically significant in all cases that we observe.


texts: "Gained the academic title of professor"

texts:
I have a bit of a problem finding the right way to say/write the following:

  Gained the academic title of professor of xxx.

Is the choice of gained fine, or should I use some other verb that is used more frequently in this context? Maybe obtain or earn, or something else, is more proper?

Also, should it be "the academic title" at all, or rather a "degree"? I personally didn't use degree because I would use it when emphasizing a Baccalaureate as opposed to Master's degree, for example. In this case, it's just a matter of simply stating the fact that a certain title (degree?) is a result of studies.

Lastly, maybe professor should be capitalized?

I know, these questions must be awful and ridiculous, but it's been a long time since I even had to use my English in a serious situation. So I trust I'll get some help here.


texts: Should one say "for forever" or "forever"?

texts:
I've always wondered about this.

When describing an exaggerated amount of time should one say "for forever" or "forever"?

As in:

  I have been waiting for forever.

or

  I have been waiting forever.

The argument being that the word "forever" is in itself a period of time, or it isn't.


texts: Word for a commonly encountered scenario

texts: What word describes an abstract process that is encountered frequently? For example, every time I get into a car, I start it by turning the key. The car and the key might be different in every single scenario, but the process is still 'get into car, turn key'. I was thinking idiom, but that doesn't really seem to fit.


texts: Word for: a word which sufficiently describes a thing

texts:
Is there a word that describes when a word describes a thing or situation completely?

It is easy to come up with a word which is correct in a particular context, in the sense that the thing fits the definition of the word. But it's much more challenging to come up with a word that when used describes a thing entirely, in the sense that you could rely on that word alone to communicate the idea.

To put another way, what would you call it when there is a word which is sufficient to describe something to some desired level of detail?

Example sentence. "I am looking for a desired single word word for thing/situation/idea."

Ideally, this word would be specific to linguistics, rather than a generic term, like "equivalent" or "sufficient."

For a specific example, consider a definition of deceive:

  (of a person) cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage.

Now consider the definition of gaslight:

  manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity.

Deceive certainly doesn't seem incorrect to apply to the definition gaslight, but clearly it doesn't fully specify what gaslighting is. Another example is from a recent question, asking for a word for a specific kind of bullying, wherein a person never admits wrongdoing and insists that others are always in the wrong despite evidence to the contrary. A commenter suggested "sociopathic," which doesn't fully capture the scenario, despite it probably being an appropriate label for this sort of person.


texts: What does this sentence from a Computer Book mean?

texts:
I read a book and am stuck with a particular sentence:

  One other significant change is that the Pentium Pro processor uses
  three execution engines, so it can execute up to three instructions at
  a time, which can conflict and still execute in parallel.

I understand the meaning till "three instructions at a time".

What does the rest of sentence mean?

I think it means that when instructions have a conflict, they execute in parallel. Am I right? Is it possible to translate this into something simpler?


texts: Word/phrase meaning an action is appropriate and should be encouraged

texts:
The context is:

  The police, [appropriately so], are subject to a high level of scrutiny.

Are there any other terms I can use here?


texts: The meaning of word earned in this sentence: "Ashton lifted Gillian up and earned her to the kitchen"


texts: As in title. Is construction: "I'd rather not want you to meet him again" correct? The meaning is supposed to be the same as in "I don't want you to meet him again".


texts: "To see life as fun and take it if we can"

texts:
In the Cranberries song "Ode To MY Family" there's a line that I've always found curious. It reads "'Cause we were raised to see life as fun and take it if we can".

I'm not a native English speaker, but I don't think I've ever heard "to take life" in the meaning that seems to be intended here. On top of that, I know "taking a life" to be a common expression meaning to kill someone.

So my question is: does this line ring as morbid to a native English speaker as it does to me?


texts: What preposition is the proper one to follow the noun “hatred”?

texts:
What is the proper preposition to follow the noun hatred?

Do we have a hatred for Buddhism?
Do we have a hatred of Buddhism?
Do we have a hatred against Buddhism?

These are all just examples. It’s not my actual sentence that I wish to form.


texts: Is there a word or phrase for the "log ride face"?

texts:
Is there a special word or phrase for the act of making an incongruent face or pose, during the final drop in log flume rides?

Log flumes are a very common ride found in many amusement parks, with a long history. Patrons ride in a log boat that travels along a water flume, and the ride culminates in a final, steep drop. A common feature is that just before the drop, a hidden camera takes a photo of the riders, who are usually in a state of shock. The photos are then shown for all to see after the ride, where one may purchase those photos.

This has spawned a practice where some patrons will deliberately make an inappropriate face or pose for this camera, which sometimes produces hilarious results.


texts: Is it true that "for" indicates the whole duration of a verb? What about "he was ill for 3 days"?

texts:
Is it true that for indicates the whole duration of a verb?

What about the following?

  He was ill for three days when I turned back from my journey.


texts:
my dad used to say "flitter lip" a lot. Like, 'oh darn', or maybe a way to cuss in front of us kids. I can't find any reference to it's use outside of him. He did serve WWII in Germany and France. Maybe it was a twist on a German exclamation?  Flitterlip.
He was from Oklahoma, raised in New Mexico, worked some migrant work in Cal in the 30's.
They had a family jazz band. Maybe it's a trumpet player's reference? Like he's playing and gets a "blattt", and blames it on a flitter lip?


texts: Word for being aware of something but not doing anything about it?

texts:
To expand on the title more, is there an adjective for someone that is aware of something happening but is not doing anything about it, even though they could interfere but they're just not choosing too?

Here's an example: let's say that there's a toddler at a daycare. The toddler starts stealing toys from other kids and gets into fights with them. The daycare supervisors are completely aware that this is happening, and they can intervene, but they choose not to.

I tried the words ignorant and oblivious but that doesn't work since the person is aware it's happening. I also can't think of any other word that works. If someone could help, that would be greatly appreciated.


texts: I'm trying to say "it counts the number of times a given value repeats sequentially" in a list, meaning it finds the maximum number of times a value occurs in a row in a list.  I know there's a word for it, but I can't remember it.


texts: Does "be lost in something" have a positive or negative meaning?

texts:
I get lost in my job.

What does it mean?

I get immersed in my work so deeply even the outside world seems to cease to exist (because I'm concentrating so much on what I'm doing). (Which sounds kind of positive, in general.)
Even though I concentrate on my job as much as I can (not paying attention to the outside world), I can't really solve some problems in my work. (Which implies strong negative feelings).

I think the first one's correct, but I need confirmation and/or correction, please.


texts: Are there any differences to the meanings of the following sentences if a comma is placed in these respective positions?

texts:
We aim to create products that are of high quality, and as environmentally-sustainable as possible by reducing plastic use.

We aim to create products that are of high quality and, as environmentally-sustainable as possible by reducing plastic use.

We aim to create products that are of high quality and as environmentally-sustainable as possible, by reducing plastic use.

(No comma) We aim to create products that are of high quality and as environmentally-sustainable as possible by reducing plastic use


texts:
How can this be better expressed?

  In respect of Anna's written wishes, there will be no funeral.


texts:
Mother has the house in Wallingford,” Marion said, “and not too much to run it on, when Fred’s school bills have been paid. I had a little capital of my own, enough to keep me while I was learning to make a living, so I decide to come to London and train for a secretary’s job. I took this place we’re going to, and started a course at Needham’s.
— The Little Mystery by E.C. Bentley (my emphasis)

What's the meaning of 'not too much to run it on'?
"Nothing much left" or something else?


texts: Capitalization of title in scientific paper

texts:
I'd like to use the correct capitalization of words in the title of a scientific paper. The part of the title I'm not sure about is the following:

  What to do with an Area? ...

As far as I understand capitalization rules, the "What" has to start with an upper case letter because it is the first word. Area is being upper cased because it is a noun. "to", "with", and "an" are not upper cased because they are prepositions or articles.

What about the verb "do"? Should I use the following capitalization instead?

  What to Do with an Area? ...

According to https://www.santarosa.edu/~kthornle/30/CapitalizationMLAStyle.pdf I should capitalize verbs as well. My gut tells me that my second capitalization variant looks weird. Can someone confirm or deny? :)


texts: Is there any synonym for to-do list without the word 'list'?


texts: Best way to describe a decrease in time taken?

texts:
I have written an algorithm that greatly improves the computation time for a particular problem, but I am divided on how to best describe this in writing. As a rough guide, a process that previously took 20 seconds will now only require 1 second under the new approach. Based upon both clarity and punchiness, which is the best way to describe this out of the following:

  a 95% reduction in computation time
  a 20x speed-up in computation time
  a better unspecified option


texts:
What's the difference between form and shape?

I'm reading a philosophy book and these are used to denote different "things".  I considered these words as almost synonyms.


texts: What did Horne mean by "catching the 8.2" when discussing surburbanisation in Australia?

texts:
In the book The Lucky Country, Donald Horne says:

  Australia may have been the first suburban nation: for several generations, most of its men have been catching the 8.2, and messing about with their houses and gardens at the weekends.

It's on page 26 of my edition, early in Chapter 2: What is an Australian.

What does he mean by "catching the 8.2"?  It would make sense if he said 8.02 (or 8:02), implying a commute to work by train or bus, so maybe this is a misprint?  Or was "8.2" a common idiom in 60s Australia that I'm not familiar with?


texts: Omissibility of the deﬁnite article “the” before attributive modiﬁers of personal names in American English

texts:
Are both inclusion and omission of the deﬁnite article
the before personal names that have attributive
modifiers (nominal or adjectival or both) considered grammatical in American English?
For example:

This was described by novelist John Steinbeck.
This was described by the novelist John Steinbeck.

This was mentioned by notable scholar John Smith.
This was mentioned by the notable scholar John Smith.

None other than mercurial President Trump.
None other than the mercurial President Trump.

A feature of colonial-age Europe.
A feature of the colonial-age Europe.

We returned to snowy Canada.
We returned to the snowy Canada.

Famous author John Smith believes....
The famous author John Smith believes....

If so, do they mean different things or the same thing, and is
one ever preferable over the other?
(I live in America, and so my question is in reference to
American English only.)


texts: What is the word for dragging motion of a finger on a trackpad?

texts: What is the appropriate word for the dragging motion of a finger on a trackpad of a laptop or any surface with an intention to make an effect?


texts: Accented syllable after a glottal stop in NA English

texts:
Does anyone know of any studies on the change in use of accenting after a glottal stop? I am in my late 40s, and first heard this maybe 10 years ago used by an adult. I have a nephew who is 11, and it seems like all kids use this, where I would NEVER use such a pronunciation under any circumstance.

My best example is the name Peyton, like Peyton Manning. In my non-linguistic writing, I would say PAY’-n, where the apostrophe designates the glottal stop. Unaccented schwa only on the last syllable.

My nephew says PAY’-IN, with a longer pause in the middle. He says it as a spondee (same accenting on both syllables), and converts the schwa into an ih.

I asked some 20-somethings at my work, some said it his way, some did not.  Oldest was maybe early 30s.  NOBODY in their 40s says this, ever.


texts: Membership equivalent of "if and only if"

texts:
Is there a phrase similar to "if and only if" for quantities?

Something equivalent to this:

"This procedure will generate one of these, and only one of these."


texts: "concern" instead of "business"; "operate" instead of "run"; "one" in front of a person?

texts:
I find the word "concern" attractive, because it is not as often seen as other words. Is it always safe to use it instead of "firm" or "business" -- even if the business is a small startup? For example, is the following correct?

DanSoft is a small one-man concern in Chicago. It is operated by one Daniel X., a long-time software enthusiast.

For similar reasons, I'm also attracted to the word "operate", and putting "one" in front of the name.

What do you think? Are these three words "concern", "operate", and "one" appropriate here? Would native English speakers find them inappropriate? Maybe a little archaic? Too formal? Or just fine?


texts: What is the opposite of being "everything to everyone"?

texts: I think of this in the following context: when someone tries to be everything to everyone, they end up being nothing to nobody.  That of course is a double negative, but I believe expresses the intent of what I am looking for very well.  That is, you end up being the opposite of everything to everyone.  Can anyone think of a opposite that would fit well in that phrase that is gramatically correct?


texts: Word for the habit of spending money on things that are not really needed

texts: I know there is the word "spendthrift" — but what word denotes the habit of spending too much money or resources on things that are not essential?


texts: Word for "observing something with the purpose of gaining knowledge from it"?

texts:
And for a long period of time.

Example:

  He spent several nights [...] the terrorist's building.

I checked the synonyms of watch (noun lookout), but found nothing that could fit. There's also track, but I think it implies walking:

  track
  follow the trail or movements of (someone or something), typically in
  order to find them or note their course.

Maybe to keep vigil?


texts:
From Steinbeck's Cannery Row,

  Doc was almost supernaturally successful with a series of lady visitors. He didn’t half try.

Does it mean that Doc did not do anything to win hearts of these ladies?


texts:
What is the affirmative form of the following sentence?

  He is neither poor nor honest.

I tried, but couldn't transform it from negative to affirmative.


texts:
What is the correct form to say that you have been involved in a project so that would be  the sentence's subject ?
Example :
First project I was involved in is X.
or
First project I was involved is X .
I heard my project manager using the second form , but it doesn't sound right to me .


texts:
I called after him, worried that I might have sounded ungrateful.

Unlike 'It sounds [Adjective].', if a person subject comes instead of 'it', what does the verb 'sound' mean?
I'm not sure for the above sentence, but it looks to me as if 'worried that I might have made words that he could have mistaken as ungrateful.' or 'worried that the words what I made might have sounded ungrateful to him.'.


texts:
According to the CambridgeGEL, page 1583,

Participial adjectives take only analytic comparative forms (A
marginal exception is tired)

What are the reasons leading to this exception?


texts: "Helping you do something" or "Helping you to do something"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb “help”: with or without “to”?

In the phrase "Helping you to master Russian", is it correct to use "to" before "master"?


texts: Why is it Autism Spectrum Disorder and not Autism Disorder Spectrum?

texts: Certainly with Disorder trailing behind "Autism Spectrum" it indicates that the disorder is called Autism Spectrum when spectrum is merely being used to describe that the disorder has a spectrum. Billy is on the Autism Disorder Spectrum vs Billy has the Autism Spectrum Disorder


texts: Is there a single word that can describe something that breathes/produces fire?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that I can use to describe something that "breathes" (out) fire. If there is no such word, I can create it myself, much like Stephen King created Pyrokinesis.

Is there such a word?

To clarify:
I am using the word as an adjective, and as part of a description in a document related to a novel I'm writing (sci-fi). So, for example:

Blablablabus Blabladens

Size: 2feet
Height: 1foot
Social Structure: antisocial
Notes: bla, bla bla.
Diet: bla.
Special Features: bla bla bla bla.
Pyrogenetic(?) Abilities: Breathes fire using blablabla organ.

See where I use Pyrogenetic? That's where I want to use the word. However, I'm not sure what word would be correct, and I don't want to use "Fire-breathing" if I don't have to.

After some deliberation and the highest voted answer so far:

I decided to create my own word(s): Ignigenesis/(Ignigenic).


texts: Meaning of "Try to be a filter, not a sponge"

texts:
"Try to be a filter, not a sponge"

This is a line of dialogue from the movie Perks of Being a Wallflower. I am confused. Either it means that one shouldn't absorb the opinions of others wholly but only partially and not let all the negative words/criticisms get to you, as in to hear with one ear and purge it out from the other one, or to save only the solid (real part or positive concerns) and let the liquid (redundant non-concrete negative part) pass through, if I may put it in a self-created metaphorical sense. I saw the movie long back, so I don't remember the context in which dialogue was delivered. Which one is it?


texts: "A group that X" or "A group who X"? (American English)

texts:
I've been asked to proofread a company newsletter, and I came across this line:

[Department name] is something special – an elite unit who finds
opportunities where others cannot.

Should it rather be "an elite group that finds opportunities where others cannot"?
It seems to me that the relative pronoun for a "unit" would be "that" rather than "who" even if the unit/department is made up of people. Am I correct?


texts:
Can we use lately instead of just in the following sentence:

  I’ve just gotten back from London. It was a business trip.

Does it have any meaning?


texts:
I “googled” the word anonymize to verify its spelling because it is not in the Chrome’s dictionary. Before I closed the tab, on a whim, I clicked the little speaker icon to hear Google’s pronunciation of the word and was taken aback. Google seems to think that the word is pronounced /əˈnänəˌmīz/.

That seemed wrong because while I don’t recall hearing anyone say the word anonymize, I certainly never said it like that. More over, nobody pronounces anonymous in that manner, so I can’t imagine why the variant should be any different.

From what I can tell, it looks like everybody else agrees with me on the pronunciation, which leaves me wondering where/how the heck Google got that awkward pronunciation. The obvious guess was that, as usual, it scraped it from Wiktionary or Wikipedia, but I did not see any such indication there.

The dictionary section does not give any indications of where they draw their references, so I am left wondering if that really is an actual pronunciation of the word or if Google just messed up.


texts: Opposite of "reach a settlement" in a lawsuit?

texts: Is there a common phrase for the opposite of reaching a settlement in a lawsuit? That is, is there a common phrase for going to court and having a judge reach a decision?


texts: Is there a specific word for the process where someone is trying to learn a specific piece of information from you?

texts: Is there a specific word for the process where someone is trying to learn a specific piece of information in a conversation with you without revealing what he wants ?


texts:
When a sequence of positive events occur we use the term miraculously. What about the opposite, when a sequence of bad luck events occur, how can we characterize it?

Here is the story of a flight which, despite many odd errors, had a miraculous landing (or a very skilled crew). How can we refer to the string of breakdown of all checks and balances in the pre-flight stage? (Somebody under-fueled the jetliner, various equipment did not work properly and the jet took off with much less fuel than needed for the flight.)

Edit:

What I learned are, depending the context and connotation,

for comic effect the recommendation is  Murphy's Law or Sod's law

for secular effect use perfect storm, * a cascade of failures*

for other-worldly effect use  fatefully


texts: What's a trendy word for an 'information capsule'. A short snippet of information

texts:
In French we might say 'info-capsule' to designate a short block of information. There may be 'info-capsules' on a variety of topics but they are always short and may point to other resources.

What would be a trendy name to designate these information snippets(?) ?


texts:
Consider this sentence, please:

  Seeing the police, the thief ran away.

In tjis sentence, the first part is a non-finite dependent clause and the second part is a finite independent clause.

Now, some say that the first part is adjectivally modifying the other part, whereas others say it's adverbially modifying the second part. What I think is that the first part is modifying the second part both adjectivally and adverbially at the same time.

Adjectival modification: Q: who saw the police? A: the thief.

Adverbial modification : Q: when did he run? A: after seeing the police. Or Q: why did he run? A: because he saw the police.

My question is: Can a non-finite dependent clause simultaneously perform two different actions on the same clause?


texts: A word or phrase for a hypothetical reaction of a person from the past to the present

texts:
This question arises from an essay in a recent bird guide, in which the author imagines how ornithologists past would react to changes since their time, and which of these would interest them most.

This sort of hypothetical is often used to frame differences in perspective between past and present (e.g. what would Shakespeare think of movies?).

It is neither a conceit nor a folly. Is there some single word or handy phrase that conveniently describes this literary device?

"Through __ , imagining the reactions of past ornithologists, the author highlights changes in our understanding of avian diversity and distribution, and in particular how genetics and genomic analyses have changed our perspective on bird taxonomy"


texts: Is there any categorical name for these kind of words?

texts:
Words which are derived from Sanskrit (which is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism) Or Hindi into English.

For example:

avatar
karma
kama

What category are these words part of?


texts: Difference between "to think" and "think"

texts:
Kate: I love to read.Really! But I don't read because I want people to think I'm smart.I can't stand those pompous people who try to show off how much they know about literature.

Why in the above context there is " I want people to think " instead of  " I want people think"


texts:
I'm looking for a tool for write the sound of the word (phonetic) and have all the words that have that sound.

It's very usefull when people don't use the good sounds or to know what a native speaker is going to heard if you don't speak well.

For example, if a French speaker says : "Ghost Love" with the pronunciation /gost/ /love/. Does the sound /gost/ mean someting in English?

French people say : Star /wars/ instead of star /wɔrz/. Does /wars/ mean something? or /irɔn/ instead of /ˈaɪərn/, etc.

Thank you.

EDIT :

I found out that website : http://www.phonemicchart.com/transcribe/ The problem I have is that the web site uses British phonemes. So, it's almost good : )


texts: How do hyphens modify the meaning of "n-month-old"?

texts:
I see three different ways of hyphenating the phrase "six month old".

Six-month old:

  A six-month old poses with a machine gun owned by supporters of the Free Syrian Army.

Six-month-old:

  Fraud alert closes account of six-month-old baby girl

Six month old:

  Rebecca Judd, a model, TV personality and a new mother to Oscar (her six month old son with AFL star Chris Judd) is a self-confessed happy snapper.

Is there a significance to these differences?


texts: How many times do you have to do a thing before it becomes a tradition

texts:
I recently heard an advertisement proclaiming that Bar-B-Q was a tradition at a local bar/restaurant. This seemed a little ludicrous to us and we began discussing how many times a thing had to be done in a row before it was a tradition.

Is there a specific rule? Is three times enough? Does it have to be done for a generation at least?


texts: Which one is correct "Rode" or Has ridden"?

texts:
He rode a bicycle to work every day last month.
OR
He has ridden a bicycle to work every day last month.


texts: Can you please give me an example where could might be used as meaning might be able to?


texts: I am not a native speaker. From my reading and verbal communication, I came to believe that striking a chord means connecting to someone at an emotional level. However, I recently used it somewhere and someone (an American, if relevant) told me that it actually means pissing someone off (quite the opposite of what I thought). Does it mean both or I just used the wrong expression? Or does it  have different meanings in British, American and Aussie varieties?


texts: Why is "DMV" different from a language point of view in Linguistics?

texts:
What is the speaker referring to when, talking about two phrasal verbs, they say

  They may be equivalent as far as the DMV is concerned, but they're not equivalent from the point of view of language.

I looked up DMV and I think it is an initialisation of the Dependency Model with Valence, I found a reference and an explanation (of sorts) in a book titled Grammatical Inference for Computational Linguistics but despite reading its description, I still cannot get to grips with it, i.e. I don't understand.

  DMV. The Dependency Model with Valence (DMV) is an unsupervised dependency parser. Instead of a one-to-many mapping between non-terminals (on the left-hand side) and terminals or non-terminals (on the right-hand-side) in, for instance, context-free grammar, dependency models are a one-to-one mapping. Essentially, dependencies describe head-dependent relationships between the words in a sentence. This results in directed acyclic graphs; for instance, like the one depicted in Figure 4.6.

Unfortunately, Figure 4.6 is missing from my preview.

Could someone please explain, in layman's terms, what DMV is and provide examples where a verb with two different prepositions can have very similar meanings, which can be equivalent to DMV,  but not equivalent from a language point of view.

For example, would go round and go around OR look through and look over be equivalent to DMV but not from a language point of view? Why?


texts: "If" and "would be" when talking about future events

texts:
I am watching a basketball game right now, and the team that I am rooting for is losing. I want to say that if they win, that would be something. Which one is the correct way to state it?

  If Miami pulls this off, it would be something.
  If Miami pulled this off, it would be something.
  If Miami will pull this off, it will be something.

Hopefully, you get my drift.


texts: Does /ðz/ create 1 sound or 2 separated sounds?

texts:
Look at this word "clothes" /kloʊðz/ (source )

To create the /ð/, the tip of the tongue has to be placed under the upper teeth & then release the air from your throat to your mouth so that the air flies between the upper teeth & the tip of the tongue.

To create the /z/,  the tip of the tongue has to be placed behind the lower teeth, then upper teeth & lower teeth have to come closed to each other, then release the air from your throat to your mouth so that the air flies between the upper teeth & lower teeth.

Ok, if we adhere the 2 above rule, then it is very difficult to pronounce /ðz/ because bring the tip of the tongue from under upper teeth (starting position) to
behind the lower teeth (ending position) in a few milliseconds is too slow & too hard.

So I think /ðz/ will create 1 unified sound only (like /dʒ/ which creates 1 unified sound, not 2 separated sounds) but I don't know to the tongue is positioned?

So, Does /ðz/ create 1 unified sound or 2 separated sounds?

If it creates just 1 unified sound, then how the tip of the tongue is positioned?


texts:
What is the term for words that have changed meaning over time? For example, in relation to this question on Workplace Stack Exchange the term snafu was of military origin and was used to define a person, team, organisation, etc that continually makes mistakes. The first time I saw the term was in relation to a data protection leak and this now seems a pretty common usage e.g this article amongst the tech community.

Is there a term to describe words that have changed meaning over time, or words that have been adopted by a particular community and had their meaning altered?


texts: Is correct to say: "John, there is a Mr. Smith on the phone for you"

texts:
I came across this sentence in an English exam:
"John, there is a Mr. Smith on the phone for you",
My question is that is it the right way to put it in a way like the sentence above, or it should be "John, there is Mr. Smith on the phone for you"?


texts: Reference Request on Preposition Fronting

texts:
Currently reading "A Student's Introduction to English Grammar" by Geoffrey K. Pullum and Rodney Huddleston.
Consider the following contrast between the phrasal verbs ask for and come across.
"The information for which I asked."—is given as grammatical.
"The information across which I came."—is given as ungrammatical, as in this case preposition fronting is not allowed.
Are there any good dictionaries which clearly state when preposition fronting is allowed? None of the freely available ones seem to have this feature (Merriam-Webster, Macmillan, Oxfordlearnersdictionaries), not even the web version of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Edit in response to comments: In the example above, 'across' is correctly classified as a preposition. You can see that it can be a complement for a noun phrase in the example: "My travels across the ocean have been perilous."


texts:
When we ask about well-being when we meet other people, is this the correct usage:

  How is everyone at home?

or are there any other ways to address this when talking to a person via email or face-to-face?


texts:
This sentence is from Wikipedia:

  A website is a collection of related web pages, including multimedia content, typically identified with a common name, and published on at least one web server.

Is the word including mentioned in the above text
a) the present participle of the standard verb "include"
b) the gerund of the standard verb "include"
c) the substitution form of the standard verb "include"
or
d) an adverb?


texts: Is it OK to omit the "there was" in the following sentence without changing its meaning?

texts:
Never in her life had she seen such shocking footage, not to mention two in one day. The experience had shaken her like nothing before. But there was
  something else in them that had disturbed her. Something that still
  lingered in her mind, like the afterimage of a picture she had overlooked.

I thought of omitting the "there was" in the sentence above:

  But something else in them had disturbed her.

Is that grammatically correct? Does the meaning change?


texts: What is the origin of English plurals and possessives? English plurals look more French plurals, but I am not sure that is where they come from. As for possessives, I don't know where they come from.


texts: Is there any difference in meaning between "All these" and "All of these"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is it correct to use “all this” instead of “all of this”?

Are they fully interchangeable, or do they have a somewhat different usage?

Common sense suggests that "all these" would refer to a group of objects as a group, and "all of these" would refer to each and every object inside the group.

Also, here is a link to google ngrams, which shows an interesting thing: "all of these" had almost no use before 1960s. It is a little bit confusing, because I always thought it is grammatically fine, and I would expect it to be used at leas as much as "all these".


texts: Non-finite Adjectival Clause or Adverbial Clause

texts:
I came across the following grammatical terms and example sentences on Wikipedia:

As an adjectival phrase modifying a noun phrase that is the object of a verb, provided the verb admits this particular construction:

    I saw them digging a hole.
    We prefer it standing over there.

As an adverbial phrase, where the role of subject of the nonfinite verb is usually understood to be played by the subject of the main clause. A participial clause like this may be introduced by a conjunction such as when or while:

    Looking out of the window, Mary saw a car go by.
    We peeled the apples while waiting for the water to boil.

Why are the first two sentences said to have adjectival phrases? I think they are adverbial phrases because they are related to time, not quality.
And how are the first two sentences different from the last two?


texts: Ask politely if there is any fee for a training

texts:
I am attending a training, but they did not mention if it is free or not.
How to ask politely if there is any fee for this training?


texts: 'Take after' usage with abstract concepts

texts:
Can I use phrasal verb take after with things and abstract concepts when I want to emphasise similarity and inheritance? For example, is it correct to say either of these:

Idea A takes after idea B more than any other.

Idea A takes after idea B.


texts: Can you use "of yours" for a noun that has a superlative adjective?

texts:
I have a question about the usage of the pronoun "those" with the pronoun "of yours" like in this sentence:

  The only one who knows "those" worst secrets of yours is me.

I know that if I used only "those secrets of yours" it would be correct. But with the superlative adjective "worst", is it still correct, acceptable, or even beautiful to speak that?


texts: Largest open-source dictionary w/ brief definitions (not wiktionary)

texts:
What's the largest open-source dictionary that includes brief
definitions of each word? Wiktionary is a great resource but:

There are over 200K words in the scowl list that aren't in
wiktionary. I'd use scowl directly, but it only list words and has no
definitions.
Wiktionary intentionally includes misspellings (sometimes not
marked as such, and sometimes as redirection), and I'm looking for
only correctly-spelled words.
Wiktionary's definitions are often lengthy, not brief.
It's difficult to automatically extract the portion of a wiktionary
page that's the definition.

I'm somewhat surprised this question isn't in the FAQ, and that I couldn't
find the answer by searching this site.


texts: Is there a name for the truncated bedspread that some hotels put on the bottom 25% or so of the bed?

texts:
I have encountered this totally useless object at several hotels and motels recently, so there must be a name (phrase or word) for it in the hotel/motel industry.

If it covered the entire surface of the bed, it would be a bedspread, but I estimate it covers only the bottom 20% to 25% of the bed.  The term that popped into my mind was bedspread bikini, but a bikini, however sparing of material, covers both the bottom and the top with a large gap in the middle.  Bedspread monokini? It resembles a scarf more than a bathing suit, so maybe Bed foot-scarf? But foot scarf doesn't make any sense.

Rather than fanciful words or phrases, I'd really like to know what the hotel industry calls this truncated beadspread-oid thingie.

Obligatory Sentence:

  What is the purpose of this __________ covering the foot of the bed?

@StoneyB says it is a bed runner.  The picture in his link is not exactly what I saw recently.  What I saw covered the entire foot of the bed and fell to the floor on each side -- I don't remember if it fell to the floor at the foot.  And in one case, it was on top of a bedspread.  He has probably given the correct answer, and bed runners are just getting larger.


texts: Good phrase or word to express that statistical average should not be applied to an individual

texts:
I'm going to have a hard time even expressing what I'm looking for well.  I love statistics and studies and drawing conclusions from them.  To do this well one eventually needs to be able to talk about groups of people in statistical averages.  For example when reading a study about topic T I may point out that the sample group was created in such a way to get a large number of individuals from group X, studies show that those in group X are more likely to belong in group Y and people in group Y may have a different reaction to topic T then then expected from a truly random sampling of individuals, so we must recognize this study may be slanted slightly by group Y's tendency towards topic T.  When talking with other statisticians and the ilk (like on Skeptics board) this is recognized and understood necessary step to understanding and utilizing statistics.

When speaking more with layman (perhaps not the right word, basically people who don't have the same love of statistics and thus not use to need to qualify the limits of a given study) this is harder, because they confuse a statistical average for a statement for a specific individual for the group.  If I say group X on average fits into category Y someone may interpret it as a claim that anyone from X will be in category Y, which is clearly false.  If category Y is an already charged subject, like socioeconomic status, they may see this a value judgement about group X.

Thus when speaking with laymen I find myself having to constantly qualify every step of an analysis so that they are not misinterpreted.  I keep having to repeat that statistical averages over large sample sizes should never be taken to imply that any single individual of a group should be expected to have a specific trait.

I'm looking for a good way of making this distinction clear, that there may be value in speaking of large scale averages across a huge sample size, but that this should never be applied to specific individuals, that it's in fact quite harmful to do so.  Something concise I could repeat a few times to reiterate this concept so people don't forget the important distinction.  If it could also work in the stress that small correlations should not be taken as absolutes (a 5% chance that someone in group X has trait Y obviously shouldn't be taken as a claim that an individual of X likely has Y; but people seem to leap to that conclusion quickly) that would be great, but perhaps too much to hope to fit in while still being concise.

I'm not looking for a long thesis on how to express the distinction, just help coming up with some consist phrases that can be used, perhaps even something I could explain in a little more detail at start of an analysis but then reiterate as appropriate the short phrase, much like how I use the "correlation is not causation" phrase over and over.

Any convenient phrase or word is good, but as I'm mostly needing to express this idea to statistical 'laymen', and particularly to those who may already be prone to misunderstanding (otherwise this wouldn't be a problem in the first place) I'm looking for a phrase that expresses the concept without being too esoteric, something that is easy to be understood.


texts: When to use "first" and "last" when they coincide?

texts:
To be more specific, I'm referring to a sentence of the following type:

  The next event will be even bigger than the last.

In the case that the "next" event is the second event and the "last" event is the first, the following sentence is also correct and equivalent:

  The next event will be even bigger than the first.

Are there any guidelines on which of the two should be used in this scenario?


texts: Which is correct: "of order of nanokelvins" or "of order nanokelvins"?

texts:
I have the following sentence in my physics dissertation:

  The foundational component of atomtronic devices is the Bose-Einstein condensate, a state of matter of condensed bosons cooled to temperatures of order of nanokelvins.

Is it correct to say "of order of nanokelvins"? Or would one instead say "of order nanokelvins"?

I could not find any information elsewhere to answer this.


texts:
Is there a name for these kind of doubled words?

For example:

hanky-panky
flim-flam
hoity-toity
boo-hoo
zig-zag

Note that some rhyme and others do not.


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

texts: One of the problems in my math textbook is 'When is the sum of 2 vectors equal to either of them?'. I thought it meant the sum was equal to any one of the addends, but when I looked online (This Quora post), I saw the question was also interpreted as the sum was equal to both of the addends. So, which one is the "correct" interpretation? Are both interpretations valid?


texts: Can subjunctive mood come after the adjective 'customary?'

texts:
It's from a standard test and they do not reveal their test item so I can't remember the exact sentence itself but it was like as follows.

It is customary that the winner ________ a bottle of milk in the finish line.

I ruled out the 2 options, which contained past tense, and thought that most possible answers were either (a) drink or (b)is drinking. I thought this has to do with subjunctive mood and the answer would be 'drink' as the auxiliary verb should is being omitted. But I don't believe I saw the adjective 'customary' among the lists of adjectives that can precede a that-cluase containing subjunctive mood. So, I just want to check whether it's the case or I'm wrong.

Thank you so much for your opinion :)


texts: Is the use of 'shew' and 'glew' as the past tense of 'show' and 'glow' commonplace in some areas?

texts:
A friend informed me recently that in some areas of England (he named Suffolk) it is relatively common to find 'incorrect' past tenses being used. His examples were:

'I shew him', instead of 'I showed him'
'It glew in the dark', instead of 'It glowed in the dark'

So, can anyone corroborate this or was he pulling my leg? And if this is true are there any other common 'incorrect' past tenses being used out there?

What if, for example, in Suffolk some think the past tense of wink follows the same rules as drink and sink? It could be rather embarrassing.


texts: Is shipping included? (missing modifier, serial comma usage)

texts:
I'm not sure if there is a clear answer to this.  Is the "collect & return delivery cost" included in the $15 fee or is it impossible to tell?  Could it be fixed with a serial comma?

"All unsuccessful repairs are refunded minus a $15.00 fee for the engineer's time and the collect & return delivery cost."


texts: Is the phrase "step foot" a recent misuse of the phrase "set foot"?

texts:
First time poster to this forum.

I've recently started to notice a lot of people using the phrase "step foot" as a replacement for "set foot", eg.

  I wouldn't step foot in that restaurant

I find this a bit jarring, and it seems like an incorrect use of the phrase "set foot" that has recently entered the zeitgeist. Am I out of touch or mistaken here? Is there a way of tracking usage of this new version of the phrase?


texts:
For a while I ponder on some words that I have not been able to find.
I always wondered why, since English is so huge compared to my native Danish where we do have the following two words:

A word for a 24-hour period. I found the Greek one: nychthemeron. "It is sometimes used, especially in technical literature, to avoid the ambiguity inherent in the term day."
I of course know the word day which we have in Danish too, but we also (along with other languages) have a specific word for a 24-hour period.
The adjective of solidarity — so we have sympathetic but not solidaric — can anyone tell me why we can be sympathetic to a cause but have to show solidarity?
Is solidary to solidarity what sympathetic is to sympathy? Any usage examples?
I am interested in any etymologic reason why it is not solidaric (Greek root versus French root?)

In Danish I can say I am solidaric to your cause.
I cannot hear myself saying I am solidary to your cause.


texts: Is it mandatory to use contractions in tag questions and the like?

texts:
Example 1:

  The weather is hot, isn't it?

vs.:

  The weather is hot, is it not?

Example 2:

  Aren't you going to study tonight?

vs.:

  Are you not going to study tonight?

Apart from convenience in pronuncation, how do the above versions differ (contraction vs. full form)?


texts: Words that change meaning when a letter is added/removed/changed

texts: Want to know if there is a collective word to describe these kind of words that change their meanings in an opposite way (rather than irrelevantly) when a single letter is added/removed/changed so that I can look them up. Otherwise can you provide some examples here? e.g. appeal <> appal


texts: Verb + not = do not verb ? What is the gramatical explanation?

texts:
I have long been puzzled by the usage of 'verb + not'. For example, Kennedy said, "... my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." The Bible states, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you" (Matthew 7:6 KJV).

I think 'verb + not' equals 'do not verb'. Is that so? Can anyone tell me grammatically?
Is 'verb + not' only used orally? Is it a formal expression or not?


texts: Commas to separate a dependent clause or not?

texts:
I'm writing about a player playing a game and probabilities. I tried to cut down the sentence, so don't concentrate too much on the sense rather than the commas.

Would you write my sentence like this

  The player should accept if the probability that this is indeed the best item is bigger than some other probability.

or with commas like this

  The player should accept if the probability, that this is indeed the best item, is bigger than some other probability.


texts:
This may be a trivial question but not for non-native. It is a bit confusing whether I should use the before internet or not.

  heavy reliance on internet services in people's daily life

OR

  heavy reliance on the internet services in people's daily life


texts:
Can I use past tense in "now that" clause?
Is the following sentence correct?

Now that Tony was no longer present, there was a distinct change in her attitude.


texts: What do you call someone who is seemingly working with you but is actually working against you?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How do native English speakers respond to “Thank you”?
  Can “Sure” be used to respond to “Thanks”?
  Is “not at all” still alive and doing well?

I'm getting thanked a lot these days and want to find lots of different ways to say you're welcome.

Could for sure mean you're welcome?


texts: What is the meaning or usage of the word "But"？

texts:
The word "But" is used in a sentence where i found a usage I've never seen before. The sentence is as follow：

So, what is the meaning or usage of the word "But" in the red box？ For there is no significant contrast in the sentence before and after, is it just an emphasis? Thanks in advance~


texts:
Why is “cannot” spelled as one word whereas other similar constructions such as “do not,” “will not,” “shall not,” “may not” and “must not” are spelled as two words (unless they are contracted as “don’t” and so on)?

(I know that languages are not always logical, so I would not be too surprised if there is no known reason for this.  But I am asking this in the hope that there is some explanation.)


texts: Is “be no profile in something” an idiom or just a pun with “no profiles in PPD for qualifier XXX”?

texts:
I came across the phrase “be no profile in something” in the following statement of Maureen Dowd’s article titled “Of Mad men, Mad women and Meat loaf” in today’s (October 27) New York Times:

  “Mitt was certainly no profile in courage” after Murdock’s comment
  blew up. He didn’t take back his endorsement. He hid from reporters on
  his plane, and even dodged his usual custom of giving a reporter a
  birthday hug.”

Readers English Dictionary at hand shows only two idioms – “in profile” and “keep a low profile” under the headword of “profile.”

Google Ngram viewers show instances of “no profile in” since 1880, and its usage is on the sharp rise since 1990.

What does “Somebody is no profile in something (courage, integrity, command of foreign policy, and whatever) means?

Is this an established idiom, or just a Dowd’s usual pun with the error message “no profiles in PPD for qualifier 'RGB16.1.600x600dpi, ” we often see on our PC.?


texts: Is the phrase “you can’t wait for your life to begin” a pattern phrase?

texts:
In Jeffery Archer’s popular novel, “Kane & Abel,” there is a scene where William Kane, a brilliant student of St. Paul’s and one of two leading characters of this novel seduced by the wife of the school’s homemaster during her husband being out of home on trip for attending a conference.

When William reported Mrs. Raglan Rags, the homemaster’s wife that all the lights of the dorm were out and he had locked the front door, and bid ‘Good night,’ to her;

  She swung her legs on to the ground, and a pale flash of stockinged
  thigh appeared momentarily from under the draped silk. “You are always
  in such a hurry. William. You can’t wait for your life to begin, can
  you?” She walked over to a side table. “Why don’t you stay and have
  some hot chocolate?”

Is the phrase, “You can’t wait for your life to begin,” a well-used pattern phrase, cliche, or just an ad hoc line invented for this situation? What does it mean?

If it is a pattern phrase, in what else cases can I use it for example?


texts:
Is there any where that I can download the database/dictionary for word families? For example one line of it will have something like this:

  Pellucid, pellucidity, pellucidly, pellucidness

A top google search gives me the Word Family Framework of British Council. But it only contains popular words. I also have tried all the links in Is there an online sample sentence database or search engine? question, but they don't give me what I need.


texts:
Where did the term the last straw originate?

Was it something to do with rations in a war or what was it?


texts:
I'm editing a biography in which the author, who isn't a native English speaker, stated the following:

  I started a business at the age of 21 and had no idea what were the
  most important skills I should work on.

This naturally didn't sound correct and my kneejerk reaction was WH-movement:

  I started a business at the age of 21 and had no idea what the most
  important skills I should work on were.

Not the most elegant sentence, but barring adding extra words or removing existing words, isn't this grammatically sound? Maybe I've read it so many times that I've lost objectivity.


texts:
Taken from Wikipedia on Windows and Linux

  However such an approach has indeed produced several vulnerabilities,
  although this is a rare case

Is that statement logically correct because it seems to contradict itself or am I just reading it wrong.


texts: What is the opposite of case-sensitive and does "case-insensitively" exist?

texts:
I thought it was "case-insensitive" but there are very few sources. If it's correct, what is it's adverb? As a non-native english speaker i would say it's "case-insensitively" but that sounds odd and i haven't found any sources but my own post on stackoverflow:

This will compare case insensitively:

bool equals = x.Equals(y , StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);


texts: Terms for levels of wisdom/ability beyond grasshopper

texts:
Many people are familiar with the term grasshopper and with its origins in the 1970s TV show Kung Fu. My question is, is this just a one off, or are there any other terms for higher levels of learning/awareness/whatever in the same vein? In other words, grasshopper means novice or beginner; are there any similar terms for intermediate, skilled, expert, and/or master?

Sample sentence: "Ah so, grasshopper, you have learned much, and from now on I shall call you [intermediate term] in recognition of your growing abilities."


texts: Is "Be More Intentional" Acceptable Usage?

texts:
I fear that in the business/marketing world, this horse has left the stable.  But is there any consensus on the acceptability of the word "intentional" in such usages as:

"We need to be more intentional in our efforts to improve our business."

Is it possible to "be intentional"?  Don't we really mean we should be focused or resolved or strategic?


texts: Difference between "did + verb" and just "verb + ed"

texts:
I asked this question yesterday on English Language & Usage and thought that this would be actually something for this site and maybe a contribution to all who might have the same confusion.

This question is about something I always get confuse with (native language German). As far as I know "did + verb" is something done and finished in the past. But isn't it the same with "verb + ed"?

The answers can be seen here english.stackexchange.com. Anything you would like to improve?


texts:
I know that such a word would deny the meaning of death, but I was wondering if there was a word that enclosed this meaning, perhaps poetically.

Context:

Metaphorically speaking one could say one dies when an event happens to change your outlook on life immensely. So 'dying too much' could be, having such experiences too many times. The other context I though of when asking was on how there are some fictional characters/creatures, such as a phoenix or The Doctor (Doctor Who) who have the ability of living multiple lives, therefore dying many times, dying too much could be interpreted as dying many times in a short amount of time.

If anything, any word closely related to the phrase, without regard of it's context will be useful.

I did some reseach here, and on reddit, but I couldn't find anything close to it.


texts:
According to practically every grammar I've encountered, "I demanded them to leave" is incorrect English. I've quite literally spoken like this all my life; I don't know if it's a dialectal thing (I'm from the NYC area), or if it's simply an error of my own idiosyncratic speech. However, as someone who teaches English Language, I don't want to make any mistakes concerning my pupils' language acquisition. It's extremely important to me that I clarify this subject before I continue teaching it… I'm afraid to create a generation of poor English-speakers!

Does anyone else speak this way? Is

  My mother is demanding I clean my room before I leave

and

  My mother is demanding me to clean my room before I leave

vastly different? Is one simply incorrect?


texts:
I'm a bit confused with the correct answer in this phrase:

  In Florida, you can explore the Everglades or the beaches, _______
  are relaxing places.

Is it "which are relaxing places" or "that are relaxing places"?
Thanks for the help!


texts: What's the grammar of "with such transitions governed"?

texts:
It's not uncommon to use with to introduce a clause like this:

  A particle's energy state jumps about randomly, with such transitions governed by the temperature of the system.

What's the grammar rule validating this expression and the use of with with the past participle?

If there is grammatical terminology to describe this, that would be preferred.


texts: Phonological process triggering  for "I don't"

texts:
Mostly in AAVE, and mainly in the sentence "I'on't know", e.g. here, here, here,  here, and even y'on't.

However, I am not aware of which process triggered such a pronunciation.

EDIT: A related pronunciation is heard for Why don't you [tʃʊ]


texts: For example when pointing to a picture: Is "that am I" grammatical at all? Did it use to be grammatical?


texts: When is it correct to use "The" in front of a family member? For example, when can you say "The mother".


texts: What part of speech is “walking” in the following example?

texts:
What part of speech is “walking” in the following example:

  She left the scene, walking toward town.


texts:
I just read a post that says:

  When Angular bootstraps your application, the HTML compiler traverses the DOM matching directives against the DOM elements.

What does "match... against" mean? How should we should use it?


texts: What is the origin of the word "Impression" in the Internet advertising term "Cost-Per-Impression" (CPM)

texts:
In Internet advertising jargon, an "impression" is defined by Wikipedia as

  the display of an ad to a user while viewing a web page.

The word is most often used in the term Cost-per-Impression (CPM), the amount of money an advertiser spends for every 1000 views.

According to Reference.com, "impression" is defined as

  the first and immediate effect on an experience or perception of the mind

What does the word "impression" have to do with Internet Advertising?

Who coined the term, and how did it come about?


texts: Single word for "factor or consideration that supports a specific conclusion or position"

texts:
I'm looking for a single word- a noun that corresponds to:

  A factor or consideration that supports a specific conclusion or assertion

Here's the context- it's an article about the role of women in Orthodox Judaism, and more specifically, about the question of whether women can instruct others in Jewish law.

This is the paragraph- the XXX is the word that's missing ("halachic" and "halachah" refer to the tenets of Jewish law):

  Chances are that a woman who contacts a female halachic advisor can expect to meet someone who understands precisely what she is asking, and that this encounter will be more open. This option would consequently increase the number of women seeking advice, since many women don’t feel comfortable asking rabbis about women’s issues, and some take on extra stringencies, or leniencies, that lack a solid halachic base. This is why female halachic advisors are so crucial. Rabbi N. Rabinovich also considers availability for clarifying a halachic decision a XXX in favor of training female halachic advisors.

Does such a term exist? If not - what are the closest alternatives?
Thanks


texts: Omitting the definite article before "problem is"

texts:
I've noticed that the definite article is often omitted preceding the word "problem" in newspapers and magazines. Not in speech, but just in print. Here's an example:

  Many politicians feel that taxes must be increased. Problem is, no one is willing to go on the record and say it.

(Instead of beginning the sentence with "the problem", "the" is simply omitted.)

What is the grammatical term for this recent trend? Has anyone else taken note of this phenomenon?


texts: What's a word for "someone who uses their position of power to make another person sell something they own for a lesser value"?

texts:
What word(s) can I use to describe someone who uses their position of power to make another person sell something they own for a lower value?
I've thought coercing or forcing but there must be a better word that I'm not getting.
Clarification:
The specific context here is a big European football club forces smaller clubs to sell their players for less than the market value. So the smaller clubs essentially undersell their assets out of coercion.
What word or idiom can be used to describe this practice by the big club?


texts: Calpurnia is Atticus’ housekeeper. She plays a large role in Jem and Scout growing up- almost like a mother figure to them, and most definitely the biggest female role that the children are exposed to.


texts:
There is a document basically written in English, but sometimes written in other languages exceptionally.

In that case, to identify the document not written in English,

  (a document) written in another language than English

is a correct expression?

This document is written in only one language, so

  (a document) written in other languages than English

seems wrong for me.  (Doesn't this imply the document is written in many languages?)

Of course "other ... than" is a common expression; how about "another ... than" is?


texts: "for students who" or "for students whom"?

texts:
Which of the following example sentences is correct? (one uses who and the other uses whom)

  This has caused a problem for students who, up until recently, were in good shape.

or

  This has caused a problem for students whom, up until recently, were in good shape.

I am aware I should use whom when it's the object of the preposition, but I'm confused about how to analyze the grammar of these sentences.


texts:
What is better English?

'We'd love to see you joining us as a helper!'

or

'We'd love to see you join us as a helper!'

What is the rule?

Edit: Also, after Joe's comment, I should add that I'd like to have at least some formal side to this (meaning, that joining is something that has to be announced formally).


texts: Single word expression for pre-test activities

texts: Is there a single word or expression for all the tests/checks done before doing the actual task? The context is to describe the tests that are performed to check the safety and other operational issues of the system before the actual testing.


texts: Can "By means of" be used with a verb phrase?

texts:
The idiom "by means of" is ussualy used to explain the use of a tool or method with a noun phrase, but is it strictly correct to use it with a verb phrase?
For example:

"The results are achieved by means of optimizing the parameters."
"The distraction was created by means of setting off fireworks."


texts: Meaning of "murder to resist" in the expression "Power can be murder to resist"?

texts:
Power can be murder to resist.

This is the tagline of the novel and film The Firm.

What does it mean for something to "be murder to resist"?


texts: How might 'to play the flute' have evolved to mean 'flout'?

texts:
flout (v.) [<--] "treat with disdain or contempt" (transitive), 1550s, intransitive sense "mock, jeer, scoff" is from 1570s; of uncertain origin; perhaps a special use of Middle English flowten "to play the flute" (compare Middle Dutch fluyten "to play the flute," also "to jeer"). [...]

Please expose and explain all (possible or conjectured) (hidden and missing) semantic drifts and links. What is a right way of interpreting the etymology, to understand how the semantic jumps might've abstracted and severed from the original literal meaning?

I already read Wikipedia and the OED’s brusque entry.

PS:  Etymonline listed the above under the etymology for jeer, my original research goal.


texts: Can I say, "He needs to go there and not need to participate"?

texts:
I have a question about the use of verb to need. Which of the following sentences is the correct form?

  He needs to go there and not to participate
    or
  He needs to go there and does not need to participate.


texts: Looking for a phrase for when two people assume the same thing about one another resulting in a stalemate

texts:
I was discussing with a friend about a rather common situation that had occurred to them and I was wondering if there was a phrase or specific terminology used to describe it:

Person A makes an assumption about Person B.
Person B makes the same assumption about Person A.
Both Person A and Person B decide to withhold mutually desired actions due to the assumption that they have both drawn about each other, resulting in a stalemate.

This is commonly seen when two individuals who like each other are unable to take the next step in the courtship process because they assume that one person does not wish to be with the other intimately.

My best effort:

  Inaction due to mutual misunderstanding.


texts: Is there any hidden meaning in “haircuts” in the analogy of Presidential election as “usual vague contest between competing slogans and haircuts”?

texts:
Time magazine introduced Paul Ryan as a very likely presidential runner up in the article titled “Paul Ryan: The Prophet” as early as in its December 14, 2011 issue, and I was interested in the following line of the article:

  If 2012 turns out to be a clear choice between very different answers to a genuinely important question – instead of the usual vague contest between competing slogans and haircuts — give the credit to Ryan.

Does haircuts simply mean “looks” or “character” (e.g. masculineness symbolized by GI cut) of the candidates in the above sentence, or it has meanings more than that?

If haircuts simply means “looks” or “character”, can I use haircut and hairstyle as an alternative to one’s appearance and character, for example, “He/she has a good (bad) haircut/hair dressing”, for an attractive (unattractive) person?


texts:
Which one of these sentences is correct? If both are correct, which one sounds better?

You can browse the web anywhere you have an internet connection.
You can browse the web anywhere where you have an internet connection.


texts: "If I asked, would she say it were/was time?" Past Vs. Subjunctive

texts: Is there any reason to use the subjunctive mood in the question "If I asked, would she say it were/was time?" There's an air of uncertainty about "were" when compared to the past tense "was," but is it grammatical to use the subjunctive? Archaic?


texts: What is a word for a person who thinks they are going to fail?

texts: I need a word for someone who thinks that they won't become successful or will fail?


texts: Is there any way that "What" can fit in an adverbial clause?

texts: I think the title says everything; is there any sentence where "What" can fit in an adverbial clause?


texts: What time would it pass? or What time would it have passed?

texts:
The other day I missed my bus, and I kept wondering what time would it have passed. That's the thing, what's the correct way to say it? I have 3 options. I would really appreciate it, if you could give me a hand.

What time would it pass?
What time would it have passed?
What time had it passed? (not sure about this one)

P.S ... actually the bus never passed at all, and I stood there wondering the time it would have passed.


texts:
Which of these film introductions demonstrate the correct use of English Grammar? I have used example (1), but have been taken to task for so doing.

Eagle Films present

Eagle Films presents


texts: Use of "that" and the verb in infinitive in this sentence

texts:
I have a doubt regarding the use of "that" in the following sentence. I also do not know the tense or kind of sentence is this.
"To verify that the following names are shown in this list:"


texts: Word describing the relationship between a worker and a task

texts:
Owner -> property: ownership

Worker -> task: ?

The first "*ship" word that came to my mind was "workmanship" but that word clearly does not fit.

EDIT:

Both "employment" (the accepted answer) and "assignment" (as raised in the comments) should be able to describe the worker-task relationship.

Thanks!