texts:
I've found that expression on a website, and I don't understand it.

At first I thought it was because the canary is yellow and the coal black... but it doesn't make much sense.


texts: "English origin person" vs. "Person of English origin"

texts:
Is it correct to say:

  He is an English origin person

Rather than:

  He is a person of English origin

I am looking for a short way to differentiate between persons of English origin, as opposed to immigrants or their descendants. I can't use English born because descendants are also English born.


texts: One word for "tedious" and "intellectually challenging"

texts:
I am looking for a single word that implies that something was tedious to do, but was also intellectually challenging. For example, filling out legal forms may be quite tedious, but perhaps it can be intellectually challenging to discern how the content of a form interacts with the law.

I can't seem to find a word that encompasses such a meaning. I considered "toilsome", but I don't think this implies the type of intellectual work that I am looking to describe. "Arduous" falls into the same boat...

A sample sentence would be, "I found the task to be quite Word_Here."


texts: My editing software calls out an error "initial -ing"

texts:
ProWritingAid software flags the following type sentences as an error called initial -ing.

  Frowning, he rose and walked in his bare feet to the door.

I've tried to find a grammar rule that prohibits such usage, but have been unsuccessful.

Can someone explain the problem to me?


texts: What is the provenance of “ring the cherries”?

texts:
I was drawn to the phrase, “ring the cherries” in the following passage in Thomas Harris’ “The Silence of Lambs” in a part officer, Jerry Burroughs telling the profile of a suspect killer to FBI agent, Clarice Starling:

  “Subject name, James Gumb. Jack got a beep from Johns Hopkins. Your
  thing - your profile on how he’d be different from a transsexual – it
  rang the cherries at John Hopkins. The guy applied for sex
  reassignment three years ago. Roughed up a doctor after they turned him down. - ibid. Page 322.

I assume the phrase “rang the cherries” mean that the profile of the suspect described by Clarice Sterling coincided with / matches the patient record of John Hopkins from the context. But I can’t find the phrase under the headings of ‘cherry’ and ‘ring’ in either Concise Oxford Dictionary (10th ed.) or Collins Cobuild English Dictionary (4th ver.) at hand.

What does “ring the cherries” mean? What is the origin of this phrase? Is it a common  English phrase, though Google Ngram doesn’t carry this phrase either?


texts: Can I say this? "To spank my shoulder when needed"

texts: Can I say this: "To spank my shoulder when needed" or "to spank on my shoulder when I'm down in life"? Is there a way instead not using spank? Is there any other way to express the same feeling?


texts:
A word to describe the believing that two events occuring at the same time are linked to eachother while they are not correlated at all.

For example: Bob walks on the street and yells at someone who wasn't doing anything wrong. He trips and falls. He believes this is karma. Him believing this is because of karma is called ....


texts:
"He forgot his enmity to Manfred, whom he saw but little hope of dispossessing by force; "

I'm reading a novel called The castle of Otranto.
 And I'm confused the usage of 'but' in the sentence above.

Does it have the same meaning without 'but' ,and 'but' can be removed?

Thank you for reading!


texts: What part of speech is the "be + verb" here? What tense are these sentences in?

texts:
I shall have him be killed.
She is to be stoned for adultery.

What are the constructions be +verb called, grammatically?  I feel like the above sentences are very adjectival in nature, more so than

I shall have him killed.
She will be stoned for adultery.

Is that correct?  Also, are both couplets of sentences in the exact same future tense?


texts: Grammar of sentence "He helps people find happiness"? Object Complement or Indirect object?

texts:
He helps people find happiness.

Is this an example of an Indirect Object (People) or an Object Complement (find happiness)?


texts:
Is there any antonym for "copypasta", preferably in the context of computer programming?

I can't think of anything more concise than "written from scratch".

Neither Wiktionary or Urban Dictionary lists any antonyms, though the latter has a self-demonstrating entry of what copypasta is, with the top definition duplicated twice.


texts: Can inversion be used without auxiliary verb?

texts:
Is the following sentence grammatically correct?

  I don't like autumn to be honest, neither like I winter that's coming after it.

Can inversion be used in this way? Or does it requires auxiliary do?

  I don't like autumn to be honest, neither do I like winter that's coming after it.

The meaning should be: I don't like autumn, I don't like winter.

Is inversion appropriate in this case? Or is it better to use the regular word order?

  I don't like autumn to be honest, and neither I like winter that's coming after it.
  I don't like autumn to be honest, and I like winter that's coming after it either.

Which of the two is preferable?


texts:
This is about an expression used by a female manager at a hotel in Philadelphia (PA) some years ago. She was showing me around as part of my employment interview, and during this made a statement that she was "a plumber's wife".

She said this seemingly out-of-context. She was telling me about the hotel and then made this statement. The way she said it made it sound like she meant something else than the face value of the expression.

I ignored it at that point but later on thought that it was some idiomatic expression, because of how she had said it (I had just moved to USA from Europe and idiomatic english expressions sometimes got the best of me).

So what is a plumber's wife?


texts: There *are* a house in New Orleans. Why "are"? Where many poor boys to destruction *has* gone. Why "has"?

texts:
On this 1933 recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=147kS8O59Qs

Clarence Ashley clearly sings

There are a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
Where many poor boys to destruction has gone
And me, oh God, for one

"There are a house in New Orleans" and "many poor boys to destruction has gone".

So what "are" and "has" are doing there? What's going on with plurals in this text?

Mother wiki says: "Ashley was born ... in Bristol, Tennessee in 1895, the only child of George McCurry and Rose-Belle Ashley". That doesn't suggest English is not his native tongue.

Is it a dialect?


texts: What are interesting and evocative words for (disgusting) throat sounds?

texts:
Here is my passage for example:

  “Now I can hear him through the walls hucking and sniffing,
  expectorating and blowing all kinds of things in a grotesque,
  unconscious, unhealthy sounding manner.”

Like the sounds a sick, mucusy person makes when trying to clear their throat.

Expectorate was the best I could find but I feel like there are some more, almost comically obscure words for this. Perhaps even some good onomatopoeias?

I think of words that might sound like gesticulate, conflagration, or 4-5 syllable equivalent to gurgle, gargle, huck or hawk.

Inventing a word like “gurgulate” would be fun here too, but I'm seeing what's out there first!


texts: Word for geopolitical division of the world

texts:
In Norwegian, we have two words: "verdensdel" and "kontinent". The former is a word that describes a geopolitical division of the world, "verdens" = "world's" ; "del" = "part". The latter is simply a word that describes a big land mass not connected to the other landmasses (being too large for merely an island status). So, a verdensdel is Europe, or Asia. A kontinent is Eurasia, or Australia. Australia is not a verdensdel, as it is only a country, a part of the verdensdel that is Oceania. But Australia is a kontinent, because of its size.
I think you get my point. Thing is, this distinction seems to be gone in English, as both of the words will simply translate to "continent". So, is there a word for verdensdel?


texts: How can I say I regret something in the past tense?

texts:
How to say you should do something in the past but you did not.

Is this a correct usage?

  I had to finish my homework.

Are there any soft versions?


texts: What does "trigger-happy on broken windows" mean?

texts:
What does this expression mean:

to be "trigger-happy on broken windows"


texts: Meaning of "its own loom would have forsworn" in O Henry's "Furnished Room"

texts:
The paragraph is as follows;

The young man followed her up the stairs. A faint light from no particular source mitigated the shadows of the halls. They trod noiselessly upon a stair carpet that its own loom would have forsworn. It seemed to have become vegetable; to have degenerated in that rank, sunless air to lush lichen or spreading moss that grew in patches to the staircase and was viscid under the foot like organic matter.

What does this phrase really mean?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
For the following sentence:

  I haven't been there in a long time.

I want to know if the above sentence conveys any connection with time up to now. How can I correct this sentence it if it is incorrect?


texts: Do English words have fixed pronunciation?

texts: I'm not a native English speaker. I sometimes pronounce some English words by following the way I pronounce things in Mandarin. While Mandarin does have a fixed way to pronounce every word, I was wondering if the same is true in English. Does each word have a fixed pronunciation?


texts: Is there a word for something someone is known for?

texts: What is a word for something that someone is particularly known for. e.g. a song that a singer always is asked to sing


texts: A diploma and a degree cetificate: the difference in use in the USA and GB

texts:
They seem to be used in Britain and the USA  as synonyms denoting an official paper. But as I understood from dictionaries' definitions and from the answers here, in Britain they mostly use a degree certificate in speech (orally) and a diploma in written texts. Besides a diploma is a paper to certify that you finish all the courses but still do not have a degree.

It looks like in the USA the situation is the opposite: a diploma (in X) is a document that implies that you have earned a baccalaureate or advanced degree in that subject.

In Russia we have a diploma which implies that the person has successfully finished all the courses and earned the degree.
What word is mostly used in Great Britain and in the USA to denote such a paper?
If this is off-topic, I apologize, please delete.


texts:
The program is designed for multi-generations of guests with no previous experience to easily and safely explore the sea floor (or an aquarium) on an expertly guided tour

The program is designed for multi-generations of guests with no previous experience**,** to easily and safely explore the sea floor (or an aquarium) on an expertly guided tour


texts: What's the Scottish equivalent of "holy crap!" "oh my God!" "Jesus Christ!", etc?

texts:
No swear words, please (sorry).  It's for a YA fantasy that takes place on Skye (modern day), and has to be something a teenager might say (again, yeah, I know.  Swearing.  But surely there's something?).

CLARIFICATION: by "swear" I mean "four-letter-type curse words." I've had some people very concerned with semantics on another board point out (so helpfully) that "holy crap" and "Jesus Christ" ARE swear words. =/

Also, I'd like it to be uniquely Scottish.  This is for a story, and it's meant to differentiate Scottish characters from American and Irish characters.  So something universal that anyone would use as an exclamation won't serve to differentiate.

Thank you!


texts:
Is the usage of in and into in the adverb phrase redundant?

"In every competition that you get into, you have to do your best."

I know that it would be better to just say "In every competition, you have to do your best." But I was just wondering whether my usage was acceptable.


texts: Is this how one should use 'who', 'whoever', 'whom' and 'whomever'?

texts:
I know that 'whom' can be the object of a preposition, but since 'whom' is an object pronoun, and since only transitive verbs can receive an object(s) --- if this is wrong I'd appreciate it if you'd forgive me and correct me as I'm a learner of English --- is it correct that 'whom' and 'whomever' should only ever be used when one uses a transitive verb --- as only transitive verbs can receive an action(s)?

Additionally, is the converse true for 'who' and 'whoever' --- that is, that one is only ever to use the subject pronouns 'who' and 'whoever' when one uses an intransitive verb because intransitive verbs, though they perform actions, have no direct and or indirect object(s) like transitive verbs do?

Last thing: are actions and objects the same thing? If not could you please explain why; if so could you also please explain why?

Thanks in advance to everyone!


texts: "Is it just me or does this annoys you?" Please show me whats the mistake in this sentance

texts: I found it on some 9gag title post and every one commented about the ugly grammar. As a non English speaking person, I can't find the problem with that sentence.


texts: Is it OK to add a question mark to show inflection?

texts:
When asking a question you generally have to raise your voice at the end of the sentence, is it okay to stuff a question mark in order to show inflection?

A couple examples:

'That really happened?'
'I'm going to miss it again?'
'You did that?'
etc...


texts:
In the movie Thor Ragnarok the sentence

  Asgard is not a place, it's a people.

is used by multiple characters multiple times but shouldn't it be

  " Asgard is not a place, it's the people"

Am I right or wrong?


texts: What's the term for a word used in casual conversation that differs from its actual meaning, e.g. using "rim" to mean "wheel"

texts:
It could be:
catachresis: A misuse of a word; an application of a term to something which it does not properly denote. e.g. Using 'rim' instead of 'wheel' is a catachresis, a misnomer used in casual conversation where 'rim' is understood to mean 'wheel' (the metal part, everything besides the tire).
solecism: An erroneous or improper usage.
Are there other terms to describe this?


texts:
I looked up Oxford dictionary: In contrast or comparison with the fact that:
"you treat the matter lightly, whereas I myself was never more serious"

I am still confusing about this meaning. Please give me another phrase that is exactly same meaning.

And, do I need comma before whereas? I have seen a phrase without comma.
Thanks.


texts: wheaten points (a 19th century or earlier term), what is it?

texts:
I'm working on a short documentary film on a history topic and use the following text taken from the Russian catalog of World's Columbian Exposition (1893, Chicago) in English:

... presented products from a steam flour mill: flour of various sorts, middlings, coarse and fine flour, flour dust and bran, cleaned
and uncleaned Spring and Winter wheat and Wheaten points. The firm
was founded in 1837.

The text in Russian is unavalable. The catalog in Russian can only be purchased (history document).
I don't know what are "wheaten points". I can't even imagine what it could be, considering the description concerns Russian products. My only guess is ribbons or cords used in dresses as fastening parts (of 16-17th century), they were called points. But it doesn't fit into the context, and I don't think they, the points, could be made of wheat. Maybe there is a typo or a mistake, I don't know. Google search doesn't help. Hope someone helps me.


texts: Does "always" also mean "all" when used without other "modifying" terms

texts:
I was reading a rather popular tweet and possibly got completely sidetracked with a language issue.

  Art has always been political.
  Music has always been political.
  Movies have always been political.
  Books have always been political.
  [...]

Here, I understand that according to the author's viewpoint, art, in its every forms, at any current or passed time, has been political. That is, that every expression of art, is political.

In the comments, there was some arguing that no, it doesn't mean that, only that some art is. However, from the absence of any other words around it, I'd argue that in english, if we remove cultural viewpoint as to what words means, a sentence like "the sky is blue" or "music has always been political" means that the sky is always blue everywhere and that every music is political everywhere.

For instance, if we were to say "Shostakovich's music has always been political", there would be a difference.

Does always also mean all, everywhere, at anytime?


texts:
'Culture' is used to indicate something being normalized. For example: "rape culture"
Is there a word/phrase or anything to describe the opposite of this? Is there a word/phrase that I can put after a word to indicate that it's frowned upon, forbidden, condemned, the opposite of 'culture'?
None of the results from my googling have a punch to them or sound just as good.
The best I can come up with is 'hysteria' - "rape hysteria"


texts: What type of lock is this? (image included)

texts:
Yesterday, my wife was surfing the internet and caught this image with a "snipping tool".

So it looked like this:______

After locking, it looked like this:


texts:
I've seen lists of the most common words in English, compiled from bodies of text.

Normally "the" is ranked first, "and" and "to" are quite high, etc.

But this is only written English.

I wonder what the most common words are in spoken English, I feel like "hello", "how are you" etc. are much much more common in spoken English than in written English.


texts: Expressions about a phone call and its quality

texts:
I was listening to a radio program and there was an interview going on over the phone between the anchor and the listener. But I heard a disturbing sound from the phone call and the anchor said,

  "Well, it looks like your signal is being dropped out there."

Something like this... (My words here could be wrong! I just combined the words from my shredded memories.)

Then the phone call was recovering again, it seemed—but after a few seconds, the anchor decided to hang up the phone because the voice of the listener could no longer be heard. And the anchor used this kind of expression.

  "I think I'm losing on your line. Unfortunately I have to hang up the phone, but I still want to hear your story, please give us text...."

...It was something like this.

I remember these expressions because I thought they were nice ones, which I haven't thought of before. But I couldn't remember the exact wording. I googled those expressions, and I realized that this kind of expression is very popular.

  "Wi-Fi keeps dropping on my laptop."

But, I didn't find any matches when I searched for "signal is being dropped out" or "lose on someone's line".

Please help me recover my memory and identify the exact expression. Similar expressions would be greatly appreciated as well!!

FYI, the radio was ABC news Brisbane, Australia.


texts: A shorter form of question "Did it happen by coincidence?"

texts:
Imagine one person saying:

  "Oh, both Mary and John called me at the same time".

Another asks:

  "Did it happen by coincidence?".

I want to find the shortest possible way of asking the same question. I found the following options, but not sure if they sound correct or naturally:

  Did it happen by coincidence?
  Was it by coincidence?
  Was it a coincidence?
  Was it by chance?
  Was it a chance?

I feel (3) is OK. Is there any even shorter form?

EDIT: THE RESULTS:

As of 28th May 2015 there are the following question suggestions:

  6 vote(s) - Coincidence?
  4 vote(s) - By chance?
  4 vote(s) - Was it a coincidence?
  1 vote(s) - Chance?
  1 vote(s) - Randomly?
  1 vote(s) - Incidentally?
  1 vote(s) - Synchronicity?
  1 vote(s) - By coincidence?
  1 vote(s) - Was it by chance?
  1 vote(s) - Was it coincidence?
  1 vote(s) - Was it coincidental?
  1 vote(s) - Was it by coincidence?
  0 vote(s) - Was it a chance?
  0 vote(s) - Did it happen by coincidence?

and remarks:

  1 vote(s) - Jinx!
  1 vote(s) - GMTA!
  1 vote(s) - Wow, that's random.

As a vote I considered direct answers, mentions and upvotes, even in comments. This suggestion is both popular and very short:

  By chance?

I'm choosing choster's answer, as it includes the winner and is the most helpful.
Thank you everyone for your input!


texts: Is there a way to clearly identify text meant in jest?

texts:
In written text, it can be difficult to convey the appropriate sentiment.  For example, if I tell someone to "go fly a kite", I could say this with a smile and/or wink in person and they would know I'm joking.  Is there an accepted way to convey the intended sentiment via written text, particularly via e-mail?

I often see the smilie face emoticon :) or :-) or ;) associated with comments that are meant without offence/offense ;).

Is the emoticon the best/only way we have to communicate a comment intended to be taken in jest?

Note: This may be in the context of a formal e-mail to a group, where the intent of the jest is to disarm an emotionally charged topic/situation.  The question is not in regards to what 12-year olds are using to convey jest via acronyms in text messaging.


texts: What is an "asse" in Elizabethan English?

texts:
In the "New Yer's Guiftes giuen to The Quene's Maiestie" we find

  two handkerchives of Hollande, wroughte with blacke worke, and edged with a smale bone lace of golde and siluer; and an asse of golde enamuled.

I can imagine a piece of jewelry shaped as a donkey but this seems rather odd. The other kind of ass is not very much suitable as a royal gift, even when of golde enamuled. Is there some other meaning? I cannot find any.

Edit: this can be found in The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth


texts:
The chart shows the percentage of usage of most common means,WHICH ARE
  DESKTOP COMPUTER, LAPTOP AND MOBILE PHONE, of access to buy tickets
  USED by people from Australia, the UK and Malaysia.

I have many trouble when it comes to use relative clause in order to give complete information.Here I would like to say what the means are and people who used these means are from Australia, the UK and Malaysia.But I am not sure if I can write "the means" just before the word of and when I used the word "used" after tickets, it sounds like I am talking about the tickets but not "the means"..in other way, I want "the means" to be my relative pronoun when I add the word "used" after tickets..

How can we place relative clauses ?


texts: Odd, affected pronunciation of "realtor"

texts:
A while back, I noticed that the voice-over on a commercial repeatedly used an odd pronunciation of the word realtor - "real-TORE", with a long O as opposed to "real-tur", like "doc-tur" or "inven-tur". The pronunciation was plenty rhotic, so it's not like it was a British English thing.

Anyhow, I wrote it off as a single strange person until I heard the head of whatever the national organization of realtors is use the same odd pronunciation. All I can figure is that there must be an influential figure in the realtor community who is pushing hard for this odd pronunciation. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?


texts: In formal writing, is it acceptable to repeat nouns as in the sentence below?

texts:
I am writing some journal papers. I need to be technical but at the same time I don't really want to repeat the same terminology over and over.
The sentence I am having trouble with is like this:

Better discrimination between A and B results in better discrimination between B and C.

My questions are

Is it okay to repeat the noun 'discrimination' like the above?
If not, how should I rephrase it without losing technicality?

Please help.


texts: What is a single word for a "shared experience"

texts: I'm talking about a large group experience. Depression for example is felt by millions, it's a shared experience that most of us can understand, but I'd like one word to describe the understanding we can feel for what ever the shared experience is because we've all experienced it. Empathetic, prevalent, pervasive, rampant is not really what I'm thinking.


texts: Informal word for someone who likes to keep to themselves

texts:
I always thought that anti-social describes someone who keeps to themselves. But according to Wikipedia, anti-social is not the right word. What, then, is the correct word to describe someone who prefers to keep to themselves, avoids parties and get-togethers? I'm not looking for the absolutely precise medical term for a mental illness (because such behavior may not in fact be an illness), just an informal word.

Example:
- Where is John? Is he going out with us for dinner?
- Nah, he's probably watching Netflix in his room. He tends to be [      ].

Addendum
When most people say anti-social in an informal context, are just referring to someone keeping to themselves, or are they in fact suggesting their conscience is in question (which is a symptom of the Antisocial Personality Disorder)?


texts: Is it "When my time begins" or "When it's my time" etc.?

texts:
Can anyone please help me with the following sentence?

  Right now things may not be happening as per my wish but, when my time starts / begins, I will... (blah, blah)

I need help with alternatives for "when my time starts/ begins". I have also heard people using "when it's my day". It's pretty confusing for a non-native speaker like me.

Concrete example is as below:

  When my time comes, I will try and forgive those who reviled me, and focus my energy on self enhancement to finish what I had started.

Update

I want a positive, powerful and motivational statement to keep me going through difficult times. At the same time I am hopeful that soon things will change positively and when they do, I will not waste time thinking about how people treated me when I was not successful rather I will focus on my goal. So far I see there are 3 different meanings:

When my time starts/begins: refers to stopwatch / countdown.
When my time comes/when its my time: refers that somebody is dying
When my day comes: this would be illogical and literal translation of Hindi to English, I do not think this would make sense in English.

Anyway, Thank You friends.


texts:
"Quick reply": does it mean responding in a timely manner or something like 'your answer was super fast you could've put more thought into it'?

Because if you say "thanks for the quick reply" I think it's the first but if you write "here's a quick reply" I think it's something you've put together in a rush, maybe because you're about to go out and you'll elaborate later.


texts: Why is the English Alphabet pronounced non-phonetically?

texts:
Ok, so with the phonetic alphabet, there is a 1 to 1 correspondence with how we actually say a letters in a word and how it's actually read outloud. That is, according to the phonetic alphabet, the word 'at' would be pronounced 'ah-tuh'. If we were to pronounce it according to the nonphonetic alphabet (I really don't know what/if there's an official name for it apart from ''the alphabet''), it would be pronounced more like eighty, such as 'Ay-tee'. So to me the phonetic alphabet is the 'true' alphabet, because of this 1-1 correspondence.

So why do we teach children the alphabet in the way we do? It seems to have no temporary nor permanent value.


texts: If it's incorrect to "learn" someone, then why is "learned man" correct?

texts:
I am well aware that "learn" is incorrect when used as "teach" (referenced in Is 'learn' the new 'teach'?). So why is "learned" common fare, since it is apparently just a participial version of the incorrect usage?

Chart from Google Ngrams


texts: What's the name of someone who views things ironically as a third party?

texts:
For example, someone who attends a sub-cultural event (like a hardcore gaming festival or a cosplay event) with an ironic/humorous approach, versus genuine enthusiasm or interest.

The word I'm looking for isn't a voyeur—as a voyeur is someone who gains pleasure out of this third-party experience.

I keep thinking of exhibitionist, which I know is the opposite of what I'm thinking of. The word exhibit captures the essence, though—the distance/lack of empathy is critical.


texts:
An object that can be seen is visible.

Something that can be heard is audible.

What's a similar word to indicate that something is smellable?


texts: Noun meaning having made your mind up before having seen something

texts:
For example:

  The movie XYZ is expected to be a flop. It was revealed that critic John Smith panned the movie without having  seen it. It is feared that other critics
  will hold the same [noun].

Possible answers that come to mind, but I don't like are:

A bias  may influence someone's views, but it doesn't necessitate having made their mind up.

predjudice doesn't necessitate ignorance. For example insurance companies may be predjudiced against young male drivers, but this doesn't come from ignorance. Also, in a modern context the term if inflammatory.


texts: Syntax of fused relative construction with 'what'

texts:
I really liked what she wrote.

According to CaGEL* (Page 1073), what she wrote is not a clause but a noun phrase (NP). The reason I believe is that the head of what she wrote is not the clause she wrote but the noun what. That is, there is a clause in there but it's just that the clause is not the head of the entire thing in bold.

That said, I'd like to know whether the clause (she wrote) is a modifier or a complement of the head noun (what).

CaGEL doesn't seem to clearly say whether she wrote is a modifier or a complement of what, although it does say that the relative word part of what (i.e., prenucleus) combined with she wrote is a modifier of the antecedent part of what (i.e., head), as shown in the following tree diagram (Page 1073):

I don't object to this tree diagram itself, because any relative clause is a modifier (not a complement) of an antecedent, and because in a fused relative construction with what, the relative clause itself comprises the 'prenucleus' part of what as well as the following clause (e.g., she wrote).

That said, I'd like to know whether the following clause (she wrote) is a complement or a modifier of the fused relative word (what) in its entirety, which question is not answered in the above tree diagram or anywhere else in CaGEL.

I suspect that, being a fused relative, what is not just any antecedent but is a fusion of an antecedent and a relative word, and therefore that what can be construed as licensing she wrote.

Moreover, removing she wrote would definitely change the meaning of what:

  ?I really liked what.

All in all, is she wrote a complement or a modifier of what?

EDIT

After the edit, my question does not go against CaGEL.

*The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by Huddleston & Pullum


texts: Looking for a word matching my definition

texts: Is there a word to describe when someone say something just to appease you or end the conversation but they do not truly mean what they say they just want to end the discussion? I thought the word could maybe me patronizing or facetious but that’s not it.


texts: Term for when someone says they'll show up to an event

texts:
What is the term used for when someone says they'll show up to an event?

The closest word I can think of is RSVP.


texts: What is the difference between saying "I wasn't knowing" and "I didn't know"?

texts: I was wondering what is the difference between I wasn't knowing and  I didn't know? If I say, I wasn't knowing, I am talking about something unknown in past, the act of not knowing is finished, it means that I know it now, but before it was unknown to me.


texts: How many auxiliary verbs does the sentence below have?

texts:
I had a disagreement with someone about the sentence below.
"The homework has been completed".
A friend said there aren't two auxiliaries but as I see it, there are three verbs: has, been, completed. 'Completed' is clearly the main verb. Are 'has' and 'been' considered to be two separate auxiliary verbs? Or are they treated as one?


texts: Live on different time zones vs. Live in different time zones

texts:
How are on and in different in the following:

We live on different time zones
We live in different time zones


texts: Last names that are English words with an extra 'e'

texts:
I noticed that there are a lot of last names that have an 'e' at the end.  The pronunciation usually isn't changed from that of the base word.

Poole
Steele
Browne
Clarke

Why do English words not have the e?

Maybe the answer to this question depends on which came first, pool or poole.


texts: Do we use the present or the past after "when" in a conditional sentence?

texts:
He said we would get married when we get older.

or

  He said we would get married when we got older.

Which tense of the verb get should be used?


texts:
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Page 410) defines "Fused-head NPs" as follows:

Fused-head NPs are those where the head is combined with a dependent function that in ordinary NPs is adjacent to the head, usually determiner or internal modifier:
[1] i Where are the sausages? Did you buy [some] yesterday? [determiner-head]
[ii] The first candidate performed well, but [the second] did not. [modifier-head]

Now, the question is about this sentence:

[You two] are shallow.

Here, is 'you two' a fused-head NP with 'two' being a determiner-head?
If not, how should the NP 'you two' be analyzed?


texts:
The one who orders everything. Has the final say in everything. Arabic:  الأمر الناهي.

Examples:
1: I say we go to Spain on holiday
2: I'd want that too, but we have to see Mark he's the bidder and forbidder (of all).

Is there anything said in English?


texts: What sounds better My lovely Kellisa or the lovely kellisa

texts: Am wrting a poem for a beautiful girl in my advanced English class and the last thing I want is for her to think I don't care about her (its freshman advanced English)


texts: What is a word that means "someone who pretends to be your friend but is actually your enemy?"

texts:
What do you call someone who pretends to be your friend but is actually your enemy?

A friend suggested spy for me, but that does not nearly describe the word I need for an English project. The character is very good at manipulating how people see him. He's a good liar. And pretends to be your friend but actually is your enemy.


texts: Verb to describe change in personal pronoun?

texts:
During a hypothetical request for advice on a problem so serious that no physical help can be expected, the person doing the asking is told, “What we must do is....” instead of the expected “What you should do is....”

With the changing of a single word the complexity of the problem is diminished.

Which grammatical term covers this single word change, this unexpected change in personal pronoun?


texts: the tense of the verb in a subordinate clause

texts:
Q1. "He graduated from Havard last year. he majored in philosophy. And yesterday, Sarah told me that he (had also majored/ also majored) sociology."
Can I also use 'also majored' instead of 'had also majored' not concerning the tense of its main clause('told'), but simply matching the tense with 'graduated', which is not its main clause, if the time of 'also majored' is clear? Or at least, is this phenomenon undoubtedly commonly occurs among native speakers? I would appreciate many opinions.


texts:
Elena is a dead ringer for Katherine

This means Elena looks exactly like Katherine... but what is a "dead ringer" and what does it have to do with it?


texts: What is gender-neutral equivalent of poster boy/poster girl?

texts:
What is the gender-neutral equivalent of poster boy/poster girl?
I want to use it in the context of a company, which is neither he nor she, like in: "a poster boy/poster girl company for self-organization."
Also, is either of the forms "poster boy" or "posterboy" more correct?


texts: Using “at” at the end of “where” questions

texts:
Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences? Is it only a matter of style?
1. Where are you?
2. Where are you at?


texts:
When was ad hoc introduced in English?
I found this, but it is only a vague speculation.

Originally, ad hoc is a Latin phrase, and it is speculated that the term was first used in English in the mid-16th century, but there is no strong evidence supporting this research.

Source: theidioms.com


texts: Is the word 'outside' a preposition or a noun in this context?

texts: In the sentence 'The outside of the folder got wet,' is the word 'outside' a preposition or a noun? How do you decide if a particular area is described, a preposition becomes a noun? For example, in 'on the playground', 'on' is a preposition. Here again, it refers to a particular area. I have been through many sites, but none with a proper explanation of how the preposition turns into a noun in these contexts.


texts: I am trying to find a word that describes a person who is contrary, but not insubordinate, argumentative, but not froward. This person frequently falls back to, "we've never done it that way." when told to do something different.  And, has a tone in that statement that is meant to undermine only the directive, but not authority of the manager issuing the directive.  This person is very careful to NOT be explicitly insubordinate.


texts: I'm looking for a word, or a phrase that would describe someone's outlook and position

texts:
I'm looking for a word, or a phrase that would describe someone's opinion, position, attitude towards some idea or outlook.

EXAMPLE: Let's say you are talking about a travel plan with your friends, and you guys have plan A, plan B and plan C. You've expressed your opinion about the plan A and you said you like it more than the other plans, someone says he likes plan B, another friend says she likes plan C, so your opinions are different.

Now you are becoming more pushy, trying to explain why you like Plan A and start insisting, that everybody should consider plan A, because it's the safest travel plan.

Can you say - I am inclined to plan A?


texts: Proper formatting for names of ships and taverns in fiction writing

texts: I know that the names of ships and taverns need to be italicized in the general text, but what about in dialogue..within the quotes?


texts:
The only word I can think of is pop up (and maybe materialized).

Are the other words?

Example sentence:

  The ghost __ in front of her.


texts: Syntax Questions in "You don’t have a clue where your money is."

texts:
In the captioned sentence:

  You don’t have a clue where your money is.

If "where your money is" is a nominal clause, what is its relationship to "clue"?

I am thinking maybe the nominal clause is an adjectival clause, acting as an adjective predicative to the noun "clue".


texts:
I've heard the British term "half seven" (or "half nine," "half five", etc) used to tell time. I can't remember though if it means 6:30 or 7:30 (i.e. half an hour before seven, or half past seven)?

I'm American and have never heard another American use the phrase, but apparently it's very common in the UK.


texts:
Is there a term for when you think of a joke in the context of a conversation, but the conversation ended hours ago?

My friends have told me of the term "l'espirit de l'escalier" in French, and the German calque "treppenwitz". Do people use the English calque of "escalator wit?"


texts: "It is ___ that/who + verb." pleonasm vs. "___ + verb."

texts:
Is there a place for using these pleonasms:

"It is John who runs." (instead of: "John runs.")

"It was congress that legislated." (instead of: "Congress legislated.")

?
It would seem to have its use only when what comes after the "that" is a long clause: Example from the intro. of Strunk & White:

It is an old observation that the best writers sometimes disregard the rules of rhetoric.

could be rewritten as:

That the best writers sometimes disregard the rules of rhetoric is an old observation.

But this isn't conciser.


texts: In the New York Review of Books, Martin Amis is quoted as saying that Trump's "extemporizing idiolect," is "an adventure playground for any proscriptive linguist." What is a proscriptive linguist? Is it a formal occupation? Are there any nearby?


texts: Is there a pejorative/offensive slang word or phrase for a man who suffers from erectile dysfunction?

texts:
Erectile Dysfunction is defined as the consistent or recurrent inability to acquire or sustain an erection of sufficient rigidity and duration for sexual intercourse.
Clinic 45

I'm a non-native speaker of English and in my mother tongue there are a few pejorative terms for a man who suffers from erectile dysfunction. Is there any in English?

I'm not looking for lists.
I'm not looking for the word "impotent" as it isn't pejorative.
Please mention in which English speaking country people use it.
People who use such word/phrase usually intend to belittle or offend.


texts: What's the difference between "day" and "date"?

texts:
Day may refer to:

the day of the week (e.g., Monday, Tuesday);
the day of the month (e.g, 2nd day of February);
a unit of time (e.g., this task would take 2 days to complete).

A date on the other hand usually has the month and the year along with the day: the 21st February 2011. It also has a fixed quality I think.
I was wondering if there are any other differences between day and date, and when it's correct to choose one over the other. By that I mean I am interested in the meanings and usage of date that pertain to time.


texts: What's the best alternative to "golden"?

texts:
So I need a good synonym for the word golden. It should fit in a sentence like this:

  The heat lamp at the restaurant gave the dish under it a golden spotlight

The words I have so far are either too far off, or out of context.

Looking through online thesauruses, I often get words like flaxen, brown, yellow, blonde, ochre, etc. Not exactly what I'm looking for as the golden in context is a shiny, brilliant type of golden.

Otherwise, on a more technical side, I found words like auric, auriferous and aureate. They either mean literally having the element Gold (aurum) in them or ornate, etc.

I'm really baffled here as golden sounds too simple, I need a more sophisticated term.


texts: Difference between "tangible" and "perceptible"

texts:
As defined in the Cambridge dictionary, booth "tangible" and "perceptible" seem to be interchangeable and quite similar in meaning.

Would you agree ?


texts:
I think I'll be wait by/until thursday before making a decision .

which one and WHY?

"I think I'll wait until Thursday before I make a decision." is correct. Explanation is the same. "I am not going to make the decision sooner than on Thursday." "By" would mean on Thursday or sooner which does not make sense.
.....

With regard to the top definitions, If I would make  a decision sooner than thursday or on thursday, must I use the preposition"by" instead of "until"? that is,

I think I'll be wait by thursday before making a decision .


texts: What would you call a word that doesn't exist in or translate well into another language?

texts:
I've run into this situation several times, being a native Spanish speaker.

There are some words you just can't translate into another language. Is there a particular word to describe this?

I'm not refering to idioms.

Also, if its a noun, people tend to use them by surrounding them in quotes. Is this appropiate?

Example:

  I arrived at around 5 pm and had some quesadillas.

Edit:

I also meant to cover words that exist in English, but cannot be translated into another language.

Example:

  There isn't a word for "drive-thru" in your language.


texts: What is the opposite of "Expiring Soon"?

texts:
What is the opposite of "Expiring Soon". I want to sort a list based on these two options based on the expiry date.

For example, say you've rented some films on your set top box and you're looking at the list of them. I want to show the options:

  Sort by

  expiring soon
  expiring ???


texts: What is the difference, if any, between 'art', 'the arts', and 'Art'?

texts:
In answer to this question, there was some discussion about whether these two sentences are equivalent:

  Art nurtures the soul.
  The arts nurture the soul.

Are they equivalent?

'The arts' is a common but woolly term and 'art' is notoriously difficult to pin down.  Oxforddictionaries.com gives the following definitions:

  art [mass noun] the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power
  (the arts) the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance

What practical differences in usage are there (if any)?

Also, does Art (capital A) have a special meaning distinct from art (lower case a)?


texts: Is the word "etc." appropriate for use in a newspaper article with an informal tone?

texts: Or should I replace it with other words? (such as, for example...)


texts: Word for challenging a general idea or belief

texts:
I need a word or phrase which can be used to describe someone or something challenging a general idea of belief. Here are some examples:

They challenge the ethos of their particular eras and in turn, inflict personal and political change.
In these sources, they investigate the intricacies of human interaction, and how the distribution of power can be altered through challenging the zeitgeists of the same country at two distinct points, one filled with racism and the latter with chaos.

I need terms to replace the word "challenge" in these examples. Any help will be strongly appreciated.


texts: Origin of the expression "part and parcel"

texts: Does anybody know the origin of the expression "part and parcel"? Where and when did the word "parcel" start to be used?


texts: What are different types of translations called?

texts:
When translating poetry (possibly song lyrics) with a meter and sometimes literary devices such as rhymes or acrostics, I can ask which of the following translation types are requested:

A translation which preserves the meter and literary devices, but sacrifices accuracy and some of the meaning. This is used when one wants to keep the original melody or for poetic reading.
A translation which preserves the meaning and is fairly accurate, but does not preserve the meter and literary devices. This is used when one wants to understand the text. It is the usual translation type for non-poetic works.
A translation which is accurate, but loses everything else. This is almost a word-to-word translation where idioms are kept as-is. The result is not necessarily grammatically correct. This is usually coupled with the 2nd translation type for clarity and is used when one wants to expose the basic structure and ideas in the original language.

The terms I came up with are poetic, linguistic and literal (in order), but I have no formal sources to back it up. What are these translation types called, or what should I call them?

I can give examples if my question is not clear.


texts: What is correct: "multiple restrike" or "multiple restrikes"? In general: should a noun after "multiple" be in singular or plural? (One "restrike" or more "restrikes" after each other can appear in circuit-breakers when breaking small capacitive currents.)


texts:
Does the following collocation exist in English?

  a comment is in place

If not, do you recognize it as an improper loan from another language? It is used by a writer to communicate that, before continuing with the normal flow of the text, they feel the need to make a comment on some related topic.

A Google search with this expression returns only 152 results, mostly from academic literature. It seems to be used by a literate population. However, the few number of results in the search and the inferred writers' nationalities make me think this is not an expression a native speaker would use.


texts: How to avoid using the subject of a sentence more than necessary

texts:
My English grammar is rusty and I have not kept up with grammar rules. So, please bear with me as I struggled to frame the title of my question.
What I want accomplished is a paragraph that is short, sweet and that does not confuse the reader with repetitive detail. I get the feeling that my sentences below could be framed better. I have the following paragraph:

  To start building the system, begin with a phrase or one sentence summary that defines the system. “The Heat system models a two-dimensional heat diffusion experiment” This one-sentence summary characterizes your system.

I am going to be using the above paragraph in a Powerpoint slide. So, I want something that conveys the idea quickly. I am aware that I am using  some form of narrative (either first, second or third person?)

Any help in making it better is welcomed.


texts: What other words can be used instead of "hideable"?

texts: I'm trying to name a class representing objects that can be hidden and reshown. I'm wondering if there's a better term than "hideable object".


texts: Can I get any details about the word grammered? Is there any relation between it and "grammatically corrected" or "grilled and hammered"?


texts:
I'd like to know the correct order of this sentence:

Is it:

  I and my friends plan for a movie months before the release.

or

  My friends and I plan for a movie months before the release.


texts:
The Americans coined 'boob' and left it to the British, I think, then now prefer 'tits', I think

Can you tell me which one is more acceptable in polite context or if they are equivalent, what is their connotation? Do you consider them vulgar? When I was in England boob seem to be an acceptable word


texts: I am looking for a single word to describe a one-sided friendship.


texts:
I need to choose a name for my masters thesis (computer science degree). My current name proposal is following:

Computer Vision Application in a Driver Assistance System

What I am not sure of is whether parts of name should be in singular or plural. I consider also following:

Computer Vision Application in Driver Assistance Systems
Computer Vision Applications in Driver Assistance Systems

And less so this:

Computer Vision Applications in a Driver Assistance System

The plan is to design a single "assistance system" (probably Froward Collision Warning) but the name may allow some maneuvering space in case more will be done (a more complex system than only FCW or even multiple systems - although multiple is rather unlikely). The means will be mainly stereo vision (but could be more again, I am not sure now).
May I ask for a hint on my naming issue? Are there any "naming conventions" for grammatical numbers? I am also not sure about the preposition ("in") - would a "for" be more appropriate?


texts: Is the usage of "are" correct when referring to a team/group/band?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is staff plural?

It always sounds wrong to me when people refer to a proper team, group, band, etc. in plural form, e.g.:

  Nirvana are the creators of grunge.
  The Avalanche are on the road to the Stanley Cup this year.

To me, this sounds correct:

  Nirvana is the creator of grunge.

If the name is plural, it sounds correct:

  The Foo Fighters are on tour this year.

What is the rule for this? I seem to be hearing this more and more these days.


texts:
Consider the sentence:

  Although design plans were not required, they are included in the appendix to demonstrate the typicality of our design.

I want to reassure/emphasize that the underlying ideas of the design are not something complicated/unique but very,very typical indeed. However, I don't want to use informal phrases like ... how typical our design is.

Anyone knows of any good synonyms?


texts: Is the usage of "from where" correct in these sentences?

texts:
I would like to know if I have used "from where" and "from which" in the following sentence correctly.

China, from where foreign companies are shifting their operations away, has been hurt badly this year by the tariffs.
China, from which most investors shy away, is not a fast-growing market anymore.


texts: What do the question marks in this quote mean (or are they typos)?

texts:
I read the following in an article entitled "Duke resets after the 'annihilation'" By Laura Keeley of the Raleigh News and Observer, dated Friday, January 25, 2013.  I've not seen question marks used this way before.  I added a screenshot just in case the text gets changed.

  “He’s like, ‘you guys don’t deserve to have your stuff here,’?”
  Williams said of Krzyzewski. “?’You guys have to play more cohesively
  like a team.’?”


texts: Why is it "masterpiece" and not "a piece of art"?

texts: Why do you say masterpiece, and not piece of art?


texts: James Joyce's Ulysses: why "wrote" and not "write"?

texts:
I am reading James Joyce's Ulysses at the moment, and I found this line:

  "Wonder did she wrote it herself."

Or a little bit earlier in the letter:

  So now you know what I will do to you (...) if you do not wrote.

Why is he using "wrote"? Is that an Irish dialect? Or poetic? Or simply wrong? I would've simply used "write".


texts: Experts on ELU assure us that there is no subjunctive mood in English. How should we who have been mistaught refer to what we were taught?

texts:
Here are some examples.

"Until the Son of God appear" What I was taught: Subjunctive of indefinite future.

"It is required that the applicant be 18 years old and possess a valid driver's license." What I was taught: mandative subjunctive.

"Where be ye going," said the false knight on the road?" What I was taught: subjunctive of direct discourse.

"If I were you, which we both are thankful I am not, I wouldn't do that. What I was taught: The subjunctive mood is used for supposition contrary to fact.

"I dreamed I were a fireman in my Maidenform bra." What I was taught: The subjunctive mood can be used with words like dream.

"God bless you." I don't remember, so obviously I wasn't taught.

I can live with Pluto's not being a planet, but I must say it's irksome to find that so much of what I was told about English turns out to be nonsense.


texts:
I recently came across the following excerpt:

  In other words, once an issue becomes political, people are no longer free to make their own choices based on their personal preference and their best wisdom.

What does best wisdom mean in this context?


texts: What is the meaning of 'Rajasthan shades off into the fertile land of Gujarat'

texts:
What is the meaning of the phrase 'shade off into'?
Is 'off' a preposition here?
Here, Rajasthan and Gujarat are States of India.


texts: Punctuating a sentence containing em dashes within commas

texts:
I always find myself writing sentences that contain clauses within clauses, and I can never decide what the right way to punctuate this is. I'm not specifying what kinds of clauses because they could technically be several different kinds.

So here's an example:

  I drove my little brother, Billy—the youngest of us, to the store.

This sentence contains two appositives—one inside the other. Firstly, I know appositives are usually set inside commas, but I feel like nesting them calls for using multiple kinds of punctuation marks. Secondly, is this even the correct way to punctuate this sentence? I feel like it could also be

  I drove my little brother, Billy—the youngest of us—to the store.

This might not be correct because now the sentence is broken up by just one comma which creates two incomplete sentences. If so, why is it not correct to say the first example is broken up by the lone em dash?

Edit for clarification:
I'm pretty much asking if I can use the comma and em dash interchangeably here, and if so, which is better?


texts: Escalation: Ask team leader if problem is "too big"

texts:
I am not a native speaker and want to know if "escalation" is the matching word for this:

  I get a question from a customer, and I don't know if I am allowed to answer or do it. I want to go to my team leader to ask him if I am allowed to.

I looked at the wikipedia page for "Escalation" and I can't find a matching definition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalation

How to call "Asking the upper hierarchy for help/advice/permission" in the English language?


texts: How should one differentiate between a father and son with identical names and don't have suffixes?

texts:
Specifically, I'm writing about the poet Ben Jonson, who had a son Ben Jonson, and later a second son, also named Ben Jonson.

Some options I thought of:

Ben Jonson, Sr.; Ben Jonson, Jr.; Ben Jonson, III
Ben Jonson (the father); Ben Jonson (the first son); Ben Jonson (the second son)

The first one feels wrong, granting them titles which they didn't actually have. The second one feels awkward, though maybe that's a punctuation issue; should dashes or commas be used instead of parentheses?

Is there a specific accepted way to differentiate between them, whether from the above list or another option, or is it up to the author's style?


texts: What is the difference between "nudge" and "push"

texts:
I am trying to nudge them towards a practical solution.

What does nudge imply here? Can't we just use something like push?
Is the word outdated or still in use?

I'm not trying to avoid using nudge as such, just don't know if it is a suitable word to use in an academic context.


texts:
Edit on Nov 4, 2019

My apologies, this question was the result of a very bad translation from Chinese to English.
The correct translation of the sentence should be: "The fighting technique had made his grandfather a legend, why wouldn't it make him a legend as well?."

The answer to my own question therefore, is "Make"

Original Post

I am writing a sentence and the premise is this:

Person A is regraded as a legend/bad-ass fighter because he possessed a unique fighting technique; Person B , who is A's grandchild also learned the unique technique. In the sentence, i am trying to say that person B could also be a legend/bad-ass fighter because he knew the same technique. However, I am writing this as a question

"Person A was a legend so what would it(referring to the fact that person B knew the technique) "make" or "make of" person B?"

I hope this is not too confusing...


texts:
After seeing completely insane examples of "and" usage in this question
, I realized that I have no clue how to use the word "and" grammatically:

How far does the insanity go? Are the following grammatical?

John is, and Sally hates, cooking.
John has once ineptly, and Sally hates, cooked meat.
Sally hates, and Michael said that John has ineptly, boiled vegetables.
Sally, at the bakery, bought, and the makeup on her nose, cakes.

If 2 is grammatical, what does Sally hate exactly? If 3 is grammatical, does Sally hate boiled vegetables, or boiling vegetables? If 4 is grammatical, I'm going to cry.

This question is inspired by trying to incorporate "and" into a mechanical parsing of English, which, surprisingly, is a lot tougher than anything else.


texts:
I saw an article on yahoo yesterday and thought I'd ask, is "hugest" a real word? I assume whoever wrote the article understands what they are trying to say, but it just seems wrong and foreign to my brain. I would have figured "largest" is much more appealing of an adjective.

http://www.wired.com/2016/04/worlds-hugest-jet-engine-wider-737s-fuselage/

So basically, is using huge with the suffix "est" correct in all manners, except for the fact it sounds strange?


texts: word for someone who is a "victim" of confirmation bias or a logical fallacy?

texts:
Say, for example, Jim has his bias confirmed on some argument. Is there a noun that describes his relation to the confirmation bias?

Victim is the first word that comes to mind for me, but it  gives a weird connotation in my opinion (feels like too strong of a word).

I feel like this could extend to someone that commits a logical fallacy too.

example:

Jim believes that women can not be president of the United States. He references a statistic that of the 44 presidents, none of them are women. Jim is a victim of confirmation bias.


texts: What does it mean when someone says: "King me"?

texts: When two children are playing chess or something like that, what does it mean when one kid says: "King me"?


texts:
So I’ve noticed several instances where we use “which” in English in an ungrammatical way. For example:

  This isn’t a story. It’s a road trip, which, same difference

I’m a native English speaker and whenever I see this usage it makes me wonder how I could even translate it. It seems to refer back to something that was just mentioned.

Does anyone know when we started using it like this or if there is any semblance of grammar behind it?

Some other examples:

  She’s going to take the test, which, I really hope she passes it.

or:

  I have so much heavy lifting to do, which... I shouldn’t really be doing that since my back hurts.


texts: Word or short phrase for something that constantly monitors

texts:
I'm looking for a word for a computer that monitors a group of things, and computer always notices when a member of the group misbehaves.  So the group cannot escape notice.

Example:  The monitor noticed that a node went offline.


texts:
If I have a set of numbers, and I say I will filter the primes, that means to me that I will remove the primes, and return the remainder.

If I have a set of numbers, and I say I will sieve the primes, that means to me that I will keep the primes, and discard the remainder.

Is this correct usage of filter and sieve? Are they opposites?

Any alternative verbs that would express the notion of going through a set and choosing only those that meet a particular criteria?


texts:
"In this project" or "At this project" or "On this project".

I have a question about which of the sentences is correct, maybe none of them is correct.
For example I am trying to speak about a project I have worked, and so I say

"(In,At,On) this project i dealt with an algorithm which ..."
or

"(In,At,On) this project i implement a code to calculate ..."


texts: An easier way to describe the phrase "people relevant to my current situation"?

texts:
As if I was explaining it to a young child, I'm looking for a relatable way to describe the people that are relevant to my current situation.

For example, the people I am talking about could be the people driving on the same road as I, people in the same cinema/bus stop/building as me or people at the same airport, etc.

One way could be to say that we are doing the same "geographical activity," but this isn't very clear in my opinion.

So my question is, how can I talk about the people that are doing what I am doing in a coherent, concise way?

Thanks!


texts: What is the meaning of the phrase to "wake up dead"

texts:
There are two examples I can think of, both music related.  The first is "Is anybody going to San Antone" by Charley Pride:  Sleepin' under a table in a roadside park, a man could wake up dead.
The other is the title song from a bootleg album by Jimi Hendrix: "Woke Up This Morning and Found Myself Dead".
There are other references that I'm not familiar with but found by searching - a TV show "Woke Up Dead", for example.
I've always assumed it meant hungover or otherwise ailing, but I'm not sure.


texts: Can I say "Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the Moon"?

texts:
I saw this sentence in my textbook.

Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon.

I have a question. Can't I use simple present tense

“Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the Moon”

to talk about a fact?


texts: Is the idiom "the world became upside down" applied correctly in the following sentence?

texts:
Mary couldn't believe the man was floating above her. The world as
  she knew it had become upside down.

Meaning that everything Mary knew about the world was wrong.

Is the phrase a good fit here? If not, what's a better alternative?


texts: Adverbs at the start and end of sentences

texts:
In these sentences, would adverb at the beginning (Never, Basically) modify the verb phrase and adverb at the end (again, everyday)?

I never saw the man again.
I basically ate pizza everyday.

Does never modify saw the man again or would again modify never saw the man?
Does basically modify ate pizza everyday or everyday modify basically ate pizza?


texts: What is the word for a path that is made naturally by the action of people walking?

texts:
I remember one day, when I was supposed to be at school, hanging out at a friends house and watching an episode of Call My Bluff and there was a word that meant something like:

  A path that is made (e.g. across a field) by people consistently walking along the same way

For example something like this (updated as some pointed out that my original picture was actually a footpath):

So, it is 15+ years later and I cannot for the life of me remember it so does anyone know what that word is?


texts:
I'm reading a book which states on many occasions about buying produces, like this:

  When a customer buys produce, you have to look up the price in a book.

I was wondering if using "produce" instead of "product" is just plain wrong, or am I missing something?


texts: Change of form of some (Latin) prefixes like ex-, ad- into ef-, a-: are there rules or conditions?

texts:
There are many cases of prefixes changing their forms. For example

ex- can change to ef- in front of f, e.g. effusion.
ad- becomes a- in front of b, e.g. abate.

Are there some more general rules or a summary of such changes that can help me  figure out the meanings of unfamiliar words, and recognize the prefixes in the words?


texts: A question about the usage of any other than

texts:
First, I will give three sentences.

  Your information will not be used for any other purpose than those specified here.
  Your information will not be used for any purpose other than those specified here.
  Your information will not be used for any other purpose other than those specified here.

Below are my questions.

Q1: Compared with sentence 1, sentence 2 changes the position of the word 'other', do these two have the same meaning? According to some English dictionaries, 'other than' is a phrase, and so I think 'other' and 'than' should not be separated. However, after Googling, I found expressions like 'any other something than something' is more popular. For example, 'Is there any other option than abortion' was widely used, where as 'Is there any option other than abortion' was rare.

In the preceding example, why the 'other' in 'any option other than abortion' is moved forward to form 'any other option than abortion'? Maybe the author wanted to emphasize 'other', so 'any' and 'other' were put together.

Q2: Is sentence 3 correct? In this sentence, there are two 'other's. I feel that this sentence is very odd, although there is no grammatical problem.


texts: What's the origin of the phrase "shot away" as meaning a person is behaving in an unhinged manner?


texts: Meaning of "within 10 days from when they move"

texts:
must notify this office of their change of address, within 10 days
  from when they move

Does this mean I need to let them know of my address change before or after I move out?


texts:
At my company we have an internal document that describes the processes we use for accomplishing a certain task. In this document we use the phrase:

  Periodically check in with ... to assess progress on ...

I have been tasked with turning this internal document into something that can be shared with our customers and stakeholders.

I'm trying to reword "check in with" so it sounds less informal, but am drawing a blank. What's a good replacement for "check in with?"


texts: Is there a word that adds more tension to "contemplate"?

texts:
I think contemplate might work, but I am wanting to add more tension to it. Trying to communicate the idea of reflecting/thinking/exploring one's thoughts and feelings on a subject (spiritual in nature); but with real agony and no forward progress or change.

The subject is trying to be openminded and fair, but keeps bumping up against her own preconceived notions. The "work" of contemplating might not be enough to overcome these existing beliefs. While she wants to fairly consider, deep down she is holding back out of fear of what this new revelation may mean for her.

Example sentence:

  A young millennial woman _________ her definition of normal.


texts: Is "The cat paws in the water to get the fish" a grammatically correct sentence?

texts: Is this sentence, "The cat paws in the water to get the fish" grammatically correct?


texts:
Is worser correct grammatically? I know it seems incorrect, but I stumbled upon the word when reading Hamlet:

  Oh, throw away the worser part of it,

  And live the purer with the other half.

Lines 159-160, Act 3 Sc 4

I looked it up, and there are 21 instances of worser in Shakespeare's works (I used this for the count).

Shakespeare's works somewhat define the English language. He invented many words and idioms, so would using worser be acceptable, at least in an academic English context?


texts:
Is there any difference between saying "Trees can fall down in strong wind" and "Trees can fall over in strong wind"?

And in general, what is the different between "fall down" and "fall over"?


texts: Does 'evinced' make sense in this context?

texts:
Is this sentence correct, and if so, does the word evinced make sense here?

  An aura of gloom and doom had also settled over the City, evinced by a
  fusion of dirt, ash, building debris, and garbage that carpeted the
  crumbling streets and a film of black soot that darkened the decrepit
  concrete landscape.


texts: Why is 'allopathy' not an accepted synonym for 'mainstream medicine'?

texts:
According to Wikipedia,

Allopathic medicine and allopathy (from the Greek prefix ἄλλος, állos, "other", "different" + the suffix πάϑος, páthos, "suffering") are terms coined in the early 19th century by Samuel Hahnemann,the founder of homeopathy, as a synonym for mainstream medicine.
Never accepted as a mainstream scientific term, it was adopted by alternative medicine advocates to refer pejoratively to mainstream medicine.

One will, however, come across the terms, allopathy or allopathic quite often in India – where homeopathy and ayurveda therapies have gained big popularity recently, so much that a majority of language purists regard allopathy as mainly an Indian English term (– I read that in a magazine recently). That may be subject to argument, but 'allopathy' does seem to be a term that many across the world refuse use in referring to mainstream medicine.
What I would like to know is: Why is allopathy not acceptable as a term in that sense? And personally, do you use it to refer to mainstream medicine or is there a different term you prefer?


texts: How to describe the sound of the English language as spoken by someone with Asperger's Syndrome?

texts:
I've heard many people say that individuals with Asperger's Syndrome seem to have a distinctive way of speaking the English language.

I've heard descriptions such as "The cadence of the words is different", but I've been wondering if there is a more general way of describing this difference.


texts: A good term describing the dichotomy between stochastic and deterministic?

texts:
I'm searching for a fine word-choice for X in: "The X of the model outputs can be deterministic or stochastic.":
I know that we can write that the

Size of a house is small or large
Color of a car is black or red
Your Attitude may be kind or mean

But what is, in a similar vein, a good term to use for X when I want to write that

"The X of the model outputs can be deterministic or stochastic."

I could simply write "nature" for X, but that would be unsuitable when I want to use the word separately to just mention the dichotomy explicitly.
Another word I could imagine is "epistemic nature", but I'm not sure that would be legit/understandable at all.


texts: How did "the works" come to mean "everything"?

texts: What is the etymology of "the works" meaning "everything", as in "a pizza with the works"?


texts: How to understand which words or phrase brackets point to?

texts:
Example showing how brackets can be confusing
This is a sample from an O' Level science book:

The impure solid is dissolved in the minimum amount of hot water (or any other suitable solvent) [...]

There are two ways to interpret this:

Hot water (as a whole) is one "suitable solvent", but any other such solvents can used. The solid is to be dissolved in a suitable solvent.

Water is a "suitable solvent"; other solvents can also be used. Whatever the solvent is, it has to be hot. The solid is to be dissolved in a hot solvent.

Since this is a science book, the writers have to state the reasons behind everything and ensure clarity. The following sentences (indirectly) clear up the confusion:

[...], and then allowed to cool again. Most solids are less soluble in
the cold than in the hot, and so crystals are formed again.

So #2 was the right interpretation.
The question
However, in most unscientific day-to-day writing, not every sentence has to be backed up by explanation. So the question is
how to understand which word(s) or phrase brackets point to?


texts:
As a programmer I usually want variable names that makes sense. I now stumbled upon a variable that can take three different values, so called three-valued logic.

In this case I am trying to name a variable that can indicate:

-1: Only others companies

0: All companies

1: Only my companies

It actually exist a fourth case, no companies, which I'm not interested in.
For a standard boolean naming is easy, onlyMyCompanies, isOtherCompany etc.

Out of pure academic interest, what prefix (or suffix) would you use for a three-valued logic?


texts: Why is the beginning of a quote in old text sometimes denoted by a capital letter but no quotation marks?

texts:
In the following text of Pamela by Samuel Richardson, well is capitalised — possibly to denote speech, where inverted commas have been neglected. As GEdgar points out, this is not an isolated case. I wonder why only, but there may be no explanation:

  He took my hand, in a kind of good-humoured mockery, and said, Well urged, my pretty preacher! When my Lincolnshire chaplain dies, I'll put thee on a gown and cassock, and thou'lt make a good figure in his place.—I wish, said I, a little vexed at his jeer. Well, well, Pamela, said he, no more of this unfashionable jargon.


texts: Pronunciation of short-lived to rhyme with short-dived. Are there any identifiable factors for this pronunciation?

texts:
My question is about people who pronounce "-lived" in "short-lived" to rhyme with "dived" rather than "sieved".

I'd just like to say I've only ever heard "long-lived" pronounced in this way from North American speakers. I have only heard it pronounced this way (consciously) twice now. Three American dictionaries give both pronunciations, and strangely two of them give the "dived"-rhyming version first, even though it's definitely less common. Further, there is a usage note by the American Heritage Dictionary:

  Usage Note: The pronunciation (-līvd) is etymologically correct since the compound is derived from the noun life, rather than from the verb live. But the pronunciation (-lĭvd) is by now so common that it cannot be considered an error. In our 2005 survey, 90 percent of the Usage Panel found (-lĭvd) acceptable and 75 percent found (-līvd) acceptable.
  Source

One thing I find a bit surprising is that 10% of the usage panel didn't find the more common way acceptable.

When I first heard this pronunciation I thought it was just a strange speaker. Hearing it for the second time has made me research this and realize there may be many (I don't know what proportion) who pronounce it this way.

Here are a number of videos that show this:

I Am the Resurrection and the Life
John Singleton Copley's Declaration of Interdependence
Freedom and Religion
The Constitution as political theory
Hartnett: The Great Rotation
What Distinguishes a Pathogen from a Non-Pathogen?
The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and Inequality
Linguistics, Style and Writing in the 21st Century,
By Steven Pinker
Cosmos: Episode 8 by Carl Sagan

There are two speakers I can identify from the examples above. One is Steven Pinker, who as far as I can tell grew up until about 22 years of age in Quebec. Another is Carl Sagan, who grew up in Brooklyn and then moved to Chicago at the age of 16. Also, I've heard a late teens to early 20s age range African-American say it in this way, probably the only "young" person I've heard this from.

The thing I find interesting is that I'm sure (it being a rare pronunciation) friends and colleagues have mentioned this to them or asked why they pronounce it that way, but they seem to have continued to do so. Or maybe I'm wrong that it's a rare pronunciation?

There are some possible explanations I can think of for this:

1.The pronunciation is reflective of a regional pronunciation, however small it may be (district, street, building). I'm not sure about this, as you'd find more speakers pronouncing it this way.

2.The pronunciation is reflective of a small social group of acquaintances or family. I'm still not sure of this. I still think we would expect more instances of this pronunciation to be heard.

3.These pronunciations are just an idiosyncrasy of the individual speaker. (by idiosyncrasy I don't mean quirk or abnormal, I just mean particular to the way they speak.)

I find the last explanation the most likely. Either way it's a uniquely North American phenomenon (I think).

Does anyone have any idea of what possible influences could be affecting this particular pronunciation? Are there regions where this is more common? Is it more a function of class or age? Just personal preference? Or maybe just chance?


texts: What does mean "authority" in the sentence?

texts:
"These honourable Accessories [supporters] of the Heraldic Shield are said to have been introduced, (like Quartering) by Edward III, but they are of uncertain authority until the reign of Henry VI." (Boutell, Charles., A Manual of Heraldry, p123)

What does mean "authority" in the above sentence?
At first, I thought it alludes to citations of references but it is meaningless in historical point of view. is it possible it means importance in there?

There is another similar sentence:

"A lion and an antelope, and sometimes an antelope and a swan, have been assigned to Henry IV. and Henry V., but upon no very reliable authority." (Clark, Hugh., An Introduction to Heraldry, p67)


texts: “…the house of our neighbor's” vs. “…the house of our neighbors' ”

texts:
We had Thanksgiving dinner at the house of our neighbors.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at the house of our neighbor's.
We had Thanksgiving dinner at the house of our neighbors'.

Which one is correct?


texts: I'm having trouble finding "disenrolled", "disenrollment", and even "unenrolled" in a dictionary. Are any of these valid words? I'm looking for the noun and verb forms of reversing an enrollment.


texts: Would "objectively necessary" convey that something is necessary as a matter of fact, regardless of opinions?

texts:
In Russian "objectively necessary" (literal translation) means necessary as a matter of fact, not as a matter of judgement. Like, e.g., the water is objectively necessary for plants to grow.

Does this expression work in English for the purpose? If not, are there any alternative qualifiers?

thank you


texts: Can the first person singular pronoun 'I' take in 's' in the simple present?

texts:
I am quoting from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Gloria Scott by Arhur Conan Doyle : "Thank you sir, said, the seaman, touching his forelock. I am just off a two-yearer in an eight-knot tramp, short-handed at that, and I WANTS a rest".
Is it just a spelling mistake (I am using a book from Wordsworth classics) or 'I' does take an 's' in some situations ?


texts: I'm writing parameters for a software report. I need a word that means "compatible" but compatible to many different applications. Something like "multi-compatible."


texts: How do I punctuate a question that contains a quote that is a declarative sentence?

texts:
I'm stuck.  A friend of mine stated on Facebook how much she hates the music that ice cream trucks play.  So, I responded:

How about they play, "Hello.  It's ice cream you're looking for"?

It looks wrong.  I don't know if I should put a period after 'for' or not.

Please help.


texts: What do we call people who are into various sports?

texts: What do we call someone who is into different sports including biking, mountaineering, tracking, and other similar sports?


texts: Is it grammatical to use "an even better " rather than "even better"?

texts:
I know this question is quite basic but right now I'm having a problem with it:

"Jimmy your english is bad. Try to speak in front of mirror or an even better option is to take english classes."

Is it grammatical to use "an" here?


texts: What does the "that little bubble of accidental arrogance" meaning?

texts:
...  as you initially did, that their design was just behind. It's nice to see an idea that pops that little bubble of accidental arrogance.

The above sentence is from Nick Johnson's blog on thinkvitamin.  I don't understand and would like for someone to  explain the meaning of the phrase, "that pops that little bubble of accidental arrogance".

PS: I think the second that after pops is unnecessary; am I right?


texts: Best Word for "Loyalty to an Alma Mater"

texts:
What word or phrase best describes a sense of loyalty to and/or support of an educational institution from which one graduated?

Used in a sentence:

  Alice received her PhD from Foo State University (FSU). She actively promotes her alma mater, attends alumni events, and makes large contributions. She has a strong sense of __.


texts:
I have a question:
Here are two English conditional sentences:

A) If I run, I'll throw up
B) If I move, I'll throw up

Does sentence A logically entail B or does B entail A? Why
Maybe they are logically equivalent? If so could you explain why this is.


texts: past participle clause at the end of a sentence

texts:
From my observation, past participle clauses are usually used at the beginning or right after the main subject. But is it natural to use it at the end of a sentence?

E.g.,
The car has stopped moving, fueled by insufficient gasoline.


texts: Noun for someone who is looking for kicks, thrills or excitement

texts:
Is there a single (non-colloquial) noun/word which describes a person who seeks/is looking for thrills, excitement or 'kicks'?

For context, I am an English mother tongue translator (Italian to English) and I am currently considering using the word 'adventurer'. The surrounding sentence goes like this (after translation):

  The Festival provides a dynamic platform for contemporary photographers, visual storytellers, knowledge seekers and adventurers.

The LITERAL translation from Italian would be ('cercatore di emozioni'): seekers of excitement (thrills) but I prefer 'adventurer' as a one-word option that encompasses the overall meaning of the Italian phrase in this specific context. If anyone can think of a better word I'd love to hear it!


texts: Which is the correct spelling: "Granddad" or "Grand-dad" or "Grandad"?

texts:
Granddad or Grand-dad or Grandad?

Which is the correct spelling?


texts: what is the reason ..we say can't? intead of can not

texts:
Numerous exceptions r there in English grammar ,why it is so?
Like I m still confused between
India HAS/HAVE won the match?


texts: What the construction "have something done" implies

texts:
If the construction is used in past tense as follows:

I had my computer fixed.

Is it possible it implies that the repair job is done and the computer is ok now?
That is my computer has been fixed.

Or,
Is it just I let somebody do it.


texts: In which dialect would "poll" mean "a person's head"?

texts:
I read that in dialect poll means also a person's head; that is the second meaning th NOAD gives to pool as noun.
Is there, nowadays, a dialect where the word has that meaning?
If such dialect exists, which one is it?


texts: a specific word for a set of subjects other than the major you're studying for

texts:
Here in the Netherlands we have a period during our bachelors in which we can chose a different (though related) field of study, we call this period (which is usually half a year) A "Minor".

For example I studied computer engineering (which is my major, if i understand it correctly) then during these 4 years I spend half a year studying Information System Security, this half year is the Minor.

In the English language, is this also called a Minor? Is this a thing people/companies will understand?


texts:
I'm using a metaphor that compares the process of learning to a journey on a road. I want to say that the true purpose of learning a subject is to enjoy it / enrich your life, not to get good grades / win awards. So the sentence is

The excitement of getting good grades and winning awards are only possible _____ on the road.

I want to put a word that means something like side scenes or "byproducts" but what's a good word to use in this case that fits with the road metaphor?


texts: Are there American English dialects which distinguish /ɑ/ and /ɒ/ but not /ɑ/ and /ɔ/?

texts:
I relied on the Logic of English (LoE) phonograms to give myself a better understanding of English pronunciation since the spelling gives me a hard time (even as native speaker), but I noticed that the phonograms do not match any accent/dialect I am aware of. LoE appears to be using a variant of the American Heritage Dictionary (AHD) pronunciation key, but represents /u/ and /ʊ/ with <ö> and <ü>.

LoE seems to be intended for speakers of General American (GenAm), not Received Pronunciation (RP), yet it distinguishes /ɑ/ (<ä>) and /ɒ/ (<ŏ>) but not /ɔ/ (represented in AHD as <ô>). As far as I know, the father-bother merger (/ɑ/=/ɒ/) and cot-caught merger (/ɒ/=/ɔ/) never led to that outcome.

LoE matches neither RP nor GenAm. RP distinguishes /ɔ/ but LoE does not, while LoE distinguishes /ɒ/ but GenAm does not. What does it match?


texts: Word or phrase for "positively eulogizing someone you killed"

texts:
In fiction, a mobster might have someone killed that he hates, and then give a positive eulogy at his funeral. The victim's family may even thank him for the sweet words.

A fictional dictator may assassinate people lawlessly. The dictator could then celebrate the rule of law and the Magna Carta in speeches and holidays, even though he had rendered them pointless.

Is there a word or phrase for this practice?

My many searches have not turned up any.


texts: Is "what a badass of a barber!" correct?

texts: If one wants to informally exclaim about the excellence of someone, say a barber, using the word badass, should one say "What a badass of a barber!"? Or is "What a badass barber!" more correct? Are both correct enough? Are there other alternatives one should consider?


texts:
First, I have to admit that I don't know a good term to refer to this case, nor do I have a concrete example. Everything is just from a vague memory. So if you can correct me or suggest a good correction, please feel free to do so.

I believe that I have sometimes come across a sentences in which the authors have some sorts of list of descriptions but only form a full clause for the first item of the list, and leave the second and third with just [subject object]. I don't know if it is a correct (and good) thing to do, but it amuses me somehow and I'd like to understand it better.

The sentence is something like this (this is my example, I don't have a good recall what I have come across):

  Bushes should be categorized as trimmable, while trees (should be
  categorized) as obstacles, and  grass (should be categorized) as
  terrains.

My sentence could be a lousy one or in the context that can be written in this way, but hope that you get my point

EDITED: keeping "as" as suggested


texts: Word or expression for imagining a sound?

texts:
If I ask you to think of a place you love, you might mentally "see" that place in your mind.  We usually call this "visualisation".

I would like to know if there is a similar word for when you think of a sound and you mentally "hear" it in your mind.  Is there such a word or expression?

For example: I love the sound of the wind blowing thru the aspen forest.  When I miss my home in the mountains, I just visualise those beautiful aspens and I  _________ the sound of the wind.


texts: Usage of the slang "a man Friday" in English conversation

texts:
Our Boss was talking with someone and he said,

  The office clerk typist is our man Friday.

Does the Boss mean the clerk typist is the person who he/she trust?

And can I use this slang for a woman?

  The office clerk typist is our woman Friday.


texts: What does "disciplinary" mean in this sentence from the NY Times?

texts:
The claim is not simply that disciplinary expertise confers moral and political superiority, but that historians, because of their training, are uniquely objective observers: “As historians, we consider diverse viewpoints while acknowledging our own limitations and subjectivity.”

I used Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary 8 and Macmillan Dictinonary for the word disciplinary. And they both produce the same result: "connected with the punishment of people who do not obey rules". This meaning really confuses me, actually I think it's not correspondent to the whole meaning of the sentence, I mean if I think "disciplinary expertise"  is the same as "high level-knowledge", the sentence is more clearer. But why two famous Dictionaries produce like that? Can anyone help me out?


texts: Hello everyone .l am a student at the university

texts:
Can anyone explain this sentences for me please
That is ( things that are true expressed in words that are beautiful) by dante
These is the definition for poetry but l can't understand it
Anyone can explain it in one line


texts: what is the difference between two sentence? why we use introductory subject

texts:
There is a man of the roof

A man is on the roof

both sentence are giving information.

my questions is why we use introductory subject?


texts: Which independent clause should a sentence immediately following a coordination of the two independent clauses be interpreted to refer to?

texts:
Consider the following coordination of two independent clauses (joined by "but"):

  Homework is due in my office hour on Tuesday, but (emphasis added) you may hand it to me earlier, e.g., in lecture on Friday.

which immediately precedes this next sentence:

  I am typically in my office from mid-morning to late afternoon.

My question is: can we infer from the order of the independent clauses in the first sentence that the second sentence should necessarily be thought to refer specifically to one of these two clauses?  Specifically, does "mid-morning to late afternoon" qualify the time during which the writer will be in his office on Tuesday (when the homework is due), or should that be taken as a separate remark relating to the second independent clause about handing it in early?  (Ignore for a moment the clue that the first independent clause refers to the singular office "hour".)

Intuitively, I feel that a sentence which refers to a clause in a previous sentence should be assumed to be referring to the main idea of the previous sentence (in my mind the first independent clause), and that if it was intended to refer to the second clause, this second sentence should have been included within parentheses inside the first sentence, after the second clause:

  Homework is due in my office hour on Tuesday, but you may hand it to me earlier, e.g., in lecture on Friday (I am typically in my office from mid-morning to late afternoon).

In other words, I feel that by placing the period between the two sentences, in interpreting the meaning, we should associate any ambiguous reference to the prior sentence with the clause of that sentence containing the main idea, which would seem to preclude choosing any subordinate clause.  However, because the word "but" was used to join the sentence, I have read that both clauses are independent, and it's not clear that we can say that one is important than the other, which would seem to imply that the meaning is perfectly ambiguous.


texts: What is the difference between "have not to" and "have to not"?

texts:
English isn't my native language, of course, to ask something like this.
I personally thought that "have not to do something" and "have to not do something" were the same. But recently, I've seen a (self-claimed) native speaker in an English forum  state they're different.
For example:

You mustn't stay up late.

Clear, you don't have any choice, you don't do it.

You don't have to stay up late.

Clear, you have got a choice. You don't do it if you don't want to, do if you want. It's not necessary to do it.

You have not to/(haven't to) stay up late.

Same as mustn't (per that English forum).

You have to not stay up late.

Not clear? I think it is the same as 3.


texts: not enough that I thought I should be(to express quantity)

texts:
Could you please tell me if my answer is correct, and is this a set/fix phrase?

Q:do you exercise?

A:well, not enough that I thought I should be.

(What I mean to say is, I do exercise, but its not enough from what I think I should have, to answer someone stating the quantity of exercise.)

Thx.


texts: 'I don't get no money' - how is this correct

texts: I was chatting with a friend when he said 'I don't get no money' - he was referring to some work he was doing. This usage of language confused me. I have come across phrases like this in movies and books too, but never quite understood it. How is 'I don't get no money' equivalent to 'I don't get any money'. I'm sorry if my question is phrased incorrectly. I'm not sure what tags to use either so edits would be appreciated.


texts:
I saw the sentence below, and I think it would sound better after changing "bereaved" to "bereft":

  Having lost his father in early childhood, he was bereaved of his love and affection.

The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary definitions of bereaved and bereft are:

  bereaved (adjective): having lost a relative or close friend who has
  recently died

  bereft (adjective): bereft of something completely lacking something;
  having lost something


texts: Describing the phonetic interaction between the F and the T in often

texts:
In the word often, the labiodental non-sibilant fricative f precedes the alveolar stop t, which is then followed by the vowel e. The Oxford Dictionaries Online offers two accepted pronunciations:

  /ˈɒf(ə)n/  /ˈɒft(ə)n/

I would like to describe the phonetic interaction between the f and the t in the pronunciation
/ˈɒf(ə)n/. The sole pronunciation of the archaic oft, leads me to consider that the vowel plays a significant role in silencing the t. Though I doubt it is the standard terminology, I would tend to describe it in laymen's terms with the word picture underlying fricative:

  the fricative rubs out the stop in concert with the vowel

If that seems like an acceptable description, I would be content with it, but I would like to know if there is a more precise professional description of that phonetic effect.


texts: Can had inversion occur in past tense, not past perfect?

texts:
If the man had his life partner, he would be very happy.
Had the man his life partner, he would be very happy.

Is this inversion valid? I have learned that Had inversion only occurs in past perfect tense and also I can't find any example that represents Had inversion occuring in past tense.


texts: "I know you are" as a response to introduction

texts:
I was watching a movie and noticed this sentence used as a response from a person introducing himself/herself. This is quite odd for me as a non-native speaker of the language.
Example:
Setting: In a bar
Scenario: Person A is friends with Person B. Person A introduces Person C to Person B.

Person C: Hi, I'm Jane.
Person B: I know you are. * smiles *

As a receiver of the response (Person C), what would my reaction be? Or how do I take this kind of response?
As Person B, what are my intentions for saying this response?


texts: What's the meaning of "in addition to" in this context

texts:
You are almost always better off using Solr in addition to a database

Does the sentence above mean:

  You are better NOT using Solr with a database


texts:
Can you please diagram this sentence for me?

Each brother contributed his particular talent to the project.


texts: I need a word for my obscure phobia for hard, smooth structures

texts:
If I let myself, I become upset and a bit terrified by smooth hard structures. A good example is the most perfect sphere in the world, seen here. It's a polished sphere of solid silicon-28.

The metal cylinder held by the host later in the video also creeps me out.

A sphere of smooth concrete, granite, marble, or some other hard substance is the worst.

What's the best prefix for my -phobia?

(I think the reason for this phobia is that I slipped and whacked the back of my head against a smooth concrete surface when I was very young.)


texts: A noun for sexually repressed individuals imposing their views on others

texts:
I am looking for a pejorative (but not vulgar) noun describing individuals whom I allege are sexually repressed, moralizing, pontificating and who would use their authority to impose their view on others.

I don't think 'conservative' or 'traditionalist' really captures the strength of it but that is the kind of direction in which I am looking.

I am certain there is the perfect word but it seems to be out of my grasp. Any thoughts?


texts:
What's the meaning of "hit somebody like a bucket of cold water"? I couldn't find this idiom (?) in my dictionaries; I just found "cold water" means "disapproval". But I don't think it would have the same meaning in this idiom.

Examples:

The bad news hit me like a bucket of cold water.
My presence will hit them like a bucket of cold water.


texts:
Which is correct/more appropriate?

  She has knocked over the vase before I can stop her.

OR

  She knocks over the vase before I can stop her.

Thanks in advance for your help!


texts: "I'm going to take and stir the cake mix"

texts:
Please explain why this sentence is grammatically incorrect.

  I'm going to take and stir the cake mix.