texts:
Let's say I am at the train station and I missed the train, I still see it driving off. I would naturally say to myself: 'Damn, that was the train I was hoping to get.' Would that be wrong? If not, why is the past progressive used here? I have been taught that you use the past progressive when you are either talking...

about a longer action that was interrupted by a shorter action
about actions that were happening at the same time
about an action that was in process at a specific time in the past

However, my sentence doesn't follow any of the rules above (at least I don't see that).

Another sentence that I can't gramatically explain...
Context: You told your friend David that Fred would not behave good when he is drunk before going to a party at which Fred gets drunk and then behaves bad. Later you say to David 'See? That's what I was talking about.' What's the grammatical explanation of this?

Can anyone give me a rule why these sentences work?

Thank you in advance!


texts: In the United States, is firehouse used specifically to refer to the fire station in small town?


texts: When shoud I use "Defining" vs. "Configuring" vs. "Creating" in a technical context?

texts:
I am writing a technical manual on how to use a software.
I have doubts about the different usage of the words define, configure and create when describing the steps that must be executed to use this program.


texts: what is the comparable word to soundtrack but with reference to movies/visuals?  The phrase is the "soundtrack of my childhood" but I want it to be the "movie track" of my childhood...Thanks.


texts: What does it mean to "frame an argument"?

texts:
I have asked this same question on Yahoo! Answers before, but I didn't quite understand the meaning of it. The phrase is used like so: "See how the author framed his argument?; What is he doing up there? Just framing, just framing"

This is such an odd phrase, but my English teacher uses it all the time.

I am more mathematical and logical, so please try to explain it as such.


texts: A single word for the impact/effect of past events

texts:
I am here to get a single word any that can describe the effect or impact of past events . . . for instance, if someone's wife was brutally killed and murdered, and his husband miss him a lot, he always thinks about the past events spent with her wife and weeps a lot for a long time over her murder. Then finally the husband of that woman get an effect on his mental as well as physical health due to the past events.

Meanwhile, a teacher of mine suggested me one hyphenated term that is after-effect, it means:

  an effect that follows after the primary action of something.

I think the term after-effect only suggest the primary actions of something, but doesn't clearly define about the past events. Is there any specific, single word that denotes the meaning which I want here?

Example with blank:

  the _____ of her murder led her husband to the severe mental disorder.


texts: What do people usually mean by saying "oh! freak"? I looked up "freak" in the dictionary. The answer I got is "freak" is used for a person who is obsessed about something (fitness, looks, etc).


texts: Why is "subconscious" used as a noun, while "conscious" is not?

texts:
subconscious and subconsciousness
conscious and consciousness.

While each one has a noun counterpart that is explicitly a noun, why is it that only subconscious is also used as a noun while conscious is not?

Some background info on subconscious and subconsciousness:

Subconscious vs subconsciousness

TLDR: subconscious and subconsciousness have slightly different meanings, even both as nouns. But that still begs the question, "Why not the symmetrical counterpart to conscious and consciousness

I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt and ask the question openly and give it all objective reasoning, but my most probable hypothesis is that English & people are quite asystematic, and this is just an ad hoc clusterfrack phenomenon of language evolving without thought... or subconsciously, if you'll permit my bastardization of that term.


texts: How to describe something that you don't want, but appears?

texts: Context: A girl does not like red. She removes her red garden. But the colour red, wether she likes it or not, appears in her dreams. She has no control of her dreams.


texts: Do we need hyphen in this: graded-reading books?

texts:
Is it necessary to have a hyphen in the following phrase?

graded-reading books

Please my friends you are only hope for me at a last chance salon because my teacher he is not knowing answer.


texts: Is there a name for a neologism that is close to an already existing word?

texts:
I was listening to "How Soon Is Now" by The Smiths, and he ostensibly says the word criminarily.

  "I am the son, and the heir, of a shyness that is criminarily vulgar..."

It's usually transcribed as criminally in lyrics.

My question is: is there a name for intentionally using a word that sounds almost like an established word but is in some way distorted in place of an established word?

At first I was thinking it was a malapropism but not using an established word which led me to the word barbarism. But this different word usage might be intentional in order to improve the cadence of the song, and if it is then what would it be called? I'm thinking it's just barbarism or a neologism but wondered if there was something more specific, since it is close to an already existing word?


texts: Main point of James Fenimore Cooper quote on history

texts:
“History, like love, is so apt to surround her heroes with an atmosphere of imaginary brightness.” James Fenimore Cooper

What is the main point the author is making here?


texts: Name for words that may be split into two words, regardless of space placement

texts:
Is there a name for a word that becomes two words regardless of space placement?

A trivial example would be the word "aa" which becomes the two orthographic (but identical) words "a" and "a" when cleaved in the middle.

Another example is the word "aba" which becomes the words "a" and "ba" when split after the first character, and "ab" and "a" when split after the second character.


texts: Single word describing a person who has an obligation

texts:
I am looking for a single word (noun) describing a person or a legal party that has an obligation to do something. A nicer way of saying "obligated party".

A made up example:

  The court obliged Jim to pay 1000$ of satisfaction. Jim is obliged. In this context Jim is a ... ?


texts:
Patriotism is to country as ________ is to Company.

As used in.

"As global corporate entities gain size and power patriotism is being replaced with _________________ as love and loyalty to a corporation becomes more important to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness than love and loyalty to a specific country."


texts: What is a word that describes "acceptance" and "understanding?"

texts:
I'm looking for a better word for "actions" in the following sentences.

  Foreign language classes help increase acceptance and understanding of other cultures. These actions are important, because ...

I need a word that describes the two words "acceptance" and "understanding." Any suggestions?


texts: Present Perfect Continuous Tense - Passive Voice - Question Forms

texts:
Please tell me how to use the positive question form of passive voice of the tense- Present perfect Continuous Tense?

The Positive Answer form could be as "I have been being taught". (Here, I am the student). I want to make a question from this tense in passive form. Please help me.


texts:
I'm looking for a word describing the sharing of an object (for example a letter) by other objects (for example words) such as:

The B in Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid as shared on the 3-dimensional ambigram on the book's cover.
The A in this game of Scrabble.
The I shared by WIKI and IGOR in this crossword puzzle.


texts: Is there a computing term for form elements that have “relevant” values?

texts:
Is there a word for form elements that have “relevant” values?  If there is, what is it?

By “relevant” values, I mean values that we want to process or which are needed for processing. These values are not necessarily user inputs because they can be hidden fields or static fields.

Elements like the submit button, form headings, and labels are examples of form elements that have irrelevant values.

I guess I’m looking for a programming term because in programming, those are considered form elements and they have “values” in a programming sense.


texts: What does "where's waldo" mean in this context?

texts:
The student thinks that he can where's waldo their way to the answer

Now, does it mean it's gonna be a cinch or a sisyphean task?

Again, if I add a little detail,

  The student thinks that he can where's waldo their way to the answer
  by using the words in the passage.

The situation is that a student has to answer a question after reading a passage, trying to figure out whether the options match verbatim with some sentence in the passage.


texts: Term for a project that is a "labour of love"

texts:
I'm looking for a term that describes a curator's (eg: an artist's) intense focus, enthusiasm and dedication to a single or, or multiple projects (to which they're the only contributor), especially against overwhelming odds or criticism.

"raison d'être" seems like the closest fit, even if it is conveniently borrowed from French! The only concern I have about this is 1) It's French - hehe 2) more importantly, could someone have multiple raison d'être's (!), for example, would it fit in these 1st person and 3rd person contexts?

  While I work on multiple projects, to me, A, B & C have been my raison d'être.

.

  To Bob, his raison d'être is to his projects - A, B & C

"A labour of love" is close, but I was hoping something that is a little more intense than love, and maybe a term that is a little more succinct :)

"Magnum Opus" seems to describe projects that once completed, are recognized at that curator's ultimate work. This doesn't quite fit, as I'm looking to describe the project from the curator's perspective - who might even end up hating that project. I would also like to refer to multiple projects.

"Masterpiece" seems to be used in a similar way, especially after the project is completed, but doesn't fit for the same reason as "magnum opus".

Is there a better term?


texts:
Four pits have been unearthed, (three of which/three of them) contained gold

I wasn't too sure which was which because I have heard "of which" in this type of context as well as "three of them" but I wasn't sure which was correct

I am pretty sure that it has to do with Idiomatic phrases and don't know which is correct

while this post looks like the following link, the nuance is different

Is there a well-known secular sentence that uses all three of the imperative, indicative, and subjunctive moods?


texts: Do Americans use the world 'turtle' as a generic word to mean 'tortoise'?

texts:
Obviously there are two different animals — a tortoise and a turtle. But I have been told by a colleague that in the US the word turtle is used to describe both.

I find this odd as for example the Galapagos tortoise was fairly well known (old & big) and it would surely be a mistake to refer to it as a turtle.


texts: Expression for early 20th century industry magnate

texts: I remember reading a very fitting, playful, 2-words expression for for early 20th century industry tycoon who teared their employees bad. Please help reminding me by listing synonyms.


texts:
To give some context, in the algorithm design world there are two kinds of algorithms, online ones (which can work with partial amounts of data as it becomes available), and offline ones (which need the whole data to be present before starting).

I'd like to say something along the lines of "online-ness of the algorithm is not an objective at this time", but "online-ness" just hits my ear wrong.

Are there any alternatives?

Note that this is not the same as "available", is more along the lines of "streaming" (but, in the context I'm working on, "streaming" is already established to mean something totally different).


texts: People answering me "what's new" when I ask them "How are you doing"

texts: Pretty self explanatory. I'll ask someone "How are you doing?" and they will litteraly answer by saying what they are doing, as though I asked "What's up?", which confuses me. also happens very often, either when chatting or talking to someone face to face. Being a native french speaker, I was wondering if I got the meaning of the sentence wrong.


texts: "Quyer" When and why did the spelling change so drastically?

texts:
The snippet above is  taken from The Gentleman's Magazine (London, England), Volume 53, dated, 1783.   It's only when you say Quyer out loud, do you realize what the word is. It is one of the quirkiest spelled words in the English language today, choir, pronounced /ˈkwʌɪə/. Initially, quyer looks idiosyncratic and alien-looking, until you realize that the spelling is phonetic and what's more, it makes perfect sense. In addition, quyer looks English whereas the Modern English spelling of choir appears to be derived from the French choeur.

There are other instances of quyer in Google Books, published in 1715, 1726, 1772, and 1807

When did the present day spelling choir definitely replace that of quyer? Why wasn't the original (?), more English-looking, and more phonological qu kept?

EDIT
Many thanks to @Kris who kindly pointed out my error in the comments below.

  When did the present day spelling choir supersede that of quyer ?" It
  did? No. nGram cited by Josh demonstrates that choir always was
  dominant, while quyer lived a secondary existence until c.1825, when
  it pretty much disappeared


texts: What's the word to describe this behaviour?

texts:
I'm looking for a word to describe one's behaviour that is unnecessarily complicated.

For instance, let's say John, he goes to use the public toilet. Unlike most ordinary people who just uses the toilet, flush, and then leave, he's behaviour is unnecessarily complicated. Every time he goes to the toilet, he would first, remove his outerwear, this includes his jacket, pants, and even his socks and shoes. He would then, wipe the seat with toilet paper and then layer the seat with the toilet paper, and puts all his attire back on afterwards.

What's the word to describe this kind of behaviour?


texts: How do you pronounce the letter "t" before "h"? For example how do you pronounce "What happened?"? Is it like "whadappened?"


texts: Polite, non-profane equivalent to ‘kick a**’

texts:
So, you have a web site to which you've posted a review stating "How to Kick Ass". This gets censored, which I can understand.

What's a very colloquial, not necessarily modern slang, easily recognizable equivalent to kick ass?

This review is in a military context.  The metric is, would it be inspiring for a graduation speech at West Point but also easily recognizable to a civilian? If it's a bit… colorful, then all the better. But it should be able to pass profanity filters.

Clarification of the context.

It's about a German WWII armored tactics history/handbook.  My original review title was going to be 'Kick Butt 103' - I wanted to convey the sense that it was an impressive course to instill advanced organizational wisdom and experience, in this case on how to dominate your enemy.  Besides the title, my review goes into more details about how it is very much a 'how to' combat manual.  But I did want the title to be somewhat clear on its own.

Amazon wasn't keen on 'butt' however - which I thought a bit over the top.  Butt is colloquial, and colorful, but hardly obscene or profane.

'Kick Ass 103' would work as well.  But 'Trounce 103' or 'Dominate 103', to take two good suggestions below, would, in my opinion, leave a reader rather puzzled as to what I was trying to say - about the only thing those two evoke are edgy website user names.  Pown 103 might work, but that is gamer slang and might be too obscure to older readers.


texts:
According to Wikipedia:

  The term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing.

Merriam-Webster lists chat room as the main term, with chatroom as a variant. The Free Dictionary does the opposite. None of these sources elaborates on the difference in usage, if any, between the two terms.

Is there any difference between a "chatroom" and a "chat room"?

Is one term more correct than the other?
Should they be used in slightly different circumstances?
Which one is older, and which one developed from it?

Question inspired by @Slytherincess in a chatroom - or possibly a chat room.


texts: Which one is correct to show that "the fan" in not the only one?

texts:
Which one is correct?

a big fan of yours in millions

or

a big fan in millions of yours

Tanx


texts:
Do I need an apostrophe in "These trees’ roots"?

For example,

"Wow!!! These trees' roots are so long!"

In this example the speaker can see both roots and the trees themselves.


texts:
How to call something/a creature looking like a human, but which isn't?
With "looking like" I mean its shape/appearance is very similar to a human, but without clearly being a human.

Do I just say: "It looks humanly"? or "It looks anthropomorphic"?
I want to answer the question: "What does it look like?", with a short understandable answer, without describing in detail, but with clearly stating out it isn't a human, even though its shape is similar to one.


texts:
This is the whole sentence from which the phrase comes:

  One way of making sure the pedestrians are safe is to increase signage of the intersections. A keep clear sign will be erected at the junction of Evelyn Street and Hill Street, to enable traffic to exit at all times.

What does the phrase "enable traffic to exit" mean in the context?


texts: Is starting a sentence with "or" acceptable?

texts:
The sentence(s) I want to use is

  Even if the claims above were true, this sort of logic is consequentialist in nature. Or, more accurately, specifically consequentialist since it is concerned not with humanity as a whole but instead with a subsection of humanity, namely the inhabitants of a particular territory.

I also fear that it's a bit too wordy, does it strike you that way?


texts:
A one word substitute for "good feature/ attribute"

For eg:
Being widely known for a "good reason" is called "FAMOUS"; whereas,
Being widely known for a "bad reason" is called "NOTORIOUS"

In that Context,

The problems/poor features of a product, will be stated under the title "ISSUES"
For eg:
Issues: leakage, poor quality etc.

Similarly, when something has good features/ attributes; those will be stated under the title "good features" - so, what will be a good one word substitution for "good features/ attribute"


texts:
I'm reading Cranford (1853) by Elizabeth Gaskell, and encountered the following passage:

"Have you seen any numbers of Pickwick Papers?" said [Captain Brown]. (They were then publishing in parts.)  "Capital thing!"
Now Miss Jenkyns [...] looked upon any conversation about books as a challenge to her.  So she answered and said, "Yes, she had seen them; indeed, she might say she had read them."

The text in bold is in quotation marks, so one would normally assume it was a literal reporting of the speaker's words.  But here the text is in third person and past perfect tense, although it is a reply to a question in second person and present perfect tense.  We presume that what Miss Jenkyns actually said was, "Yes, I have seen them; indeed, I might say I have read them."  (Either that or we must assume that for some reason Miss Jenkyns is referring to herself in the third person, which would seem very peculiar and not in character.)
I'd like to learn more about this device.  Does it have a name?  What effect is intended by it?  What other authors have used it, and in what time periods?
I've noticed this device at several other places in Cranford, and I also vaguely recall Jane Austen using it.  It seems to mostly be used for humorous effect, as when a character says something unintentionally amusing or embarrassing.  In the passage above, Miss Jenkyns expresses her disdain for Pickwick Papers, preferring the work of Samuel Johnson; but this only reveals her own poor taste in literature (in the opinion of the narrator, who also prefers Dickens).
It seems to me that the effect is to preserve the speaker's words and phrasing as much as possible, while at the same time distancing the reader from the speaker, so that the reader can most effectively see the speaker "hoist by her own petard."  Does this seem accurate, or do I misunderstand?


texts: Question about this sentence "She tells him what to do"

texts:
I have a question about this sentence.

  She tells him what to do.

I am kind of confused on "him" and "what to do"

Would "him" be an indirect object, "what" be a noun and direct object, and "to" be an adjective?


texts: Synonym or equal phrase to "merely philosophical"

texts:
When something is bound to be of little substance, or the discussion of it surely only giving rise to opinion or sophistry, sometimes the phrase "merely philosophical" is used.

In this article I'm composing, which is philosophical in nature, I should like to avoid the word "philosophical", since if preceded by "merely" it might be taken as belittling Philosophy, which is not intended.

At the same time I don't want to come on so strong as to claim that the topic is of little substance, only to make clear that any results will not elucidate the topic at hand.

I have looked for synonyms but not come up with anything suitable. I'm asking here in the hope that you will, as English is not my first language.

Article description:
After settling on an etymological analysis of an account, I am trying to extract what knowledge the account can be said to convey, for the moment withholding judgment over any assertions of the purpose or intent of the account being recorded, as well as abstaining from addressing the larger context in which the account is presented.

Currently the sentence in question reads, "Arguments over the purpose of the account are merely philosophical (in the general sense)."

I would like to improve on this.

Note:
It seems that I want to write something along the lines of, "merely philosophical/purely academic/just a scholastic exercise" without offending philosophers, academics, or scholars, which I respect and consider myself a fellow to, and of whose work I have partaken to write the article.

In all honesty, I don't think I'm weaseling something in here, though, but simply pointing out that work done by these fellows, however fine, will not affect the topic as it stands; that it must be treated as a stand-alone topic.

Perhaps there is no good way of telling anyone which battles to choose, and offending the sensibilities of my peers is inevitable, but I would like to avoid it if I can.


texts: Can “much less” be used in affirmative manner?

texts:
There was the following paragraph in Washington Post (March 26) article under the headline, “The 5-minutes fix: What to make of Stormy Daniels.

  “Daniels is openly profiting from her newfound fame with more jobs and
  by becoming a national figure. That’s desirable outcome for anyone in
  the entertaining industry, much less a porn star who wasn’t a
  household name before all this.”

Here the phrase, ”much less” is used apparently in positive context, following the previous remark. I was under impression that “much less” is used to emphasize negative aspect of the preceding statement. Actually,

www.merriam–webster defines “much less” as “not to mention, used especially in negative contexts to add to one item another denoting something else.”

www.collinsdictionary defines it as “You use much less after a statement, often after a negative one, to indicate that the statement is more true of a person, thing, or situation that you are going to mention next.”

Cambridge dictionary defines it “and certainly not.”

Is it normal to use “much less” in positively reaffirming the preceding statement as used in the Washington Post’s article?


texts: Can we use 'for what' in relative clauses?

texts:
I feel that the following sentence is not correct:

  He wants to paint the walls of his flat, for what he needs the best tools.

So 'what' refers to the whole first clause in the sentence.

Okay, I could say something like:

  He wants to paint the walls of his flat, so he needs the best tools.

or I could use therefore, thus, etc. But is there a solution which is somehow nearer to the first sentence in meaning? Can I use a preposition before 'what' in a relative clause, similarly to the case of 'which'?


texts: Does the word proud have a bad connotation? I want to use 'proud+something' as a company and website name but I'm not sure what connotation it can have.


texts: How to tell if "it" is an empty subject?

texts:
Context:

If you’re feeling nervous, please take this to heart: we know the
vulnerability that comes with asking for things can feel intimidating,
but we are here as living proof that it’s not only possible to survive
it, it’s key to building a thriving gift economy that will bring you
what you want and need, not just in terms of stuff but also in a
wealth of connections and joy.

Do the two it here refer to the same asking for things? Can it be that the former it is an empty subject? How should I understand this sentence in simpler terms?


texts: Is it grammatically correct to "predict" something from the past?

texts: For example, would "I predict how the Mayans lived for a daily living" be correct?


texts: Which of these two words is proper in denoting a friend?

texts: "Our mutual friend" or "our common friend" - which is more suitable ? Why is that so ?


texts: Word for equivalence preserving transformations of equations

texts:
I am searching for a mathematical term describing an algebraic manipulation of an equation which preserves equivalence. So while adding 2 to both sides of an equation results in an equivalent equation, squaring both sides does not.

In German, there is the word "Äquivalenzumformung" (literally: equivalence transformation). Is there a similar word in English?


texts:
So I just read "less good" on a random chat...

I think this is incorrect, because less good's "proper" word would be worse, but then I thought: if I say "I aced the exam", it's correct. If I say "I got all questions right on the exam", that's correct as well!

What forces me to use worse instead of less good then?

P.S. I have seen this question, but the accepted answer is not the most upvoted one, so I don't know which to trust! Besides, none of the top answers provide a reference to back up what they say, so that's why I'm asking a new question.


texts: Is there a specific verb for the "thunder" phenomenon?

texts: You can see a lightning strike before you hear the thunder. Is there a specific verb for this phenomenon? (e.g. you can see something before you hear it)


texts:
..."Can" is more likely when you are addressing a particular person. "Can" expresses ability, so we tend to make some sort of appraisal of whether the person being addressed actually has that ability. When addressing a general audience, some of them may be so unimaginative that they cannot imagine whatever it is. "Could" is far less assertive,...

I've seen many native speakers use this sort of "when + present participle" construction where the subject of the main clause does not match with that of the dependent clause. Isn't this a case of dangling modifier? Or unlike "after + present participle" and "before + present participle", the construction "when + present participle" is an exception?


texts:
Is there a predominant pattern of usage of the terms girls and guys based on age of the described individuals? Are the patterns the same in the US and UK?

At about what age is it considered inappropriate to refer to young women as girls?  Is there a point at which such terms are definitely offensive.

With young men is the issue the same, or can males of all age can fall under the category of guys?

Finally, is guys okay to be used in reference to women when not contrasting them with males, or is it considered inappropriate?


texts:
I have came across this reference: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c3_p35.html

  This phrase is virtually meaningless, but we often hear it on the news and in bloated speeches. “In terms of” is really just a wordy and sloppy transition—usually an unoriginal disguise for a simple preposition, such as “in,” or a more elegant phrasing, such as “in relation to.” “In terms of the cost, it is high,” is easily revised to “Its cost is high.” Do not use “in terms of,” or do so trembling.

Is the reference really right?

Can I use the following sentence?

  The figures are expressed in terms of a percentage/in percentage terms.

If so, the phrase "in terms of" seems not to be referred to relation.


texts:
The following is a GRE sample question.

Jean Wagner’s most enduring contribution to the study of Afro-American poetry is his insistence that it be analyzed in a religious, as well as secular, frame of reference. The appropriateness of such an approach may seem self-evident for a tradition commencing with spirituals and owing its early forms, rhythms, vocabulary, and evangelical fervor to Wesleyan hymnals. But before Wagner a secular outlook that analyzed Black poetry solely within the context of political and social protest was dominant in the field.
It is Wagner who first demonstrated the essential fusion of racial and religious feeling in Afro-American poetry. The two, he argued, form a symbiotic union in which religious feelings are often applied to racial issues and racial problems are often projected onto a metaphysical plane. Wagner found this most eloquently illustrated in the Black spiritual, where the desire for freedom in this world and the hope for salvation in the next are inextricably intertwined.

All of the following aspects of Afro-American poetry are referred to in the passage as having been influenced by Wesleyan hymnals EXCEPT:
(A) subject matter
(B) word choice
(C) rhythm
(D) structure
(E) tone

I'm quite sure that the answer should be based on the sentence in bold:

The appropriateness of such an approach may seem self-evident for a tradition commencing with spirituals and owing its early forms, rhythms, vocabulary, and evangelical fervor to Wesleyan hymnals.

And by the words "forms", "rhythms", and "vocabulary", I think one can rule out D, C, and B. The conundrum is between A and E. I'm not able to determine which one is more related to "evangelical fervor". I looked the words "subject matter" and "tone" in the dictionary and I found that the subject matter of something such as a book, lecture, film, or painting is the thing that is being written about, discussed, or shown, and that the tone of a speech or piece of writing is its style and the opinions or ideas expressed in it. Neither one, as I understand so far, is related to "evangelical fervor". How should I understand "tone" in this context? Does it have anything to do with "evangelical fervor"?


texts:
I came across this sentence in my GRE preparation

  The Bible is fertile ground for exegesis--over the past five centuries there have been as many interpretations as there are pages in the Old Testament.

The document I am reading has several more such sentences in which -- is used as a conjunction. It seems like semicolon ; would have been more appropriate. Moreover, I do not remember ever seeing such use of double-hyphen. Is this an accepted usage of the hyphen?


texts: Today when it was about time to go home, my English teacher asked me to lead my friends to pray in English. I led them by saying "Let's pray together!" However, my teacher told me that I was wrong and I should've just said "Shall we pray together.". Despite that, I'm unsure whether I was wrong. So, was I really wrong to say "Let's pray together"?


texts: In the film "The Great Gatsby," Mr. Gatsby says "Sorry, old sport, I thought you knew"; what is the meaning of old sport?


texts: a word for "in view of an expected outcome"

texts:
I'm trying to improve my English, and I'm writing a letter which contains the phrase:

  I'm wondering, in ?view? of a positive response, if I could start preparing the project.

My doubt is, given I don't know the outcome, and it's not in "view",  but I simply expect a positive one, the phrase:

  I'm wondering, expecting a positive response, if I could start preparing the project.

sounds really bad, I'm not sure what's wrong but I'm sure it's wrong.

I recall there was an appropriate word to express expectancy, that's why I structured the original phrase that way, but now I can't recall that word, not even in my native language.


texts: Is it befitting to use "I would agree" in a formal writing?

texts:
Can we start off a paragraph with "I would agree" when we want to establish our perspective on a subject in a formal and academic writing? What is the difference between "I agree" and "I would agree"?
Example:
Question: "When on a date, the man should always pay. Do you agree or disagree? Explain."
Answer: "I would agree. I believe ..."


texts: How do you 'say' the numbers in: "section 20.1234" in a government regulation?

texts:
How do you read section 20.1234 in a regulation by a government agency?

For example, the law is 38 C.F.R. section 20.1234. How do you read 20.1234?

Do you read it as "twenty one two three four" or "twenty point one two three four?

Thanks!


texts: Is there a singular-plural conflict in the song title "Terror Couple Kill Colonel"?

texts:
I'm not English-speaking, and I'm wondering about the title of the song by band Bauhaus - "Terror Couple Kill Colonel"

"Kill" implies a singular subject, yet couple refers to multiple subjects. Why is it not "killed" or "kills"?


texts: Can changing the order of adjectives alter the literal meaning of a phrase?

texts:
Someone recently pointed out to me that most English-speakers will say "I saw a big brown spider," rather than "I saw a brown big spider".  However, the second sentence has the same literal meaning as the first.

Are there instances in which adjectives are non-commutative, so that permuting the order of the adjectives changes the literal meaning of what's being said?


texts: What did they call illegitimate children in Old English days?

texts: I know that the word bastard in this sense appeard only in 13th century. So what was the normal term before that?


texts: I am still confused with the classifications of such nouns as area, spot, compound (which refers to a type of area), and area itself. Are they abstract or concrete nouns?


texts:
I found it in an old dictionary and I'm not sure what it means. It looks like the number "3", but the top of the three has been flattened(and slightly curved).
I've only seen this in three or four words.
[Link to a dictionary on Amazon]


texts: Quoting title with a question and ellipsis

texts:
I need to quote a title which contains both an ellipsis and question mark. I am unsure how I should punctuate the sentence. Note that because of a particular style guide, I must also italicise the title rather than use quotation marks. For example, one may write:

  In Smith's article, What is... a Cobordism?, he discusses...

How should I properly quote the title?


texts: Why are certain single word compound nouns pluralized in the middle

texts:
Hypothesis: compound nouns that are unhyphenated single words can be pluralized by adding an “s” to the noun root only when they consist of a noun + preposition.
This is a follow-up to an earlier question
Numerous examples are given in the Answers to that Question listing compound nouns that pluralize in the middle by adding an “s” to the head or root noun, such as sons-in-law and secretaries general.
However, other than passersby, (the word posed in the question and the word that got me thinking, before I found that question), and standersby (for which I cannot find an online definition), all of the examples in that Q&A, and those that I can think of or find, are either hyphenated or written as an unhyphenated noun phrase.
Virtually all of these spaced or hyphenated examples are either noun + adjective or noun + prepositional phrase.  The only exception in the examples from the earlier Question is spoonsful, but this seems to be a less favored variant of spoonfuls (although Microsoft considers spoonfuls incorrect and spoonsful correct).
There are other single word, unhyphenated compound constructions that serve as nouns which consist of a verb form + preposition which pluralize the usual way, such as

shutouts
takeovers
flybys

Is it possible that the reason for the passersby type construction (plural noun root, no space, no hyphen) is the particular combination of noun + preposition?  This appears to be a rather rare construction.
I have reviewed word lists in onelook.com for any construction with a [word]+s+preposition by searching *sby and other *s[preposition] combinations.  (I could not search *s+in because of the volume.)
The only other examples I have found are strikesthrough and sneaksby.  The only reference to strikesthrough is a Wiktionary entry which considers the overall word to be a verb, but several of the listed cites appear to be typos.  Sneaksby is actually a singular form.
One or two examples are a poor way to make a rule, but could it be that this particular plural form is limited to this particular parts-of-speech structure?


texts: How suitable is the term "blacks" to specify an ethnic group?

texts:
I recently came across a medical article that accounted for a number of ethnic physiological profiles (women, blacks and diabetics) when interpreting the outcome of a trial. They consistently used the term "blacks", presumably for subjects of African descent.

My question is, how specific is the term "blacks" as an ethnic profile; what does and what doesn't it entail? And on a related note, how laden is the term "blacks"? In my native tongue "blacks" and "niggers" carry about the same connotation.

Edit in response to the comments

Thank you all for your comments. From your responses I distill that "blacks" is more or less equivalent to "African-American", but might carry a negative connotation.

@Xanne: "physiological profile" might have been more accurate than "ethnic profile", although I reckon the line between these two is blurred in the current context.

@Mitch There is a perceived difference between 'black' (the adjective for the group) and 'blacks' (the group label). Even though this seems infinitesimally different, they have pretty different connotations.

@AndyT "Black" is not equivalent to "African American". All African Americans may be Blacks, but not all Blacks are African Americans. There are plenty of black people who are not American!

Most responses have been concerning the connotation of the term "blacks". I would like to shift the focus to my other question:
Does anyone think that "blacks" may refer to a more specific or a more broad group than "African-American"?


texts:
If any word is written thrice, how many times is it repeated? Twice or thrice?

For example:

  shantih shantih shantih

(from The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot)


texts:
I've recently noticed the word actor used for female actresses in the Indian print media.

I have a few questions :
 a) Is this the correct usage of the word?
 b) Is this an international phenomenon?
 c) Are you aware of the origins, time and purpose of this change?


texts: How to apply "sequence of tenses" to "would like"

texts:
This is a sentence in direct speech:

  They asked me: "Which of these books would you like to take".

I need to rewrite it in indirect speech. And obviously I have to apply sequence of tenses rule.

My idea is:

  They asked me which of these books I wanted to take.

Is it correct? And maybe it's possible to keep "would like" somehow:

  They asked me which of these books I would like to take.

But it seems to violate sequence of tenses. Please help.


texts: What's the name of hair left in your razor?

texts: What is the single word for the tiny pieces of hair left in your razor after you shave?


texts: What does "certain" mean in this passage?

texts:
I am a ESL learner, has been recently started doing some practice test of IESLTS. Here is a question I am confused about within a reading passage.

  There had, of course, been dictionaries in the past, the first of these being a little book of some 120 pages, compiled by a certain Robert Cawdray, published in 1604 under the title A Table Alphabeticall 'of hard usuall English wordes'.

I am struggling with the words "certain" that author used here, I will be really grateful if someone help me figure out the question, or any of the ideas would give a lot of help.


texts: 'The Kukhtarev's model' or 'Kukhtarev's model' ('John's car' or 'The John's car')?

texts:
I think I know the answer to this but I just want to be sure. I have a supervisor who doesn't have a good level of English; sometimes he worries me with his corrections.

I was writing:

  Here, we will use Kukhtarev's model to describe the ...

But he corrected me:

  Here, we will use the Kukhtarev's model to describe the ...

I know this is wrong. However, can someone confirm this and explain why.


texts: Is there a word like "stato" or 'stathole"?

texts: Recently I've heard it on BBC's Documentary podcast (What Should we Teach Our Kids?, 1:14 min into the programme).  It's described as British slang. Apparently it refers to a person who is an expert in statistics, or maybe knows a lot of facts and figures about a discipline. I've tried looking it up in online dictionaries but without success. Maybe my spelling is incorrect.


texts: Word for a person responsible for collecting and paying expenses of a group

texts:
When a group of people decide to go Dutch on a trip or a visit to the restaurant, one person may take the responsibility of paying all the expenses for the entire group (usually out of his/her own pocket, but they can also collect budget from the participants in advance) so as not to engage each group member in payment processes and save time. After the event, members of the group compensate by paying their share to this person.

What would this person be called?

If it helps, there is a word for this in Persian, 'Madar-e- Kharj' (literally mother of expenses):

  "You don't need to pay money now; John is [the group's / the trip's] Madar-e- Kharj. We will all reimburse him later."


texts:
I was watching the TV show Fargo, which takes place in rural Minnesota. Most of the locals on the show speak with a recognizable midwestern accent, and there are some regionalisms that are common. The one that I noticed most was how when some of the characters were talking about another person they knew, they said he has the cancer. Most of the English-speaking world does not put an article before the names of most diseases — we would say he has cancer.

I believe that many of the early settlers in this part of America were from Scandinavia, and it heavily influenced the dialect and accent. Is this phrasing quirk related to this heritage?


texts: "In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn" - What does it mean?

texts:
I've come across this quote from Phil Collins' Son of Man:

In learning you will teach
And in teaching you will learn

I'm not really sure what it's supposed to mean - I think it means more than just "you're a student first and become a teacher later".
Any hints appreciated!


texts:
Here is the first sentence from an economic article:
"According to STATS’s preliminary estimates, broadly in line with
expectations, GDP has fallen by 12.1% YoY in February 2021, following an
11% YoY drop in January 2021."
Is article "an" in bold face in the above sentence correct? Should not it be "the" instead? since the 11% is specific not general. It is that 11% of january which we know.
If "an" is correct then what is the rational for it?


texts: What does “tell someone to hard-delete” mean?

texts:
I posted a question about the meaning of ‘hit Delete’ a couple days ago. Now I came across another texting word, “hard-delete” in the headline of Maureen Dowd’s article dealing with Anthony Weiner’s sexting scandal, “Time to hard-delete. Carlos Danger” in today’s New York Times. She wrote;

  “Yet, while married to the classy, gorgeous mother of his infant son
  and planning a redemptive run for mayor, he told a Facebook friend and
  phone-sex partner he had never met that he loved her. Then he told her
  to “hard-delete” all their correspondence — if that is what you call
  it.”

I can understand ‘hard to delete memory, stigma, and scandal.’ But I puzzle over what “tell someone to hard-delete correspondence” means, because Dowds deliberately adding to “if that is what you call it.”

Though I guess “hard-delete” is a computer or texting lingo meaning to remove all messages or memory from the hardware, i.e, PC (or mobile), what does “tell someone to hard-delete “exactly mean? Is it a verb established as computer word?


texts:
So, this is from the musical Sweeney Todd, where Todd sings to Mrs. Lovett in A Little Priest:

Mrs. Lovett, how I lived without you all these years I'll never know. How delectable, also undetectable. How choice, how rare.

I don't quite grasp the meaning behind it.


texts: My sentence flow is something like this. "So you were lying to me all these time?" I dont know if I should use this or these.


texts:
what is the time by/in your watch?   (my book says by)

the tired travelers are sitting in/under the shade of a banyan tree  (book says in)

I believe

sentence 1 in should come

sentence 2 under should come


texts: What is the practice of selling an item, in a place one cannot get out of, at a much higher price than its normal price?

texts: If you go into an amusement park which you cannot go out of and back in (without a new ticket) or which is remote and far away from any shops, and find that a bottle of soft drink is being (legally) sold for $4 when its normal price is $1, what is that practice called?


texts: Ways to introduce a name in the middle of sentence

texts:
Suppose that you want to introduce a name of a thing or count several names  of things in a sentence (e.g. they are namely "X", "Y", "Z")

For example I know "called", "namely", perhaps "named" are used for this purpose.

What are the common ways to do this? What is the related grammar and structure?

For example:

  By specifying these tags, now we can create a node, named “product”, which is ...

Is this correct?


texts: Is "At Worst" used only in the future context?

texts:
I have checked numerous examples where "At worst" is used in the future context.

At worst, we will go to jail.
At worst, teacher will expel us.

Can we use "At worst" in the past context?


texts: When President Obama makes a speech by using teleprompter, is he stuck to the script?

texts:
I saw a phrase, stuck to the script in the following sentence in New York Times (Jan. 27) article reporting this year’s Academy Award nomination,

  The Academy Award nominations, announced this morning in Los Angeles, mostly stuck to the script that Oscar-season observers expected.

My interpretation of stuck to the script here is a figurative expression of as anticipated, therefore, no surprise. Is it right?

By the way, this might sound a naive question, when someone like President, or Prime minister is delivering a speech, say the State of Union or opening address relying on a pre-prepared script on teleprompter, is he stuck to the script?


texts: "pro" pronunciation in the middle of words

texts: Is there any rule for pronunciation of the vowel in words like "approximate" or "appropriate"? Why is one pronounced as /ɑ/ and one as /o/? I have searched threads but can't seem to find an answer.


texts: Am I correct in stating that "Arabic" is a language; An "Arab" is a person of "Arab" dissent; and "Arabian" is a culture & history; but more contemporary usage of "Arab" can be more collective, e.g. to describe culture and history in place of the word "Arabian?"  I.e. Arab can be short for Arabian now; therefore, "Arabian" is becoming archaic?  Moreover, is the term "Oriental" correctly descriptive, generally of Arabian, other Middle Eastern, some North African, some South Asian, and some Mediterranean Cultures?  Please clarify for me!  Thank you!


texts:
What's the subtle difference between competitiveness and competition.
is there any differences? I couldn't find any information on google.

competitiveness:  an aggressive willingness to compete

competition:

. The act of competing, as for profit or a prize; rivalry.
2. A test of skill or ability; a contest: a skating competition.
3. Rivalry between two or more businesses striving for the same customer or market.

am using freedictionary site.


texts:
I can't distinguish between the use of by and to when putting  them in such sentence:

  House prices had risen by/to 0.3 % in July".

Especially the meaning of by.


texts:
I hope you do not find this question too silly, but I'm puzzled.

"What I love the most is animals" sounds perfectly okay to me. But so does "Animals are what I love the most."

Anything to say on subject-verb agreement? Does word order make a difference in syntax here?

I know similar issues have been discussed already. From what I read, confusion about the first sentence may arise from the number of the "wh-clause." But how about "Animals are/is what I love the most"? Does this choice have to do with a subjective perception of the subject as singular or plural?

The way I understand it, the subject and subjective complement are interchangeable. Then, should the copular verb change or not?

Thanks.


texts:
Example:

  The painting was a [...] copy of the original.

Are there other common expressions other than exact and identical?


texts:
Is there a name for this type of sentence: "The higher the temperature, the higher the pressure"?

Such a word grouping is generally accepted as a sentence in science.


texts: A different word for "Rhyming Dictionary"

texts:
Is there a different word, a synonym or neologism for "Rhyming Dictionary"?

I mean something like Rhyming + thesaurus?


texts: Should I capitalize "chemical engineering department"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Correct Usage of Capital Letters
  To capitalize “department” or not

Which of these sentences is correct?

  The chemical engineering department told me that...

  The Chemical Engineering department told me that...

  The Chemical Engineering Department told me that...


texts:
A few nouns can be transformed into an adjective meaning "made of that noun (also: being like that noun)" by adding -en.

  golden, wooden, oaken, stonen

Are those remnants of an old noun inflection of the Genitive case?
If so are there other remnants of that?
Would it be possible to interpret "the maiden gown" as such a Genitive?


texts:
Is the following sentence correct?

  They are discriminated because of their skin colour.

My gut feeling tells me discriminate (in this sense) has to be followed by against. Dictionary examples use against too, but no rules are stated in OALD or Macmillan.


texts: Can a proposition be mistaken for a 'claim'?

texts:
You confirm that this is true.
In which case..... positive declaration (eg. 'x' exists).

I would suggest that the above statement is an 'if, then' proposition.

Anybody making this statement cannot be considered as 'making a claim'.
It cannot be considered as "I definitively claim that 'x' exists".

Rather, the proposition is dependent upon somebody else's statement.

I recognise that this is a fine judgement, as a positive statement is being declared.
However, I believe that the clause "in which case" confirms that this is a proposition, rather than a definitive 'I claim that 'x' exists'.

Am I correct?

The background to this question is fraught with difficulty.

It revolves around the limits of human knowledge, dealing with globally accepted, observable facts, that have no known explanation.

As a result, experts, posting on certain forums that operate at a certain level, are reticent to become embroiled in the discussion of potential explanation.

As a result... it is better to avoid an investigative path that leads to such a discussion.

Engineers have no such reticence... "it's all cause and effect, so deal with it".

On a Personal Note

I do accept the error that I made, when referring to the 'you'.

I should have said:

If this is true.
Then..... positive declaration (eg. 'x' exists).

This was an honest human error, primarily due to my actual reliance on the expert at hand.

This was unfair on him.... particularly considering the gravity of what was being discussed. (I will apologise to him).

Anyway... apart from my human error.... I still rest with my title (unless a better title can be proposed).

Here is the link to the physics discussion.

It was shut down because it was deemed that I was falsely claiming something.

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/down-convertor-2-photon-entanglement-explanation.869246/#post-5457125

A related problem of English comprehension is being discussed on this thread:

Does 'no useful info' unequivocally mean 'some info is present?


texts:
I know for over a fact that the word "YOU"  when the word before its a T or a 'D' sound it can change to a CH sound or a  J sound, but I've ALWAYS wonder why does that happen?

So, I want you= aɪ wɑnt ju= becomes= ɪ wɑnt ʧu

I need you= aɪ nid ju, becomes= aɪ nid ʤʌu

But, why?


texts: What is the difference between rebellion attempt and attempted rebellion?

texts:
I want to understand if there is any difference between "rebellion attempt" and "attempted rebellion". The first is a noun-noun while the second is an adjective noun. I think both are ok, but I do know if one is preferable to the other.

Also, to me both wordings carry the same meaning, is that so?


texts: "It is good for me." or "It is good to me."

texts:
I am confused between these two statements.

It is good for me.
It is good to me.

Which one is correct? or both are correct? When which statement should we use?


texts: Is there a one-word synonym for "unwelcome surprise"?

texts:
Or anything along the lines of that (unpleasant surprise amounts to about the same thing). As in,

  He/She found an unwelcome surprise waiting for them.

Unwelcome/unpleasant surprise would work in this context, but I feel I have used it too often, and need a change.

Thank you!


texts:
I am trying to improve my vocabulary translating lyrics of songs I like. Today is "Slow Show" by The National. Everything is pretty clear, but for one line:

  My leg is sparkles, my leg is pins

My understanding is that his (the singer's, speaking in first person) leg feels "pins and needles", numb. But I am not sure this is the case. For example, I didn't understand why "sparkles" and "pins" are plural while the subject is singular.

In case you need context, you can find the lyrics here.


texts:
I was born in the United States and raised there in the 1980s. I moved to Israel a couple of years ago and work in a primarily English-speaking corporate office. It has, as you might expect, many meetings. Around the office, I frequently hear the verb sit used as a synonym for have a meeting. For example,

Can we sit in fifteen minutes,

Would you like to sit on it (meaning have a meeting about it; 'it' the topic under discussion), and

I'm sitting with him later.

I've never heard this in the States, as far as I recall. I know that it works in Hebrew (the local language here): a common standard word for meeting is, etymologically speaking, a "sitting", and people use the verb for sit to mean have a meeting. My question is whether this Hebrew usage has spilled over into our office's English as sort of calque or whether, on the other hand, this is now English even outside of Israel.


texts: Where and when did the practice of using two spaces in the beginning of each sentence start, and is it still recommended?

texts:
For many years (decades at this point), I've noticed that, at least in plaintext environments, "serious" and/or "old-timer" people seem to always type like this:

  This is a sentence.  And here comes another one.  Shockingly, this is a third sentence, right after the first two.  And even a fourth!

I've always typed like this instead:

  This is a sentence. And here comes another one. Shockingly, this is a third sentence, right after the first two. And even a fourth!

Comparing the two, I can easily see why the first one is done: it's way easier to read, and I'm annoyed by myself for not seeing it sooner. I'm heavily leaning toward starting to do this all the time now, but as you can tell, my fingers aren't naturally inclined to make two spaces after each sentence. Even though it looks much better, it doesn't feel more correct while inputting text. At least not for me.

(Now I'm going to really make an effort to do it.) You might counter with:  "Well, you are just not used to it!  It will soon feel natural!"  That may be, but an obvious problem then arises whenever you are not typing in a "plaintext" environment, and it suddenly makes two spaces unnecessarily because the word processor or whatever already takes care of setting a little margin for each sentence.  So then you have to switch back and forth between these different ways of typing, which is confusing.

I'm basically wondering where and when this started and if it's still recommended.  I'm going to try to force myself to do it.  I don't want the sentences to blend together for my readers.

It should be noted that if such a CSS property exists, I don't know what it's called.  I can't recall seeing "automatic margin" in between sentences in HTML -- only at the beginning for a paragraph, like this:

This is a demo.

Rendered as:

  This is a demo. Here goes more text until a linebreak
and notice how this row is two spaces to the left of th
e first line, which has two spaces added before it begi
ns. However, this new sentence has only one space after
the dot, so go figure?

I'd really love for this to be cleared up once and for all!


texts: "... in summer in Australia". Is it right?

texts:
I have this sentence:

  Although Christmas season is in summer in Australia, many Australians...

What I'm not sure about is the in Australia part. It's an adverbial, isn't it? An adverbial of place can be switched between the beginning and the end of the sentence, so is my sentence grammartically correct? Thank you.


texts: Would you say that “headhunter” (as in recruitment) carries derogatory connotations?

texts: I’ve seen the expression being used quite a lot in non-English speaking countries by recruiters themselves and I find it a bit odd. Have they chosen the wrong way to be cool?


texts: When the response is as stupid as the question

texts:
What do I say when someone asks a stupid question, then I give them a stupid answer, after that they complain "your answer sounds as if you're talking down to me".

How do I convey that "my answer is the same as your question" or "my answer is worth your question" or "equal" or?

What would a native speaker say in this case, in ironic way? Keep in mind, that this is my friend and allow ourselves being sarcastic easily :)


texts: What are the subject and verb pairs in the sentence given

texts:
"New York once had two competing political parties, which provided checks on extreme populist ideas."
Per my conclusion i happened to identify the following pairs: S1:New York, V1:had ; S2: which, V2: Checks.
Was confused because "provided" seemed to be the verb to me in the latter part of the sentence.


texts:
The idiom "ramp up" is frequently used in English to mean "increase the size/amount of"; for example:

  The company ramped up its advertising to try and sell more products.

What, though, it the etymology of this phrase?  Why do we use the verb "ramp" here?


texts: "Neither of you understands him as I do"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Which is correct, “neither is” or “neither are”?
  “Neither Michael nor Albert is correct” or “Neither Michael nor Albert are correct”?

  Neither of you understands him as I do

Neither of you (more than one) is plural. Why does it say understands instead of understand?

It was taken from Harry Potter, Deathly Hallows. Conversation between Voldemort and Severus. When Voldemort says "neither of you" he means Severus and Lucius. And "him" is Potter.


texts:
If your patience wears thin, you become less and less patient. This phrase is also used in other contexts, but I have only ever heard it used to refer to "patience". Another meaning is (from Cambridge):

If something such as a joke wears thin, it becomes boring or annoying or stops being funny or effective, because it has been seen, heard, or used too much

I wonder how wear and thin came to be used together and mean that (above).
Dictionary.com dates the first sense (about patience) back to Late 1800s and the other sense to  the First half of 1990s but doesn't say anything about how and why they came to be used that way. This Google Ngram shows that "wears thin"/"wearing thin"/"wore thin" has been in use since before 1750.
I am unable to find anything else on the internet.
Can anyone provide some insight?


texts:
What would be the opposite of "sexy clothes", as in "clothes that hide sexual bits" ? Like for a woman, a top that would hide and make her breasts much less pronounced?

Thanks in advance.


texts: Write without using pronouns extensively

texts:
I have just started learning English as my third language and struggling to write meaningful short essay without using pronouns extensively. I read mainly non-fiction English books and perhaps that has sort of instilled a certain thought patterns in me.

I am practicing to write a short self introduction and this issue becomes more noticeable. I used too many 'I' and it appears egoistic.

I wonder if there are references and reading materials that I can read and learn to write differently? Or if there are any writing patterns to follow?

Not into poetry though.


texts:
My cousin is really bad at math. Whenever she looks at a math book, she runs away.

She is 'scared' of math. I know this is not the correct word to use. Can someone please give me a word that means 'afraid' in this context.


texts:
Where does this meme come from (as in a trip down memory lane) ?

Is it from a book ?


texts: Is there a word for this cultural phenomenon?

texts:
Sometimes definitions reverse direction, like when in the American sensibility, hard work and thrift lead to success and wealth and yet somehow now the presumption is that wealth is the obvious sign of hard work and thrift.

in a theological sense, Christ is what defines the church in the abstract and yet in American evangelical culture, it seems as if the church has become to define what Christ means.

Is there a philosophical term, a linguistic term, or perhaps a theological term I've missed that encompasses this?


texts: Did the underscore character exist before modern computers?

texts:
I've noticed that in computer programming, underscores are used extensively to create names that are technically one word long but consist of several different words.  For example, C++ has priority_queue or get_temporary_buffer.  However, this use case only exists because it's easier for software to split apart source code using whitespace as boundaries.  In fact, in every case I can think of where I've seen underscores used, the rationale has always been to simplify some automated process.

Did the underscore character exist before computers were invented?  If so, what were they used for?


texts: "Reference" used as "documentation", "manual"

texts:
I've often seen the word "reference" used to mean "documentation", "manual", etc.; for examples [1]. However, a dictionary definition of this word doesn't seem to mention this meaning [2].

Is that a correct use of the word? What am I missing?

My guess is that it's usually "reference manual", not just "reference". So maybe it means "the official manual", i.e. "there might be other descriptions of the subject, but this is the one you should refer to".

[1] http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/
[2] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reference


texts:
Single word request. Looking for a less silly version of "kit and caboodle". A word for a kit that includes everything you need for a certain task.

I did look in a thesaurus, under "kit". None of the synonyms seemed to necessarily imply completeness or comprehensiveness of the kit.


texts:
In the tv series Mentalist S03E1: the character Rigsby uses the phrase

  Kettle to pot. “Hello. Come in, pot.”

I wonder what it means. You can see the timestamp at the Quodb website.


texts: Nonreligious version of "heaven knows that…"

texts:
Are there any nonreligious versions of the phrase "heaven knows"? For example:

  Heaven knows I'm not perfect when it comes to exercise.

I've heard other religious variants like "the Lord knows", but I can't find a nonreligious version.


texts: Is it "extreme" or "large" diversity for endophytic microorganism subject?

texts:
Do I need to substitute the word extreme to large in this text?

  Endophytic fungi are molds that are found in the healthy plant tissues. Endophytic fungi is mold that exists in the plant tissue systems, such as leaves, fruits, twigs,  or root of plants (Clay, 1988).  Endophytic microorganisms have extreme diversity, because they can inhabit the healthy plant tissue of all plant taxa in the mainland, especially in tropical timber plants (Arnold & Herre, 2003).

**Note: It is a microbiology/mycology field, that's why I posted on the biology site. It is not about a terminology, it is a condition related to endophytic microorganism and its diversity. Pity that they migrated it here.


texts: Has the term ‘weapons of mass distraction’ gotten currency as a metonym for web sites and lowbrow mass media contents?

texts:
I found the term ‘weapons of mass distraction’ in the article titled “Social Networking in the 1600s” in the Sunday Review section of June 22 New York Times, which begins with;

  “Social networks stand accused of being enemies of productivity.
  According to one popular infographic circulating online, the use of
  Facebook, Twitter and other such sites at work costs the American
  economy $650 billion each year. Our attention spans are atrophying,
  our test scores declining, all because of these “weapons of mass
  distraction.”

Though ‘weapons of mass distraction’ appears in quote in the above statement, this is obviously a play of word with ‘weapons of mass destruction.’

As I thought ‘weapons of mass distraction’ a smart and punchy word I’d like to use, I consulted both Cambridge and Oxford English dictionaries. They carry ‘weapons of mass destruction,’ but not ‘weapons of mass distraction.’

Whilst Google Ngram shows that ‘weapons of mass distraction’ emerged around 1970 and its usage has been shooting up since 1997, but its currency is still at 0.00000015% level.

Does the term ‘weapons of mass distraction’ pass as an established set of word to be easily understood among English speaking community without adding “quote, unquote” in conversation when we are referring to mass-media, social networking media and entertainment contents on mobile phones?


texts: Word/phrase for importance being reduced

texts:
For example when you stop doing one thing before it's finished, and start something else because you, or someone else, considers it more important than the thing you were doing. The thing you was doing is now less important than this new thing that needs doing.

I am trying to think of a heading for list of things like this, things have been dropped half way through to start something else "more important", but still need finishing at some point.

De-prioritised is not the correct word for this in my opinion, as you can de-prioritise jobs that haven't yet been started, or may never be started. I am after a word that clearly gets across that I was in the middle of a job that is now sitting half done because I started something "more important".


texts: Neutral alternative to "deny" to mean "assert the untruth [of a claim]"

texts:
The term "deny" means to reject the truth of some claim.  However, it often seems to imply the claim is in fact true, denial notwithstanding.

  Smith continued to deny that he had shot Jones.

I believe it is for this reason that Wikipedia lists it as a potential "weasel word" used to subvert the neutrality of encyclopedic articles.  Is there an alternative to "deny" that does not carry this non-neutral connotation?


texts: How did 'decree' evolve from 'to separate'?

texts:
What's an intuitive derivation or rationale to help remember the definition?   I purpose to burrow below definitions, which I already understand so ask NOT about. I heed the Etymological Fallacy.

decree = {noun} 1. An official order that has the force of law:
= {verb} [with object] Order (something) by decree
Etymonline: early 14c., from Old French decre, variant of decret (12c., Modern French décret), from Latin decretum, neuter of decretus, past participle of decernere "to decree, decide, pronounce a decision," from de- (see de-) + cernere "to separate" (see crisis).

My especial concern:
How does "to separate"    effect/imply/induce the definitions, given that "to separate" (the original) and order (modern) fail to relate to each other?
Footnote: Unhelpfully and oddly, OED's entries for the verb and the noun are both too terse.


texts: Answering a negatively-expressed question

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How to answer a negative question without ambiguity?

  2). Didn't we park on the C level?
  (A) Yes, I sure thought we did.
  (B) No, we'll park on the D level.
  (C) Yes, we didn't park on level C.

Which is the best answer to a negative-polarity question, please?


texts: I do not like using the phrase "remember all that we are thankful for" because of the preposition at the end; however, it is a common phrase at this time of year. Finagling the sentence to avoid ending with the preposition (e.g., "remember all for which we are thankful") is awkward. An alternative that works and comes close to meaning the same thing is "remember all the reasons to be thankful." However, that puts the focus on "reasons" as opposed to the things you may want to emphasize, which is different. My question: Which is the lesser evil, ending with a preposition, or a construction that sounds a little awkward because most of us would never say it that way in conversation?


texts: What is the sucker thingy called that can attach to smooth surfaces

texts: I can't even find a picture of it because I don't know what to search for. It's a circular rubber foot that attaches typically to glass, by creating a little vacuum when you press it onto the surface. What's it called?


texts:
I know it is correct to say:

Today, at the conference we have had 5 times as many people as yesterday.

But does it sound correct to say???:

Today, at the conference we have had 5 times as many people than we had yesterday.

Today, at the conference we have had 5 times as many people than what we had yesterday.

Ta.


texts: Interpretation of "The biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone"

texts:
When I read the phrase

  The biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone

I interpreted it to imply that the first occurrence of iPhone happened to itself -- that is,

  the first iPhone happened to iPhone.

Is this the correct interpretation, or are there any alternatives that I am missing?

If this is the only interpretation, assuming the happen to phrase is being used to mean have a significant impact on, how does the notion of iPhone happening to itself make any sense (if at all)?


texts: Is there a word from for a defect that is because of manipulation?

texts:
We call a person/act/etc. that manipulates a manipulative person/act/etc.

Now I want to talk about a person who is manipulative and I want to say that she has a flaw which is that she is manipulative. I cannot say a manipulative flaw because that would mean the flaw manipulates itself. So how can I describe the flaw. I want one single word.

Personally, it seems to me that manipulational is the best option but I found that it has been used very rarely.

The/a manipulational flaw: a flaw because of being manipulative.

Compare for example communicative and communicational. A person is communicative who communicates well. So that person has communicational skills, skills related to communication.


texts:
Which is preferred usage:

The performance features Twain giving an overview of his life up till 1896, ...

-or:

The performance features Twain giving an overview of his life up until 1896, ...

I thought it was "until" but I recently saw "till" in print, so am not sure which is preferred.


texts:
1) I am going to go watch a game.

  2) I am going to a game.

  3) I am going to golf.

  4) I am going to go golfing.

What are the differences and similarities between and among sentences 1,2,3 and 4?

  5) I am going to Canada.

  6) I am going fishing.

It is easy to differentiate sentences 5 and 6 in that sentence 5 sees going to point to a place while sentence 6 sees going point to an action. But sentence 3 clearly shows that going can also show progression towards an action.

  7) I am going to shopping.

Sentence 7 is a very common mistake by ESL students.


texts:
I am writing my thesis in English and want to describe three values.
The sentence goes like this:
'...we can get the minimum, middle and maximum eigenvalues respectively.'

Does the word 'middle' sound good here? Or should I replace it with 'medium' or anything else?


texts: What do you call someone who gives a bare minimum answer which is often misleading?

texts:
What do you call someone intentionally gives a completely true answer that answers a question but does not provide the information the asker is looking for?

For example, person a moves to a new school in Nevada, where people ask him where he is from. a answers that she is from Junction City, but fails to mention that it is in Kansas. a knows that they don't know where that is, but assume it is local. What is the name for someone like a?


texts: How was 'hone in on' bastardised to mean 'home in on'?

texts:
The comments under this CBC article impelled me to check the definitions of the verbs home in on, under which a para discusses this debasement, vs hone in on. Yet it doesn't explain this corruption's sources? I then tried http://grammarist.com/eggcorns/home-in-hone-in/:

  ...Hone in began as an alteration of home in, and many people regard it as an error. It is a very common, though, especially in the U.S. and Canada—so common that many dictionaries now list it—and there are arguments in its favor. Hone means 'to sharpen' or 'to perfect', and we can think of homing in as a sharpening of focus or a perfecting of one’s trajectory toward a target. So while it might not make strict logical sense, extending hone this way is not a huge leap....

The last sentence above confuses me. I interpret the penultimate sentence to rationalise how hone in could be deemed to relate to home in, so why does the last sentence then claim (per contra) that 'it might not make strict logical sense? Would an analysis of their etmologies help?


texts: Find or invent a term for "Completely intersecting minus one"

texts:
I'm writing a paper that frequently references regions on a string, and these regions often intersect. I need to succinctly describe regions that almost completely intersect.

For example, given the string ACGT, suppose I have two regions described by [start,end] coordinates as follows:

R1=[0,2]="ACG"

R2=[1,3]="CGT"

Such that if these regions were laid side-by-side, we'd see that they intersect over the characters "CG":

ACG-
-CGT

This particular situation arises a lot. I get two regions of equal length that intersect completely minus one. That is, I get two regions of length n that intersect by n-1 characters.

It would make my paper immensely clearer if I had a succinct way of stating this relationship. For a while I simply shoved "mis-" and "overlapped" together and said "mislapped". Thus instead of saying, "R1 and R2 intersect completely minus one," it would say "R1 and R2 are mislapped," or "R1 mislaps R2".

But "mislap" is clearly awful. Would the brilliant minds of English.StackExchange help me find or invent a better term?


texts: present perfect continuous vs. present continuous

texts:
how can we differenciate present perfect continuous .
we use it for the actions which started in the past and still continuing but we start doing the exam in present continuous tense.
I am working on the project.
I have been working on the project.


texts: When I first saw the word "pajama", I felt it doesn't sound like an English word. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pajama says it's from Hindi and Urdu and showed up after 1883.  I'm just curious, how did native English speaker say "pajama" before 1883?


texts:
Dorothy lived in the middle of the great Kansas prairies.

1)Why is the definite article used in front of "Kansas prairies"?

2)What does the adjective "great" mean in this sentence? It means "big prairies"?


texts:
Is it possible to say "He doesn't rest on his skills", similar to "Rests on his laurels"?

The meaning of that phrase (presumably) is that someone is constantly learning and doesn't let himself be finally content and satisfied with his achievements.


texts:
When you're indicating that something is the critical path that causes the whole project to take a long time, which one is it?

Long Pole
Long Poll
Long Pull

I actually find various sources when I look it up on google that contradict each other.

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/a-long-pull
https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20080805-00/?p=21373


texts: Can anyone name and interpret the upside down cursive e with flair in attached image?

texts: On 20 Mar 1718/19 a scribe wrote in the Lancashire, Church of England, Bishops' Transcripts  "20 Thomas Son to Þe late Rever M.ɚ Ogden".  This is a burial record.  As best I can interpret it, it reads "20 Thomas Son to the late Reverend M. Ogden"  However, I do not know what the ɚ is.  It appears in superscript between the M. and Ogden.  It looks like an upside down cursive e with a tail or flair. An image is attached.  Can anyone tell me what it is an how it should be interpreted?


texts: Proper usage of 'more often' , 'more frequent'.?

texts:
When we read an article on the internet saying that some Event X takes place more often than you think. What is in the mind of the author who writes this article? Does the usage of more often  implies that
1.)the author thinks that readers of his article already think that the event takes place at a lower frequency level
OR
2.)the author thinks that his audience might think that event never takes place ,
OR
3.) both scenarios 1and 2 are possible?
Also can anyone tell what exactly the usage of more common and more often implies in day to day English conversations??


texts:
In a dictionary sometimes words are said to be "of cant origin". What does this mean? As an example, the Chambers dictionary lists "slang" as being of cant origin.
Searching online for the meaning of cant gives variously:

Hypocritical and sanctimonious talk, typically of a moral, religious,
or political nature.
Language specific to a particular group or profession and regarded
with disparagement.
[as modifier] Denoting a phrase or catchword temporarily current or in
fashion.

Does "of cant origin" mean that the word was temporarily current or in fashion or is one of the other meanings more relevant?


texts:
In Patrick O'Brians epic Albury-Maturin series, they describe the men on the ship as being "pressed from their chosen profession".

My question is: Is there a difference between 18thC 'pressing' and 20thC 'conscription'?


texts: Why does my sentence seem to require an adjective?

texts: In the midst of a paragraph, one of my students write, 'They taught us a way of cleaning.'  I felt it sounded exponentially better to say, 'They taught us a new method of cleaning,' or 'new way'.  Why is that?  Is there a grammatical principle?


texts: Is there a word for the Giver of Names? Other than the obvious "Namer". I am writing exposition in a novel and the character is reflecting on the unknown person who named him. I could make "author" or "originator" but both seem awkward. If there is a modern or archaic word meaning to name something, I would prefer it. It's less relevant that it is a noun or verb as I can write the sentence around it. I was hoping for something like eponymous (which doesn't work in this case as it refers to the same-naming of someone/something). Any suggestions would be helpful.


texts:
What does the slang word can mean in the following sentences:

Hey guys, do you know where the can is around here?
I can't make make it to the phone; tell them I am in the can.
Finally, our planning is in the can and we can begin construction tomorrow.

After googling for an hour, I found out that the word "can" is used for toilet.

From the first 2 sentences above, I understand that a stranger in a new place was trying to find out where the toilet was, and then he went inside the toilet.

The 3rd sentence is a little confusing to me.

What was someone trying to say in the last sentence?


texts:
Is the usage of the word 'inveigle' correct in the following sentence?

  What is far murkier however, is the extent to which the Russian State has managed to inveigle its tentacles into British politics and society.

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the word means:

to win over by wiles : entice
to acquire by ingenuity or flattery : wangle

How are these meanings consistent with the construction of that sentence?


texts: Specifying notation with introductory clauses

texts:
When writing technical papers I often write sentences like:

  Where m denotes the proper mass of an object and c denotes the speed of light, the object's rest energy is given by E=mc2.

However I recently received a referee report claiming that this is poor and possibly incorrect usage.  This surprised me, but it seems to be true that clauses starting with "where" that specify the meaning of notation more commonly appear at the end of a sentence rather than the start.

Is the usage above in fact incorrect?  If I wish to retain the basic structure of (introductory clause specifying notation's meaning) followed by (statement in which the notation is used), is there a better way of formulating the introductory clause?


texts:
My question is that can we use issuance as a noun. I could not find issuance in Oxford Advanced  Learner's Dictionary. Even then, use of this word is common in Indian sub-continent.Especially when writing a letter or an application.
For example:
Sub: Issuance of certificate or issuance of N.O.C.

Is writing "issue of Certificate" correct?

Thanks in advance


texts: What's a word that means *something that facilitates something else*?

texts:
What's a word that means something that facilitates something else?

A word meaning to facilitate change; allow it to happen; help it come to life. Almost as if serving as an open doorway to an idea or the creation of a new thing because of what another thing did to it, or allowed it to do.

I seem to remember associating this mystery word with energy conductivity or chemistry. Synonyms might include facilitator, conductor, precipitate...


texts:
Specifically, how could I say 20 tickets have been "sold" when I am referring to free tickets?

I've considered given out or given away, but neither implies a person asking for a ticket and being given one.


texts: an expression for "falling into mud is Ok, but staying in it isn't"

texts:
I was looking for an expression which would convey the same meaning as this sentence:

  "falling into mud is Ok, but staying in it isn't"

this is actually a translation of one of the expressions that we have here. thanks in advance.


texts: Is this phrase an appositive? And what case for the pronoun - We or Us?

texts:
One of my students wrote this sentence:

  "We should do something, both we students and the society."

When I talked to her, I said that "we" should be "us", so I wrote the sentence like this:

  "We should do something, both us students and the society."

My reason was because, if we take away the word "students" that the sentence sounds correct like this:

  "We should do something, both us and the society."

However, after more thought, I am not sure about "we" or "us" here. It might be related to the frequent issue of "It is I." versus "It is me."

Or perhaps the phrase at the end of the sentence is an appositive for "we"
for example:

  "We, both we students and the society, should do something."

If this phrase is an appositive, then I think it MUST be "we". So, if it is an appositive, I think the student's original sentence is totally correct:

  "We should do something, both we students and the society."

Does anyone have any opinions?
Is this phrase an appositive?
And, should it be "us" or "we" in the phrase?

Your comments are welcome!
-- also, any reference (url links) to applicable examples are appreciated)
Jeffrey (ESL teacher)


texts: Term for the time set aside by company for self-directed projects

texts:
Some companies set aside a few hours or maybe a day for employees to work on projects apart from their assigned team workload. This is atleast known in technology & IT sector, a description of some of these arrangements are in this LifeHacker article.

Is there any standard word or phrase to describe this? I was thinking of flex week, but I believe that is something else entirely, implying allowing telecommuting etc. but not necessarily self-directed projects.


texts:
I am stuck looking for one word that captures the personal attribute of never avoiding issues; a concise way of saying that one deals with things "head-on" and in a timely manner.

I'd also like to phrase it a way that does not rely on a negation, such as "non-avoidant"

Update: I wasn't clear enough.  The word also needs to describe a positive attribute.  Thanks for suggesting "confrontational", which is an antonym, but it sounds negative to aim to be more confrontational.

The context for the word I'm looking for is: "Last year I avoided some problems, but this year I resolve to be [insert new word here]".

Any ideas?


texts: Grammaticalization of third person singular -s

texts: Is there any evidence that the third person singular -s can be traced back to a lexical item before it became an inflection ? I am trying to see if the theory of grammaticalization applies to its diachronic process. Any information would be most helpful. Thanks so much.


texts: “Confusing modifiers” reported where none are found

texts:
I have a sentence:

  Take a look at this math problem and try to so solve it.

The Grammar Checker told me: “This sentence contains Issue: Confusing modifiers.”

But where?


texts: Difference between "original" and "genuine"

texts:
I often buy something in an online shop. I noticed some descriptions say an item is original or genuine. What is the difference?

For example, say there's an Apple USB cable, and another, fake Apple USB cable.
So should I say the first one is "original Apple cable" or "genuine Apple cable"? Which is better, which is more common?


texts: When we use '..., let alone...' why don't we put the more general statement last

texts:
"I never thought I'd be in a car, let alone drive one." Is a correct usage of 'let alone', right?

But wouldn't it make more sense to say the reverse? : "I never though I'd drive a car, let alone be in one."

I'm interpreting 'let alone' as implying lesser value in comparison; since driving would be a more complicated scenario as it includes being in one. So, if you're letting something alone, shouldn't it be the less complex one?


texts: In the application form it says print or type. If we want to type do we need to type in capital letter or just by usual way(small and capital as necessary). Thank you.


texts: General term for interlaced / non-interlaced delivery

texts:
http://www.brandon.me/blogging-tools/visual-design/2010/11/difference-interlaced-non-interlaced-images/

There are two ways of loading images on a screen.

you can load parts of the image at full resolution, and load
additional parts of the image at full resolution sequentially.
you can load the entire image at lower resolution, and make each
part better resolution as time goes on.

This idea can be generalized and abstracted to any work process.
For example, writing a sentence on the chalkboard (like bart simpson does) 100 times.

You can write one sentence completely, then write the next sentence completely.
Another way is to write a portion of the sentence 100 times, then write another portion of it 100 times, until you're done. You are putting in parts of each sentence, but making sure to put something in every sentence at every step.

One more example:
Doing your company's payroll. Say there are 50 people in the company.
You can:

fill one person's form completely, then work on filling out the next person's completely.
another way is to fill out the names of every form, then fill out the gross income on every form, and so on.

What would be a generalized term for distinguishing these two approaches/concepts?


texts:
Is there an english name or English translation that matches the following voice recording?
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62131673/audio/endesuelax2.wav

The name might be Russian or Ukrainian.


texts: When to use the feminine form when referring to a person?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Tendency of using pronouns 'she/her' when talking about a random person

I was never interested in grammar and English in school.  Now that I am older, I am finding it was more important than I gave it credit.  Especially with the people I deal with at work.

Plus, I am finding an interest for it now.

Anyway, I've noticed over the years that when referring to a person, most books and articles tend to use the feminine form.

For example:

"A good programmer knows she should write tests."

Instead of using "he/she" they prefer to use "she".  Same is true for "her" instead of "his/her".

Where did this come from?  I'm not complaining, I actually prefer it.  Reminds me of a "ladies first" mentality.  But am I correct in assuming it is grammatically (or maybe politically) correct to use this form?

Thanks


texts: Is the pronunciation of "Huey, Dewey and Louie" unambiguous?

texts:
According to Collins, in American English Dewey can be pronounced either /ˈdui/ or /ˈdjui/ (only surnames are listed there as examples, though). How are the triplet cartoon characters Huey, Dewey and Louie commonly pronounced, with /ˈdjui/, /ˈdui/ or both?

(EDIT: Since there have been efforts to canonize the Duck Universe in the past, I had not ruled out that some sort of clarification was given at some point of time, as a recommendation or even as some kind of "it's spoken like xxx, guys!" (even if the latter would sound a bit arrogant). I couldn't find anything on the Web about the prevalent pronunciation.)


texts: "Change to line X" - is that correct in public transport context?

texts:
I just noticed, in Prague Metro train, that on the info display it says:

  Florenc - change to line C

In Prague, we just have three subway lines - A, B and C. But I always thought the correct word for switching transport vehicle is transfer, not change. But I'd also be surprised to find an error in public transport info sign.

Is change also valid word in this context? If so, are there cases where one is more valid than another?


texts: Using little/low/big/large in a sentence

texts:
I was writing a term paper and got myself a bit confused with the use of 'little'/'low'/'big' etc.
The sentence is:
'Although in smaller member countries, with fewer seats to distribute, the number of elected candidates per group is little, the size of our two groups is big enough to assure the accuracy of our estimates'

Although I have written it in this way, the sentence just feels somehow incorrect. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. Thank you in advance.


texts: What is a 17th-century affectionate term for "Mother"?

texts:
I'm writing a ghost story, and (in an admittedly well-worn trope) a child ghost is looking for its mother; however, how would a 17th-century child affectionately refer to its mother? In short, what would the 17th-century version of "Mummy" be?
The child would be British; middle-class (or its equivalent then); moderately educated; and home-schooled, the Bible being the main text book.


texts: Is "be my guests" correctly used in the following case?

texts:
Speaker A: We want to ask you some questions. If you don't mind, of
  course.

  Speaker B: [He opens the door of his house] Sure, be my guests.

Is the idiom being used correctly? If not, what would be a better alternative?


texts: Predicate adjective acceptable with "to do"

texts:
"I did good on the test."

vs.

"I did well on the test."

The first example sounds fine to me, and the second a bit pedantic.  Is the first example standard American English and, secondly, is "good" a predicate/descriptive adjective in the example given?


texts: Is calling someone who resides in the country of India an "Indian" considered a racist slur?

texts:
This morning as I'm sure we all have, I was called by "Microsoft Tech Support". I wasted a half hour of their time saying I couldn't log in before they hung up.

Later I had told my Dad, as he asked if anyone called while he was gone. I replied with "Yeah, an Indian scammer working for Microsoft".

He got very angry with me for calling the man "Indian". He went on about how native Americans were classified as Indians untill the start of "Aboriginal" and that I was being extremely racist calling the man Indian.

He told me to look up why I can't, and so I did but what I had found all said it was fine, and to compare it to calling someone who's origin resides in Canada "Canadian".

So, I had told my dad what I'd found and he said it's different in Canada, specifically in BC because Aboriginals were classified as Indians. And saying "indian" people are going to assume I was talking about Aboriginals even in a context where I clearly refer to someone who's origin resides in India as "Indian".

So, assuming he is right, what do I call someone who was born, raised and resides in India?


texts: What is the transparent part of an envelope called?

texts: What is the part of a sealable envelope that is made out of transparent plastic and shows the address or a part of what is inside, called?


texts:
http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/EconEdLink-print-lesson.php?lid=556&type=educator

  the students will identify useful endeavors they can be a part of.

How can a human being be a part of useful endeavor? We just can do useful endeavor, and we can be a part of, say, a crowd.


texts:
In the following sentence, "A virtual register follows the same format and operation as a physical register", I'm not sure if we should use "as a physical register" or "as a physical register does"?

In my mind, "as" is a conjunction when it has the meaning of "similar to".
If we use "like", which is a preposition, we do not need "does".

Is my understanding correct?

Thank you very much!


texts: Other words for or similar to synecdoche

texts:
What size shirt are you wearing?

  I'm wearing a large.

In this instance, large is a noun used in place of the understood [large] shirt. I'm trying to figure out if there is a word for "a descriptor or property of a noun used in place of a noun" much like synecdoche describes a part used as a whole or vice versa.

I've found metonymy and antonomasia, but neither seem to fit what I'm looking for.


texts:
Is there a noun for an additional portion of food that you take / ask for, when you are done with what you have been served, but still want more.

  I am almost done with my plate, can I have an ________ (addition?)?


texts: "I'm unclear" versus "it's unclear to me that"

texts:
It sounds like your proposal would make a great feature request for the existing module. I'm unclear why you consider it was not a good idea.

Does replacing I'm unclear with it is unclear to me make the sentence more clear?
Are there any contexts where I'm unclear would have a different meaning? Is it used in some regions/dialects to mean something different from it is unclear to me?


texts: Is “pull forwards to the yellow line” or “pull forward to the yellow line” grammatically correct?

texts: I am not sure whether forward or forwards is to be used in this sentence.


texts:
Someone asks me this question: 'How much work is it to fix issue? then I'm trying to determine potential impact.'

My answer is that 'very little work should to be done to fix this issue. And there is no extra effect on the whole system.'

Am I right to use the word 'effect' here or should I use other words to express myself more precisely?


texts: Position of punctuation in proper title with quotes

texts:
Take the following sentence with punctuation purposefully omitted:

Do we have an Italian restaurant right next to the Video Outpost "Too"

Video Outpost "Too" is a proper title, specifically the name of a store. In American English, we are taught that when ending a quote, if said quote is at the end of a sentence, the final punctuation goes inside of the ending quotation mark, such as in the example below.

He said, "today is a nice day."

However, does this rule still apply when the quotation marks are not part of a quote but are a stylistic choice on the part of the name? More specifically, which of the two forms below is correct or most correct?

Do we have an Italian restaurant right next to the Video Outpost "Too"?
Do we have an Italian restaurant right next to the Video Outpost "Too?"

Forgive me if this is a duplicate. I've found questions regarding actual quotes, but nothing for this particular situation.
Edit: I would appreciate answers for both the American and British conventions, if possible. I believe this question will be of help to a wider audience if both conventions are provided, assuming there are multiple conventions.
Edit 2: As TeacherKSHuang noted, this is similar to the question of whether punctuation goes inside or outside of quotation marks, however the linked question only covers cases when the quotation marks are used as markers of a quotation. This specific question refers to quote marks that are part of a proper name and are not used as quotation marks.