texts: What words are similar in meaning to "monosyllabic" or "disyllabic", but refer to the letters and not the sounds?

texts:
The words "monosyllabic" and "disyllabic" seem to describe words with one or two sounds. I'm looking for a similar word, but that instead describes a word constructed from only one or two letters (e.g. "I" or "it").

What words means "made of one letter" or "made of two letters"?
Of these words, which English word is best or most often used used to describe one-or two-character words from an ideographic language?


texts: Expression for 'for the aforementioned/ stated reasons'

texts:
Can someone give me a less formal alternative to the phrase below?

  for the aforementioned/ stated reasons (we will satisfy your request).


texts:
It seems to have the function of phrasal modals, but it has limited use and can not be conjugated in other tenses/aspects.

I have yet to meet him.


texts:
"Qualitative" is usually opposed to "quantitative". But consider the following sentence:

  Varying the CO2 emissions in climate models has a qualitative effect on the predictions of future weather conditions.

Could "qualitative" also mean "significant" in this context?

I think I have seen several examples of this kind, where the word "qualitative" is used even when the effects have been quantified. Since it is in the field of research, I wonder if the meaning could really be "significant" sometimes, or if it is just due to the tendency of researchers to stay very careful about the meaning of the results they find.


texts:
I read the sentence below.

If I can verbalize my anxiety, what need have you to focus on my
body language, smells, or other physical or psychological signs that
might accompany these feelings?

I get what 'what need have you' means vaguely. However, shouldn't it be 'what need do you have'?


texts:
is the use of the apostrophe in the following sentence correct:
...
The data users' wish to visualize comes in many formats, all of which cannot obviously be directly supported.
...

I am convinced it is a genitive and requires the apostrophe. Some of my colleagues don't agree...

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is "worth to do" an acceptable alternative to "worth doing"?

texts:
It's also worth to mention the learning curve for both frameworks.

This is the sentence I came across.


texts: coordinating conjunction and (with comma)...?

texts:
coordinating conjunctions?

Do I have to put the comma before "and" here?

a) In 2007, I moved to New York, and Peter moved to Berlin.

b) I created a code, and in each of them are numbers.

c) Yesterday, Peter drank beer,and Joe ate a bread.

D) 5+2 equals 7, and 7+3 equals 10.

THANK YOU! :)


texts: "Waiting list" vs. "wait list", "visiting card" vs. "visit card"

texts:
Should one say "I’ll put you on the waiting list" or "on the wait list"? Likewise, is it "I will give you my visiting card" or "my visit card"?

I am very confused when to use the -ing form or not. Is there a general rule?


texts: Does the word "vain" necessarily have a negative denotation or connotation?

texts:
I don't really know how to answer my Brazilian students when they ask me how to say "vaidoso/a" in English. The Portuguese word does not convey a bad idea but "vain" does.

Or does it?


texts: Is there English version of French army cliché, “A friend when you’re lieutenant, companion when captain, ... the enemy when you’re general"?

texts:
I found a French army cliché;

  “A friend when you’ re a first lieutenant, a companion when you’re captain, a colleague when you’re major, a rival when you’re colonel, the enemy when you’re general”

introduced in a Japanese translation of “L’ étrange Defaire – Témoignage écrit en 1940,”
written by French historian and résistant fighter, Marc Bloch (1886-1944), who was arrested and killed by the Nazis in June 1944, only two months before the liberation of Paris by the Allied Forces.

I think it’s a very intriguing axiom to describe the nature of human race - the harder, the higher you climb up, which is common to the races / struggles in every field of politics, business, academy, sports, entertainment and you can name it.

Is this an axiom proper to French?

We have Japanese saying, “両雄並び立たず- Two heroes can never stand side by side (coexist),” which I think is akin to Chinese cliché, 両虎相闘 - liang hu xiang dou - meaning two tigers in a prairie are distined to fight to death, i.e. Caesar couldn’t stand together Pompeius, and Octavianus couldn’t live and let live Antonius. Both Japanese and Chinese cliché match only the last part of the French cliché.

Is there English version to the same effect?


texts: When contractions shouldn't be contractions

texts:
I was reading a comment that was made on SO that sounded strange to me

  [That feature] should've better support in [the] next version

My first reaction to this was that it needs to be "should have" but since "should've" is a contraction of "should have" I was wondering if there's a formal English rule about this type of syntax or am I just wrong?


texts: Should I always insert "and" between two verbs in imperative mode?

texts:
As far as I understand, the word and  is usually inserted between two verbs used in imperative mood  in English. For example, “Go and make me a drink.”

How obligatory is this? Can I claim that it is ungrammatical (or at least less typical) to have to consecutive verbs in imperative mood?

Also, what about the phrase “Go make me a drink”?  Should I treat go and make in this phrase as two imperatives?


texts: "Keep your pants on?" or "Hold your pants on?"

texts: My dad used to say "Keep your pants on" but my wife insists the saying is "Hold your pants on" To me the two phrases mean two totally different things. Which one is (or was) a more common phrase?


texts: Difference between right ”in” something and right ”to” something

texts: In the context of a software development agreement, where it is stated that ”Vendor hereby assigns to Customer all its rights, title and interest in and to the Software”. My question is more on the grammatical construction, rather than the contractual implications.


texts: What makes a non-native English speaker sound foreign?

texts:
I'm not a native speaker. However, I have tried a lot during last 10 years to learn English at a high level of proficiency and to become fluent in conversation.

However, when I talk to some of my friends in US over Skype (found via my profession), they tell me that I talk like a foreigner. But they don't know why is that.

What is/are the reasons that can make a not-native English speaker sound like a foreigner? Is it about pronunciation, or about syntax, or is it maybe just a false assumption coming from a psychological background due to the fact that the other party knows that you are not an English man/woman.

Update: I asked this question specifically about English, since English is the most widespread language on the earth and tens of different dialects and millions of different idiolects seem to alleviate the problem of "sounding-foreign".


texts:
We're making a website in which users can mark some objects as objects they like. Since we're not native English speakers here, a dispute evolved around what's the correct way to call this user-object relationship in the past tense: favored or favorited. For example, should it be Jack favored Jill's video or Jack favorited Jill's video?

From googling, I suspect both forms are correct or at least commonly acceptable, but I'm wondering if one of them is more correct, if there's a slight semantic difference I'm missing or if you'd think one is more proper where the other is more colloquial.


texts: "contains possible faulty output" or "contains potential faulty output"?

texts: Is there any difference between saying this? I'm using this to report system output that might contain output that is worth investigating for the maintainers.


texts:
You have found a job. You get called in by the company for a job interview and it went great.

Is there something wrong with this sentence? Is there an inappropriate shift in tense? If yes, how should it be written?


texts:
could you please help me to understand what does it mean?

  "crash, bass, sausage and mash, two kippers and a bonbon, a little
  dab'll do ya"

and also:

  "Tiddly winky woo"

(I doubt if it means "drink" here)

It's from this video at 11:56

Thank you very much!


texts: How do you pronounce "cURL," the computer utility?

texts:
Are there programmers here? I'd like to know how you guys pronounce cURL.
Because I don't live in a country that uses English, I haven't heard it yet.


texts:
Physics problems are usually written like:

The rate of change of the soup's temperature ...

Is there a common English word that captures "rate of change" or "speed of change" in a single word, other than derivative?


texts: What is the origin of idiom "Keep your hair on"?

texts:
I had a conversation with a coworker and he told me to keep my hair on. My first understanding of the idiom was that he will do something so fast that, if I was wearing a wig or something it will fly away. I have checked the meaning and it was to keep calm, not get angry and overreact. I have no idea how I am going to loose my hair if I get angry hence where this idiom comes from?

I have Googled and read something about keep your shirt on was the original expression and came from the days when ordinary man had two shirts and he had to take off his precious shirt before getting in a fight. ( First recorded in the USA in George W. Harris's 1854 book Spirit of the Times: 'I say, you durned ash cats, just keep yer shirts on, will ye?')

Keep your hair on was some sort of humorous development of this, but I still don't get how you are going to lose your hair if you get angry, not that all expressions have to make sense but I find it peculiar. Is it connected with the phrase let your hair down? The phrase comes from the same time period when women had to wear their hair  pinned up on the head in public. They were only allowed to let their hair down to hang naturally when alone, either when bathing or at bedtime. The phrase means merely to relax and to go easy.

What is the more popular phrase today that one with the hair or with shirt ? Does it make more sense if the woman use the phrase with hair and men the phrase with shirt ?


texts: temporal "directly" in AmEng usage: "immediately/without delay" or "shortly/in a little while"?

texts:
What does directly commonly mean in standard AmEng when used as a temporal adverb,
immediately/instantly/at once/right away/without delay
-or-
soon/shortly/in a little while?

DIRECTLY
At once; instantly: Leave directly.
Chiefly Southern US In a little while; shortly: He'll be coming directly (emphasis is mine.)
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
At once; without delay.
Shortly; soon.
Usage note:
immediately, instantly, directly, presently were once close synonyms, all denoting complete absence of delay or any lapse of time. immediately and instantly still almost always have that sense and usu. mean at once: He got up immediately. She responded instantly to the request. directly is usu. equivalent to soon, in a little while rather than at once: You go ahead, we'll join you directly.
Random House Kennerman Webster's College Dictionary

Please, consider:

Have a seat, Dr. Campbell will be with you directly.
She fell asleep directly after she went to bed.

Does that mean,

Dr. Campbell will be right with you/will be with you right away/with no delay.
She fell asleep immediately/right after she went to bed.

-or-

Dr. Campbell will be with you shortly/soon/in a little while.
She fell asleep shortly/soon after she went to bed.


texts: Managing Director in a School below university level

texts: Is the title, "managing director" used in American or European nonprofit organizations, specifically in elementary or high schools? And if so, does that person stand below, equal to or above the principal?


texts: Is there a word to describe a piece of land surrounded by river(s)?

texts:
I was wondering if there is a word that describes a piece of land that is being surrounded by river(s)?

Is "island" appropriate for this? I always thought the word Island means a piece of land surrounded by a large amount of water that you need some kind of naval transportation to get to.

In this case, you can possibly just swim over or build a simple bridge and you can get to the center piece of land.


texts: Are expressions like "When studying, When playing, ..." just expressions or something more?

texts:
My first question here.

I am wondering whether expressions like the ones in the tittle are just expressions or represent another thing in the english language.

I will give you some more examples so you can understand me. Very often I read sentences like these:

When studying the brain waves of people in the flow, researchers find the slow alpha rhythms typical of meditation.
When clicking the 'search button' I discovered a bug.
When playing soccer I feel good.

Are above sentences well written?

I want to know if this is a simple use of gerund or an expression and how to use it. After the 'when+gerund' part which verb tense can I use?


texts: Why are the words hundred, thousand, million, and trillion singular after plural numbers?

texts:
Can anyone give a grammatical explanation why the words hundred, thousand, million, and trillion are singular after plural numbers?

For example, why can't we say three hundreds or 4 thousands or five millions, etc?

One of my students asked me and all I could say is that it is an exception to the rule of bringing a plural word after a plural number!


texts: What is the English term for "unwittingly misspelling words based on their pronunciation?"

texts:
Note that this is not the same as What is it called when words are deliberately spelled incorrectly but pronunciation is kept unchanged? because that question is about deliberate misspellings, whereas this one is about unwitting misspellings.

Many people unknowingly spell an English word exactly as they would pronounce it, which can lead to a misspelling.
Examples:

1.Elifant or Elifent for elephant.
"She ran away on seeing the elifant."
2.Shiwawa for Chihuahua.
"Their dog is a Shiwawa."

This is related to not knowing the correct spelling of the word, and is a common type of mistake made even by native speakers of English, though probably not with 'elephant'; for instance I remember a native speaker cuttingly reject some good advice from a moderator at a car audio forum with the sentence:

You need not lekcher me about the rules of this forum. I am no neofite here.

Sample sentence for SWR:

Writing 'elifent' for 'elephant' unwittingly, based on its pronunciation would be an example of ______________.

The correct term is not transliteration, and google search did not prominently turn up a pointer to such a word:
https://www.google.co.in/search?q=misspelling+words+according+to+pronunciation
So what is the English word for "misspelling words based on their pronunciation?"

A very good option already suggested kindly by @Lawrence is "phonetic spelling" (or phonetic misspelling) but can someone find a single word to express the same meaning?


texts:
I've read the other posts outlining usage of who vs. whom, but I can't seem to apply them to this sentence (or rather bullet point on a resume). Should I be using who or whom (or something else entirely) here?

  Established X Department summer intern program and led recruitment efforts to hire the group’s first intern, whom I trained, supervised, and mentored

I would appreciate any help you can provide.


texts:
I was wondering earlier, when trying to organise a poker game, what the name for a poker player or players is.

If you are in a race (cars, bikes, running etc), you can use "racers" or similar. In a boxing match you could use "Pugilist" or similar. (I'm not sure where pugilist stops being relevant, are you a pugilist in kick-boxing? katate? but that is outside the scope of my question).

There's always "contenders" or "competitors" or "players", but I was after something more specific, more directly related to poker, or at least card games.


texts:
What are some funny synonyms for to tell a lie?

E.g. fib, pull a Bill Clinton, etc.


texts: What does the phrase "Bolting for the Door" mean?

texts:
I was watching this video and at 41:05 secs the professor uses this phrase Bolting for the Door . Does it mean that students will get bored or it will be too difficult for the students such that they will be eager to go out as soon  as possible ?

P.S : Searching google for "bolt for the door" didn't provide encouraging answers.

The full context of the quote is:

  By the time we get to the end of this class you folks are going to be bolting for the door because we are going to do some good math today.  It's actually fun math, I think, but it is challenging.


texts: Clifton chronicles book 4 phrase meaning

texts: I found the phrase when Sebastian says it to his mother ‘I have daily lessons at the foot of an expert. And what’s more, I’m his only pupil,’. Please explain it to me.


texts: Is there a word for an idea similar to negative evidence?

texts:
My question will best be summed up by this phenomenon.

A few thousand years ago, all Jews believed that the tablets containing the ten commandments were square, there was no debate regarding their shape, and therefore, no one ever wrote what their shape was. They described their size, and how they fit in a square box perfectly, but they never bothered to explicitly mention whether the tablets were round or square.

So I'm looking for a word or a phrase that describes the phenomenon of something being so obvious that no one bothers to write it down.


texts: difference between 'far', 'more' and 'much'

texts:
I want to know what is the difference between far, more and much? for example, which are a correct sentence in below:

This is far better for you
This is more better for you
This is much better for you


texts:
Does it make sense to say "At Up To 30% off"?
Shouldn't it either be "At" or "Up To"...not "At Up To"?


texts: Why do some older writings have misused possessives?

texts:
I was recently visiting the Henry Ford museum, when I came across this old billboard:

In case it is difficult to read in the picture, the full text was "See it at your Ford dealer's now!"

Note that dealers is written as "dealer's." Is there anybody who knows why this is? Is it considered proper English, or was it simply an error on the designer's part?


texts: What is the right word for "eliminating" a law?

texts:
Let's say there is a Law in my country and I think it should be "abolished", what is the proper word to use for asking that ? I tough of : eliminate, get rid off, eradicate, erase, abolish, terminate. But I don't know which word is the correct "law" vocabulary to use.

Example : "The Law of Gravity should be abolished because it never was voted inside Canadian Parliament."

I'm trying to write an official letter in English, and yes, I am a French Canadian :)

Thanks for your help,

-Séb


texts: What is the name of the depiction of concentration with raised eyebrow called?

texts:
If you look at this picture, how would you describe the mood and the eyes of the character?

I would not say she's angry. I would say she is concentrating to cut the object. However there are many kinds of concentration, and thus the eye expression can differ. This one gives me the feeling that she doesn't accept the existence of the object, and thus must kill it.


texts:
Does it literally mean

or whatever that you have

or

or whatever it is

I’ve heard it in some context and guessed its meaning to be "etc, etc.", but I’m not entirely sure what it means.


texts: Does an abbreviation which is written in lowercase have to be capitalised after a period?

texts:
I must use after a period an abbreviation which is "mtDNA" (mitochondrial DNA). It is always abbreviated with the two first letters in lowercase. I'm struggling to find a rule to know whether the "m" has to be capitalised or not after a period. For example would you write :

lorem ipsum. MtDNA is very important for cells.
lorem ipsum. mtDNA is very important for cells.

It appears to me more natural to have it lowercase also because I'm used to read it almost everyday.

Is there a rule that can be applied?

Best ,


texts: I am trying to remember a word/phrase that is often used to describe backwards and heavy handed laws

texts:
I am having the darndest time trying to remember this word/phrase. I have seen it used many times over the years to describe laws, rules, and policies that are usually very heavy handed and backwards thinking.

Laws that don't really understand the issue they are trying to solve and instead take an almost vindictive approach to solving problems.

For the life of me I can't remember and I keep trying to say it is Gregorian. But I know that is not right.

Does anyone know what I am talking about? I have seen it a lot on techdirt.com.


texts: Does use of the term "Gordian knot" imply a heavy-handed solution?

texts:
I’m a PhD student currently struggling with the section of my thesis where I’m praising my supervisors. It is not that I’m having trouble summoning up the willpower to do so, but rather that I’m puzzled by a specific grammatical detail.

I am planning to write something along the lines of

  … a better team of consultants is hard to imagine when it comes to […] untying theoretical and technical Gordian knots.

thefreedictionary.com defines the term as “an exceedingly complicated problem or deadlock”, which is exactly what I want to say. However, the etymology of the expression is obviously related to Alexander the Great coming across the knot in Gordium and “solving” the riddle of untying it with his sword. So, in using the expression in this way, do I imply that my supervisors tend to prefer brute-force solutions?


texts: Can you say "paint price" instead of "painting price"?

texts:
Is this sentence ok as currently written?

The paint price is high.

I ask because the free online proofreading service from Grammarly, Inc. tries to change that sentence to The painting price is high, but the purpose of the sentence is to denote that the price of the paint is high, not the price of the painting process.
Is this just some dumb software bug, or am I missing something important here?


texts:
Are singular non-proper countable nouns always preceded by a determiner (a, the, some, any, this, that)?

  ORIGINAL QUESTION: "Dose singular no-proper [Are singular common] nouns always preceded by an article (a, the) or are there some situations that this is not true?"


texts: Is the bottom-most floor (on ground level not the basement) "ground floor" or "first floor" in America?


texts: I saw a tweet on twitter and he was asking if "toll fee" is correct because it is "redundant". I am unsure about the answer because here in the Philippines, we tend to, sometimes, double the noun -- the same with the double negatives Americans do. I then searched whether words like "charge fee" and "tax fee" exist and there was nothing to look up for -- at least not "tax service fee". Is it correct to consider the word "toll fee" or it depends on the Linguistics of our country?


texts: Adjective placed before a noun but adjectival complement after it

texts:
Page 14 of Practical English Usage reads

In some cases an adjective can be put before a noun and its complement
after it. This happens with different, similar, the same, next, last,
first, second etc; comparatives and superlatives; and a few other
adjectives like difficult and easy
The best mother in the world

Why are the adjective difficult/easy dealt with as being different form different/similar?
Secondly, what other arrangement of words would be grammatical for superlatives, as in The best mother in the world ?


texts:
What do you think about the phrases below:

Clear unsuccessful attempts
Reset unsuccessful attempts

Honestly, I like neither of them, but I can't think of any short alternative. This phrase is used for the button that sets the count of unsuccessful login attempts to zero.
What would be the best way to convey this meaning without losing brevity?

Thank you.


texts:
Can you use the word "neglect" in the following way?
  The townspeople/inhabitants neglected their town/city.
Firstly, thank you so much.  Some background about me.  I am British born and have been living abroad for many years teaching English as a Second Language at a large high school.  One of the English teachers in our team (who speaks American English) thought that the use of the word "neglect" as a verb usually only relates to authorities such as the local council or the government who "neglects" the town.  Myself and another teacher felt that the use of the word in the sentence 'The inhabitants neglected their town' was grammatically correct and acceptable.  Our colleague did some research and couldn't find any example that talks about inhabitants/residents neglecting their town. She said that it seems that is is always in the hands of authorities to take care of a town and only they can neglect it. However, people can neglect their house, front yard or any other property they own. So we started discussing the issue and I found this site and posted my question this morning.  Can you shed any more light on the issue?
Thank you so much.
Ros


texts: Is there any synonym for "abyss" with a non-negative connotation?

texts:
Could somebody tell me, what is the positive of the word "Abyss" ? As I know, abyss means an infinite depth or abode of evils, Hell. So isn't there any word which will mean the same as infinite depth or void but without pointing towards the negativity of Hell ?

The context in which I want to use this word is related to human emotion. I want to personify this word. I want a word with a meaning parallel to that of abyss but it should not have a negative connotation. You can say that I want to show the void or depth of a person but in one word to do all this.


texts: The total "is" or "are" worth a certain amount

texts:
Which is correct?

Fourteen pennies are worth fourteen cents.
Fourteen pennies is worth fourteen cents.

The former, to me, sounds like "Each of the fourteen pennies is worth fourteen cents." The "is" in the latter, to me, refers to the collection of all pennies as a single unit.


texts: "consider x as y" or "consider x to be y"

texts:
Which of these alternatives seems more correct or natural?

  We consider death as an enemy
  We consider death an enemy
  We consider death to be an enemy


texts: Linguistic name for "general action verbs" and "specific action verbs"

texts:
Is there a linguistic or academical name for those verbs which express a general action compared to those which express a specific action?

Examples:

do, make (general) vs. perform, build (specific)
have (general) vs. carry (specific)
get (general) vs. achieve, obtain (specific)
use (general) vs. apply (specific)
say (general) vs. whisper, explain, confess (specific)

I found this, but boring verbs vs. specifical verbs does not sound very academical to me...


texts: When was "Dick" first used as a nickname

texts:
The question pretty much says it all... I would like to know when was "Dick" first used as a nickname. Was it before it meant the genital organ?

Silly question, but... admit it, you also want to know.


texts: Why is it “tuck in” and not just “tuck”?

texts:
Is there a rule for when to use ‘in’ as in “tuck in”? Or is it a thing to remember?

Example: Tuck in your shirt


texts: When to use the noun "generating" and when the noun "generation"?

texts:
The generation of the product list takes about an hour.
The generating of the product list takes about an hour.

It feels like with verbs, generating is not finished in the moment while generation is generic and might be finished in the moment it is mentioned.
Am I correct with this assumption, is either of those words better or more common than the other?


texts:
I'm working on an app which displays status messages, like:

"XY is now available"
"XY is now offline"

I'm wondering which of the followings is correct:

"XY is now idle"
"XY is now idling"


texts: Should I completely eliminate passive voice

texts:
I have read that a lot of passive voice deadens the story to 2 dimensional even if you are just trying to show something that takes time when you use the passive voice.

I quite often use passive voice.

A few examples from the Rubiks World novel I am working on are:

The 17x17 was most likely to be electrocuted.

Unfortunately, the 17x17 was electrocuted.(This and the sentence above both refer to the thunderstorm that happened on the very first day before they even built shelter)

While the 15x15 was pregnant, many new things were done.

Now most of my passive voice sentences have "was" in them.

An example though of one without was is:

He could be attacked without dying.(this is referring to the collection of big cats for meat, bone, and domestication(mainly cheetahs for domestication and bigger cats for meat and bone)).

In case you are wondering why I have numbers as characters, these numbers are representing the rubiks cubes and the rubiks cubes are the characters.

So should I completely eliminate passive voice from this novel I am working on or do some sentences need to be in passive voice(like the ones referring to the thunderstorm)?


texts: What is the literary device for "our eyes opened" when describing a realization?

texts: This is a quote from the book Night, by Elie Wiesel. In context: "We realized that we were not staying in Hungary. Our eyes opened. Too late."


texts: Is "as [adjective] as [can/could] be" grammatical?

texts:
It occurred to me while reading the line "He was as happy as could be." that part of it is quite vague. As happy as he could be, or as anything could be? I'm not a linguist or anything, but I haven't been able to think of anything that follows a similar pattern, without following the pattern exactly (as in the title of the question).

Regardless of how well it is understood by others or how often it is used (unless this affects the answer), is a phrase like this bad grammar?


texts: What to use plural or singular in 'document(s) repository'?

texts:
What is the correct way to name 'storage of documents' with usage of 'repository' and 'document' words?

Which one is correct:

document repository
documents repository

Why?


texts: What term is used for words or phrases that name, and distinguished from those that describe?

texts:
Some words or phrases pick out individuals or groups by describing them. Others function as proper names. What term is most nearly equivalent to "descriptive" that denotes words and phrases in the latter category?
For example "Thomas Jefferson" and "the writer of the declaration of independence" both denote the same person. The first is a proper name, the second a description. The adjective "descriptive" can apply to the second. What adjective applies to the first? ("Appellative??")


texts: the use of 'were' and 'was' when describing a situation

texts:
What is the correct use of 'were' and 'was' in an imaginary sentence such as:
''If I were to go biking I would be tired.''
How is this different from the sentences below:
If I go biking I will be tired,
or
If I bike, I get tired.
Does a sentence such as
''If I was to go biking, I would be tired'' make more sense?


texts: Is there a word for the giver of a testimonial?

texts: Is there a word for the author of a testimonial about a product or service. I thought perhaps "Testimonee" or something similar but that's not a word.


texts: difference between suffixes '-ish' and '-y'

texts:
Recently Prince Charles used the word 'Hitlery,' in the sense of "possessing some properties of Hitler."

Is there any difference between the suffixes -ish and -y ?


texts: Usage of "genetically engineered" vs. "genetically modified" animals

texts:
Do the terms:

  genetically engineered

and

  genetically modified

have different meanings?

Is either preferred in the context of working with genetically engineered animals for medical research?


texts: "The reason why" versus "The reason for why": Is that "for" there required or forbidden, preferred or undesirable?

texts:
Which of the following is to be preferred, and why?

The reason for why the grass is wet is that it rained last night.
The reason why the grass is wet is that it rained last night.


texts: Secular alternative to "preaching to the choir"?

texts: Is there a secular alternative to the phrase "preaching to the choir"?


texts: "You're missing the posts only available to members" — should there be a "the" in there?

texts:
Consider this sentence:

  You're missing posts only available to members.

I think it should actually be

  You're missing the posts available only to members

or at least

  You're missing the posts only available to members

The second sounds the best to me, but friends say the first one sounds best.
This is going to go on a website for the people to see. I do not know how to justify it, but I think there should be a the before posts. Does taking it out make it okay? If so, can someone please explain?


texts: Do I need to use a comma before 'but' where the subject is not immediate?

texts:
For example,  "This doesn't cause any crash but later it can cause unknown memory-crashes."

I see here that the subject 'it' is not immediately after 'but'. Do I still need to use a comma before 'but' as it links another subject?


texts:
Sarcasm is in most cases conveyed by tone of voice or body language, so is much easier to use face-to-face. What are ways of using it in written form?

One way I know of is to use a word that directly suggests sarcasm in context, such as 'totally'.

For example:

  That's totally how you are meant to drive a car

Are there other words or methods that achieve this effect? Are any clearer than others?


texts:
As far as I can tell there are eight ways to abbreviate or write the contracted form "government".

gov or Gov
gov. or Gov.
gov't or Gov't
govt. or Govt. (with the full stop/period)

Are any of these forms considered incorrect?

In formal writing I know it is never advisable to write contractions but I imagine there must be exceptions to the rule, consequently which is the preferred version? Is there a rule which explains how polysyllabic words ought to be contracted?

Edit April 5th 2014
I did a little research on Google Ngram Viewer, comparing Govt/govt with Gov/gov (Google Ngram appears to be unreliable with apostrophes and the period/full stop) and came up with these two.


texts: Is there a word for the material of a forest floor?

texts:
I was in a forest last weekend and spent some time enjoying the texture of the forest floor - even now in the summer, it consists primarily of slowly decaying dry leaves and twigs:

I thought I had in the back of my mind a word for this substance, but I couldn't remember it. Now I think I might have been conflating the English word "loam" with the German word "Laub" which I think can mean this substance but also more generally means leaves/foliage.
Anyway, can anyone help me out? Do we have a word for it in English?
Sample usage: "the soft [Laub] rustled under her feet"


texts: Why is the word 'Hello' used frequently when starting a phone call?

texts: Why is the word 'Hello' used universally to begin a phone call? What was the origin of it?


texts: A Word Related to Books that begins with the letter R

texts:
I'm currently coding items for my game and I thought of a really funny one, but I'm having trouble figuring out what the final word should be. Here's what I'm thinking:

The item goes in the trinket slot of the character page, and it looks like a book. I wanted to have each word of the book name spell out "Too Long Didn't Read". Here's what I came up with off the top of my head:

"Tildra's Lost Dragon ______"

I was thinking the last word should be related to a Tome, Bestiary, or Manuscript; but I'm at a loss for words that start with 'R' that could finish this item name. Are there any words at all that could fill the blank? Even an archaic one?


texts:
It leads to inhibition of protein synthesis is take place.
Is it a wrong statement ?
If it is a wrong statement , could you please make a sentence for me which have same meaning as stated by above sentence .


texts: How to say "I vaunt a broad knowledge of the subject" without bragging?

texts:
How can I say

  "I vaunt a broad knowledge and understanding of the subject"

without sounding too arrogant?

The verb to vaunt implies bragging, in my humble opinion.


texts: Single word that is used for all home-related services

texts:
I am looking for single word that can stand for all home-related services like:

Painter
Electrician
Carpenter
Driver
Mobile fixer
Plasterer
Plumber

It may include services that are sometimes performed outside the home.

If possible, please provide a word of just 6–8 characters


texts: "The" and superlative of uncountable noun — "the clearest water"?

texts:
Uncountable nouns are usually used without an article. Superlatives require definite article. What comes out of these 2 rules when superlative meets uncountable article?
We need an example, I hope it is good:

This lake has clear water.
This lake has clearest water.
This lake has the clearest water.

When I searched the web I found both "clearest water" and "the clearest water".
I read on this site, that in informal speech the is frequently omitted, so let's concentrate on formal speech or writing. If there is Am/Br specific it would also be interesting. Please comment on the examples and in general. Thanks.


texts:
This is the text :

  What AI is:

  Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the study of intelligent behaviour (in humans, animals, and machines) and the attempt to find ways in which such behaviour could be engineered in any type of artefact. It is one of the most difficult and arguably the most exciting enterprise ever undertaken by humanity. The difficulty of the enterprise may not be obvious at first, but it has been painfully learned.

Which thing has been painfully learned?  Is it the the enterprise or the difficulty ?


texts: What's a better way of saying "doing something for fun"?

texts: I am writing a discussion summary for my class and one of the questions I have to answer is if I would recommend the personality test we had to take. I want to say I would recommend it for fun or as a joke. But I know that there are other ways to make it sound more scholarly.


texts: What word or Idiom would describe this set of negative behaviors

texts:
The best way to ask this would be to give a set of examples.

You use a word not common in everyday usage, and someone asks you "who says that" in a negative fashion.
you work obliges you to move frequently between indoors and outside. You wear sunglasses. You don't bother to take them off when you move inside; a coworker tells you people who wear sunglasses inside are insert demeaning pejorative here
You wear a piece of clothing and someone asks or tells you something like "jesus who wears that anymore?"

Someone who is overly critical? the closest word or Idiom I have seen for these is either Cavil, or "hater". No one really knows the word Cavil, and haters is far too MTV for me to use in conversation without throwing up.

It doesn't necessarily need to be a single word, or idiom, but rather a way to respond to those overly critical people. the ones who try to put you down to make themselves feel better and/or who are overly concerned with behaviors of others that do not impact themselves at all.


texts: What word means someone who’s satisfied with superficial knowledge?

texts:
I used to know this word but cannot remember it.

Basically it’s someone who likes the prospect of being knowledgeable about many things, or at least wants the appearance of erudition, but who is unwilling to put in the time and effort to learn new things.

He may put in just enough effort to learn some trivia to impress others.

And pretentious isn’t the word I was thinking of.


texts:
We thus can keep their trust far longer.

  We thus can keep their trust for far longer.

Are 1 and 2 both correct and meaning the same thing?


texts:
"Go suck an egg" is a saying typically used similarly to "take a hike" or "piss off":

Hey, you going to help me with this or what?
Go suck an egg.

An few Ngram searches shows that "suck an egg" is only really used with the words "go" and "an" but I was not able to find any reference to the origin of the phrase.
An existing question on ELU asks about the origin of "teaching grandma to suck eggs"  but none of the answers directly discuss this usage of "suck eggs". When did this phrase become a common statement meaning "go away"? Why was this random activity associated with the idiom?


texts: Is the term "fresh and original" redundant?

texts:
I see this phrase all over the place.

Fresh in this usage appears to be in the usage:

  not previously known or used; new or different.

And directly lists original as a synonym.

And original in the usage:

  present or existing from the beginning; first or earliest.

or

  created directly and personally by a particular artist; not a copy or imitation.

All definitions from the Oxford online dictionary.


texts: Meaning of "two fingers on the screwdriver tight"

texts:
I have a technical manual which contains this this sentential:

  When tightening the screws, the first cycle is to get the screws to
  apply minimum pressure on the cover. The second cycle is to snug the
  screw (two fingers on the screwdriver tight).

What does "two fingers on the screwdriver tight" means in this context?


texts: "Touched with your fingers" or "touched by your fingers"?

texts:
"I need to be touched with your fingers ?"

I just wanna see that it is corret or not .. Or

"I need to be touched by your fingers ?"


texts:
In the following examples:

A boy with blue eyes and black tshirt stood in the corner.
An old man who knew how to live a life the right way looked through the window.

What would you call these phrases?

with blue eyes and black tshirt
who knew how to live a life the right way

I understand they are part of the subject. What would you call them when you do a grammatical analyses?
Also is there a list of patterns to form phrases like these?
I can create lots of variations and all will start from the words 'with' or 'who'. I suspect there are more ways to create phrases like these.


texts:
I was watching TV Series and I found an interesting sentence that I can't understand.

A simple scene between two lovers and one of them is really jealous.
The sentence was:

  I would have them of no concern to the one that holds my heart.

I understand the phrase "to be of no concern", but usually I can see it in sentences like: "It's of no concern to me", "Your problems are of no concern to your boss". But the problem with questioned sentence is that there is "I" at the beginning and "the one..." at the end, after "to". It seems like two subjects and I just don't know for who "they" are of no concern.

Of course I can guess the meaning but I would really like to know something more about this structure.


texts: Dependent clause and negation with "nor"

texts:
I came up with sentences involving dependent clause ("that" clause) and/or negation with "nor" with varying degrees of complexity.

He doesn't sing nor dance.
I don't think he dances.
I don't think he sings nor dances.
I don't think he sings nor she dances.
I don't think he sings French chanson or German Lied.

I (vaguely) recall that we can't use "nor" to connect nouns if it's under "not"

Are these all correct?  Any advices would be appreciated.  Thanks!


texts: What does "discursive," mean and how should it be used?

texts:
What does "discursive" mean, and how should it be used?

Its definition includes

digressing from subject to subject; fluent and expansive rather than formulaic or abbreviated; but also,
proceeding by argument or reasoning rather than by intuition.

Is it simply a word with two, seemingly opposite, senses (i.e., a contronym), or are the two senses somehow reconcilable?


texts: The usage of "savor" in The Great Gatsby

texts:
In Chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby, part of a sentence went like this:

  ... a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anti-climax.

I went to COCA and searched for [savor].[v*] of and it gave nothing, meaning that in contemporary usage, "savor" as a verb is never followed by an "of." I know that today we usually say "savor something" instead of "savor of something," so does that mean it is a deprecated usage of the word "savor" in that sentence?


texts: Word for something post-contextualisation

texts: Let me use an analogy to clarify what I mean. You obtain 2000 user inputs from a survey. You have data. This data becomes information when it is processed, contextualized and understood in a particular setting. Is there a phrase / word communicative of this transition from data to information?


texts: Intransitive equivalent for "to make thirsty/sleepy/etc."

texts:
Is there a less ambiguous way of saying "I'm glad we're out, those meetings always make you sleepy" where "you" means "everybody in general", without using synonyms ("grueling", "exhausting", etc.), and using other pronouns (like "one" or "us")?

Something like "good exercise is always tiring".


texts: How would I combine these phrases? Putting boxes on a truck, removing boxes from a truck

texts:
The original sentence:

"The movers are putting boxes on a truck and removing boxes from a truck."

To shorten the sentence, I want to combine these two actions:

"The movers are putting and removing boxes [ on / from ] the truck."

But I don't know whether to use the proposition associated with putting (on), or the preposition associated with removing (from).

AKA, which of these are right?

The movers are putting and removing boxes on the truck.
The movers are putting and removing boxes from the truck.
The movers are removing and putting boxes on the truck.
The movers are removing and putting boxes from the truck.

What are the rules in determining which preposition to use when combining other such sentences?

Clarification: I am not looking for different words for putting and removing. I am just trying to understand how I would combine both of those into one phrase when they use different prepositions 'towards' the object (truck).


texts: phrase whereby the swapping of words has an entirely new meaning

texts:
the bottom has fallen from my world
the world has fallen from my bottom

These are examples of ?


texts: Word for the building/structure in which primates are kept

texts: What is the word for monkey keeping facilities at the zoo?  Birds are kept in an aviary, monkeys are kept in a ___.


texts:
I am looking for a single English word that conveys that idea that something cannot be experienced. Any ideas?

To be specific: at least one of the standard definitions of such a word would have the general meaning of  '(something) that cannot be experienced.'


texts:
What does the following sentence mean?

  The trip can be made in no time.


texts: "Publicly well known X" vs "public well known X"

texts:
How do you say it correctly?

  The publicly well-known project

or

  The public well-known project


texts: What are the good expressions for " going to school or going to work"?

texts: I think when someone leaves home, he or she may say like this, " I am leaving" or "I am going to school" or "I am going to work" . I am wondering what phrases native speakers usually say when they leave home for work or school.


texts: Entertaining multiple goals (makes / make) a person’s life stressful?

texts:
As per the following grammar rule found in this GMAT article, the singular "make" should be used but it shows "makes" in the answer.  This is a little bit confusing.

Rule: When acting as subjects of a sentence, gerunds and infinitives are always singular and require singular verbs.

Sentences:
Entertaining multiple goals (makes / make) a person’s life stressful.

To plan road trips to three different cities (involves / involve) the handling of many details.

Answer:
Entertaining multiple goals "makes" a person’s life
stressful.

“Entertaining multiple goals” is a gerund phrase
which acts as the subject of the sentence ("singular").

To plan road trips to three different cities "involves" the
handling of many details.

“To plan roads trips” is an infinitive phrase which
acts as the subject of the sentence ("singular").


texts: What is the term or phrase to describe some process is sequential independent?

texts: By "sequential independent", I mean the process remains the same no matter how you change the order of its subroutines. Better to be some term frequently used in math or engineering.


texts: Was I driving more than 5 mph under the speed limit, or less than 5 mph under the speed limit?

texts:
Suppose I am driving 38 miles per hour in a 45 zone. This, of course, is seven miles per hour under the speed limit. Of course, I am driving this slowly because the road is wet, and safe driving habits suggest that when the road is wet, one should consider the safe speed limit to be five miles per hour less than the posted limit.

For this situation, which is correct?

"I am driving more than 5 mph under the posted speed limit"
"I am driving less than 5 mph under the posted speed limit"

To support the first case: my speed discrepancy from the posted limit is more than 5 mph. TO support the second case: my total speed was less than 45 less 5 (equals 40).

Edit: As many pointed out, there are certainly ways to assemble a phrase to remove any ambiguity. But that's not really the point of why I asked. My reason for asking is two-fold:

The scenario came to mind when I was driving after a recent snowfall. I was minding my speed, but thought about accident situations. I wondered what would happen if I got in an accident and told the officer, "officer, I was driving more than 5mph under the speed limit." Would that indicate careful or safe driving? Could that phraseology be used against me? Would the insurance company clamp down on that usage of a phrase to deny a claim?
More generally, how do comparisons work? There are (at least) two comparisons in either construction: "under the posted speed limit," which unambiguously means "slower than the legal limit," and "more/less than 5 mph." However, in this case, "5 mph" isn't a speed at all; it is a discrepancy. One cannot drive at a speed discrepancy; in fact, the only reason the quantity "5 mph" has units at all is because of the mathematical property that units be additively consistent (i.e. you cannot add 5 mph to 17 bananas). Restructuring the phrase to use a dimensionless quantity also removes ambiguity: "I was driving slower than 89% of the speed limit."

So my question could really be more abstractly framed as: when relatively comparing something to another comparison, does the "relational arrow" point in the direction of the inner-most comparison?

Other examples:

It is less than 5 degrees below freezing (29 degrees, or 23 degrees?).
I am more than 5 pounds below my target weight of 180 lbs (177 lbs, or 172 lbs?).


texts: Is there a word or short phrase that encompasses the three main stages of Western history: ancient, medieval, and then modern?


texts: Grammatical correctness of continuing sentences off dialogue tags

texts:
The following is a quote from Philip Pullman's 'La Belle Sauvage':

"It's a present for her," said Malcolm, and thrust it in among Lyra's blankets.

Now, to me, this sentence doesn't really parse, so I guess I'm looking for an explanation of why we can continue the sentence from a dialogue tag in this manner. If we replace "said Malcolm" with "Malcolm said", then it seems to make a bit more sense, because "said" is a verb, so it's analogous to "Kelly ran and jumped".
But what I'd really expect is something like "said Malcolm, and he thrust..."
What's going on here? Or is it just poetic license? It's not as if it will really throw the reader or anything. I didn't notice it the first time I read this chapter.


texts:
This is the commonly used verbatim license (https://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html#VerbatimCopying):

  Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article are permitted worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.

Shouldn't the word "is" be there instead of "are"?

I'm pretty sure yes, just asking because this license is used everywhere and it would be surprising if everybody made the same mistake.


texts: Is this an example of a dangling modifier too?

texts:
"From an original focus on the oil industry, Platts gradually expanded its purview to include metals, shipping, and all energy-related markets - oil, coal, natural gas, electricity, nuclear power, petrochemicals, renewables, and emissions."

So I was looking at the Platts website while applying for a job, and came across this line.
Should it be reworded to "From originally focusing on the oil industry..." or "From an original focus on the oil industry, Platts' purview gradually expanded..."

Or is it not a dangling modifier at all?


texts:
In my try to mix up English learning with web surfing I have been sticking on Reddit sometimes. Mostly my problems are in informal language which used in memes or comic strips. So, there is the instance:

http://imgur.com/uN1qfvP

I can get it, but not really clear. I think it's because of last sentence. What is "gonna transfer some bullies in" means? That's funny if he wondering have more bullies in the school. But this "gonna" destroying my theory. Did he had intention make some bullies more angry?

Thank you!

ps: it would be great if you point grammar mistakes in this question.


texts:
It's common to write something like "We believe that XYZ corp will continue to see an increase in sales in the next quarter."

But the word "believe" seems like a somewhat flimsy way of persuading someone. If we have evidence or experience to support our position, then isn't it more than a belief?

One of our analysts writes "think" instead of believe, which makes better sense to me but sounds awkward because it is uncommon.

Can anyone suggest better words to use? (there are some issues when dealing with securities but we don't always write about them). We could probably say "We are confident that our research capabilities can provide you with yadda yadda" but not "We are confident that XYZ corp can increase revenue".

What about "concluded"?


texts:
How to write date range succinctly and unambiguously in American written English?

In a sentence I usually use "from January 1, 1923 through December 31, 1986". But it is too long for use in section titles.

It is relatively easy to find documentation on single date formatting compliant to standards and conventions for different locales.  But I can't seem to find standards on date ranges formatting.

For example, for American English, how to format a date range so it's both succinct and unambiguous?

If the ends have different years, both should show up, e.g. 5/1/2011 - 5/4/2012.

What if the two years are same? I don't like 5/12/2012 - 7/21/2012 as it repeats the year unnecessarily;  5/12 - 7/21/2012 seems odd too.  Any suggestions?


texts: An expression to describe repetitive issue

texts: When there are too many discussions happening on a single issue which is simple. What proverb would be apt ?


texts: What's the sentence pattern of "I'm only one call away"

texts:
I found the sentence

  "I'm only one call away"

in the song lyric of "One call away - Charlie Puth" and got to have doubt about what its sentence pattern should be like? It's possible if it could be S+V+O+C+A pattern like this following sentence:

  "The governor / has sworn / him / chief minister / yesterday"

However it might be pretty incorrect that I would fit it in the SOVCA pattern. Because a word "one", in the former sentence, is not playing the role as object like "him", in the latter one, yet it's playing as subjective complement instead, right?
And, what is the part of speech of a word "call" in the song lyric? Is it noun?


texts: "Joined the meeting" or "Joint the meeting"?

texts:
At my new workplace i have noticed people saying:

joint the meeting
Already joint

At my previous workplace we always used:

joined the meeting
Already joined

Which is the correct usage?


texts:
Which of the two following texts below are grammatically correct.

"The Board finds that both the identity of the member and the facts surrounding the alleged conduct has been proven on a balance of probabilities."

"The Board finds that the identity of the member and the facts surrounding the alleged conduct have been proven on a balance of probabilities."


texts:
Is "a happiness" a valid/commonly used expression?

  Because before realizing it, I found myself smiling too, enjoying (a) happiness that came from someone else's heart.

Or maybe happiness isn't countable, so enjoying happiness is the correct form?


texts: Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, in 1957 used the term 'affluent society' to describe the rising prosperity in Britain in those years. Does anyone know of any earlier reference to the term?


texts: Where Does the Question Mark Go When Listing the Options to Choose From?

texts:
For example, I'm trying to ask someones opinion on what to choose when there are two alternatives. Like, "Which one is better, selling it or keeping it?", but I'm not sure if this is the correct way to punctuate this sentence. Couple ways I can think of are:

Which one is better, selling it or keeping it?
Which one is better; selling it or keeping it?
Which one is better? Selling it or keeping it?

I'd normally go with the first one but it looked weird when I formed a sentence like this "When there is a problem with your car, what is better, selling it or repairing it?"
I know I can form the sentence in a different way, such as "Is selling your car better than repairing it when there is something wrong with it?", so that I need to use less punctuation. However, I want to learn how to form this since I hear it a lot in daily life. Thanks a lot in advance.


texts: I want to say, "He loves being wined and dined, and he's not above demanding it." I don't know whether being can be treated as the referent of it, or I must take the whole verb phrase as a plural. I realize that could use them, but for apparently brain-stem reasons I am unable.


texts:
I'm trying to write a sentence like do:

  The syntax of high-level programming languages are more english-like than lower-level programming languages like Assembly.

I'm looking for a word that represents "english-like" - something that comes to mind would be "anglic", but that's not a word.


texts: Word for: "A situation that feels like nature is deliberately doing something only because this is the last thing you want to happen"

texts:
For example, if it's sunny for the first time in a week, and you decide to seize the opportunity and go out, it suddenly turns cloudy and rains the moment you step out of your house. Or if you take good care of your looks and preen in front of the mirror for an hour every single time before getting out although you never bump into anyone you know around your neighbourhood, but on the day you are in a rush, and going out looking messy and horrible, you bump into everybody you know, especially those whom you would like to impress.
Is there a word in English to refer to such situations?


texts: A word for the meaning of "abuse of the authoritative/political power"

texts: I need a single-word for the meaning of "abuse of the authoritative/political power".


texts: Adjective beginning with 'c' that describes an institution that sacrifices individuality for conformity

texts:
I'm struggling to remember the word, going through a bout of lethologica I guess. If someone can help me that would me great. I believe I first heard the word being used by William F. Buckley, if that's to any help. Perhaps, the word begins with 'Ch'- although I can't suggest that with certitude, It might come in handy.
Thanks!


texts: "you have sooner or later to" - why is "have to" split into two parts?

texts:
Playing a sport, any kind of sport, coming from a sports oriented
  family and not trying hard, you have sooner or later to face
  some awkward questions at dinner, such as...

Source: Tennis Arena 11/2015 - CZ

Written by: Sylva Plischke (GER)

I find this as a really strange use of "have to"  divided into two parts. For me the best and most usual way to write this would be "sooner or later you have to face some..

However I am not a native speaker and I can´t feel whether the former sentence is incorrect or not. If both uses of "have to" are correct - please tell me, what is the difference between them? Is the former  more formal e.g.?

Thanks!


texts: Making a sentence feel more welcoming and less stressful

texts:
I have the following sentence:

  Increase your rating as you develop your coding skills while you evaluate the skills of other developers.

However, I now realize that this sentence is a bit off since it doesn't communicate properly. Some feel that this sentence sounds challenging since some imply that you're competing and working with other programmers.

I am trying to make it feel more inviting and feel less like a challenge but an opportunity to not only give back to the community but also improve your own skills.

I am trying to remove the potential stress that goes into evaluating someone or letting x number of people evaluate you since you're already judged by your manager.

I was thinking that maybe changing the tone of this sentence to be less a declaration but more of an open suggestion.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


texts:
I think you forgot something.
  I think you have forgotten something.

Which is better? Is both correct?


texts: ...again, the proper use of "which" vs. "whom"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Most of which” or “most of whom”?

The following is a sentence from an email I recently sent, not knowing if it was the proper use of the word.

  As I mentioned, I have two (2) clients in the OMAHA area for whom I have been moving freight for about 16 months.

My question is whether I should have used "for which" instead of "for whom".

I make every effort to use my native language properly, but I am often unsure of the proper use of some of these words.


texts: grammar and meaning "He latched onto her arm and wouldn't let go."

texts:
If you say “did not let go” instead of “wouldn't let go”, what is the difference in meaning or nuance?
For example, the explanation in the grammar book I have is as follows.
The car won’t start. (= the car ‘refuses’ to start)
Likewise, “wouldn't let go” means “refused to let go”? (that is, past tense of “won’t let go”)
Or when you use “won’t” to say that somebody refuses to do something, you only use “won’t” (the present tense + “not”)?


texts: What does "Not without pride" mean in this context?

texts:
Context: "As this story is about my experiences as an ordinary prisoner, it is important that I mention, not without pride, that I was not employed as a psychiatrist in camp, or even as a doctor, except for the last few weeks."

Does this mean he felt pride, he felt shameful, or something else?
Thanks!


texts:
If we have a verb taking both an indirect and a direct object, and when transforming the sentence into the passive voice we make the indirect object subject of the passive, is the direct object still such? For instance:

Active: They gave us an award.
Passive: We were given an award.

Is "an award", grammatically speaking, still a direct object?


texts:
I was at one of Stack Exchange's many forums, and I came across a question that made wonder on whether I was building a sentence correctly when using the word "Why", and if that new way was right.

How I would write it:

  "Why not to use a cotton base layer?"

How I saw it written:

  "Why not use a cotton base layer?"

My question is, which sentence is correct, why, and if both, are they interchangeable?


texts:
“You have no one co-signing your fantasy,’’ Damon says. “It is kind of
like when you were a kid making a game up in your room. It’s entirely
dependent on not cracking. It was the challenge of the movie and kind
of why I wanted to do it.’’
(source:
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9fab0264d1f0481984b1380e6bc613c7/damon-scott-book-return-space-martian)

I don't have a grasp of the phrase "It's entirely dependent on not cracking"
I looked up the meaning of cracking in the dictionary but I couldn't find the relevant one.


texts:
I'm here to 6.

I am currently debating this sentence with a colleague. I say this should read "until 6", not "to 6". He insists he is correct.  Which way is right?


texts:
When writing, for example,

  “The answer to this question has to be ‘yes’.”

However, here quotes are used for the first part of the sentence, thus making “yes” surrounded by double quotes (if correct).

When writing, for example,

  Because the rhetorical question must be answered “no.”

is it correct to put “no” in quotes?


texts:
He ascended the peak in 3 hours, taking the final moderate pitch at a near run.

I don't understand "taking the final moderate pitch at a near run".

Can somebody help me out?


texts:
As the Nexus 5 launch nears, we’re getting one more confirmation that Google is getting all its ducks in order before pushing the big chocolate KitKat covered GO button and releases the new smartphone to the public
  Read more at http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/10/30/google-play-store-changes-prepare-nexus-5-launch/#TT4suQTKYz828wl6.99

What's the meaning of that expression?


texts: Word for a male that prefers female companions (no slang such as "pimp")

texts:
I am looking for a word describing a man who has a lot of female friends, and who prefers female friends.

I was "Wikipedia surfing" (going through Wikipedia pages and clicking on links found within the wiki), and I came upon the page of a man who had a lot of female friends, and there was a word that described that attribute succinctly.

I do not remember any details about the bloke. I looked up the word (I seemingly immediately forgot it), and, to tell the truth, I am unsure whether the word defined "someone who has a lot of friends of the opposite sex" (which, if true, means in my memory I incorrectly paired the word's definition to his gender), or more specifically, "a man who has a lot of female friends (and/or) prefers female companionship", where companionship does not insinuate sexual relationships.

If there were two words for the two definitions I just gave that'd be all the better! I have tried to remember for quite a while to no success.

An update: perhaps an example for some clarification is necessary. Imagine a scenario where you have a gay man (who has never had sexual interests in women) who has all female friends, who know he is gay, and no male friends. Here he prefers the companionship of women, and not of men; thus, he could be a "ladies' man", but only speciously, since I believe the word implies some yearning, from either the women or the "ladies' man", to copulate, which doesn't exist here. The word would also apply for a lesbian who only has male friends (who she has no desire to copulate with), and who thus prefers them as companions. So, generally, we'd get: "someone who prefers the company of members of the opposite sex". I hope this clarifies the request some. Thank you.


texts: When describing a location, I have seen both 'minutes off' as well as 'minutes of'. My understanding is that in the example 'The shop is minutes off the High St', it is being used as a phrasal verb (by way of explanation, if I remove the minutes in the example above, it is obviously NOT a preposition) and so off is correct. Wrong?


texts: Organizations you must work with but don't necessarily like

texts: I'm looking for a good word to refer to use as a label for a list of organizations that one's organization must coordinate with, but are not considered partners.  Such as the employee's union and watchdog groups.  Everything I've been able to come up with (cohort, for example) implies chumminess.


texts: Why is American English so wedded to the subjunctive?

texts:
In the sentence

She suggested that they go to the cinema

there is no way of telling from the sentence in isolation whether it means that the speaker gave advice on attending a moving picture show, or whether the speaker believed that some people were already in the habit of enjoying cinematographic entertainment. The same is true in relation to an individual when the past tense is used, as in 'She suggested that he went to the cinema.' We depend on context to tell us which meaning is intended.
Now, when we come to the third person singular in the present tense, I understand that American English distinguishes between the mandative subjunctive

She suggested that he go to the cinema

and the indicative

She suggested that he goes to the cinema

to express the two meanings. Why does American English insist on an inflectional distinction in the third person singular here when it is obliged to rely on context elsewhere?


texts: "Worth their gold", "worth its gold" - are these expressions idiomatic?

texts:
The question stems from this question on Literature.SE and the discussion that followed.
History:
The poem "Confessions of a Born Spectator" by Ogden Nash (allegedly) contains a line "Buy tickets worth their radium" (see the full poem here, for example).
It turns out that the line is misquoted pretty much all over the internet and the actual line is "Buy tickets worth their weight in radium" as @user14111 pointed out in his answer.
However, before his answer appeared, I was "explaining" (rather arrogantly) to the topic starter that:
'The expression "worth their weight in gold" (and similar) is sometimes abbreviated to "worth their gold".'
I'm not a native English speaker and my assumption that such an abbreviated version existed was based on a number of Google hits that I got for "worth its gold"/"worth their gold" (full phrase search).
Examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (I could go on).
Question:
Is such an expression idiomatic in English? If yes, what does it actually mean?


texts: What does "Polite conversation is rarely either" mean?

texts:
What does the quote by Fran Lebowitz "Polite conversation is rarely either" mean?

Does it mean "If it's polite it's likely not a conversation, if it's a conversation it's likely not polite?"


texts: caught-cot merger: can "lawyer" sound like "lier"?

texts:
"law" is pronounced as /lɑ/ if you speak with the caught-cot merger, so, logic suggests "lawyer" should sound like /lɑjɚ/, as "lawyer" is basically "law" + "yer"

For me, the difference between /lɑjɚ/ and /ˈlaɪ.ɚ/ is just the backness of /ɑ/.

There are however, speakers that realize the American /ɑ/ as a central /ä/*, meaning that /lɑjɚ/ is realized as /läjɚ/ which sounds like /ˈlaɪ.ɚ/.

So, can "lawyer", for some speakers, can sound like "lier"?

(*I believe it's one of the northern cities vowel shifts?)


texts: If someone famous owns a dog, is it "someone famous’ dog"?

texts: If my two neighbors own a cat, it’s "my neighbors’ cat". If someone famous owns a dog, what's the correct way to describe it: "someone famous’ dog"?


texts: Reported speech of habit of an another one

texts:
What is the reported speech of "I didn't go to the party"?.
Here the habit of someone who does not go to the party is discussed, so when we report this do we need to change the tense or not?


texts: "I'm happy to see that you are sober as a judge" Is this a rhetorical device?

texts:
Context: A few decades ago, during the electoral campaign for governor, there was a televised debate between the three major parties candidates. Candidate A, the favorite according to the polls, was notorious for heavy drinking and rumor had it that he had become a real alcoholic.  The three candidates arrived at the studio and when Candidate C shook hands with Candidate A he said: It's a great pleasure to meet you, Mr A, and "I'm happy to see that you are sober as a judge".  Candidate A simply smiled and said "Thank you", perhaps hoping it had gone unnoticed.

First I thought this might be a figure of speech like "Ad hominem, poisoning the well".  Then again, it doesn't look or sound like a figure of speech.  Is it a rhetorical device? What kind? Is there a term for it?


texts:
How are you liking your stay in Berlin? - Is this sentence correct?
or it should be: How do you like your stay in Berlin?


texts:
I'm writing an essay regarding the concept of Carpe Diem and I'd like to start my introduction with the following sentence:

  "In the span of the universe, a human life is an incredibly short period of time."

I feel like I'm using "in the span of" wrong.
What I'm trying to get at is that the length of a human life is a very short amount of time when compared to the lifespan of the universe.

Any help regarding the matter would be greatly appreciated.


texts: What kind of things ’is’ vs What kind of things ’are’

texts: I was recently typing up a short story essay when my computer's spelling & grammar check informed me that the sentence "What kind of things are in there?" should be written as "What kind of things is in there?" I am not sure which one is grammatically correct to use. I am sure, due to subject-verb agreement that my original was correct, but I am not sure.


texts: Why do we use "the" followed by "user" in "a window prompts the user to make..."?

texts:
I've found this piece of text in the Android Developers Documentation:

  A dialog is a small window that prompts the user to make a decision or enter additional information. A dialog does not fill the screen and is normally used for modal events that require users to take an action before they can proceed.

Please explain why they use 'the' followed by 'user', even though they don't talk about a specific user or 'the user as a class'.


texts: What's the meaning difference of "get to"?

texts:
He started getting to family dinners on time.
  He started having family dinners on time.

Is there any meaning difference by adding "getting to" on the first sentence?


texts: Should you capitalize the word young before a name?

texts:
So, let's say that there's someone named Zeth.
Now, an elderly he know call him with the word young before his name:
Should it be "young Zeth" or "Young Zeth"?
Truthfully, I just watched a movie or sort capitalized the word young before the name as it is quite make sense if I compare it with something like Elder something or title + name.
But "young" isn't a title, right?


texts:
I am available on weekdays, except on Thursdays.

I am available on weekdays, except for Thursdays.

I have found two threads talking about it, but in both of them there were suggestions to change the sentences. Any help would be very much appreciated.


texts: Is there a word for when a word changes from a noun to a verb?

texts: I searched the Internet, but I couldn't find anything. What would be a good term in linguistics to describe the transition of, say, the noun "yo-yo" as in "I like the yo-yo" to the verb "yo-yo" as in "I like to yo-yo"? These transitions are very common in English, and I never found a term to apply to it. Any help?


texts: Are the words "mandatory," "obligatory," and "compulsory" interchangeable?

texts:
As a non-native speaker, I wonder what the rules are for preferring one of "mandatory", "obligatory" or "compulsory" over the others.

The Corpus of Contemporary American English yields examples such as these:

Mandatory: 4865 cases

mandatory safety nets around trampolines
mandatory health care reform
mandatory sentence for first-degree murder
Unemployment sent me a letter, said this was a mandatory class.
To stave off matting, daily brushing with a paddle brush is mandatory.
He believes he can fill the role of rangy wing scorer that seems almost mandatory for championship teams.
"Self-deprecation is mandatory here", he said.

Compulsory: 1060 cases

compulsory health insurance
states that prohibit compulsory unionism
compulsory celibacy for the clergy
added to the school curriculum as a compulsory second language
U.S. imperialism can be thought of as a system of compulsory heterosexuality
My landlord and mother made my weekly visits to the center compulsory if I was to continue running my business rent free from her basement.

Obligatory: 808 cases

the obligatory happy ending
when the obligatory compliments were out of the way
I would hang up on my father after the obligatory five minutes
the laptop computer has become nearly obligatory on campus

"Mandatory" is presumably related to "mandate" and used when it's a matter of law or regulation.

"Obligatory" is presumably related to "obligation" and used when it's a matter of moral, social or other obligation rather than law. (Like "the obligatory happy ending".)

"Compulsory" seems to mean that you are forced to do something, but the forcing mechanism is unspecified?

Is this approximately correct, and are there other rules of thumb for when to use which term?

There seems to be some cases where the terms are interchangeable: "Mandatory health insurance" and "compulsory health insurance" would be equally acceptable, wouldn't it?

Would "school curriculum compulsory second language" read the same if we substitute "mandatory" or "obligatory"?


texts: Subject–verb agreement not clear in "Is two bars OK?"

texts:
Is the following correct?

  Can I get some chocolate for myself? Yes, you can but not much.
  Is two bars OK?

Is there any rule to explain the sentence above?

The dialogue's taken from Grammar Textbook Round-Up Level #3.


texts: What is the name of little people in people (old medicinal belief)

texts:
I seem to remember that there was a term for "little people in people", which was a medicinal belief in the Middle Ages (I don't know, okay?), where, before bacteria and other microscopic things were discovered, people believed that little humans lived inside them and when these little humans were unhappy, this made you sick.

I cannot remember what this was called, and hopefully you understood roughly what I meant (I know it was a bad definition, I don't know how to explain it exactly).

Thanks for reading this, and if you know what I mean, please reply to this ASAP.


texts:
Is "belongingness" used in American English?
Ex. "the construction of social belongingness is markedly a relational process".


texts: Using subjunctive form in Comparative-Correlatives

texts:
Is it possible to use subjunctive form in a comparative correlative (The+the) clause?
For example, is the below sentence correct?

  The closer the objects be to each-other, the more beautiful the result
  will be.

I did some research but I couldn't find any piece of information that puts these two concepts together.

What is the other appropriate way to make a sentence with the similar meaning?
e.g.:

  If you make the objects closer to each-other, the result will be more
  beautiful.
  But this sample is not good, because it doesn't show the correlation well.


texts: In marine insurance, what is a "club call"?

texts: In the context of marine insurance what is a "club call"? Can't find it in any dictionary.


texts: Meaning of "When you're a guy, and a dad,.. and all the jokes about being a Kept Man are worn away, the word is 'vasectomising'"

texts:
Though sure, there's no denying that the money stuff hasn't helped the marital stuff. "When you're a guy, and a dad," I told Freddy's scarecrow, "and you have to ask your wife to put £5,000 of her bonus into the joint account so that the garage won't refuse your card, and all the jokes about being a Kept Man are worn away, the word is 'vasectomising'..."
Garden time swallowed me up, because the next thing I knew, Lorna was calling me from the patio.
— David Mitchell, The Massive Rat

In the above text, what does the bolded part mean? I do know the meaning of both vasectomising and kept man, but I don't understand how the two sentences linked here. I don't know why the author suddenly says, "the word is 'vasectomising'".


texts: Is there a name for dismissing an argument because of lack of immediate examples?

texts:
I've often found myself subject to this tactic, where someone will present an argument in support of a particular outcome, and then dismiss any criticism of it because the critique fails to solicit immediate, specific examples.

This is often deployed within an informal or unanticipated meeting, meaning the other side of the debate will not have been briefed or be expecting the points made.

As a working reference:

Person A: I think we should grow less corn this year, as corn hasn't been selling as much as it used to.

Person B: I think that may be short sighted, as market trends can fluctuate and we may find ourselves selling out of corn.

Person A: When have we last sold out of corn?

Person B: I don't have any specific dates to hand, but even in my very recent experience I know we've come very close.

Person A: You don't have any evidence to support that statement; the motion passes.

For major decisions there will be enough time for due diligence, but when Person A holds a senior position and the tactic is employed in informal circumstances, with regularity, it removes the opportunity for discussion. It's basically refusal of response, but via dismissing the lack of evidence out of hand.


texts:
This British article titled "Two stabbings near Crumpsall Park overnight in separate incidents just 200 metres apart" says:

  He was taken to hospital with serious injuries. Police described his condition today as serious but stable.

In the second sentence, what does 'today' modify, 'described' or 'condition'?

If it modifies the noun 'condition', what's the part of speech of 'today'?


texts: Word for anyone who forgets about anything in middle of a conversation

texts:
I've a friend who forgets about the topic on which we're having conversation at first place and deviates and talks about something else & then after sometime; in between he realizes that he is talking/discussing about different thing (which may or may not linked directly/indirectly with the original topic) and then we laughed about it.

But I'm just wondering if there's any specific word in English litrature about this thing.


texts: Are there any cases of a word that originated in English replacing another word in English in common usage?

texts: I'm curious if there's any cases of a word that originated in English (didn't come from a foreign source) replacing another word in every day usage?


texts: What is the technical name for an expression of the form "all good men and true"?

texts:
...by which I mean an expression wherein one of the adjectives modifying a noun precedes that noun and another follows it.

I know that an adjective that appears after the noun it modifies is a Post-positive adjective but I'm not sure that's the same construction.


texts: differentiate `to+verb` from `verb` in the context of a list

texts:
He gives wisdom and knowledge to enable his children to understand and see the invisible.

He gives wisdom and knowledge to enable his children to understand and to see the invisible.

Sometimes I come across this type of sentences and don`t understand when we should use "to" twice.


texts:
Many of us have experienced this as early in life as primary school.

One person in a group does something stupid, and everyone has to pay the price.

Minimal, Complete, Verifiable Example

  Imagine sitting in Math class in a classroom at school. One kid is
  acting up, shooting spitballs at people, and so the teacher gives
  extra homework to the whole class.

Is there a word describing this policy? Punish everyone for the actions of one?

(BTW, not that it matters, but, IMNSHO, this is bad policy. Thx, Keith :^)


texts:
Maureen Dowd wrote a review on the recently released movie, “J.Edgar” directed by Clint Eastwood in New York Times November 12 issue under the title, “Dirty Harry meets dirtier Edgar.” Apart from the interest in weird relationship of the FBI’s ‘fearful enforcer’ Edgar Hoover and his protégé, Clyde Tolson, I was caught up with the short phrase, “It’s sorta meta,” in the following sentence:

Some F.B.I. agents who worked with Hoover have been grousing that portraying the feared first director of the F.B.I. as homosexual would “turn Dirty Harry into Dirty Harriet,” as William Branon, chairman of the J. Edgar Hoover Foundation, put it.
It’s sorta meta: the star who played a fictional law enforcement officer breaking rules for what he sees as the good of society makes a movie about a real law enforcement officer breaking rules for what he sees as the good of society.

Dowd’s articles are always ordeal to me because of inclusion of a lot of unfamiliar words to me and her own style of elocution.
I guess “sorta” means simply “a sort of,” but I don’t understand what “It’s sorta meta” means here. It’s a short phrase, but “meta” is an evasive word for me. I’m not even clear with what “meta user” shown on my page of EL&U page means. Would you explain me?


texts: “Acted in the benefit of ” vs. “acted for the benefit of ” vs. “acted to the benefit of ”

texts:
I am not sure about this quote:

  As to whether the president acted for the benefit of the majority, 35 percent of the respondents said that he did not, 30 percent that he only partly acted in the benefit of the majority.

Shouldn’t it be to the benefit of instead of in the benefit of ?  And what about for the benefit of ?


texts: Why is Anxiety Sometimes Pronounced With a 'g' sound?

texts:
This may be a UK only thing perhaps, but when I and anyone I know pronounce it it sounds like it should be spelled as "angxiety".

It's something I've never thought about or questioned before. You simply pronounce words how everyone else does. Where did the 'g' sound in the word come from?


texts: What does "Democracy requires politics to lead the gun!" mean?

texts:
In a tweet it's mentioned "Democracy requires politics to lead the gun!". The full tweet is

  There'll never be anyone like Cde RG Mugabe. I'm grateful for the
  opportunity to have served my country under & with him. I'm proud that
  I stood with & by this iconic leader during the trying moments of the
  last days of his Presidency. Democracy requires politics to lead the
  gun!

https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/933001504599965697

What is meant by "Democracy requires politics to lead the gun!"


texts: Is combination of words "Smarten digital" wrong if used as company name?

texts: We are discussinng possible name of new european SW company and now we are considering something like "smarten digital". I know, that werb "smarten" is usualy used with "up", so my question is: Is "smarten digital" wrong as company name? We are not native english and the word "smarten" is in this case result of our surnames combinations... Does "smarten digital" sound weird to EN speaking people?


texts: What is the difference between "up in here" and "in here"? And what does "up in here" mean?

texts: A friend of mine from London tried to explain the difference to me, but still I got no definite answer. He said "It's one thing," but "up in here" has... something... special—anyway I don't know.


texts:
Considering that:

The antonym of day is night.
The antonym of light can be either darkness or obscurity.

Is there any exact antonym for daylight, a word that would mean "the darkness of the night", the same way daylight means "the light of day"?

I would use darkness in a conversation, but darkness is not necessarily associated with the night : it could be used to describe a dark room even when it's sunny outside. However, daylight cannot be used to describe a room lightened by a light bulb when it's dark outside.

Edit : I do not specifically look for a word recognised by a dictionary. A neologism used by a published author, and a culture reference would also be interesting.

Edit 2 : From tchrist's answer, it is now clear that no single-word expression exists for the concept I'm talking about (which is why I accepted the answer). However, moonshine, moonlight cannot match correctly since they define light, when the question is about defining night darkness. This reminds me of something Einstein once supposedly said to a teacher :

  There is no such thing as darkness. Darkness is nothing but the absence of light.

From this, while it is possible to stand in the daylight, one couldn't stand in night darkness, since darkness is nothing to be standing in. Similarly, while you can be in water, you can't actually be in dryness.


texts: What is the difference between "Average" and "Mediocre"

texts:
I came across these two words and every time they confuse me. Please suggest me which one is used where and why.

Thank You!


texts:
There was the following sentence in the article titled “Why Rick Perry may be out of luck” appearing in the New Yorker (August 19):

  "Last Friday, the Texas Governor was indicted on two counts: abuse of
  official capacity and coercion of a public servant. What those charges
  mean, though, is hard to say. The indictment itself is just two pages
  and, to put it charitably, unelaborated."
  http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/rick-perry-may-luck

I’m unfamiliar with the phrase, “to put it charitably.”

CED defines “charitably” as;

Verb. in a kind way, not judging other people in a severe way: example. She described him, rather charitably, as quiet whereas I would have said he was boring.

But the above definition doesn’t look sit well to me with the sentence, “two-page indictment, to put it charitably is unelaborated,” because “unelaborated” indictment is felt to be rather a bitter criticism.

Google Ngram shows popularity of “to put it mildly” (0.0000183846% in 2007) in comparison with marginal currency of “to put it charitably (0.0000005512% in 2007).

What does “to put it charitably” here mean? Is it same with “to put it mildly" or "to say the least”? If it is, I wonder why the writer preferred to use a phrase not so popular.


texts: Which punctuation (if any) should accompany the inclusion of Japanese characters in an English text?

texts:
I've been told on Japanese SE to rephrase the question and ask it here, since it isn't so much about the Japanese language, as it is about the correct way of including Japanese in the English language. The original question can be found here.

I'm currently writing a report in English in which I need to explain the meaning of some Kanji. This of course means that I need to display the Kanji, ideally explain how they are pronounced and give a translation. My problem is now that I don't know what the best way is to accomplish that in an English text. As I have stated in my previous question I have seen a lot of 「 」, what seems to be the Japanese version of quotations marks (for example here), in text and gives the pronunciation in parenthesis, for example:「人」(じん). On Wikipedia you will often see something like: 生きる ikiru, „live“.

There doesn't seem to be a fixed way on how one should incorporate Japanese characters in a English text and there is no official style guide regarding this in my institution.

So my questions boils down to: How would one include Japanese Characters in an English text, given he wants to show the character, give one way how someone would pronounce it and a translation.

Further information:

The readers of the report won't be familiar with any of the Japanese spelling systems.
I would like to include the pronunciation in form of the first example (じん), since I really want to stress the fact that Romaji isn't the standard way.
The last point is a personal preference, but if it isn't acceptable please let me know. I would like to have some kind of separation between the Kanji and the text itself, since these characters aren't really meant to be read as the rest of the text.


texts: Word that describes someone who knows that they've won before they've even started something?

texts:
What would you call someone who knows that they've already won before they've even started? It's bordering on overly confident, but it's obvious that there is no way for them to lose since they believe that dying isn't a loss?
I'm trying to describe a character that has a bomb inside her rib cage. It can only be activated through death. She doesn't care wether she lives or dies in battle because she knows that she will win.
Ex. "Mary doesn't care if she lives or dies since there is nothing to lose; in the end she will win all her battles. She is [...]."


texts: How to better express the idea of "written communication"?

texts: As compared to "verbal communication" or "visual communication", I was wondering if there was a synonym for "written communication"  that is semantically similar to the first two. What throws me off is that written is both a verb and an adjective, while verbal and visual are singularly adjectives. Is this a distinction I should even worry about?


texts: ‘Dog issue’: a compound or a noun phrase?

texts:
I’m so confused of the following expression:
‘the hot dog issue’.

The dialogue is following:
A: Have you heard of the hot dog issue?
B: Yes, I have. These days, the dog’s euthanasia problem is very controversial.

In this dialogue, ‘the hot dog issue’ refers to a controversial issue about dogs, then is ‘dog issue’ a compound or noun phrase??

I know that ‘green house’ and ‘greenhouse’ are a noun phrase and a compound, respectively but I’m not sure of the combination of two nouns..

Please help me get through my intellectual difficulties


texts:
Is it correct to say "I realized that you are truly lost." instead of "I realized that you were truly lost"?

Because realized is past tense, I'm not sure whether using "you are" instead of "you were" is appropriate. If I use "you are", someone can ask me, "how do you know that they are still lost". Right?

What I actually intend to mean is that "You are lost if you don't change."


texts: What is meant by "conservative solution" in statistics

texts:
The following is a para from a statistics book.

  If there is no prior information about the value of p and a
  preliminary study is not feasible, a more conservative solution makes
  use of the fact that the maximum value of p is 0.25.

What's the meaning of "conservative solution" within this context?


texts: Referring to some attribute of an inanimate object — use "who's"?

texts:
This came up in describing an input to a function:

  A handle to the daemon who's name is desired.

(Daemon is a type of process on a system.)

Somehow, "who's" just doesn't seem right because it's not a who, but a what. Could one say "... the daemon what's name is desired"?


texts: My mother used to wake us with this phrase, "Up and at 'em with a heart that's full of glee!" I've seen the use of "Up and at 'em!" before, but not with the addition that my mom used. Has anyone else heard this specific phrase?  I would love to know its etiology.  -Amy


texts: Can you use "even so" without a comma before it?

texts:
Can we use even so without a period (.) before it?
For example:

There were minutes left to the deadline, even so we refused to panic.


texts: Dropping prepositions such as 'to' and 'for'

texts:
Do these sentences make sense grammatically, and if so, is this a formal/colloquial/archaic construction?

She gave it him.
She gave him it.

It was provided her by the state.
She was provided it by the state.

I explained it him in simple terms.
I explained him it in simple terms.

They granted it her on specific grounds.
They granted her it on specific grounds.

Will you sell it me?
Will you sell me it?


texts: Which phrase is correct or are they both correct? "I bought this ring during my visit to France". "I bought this ring on my visit to France".


texts: Word for "sewing clothing" that isn't gender-specific

texts:
I'm looking for a single word or a short (fewer than 25 character) phrase that means "sewing that is specific to clothing" but isn't gender-specific like "dressmaking".

Options that I have considered and dismissed include

"tailoring" - too specific as it relates directly to the act of making clothing fit a person rather than the simple act of making the clothing.
"dressmaking" - gender-specific issues.
"sewing" - too broad as it does not relate strictly to clothes.

For use, this will be used as a tag on another SE site so it will not be in a sentence but should follow the SE tagging style. Generally, our activity tags use the gerund form (crocheting, sewing, painting, etc).

The only restriction is that the word/phrase be shorter than 25 characters including spaces (hyphens). Because this would be a tag, it's important that the term be commonly-used so that it's something a user would try to tag a question with rather than being obscure.

I've been looking around online and thinking it over but I can't seem to find any good options and since I don't sew/make clothes myself, I don't know what other options are out there.


texts: Can/Should an adjective and an attributive noun be used to modify the same noun?

texts:
I am writing a scientific thesis and wondering about the heading of one of the major parts. The part gives detailed information on experiments (experimental details) that were performed and simulations that were run (simulation details).

As is evident, in the first case, experimental is an adjective, while simulation in the second case needs to be used as an attributive noun.

Is there any objection to both of them referring to the same instance of details, constructing the following headline...

  Experimental and Simulation Details

Or would this be better reworded?


texts: Can "keep" be used as a synonym for "last" or "endure"?

texts:
In an English-language text I wrote recently, I used this sentence

  It ain't pretty, but it'll keep!

to describe the durability of a newly erected wall that (due to my poor masonry skills) looks hideous, but should withstand the  floods it'll be shielding the property against.

In my native German dialect, this is a valid use of "keep."

But is it actually in English, too?


texts: What is prefacing paragraphs with "first," "further," and "also" called?

texts:
When I write longer posts, I tend to split my points up into paragraphs, then, for some reason, add "first," "secondly," "further," "also," "keep in mind," and so forth in front of them.

I'm not sure why I do it, or where I picked it up, and I notice that not everyone demonstrates this behavior.

What is the correct way to refer to these words when used to preface a paragraph?
Is this a common writing style, odd, formal, or something else?
In terms of conveying information, does this make it easier to read and comprehend the points, is it merely fluff, or (worse) distracting?

Here are a few examples.