texts: Do "the alpha and the omega" and "from A to Z" have the same meaning or something in common?

texts:
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, as one can read it on The Free Dictionary, says:

  alpha and omega, noun:
  1. The first and the last: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord" (Revelation 1:8).
  2. The most important part.

It is a noun that resembles to the Italian, literally, "from A to Z", an expression used to say that a certain thing is complete. "The report is complete from A to Z"  means that it doesn't lack anything, and probably it is the same in English.

After reading the above definition, in the light of what I said, I began wondering if the two expressions, "tha alpha and the omega" and "from A to Z", mean the same thing.

1) "I was forced to read the alpha and omega of 'The Principia Mathematica', written by Alfred North Whitehead"

2) "I was forced to read, from A to Z,  'The Principia Mathematica', written by Alfred North Whitehead"

Can anybody explain the difference in meaning between 1) and 2)?


texts:
I had something weird happened to me not too long ago, I was texting a friend and was asking a question that isn’t super illegal but it didn’t cross any lines within the law.  To cut a long story short,  the person I thought I was texting was not who I thought she was (ended up she changed her number without telling me)  no big deal – but want happened next was a first…  halfway through our texting conversation, I was surprised to receive a text from the person who actually now had her new number and that person claimed to be a police officer and said that what I was asking was inappropriate and said my phone is now raked !!!!!

The point of this is to find out if anybody knows what that means

  “your phone has been raked“

Who is this person? Where they just trying to scare me or is it a real term maybe  amongst police officers? Maybe even a typo! I’m just very curious and I haven’t run across anybody that can figure it out so anybody’s help would be very much appreciated thanks for your time thanks for reading have a great day hope to hear back soon ✌


texts: Understanding "what fraction of" in a math problem

texts:
I am faced with a very problematic wording of a math problem. I can infer what the author meant from the solution, though, I was wandering for the correct linguistic interpretation of the sentence.

  Damian needs 1/4 of the wood in the shed on the first day and 2/9 of
  the remaining wood on the second day to make a tree-house in his
  backyard. Given that 2/5 of the wood in the shed is unusable due to
  fungal damage, what fraction of usable wood is left once he has
  completed the tree-house?

Is that the fraction, (left usable wood)/(total usable wood) or (left usable wood)/(total wood)? does the fact that it is the fraction of 'something' implies that the whole must come from that something?


texts: Do we say that life expectancy is "higher" or "longer"?

texts:
E.g. Life expectancy in Japan is higher/longer than in Russia.

Or perhaps both are correct?


texts: "There is a number of" versus "There are a number of"

texts:
As a native speaker, this sounds correct:

  There are a number of cows in that field.

whilst this sounds totally wrong:

  There is a number of cows in the field.

But arguably the second form might be technically correct, because "a" indicates "a number" is singular.

Some examples support this hypothesis: "There is a collection of cows in that field."

Whilst others contradict it: "There are a lot of cows in that field."

Can you confirm which is correct, and is there a good justification which can be generalised to other situations?


texts:
What the hell did I marry?
Why the hell did I marry?
When the hell did I marry?
Where the hell did I marry?
...

Can all question words be followed by "the hell"?


texts: Using the word "again" as a clause in a question

texts:
If I end a sentence with the word again, I do not usually need a comma such as in the following example:

"Here we go again."

However, I have been unable to find information about using the word again as part of a question. Should I be using a comma in the following question or not?

"What is the definition of irony, again?"

Is the word again considered a dependent clause or something else?


texts:
I've been running across some interesting abbreviations on the internet. For example:

  b4: before
  w8: wait

I find it clever because you use just 2 letters to express a longer word. What's the origin of these abbreviations? Can you please provide a full list of them?


texts: Is there a correct gender-neutral singular pronoun ("his" vs. "her" vs. "their")?

texts:
Is there a pronoun I can use as a gender-neutral pronoun when referring back to a singular noun phrase?

Each student should save his questions until the end.
Each student should save her questions until the end.


texts: A word for something that is pleasant because it is intellectual challenging

texts:
I am looking specifically for an adjective. Let X denote that adjective. Here's an example for what I mean.

  He's not doing cancer research because he wants to improve and save the life of his patients, but because it is X.


texts: What constructions enable a writer to preserve strict logical coherence and reduce redundancy when conjuncting two noun-phrases?

texts:
What constructions allow a writer to preserve strict logical coherence and reduce redundancy when conjuncting two noun-phrases?

Example

  Many cultures have used gold or silver bullion as a currency.

That sentence could imply that many cultures have used gold -in any form- or silver -only when cast as- bullion, but I intended it to mean that many cultures have used gold bullion or silver bullion as a currency. Moreover, a reader could interpret the sentence to mean that many cultures have used gold -in any form, for any purpose- or silver -only when cast as- bullion -and only- as a currency.

How can I construct that sentence to ensure it imparts only the meaning I intend it to impart?


texts: Word for someone talking about something as if he understands it when he doesn't

texts:
Not someone overstepping boundaries, but if, for example, I was at Jiffy Lube and suggested different things as if I knew anything about cars.

Ideally (though I know it's a long shot) I'd want a word I could use when I caught myself doing it (i.e. not super derogatory, but acknowledging the social gaffe).

  Sorry, I don't actually know anything about cars; I'm just [being a] __.


texts: Subordinate clauses embedded within subordinate clauses

texts:
Relative pronouns like who, that and which introduce a relative clause. Since these relative clauses can’t stand by themselves, they are subordinate clauses.  Moreover, these relative clause function in three ways: as noun clauses, adjectival clauses or adverbial clauses. You can embed a subordinate clause within a noun clause. However, how will the rules of comma usage function then?
Is it:

The boy knows that if he kills the woman, he will be sent to prison.

Or:

The boy knows that if he kills the woman he will be sent to prison.

Why I’m asking this question is that this isn’t your normal subordinate clause that begins with subordinate conjunction. A subordinate clause that begins with a subordinate conjunction doesn’t come after a verb, but this does; so how will the rules function in this case.


texts: I have tried to find this but failed, so I want to ask here. What is the meaning of snake in the grass?


texts:
KATIE COURIC: Some newswomen dress like they’re going clubbing.
RACHEL MADDOW: It’s un-businesslike. … But there’s an interesting question in there: If you make a decision about trying to succeed on the basis of your looks, is it less objectifying than if it’s somebody else’s decision?

Could someone please elucidate the bold sentence? Definition of objectify as a  transitive verb:

express (something abstract) in a concrete form:
degrade to the status of a mere object:

Is the apt definition #2? If so, does the bold sentence mean:
Is [ making a decision about trying to succeed on the basis of your looks ] less demeaning/degrading [ of those newswomen who dress inappositely ]
when it's somebody else's decision ?


texts: Is "magnum" a valid word to cover "big"?

texts:
This word is mostly unusual to use in speaking, so here my question.

Magnum comes from 1788 in English as "large wine-bottle," usually containing two quarts. As the name of a powerful type of handgun, registered 1935 by Smith & Wesson Inc., of Springfield, Massachusetts. Magnum opus "masterpiece, a person's greatest work," is literally "great work"


texts: What do the expressions "offshore", "blind filing" and "operating at a total loss" mean?

texts:
In the 2014 film The Other Woman, there is an exchange between several characters:

  Carmela - Yay.- Mark's not just a cheating scumbag, he's also a thief. Look what I found. This is a list of all of the start-up companies that Mark has invested in. Three are offshore, but only one was a blind filing. No board of directors. It has a P.O. box
  for an address, and it's been operating at a total loss in the Bahamas. ServiceCircuit.

So what did Carmela mean by : "Three are offshore, but only one was a blind filing.
No board of directors. It's been operating at a total loss in the Bahamas"?

Please note: English is not my native language, so the simpler and clearer you can make your explanation, the better.


texts: 'They will have' to express a past event. Is this BrE only?

texts:
If the Police shut the High Street one day and my colleague asks me why, I may say to them :

  They will probably have done that because of the accident this morning,

is this peculiar to BrE ?

'They will have done' is a future expression. But I am speaking of a past event.
I could say 'they would have done that because ...' or 'they did that because ...' which both express past events.

But I often express 'will have' to denote something that is past.

Does AmE do this as well ?


texts:
I asked this question on Stack Worldbuilding:

  In this world a secret society "farms" people with desired features
  (personality appearances etc.). They have ectogenesis of course; but
  they can't afford personnel to take care of the "products" until they
  reach maturity (14-20 years depending on the end uses). What kind of
  machines/software are needed to raise them in an appropriate way?

  Consider that these people will be reintroduced into an already
  existing society and therefore need not be capable to form a new one
  on their own. In particular they need at the very least: language,
  self-care, basic knowledge of science/literature, basic social skills.

  I know this is a common tech in works that feature embryo space
  colonization but I am not aware of any that describe the technology in
  any useful details.

What could be a word to refer to the concept of being raised by machines?

I am looking for a word with an etymology but even a "slang term" could be interesting. Is it even ok to ask this kind of question here? I read some of your rules but I'm still not sure


texts: "make somebody feel an idiot" or "make somebody feel like an idiot"?

texts:
I used lingoes software to search for the definition of snub, and there is a sentence in Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner's English Dictionary that reads

  He snubbed her in public and made her feel an idiot...

I was wondering why is it not "made her feel like an idiot"?


texts: What is the word for someone calling something bad, but then that person does the same thing?

texts:
I really want to know because it occurs a lot with the people I hang out with.
I would do something "bad" and get in trouble, or get called out for it, but then the people who had a negative response to what I did would do the same thing as if they forgot it was bad.


texts: Is it correct to use "pointing out" in this context?

texts:
I am writing in this context

I am so excited about XXXX.
Thanks a lot for pointing it out to me.
You are great

Is  point out the correct expression to use?
Note: the one I am sending the email to, is the one who told me about this thing that seems that I like a lot.
Thanks


texts: {How/why} {could I have missed/did I miss} watching this movie till now?

texts:
How/why could I have missed watching this movie till now?

OR

How/why did I miss watching this movie till now?

I'm confused about how to use this sentence. I did research on these sentences but I became confused a lot. Could anyone explain how to frame this sentence?

Thank you.


texts: Is the idiom "as neat as a pin" an American phrase?

texts:
I'm editing a novel set in 1930s England, written by an American author, and have been editing out any Americanisms I come across. I just read a line of dialogue containing the idiom "as neat as a pin" (meaning clean and tidy). I've never heard of this before; is it an American phrase, or have any other Brits out there heard of it? All I can find of it online is that it originated in the early 19th C. with the development of mass production.

If it is in fact an American phrase, what would be an appropriate British English equivalent in keeping with the book's setting? "As nice as ninepence" perhaps?


texts: Is the expression "as is easy to see" correct?

texts:
I am reading a math article, and I encounter the expression as is easy to see.

First I thought it was a typo, but then I encountered it several other times.

So I came here to ask: is the expression as is easy to see grammatically correct?


texts:
And now, a little detail bothered him.
Not about the case. No, that was fine. It was something else.

Something about Allie.

But damn, he couldn’t put his finger on it. He was fine when she’d left this morning. At least he thought he was. But sometime after her call, maybe an hour or so, something clicked in his mind. The little detail.

Detail.
Something insignificant? Something important? Think . . . think . . . Damn, what was it?

His mind clicked.

Something . . . something . . . something said? Something had been said? Yes, that was it. He knew it. But what was it? Had Allie said anything on the phone? That had been when it started, and he ran through the conversation again. No, nothing out of the ordinary.

This clip is from The notebook by Nicholas Sparks. I asked question to pinpoint   many pronouns. It's so ambiguous that I can't be sure about them.

1)that was it.

That indicates "a little detail" and it means "what Allie said on the phone"?

2)That had been when it started,

If I revive the left-out part on the above sentence, It will be like "That had been on the phone when it started", is it right?

Then, in this sentence, what is "that" indicating and what is "it" pointing to?


texts: Concise way of expressing "Without further specification"

texts:
Is there a concise way to express "without further specification" or "based on what is known", as in

Without further specification, items A and B are indistinguishable.

and

Based on what is known, options A and B are equally good choices.

An idiom in this ballpark would be "on the face of it", but I am intending something more precise.
"Ostensibly" comes fairly close, and this might be appropriate for the first example above (if A and B are to be distinguished based on visual appearance), but this has connotations of being specious and doesn't fit with the second example.
I realise that the Latin phrase a priori may be appropriate in some contexts, as in

A and B are, a priori, equivalent.

but this has a quite precise meaning which does not fit all cases (independence from all experience, rather than limited experience as in the first example above).
Edit: I had hoped to keep things general, as have found the above construction ("without further specification...") to come up quite often in my work, but it has been suggested in the comments that it may help to provide an example of what "A" and "B" could be. Suppose you have two apples, both of which weigh 100g. If you are only told their weight, but no other information, you have no way of distinguishing between them. However if you are also told the colour of the apples, and one is green whilst the other is red, you can.


texts:
Recently I was received mail and found there the blue sky thinking phrase as an agenda for the next company team meeting.

Quick googling does not bring any appropriate results.

What does the blue sky thinking mean?


texts: How to pronounce words with double vowels like neither?

texts: I have used two rules for pronouncing words and names with double vowels. The first I learned in elementary school: when two vowels go walking the first does the talking. The second rule is for German words and names: paraphrasing rule one: when two vowels appear in German, the second does the talking. Exceptions to both rules are diphthongs, or two vowels pronounced as one vowel sound, e.g., noisy. And while we're at it, Hawaiian words are often mispronounced. Kaua'i is not pronounced Kuh-WHY. It's kuh-WAH-ee.


texts:
It's from a tweet:

AI/crypto hybrid idea: estimates the amount of authentic cope in your tweets and emits you COPE tokens

I looked up the "cope" in dictionaries and google. Seems none of its meaning makes sense here.


texts: what is the adjective of relation pertaining to computer programs?

texts:
If you have an npm library (a piece of software program, a chunk of computer code) as a noun, how would you turn it into an adjective of relation?

Something like "softwarian" or "programmarian", just a real word?


texts:
I use this as the closing line in all emails to recruiters, Grammarly says the
second one with the comma as punctuation is right, but I am not quite sure.

Wrong according to Grammarly: I am excited about the opportunity to work at XYZ and I look forward to hearing from you.

Right according to Grammarly: I am excited about the opportunity to work at XYZ, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Which of the following is the best way to use it or suggest a new line?

A: I am excited about the opportunity to work at XYZ, and I look forward to hearing from you.

B: I am excited about the opportunity to work at XYZ and look forward to hearing from you.

What is the best way to say that?


texts: What's the difference between "It won't be soon" and "It won't be soon enough"?

texts:
I have heard this expression "It won't be soon enough" quite often, in fact more often than simply "It won't be soon". I wonder if the word "enough" in the first one adds some additional meaning to the phrase. I haven't been able to detect any difference in meaning between the two.

Perhaps I am wrong, but according to my observations, "enough" seems to go along well with "be", while dropping "enough" seems to be more common for other verbs, for example, "It won't happen soon", "It won't arrive soon" and so on.


texts: I'm reading an article by DWT (https://www.dailywritingtips.com/because-of-and-due-to/), and I'm unable to diagram I missed the class because of the rain. Do I treat because of as the head of adverbial prepositional phrase modifying missed and attach the rain to it as the OoP?


texts: Is "We do R&D" or "We do hardware R&D", where "R&D" is used as a noun, more correct than "We R&D hardware", where "R&D" is used as a verb?


texts: What is the terminology of an argument by gradually getting rid of other possibilities?

texts:
In a game show, a player has to guess the answer from a quiz of 4 options. He manages to find the answer by considering the first option, then argues that it is not the case. Then he does the same for the options 2 and 3. He then concludes that the answer is the option 4.

In English, how do we call this type of argument?

Thanks.


texts: A word for 'to empathize without identifying with'

texts:
I'm looking for a verb or noun that refers to our capacity to abstract someone else’s experience or experiences vicariously.
Such a word would be good for describing what it takes to be able to profile a serial killer or to survive after analyzing a victim's suicide note for examples. I'm looking for a more clinical term than empathy.

'Empathy' would work if the line between definition and connotation weren't so ambiguous. Most of the definitions I found, however, seem to necessitate personal opinion toward the other's experience, such as deeming his/her emotions as appropriate for the situation.  I looking for anything that refrains from such presumptions.


texts:
As it is common with people from my country, I have an immense difficulty with prepositions in English, especially with the use of in and on.

When the preposition indicates the position of the object it is a bit easier to decide which one to use, but as it requires thinking from me, I still say things like "I put the bill in the fridge", "my pencil is on my bag", etc, even though if I think about it, I would know how to say it correctly.

Of course, even in those cases where the preposition indicates position the decision is not always clear, as is the case for example with "on the bus" (you are not on top of the bus, you are inside the bus) or "he is in bed" (you are not inside the bed, you are on top of your bed).

Other cases are even less clear, and I believe there is no real rule to decide what should be said; the person should just know it. Two examples are "in a bad mood", "you are on my mind".

So my first question is whether there is really no rule to help me. The second question refers to two of the cases where I still don't know whether to use in or on:

good luck on/in your exam
in/on the list

The last one is especially important to me, as I have asked a number of native speakers, and each time I get a different answer. The only consensus seems to be the case where you say "on top of the list". Apart from that, some people will say that I should say "his name is in the list" whereas others think I should say "his name is on the list". And yeah, a couple of people did tell me that I can use either.

Can someone help me?


texts: meaning of "the demands of interest" in this text

texts:
Could you explain me in English what "the demands of interest" in the following text means? The text is from Steven R. Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change - see excerpt here.

  "I want it now." People want things and want them now. “I want money. I want a nice big house, a nice car, the biggest and best entertainment center. I want it all and I deserve it.” Though today’s “credit card” society makes it easy to “get now and pay later,” economic realities eventually set in, and we are reminded, sometimes painfully, that our purchases cannot outstrip our ongoing ability to produce. Pretending otherwise is unsustainable. The demands of interest [emphasis added] are unrelenting and unforgiving. Even working hard is not enough. With the dizzying rate of change in technology and increasing competition driven by the globalization of markets and technology, we must not only be educated, we must constantly re-educate and reinvent ourselves. We must develop our minds and continually sharpen and invest in the development of our competencies to avoid becoming obsolete.


texts: What is the meaning of “cop” in: “if London cops it, he'll cop it”?

texts:
What is the meaning of the text in bold:

  He says if London cops it, he'll cop it. And not to worry, Dad.

I have found these meanings for cop in The Free Dictionary, but none of them seem relevant to the sentence.

  1.  cop 2
  tr.v. copped, cop·ping, cops
  a. To get hold of; gain or win
  b. To perceive by one of the senses

  2. To take unlawfully or without permission; steal.


texts: Does a "window of time" get smaller or shorter?

texts: Also is there a general rule with such phrases?


texts: What kind of phrase? ...while walking down the stairs

texts:
Is walking a gerund in this sentence? I think while is acting as a conjunction. . .

Gloria tripped and fell while walking down the street.


texts: 'Am I interpreting' vs 'Do I interpret'?

texts:
Am I interpreting the results correctly?
  Do I interpret the results correctly?

Do they have the same meaning? Are both or just one correct?


texts:
I brook the etymology for 'transfix' = 'to pierce', thanks to http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=transfix&allowed_in_frame=0.

Yet how does this imply or induce the figurative meaning of "make motionless or helpless, as with amazement, terror, or grief"?

My guess is that if someone is pierced, then she becomes wounded and bleeds, so she is 'motionless or helpless.' Yet this doesn't explain the 'wonder, or astonishment' in this definition ?


texts:
can anyone tell me the difference between these words?
According to the dictionary these are

market is a place where buyers and sellers of a specific good or service interact with each other in order to facilitate an exchange.

market square -  a public marketplace where food and merchandise is sold

square- A rectangular space enclosed by streets and occupied by buildings

The question is, which one of above-mentioned words would fit in in this context?: "

In the autumn of 1941 the following policemen: Wacek, Lerek, Marecki, Zebryk and Żukowski, herded all of us to the market/market square/square. On our way to the market/market square/square some women warned us that we were in trouble. When we were on the *market**/market square/*square**, the Lida county commander and the SSmen surrounded us.


texts: Is it grammatically correct to use the word 'your' before a verb in present progressive tense?

texts:
Can I say:

  I understand your wanting to wait a while longer.

I have heard it being said, but how correct is it?


texts: Can't figure out how to say this sentence

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  possessive connecting word for inanimate object

Can't figure out how to build this sentence.

Say I have a form someone needs to fill out and one of the cells that he needs to fill (called TABLE) is the name of a table (in a database).

When he gives me the form back I'll give him another form called, say F1, containing information related to all changes made to the table specified in the TABLE cell.

If he asks me "what is the TABLE cell for?", is it possible to explain it on one sentence?

The closest I've got so far is:

  The table to which changes made the returned F1 will refer to.

Does it make sense? Should it be:

  The table to whose changes made the returned F1 will refer to .

OR

  The table to which's changes made the returned F1 will refer to.

English is not my first language so I'm unsure.


texts:
I am in the process of writing an essay. I have a sentence in which I am trying to write about my school (XYZ). The sentence reads

This is not the XYZ students all love and adore.

Should there be a comma after the XYZ or does it read alright this way?


texts: Is there a formal way to say we want to go to the toilet?

texts:
I've heard: "I've to go the potty", "I have to meet Mr John", "Nature is calling me, I have to go", "I've to go to the rest room".

These sentences aren't formal, are they?   Is there any other way that I can use it when I'm in a meeting?


texts: When can you choose to italicize part of a quote? If you do so, what words must you add and where must you add them?

texts: I thought you only italicize a  title of a book, music etc.. I'm not honestly sure about  If you do so, what words must you add and where must you add them?


texts: What is meant by a weirdwielder in the translation of the Hildebrandslied by Francis A. Wood?

texts:
When reading the translation of the Hildebrandslied by Francis A. Wood, I came across a word I have never seen before, Weirdwielder.
I searched online and found nothing, the only links that show up are either unrelated, or link back to the archive.org where I got the book from. I searched 3 dictionaries and also came up empty.
I have read it several times but can't figure out what is meant by this, it is only mentioned once.
Feel free to edit my question and tags if necessary.

40 With untruth art thou come to old age, for trickery
clings to thee ever.
It was said to me by seafarers
Coming west over the wave that war slew him.
Dead is Hildebrand, Heribrand's son."
"Great Weirdwielder, woe worth the day!
45 For sixty winters and summers I wander'd,
Battling with foemen where blows keen fell.
From the scarped wall unscathed I came.
Now the son of my loins with the sword will hew

link to book here on archive.org


texts:
What is the meaning of "an action flag" in the sentence below?

  ...your name has an action flag on it, which is directing me to transfer you immediately to the consul general's chief administration.

Thank you,

fate


texts: Is this sentence bugged? "adverb to verb"?

texts:
There lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own
  good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing.

Is this "earnestly" an adverb? If it is, then why "earnestly to hope"? Shouldn't there be no "to" in between the adverb and the verb it modifies?

The original sentence is:

  If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own
  good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I
  submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is
  no part of the Christian faith.

  Lewis, C. S.. Weight of Glory (Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis) (p.
  27). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.


texts: Can I use the adjective 'facile' in the form of 'facile with _____'?

texts:
The only definitions I come across for 'facile' are in its adjective form. 'Facile', followed by the noun being described.
Is it grammatically or colloquially acceptable to use the word in the manner of: "the girl is facile with data"?


texts: What is the difference between "obdurate" and "obstinate"?

texts: I saw the former for the first time today, but I noticed its definition seems exactly like the latter. Is there something I'm missing or are the two just pure synonyms?


texts:
How do I correctly write someone has been doing this for this certain amount of time? For example:

  Next 30 years he wrote multiple books.

or should I write it:

  He wrote multiple books in 30 years.

It can be informal


texts: What does Drew Pritchard from the TV show Salvage Hunters mean when he uses the word tactile?

texts:
Different dictionaries define it as of something you can touch or something that is connected with the sense of touch. However, this does not make sense to me. He buys antiques. Everything he buys can be touched. What then makes some things tactile and others not?
I can give a few examples of him using the word. Those are from season 9, episode 5.

https://youtu.be/hqrs3xyH6h0?t=2029

https://youtu.be/hqrs3xyH6h0?t=2165


texts: can I use "Bus rider" for "Bus passenger"?

texts: I want to write something about bus public transit and I want to know weather it is common to use the term "Bus rider" for "bus passenger"?


texts:
I Google'd "for the day" but it seems that it is not precisely an idiom. Does it mean during day time or for a whole day?

Here is the sentence where I found that expression:

Now I could take a holiday but suddenly I don’t feel like going anywhere on my own. Jan talked about us going somewhere together, but we’ve never even been out for the day.


texts: Use of would have in hypothetical conditions

texts:
I am still a bit confused about this , can we use would have to indicate a task which someone may have done but you're not sure if they did it or not , or how they did it.
For example in this sentence -

I wonder how they would have survived when they got attacked.

I could have used second form of verb but that would mean that I was sure they survived , I wanna make it sound like i am not sure if they survived .


texts: "Glaringly obvious" vs. "blaringly obvious"

texts:
I've heard both phrases in everyday speech, so there's little doubt in my mind that the answer is both. I suspect, though, that one of these phrases is more the original than the other, and the other sprang out of it from mis-hearing.

Glaringly obvious seems essentially redundant; the word obvious occurs in the definition of glaring in the three dictionaries I looked at.
Blaringly obvious is less favored by, say, Google, but actually describes the obviousness, as opposed to repeating it.

Are these two statements identical? Is one the forebear of the other?

It is difficult to resist the urge to fix these glaringly obvious errors.
It is difficult to resist the urge to fix these blaringly obvious errors.

What about this third? Is it preferable, or does it change the meaning?

It is difficult to resist the urge to fix these glaring errors.


texts: Is the verb resumes in "College resumes Monday" transitive?

texts:
I'm working through verb types at the moment, and I was wondering if one considers the days of the week as nouns or adverbs in the context of the sentence "College resumes Monday".

It wouldn't really make too much sense to say that Monday is a direct object, which leads me to believe that the verb "resumes" is intransitive. But wouldn't the correct form in this situation be: "College resumes on Monday"?


texts: searching for a suitable synonym for " a group of people " ex. young people , old people , etc

texts: I specially want to use this word after "adolescent" . better said, I'm looking for a nice paraphrasing for " young people ".


texts:
Is it correct to say this year has been being great? I have never heard anyone saying been being. Though such expression does sound a bit awkward to my foreign ears, I think it stands correct.

If I say I have been trying to speak to her, it means at an unspecified point in the past I started trying to speak to a certain lady and I haven't succeeded so far - but am still trying to speak to her and it's likely I'll continue trying to speak to her until I either reach out to her or simply give up on trying.

Getting back to my first sentence, the year begun to be great at a certain point in the past, it's still great and is likely to continue to be great in the future. So the combination been being makes sense as it is analogous to the been trying to speak to her case - but I must say it sounds odd (to me).

What are your thoughts?


texts: What can be an affectionate name for a car?

texts:
People who drive for a living (taxi drivers, delivery workers, etc.) are often fond of their cars and give them affectionate names. These names can stem from the car brand or model (such as a Beetle for Volkswagen Type 1). However, I'm looking for a more general name that can be given to any car. The name should show how the driver cares for its car.

In Russian, a typical name for a car that you can hear from taxi drivers is ласточка (literally, a swallow).

An example usage:

  -- Hey, I'm running late for the train, can you take me to the station?  -- Sure, my [affectionate car name here] will take you there in no time.


texts: Is "day use" the correct term for hotel rooms booked without overnight stay?

texts:
I'm trying to find the correct English word or term for hotel rooms that you can book by the hour. For example, if a hotel with Spa rents its room for just the afternoon too.

Is "day use" the correct term? Doing a quick web search there are some hotels which use this term, but I'm not sure if it's just because they're French or Italian and just made it up in order to have a simple term which people from other countries can understand.


texts: Question? or Question? sentence structure

texts:
I'm not exactly sure on how this should be structured. I have a question, or, question that reflects first question.

  Does the media change the way we
  think? or Does it have no effect on
  us?


texts: What do you call the source of a "said" quote?

texts: The source of a quote that was written (perhaps in a book) would be the "author" of the quote. What if the quote was said? Is it the "dictator" of the quote? That sounds odd and "speaker" just doesn't sit right with me. Any other suggestions?


texts:
What is the meaning of "slow boring of hard boards"?

The full text is given here.


texts: How do I footnote an item that appears twice on the same page?

texts:
I need to add a footnote to an item that appears twice in the same page.

For example, if I need to provide a footnote for the following bold terms:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do... Duis aute irure
dolor in reprehenderit...

Do I need to call attention to the footnote in both instances where the text appears, or is it sufficient to only put a superscript (or other footnote indicator) next to the first instance on the page?


texts: “A is claimed to follow from B” vs “B is offered as support for A”

texts:
These two following sentences are from an LSAT. "It" in both sentences refers to the same sentence in the stimulus. Each sentence below is presented as answer choices and thus I am trying to compare them:

It is a conclusion that is claimed to follow from the premise that A
is B.
It is a conclusion for which the premise that A is B is
offered as support.

What's the difference in terms of their implication and tone? I felt that 1. implies the conclusion follows from the premise regardless of other information in the stimulus. On the other hand, 2. implies the premises is one of the support for the conclusion, probably in concert with other information. But I am really not sure.
Any help and comments would be appreciated.


texts: "I'm working on a project" - present continuous or present perfect continuous?

texts:
I want to say that I'm working on a project lately, maybe this month or this week, but I don't specify the time in the sentence. I'm still working on a project and I will be working for some time. It doesn't mean that I'm writing a code for the project now, at the moment, when I write the text or something. "I'm working on a project". Is the sentence built correctly if I want to convey that meaning?
As far as I know, Present Continous use when action doing at the moment, right?
But that sentence not about the current moment, but about the current time interval.
Why there is doesn't use the Present perfect continuous tense?
A lot of examples on the internet uses the Present Continous tense.


texts: Single word meaning choose an option of delivery or pick up

texts:
Naming a step in a process is difficult when two options with very different meanings exist -

Delivery
Pick-up

If you are choosing delivery obviously you could use 'Delivery Address' or something.

If you are choosing pick-up you could use simply 'Pick-up confirmation' or something.

But if you wanted a one or two word way to describe the step of choosing one of the options and then entering an address or something what would it be?


texts: Is there a word to describe curiosity in a positive way?

texts: I'm looking for a word that describes a curious, interested state of mind- open minded, exploring, wondering, but without being nosy.


texts: A common construction is "Yes, that's right." Is that acceptable, or should a semicolon (or period) replace the comma? If acceptable, how can it be justified grammatically?


texts: Which preposition is correct to use in this context: I want to say that by taking online courses, you can improve on/with a flexible schedule. Imagine it's a description of the course (one of the benefits): "Improve your skills with/on a flexible schedule".


texts: Is this（apostrophe plus is）a contraction? What is the original form?

texts:
What is the uncontracted equivalent of ' is (apostrophe plus is) in the sentence, “Aye, when he comes into 'is money, like” in the following?  If it is “it is,” what does “it” refer to?  Does “it” refer to “flush”?  If so, “flush” is used as an adjective, meaning rich, I think. I’m afraid it is not logical.
I would also like to ask the meaning of the last sentence below, "When he comes into 'is money, like."

  "How do you know him, Jimmy--- can I call you Jimmy?" asked Gemma, finding the friendship more and more unlikely.
  "I play in a band, see?" Dawson grinned, showing teeth already beginning to yellow with nicotine, and played a little air-guitar riff. "And he sets up for us at some of the clubs."  "So you're not really close mates?"
  "Nah. He's just around, you know? Has a way of weaselin' out of things, our Roger, always talking about what 'e's going to do when he's flush."
  "Flush?" repeated Gemma.
  "Aye." Jimmy Dawson ground out the stub of his cigarette in the metal ashtray on the desk, and the metallic smell stung Gemma's nose. "When he comes into 'is money, like."

(Taken from the mystery novel: All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie)
(Jimmy Dawson: wearing his hair in a pony-tail, working at the petro station)
(Gemma: Gemma James, a female sergeant, in London)


texts: What does the phrase "level them up" mean here?

texts:
Here is a sentence from a combat game:

  If the player wins battles, she collects yellow slime which she can
  dump on her favourite characters to level them up.

I am not sure about the meaning of the phrase "level them up" here. Does it simply mean that the character gets advantage in terms of ammunition, speed, etc. or does the phrase have a specific idiomatic meaning that I am not aware of?


texts: What is the word to describe the lack of something?

texts: You have suffered many hardships and lived ...." (the term I want to find is here, it's like people live under poor conditions and don't have many facilities, lack of something to support their daily lives. What word should I use to describe that situation?)


texts: Is the origin of a coordinate system also called "origo"?

texts:
In a coordinate system, the (0,0)-point where the axes meet is mathematically called the origin in text-books and in texts I can find online - e.g. on Wikipedia.

In my mothertongue Danish, we instead use the mathematical word origo (which sounds like nothing Danish - rather latin, I would guess).

Now, I have a digital Danish-English dictionary at hand (well-recognized, as far as I know), and when looking it up, the result was:

In Danish, of course, but let me translate the four results:

  origo -The linguists discussed the origo of the word
  origin -He wrote an article about the origin of language
  beginning -She has been researching the beginning of language for many years
  originate -The dictionary explained from where the word originated

This dictionary suggests to me that the word origo does exist in English. But none of the four results concern the mathematical meaning as the origin of the coordinate system.

So, is it correct that this word exists? And if so, is the meaning the same as coordinate system origin?


texts:
He will be here in 90 minutes on the outside.

At the outside means "at the most". Is "on the outside" an equivalent expression?


texts: Meaning of 'roll' in 'I have all my grass to roll'

texts:
‘Oh, I am so sorry,’ said Hans, ‘but I am really very busy to-day.  I
  have got all my creepers to nail up, and all my flowers to water, and
  all my grass to roll.’

The above is a part of Devoted Friend by Oscar Wilde.

In the dictionary it could be used two opposite ways:

wrap something round and round upon itself
To spread, compress, or flatten by applying pressure with a roller

Which one would be proper for the above sentence?


texts: Can you say "it's not mine" when you dislike something?

texts:
And what are other alternatives expressing that you personally don't like something?

Context:
"- Hey, you've been living in Berlin for 3 months already! How is your German?
- I didn't learn it much. I feel like it's not my language"


texts: While taking the stairs during a fire drill, I noticed that door to some floors were labelled cross over floor. Later I went to one of these floors, but didn't notice anything different. My searches so far have proved fruitless (I keep getting suggestions for crossing the floor).


texts: How to paraphrase "You had better..." with the use of conditional (if)?

texts:
I've try to explain my question on an example. I've got following sentence:

You had better correct that source code.

How to rewrite it with the use of conditional or if statement?
I would like to have something like that:

It would be nice, if you have corrected that source code.

Is it correct? It should mean that someone should do something (correct source code) in the future, but currently he hasn't.


texts:
I'm watching Grace & Frankie, a drama comedy. In the first episode when Frankie's adult children came over to console their mother over her husband (and thus their father's) recent coming out news, they tried to reassure that she would get through this. Coyote is a former alcoholic and drug addict, and a sub teacher.

Coyote (to her mom): Look at me (implying that he's had his ups and downs but now is sober and can hold down his job). What professor scores coke off her student?

The second son: and he (Coyote) wasn't even sleeping with his student.

I think coke refers to cocaine, but what does score coke off her student mean? Similarly, is "score something off someone" a phrase?

According to dictionary.com one meaning of score is to "Purchase or obtain drugs illicitly", and "Any success, happy acquisition." I looked up "off", and it has an informal meaning of "from". Putting two and two together, it seems clear that score off here means, obtaining a happy acquisition, here coke, from a student.


texts: The use of "black box" as a synonym of "mysterious"

texts:
Full details are provided so that the method is less mysterious.

I would like to replace "less mysterious".
Is the following proposal valid for (scientific) writing?

  Full details are provided so that the method is less like a "black box".


texts: What is a word for being bored but with lots to do?

texts:
I can't find a word to fit the state of being bored but with lots to do - ultimately lacking motivation to do (tedious, repetitive) work, when one feels one should be motivated due to the amount of work needed to do.

Neither indifferent (having no particular interest or sympathy) nor frustrated (feeling or expressing distress and annoyance resulting from an inability to change or achieve something) seem to fit the desired word, although both are relevant.

It's not that the work actively causes the boredom, but is instead a factor relating to the frustration.

Sources: Oxford Dictionary


texts:
In a formal / professional email (i.e. emails directed at potential employers, co-workers and administrators), is it okay to exclude the greeting after the first email?

For example, I will send an email in the form:

  [Formal greeting]
  [Message body]
  [Formal salutation]

I will typically then receive an email of the same form. After this point, is it necessary to keep including a formal greeting, or even a formal salutation?

I generally do not keep saying "Hello" (or include any other greeting) in the same email thread after having said it once in the initial email. I may include another greeting if I am emailing the same person after at least a day in between emails, or if starting a new email thread.

I will also generally omit the salutation and just place my name or signature at the end of the email after the initial greetings / emails as well.

What are everyone's thoughts on this? I am referring specifically to formal and professional situations and not casual emails with friends or co-workers who you may have already been working with for a while.


texts: Idiom for something that is the best "available" solution

texts:
What's the most relevant idiom for something that is not the best solution and theoretically is far from the ideal. However, among the current solutions this the most appropriate and working one.

It should fit the following sentence:

  Despite its disadvantages that causes it to not being the silver bullet, this method is the best available one. In fact, it can be considered as (______).


texts: Neither L nor S lives in either A or B, What is your inference regarding this sentence?

texts:
Can "Neither Nor" and "Either Or" appear in the same sentence? If yes, what is your inference regarding the sentence below?

  "Neither L nor S lives in either A or B"

The answer my friend thinks is "No one (i.e L,S) lives in any place that has been mentioned (i.e. A,B)", But for me, some logic seems to be missing.

I believe the sentence can be written like this.

  "Neither L nor S lives in A"

or

  "Neither L nor S lives in B"

What I think is "One (L or S) cannot live in the places that have been mentioned  (i.e. A or B) So the other one can live in A or B"

i.e. "If S cannot live in A or B, L lives in A or B" or "If L cannot live in A or B, S lives in A or B".

Can anyone help find the correct answer?


texts: What does the formation of putting words an idea or feeling given here mean?

texts:
Here's the conversation I was having with a guy:

So, in this context, f I drill down, from my perspective, they may not mean anything together.

Can you please help me figure out what his expression of words or facts could actually mean?


texts:
Is the use of two or more successive relative clauses common or grammarically accepted in English?
As in "The man who is sitting in the wheelchair and who has a broken leg. Or "The man who is sitting in the wheelchair and whose leg is broken."
I know, of course, there are ways to shorten them, but I just want to know if it sounds grammatical to native speakers of English to use successive relative clauses, whether in spoken or written language.


texts: Grammaticality: 'gift ... will not be denied him' (1786 UK)

texts:
Source: p 174, The Catholic Christian Instructed in the Sacraments ...,  by Richard Challoner, 1786

  A. Continency is not required of all, but such as
  have by vow engaged to keep it: and therefore, before
  a person engages himself by vow, he ought certainly to
  examine whether he has a call from God, and whether
  he can go through with what he thinks of undertaking :
  but after he has once engaged himself by vow, he is
  not now at liberty to go back: but may assure himself,
  that the gift of continence will not be denied him, so
  that he uses proper means to obtain and preserve it,
  particularly prayer and mortification

  OALD:

  3.  [3.1] deny somebody something ... [3.2.] deny something to somebody

I recognise radical differences between 1700s and modern grammar, but should the above follow the ditransitive syntax 3.2? Here, something = the gift of continence, functions as the subject of the relative clause. So as per 3.2, should the bolded be written instead as 'denied TO him' ?

Footnote: I lit on this work only while reading definition c. for 'to vow' on OED.


texts: Use of "did" in an affirmative sentence before subject

texts:
I wrote the following sentence in an article:

  Only in June it created repositories.

The editor corrected me:

  Only in June did it create repositories.

What's the explanation for "did" in this case? It doesn't sound like emphasis, because the following word is not a verb.


texts: There are more people that have done ... or who have done?

texts:
I know that that is used for things and who for people, but in some cases, I can't really explain why, but I'm hesitating between:

  There are 4 more people that have watched the film #2 than people that have watched the film #3.

or

  There are 4 more people who have watched the film #2 than people who have watched the film #3.

or

another way to say it?


texts:
Does this headline from Toms Hardware use a correct sense of the verb "tease" (the main sense of which in this area being to tantalize especially by arousing desire or curiosity often without intending to satisfy it):

  Gigabyte Teases LED-Lit X99-UD4 Motherboard

I thought it should have been "teases with", because in this form it is not clear whether the brand teased the product, or teased people with the product. Thoughts?


texts: Can I say 'true to' to mean 'faithful/loyal to', as in 'I am still true to paper books', or would it be a mistake?


texts:
So I'm reading a 19th-century novel called The Count of Monte Cristo, and I came across this particular usage, which is:
[H]e continued," let us make all possible speed. I are most anxious to finish my evening at the Duke of Bracciano's."
I'm aware some usages in the book tend to be rather old-fashioned, but I still find the use of "I are" very peculiar. Is this a common usage in older English or in literary works? Thanks.


texts:
"Come visit me to find out about the solutions"

find out about sounds weird to me: what are some synonyms to better express the concept?


texts:
Is the word "hi" capitalized or not in the following usage:

"I said hi to Jim as I passed him on the way to school."


texts: What is the meaning of "He did not have that gift with her"?

texts:
What is the meaning of "He did not have that gift with her" in the following paragraph?

  No, Kelsey did not "remember the culture." She could care less about the culture. However, Robert, the history professor, was obviously enthralled by the contractor's findings. He had an innate way of understanding other cultures and other people that amazed Kelsey. He did not have that gift with her.


texts:
In this expression, (why thank you) there seems to be a question with a statement of gratitude. I have heard it all of my life growing up in Texas. I can even remember hearing it in the voice of Foghorn Leghorn "Why, I say why thank you."  Is it just southern colloquialism?  Another quote from Foghorn to end my question,
“What’s it all about boy, elucidate!”


texts: Is “you’re the door on the right.” grammatically correct?

texts:
The you is Harry Potter. I’m really curious about the grammatical construction and the reason why JKR chose it.

  ”Mrs. Weasley, why – ?”

  ”Ron and Hermione will explain everything, dear, I’ve really got to dash,” Mrs. Weasley whispered distractedly. “There” – they had reached the second landing – “you’re the door on the right. I’ll call you when it’s over.” (Harry Potter 5 [US Version]: p.62)

N.B.: Mrs. Weasley has just led Harry to his room. She is in a rush because she has to attend a meeting downstairs.

I think it means "your room is at the door on the right," but Mrs. Weasley might be making a mistake because she’s in hurry. I don’t know for sure, though.

What’s the true meaning of “you’re the door on the right”?
If it’s grammatically acceptable, is there any omission in the sentence?
If it’s grammatically acceptable, what situation do you use it in? And what’s the difference in listeners’ impressions between this kind (a-person-is-an-object type) of sentence and the more common version?
Would you give me some examples of a-person-is-an-object sentences?


texts: What's another word for "not" honed talent?

texts: I was looking for a metaphorical phrase that sort of fits along the lines of honing a hidden/unapparent talent. I can't quite place my finger on it, but I remember one that goes something like trying to purify (not sure what's the word) a mineral/rock/stone into a form that is beautiful (i.e. diamonds).


texts:
I have designed two algorithms, say, A and B. Is it right if I say

  The following experiments prove the advantages of A over B?

Or is there some better method to express the idea that "the experiments shows that algorithm A is better than algorithm B?"


texts: Can items themselves be mandatory, or only their related processes?

texts:
I distinctly recall being told that "uniforms are not mandatory, but the wearing of them is". The person was explaining that (in their opinion) many people get this wrong. They went on to say that exam questions aren't mandatory, but filling them in is.

I recently discussed this with my girlfriend – we're both interested in grammatical subtleties – but I couldn't find anything on the internet to support what I believe is the correct view on this.


texts: Difference between "how you are" and "how you were"

texts:
I heard in a talkshow that someone said.

"I wanted to see how you were doing after the operation"

My question is what the difference is to:

"I wanted to see how you are doing after the operation"

Can someone explain that? Thanks


texts: Grammar when listing question [e.g. we test i) does X cause Y, ii) does a cause b?]

texts:
I am writing a scientific paper and at the end of the introduction I list the three questions we tackle in the paper. Currently it is written as:

  "Here we address the following three questions: i) does A cause B, ii) does C cause D, and iii) does E cause F?"

Alternatively I could write:

  "Here we address the following three questions: i) does A cause B? ii) does C cause D? and iii) does E cause F?"

Or:

  "Here we address the following three questions: i) Does A cause B? ii) Does C cause D? And iii) does E cause F?"

Would any of these be (more) correct? Is there another more correct alternative?

Note: I use British English throughout the manuscript. It would be useful to get answers for both American and British English though.


texts:
Everyone who is not from the US that I know gives the same quizzical look when some food commercial claims that a TV dinner is decadent.

When did it start being used to mean luxurious? And why? (Our best guess is that it was a joking bet by some people in advertising that got out of hand...)


texts:
I have a sentence directly copied from a source to a paper. This sentence is cited but not quoted. In this point, it is regarded as plagiarism.

Can we say plagiarism for the opposite case: Directly copied sentence is quoted but not cited


texts: What is the significance of combining "Gangnam" with "Style"?

texts: How can a district be combined with "Style"? Does this show a significance in the district's style?


texts: Meaning of "working out" in this context

texts:
The following passage is by John D. Rockefeller Jr, as quoted in Peter Singer's A Darwinian Left:

  The growth of a large business is merely a survival of the fittest. . . The American Beauty rose can be produced in the splendor and fragrance which bring cheer to its beholder only by sacrificing the early buds which grow around it. This is not an evil tendency in business. It is merely the working out of a law of nature and a law of God.

(emphasis by me)

I'm not sure about the meaning of "working out" here.

One possibility is that it is derived from the verb to work out meaning to bring about by labor and exertion.


texts: Does "number noun" phrase require hyphenation?

texts:
Here is my sentence:

I have written a five page article.

Is the above sentence correct? Or does it need to be hyphenated like this?

I have written a five-page article.

Is there a name for the grammatical concept of using a "number noun" phrase like this as an adjective for another noun? For example, here "five page" acts like an adjective for the noun "article". What grammatical term is there to refer to such phrases? I am asking this because if I had known the term, it would have helped me to perform Google search to find the answer to my question.


texts: Is it grammatically correct to use different languages in a sentence?

texts:
To give some examples:

He has a certain je ne sais quoi about him. (French)
I thought I'd go au naturel for our girls' night out. (French)
That skirt with that blouse, I must say, what a fashion faux pas. (French)
I don't like my meat al dente, I prefer it well-done. (Italian)
Your meshugge cousin can be quite the klutz! (Yiddish)
Oy vey, that kamikaze klutz almost gave me a heart-attack! (Yiddish, Japanese)

My question here is, is it grammatically correct to use more than one language in a sentence?
I know it is accepted to do so (appropriately). But! if anything this site in particular has taught me, just because it is accepted, it doesn't mean that it is correct.
I found these websites (1 and 2) that say you should italicize them when you use them, but that doesn't answer my question if it is grammatically correct.
Reference(s) would be nice.

There is a comment regarding au naturel meaning naked, and while that is one definition, I'd like to point out that it also means

in a natural state


texts: What's a word meaning "obedient to a fault"? I heard it recently but don't recall the word.


texts: What does ‘Stubbed toes” mean in the sentence, “Curse words used to be reserved for “stubbed toes,”?

texts:
I came across the sentence, “Curse words used to be reserved for private conversations or stubbed toes,” in the article in Education section of New York Times (February 1), titled “Have curse words become so common they have lost their shock value?”
The article begins with the following lines:

  “Curse words used to be reserved for private conversations or
  stubbed toes, but over the past few decades they seem to have solidly found their way into popular culture — into hit songs and
  television shows, even book titles and company names.”

I know “stubbed toes” is an accidental but painful injury on the toe.
Is it common to use ‘stubbed toes’ in psychological connotation in this way apart from physical injury accompanied with an acute pain that was my original perception?

P.S.

As I reflect my misinterpretation of “stubbed toes,” it might come from behavioral (or cultural) difference of expressions of pains used between Westerners and Japanese. When we Japanese stubbed toes, pricked hands, pinched fingers, stamped a nail, whatever, we don’t or seldom curse, though sometimes we blurt “Chikushou畜生 –God dam.” We simply shout “itai-痛い!” “Oh ite-e おお痛え!” meaning “Ouch.”

It didn’t come to my mind at first that “Stubbed toes” can be associated with swear words.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Nikki’s and Alice’s X” vs. “Nikki and Alice’s X”
  Preferred way to apostrophise in case of dual or multiple ownership by distinct entities

(writers' and teachers' wages)
 or
(writers and teachers' wages)

writers and teachers are both plural

When you have multiple nouns, and all those nouns own the same thing, do you put the apostrophe showing possesion in all the nouns or just the last noun?


texts: Necessary relative followed by to-infinitive ... conflict of level

texts:
Recently I wanted to bitch at my staff and I wrote the following sentence:

  Do you want someone who has taken off their shoes to prepare your drink without washing their hands?

And then it suddenly felt weird to me because, technically, the to-part could refer to the relative clause as well as the nesting main sentence. The context makes it clear here but still I was confused at the second reading. I thought about using a comma but then I remembered that necessary relatives are not to be "comma"-ed (my native language is German).
Here are my questions:

Is the sentence proper English?
If yes, am I correct that it has a potential double meaning?
If yes, is it considered bad style or would people just rely on context?

Last but not least:

How could that be phrased in a way that avoids the issue?

As for the context... taking off your street shoes to put on work shoes means you touch the shoes. Some people go and do a caipirinha right after that without washing their hands


texts:
I know I can say "if you have any questions, ...".
I wonder if "any" can be omitted here.


texts: When was "Guru" - sanskrit term meaning teacher - popularized?

texts: I was interested to know about term Guru, when it was popularized really in Western countries ? At first I was trying to do a google books search of a word which showed that popularity of phrase sharply increased in 1955. So first question would be what affected such increase in popularity of "Guru" in google books at that time ? My first guess is that because of movie "MR. & MRS. ’55 (1955)" where director and one of cast crew is Guru Dutt. If it is so then event is not related to "Guru" term as a teacher at all. And second question would be - When really Guru synonym of teacher was really popularized in Western culture / countries ? Was "Guru" term popularized because of guru movement and interaction with hippies at 1960s-1970s at Western Europe and USA ? Or some other event induced peak in term's popularity ?


texts:
I'm designing a pompous and pretentious poster for the way we work in our company. Let's call the company "Initech" for this discussion.

I used the zero article, omitting "the", in the slogan "The Sacred Principles of Initech Way". My intention was to make a parallel between "Initech Way" and great traditions like Zen and Kendo. In this vein, "Initech Way" would connote "The Path of Initech", instead of "The way we work at Initech". I think this is similar to "Do" in Japanese martial arts, for example, kendo meaning "The way of the sword". So, "Initech Way" could be thought as "Initech-do" in my intended meaning.

Is using zero article in "The Sacred Principles of Initech Way" grammatically correct? If it can be seen as correct, does it still sound like an unintentional mistake?


texts: Grammatical Correctness of the Phrase "interpretations on _____"

texts:
I am aware that the commonly used preposition following the word "interpretations" is "of", but is using "on" also grammatically correct? I have seen the word "on" being used on several occasions.
For example:

There are various interpretations of his actions.
There are various interpretations on his actions.

If possible, please provide evidence for the answer and also examples from English literature.


texts: Do people in Colorado typically say "attorney" or "lawyer?"

texts: I'm interested to know if people in the Colorado area say attorney or lawyer more frequently.


texts:
I'm reading about commas, and am finding it fairly difficult to absorb.

How can I decide whether a modifier is restrictive? Google says that restrictive modifiers say something essential to the sentence. So,

My brother Mark, who lives in London, is visiting on Saturday.

would be free because the modifying phrase "who lives in London" doesn't further delimit who I mean.

But what if the noun phrase is generic? E.g.,

By the car a man, holding a bag, is stood by himself.

On the one hand the sentence hasn't exhaustively defined the man, so the modifier further defines him. On the other, the parenthesised phrase would usually not help us decide which man is being talked about.


texts:
Is the following sentence good/legal/understood English?

  Meditation melts the coarse and solidifies the subtle.

If it isn't, how can this be otherwise expressed, in a neat and concise way?


texts:
Is there a short phrase for "Can I ask you?" in the meaning that "I have a question. Do you have time now?".

The motivation is that some people start answering "No, you can't" which is joke of course, but is making small spot in the relationship.


texts: Is it correct to use two consecutive dots indicating an abbreviation and a full stop?

texts:
A quote from "Bad tendency" (Wikipedia):

  The principle, formulated in Patterson v. Colorado, (1907) was seemingly overturned with the "clear and present danger" principle used in the landmark case Schenck v. United States (1919), as stated by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr..

Is the usage of two consecutive dots at the end of the sentence correct?


texts:
English prepositions are difficult even for/to me.

Which one is correct, for or to? Is there a difference? Can they be used interchangeably?


texts:
I am looking for a noun which describes a lower level of skill than proficiency, a synonym for intermediate. A word that would fit in this context:

conversational .... in Greek

I am trying to say that I speak the language on an intermediate level

Any ideas?


texts: Why do some people say "there have voted"? Is it grammatical, or maybe historical?

texts:
In a certain debating chamber, it is routinely stated ("content" means a yes vote):

  There have voted — [such-and-such]: content; [such-and-such]: not content."

I'm not sure that this is grammatically correct. I think you can only have "been" or "not been" after "there have" at the start of a sentence. Could someone educate me as to why this is grammatical, or if it isn't, why they choose to repeatedly use an ungrammatical construction?


texts: Is the sentence "We're done" grammatically correct?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  I'm done or I've done

When the class is over, our lecturer always says "OK, we're done." Is this sentence grammatically correct? Isn't it a passive form, which simply means we are done by sth./somebody? Can we use "we've done" instead in this case?


texts: When is it appropriate to refer to a pickle slice as a pickle?

texts:
For example, you may say "No pickles" on a burger order but if a pickle must strictly mean an intact pickled cucumber, then you could never ask for "No pickles" as no common burger has multiple whole pickled cucumbers to begin with. I think it's fair to say that interpreting it this way would be against the grain.

For context: This comes from an argument about whether or not a bag of 9 pickle slices could be said to contain "9 pickles." The conversation is informal and the bag is small and has a picture of pickle slices on it. I am arguing that "pickle" can be shorthand to refer to a slice of a pickle, given the context of knowing there are slices involved and not a whole pickled cucumber. To give something more succinct to answer, I would also accept an answer to whether or not I am correct in this argument.


texts: Is this use of "made" past tense or subjunctive tense?

texts:
I'm a senior Computer Engineering student, and I'm taking a required Ethics course this semester. We just wrote our first paper, and each of us had to grade the paper of another student in the class.

Consider the following excerpt:

  If I were placed in the same situation, it is difficult to say how I
  would react. As a senior employee, I would have invested many years
  building my career and may have been at my current company for a long
  time. The choice I made would also depend on whether I was directly
  involved with the project. I do have strong ethical beliefs, but at
  the same time, I will admit that I am at times driven by money and
  career success. As such, I do not believe I would make the same
  decision Poulson did if I worked for Google but was not going to be
  directly involved with developing Dragonfly.

This excerpt was part of my response to the question in the prompt: "What would you do in this situation?"

The student who reviewed my paper left this comment in regards to the third sentence in this excerpt:

The choice I would make.  Made is past tense as if you actually made the decision.

He also left the following comment in regards to the final sentence in this excerpt:

This sentence is a little confusing.  Also stop using past tense.

He seems to be referring to my usage of "made" and "was" as past tense. However, I'm about 99.9% sure that my usage of those two words is grammatically correct when describing a hypothetical situation.

Who is correct? He lowered my grade on the paper because of this, so I would like to make sure that my grade is what it should be.


texts:
A TV program says,

  they started this accounting gimmick, if you will, and they...

What does "if you will" mean? Is it a short form of "if you will [a certain verb]"?


texts: Question mark for sentence which starts with a question but doesn't end with one

texts:
I'm basically looking at sentences which start with a question, and end with an explanation to it. But there may be more instances of a similar structure. Sample sentence :

  Can you book a room in advance, because otherwise we'd be in trouble

Should this sentence end with a period or a question mark?

PS: I read the apparently similar question Position of question mark when sentence doesn't end with question but the sentence structure there is different from what I'm looking for.

Edit: I just discovered that this question is a duplicate. A resolved question already  exists: Should I use a question mark when the second independent clause of my sentence is not a question?
But i do like the explanations here better.


texts: Does the phrasal verb "I need off this place" mean the same as "I want out of this place"?

texts:
In informal US English, "I want out of this room" means the desire to get out of that room.

But I've also heard this being said: I need off this room.

Does it mean the same?


texts: I have searched but all I can find is "pen maker" for someone who makes pens. Is there an alternative like "cobbler" for someone who makes shoes?


texts: Nuances of when the word "once" should/shouldn't be used as a conjunction (referring to single events vs. an interval after a a starting point)

texts:
I have a coworker who is a non-native English speaker (not that this matters... sometimes he corrects my errors!) and used the word once in a way that seemed awkward to me. It was something like the following:

  Once the calibration procedure starts, it will make a set of measurements and perform statistical analysis.

The leading clause Once the calibration procedure starts is fine, but it didn't seem to fit with the rest of the sentence. And I gave him the following reply, but I'm not 100% sure about it and can't find reference information to confirm:

  “once” doesn’t quite seem right here... it is usually used for a prolonged condition rather than an event, e.g. “once the President is elected, there is no way to unelect him except through the impeachment procedure” rather than “once the President is elected, he will appoint cabinet members”.

Am I correct, or is once (when used as a conjunction) just a synonym for after (or as soon as, per @deadrat's comment)?


texts:
Which one of the following sentences is correct?

You can find the information on the attached file.
You can find the information in the attached file.


texts: What do I call it when my wife regularly attends to her own wants and desires, seldom considering me?

texts:
My wife regularly attends to her own wants and desires seldom considering me.

As an example, she will buy special snacks for her knowing I enjoy them also but neither buy anything for me nor offer me any. If I ask for some she  will either become irritated or make a big deal of it using body language to tell of her displeasure. Another example is we both smoke. We don’t make a lot of money so we usually run out of cigarettes and share a pack. When I buy them I always give her half, 10 cigarettes. When she buys them, first she usually doesn't tell me. When I see her smoking and ask for some she gives me 5 or 6. If I go take some on my own she says I am stealing them because I didn't ask. If she opens them at home and decides to give me some, again she keeps the majority for herself. She also often will buy for herself and not tell me.

Today I experimented, buying myself a pack and not telling her. She came to me and asked if I had any cigarettes. When she realized I had purchased a pack and had given her none, she got an attitude immediately. “You bought cigarettes and didn't tell me? So, you're hoarding, huh? Bad karma.”

What is this? It happens too often concerning too many things for me not to be concerned.


texts:
So other day I stumbled upon this one particular grammar question, which seems to have many right answers according to my friends.

Question: I (have) my hair cut whenever it gets too long.

My first answer was: I have had my hair cut whenever it gets too long.

But I could not state a proper reasoning for this, as it mostly was my gut feeling. I showed it to some of my friends and they also told me that it is correct but could not provide any proper reasoning for the same. Then someone else told me that -

"I have my hair cut whenever it gets too long." is the right answer.

So my question is which one is correct and why?

Ans 1: I have had my hair cut whenever it gets too long.

Ans 2:  I have my hair cut whenever it gets too long.

Thank you for your time.


texts: Quotation ascribed to Benjamin Franklin, "We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."

texts: There is a cottage industry in the United States of manufacturing quotations and ascribing them to the American Founding Fathers.  A recent one, "We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid," ascribed to Benjamin Franklin.  The language and structure just don't sound like Franklin.  The parsing of the difference between stupid and ignorant seems to have arisen after Franklin's death based on an N-gram comparison.  Unfortunately, I don't have OED access to make that comparison in a more authoritative manner.  The question is, does the quotation (as edited) sound as if it might have come out of the 18th century?


texts:
Lately this combination of words have been showing up everywhere.

One true king.
One true way to find something
One true God
One true Morty

etc. What is the history of this word combination?


texts: "scheduled on...for..." vs. "scheduled for...for..."

texts:
Which one is correct:

I have been scheduled on Apple for 40 hours next week.
I have been scheduled for Apple for 40 hours next week.

To provide some background, let's say I work as a temp and my employer (a multinational human resource consulting) has a vacancy for me at Apple for a workload of 40 hours.


texts: What does it mean to be an 'unrepentant realist'?

texts:
In the context of personality and personal characteristics.
The person is described as being an 'unrepentant realist'.


texts: Can I say “He cries when slapped by his friend”

texts: If it is correct, could you tell me what grammar topic should I review to develop my knowledge?


texts: What is the equivalent for "dilute" to make more runny?

texts:
If I'm dealing with a salt or sugar solution, adding more water to it is called dilution. The same could be said of adding water to a liquid such as milk.

What word would I use if I was dealing with a paste of mud or corn starch? Adding water makes it more runny, less pasty, and dilution seems to be the wrong term to apply in this case.


texts:
I improved a software test by adding additional checks.

  I made the test more thorough, rigorous, and exacting; I ____ it.

What word fits the blank, meaning made-more-exacting?


texts: Is there a word to describe things that do not follow a rule

texts:
Is there a word (preferably an adjective) to describe things that do not follow a rule?

For example if the rule is: no object heavier than 200lb is allowed inside a building. How would I reference all the objects that aren't compliant to that rule in a sentence like the one below.

These are all the _____ objects


texts: Theatrical Term Describing Technicians and Ensemble

texts:
I am making a program for the school musical coming up. On the inside of it, I have the left-hand part of the page as the cast. On the right-hand side, I have the technicians and the ensemble (people who only sing in the background, not actual characters) I am at a loss for what should go in place of ????:

---------------------CAST--------------------|-------------------????----------------------
Some actor as Blah                           |  TECHNICIANS
Foo as Some Character                        |  Me
Another guy as Teacher                       |  Myself
Random person as Student                     |  I
And so on...                                 | --------------------------------------------
                                             |  ENSEMBLE
                                             |  Not me
                                             |  A singer
                                             |  Another singer
                                             |  I only sing

The word has to be fairly well known, but most of all short. Originally, I had "Technicians and Ensemble", but that was way too long. I couldn't think of any good word to put here.

Edit

The musical has around 20 actors, 5 technicians, and 15 singers. Therefore, to divide the columns evenly, I want the actors (which I called cast) to be on one side, and the technicians and singers to be on the other. However, I don't have a word for this grouping.


texts:
A friend of mine said "...I never saw you during school."

For some reason I wanted to respond "Neither I you." I am certain I have heard this reply before, but, looking at it now, it does not seem grammatically correct.

Is saying "Neither I you" correct? If not what would be the most concise to tell him that I had not seen him either ie Neither have I seen you?


texts:
It’s not easy how I have to read clauses starting with how. I’m going to start this question with a case from Longman –– “He was impressed at how well she could read! (A)”.

Though Longman says how is used to emphasizing with adjective or adverb, Random House says how intensifies not only adjective or adverb but also the whole sentence without them –– “How it rain!, How I envy you!”

So far it’s not that hard to follow. But when how-clause becomes a content clause, I’m confusing this exclamative content clause –– “She told me how very aggressive he had been. (CGEL,p991)” and cases in which how is read as conjunction that; the fact that; the way that –– “..referring to how Capone was eventually charged with tax evasion rather than criminal activity”. This aforesaid that-usage is, I guess, based on “in dependent question and exclamations”.

[Q i]
Now, what I want to ask is can the Langman’s case (A) be rewritten without meaning change into “He was impressed at how she could read”. The examples below put me up to this question.

  1 Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all
  very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized
  they weren't going to be changing the furni-ture into animals for a
  long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each
  given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end
  of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her
  match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all
  silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile.

  2 Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch
  match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get
  everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be
  replacing Harry as Seeker next. Then he'd realized that nobody found
  this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had
  managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So Malfoy, jealous and
  angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family.

  – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, p.134; 195

[Q ii]
Now, vice versa, can these two how’s can be rewritten into how well or how good?


texts: Why did Thomas Paine use both "hath" and "has" in the same sentence?

texts:
My understanding is that "hath" is archaic, but has exactly the same meaning as "has".
But then why would an educated writer use both in the same sentence when writing a formal article?
Example from Common Sense (1776):

"... but it hath so far happened that the first has failed, and the second has withdrawn her influence."

He uses both words throughout the text, often in the same sentence, causing me to think that he must perceive some distinction between the two in style or connotation, if not denotation.


texts: What's the word for technical/scientific/official terms?

texts:
I was beginning to think I was experiencing the Mandela effect, which has a rather unimaginative ____ [name|term]: false memory.

Is there either an adjective that fills the ____ that means scientific, official, and technical, or a noun that replaces ____ [name|term]?  It would be a word that means this is what experts in the field would call it in their discourse.
"Technical" may, in fact, be the best word, but I was hoping for something a little less plebeian because I'm a snob.


texts: Can an inanimate object "claim" to do something? Like a car that "claims" 45 mpg?

texts:
Excited to find this website!

Is it incorrect to say that a "dietary supplement claims to treat" a condition, or that a car "claims to get 40 mpg"?

I thought that as these are inanimate objects, you would need to say "a supplement with claims to treat..." or a "the manufacturer claims the car gets 45 mpg..." but I hear this phrase frequently, where an object "claims" something. Which is correct?

Thanks!


texts: What does "Dollars to " mean in the context?

texts:
I found it through the comments below:

  What a shame. Dollars to your aunt's cherry the next thing to go will be the Beach Races - I'd put money on it.

And also here in the comments.


texts: Does the expression "note the irony" make any sense?

texts:
The context is this:

  Everything to not overwhelm the player with the huge amounts — note the irony — of items that he has to manage.

Basically the expression "note the irony" is saying that those "huge amounts of items" are in fact not huge.


texts: How do I efficiently and specifically say that an item from a waiting list has been approved?

texts:
The title of the question illustrates my point. "Approved" is not really a clear definition of what I am attempting to say. Imagine a booking system. If a user requests to book an entity on a given time, this might be impossible due to already existing bookings. The user can put his booking on a waiting list, as there is a chance the original booking might be changed, or cancelled.

In case of this, the user should get an e-mail, where it says that the booking he or her tried to make, but had to put on a waiting list, now is not any longer on the waiting list, but it is in fact a valid confirmed booking. There is no payment relevant to the bookings in my case.

I tried:

  Another booking has been updated or deleted, so that your booking is
  now removed from the waiting list, and confirmed.

Most people will understand this just fine, but i have a feeling that "confirmed" can be ambigous. A booking can also be confirmed on a waiting list, without actually being... valid? I am missing a word here. Any other wordings I come up with, are embarrasingly long, and sounds like I'm talking to a 4-year old. Too verbose, without actually being clear...


texts: Thematic comparison of 'collaborative' vs 'collective' in literature or culture

texts:
I'm trying to brand a product with either the word 'collaborative' or 'collective', but I am having trouble imagining what the well known thematic usage is with either word.  I've always seen them used interchangeably.

The definitions seem pretty similar:

collaborative: produced or conducted by two or more parties working together.

"collaborative research"

collective: done by people acting as a group.

"a collective protest"

My guess is that someone with a literature or world history background would be able to help me parse the difference or nuance I'm trying to identify.


texts: Comma needed or not: ... , indicating increasing inequality, rather than a positive change

texts:
Understanding comma use still feels a mission impossible.
Is the second comma needed? May it be said that comma use often feeling-based, rather than rule based?

The variation of income increased in time, indicating deepening inequality, rather than a positive change.


texts: 'result' or 'their result' in this context

texts:
Here are my constructions:

As part of his academic activities, he conducted research focused on design, implementation and operation of novel algorithms using artificial intelligence. Within the framework of his research he developed four solutions and presented result in his four scientific publications.
As part of his academic activities, he conducted research focused on design, implementation and operation of novel algorithms using artificial intelligence. Within the framework of his research he developed four solutions and presented their result in his four scientific publications.

I am not sure, which sentence is correct and better?
Should I use 'the' before 'design'?


texts: Is "a wide range of features" singular or plural?

texts:
In the office, we've been having a discussion about the grammar in a sentence and have differing opinions about what is right and what is wrong... It is a very minor issue but is still bugging me :)

The sentence in question is:

  A wide range of features is available.

Which sounds more natural to me if it is written as:

  A wide range of features are available.

The justification for it is that the "is" is referring to the "wide range of features" as a whole rather than just the "features".

I was just about getting used to it when I decided to substitute a different word instead of "features". I just can't get my head around something like:

  A wide range of sausages is available.

Further to this, if I substitute "a wide range of" with "various" then it has to be are.

Which one is right?

Edit: Thanks for all of the responses. I didn't expect to open up such a can of worms but now I understand the technicalities. I still prefer are in this case though :)


texts: How to express that the temperature is high?

texts: Saying somebody is hot seems to mean somebody is sexy. So how would one express that the temperature is high? Is "I feel hot" OK?


texts: Is it correct to say "X from which Y comes from"?

texts:
It seems like the phrase "X from which Y comes from" shouldn't be correct, because the word "from" is repeated. I'm not sure if I should paraphrase it, and I'm also not sure how to do it nicely.

For example: "I'd like to show you the text from which this quote comes from".


texts: Should the word before a numeral be capitalized

texts: If you type out week 1 or top 25 matchup, would the word before the numeral be capitalised?


texts:
I have an exam system which tells the examinee whether they have passed or failed. This is displayed in the form of a title, and descriptive text below. A failure is not necessarily a big deal, as they may very well have the opportunity to retry at another point though this is not guaranteed.

A passed exam displays Congratulations in prominent letters and the related text.

For failed exams I chose Commiserations after wracking my brains. However, I'm unhappy with this as I feel it implies sadness or loss. Though I could perhaps be convinced otherwise.

Other options I considered were Sorry which felt too personal, Exam Failed which felt too blunt, and Try Again which may not apply depending on circumstance.

What other options have I missed that might be considered an appropriate antonym to Congratulations?


texts:
Could a native speaker please help me with writing the below sentence in a better way?

  Please do not feel guilty anymore, this makes me upset and makes me think I've
  done things wrongly.

The point that I am not sure about is whether I can omit one of the "makes me"s or not. If I do so, I get

  Please do not feel guilty anymore, this makes me upset and think I've
  done things wrongly.

It looks better than the first sentence, but I am not sure f it is clear or not. Also, in the above sentence, I want the word "this" to refer to "you feeling guilty", but I am not sure if it is clear from the sentence or not.


texts: The best word for "falling backwards" in the context

texts:
The situation is: you suddenly see something horrifying in front of you (big spider, poisonous snake, etc.) In terror, you "fall/lunge backwards" while still facing the "horrible being", and you try to crawl backwards from it as fast as possible.

What would be the best word/phrase to fit that "falling backwards" described above?


texts: Is there an idiom for someone who nods and listens usefully?

texts:
I had a coworker who would occasionally say something like, "I can't solve this problem. Would you play Wooden Indian for me?" (referring to the carved figures that used to stand outside cigar stores) His meaning was: I need to talk through this with a live person who will listen and ask appropriate questions, and I think I could see the solution myself at that point.

I often need this, too, as I process problems best aloud; but I don't want to run around asking coworkers to be "wooden Indians" as this seems racially insensitive. Is there another idiom for this role?


texts: Synonyms for (information) "system" and "applications"?

texts: As the title asks, what are some synonyms for "system(s)" in the context of "information systems" and software development. Similarly, what are some synonyms for "applications", as in, "...developed applications in programming language..."


texts:
What does "to be golfed-out" mean in the dialog below ?

  I'm going to the golf tomorrow morning, do you want to join ?
  Thanks! But I’m pretty golfed-out! Just back from Thailand after 2
  weeks of golf 12 games .


texts: Comparisons: "so [adjective/adverb] as" or "as [adjective/adverb] as"

texts:
When learning how to make comparisons, students of English as a foreign language are first told to use the structure "as [adjective/adverb] as". However, at higher levels, they are told that both options ("as/so [adjective/adverb] as") are correct.

I've been wondering if there are any differences between them, but I can't find an answer in my grammar (Cambridge Grammar of English). In a school book, I saw two examples that led me to think that:

"as [adverb] as" is possible with both positive and negative sentences
"so [adverb] as" is only possible in negative sentences

Is this correct?
If so, does it also apply to adjectives?

Examples for adjectives:

This is as good as that.
This is so good as that.
This isn't as good as that.
This isn't so good as that.

Examples for adverbs:

Anne plays as well as John.
Anne plays so well as John. (not correct?)
Anne doesn't play as well as John.
Anne doesn't play so well as John.


texts: What is another phrase for one stop shop?

texts: I am writing a small description and need a phrase to highlight a range of services. Is there another phrase for "one stop shop" which is both catchy and apt?


texts: Looking for a word or phrase for a difficult transition that involves building momentum

texts:
I'm actually imagining the experience of children having to transition from their own activity to something their parents need them to do, but comparing that experience to something like a crew having to change the direction of a ship in short order. The main effort is starting the change; then the change is caught up in the momentum.

"Parents promise ice cream to help children------------" [so they can move on to the next thing on the agenda.]


texts: Is there a rule prescribing the absence of the -eth third person ending in late middle English?

texts:
Is there a rule prescribing the absence of the -eth third person ending in late middle English ?

In the King James Bible, there are many verses which contain verbs in the third person without the -eth a the end, for example :

  Psalm 7:2 Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

Is there a particular reason for this ? Would "Lest he teareth" have been correct ?

(I've been thinking that maybe it was a subjunctive, that wouldn't take the ending or something of the sort)


texts:
First of all, English is not my first language. I have a question, maybe a basic one, about this phrase:

  The situation highlights the mismatch between some areas of training and available jobs to/for them.

Should it be "available jobs to them" or "available jobs for them"?

Sorry if the question is really basic.


texts: Do you say "the lyrics of the song" or "the lyrics to the song"? And why?

texts:
Well, the title says it all:

Do you say "the lyrics of the song" or "the lyrics to the song"?

Is any of these wrong?

And why?


texts: Short phrase for a controller connected to something by wires

texts:
If there is a mechanical device which is controlled by electronics, these electronics can be hidden inside the device itself or hang outside it and connected to it by wires. Is there a word which indicates the second option, without writing a lengthy sentence?

Example: instead of:
"... a device with a controller connected to it by wires"

something like:
"... a device with a controller _ wires". (in wires? on wires? by wires?)

"on wires" would seem to be the logical choice to me, but I couldn't find a single relevant phrase on Google.


texts: Can "firstly" be used in the same meaning as "at first/initially"?

texts:
I've come across many sources claiming that the words firstly and first (as an adverb) can be used interchangeably. They, however, only seemed to be comparing their meanings with regard to enumerations - first(ly) I want to say ..., second(ly) ..., last(ly) ...

What bothers me more is if the word firstly is also usable within the meaning of at first or initially like in the sentence:

  Muons (subatomic particles) were firstly observed in cosmic rays.

The word first fits there very well, but is that the case for firstly too? I have not found a dictionary definition or example saying so.


texts:
Once in an undergraduate course on English academic writing, I wrote something like "This is in no way representative of ..." in an assignment, and the teacher marked it down for being non-academic.
I asked the teacher if the problem with the sentence was that it sounded hyperbolic or something and he reiterated that the problem was simply that the construction is not suited for academic writing.
To my knowledge "in no way" is equivalent to "not in any way" and is perfectly acceptable in formal, including academic, writing, unlike the simple "no way", as in "No way I'd do that," which, again to my knowledge, is informal.
Was the teacher wrong? Or am I? This has bugged me for some time.


texts:
Should I use 'is' or 'are' in this sentence?

  Are Joyce and I going to finish the posters?
  Is Joyce and I going to finish the posters?


texts: Does a "word" have multiple meanings, or are there multiple "words"?

texts:
I always find it difficult to discuss the meaning of a word because I don't really have a definite meaning of word in my head.

Cook refers to the verb (to cook) but it can also refer to the noun (a cook). Would you say cook is one word with multiple meanings or that the verb and the noun are separate words? Is a word simply the arrangement of the letters?


texts: "Get help with [deciding]" or just "get help [deciding]"

texts:
I've looked at similar questions but couldn't find any describing whether "with" should be used in this situation.

This question seems the most similar, the result being that it is okay to use "to" in "help me to understand this", but it was not recommended.

Google search shows 9,830 results for "get help with deciding" and 19,400 results for "get help deciding", so it seems the usage supports dropping the "with".