texts: What does this sentence mean from Sherlock Holmes?

texts:
Leaning back in his arm-chair of an evening, he would close his eyes
  and scrape carelessly at the fiddle which was thrown across his knee.

I think the scrape means play here, fiddle means violin. But the part 'which was thrown across his knee' confused me. 'which' is referred to the 'fiddle', right? so does that mean he threw the fiddle on his knee? thanks. If he was playing violin, how he put it on his knee; if he was not playing, then did the author merely mean he just scrape the violin?


texts: Is it common to use 'time slot' to refer to days/weeks?

texts: How would you say to a client that you a have a 'free time slot' (like days or weeks) to take a job? Is it common to refer to 'time slot' even if I'm thinking about days or even weeks?


texts:
Hi: Since growth is an uncountable noun is it followed by a plural or singular verb?
for example,  in this sentence:  Wage and price growth (have or has?) picked up. Should we just have or has?


texts: What does a “talking-head-and-flapping-gums” sector of TV/Radio mean?

texts:
New York Times (May 6) reports that Mike Rogers (Mich.), the House Intelligence Committee Chairman decided to leave the House for a media gig as the radio host of Cumulus under the title, “Radio killed the political star.” It comments:

  Traditionally, when a fed-up congressman decided to step aside, it
  was for a more sober, public-minded and highly respected pursuit, like
  lobbying. Even when politicians have joined the
  talking-head-and-flapping-gums sector, there is usually an
  intermediate step. Joe Scarborough, for instance, left the House in
  2001 and practiced law for a few years before winding up at MSNBC. Now
  his breakfast nook of a broadcast, “Morning Joe"  is a far more potent brand than he ever was as just one of 435 members of the U.S. Congress.

  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/magazine/radio-killed-the-political-star.html?hp&_r=0

What does “talking-head-and-flapping-gums” mean? Additionally, what does “breakfast nook” mean? Is it a “morning variety” slot?


texts: Expression for someone who thinks bad things will happen and makes plans for it

texts:
I read an online article recently about psychology, which referred to a type of person who always expects bad things to happen. But rather than worrying or being unduly anxious about it, they plan ahead, in order to mitigate a future bad situation they expect might happen to them. This wasn't perceived as a negative attitude and the article gave this behaviour a description. Maybe it's well known in psychology circles or maybe it was just used in this article.

Unfortunately I cannot find the article, so I am enlisting your assistance. What we are looking for is a two word expression to describe such behaviour. It should not describe someone who is pessimistic, but rather someone who takes into account that bad things may happen and structures his life accordingly.

A similar example would be 'active defence,' which describes the behaviour of getting your retaliation in first.


texts: Does the following sentence make grammatical sense?

texts:
I am writing and essay and I am not sure if the following sentence makes grammatical sense (especially the bold part):
"This shows that Victor thinks so little of himself that he must fill the empty void where his freedom would lie had he been born wealthy with greater and greater accomplishments. "
I always welcome feedback or suggestions.
EDIT: I am unsure if it is correct because it seems incorrect to add "had he been born wealthy" in the middle of that sentence. It gives me the impression that it can easily be misread to mean something other than what I want it to mean. Which is that there is an empty void in place of where his freedom would have been, had he been born wealthy.
Thank you.


texts:
I have been reading Scott's Ivanhoe recently and have come across a word I cannot find a meaning for: outheroding. In the novel it appears in a discussion of footwear:

  Fur and gold were not spared in his garments; and the point of his boots, outheroding the preposterous fashion of his time, turned up so very far, as to be attached, not to his knees merely but to his very girdle, and effectually prevented him from putting his foot into the stirrup.

A search of the internet produces a reference here where it appears as

  The characters in this act
  frisk about, here, there, and every where, as teasingly as the Jack o'
  Lantern-lights which mischievous boys, from across a narrow street,
  throw with a looking-glass on the faces of their opposite neighbours.
  Bertram disarmed, outheroding Charles de Moor in the Robbers, befaces
  the collected knights of St. Anselm, (all in complete armour) and so,
  by pure dint of black looks, he outdares them into passive poltroons.

which doesn't help much in establishing what the word means.

Does anyone know what outheroding is?


texts: Slogan for a drapes manufacturer, which is correct? "Dressing the perfection" or "Dressing Perfection"?

texts:
I work at a factory that manufactures drapes and window treatments, and we hired a marketing team to revamp our corporate identity.  The slogan they came up with is:

"Dressing the Perfection"

To me that sounds wrong, I believe it should be "Dressing Perfection".

They claim it's to give emphasis to the word "Perfection"  (As in the perfection).

Thoughts?


texts:
I am setting a label for news only visible to managers.

The two suggestions I have for phrasing is

Manager news
Manager's news

The second one feels intuitively wrong, but I googled a bit and found that the 's could be possessive for singular nouns.

Can anyone explain if I am correct and in that case why?


texts: What's the difference between 'can't say' and 'can't tell'?

texts:
'Can't say' vs. 'can't tell'

May both expressions mean either 'don't know' or 'be not allowed to share the information'?

Or only 'can't tell' means 'don't know' while 'can't say' means 'be unwilling to reveal'?

Examples:

'I can't tell/say if he's been hurt. I really have no idea.'

'I can't tell/say. I am sworn to secrecy.'

I am also aware that 'can't say' may mean 'realize/'must admit' like in the sentence 'I can't say I have not been warned.' However, this is not my question here.


texts: What's the difference between "rise" and "arise"

texts:
What is the difference between rise and arise? When and how should I use each one?

Note: similar question


texts: What do you call a piece of cloth used to mop the floor?

texts:
I'm not a native English speaker, but my wife is.  She doesn't know either.  I think I've heard people use words "rag" and "rubbish", but I'm not sure how precise and widespread this is.  If this matters, I'm interested in the word one would put on a package in a supermarket rather than use in plain everyday speech.

After some trial and error I found this article on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floorcloth which suggests "floorcloth".  But when I search Google for images, all I find is sorts of carpets, and nothing about cleaning.


texts: What does “saving the world, one X at a time” mean?

texts: Does it mean that you are using X to save the world, or that you are saving the world by eliminating one X at a time?


texts: Is it possible to put a personal pronoun between "How about" and "-ing"?

texts:
There is an expression used when you invite, or give advice to, someone, "how about -ing?". Regarding this, my question is whether or not it's possible to add a genitive personal pronoun, just like the following expression:

Do you mind my/your opening the window?

For example, is the following example correct?

How about your going to see her in the hospital?
(To recommend the hearer, not anyone else, seeing a woman in the hospital)

Thank you.


texts:
I have looked at the meaning of fishwife at Collins Language (I can't link directly to the definition) and it tells me:

  fishwife n (pl -wives) a coarse or bad-tempered woman with a loud voice

Other places I've looked say similar things, with the additional definition of

  a woman who sells fish.

Which I'm guessing is the original meaning.

But I can't make the jump from someone who sells fish to someone who is mean, bad tempered, speaks bad language and is loud.

Looking at Etymonline only yields

  from fish + wife in the woman sense.

Which is nice, but not helpful here.

Why are fishwives mean?


texts: Written date formats in US English: how jarring is it to use the UK format?

texts:
In general, there is a difference between the common spoken ordering of dates between US and UK usage. So in the UK, we would tend to say:

  "the 14th of December, 2005"

while in the US, people would tend to say:

  "December 14th, 2005"

The US ordering is possible in spoken usage (usually with "the", so "December the 14th, 2005"), but probably not the most common in spoken usage, and definitely not in written usage. In written UK usage-- at least in a modern written style-- one would tend to write: "14 December 2005".

Now my question: how jarring does it look to a native US speaker to write dates using the UK format, i.e. "14 December 2005"? Visually, I quite like the UK style because it keeps the two numbers separated, but the document I'm writing is for a US audience.


texts: What is the formal word to say something is 'nice-to-have'?

texts:
I am writing a business plan for management, in which I wish to differentiate the options between that something is a must (mandatory) and other thing 'nice-to-have'.

The concatenated word 'nice-to-have' sounds less formal for business proposals, but I am not able to find a proper 'big' word. 'Optional' or 'alternative' might work, but it lacks the meaning that the option is perceived to 'be nice'...

Well, what I am asking is to seek a formal expression, and it doesn't have to be a noun. The context of the business proposal is like below:

  After investigation, we believe that (1) The acquisition of XXX is mandatory as it's concerned with XXXX; (2) Taking ownership of XXX is always a nice-to-have, but considering current human resource, we may not take immediate action.


texts: 'Norm' or 'standard' but in a neutral (or negative) sense

texts:
I'm looking to replace the word 'norm' in

The norm among managers is to use technique X

because technique X is actually bad, and 'norm' suggests a positive value judgment to me. Same with standard.
I tag with 'single-word-requests', but a couple would be fine too.


texts: Why are the bleachers called the bleachers?

texts: While I was reading about why the 'nosebleed' seats are called such a preposterous name at the ballpark, my curiosity was piqued in reference to another ballpark term that has troubled me over the years. The bench-like cheap seats have always been referred to as "bleachers". I have wondered why my whole life and have asked no less than 3 wise men / gurus, but to no avail. Won't you all please resolve this issue for me and my linguistically starved children?


texts: "I hear it from..." Different uses of present tense

texts:
Americans are angry. I hear it from the former factory workers who lost their jobs to other countries because of bad trade deals, the veterans who wait months to see a doctor at Veterans Hospital and the small-business owners who..."

How should I understand the meaning that carries "I hear it from"?

As a present tense meaning that I heard it in the past, I hear now and it will be the same in the future, that is: "I always hear it from..."
As a present tense using a past reference, meaning "I heard that Americans are angry, and I heard it from former factory workers..."
something else, but what exactly?

By the way, this is not an oral speech, but an opinion, an Op-ed to be exactly.


texts: Single word for the "estimated time of completion"

texts:
Is there a single word which can replace the phrase "Estimated time of Completion"? Obviously, there is ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) but it doesn't fit my context as is explained below.

I have considered ETC but wasn't sure if it is widely used.

The Context

Let's say it is for a job that needs to be completed, I'd rather not put ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) as it is not necessarily arriving.

If there isn't a single word, is there a widely used acronym for this context?


texts: Single word for thing which will never repeat in life

texts:
Consider:

  Childhood never comes again in life.

What might be single word that means never come again in life?


texts: Considering the etymology of anomie, could lawlessness be considered the Anglo-Saxon translation of this learned word of Greek origin?


texts:
I am not a native speaker and I get confused with the use of the words 'people' and 'they'. Do the following sentences mean the same?

  When people heard the news, the bravest volunteers came forward with
  help.

  When they heard the news, the bravest volunteers came forward with
  help.

Can we use 'they' in front of the noun phrase as in the second sentence?


texts: Is "messaging" a noun, a verb, or an adjective?

texts:
In the cruel jargon of software, it is common to see the phrase "messaging system", as if "messaging" were an adjective. Yet if I am "brushing" my teeth, it's a verb. There is an act of "brushing", and I suppose I could invent a "brushing device".

Is the answer that it is all three parts of speech? If so, what is the name for this kind of word, formed from a verb and made so awkwardly useful?


texts: What do we call the past movement to latinize English?

texts:
When examining intriguing etymologies, Merriam-Webster often brings up a historic movement to regularize the English language by making it more like Latin, as they do in this video examining the pluralization of octopus.

I know that this movement was at least prevalent in the eighteenth century, and I believe it started even earlier. I tried to research it, but all of my queries returned articles about the modern impact of Latino culture on English and a push to expel foreign language from usage in public American facilities, such as schools.

What is the name for this movement? How could I find more information on it?

Please include additional tags if you feel they are appropriate.


texts: In physics, we say that something is "degenerate" when it exists in more than one "equivalent" versions. What is the proper form of saying that there are n versions of X -- that X is "n-degenerate" or "n degenerate"? I have used the first form in my paper, but the editor changed it to the second. It is possible that they were wrong, hence my question.


texts: Meaning of "If either of these [inequalities] holds"

texts:
I have found a statement in a physical paper

"If either of these [inequalities] holds"

and as a non-native speaker I am confused: should it mean

"If both of these [inequalities] holds" or
"If (at least?) one of these [inequalities] holds"?

Is here the key point that there is used "holds" and not "hold" and that is why the second meaning is correct?


texts: Must have done something or must have something done

texts:
I got in trouble and people  said "he must have done something"
Which one is correct? " must have done something" or "must have something done " do they mean the samethng?


texts:
I have a 2nd-grader and I am trying to help him with his math work but I think I might be making things a lot more complicated than they need to be. The question asks:

  Meg needs _ books to have as many as Kate.

Now I think instead of books, it should have said more books, being that Kate has more books than Meg.  Does the word "more" give this sentence a different meaning or am I over-thinking this question?


texts: Should I add a comma in between 2 clauses to make it grammatically right?

texts:
Here are my examples

I would not wait but find the problem and fix it

I would not wait, but find the problem and fix it

Which one is correct?


texts: Is there a difference in pronunciation between 'two' and 'chew'?

texts: As a child my English teacher stressed continuously that we need to pronounce correctly the word "two" and "chew", pointing out that English-speaking people would hear a notable difference in their pronunciations.


texts: Provide proof or provide a proof (mathematics)

texts:
what I want to express is that I want to prove Theorem A.

My supervisor told me that I could use the formulation: We provide a proof of Theorem A.

A friend of mine, who is a Bachelor of Education in english, told me it must be:
We provide proof of Theorem A.

Who is correct here? Is this just a typical mathematician thing and nobody else would do it like that?

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is there a synonym for 'synergy' that has a negative connotation?

texts: I am looking for a word that describes a situation, where two processes with a negative outcome (in software development) combined together lead to a stronger negative effect.


texts:
I heard: "It shouldn't break any of your site persay."

I searched for it but cannot find it, not even in a dictionary.

What does persay or per say mean?


texts:
I posted something online and someone said it was wrong so...
I said : I just changed my phone number.
That person said that i should have said : I have just changed my phone number.
Which one was the correct version?


texts: Attributive modification of subjective pronoun - was possible in 20th century?

texts:
I noticed an article in Los Angeles Herald, Volume XLIII, Number 304, 22 October 1918:
Link.
The title says:

Influenza-Crazed He Slays His Family

Here 'Influenza-Crazed' seems to modify 'He'. Were there a comma, it could have modify the whole sentence, as 'bewildered' does in the following sentence:

Bewildered, the kid fell to the ground and cried out loud.

But this is not the case. As we can clearly see the article in images, the whole sentence is without breaks.
In some exclamations did I see the attributive modifications on subjective pronouns, as in:

Poor me! Poor you!

But I think they do not usually (in modern English) go as far to form a usual sentence as: "Poor me had nothing to eat but a piece of bread for a whole week."
Maybe in 1918, the time in which article was written, this was more or less acceptable?


texts:
In common parlance the term hacker can be used to describe a

  person who illegally gains access to and sometimes tampers with information in a computer system

I wold like to know what term should be used to describe the opposite, namely someone who defends against a hacker to prevent the hacker from achieving her/his goal.


texts: A single word or more professional form of 'swallowing one's pride'

texts:
A single word is preferred, though a phrase echoing professionalism is fine too.

Edit: here is the context:
'Another video is linked, though instead of having the key line exposing Clinton’s lies and capricious character, denying her support NAFTA and calling the TPP ‘ the gold standard’ were both outright lies, yet neither the moderator nor the journalist decided to write about it. Zurcher swallows his pride and concedes the full point to Mr. Trump, ruefully and painfully.'


texts: How to thank your client who is showing interest in working in future?

texts:
My client has just sent me this message -
"Hey I heard you are leaving the company. I wish the best of luck and if you ever want to work for XXX or another project I may have just let me know"

How do I thank him?

I think of writing - Thanks for the offer or opportunity but it is neither offer nor opportunity at the moment.

What should I write?


texts: Gerund after as though, please, help to clarify

texts:
They looked at Mary in surprise as though... her story.

A) not believing

B) not having believed

C) not believed

D) believed


texts: Pronunciation of trailing "i" in Latin-derived words

texts: Some pronounce the trailing "i" in Latin-derived words (e.g., "Gemini") as a long "e" and others pronounce it as a long "i." I was taught the long "e," but is this mere preference or is there a firm basis for one or the other?


texts:
Why is the phrase "coal country" uncountable in this sentence? Does it mean a particular region?

  Were he frustrated in Congress, the president would surely fall back on areas where he has a free hand. He has already made full-throated use of executive orders and promises to harness the bureaucracy to force through his agenda. In theory he could deregulate parts of the economy, such as finance, where the hand of government is sometimes too heavy. Yet his executive orders so far have been crudely theatrical—as with this week’s repeal of Barack Obama’s environmental rules, which will not lead to the renaissance of mining jobs that he has disingenuously promised coal country (see article). It is the same with trade. Mr Trump could work through the World Trade Organisation to open markets. More probably, the economic nationalists on his team will have the upper hand. If so, America will take a bilateral approach, trade protection will grow and foreign policy will become more confrontational.

The Trump presidency is in a hole, The Economist (1 April 2017) http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21719794-and-bad-americaand-world-trump-presidency-hole


texts: Is "getting yourself being told to" a valid sentence?

texts:
Imagine constantly getting yourself being told to do something.

Is the above a valid sentence? The question is particularly about the part "getting yourself being" in this context. This phrase describes a hypothetical situation that the author of the phrase is trying to create in the imagination of the person to whom this sentence is addressed and the person in this imaginary situation found himself hearing talk of 3-rd person.


texts: Is there a single word to describe the loss of a child?

texts:
To my knowledge,There is no single word that describes a "person who has lost a child."

  We have "widow" and "widower" for a person whose spouse had died. We have "orphan" for a child whose parent or parents have died. Source

According to the quora question, the closest word is in Arabic: ثَكْلَى (thakla) which translates as "bereaved mother."

Though bereaved does not adequately describe 'loss of child' as it's definition is:

  [to] be deprived of a loved one through a profound absence, especially due to the loved one's death.

My questions are:

If there is a word, what is it?
If there is not a word, what word would Shakespeare have made up to convey the idea?


texts: Should I use commas before and after the words "I feel" when expressing my opinion?

texts:
Here's what I would like to write:

My professional experiences as a RN in inpatient acute care settings over 10 years and as an APNP have, I feel, provided me with many skills in the area of patient centered pain management in various settings.


texts:
Which is the best way to phrase this sentence?

"That made a world of difference to my friend, my sister and me"

"That made a world of difference to my friend, my sister and to me"

"That made a world of difference to my friend, my sister and myself"


texts: A word for an intentional error or absurdity inserted to check whether audience read an entire passage

texts:
I have a tendency to write long(ish) and detailed emails at work that I suspect the target audience don't bother to read sometimes, so occasionally I will insert something obviously silly just to see if anyone picks it up.  Is there a word for that?

I am also aware of the similar practice of inserting intentional errors in, for example, maps for the purpose of detecting copyright violations - I imagine that would share the applicable terminology?


texts: The word "still" as an adjective -- does it have a connotation of 'somehow related to death or the dead"?

texts:
I realize that the definition of "still" (used as an adjective) goes like this:

someone or something that is quiet, calm or not moving.

examples:

the still water of the lake
still wines (vs. sparkling wines)
The crowd cheered and then grew still.
be still, my beating heart!

My question is, do native speakers ever pick up an extra shade of meaning: something still "being motionless to the extent of being dead"?

I ask this because the following words exist in the language:

still life (a painting, drawing of fruit, etc)
a stillborn child (one who was born dead).

Thanks for answering!


texts: To me, the two are often interchangeable, probably because people around me have talked to me in ways that have make it so.


texts: What noun describes the relationship between a container and a containee?

texts:
For example, the relationship between two things that overlap is called or is described by their "overlap" or "intersection".

What word or words might have the same role in describing the relationship between a thing and a thing it contains?

Failing that, is there a word or words that describe the phenomenon instead of the relationship? I'd also be open to replacing "contains" with "is a superset of", "completely covers", or "starts before and ends after".


texts:
I'm looking for a generic word that describes how something sounds, or what sounds something makes (to name a concept in a computer program I'm creating).

I've looked up "to make a sound" in a reverse dictionary, but none of the results seem to capture it.
I feel like "Audience" or "Audition" almost capture the idea, but this is not at all how the words are used.

"Appearance" is to how something looks as ______ is to how something sounds.  What words can fill in that blank?


texts: A squint is a look that has eyes partially closed. How do you say one has those eyes? Looking up squint-eyed, it's defined as either crosseyed or walleyed. How do you say one has eyes that are naturally partially closed like that of Garfield's owner?


texts: Meaning of "stands there" in "[The word] stands there, easily repeated back"

texts:
I do not understand the "stands there" part related to the word:

  It is much harder to deny having said an angry
  word. It stands there, easily repeated back, hard to disavow
  totally.

What would be a synonym for that? I need to understand. So far I have come up with "stand" in the meaning of "be valid" — it was said and thus it is valid, you cannot take it back. But it does not go well with "there".


texts: Difference between "worst way possible" and "worst possible way"

texts:
What is the difference between these two phrases?

  worst way possible
  worst possible way


texts: What does "werewith" mean in this context?

texts:
“You may remember the inquiries I made, when you werewith me in England, among such of my relations as were then living; and the journey undertook for that purpose.”

— Quoted in Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin with his Essays and Will (Chicago: W.B. Conkey Company, 1900).
Emphasis via italics is by me and not from the original text

Research:--
References and Sources:--

(http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/were%20with)

Other References and Sources:--

(https://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=40&q="werewith"&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5)
(https://www.quora.com/What-does-werewith-mean/answer/Robert-Charles-Lee)


texts: Is it possible to "revenge" a situation?

texts:
From the usage I am familiar with, it sounds strange to use "revenge" as a verb by itself. I am used to hearing it together with another word, such as "get revenge" or "take revenge". My dictionary lists revenge as being both a noun and a verb though, so is it correct to say "I wanted to revenge my first experience traveling abroad and do it right the second time"?

I corrected someone who is a non-native English speaker, advising that it's more natural to say "get revenge". However, I could not say with confidence that it is wrong to "revenge" something or someone.

On a related note, I have heard the synonym "avenge" being used in this way: "I will avenge his death". So are "revenge" and "avenge" sister words that have been adopted with different usage? Or perhaps their usage follows the same rules but it has become more popular to use "revenge" together with another verb?

Thanks


texts: One word substitution for "Pin drop silence"

texts: Many time we hear this phrase but I'm wondering if there exists a single word for this.


texts:
This sentence is from the first chapter of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:

  It was reported by those who encountered them in their Sunday walks, that they said nothing, looked singularly dull, and would hail with obvious relief the appearance of a friend.

I'm not sure what the word hail means in this context.


texts: What do you call the latter part of a sentence which spans two pages?

texts:
Does the sentence fragment after the simulated pagebreak (the horizontal rule) have a specific term associated with it?

     The start of a new paragraph includes an indent as shown here. Following the page-break that occurs hereabouts

the next line does not have an indent because it is part of the paragraph previously indented and not the beginning of a new paragraph. In HTML markup the single Paragraph element is split into two distinct Paragraph elements because the page Division is a parent container and each Paragraph may have one parent. A text-indent style is applied to all Paragraph elements by default and must be overridden by a named class applied to each fragment of the given type. I had been using the class name 'continuance' and then shortened that to 'c9e' for 'c' + 9 letters + 'e'. Is there a better (appropriate) name for this?


texts: Academic way of saying "On the other hand"

texts:
I have two paragraphs in my paper, the previous paragraph ends with

  This shows that TF-IDF is still an important feature for text analysis
  task

and my next paragraph starts with

  On the other hand, various studies suggested that LDA may not work on
  short documents due to insufficient context

Is there another way of begin my next paragraph instead of saying On the other hand but keep the meaning of contrasting?


texts:
My father was not a tall man but he was able to command a room. He had a presence about him, the solemnity of an oracle. His hands were thick and leathery—the hands of a man who’d been hard at work all his life—and they grasped the Bible firmly.

I searched with an answer that a/an X about is a fixed phrase, but I still don't understand as presence is unccountable, why a/an is used here?


texts: Where does the word 'booting' comes from when referring to electronic devices?

texts:
How did the word booting come to be used for "starting" when applied to electronic devices?
I've generally encountered the word applied to computing devices; is it used in connection to simpler electric machines as well?
See also: What's the meaning of "bootstrap"?


texts: Difference between "idiom" and "proverb"?

texts: What are the differences between idioms and proverbs?


texts: the meaning of 'evil which seem blessings to the memory'?

texts:
A part of Mortal Immortal, by Mary Shelley:

  Soon after this eventful day, I became the husband of Bertha. I ceased to be the scholar of Cornelius, but I continued his friend. I always felt grateful to him for having, unaware, procured me that delicious draught of a divine elixir, which, instead of curing me of love **(**sad cure! solitary and joyless remedy for evils which seem blessings to the memory****), had inspired me with courage and resolution, thus winning for me an inestimable treasure in my Bertha.

How come evils seem blessings to the memory?

It doesn't seem to be very logical.


texts: "Keeping up with the car dash icons" - What's the pun?

texts:
This tweet asserts that an article by this title contains a pun. However, myself and a few friends, all American, don't get the joke. We assume it's in the title:

  Keeping up with the car dash icons

This isn't guaranteed, of course. The header above the title reads:

  Take our warning quiz

And the text below reads:

  The AA has revealed its crews attend 17,000 call-outs every month from drivers mystified by dashboard warning lights. But how many do you recognize?

followed by a note about the author and the quiz answers.

The AA appears to be a British roadside service, similar to the American AAA. So I assume this is an article in a British publication. Is there some British usage we're not aware of?


texts:
I say to my friend,

  I am an extremely good cook! Please forgive me: no bragging intended here!

What I'm trying to do is to say the same thought but using a different world:
ostentatiousness.

"I'm saying this Without any ostentatiousness"
or should I add the word;
I'm saying this Without any ostentatiousness intended "


texts: 'Was' or 'were' with 'period' & 'eleven years'

texts:
I was reading a letter I got from an old friend, back in 1998, and at a certain point she wrote:

  "Our period of greatest prosperity were those eleven years when Thatcher was in office."

Is this correct, or just acceptable?  In speech and in writing?


texts:
I'm struggling with when to omit the comma before dialogue (as well as when to use capitals) in fiction writing. My understanding is that you would omit the comma before/after something like "he says" when quoting single words or very short sentences, rather than long clauses.

For example, is it OK to omit the commas in all of the following examples:

I cover the receiver and whisper “sorry” to my friend.

Should sorry have a small letter or capital?

He leans forward and whispers, “I’m ready, baby” into my ear.

I think a comma is necessary here because the dialogue consists of a subject-verb clause. Is that right?

I resist the urge to shout "screw you, asshole" right to his face.

Is it better to have a comma here? Should screw have a capital letter? If so, why?

I turn to him and mouth "bye".

Do I need a comma here or a capital?

I try to shout "stop" again but the words won't come out.

Is this okay or do I need a comma and capitals?

I feel extremely tempted to say “Just drive” and hope for the best.

I feel like there should be a capital here on Just but am not sure why or if that's even correct. I don't need a comma here, right?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!


texts: You do not need to take further action/s. Action or actions?

texts:
Okay, so this has been a great bother for me over the years. As a general rule of thumb, I usually follow this format: using "a" for singular and none for plural. Like so,

  You do not need to take further actions.

And

  You do not need to take a further action.

But I recently saw this sentence written in a TOEIC book. So should it be

"You do not need to take further action", "You do not need to take further actions", or both?


texts: How to express the concept "la ficelle est trop grosse"?

texts:
There is a concept embedded in the French expression la ficelle est trop grosse (literally 'the string is too thick') to describe a subterfuge that is doomed to fail, because the disguise is too obvious. The thick string is evidently a metaphor, as in an object that has been poorly put together, for a flaw in the makeup that is bound to be noticed.

A quick search on this phrase turned nothing: French dictionaries seem strangely oblivious and I did not see any English equivalent.

I could think of a conceptual opposite with seamless, but is there some expression in English that expresses such an idea?


texts: Is lignicolous a word used in a specific context, or is it common to say "that is a lignicolous bug"?


texts: Are there any differences between "I am sure" and "I was sure"?

texts: I've heard people saying "I was sure" when it comes to confirming something in the past but my friend said that it should be "I am sure" since this action is happening in the present. Are there any differences after all?


texts:
My coworker says things like

  I suspicion that it happened the other day when nobody was here.

I would say

  I suspect it happened

or

  I have a suspicion that it happened.

What my coworker says sounds wrong to me. Is it common usage anywhere?


texts: Why "would" instead of "will" in this sentence? Is it a rare use?

texts:
The goal for these negotiations is to reach a mutually-agreed long-term comprehensive solution that would ensure Iran's nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful.

What does would imply here? If it implies future, why will has not been used?
I have already asked this here and some pals let me know this implies future happening with some uncertainty.
I need a link to an authentic reference which describes this usage of would...


texts: is this sentence grammatically correct ? [Tense]

texts:
Some people were debating how excruciatingly unimplementable that decision is.

should the sentence end with 'is' or 'was'. Are they both acceptable?


texts: Having a grammar issue with beginning a sentence with "your results" and describing where the results came from sounds awkward

texts:
I am a native English speaker and I'm essentially trying to say
"How to interpret your results (that came from a Specific Test)"
but it sounds weird when I read it no matter how I try to specify the test that gave the person the results.
"How to interpret your results of The Test I Made You Take" sounds wrong.
"How to interpret your results from The Test I Made You Take" sounds wrong too.
"How to interpret your results that came from The Test I Made You Take" sounds clunky.
And because The Test I Made You Take is its own entity, I can't change the "the" to "your," as I would to change "your results of the blood test" to "the results of your blood test."
I suppose I could change the structure of the sentence and this is in no way pressing but I am curious about the answer!! Thanks!!


texts:
I was reading a document about disabilities recently, and came across a term that confused me:

  Myth: People with disabilities are handicapped.

  Fact: The terms "disabled" and "handicapped" are often used
  interchangeably.  In fact, the latter term carries negative
  connotations, indicating that a disability prevents someone from being
  a full functioning member of society. A disability does not always
  present a handicap; rather it often means that a person with a
  disability may do something a little differently from a nonviable
  person, but with the same result and with equal participation.

Source

The context seems to suggest that nonviable person is the opposite of person with a disability. While I'm familiar with the concept of viability, I've never heard the term nonviable person before. The intended meaning seems counterintuitive, and my Etymology Online/Ngram searches turned up nothing. Is this usage common, or perhaps a recently coined term with a known meaning in the context of disabilities?


texts: What is the etymology of WERE in the Second Conditional?

texts:
Today I was teaching my student the Second Conditional. When she asked for some examples I gave her: "If I were you, I would..." That was where she asked: "What is the etymology of this WERE?"

How has this WERE appeared? Where and why was it born? I mean, it is not WAS which would be more logical, as 'I' is the first person singular which requires a singular verb. I know that some of you kind hearts are going to quote some grammar rules. Please, don't. I mean, she and I know that 'good' grammars tell that in the Second Conditional's subordinate clauses one should use WERE, and we know the rules, and the hypothetical situations, and the structure.

The question is about etymology. Where in the history of the English language did people start using exactly WERE? My answer to her was that I did not know, but maybe it was some grammar rule borrowed from another language (like in the case with capital 'I' which takes its roots from before the 13th century). So, please, help me with the historical aspect. When and where and, possibly, why did WERE start being used in the Second Conditional? Thank you. :-) PS Please, do not duplicate the rules, the question is about etymology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology


texts: Coordinating Conjunction "FOR," in particular, AND commas

texts:
I have received instruction that coordinating conjunctions that begin a sentence should always be immediately followed by a comma.
I do not find another thread in this forum which answers my 2 specific questions, or even helps elucidate them.
Question 1) I cannot think of a single example where coordinating conjunction "For," at the beginning of a sentence, would be immediately followed by a comma. Can you?
Question 2) Is it true that, for the 6 CC besides "For," in all instances where a CC is the first word of a sentence, that CC is immediately followed by a comma?
Thank you.


texts: When did it become common to say "because X" instead of "because of X?"

texts:
When did this usage become common, especially in a sarcastic or ironic context?

  Carnegie Mellon erroneously sends computer science admission letters to 800, because computers. [emphasis added]

(source for example: https://boingboing.net/2015/02/17/carnegie-mellon-erroneously-se.html)


texts: "such as", "as", or ... in this sentence?

texts:
Reliable processes have only two characteristic features, namely A and B.

  I Will examine them, considering their characteristic features such
  as A and B.
  I will examine them, considering such characteristic
  features of them as A and B.
  I will examine them, considering their characteristic features as A and B.
  I will examine them, considering such characteristic features as
  A and B.

I think "such as" is always used when we want to mention things among others, it means the same as "for example". Is that so? I mean is "such as" always used when there can be other cases too.

This is what this dictionary says:

  for example. "wildflowers such as daisies and red clover"
  of a kind that; like. "an event such as we've shared"

So when we are not talking about kind, "such as" means the same as "for example".

Now, because there is only two characteristic features, can I use "such as" like in my first sentence?

Or can we say that the second sentence does not the problem?

What about the third sentence? Does it have the same problem?

Finally, the fourth sentence does not say that such features are characteristic of processes. Is that obvious from the context? If so, doesn't it have the problem in the first sentence?

Can you suggest better alternative for the bold part?


texts:
I've just read the O'Reilly book Getting Started with Storm and encoutered the word randomically. I highly suspect this is a made up word, but a quick google found it in use here, here, and here. Is this some obscure technical term perhaps? Or is it a case of a covergent devolution of English?
I don’t think this is a misspelling, as they (authors of the book) use the word randomly in a previous sentence (emphasis mine):

Shuffle Grouping is the most commonly used grouping. It takes a single parameter (the
source component) and sends each tuple emitted by the source to a randomly chosen
bolt warranting that each consumer will receive the same number of tuples.
The shuffle grouping is useful for doing atomic operations such as a math operation.
However, if the operation can’t be randomically distributed, such as the example in
Chapter 2 where you needed to count words, you should consider the use of other
grouping.

Did they intend it to mean something else? If so, what is that other meaning?


texts:
Is there a single word to describe when something is sorted in "order of appearance"?
Bibliographies are often sorted like this. Names of actors/actresses in a movie sometimes are, too.
This is in contrast to how an index is usually sorted [ie alphabetically].
As an example, I might say:

The definitions below are given in _ order.
sorted: organized, arranged
appearance: the act of becoming visible
bibliography: a list of books referred to in a scholarly work
alphabetically: ordering where strings are placed in order based on the position of characters in the conventional ordering of an alphabet


texts: Is there a term for acting dumb on purpose

texts:
I'm looking for a single word of phrase to describe someone intentionally acting dumb or intentionally over looking something obvious so they can deny responsibility or prevent themselves looking bad.

E.g. A person states that they hadn't consider that don't something would have an knock on effect that when the effect is completely obvious and was unlikely to have been overlooked.

I've seen the following suggested: "deliberately obtuse", "passive aggressive" & Blonde in a similar query on Yahoo, but it's not quite what I'm looking for.


texts:
Ólafur Arnalds mixes strings and piano with loops and edgy beats crossing-over from classical to pop.

What does the writer mean by saying edgy beats? Does the writer mean it's not exactly classical, nor pop?


texts: Looking for an idiom to describe "a misunderstanding"

texts: Can you suggest an idiom or common expression that can be used to describe a misunderstanding? The typical case  is  when Mr. A  is talking about something and Mr. B  understand something else. Mr. A can say, "sorry you have misunderstood me," or "sorry what you have understood is __"


texts:
What would be the right sentence to use to say that I am reading a book about cooking?

I am reading a cooking book
I am reading a cook book

Please explain the reason for the choice.


texts: Without rephrasing the sentence, is there an idiom for inverting "He got X, Y but no Z"?

texts:
Here's the inclusive sentence:

Then the merchant receives the order details containing the invoice, refund and cancellation.

Here's the exclusive version:

Then the merchant receives the order details containing no invoice, no refund and no cancellation.

Is there an idiom for including only cancellation? Or is my only recourse to extend the sentence with "but it does contain the", which sound rather redundant.
Something like the following for example:

Then the merchant receives the order details containing no invoice, no refund, but cancellation.


texts: If you had a Tumblr rant/stand-up comedy crossover, what would be the best word to describe such manner of delivery?

texts:
By Tumblr rant, I mean some sort of monologue, sometimes long,
and mostly having an angry or annoyed mood. It usually has a message,
but may be overloaded by emotions and considered complaining.
By stand-up comedy, I mean something more lighthearted and less
condensed, something that may sound witty but which is still more focused
on maintaining the light mood than on delivering a complete message.
And as a crossover of both, we could have any sort of delivery, from
a TED-like speech to a burst of angry sentences to anything in between;
something free of any form constraints, something not bound to be pleasing
or degrading, boring or funny (hence no lecture or joke). The only
expectations of this format are that a certain insightful message should
be present.
Obviously I’m going for a wide range of delivery types, so no single
best word describing them all might exist. But please do share the terms
that you’d use to describe such kind of post or speech.
Originally I was thinking that rant was a good term enough, but googling
and reading the Quora answers on the topic led me to me believe that it
has a strongly negative connotation, to the point that ranting could
be viewed as synonymous to complaining. And although I want the term
to describe complaints as well, I’d like to go beyond just them.
Still, rant is a good reference to how the word I’m after might be
used, for example in sentences like:

Have you read that huge ᴛᴇʀᴍ John has posted on Instagram?

For the same reason, I’m looking for a single-word term, because
anything compound would sound too complex and formal in such a context.


texts: Word for suggesting solutions to a problem solely to demonstrate contempt for the expected problem-solver

texts:
I have noticed that, with certain kinds of problems - political problems spring to mind - some people (who are not in a position to make decisions about the problem) are prone to suggesting a certain kind of non-solution. These solutions are along the lines of "I know how to fix problem X. Let's enact law Y, which has only a small impact on X, but severely punishes group Z, whom I hold personally responsible for (causing/failing to solve/objecting to my preferred solution to) the problem."

I think this is akin to, but not equivalent to, schadenfreude. The act of suggesting solutions is much like kibitzing, but kibitzing is intended to be neutral-to-productive, whereas the word I'm looking for would be explicitly about negativity. Is there a word for it?

EDIT: Let's try this somewhat anonymized example. "The best way to close the deficit is to confiscate the profits of politicians who give paid speeches about their 'great service'."

Here's another one that I made up: "There should be a law that slow people lose their driver's license for life."

Another: "People who litter should get their garbage delivered right onto their front lawn."

If we don't critically reason about the statement at all, then it works;
If we think about it too much, then it's quickly clear it can't work or is totally infeasible;
The speaker knows that it's infeasible, or at least thinks so; it is not a genuine attempt to solve the problem;
It rains righteous punishment on those that are either at fault, or failing to improve the situation;
The audience is expected to enjoy listening to the statement; the statement isn't targeted at anyone present, but at third parties who aren't in the room.

(If you think any of the above are reasonable statements, then please don't comment about it. I'm not here to start arguments, just to try and find a word.)


texts: Why is "birthday" one word as opposed to two? "Wedding day" or "graduation day" are two

texts: A birthday is the day of your birth, much like graduation day and wedding day.  Why is birthday one word?


texts:
Which one of those two versions is correct:

... and seems hence to be ...
... and hence seems to be ...


texts: Should I use a hyphen with a phrase involving "then"?

texts: In this sentence: "before migrating to lower SoHo, and the then still fringe neighborhood of Chelsea," I feel like "then-still" should be hyphenated, but I can't find a rule in the Chicago Manual of Style about it. Any ideas?


texts: What is a word or phrase for "The point in time when the work pays off and it takes care of itself from here"

texts:
I am writing a presentation on BDD and the Cucumber software tool, and need a snappy title for one of the points I'm making: That if you put in the work and spend some time carefully parametrizing the step definition/implementation files, then there will become a point in time that you will no longer need to write any more step implementation files and the work will suddenly become very easy, and you can now throw together loads of BDD tests in no time at all.
I'm thinking of calling it "The Parameterization Threshold", but "threshold" has connotations that it is something that you shouldn't cross. There must be a better word/words for this.
Another could be "The Parameterization Return on Investment", but that doesn't capture that the ROI is very good, and happens at a certain point in time and that the effort you have put in is suddenly paying off and now you can do things with great ease.
Any suggestions?
edit: I was asked for an example sentence:
"It takes some time and effort to carefully parameterize the step files, however, once you reach the <word/phrase/idiom> then it's amazing. After this point, you can rapidly create more tests with ease"


texts: I'm putting a character in a book who is replacing all typical swear words, exclamations, or name calling with old fashioned or little known words. For instance, exclaiming "Snails" instead of Damn or "Confound it!" instead of something else. What are some other words that I can use? Any time period is fine.


texts:
I have seen many many people say "Thanks so much". I believe what they really mean is "Thank you so much".

Searching "Thanks so much" in this website gives 177 results. But the questions deal with "Thank you very much" or "Thank you so much". See e.g.: “Thank you very much” vs. “Thank you so much”

I personally think it's wrong usage. But I've seen many people use it that way. Is the usage really wrong?

-- EDIT --

@Kevin Workman, I think it's wrong because

1) "thanks" is a plural noun in this context and can't be a verb since it doesn't make sense to say "I thanks ..."

2) I remember been taught that "much" shouldn't be used with countable nouns in plural. e.g.

From http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/vocabulary/much-many:

many friends
much money
many thanks

But what about "Thanks very much"? Does a different rule apply here?

-- EDIT2 --

I originally thought "Thanks so much" were wrong because the many people I saw saying it were non-native speakers. From the feedback here at E L&U, I got suspicious and asked a couple of native speakers. To my surprise, they both said it's OK. One said it's informal and "many thanks" is too formal, and the other said yeah there is that grammatical issue but it's OK (after I asked specifically about it).

My question is now theoretical and reduces to how to restore "Thanks so much" or "Thanks very much" to a complete grammatical form without omission. For example, the seemingly incorrect "two milks" can be restored to "two measures of milk". What about "Thanks very much"?

@Sven Yargs suggested an interesting theory that "Thanks" is interchangeable here with "Thank you". I am still a bit suspicious though as many things could go wrong with substitutions in grammar.

-- EDIT3 --

The latest development I see in emails is "Thanks much!". This is about one step away from "much thanks"...


texts: List + 'much more are' or 'much more is' - what is correct

texts:
I have the following question: If a list of items is followed by 'and much more', should the following verb be singular or plural? E.g. "over a hundred hours of gameplay, exciting quests, mysterious locations and much more awaits/await you in the new game". A chap and I disagree strongly on this issue, and I do wonder, which one is correct? I looked at the Corpora of English language and both expressions are present and seemingly acceptable.

My reasoning goes along the lines of 'much more' being a quantifiert of uncountable nouns that sums up the previous items, whereas he says that as long as 'and' is present, plural is a must, irrespetive of the specific content of a sentence.

Looking forward to your answers! :)


texts:
Which of these two sets of examples are more correct?

  Finally, I decided to not go to the party.
  Finally, I decided not to go to the party.

  Tell your sister not to worry about the exam.
  Tell your sister to not worry about the exam.


texts: Isn’t "higher-priced products" with an adjective ungrammatical for the correct "more highly priced products" with an adverb?

texts:
The phrase higher-priced products is very common, but isn’t it grammatically incorrect?

The adjective higher is being forced to servce as an adverb here, so the phrase should instead be more highly priced.

What’s the verdict?


texts:
Is it natural to say "lying supine"?

The word supine, by definition, already suggests lying [See: http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/supine]. However, I was just confused because one of the sample sentences from the Learner's Dictionary goes this way:
He was lying supine on the couch.

I hope someone can shed some light on this.


texts: What is the meaning of this quote from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"?

texts:
what is the meaning of the quote below said by Tuco in the movie the good the bad the ugly?
Blondie : You may run the risks, my friend, but I do the cutting. We cut down my percentage - uh, cigar? - liable to interfere with my aim.
Tuco : But if you miss you had better miss very well. Whoever double-crosses me and leaves me alive, he understands nothing about Tuco. Nothing!
[Chuckles, bites cigar]


texts: Is it "give a credit for" or "give credit for"?

texts:
My first language does not have articles, and I am really struggling to understand why people sometimes use them and sometimes do not. I understand general rule that "the" means one specific thing and that "a" means one (but not specific), but still in many situation I see people use "the" for plural, or they do not use article at all.

Please can you explain for the following case is it:

"give a credit for"

or

"give credit for"

"credit" in this case is "commendation" or "honor". ("give credit for idea")

I googled it and saw that majority of the results are "give credit for" but I do not understand why.
What am I missing?

Is it because credit used as honor is uncountable?


texts: "With naked eyes" vs. "With the naked eyes"

texts:
Are the following sentences grammatically correct and have the same meaning?

"You can see it with naked eyes"
"You can see it with the naked eyes"

Let's say you are watching stars with your friends using binoculars. What I want to know is the following:

"You can see it with naked eye" is (1. correct, 2. incorrect, 3. not preferable)
"You can see it with naked eyes"  (1. correct, 2. incorrect, 3. not preferable)
"You can see it with the naked eye"  (1. correct, 2. incorrect, 3. not preferable)
"You can see it with the naked eyes"  (1. correct, 2. incorrect, 3. not preferable)
Some of the above 4 sentences might be undesirable but have the same meaning (1. yes, 2. no)


texts: Are there any differences between "oval" and "ellipse"?


texts: Formal way of saying "The same thing happened with...", "This was also true for..."

texts:
The context of what I am looking for is:

  However, after a similar transformation to the one performed before, the discreteness of the metric values was still present. This was also true for the spinal cord metric distribution in Figure 3.

I am trying to convey that the discreness of the metric values was also present in the spinal cord metric distribution after applying the transformation.

This is part of a Master's thesis. Using "This was also true.."/"The same thing happened with.."/"Similar thing happened with.." sounds quite informal to me, and they might not even convey too well what I am trying to say. Could anyone provide any suggestions of a more appropiate phrase? If you think I am wrong in thinking I should not use any of my examples please feel free to point it out!


texts: Some + Countable Noun: True Only When Plural?

texts:
Assume there are multiple books on a shelf. At least one book is red. At least one book is blue.

Sentence in dispute:

  Some of the books are red.

Is this sentence false if only one book is red?

A non-native English speaker says this sentence must be false because the verb is plural (“are”), and so it is true only if there are at least two red books.

But a native speaker of English says that the sentence is true.

Which view is correct?


texts:
Can someone explain why the choices not marked as 'correct' in these fill-in-the-blank questions are wrong?

It was ___ so we didn't get it.
expensive enough
too expensive -correct
enough expensive

It's _____ to read; I don't understand it at all.
enough difficult
too difficult -correct
difficult enough

It's not _____ to sort things out.
enough late
late enough
too late -correct

It's _____ to pass.
enough difficult
too difficult -correct
difficult enough

It's _____ walk—I'll take the bus.
enough far
far enough
too far -correct
too much far

Are 'much enough' ever used together? For example,

He ate _____ and felt ill.
enough much
much enough
too much


texts: Reluctant and unwilling to do sometime only because

texts: How do you say or use a word to describe that "I am accepting this unfair proposal only because I have been known you for long time".  Unwilling to accept something only based on your long relationship with the person.


texts: What's a word for someone who has completed an exercise?

texts: I want to refer to people who have completed a short written exercise. "Graduate" would be one way, but that seems a little over the top. "Completer" would be another, but that's ambiguous as a completer could be something that helps you to complete. Any ideas?


texts:
In some words, the pronunciation of t is actually closer to ch, as in fortune.

Is this is a recognized phenomenon in English pronunciation? Does it have a name? What other prominent examples can be cited as examples of this phenomenon? Why does it happen?


texts: Can You Simply Infer Instead Of Inferring That It Was Implied?

texts:
My father and I have been caught up in a debate as to the usage of "Infer" and "Imply" for a handful of days now. Finally, disgruntled that we seem unable to reach a consensus, I have turned once more to Stack Exchange for the final say.

It is my father's belief that every time an inference is made it is inferring that something was implied. It is my belief that one can simply infer, without anybody implying and without you inferring that they were implying. Who is right?

When you give your answers, please also give an example too, to make it easier to convey when this discussion inevitable picks up again between my father and myself in a few days time.


texts: What is a word or some words to describe someone finding something else to do to not feel guilty about a bad decision that they know was wrong?

texts: I will elaborate more about my question, so I need a word or some words to describe this; my ex gf broke up with me and instantly started talking to someone else, but she's only talking to this person because she doesn't want to feel lonely and because she's trying to avoid feeling guilty about making me feel heart broken. I know she feel this way because she still text me and checks my social media n stuff but that's not the point. What word or words describe her actions. It's kind of like the word remorse but trying to avoid it. What word describes that, avoiding feeling remorse?


texts:
I'm coming up with a model for how human relationships work, and trying to break down the fundamental areas of "value" that people exchange. One of them is simply related to real world survival, and includes work people do for each other, resources and finances they share, etc. Anything that has a tangible and immediate effect on the world.

This is very commonly referred to as "Goods and Services", but I want a more general term that is one clean word. For a period I was using the word "Work", but that doesn't really include resources and money.


texts: Can we also call them the reduced adverbial clauses?

texts:
https://www.grammaring.com/participle-clauses

Tom lost his keys (while) walking through the park. (Tom lost his keys
while he was walking through the park.)
She left the room singing happily. (She left the room as she was
singing happily.)

When I search "reduced adverbial clauses",  Sentences that start with a reduced adverbial clause are usually what I find in most of the English learning articles.(E.g., "After doing something, ..." , "Being late, ...")
The two sentences quoted above do not start with a reduced adverbial clause and they do not have a comma in each of them, and the article above even put a complete adverbial form of each sentence behind them. I wonder if their present participle parts are in fact a type of reduced adverbial clauses.


texts: First name initial format "A. B. Lastname" vs "A.-B. Lastname"

texts: Sometimes I see names abbreviated sometimes as A. B. Lastname and some other times A.-B. Lastname. Is there a difference? Does the former means it is a middle name, and the latter means it is a part of first name?


texts: Is Robert Oppenheimer's phrase “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” grammatical in English?

texts: Is physicist Robert Oppenheimer's phrase “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” grammatical in English? Why not "becoming" or "now I become"?


texts:
Both of these seem very similar to me. Is there any difference between "books translated to English" and "books translated in English"?

Google search returns many results for both (> 400,000), though "translated to English" gives more results than "translated in English". If only one of them is correct, then why the confusion?


texts: Is there a concise word or phrase for the action you perform on an option to remove the others?

texts:
Say someone is holding a number of items in front of you. What would you call the action you request that they perform to remove all choices but one so that you can examine the item that is left? It is important that the phrase let the other person know which item you want to be left standing.

Better, if it makes a difference, what is the action you perform on the object itself to get rid of its siblings?

For example, you say "Could you [blank] that item?" and they will remove the others.


texts:
The following sentence is from a GRE reading passage:

  Even as the number of females processed through juvenile courts climbs steadily, an implicit consensus remains among scholars in criminal justice that male adolescents define the delinquency problem in the United States.

I don't quite understand the "that" clause in this sentence.

What kind of clauses is this? (I'm looking for the terminology so that I can read more about it in something like Wikipedia.)
I'm confused with this clause. I think it might be more readable if it was:

  ... in criminal justice that male adolescents define as the delinquency problem in the United States.

If this understanding is incorrect, should I view "male adolescents define the delinquency problem in the United States" as being in apposition to "criminal justice"?


texts:
Are hyphens needed in these? If so, where would you insert them?

  Joel applied for the assistant store manager position.
  (Not: assistant-store-manager position, right?)
  Joel was enrolled in the assistant store manager trainee program.
  (Not: assistant-store-manager-trainee program, correct?)
  Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream
  (Not: chocolate-chip-cookie-dough ice cream, correct?)

Do you support my original versions without the hyphens?


texts:
For a non-native speaker like me, I am always wondering how to use you know correctly, as in the following sentence:

  Alright, well, for example, like on
  Saturdays, y’know, what I liked to do
  was  probably what any, y’know, little
  boy used to do.  I liked to go out,
  play with my  friends, y’know, play
  some baseball or some football or,
  y’know, just, just hang out  with my
  friends.

Is it overused? Why do Americans use this phrase so much?


texts:
Here's the social set up. I'm talking to a girl on-line whom I've never met. After a few short messages I'm pointing out that she's not that devoted to the conversation and I'm suggesting that we go on (in each's own direction). To that she remarks that my profile is thin of information and she's got little to go on. So I'm sending her a few fun facts and finish off the message by:

  "So, there you go, sweety. I've picked a few facts for you to work with and I've even intentionally made them a bit controversial and edgy. :)"

She gets offended by the choice of the words, especially "sweety". When I rephrase the wording directly into Swedish, I realize the issue. The connotation then is (in raising level of oopsiness:

affectionate (which'd be sleazy at this point),
diminutive (which'd be inappropriate lack of respect) or
derogatory (which'd be obnoxious and counter-productive to my aim).

I've been using expressions like:

  "Here you go, love."
  "Let me get that for you, sweety."

expressing both respect and kindness informally. I've never been confronted with nor remarked on any of such. So, my working theory at the moment is that said lady Swedishifized the contents of my message and took it all wrong.

But I'm not entirely sure how that's interpreted by a SoE. I also suspect that there might be difference in how it's interpreted amongst different demographics and locations.

So my question is whether the interpretation I'm making is applicable at all. And if so, in what regions, demographic groups, times etc.?

As a bonus part of the question, what could (or should, in case it's not applicable at all) be used instead. Please note that I'm trying to be polite but gradually decrease the level of formality because I'd like to get to know that individual.


texts: Word for not letting wrong pass unchallenged.

texts:
I am developing a novel, and I'm trying to pin down some traits of my character. I have one that I can't seem to define though, and I was hoping someone here would be able to help me.

I have a character who does not let wrong pass unchallenged. If he sees wrong, falsehood, or evil being gotten away with, he will not sit idly by and say nothing. If he sees a problem that is going unnoticed, he will try to fix it, even if doing so is difficult and painful.

Is there a word for this trait?


texts: What is the name of the conjugation of "to be" in "Have him be here on time"?

texts:
"The good parents have their kids study French"
"You're not going to make him eat those veggies"

Is that simply the infinitive? Or is it imperative? Or subjunctive? I've been seeing this form around but I can't quite peg the tense/mood.


texts: Word for a person who is asking someone to be his friend

texts: Whats the correct term for someone who's asking other to be his friend? "Requester" works? And what about the person who will respond to this request? How can I refer to them?


texts: What does the sentence "People felt that the cyclist was performing at a surprisingly high level." become in the passive?

texts:
This is a (one more!) question I have had to ask myself when dealing with the passive structure "someone is said to do/be doing/have done something"... which definitely is a tricky structure as it uses both a verb in the passive voice in the main clause and one in either the active or the passive voice in the subordinate clause.
What does the sentence

People said that the cyclist was performing at a surprisingly high level.

become in the passive?
Is

The cyclist was said to be performing at a surprisingly high level.

or

The cyclist was said to have been performing at a surprisingly high level.

the correct tense sequence?
I know that the adjective 'correct' will make native speakers of English shudder, but never mind…
Since the two actions of 'saying' and 'performing' are simultaneous, I would incline towards the first answer... Would the second one not imply that the action of 'performing' came earlier than the one of 'saying'?
An even 'nightmarisher' sentence which has just come to my sick English teacher's mind is 'People said that the injured racing driver was being operated on at the very moment.', turned into 'The racing driver was said to be being operated on at the very moment.' rather than 'The racing driver was said to have been being operated on at the very moment.'


texts:
Which of the following is correct and why?

  I hadn't observed such natural beauty until this very moment.

or

  I haven't observed such natural beauty until this very moment.


texts: Why will was replaced by shall in this sentence?

texts:
I was watching "Titans" S2E5, minute 33 in found a sentence that make me think about the shall usage.

"It is you they are looking for. But it is he they shall find."

Besides the sentence has not sense for me, I can't understand the usage of shall on that situation. Why he don't use will instead?

I guess "shall" usage is one of the hardest stuff to understand to which are learning English.

Can anyone explain me?


texts: 'Your understanding my sense of humour...' vs 'Your understanding OF my sense of humour...'

texts:
Are both of the above phrases correct or only the latter?

For example, if saying, 'Your understanding (of) my sense of humour was the only thing that made the dinner enjoyable'. Is the 'of' necessary?

Similarly: 'Your support of the project was invaluable'. vs 'Your supporting (of) the project was invaluable'.

I know, in this case, use of the gerund 'supporting' would be unlikely since it sounds clumsy in comparison to 'support', but for the sake of argument I was curious whether it sounded correct to use the 'of' in the gerund phrase - to me 'Your supporting the project was invaluable' sounds more natural than 'Your supporting of the project...' but I find this difficult to reconcile with the necessary use of 'of' when using 'support' (you obviously can't say 'Your support the project was invaluable.').

I suppose, 'Your supporting the project was invaluable' could be justified grammatically since 'supporting the project' is a gerund phrase. Referring back to the first part of the question, 'Your understanding my sense humour was...' would also be correct since 'understanding my sense of humour' is again a perfectly good gerund phrase - but here, the inclusion of 'of' sounds more natural.

Curious what others would tend to use/regard as correct in these sentences (or for similar phrases)


texts:
I recently found the word panko in a dictionary. It is derived from the Japanese word "パン粉" and means bread crumbs.

Is panko a common word in English? For example, can I ask supermarket staff "Where is panko"?


texts:
I'm not sure if 'inspired' here is a verb in past participle or an adjective.

Director George Lucas was inspired to create the Wookiee
character Chewbacca—a “gentle, hairy, non-English-speaking
co-pilot”—after seeing his wife’s dog sitting in the
passenger seat of his car.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Creating a new word

The rule of thumb used to be that when a word hit the Oxford Dictionary, it was considered to be an accepted word - this, however, seems to have transitioned into a lagging indicator in the last 5 years, primarily because so many new words are being created around the technological advances/services/products which seem to dominate our lives.

When does a word 'officially' become a word - usage, social impact, cultural acceptance, mass media propagation?


texts: An Adjective Describing the Sound of Someone Losing Her Voice?

texts:
Notice I said "losing," not "lost." I need an adjective for a voice with a several cracks here and there, like Emma Stone, Lindsay Lohan, or Scarlett Johansson's, but a little more dire. I want something that sounds "cute," though. Not the sound, but the word.

"Raspy" sounds harsh and unattractive for my female character, and so does "hoarse." "Husky" is geared more toward guys than girls. In my novel, she actually is losing her voice, so if you'd like to contribute, please do.

I'm not sure if an example sentence is truly necessary, as I've already provided the context needed.


texts: What does "even so" mean in the following passage?

texts:
I found it in the Preface of Kipling’s ‘Life’s Handicap,’ and it appears not to have the standard meaning of nevertheless as discussed in How to use 'even so'? Here is an extended quote for context. Kipling is talking to a man named Gobind. "Even so" occurs five parapgraphs down.

‘And what,’ said Gobind one Sunday afternoon, ‘is your honoured craft, and by what manner of means earn you your daily bread?’
‘I am,’ said I, ‘a kerani – one who writes with a pen upon paper, not being in the service of the Government.’
‘Then what do you write?’ said Gobind. ‘Come nearer, for I cannot see your countenance, and the light fails.’
‘I write about all matters that lie within my understanding, and of many that are not. But chiefly I write of Life and Death, and of men and women, and Love and Fate according to the measure of my ability, telling the tale through the mouths of one, two, or more people. Then by the favour of God money accrues to me that I may keep alive.’
'Even so,' said Gobind. 'That is the work of the bazar story−teller; but he speaks straight to men and women and does not write anything at all. Only when the tale has aroused expectation, and calamities are about to befall the virtuous, he stops suddenly and demands payment ere he continues the narration. Is it so in your craft, my son?'

Yes, it is a full stop after “ ‘Even so,’ said Gobind.” So it looks a thought it means something other than “nevertheless” or “that being the case." Can anyone help?
There is another instance in the same book, in “Little Tobrah. Little Tobrah has just mentioned a little sister. Then it goes:

‘She who was found dead in the well?’ said one who had heard something of the trial. ‘Even so,’ said Little Tobrah gravely. ‘She who was found dead in the well.’

In this case, I think it clearly means “yes” or “exactly.” Can anyone help me with the first quote? Kipling often puts unusual, somewhat archaic, I think, constructions in the mouth of Indians. It is possibly the case here.


texts: Noun for "the acquisition and communication of ideas"

texts:
I'm looking for a noun for the "acquisition and communication of ideas".  Communism would be a viable phonetic choice if it didn't have the political meaning. If there was a word meaning "idea-ism" then it would be a potential choice too.

For a sense of context, I'm trying to base a role-playing game on AD&D 2e (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons). There are schools of magic for wizards and one is known as divination. I wish to rename this school of magic to avoid ambiguity with clerics, who use divine powers for magic. The spells it governs include scrying and other communication-related abilities. I want to redefine its scope to include all spells related to messaging, communication, and the acquisition of ideas.


texts: How to understand the pronunciation of "nod" and "node"?

texts:
As we know, "nod" pronounces /nɒd/ while "node" pronounces /nəʊd/ (In US style?).

So why does the extra "e" change the vocal of letter "o" entirely?

My mother language is Chinese, therefore, it seems to be little hard for me to understand the exact rules of pronunciation with respect to spelling. What resources (maybe books?) can I invoke if I'd like to precisely predict how a coined word or the one which is unfamiliar pronounce?


texts: Is there a word or phrase which is to a question what a synonym is to a word?

texts:
I would like a title for a list of questions which are similar in wording but identical in meaning to the current question.

So if you are viewing the question:

  How many miles in a kilometre?

It would be the same question as:

  How many miles in 1000 metres?

I feel "Similar questions" would give the wrong meaning, especially as I would like to also list similar questions such as:

  How many yards in a mile?

Which is clearly a different question.


texts: What is the collective term for ironically cruel medical impediment names?

texts:
Some nouns used in medicine ironically contain the letter that is difficult for the sufferer to say, or difficult to deal with:

Lisp ('s')
Rhotacism ('r')
Blaesitas ('b')
Dyslexia (difficult to spell)
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia (fear of long words is a long word)
Aibohphobia (fear of palindromes)
Lamdacism ('l')
Stammer/stutter (hard consonants easier to stumble over)

The closest I found was 'jocular terms', but this seems a bit too cruel. How did they come by these names? Is there a collective term that isn't so cruel?

I've looked at this ESE question and this reddit post hoping for an answer to this, but it didn't cover the collective term and more pointed out the cruel irony of it.


texts: Is a subject pronoun needed in the second clause?

texts:
The campaign is not only financially beneficial to that organisation but it also has a positive impact on the morale of the employees.

or

The campaign is not only financially beneficial to that organisation but also has a positive impact on the morale of the employees.

Is the subject pronoun (it)needed in the second clause?

Patients undergoing cognitive behavioural therapy will experience a positive state and it is expected to lessen their anxiety.

or

Patients undergoing cognitive behavioural therapy will experience a positive state and is expected to lessen their anxiety.

Is the subject pronoun (it)needed in the second clause?


texts: Suggestion for English phrase dictionary?

texts:
I am not native English guy. One of the problem when I learn English is that I don't understand phrases, the phrase used cannot be found in the dictionary, which only contains single word.

  Examples:
   - blow up
   - carry on
   - screw up

Sometimes I encounter such phrase which I don't understand and my dictionary doesn't have it. Do you know any such dictionary, standard online?

I just found an online one : http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Main_Page

Would you please suggest more dictionaries?


texts:
As it happens, fertility rate declines in China have been close to what we would expect on the basis of these social influences alone. China often gets too much credit from commentators on the alleged effectiveness of its harsher interventions, and far too little for the positive role of its supportive policies (including its heavy focus on education and health care, from which many other countries can learn).

This is the clip of a nytimes article, which made me wonder about the usage of the preposition "on" with the verb phrase "get credit". If the word "credit" is used by the meaning of "praise", shouldn't it get used with the preposition "for"? If the preposition "on" could be used in this piece, how do I feel the difference between "on" and "for" when they are in accordance with this word "credit"?

link : http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/02/opinion/amartya-sen-womens-progress-outdid-chinas-one-child-policy.html?_r=0


texts:
Several issues here.

Can integrate be used...

A) in the passive when used in combination with immigrants? e.g. In the following sentence:
immigrants should be integrated into society.

B) as a reflexive verb?
E.g. In the following sentence:
The immigrants from India integrated themselves well.

C) as a transitive verb? E.g. In the following sentence:
Government policy should aim at integrating immigrants into society.


texts:
I got into a discussion with another user in the comments section of this question. We disagreed over the following phrases:

I refuse running.
I decline running.

To me, they are both clearly wrong. The correct forms of the above sentences would be:

I refuse to run.
I decline to run.

It is late in my timezone and I am tired. I feel that this has something to do with "running" meaning the concept of running in general and "to run" being a particular instance but I cannot put my finger on exactly why the first sentences are wrong.
So, am I right? Are they wrong? If so, please explain why.
Or am I wrong and they are correct? If so, ditto.


texts:
I do not understand the expression:

  hung like a horse

Is it an idiom or a simile? Please explain why it is one over the other.


texts: Adjective relating to Great Britain and Ireland

texts:
Is there an adjective meaning “from or pertaining to the British Isles” (or if you prefer “from Great Britain, Ireland or surrounding islands”, or “from the Atlantic Archipelago”, or whatever floats your boat)? I'm obviously not looking for British, but for a term that could be acceptable to an Irish person. I'm primarily looking for an adjective applicable to concepts relating to this geographical region, but if there's a demonym, that would be interesting too.

In other words, if Webster's is English beer, Tennent's is Scottish beer, both are British beer, and Guinness is Irish beer, what adjective can apply to all three?


texts: Is "any of them" used with a singular or plural verb?

texts:
I'm posting this question to settle a debate.

Is the sentence, "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any of them truly unparalleled?" correct? The sentence throws me off because the first clause has a plural subject, but the second clause has a singular subject. My personal preference would be to make the subjects in both clauses plural. I.e. "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, are any of them truly unparalleled?"

On the other hand, adding "one" sounds okay too. I.e. "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any one of them truly unparalleled?" The addition of "one" lessens the ambiguity over whether the subject is singular or not.


texts: Phrase: "This area is being supervised by video". Can "video" really supervise?

texts:
In the city of Potsdam I have seen the following label on the main station building: "This area is being supervised by video".

The meaning of the phrase is pretty clear, but can "video" be really used as an actor for the action of supervising?


texts: Looking for a translation of a German expression "mit an Sicherheit grenzender Wahrscheinlichkeit"

texts:
In German language you use an expression mit an Sicherheit grenzender Wahrscheinlichkeit to say that you are almost one hundred percent sure/certain.

A particularity of that expression is that it has a subtility that I think comes from probability/mathematics; you say that you are not one hundred percent sure, but you can come arbitrarily close to certainty.
The expression also can make someone smile and/or shows a little bit of sophistication in the usage of the German language despite it's somewhat confusing meaning.
A probably wrong but literal translation could be something like with probability bordering/verging on certainty.

I use the expressions almost certain, very sure, pretty sure, etc. in this case, but I wonder....

In English language there is an expression that can come very close to the German expression?


texts: Equivalent of readability score for speeches/public speaking?

texts:
I was wondering if there was any similar scoring to the common readability scores (Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fox index, etc.) which can establish approximately what level of reader would be required to understand a given passage on first read (by my understanding), but for a given text if it were read out. Certain grammatical constructs, such as many nested dependent clauses, will obviously be much harder to parse when spoken linearly, than with written text where we can (and do, unconsciously) jump back to previous points in the text to, for instance, check what the dependent clause is referring to.

Further, some stylistic pointers, such as 'never ending sentences with prepositions', may have little to no impact on readability, but when listening to text can be quite difficult to understand without lots of stress/verbal emphasis. This can lead to essentially 'getting lost' in the sentence, and as a result, completely missing the information - something that can't really happen in writing.

Does there exist any website/program/algorithm for scoring speeches like this, considering these types of characteristics?


texts: Should there be a comma between two short imperatives?

texts:
I've always thought that between two imperative sentences, there should be a comma. But I regularly see two imperatives written without a comma in a single sentence, such as:

"Buy now and pay later"
"Pay for three months and get the phone free"

I'm not entirely sure as to why there isn't a comma before the "and" in these sentences. I'd just like to know if there is a rule/convention behind this (maybe because they are relatively short clauses or the second clause is dependent on the first for context).


texts:
In the sentences below, which usage is correct:

  All participants are split up into groups of 10.
  All participants are split into groups of 10.

So, the participants are divided but the verb "split" has nothing to do here with the divorce or breaking up, rather dividing into different groups that will compete against each other.

Thank you in advance!


texts: Is there any reason so many people abbreviate "etcetera" as "ect."?

texts:
People do many strange things, such as spell "loose" (the opposite of tight) as "lose" (the opposite of win) - and even vice versa sometimes.

Another oddity is when they say "literally" when that is obviously not the case ("I literally died when I saw The Packers beat the Seahawks").

But one that I almost consider a crime against humanity (I'm easily riled at times) is when they abbreviate "etcetera" as "ect."

What in the world are they saying in their mind when they write it that way -- "ek-tettera"? "ess-tettera"? Or what? Is there some method to their madness, or is this just one of those things I have to grin and bear?


texts: What do you mean when you ask "How are you?"

texts:
I have been asked one simple question many times by Americans: "How are you?". I know this does not mean that the person I am talking to wants to know how I feel, but sometimes I see that they repeat the question to me, so I answer that "I am fine", and I do not know what I should answer other than "fine" to people who I do know.

I know, for example, that in Hebrew "How are you?" in most cases means "Hello". In Russian if you ask "How are you?" you definitely want to know it.

What do you mean when you ask this question? What answer do you want to hear?


texts:
I'm pretty sure I have to use the in 'The people/citizens of this city speak a dialect' but when I try to use another preposition, instead of of, it doesn't seem right. I don't know why.
Do I have to use 'the' in the following sentences assuming that those things have never been mentioned before in a conversation. I'm talking the specific use of the definite article

(The) people in the city still speak a dialect. (not just any
people but those who live in this city)
(The) shirts in this store are cheap (.....in this store)
(The) Americans in Russia try to learn the Russian language (and so on)
I don't like (the) reviews on this site
I read (the) books by John Summers

Or there's a difference in the meaning with and without the definite article?


texts: A word/phrase for something that does not do justice to something?

texts:
This system of evaluation is not doing justice to the employees' work. Those who are good are getting fewer scores, and those who are not good are getting higher scores. The system does not reveal good/bad traits in a fair, proper, or just way. It does not show the merits of the employees properly.

  This system is ------ .

nonfunctional? unfair? non-revealing?

Of course, unfair may work but it seems as there should be word that are more to the point for such circumstances.


texts:
I'm reading Robinson Crusoe and came across many of these constructions with "but" in it. I can't help but thought they were a little unusual. I don't consider myself fluent in English, that's why I ask.

Here is an example:

  This I saw no remedy for but by making an enclosure about it with a
  hedge; which I did with a great deal of toil, and more, because it
  required speed.

Second one:

  However, as my arable land was but small, suited to my crop, I got
  it totally well fenced in about three weeks' time;

By typing the second out I figured it is actually the normal textbook case of "but", just an, in my opinion, screwed ordering in the sentence. Is this what it means?

  However, as my arable land was suited to my crop but small, I got it
  totally well fenced in about three weeks time;

Why did the author do this? Can you comment on the first sentence too? It's not a textbook-but-usage as I see it.


texts:
This is part of a comment made from a discussion on homeless people:

  ...It would be nice to think that I'm going to be able to help turn his life around but we'll have to see if he loses his steam or falls off the wagon.

What does lose steam mean? Since falling off the wagon means to resume drinking after having stopped. I'm guessing lose steam means something like to resume using harmful drugs after having stopped?


texts: Is there a word that means capable of being made brighter?

texts: Is there a word that means "capable of being made brighter"? A word that means capable of being made stronger or more intense would work too. Brightenable would be perfect if it didn't provoke as much laughter as understanding. Intensifiable is about the best I can come up with.


texts: In the year 2016, in the year of 2016, of the year 2016?

texts:
In the phrase,

  On Saturday the twenty-third day of April, in the year two thousand and sixteen.

Is it more correct to say

"in the year two thousand and sixteen"

or

"in the year of two thousand and sixteen"

or

"of the year two thousand and sixteen"


texts:
Is the following sentence grammatical?

Secondly, doing research and inventing new things are only possible if someone has understood the concepts in that particular topic or area.

I'm concerned about the use of the verb to be.
Grammarly claims that I should use "is" instead of "are".
I am under the impression that I am listing two activities –
doing research and inventing – and hence, I should use "are".
Is it not similar to saying "X and Y are not feasible"
or "X and Y are bad boys"?


texts:
I heard a colleague use the words layman's guess in a sentence "My layman's guess is...".

What does that mean exactly? Is it something like "I'm not an expert but I would guess that..."?


texts:
If a long prepositional phrase is inserted into the middle of a sentence, such as in the example to follow, should a second comma be used to enclose the beginning of the phrase:

  What most frequent observers note about these types of clauses is that [,] if the initial connector is removed, what is left normally becomes an independent clause.

It almost feels natural to insert the comma at the end of the phrase, but sometimes I'm unsure whether to insert the other comma, enclosed in "[..]" above, at the beginning. Is it plain wrong to have only the one comma since two are always needed to enclose mid, nonessential sentence elements?


texts: What is the antonym of recurrent? This is like I have to few activities which I have to perform each month so these are recurrent but there are few activities which I only perform once. So what should I say this activity is recurrent and that activity is one time? What is the proper word in this situation?


texts: Is it right to say "Smokers should be got rid of"?

texts: I know that sentences like "It is done", "She could be heard" are right, because it conforms to passive voice rules. So, I have compared "Smokers should be got rid of" with such examples. It seems to me to be right, because here I have used past participle form of the verb "get", but I am not sure if I have put the last preposition in right place. On the whole, it appears to me to be weird. Is this sentence correct at all?


texts: This reminds me of... how to use the word "remind" if we have no personal memory of something

texts:
Let me preface this by saying English isn't my first language.
There was a comment by an user on facebook today that went like "This reminds me of the 90's", but the user was born in 94 so my friend said "how can something remind you of something that you haven't personaly experienced or have no memory of".
My explanation was that we can learn about the 90's via books, movies, music etc and create our own idea of those times and then get reminded of them when we hear similar new music released 20, 30 years later.
Can we use the word "remind/reminded" in such way or is there any other synonym to be used in situations like this?
Should it be "this made me think of"?


texts:
I know that the proper pronunciation of 'arguable' is /ɑr gju ə bəl/. I do not doubt.

But it often bothers me when reading this word, that it somehow sounds like 'argu r able'.

While not sure, I think I have heard people pronouncing this word that way.

Is this also an accepted alternative pronunciation of this word? I'm asking this question as a non-native English speaker.


texts: Definite article before specific product names

texts:
I would just like to know: Do we use the definite article (the) before specific names of products like iPhone and iPod? If yes, is there any specific rule as to when and when not to use the article "the" before such names?

Thank you!


texts: Use of apostrophe in a mixed singular-plural context

texts:
This isn't my homework. This came up during a friendly debate last night with my mom.

What would be the correct use of the apostrophe and/or plural in the sentence One of my friend(s) house(s) is on sale. in each of the following cases?
My guesses are in bold, but do correct me if of them are any are incorrect.

(a) I have exactly one friend, and he has exactly one house which is on sale.

  One of my friends' house is on sale.

(b) I have many friends and one of them is selling his only house.

  One of my friends' house is on sale.

(c) I have exactly one friend and he is selling one of his many houses.

  One of my friends' houses is on sale.

(d) I have many friends and one of them is selling one his many houses.

  One of my friends' houses is on sale.

I think the form One of my friend's... will be incorrect in all cases, unless the noun cannot be realized in plural form, such as in One of my mother's friends is a dentist. Is this right?


texts: Word for something that is barely stable

texts:
Something which will destabilize very easily.

  The Birlings (an inspector calls) were a ____ family.


texts:
Is there a verb for phalanx? I searched online dictionaries, but I didn't find it.

Can I use Phalanx as a title of my story?

I am just wondering whether I should use a verb, or a noun for titles.


texts: Which spelling is correct: "benefiting" or "benefitting"?

texts: Which spelling is correct: benefiting or benefitting?


texts: Is it correct to use the subjunctive in "the idea is that you be able to improve"?

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I don't know which of the following is correct:

"the idea is that you be able to improve…"
"the idea is that you are able to improve…"

I would personally use the second option (the first sounds incorrect to me!), but a colleague said she'd been taught to use "be" (the subjunctive).
Can someone give us a hand?

Is it appropriate to use the subjunctive form of "be" in this context?