texts:
I've seen the classic "that" vs "which" debate. However, I'm unsure about which to use in the case of joining a clause with "and". For instance, in Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt, and Certainty in Christian Discipleship Lesslie Newbigin states:

  This is a culture that responds to the Christian story by asking "how can we know that it is true?" There is a long tradition of Christian theology that goes under the name "apologetics" and that seeks to respond to this question and to demonstrate the "reasonableness of Christianity."

I'm wondering if the "... and that ..." in the second sentence could be replaced with "... which ..." and which should be preferred, if any.


texts: Does British English have a word for dry, starchy savoury snacks that are not fried slices of potato?

texts:
Everyone, the world over, enjoys savoury snacks, particularly dry, starchy ones. Far and away the most popular kind in the Anglosphere are the ones made from deep-fried (sometimes baked) thinly-sliced potato (sometimes other root vegetables), almost always salted, and very often flavoured in some way. In Britain, we call these crisps, whilst in America, they call them chips.

However, there are dry, starchy, savoury snacks that are not these. There are (taking UK examples) Twiglets, Mini Cheddars, Quavers, Skips, Cheesy Wotsits, tortilla chips, Hula Hoops, Scampi Fries, small rice cakes, pretzels, various Phileas Fogg thingies, etc. They are made of potato, maize, wheat, or frankly who knows what (wood pulp?), with plenty of salt and vegetable oil thrown in to ensure deliciousness. I wouldn't call these crisps.

So what can I call them? There is snack, but that is a much more general term, that just means a small amount of food eaten between meals. Do we have a word for these things or not?

A New Zealander friend calls all these things "chips, bro", but that doesn't seem at all right to me. However, it did set me to wondering if we had an equivalent term.


texts:
Can I start a sentence with "For the last ten years...?" and do I need to put a comma after that.
For instance, "For the last ten years, I have been doing my PhD".
I am grateful for your help.


texts:
What is the difference between available from and available on?

Do the following sentences have a different meaning?

  Check the information available from [URL of a web page].
  Check the information available on [URL of a web page].

My interpretation is that they mean, respectively:

Check the information you find in that page, and in any page with a link in that page.
Check the information you find in that page.

Is that a correct interpretation? Is it the current meaning?


texts: Which one is correct? (Usage of "reach" vs. "arrive")

texts:
The boys are about to reach.
The boys are about to arrive.

When should I use reach and when should I use arrive?


texts: A person who finds peace or pleasure in seeing other people in same trouble that he is in

texts:
Consider a person who is in pain, sad and in a difficult position/situation, and finds another man in the same situation and feels happy. What would we call such a person?

There is a word having its roots in German, "schadenfreude", which means "to derive pleasure from someone else's misfortune", but this does not fit exactly here as schadenfreude does not take the situation of the subject into consideration.

It cannot be sadism either, as that is when the person revels in inflicting pain.

There is a sense of camaraderie in this situation where the person relates to the pain of the others and somehow his own pain is alleviated.

Is there a more precise word to fit the bill?


texts: Is ''If I knew, I would have told you" a correct use of conditionals

texts: I was wondering if one could use if + past simple / would + have + past participle.


texts: Name of fastening metal pieces holding the cardboard back to a picture frame?

texts: What do you call those thin metal pieces that fold to fasten the cardboard back on a picture frame?


texts: Would it be proper to state "I countermand you to...."?

texts:
As in,

He commanded you to go to hills.  But I countermand you to go to the hills.
(to convey the "go to the hills" order being revoked/overridden)

I know the use of countermand in this context is awkward, but grammatically, is it correct? Or perhaps I should ask -- does the second sentence "make sense," even if it's unconventional usage of the word "countermand"?


texts:
The following was taken from a book.

  ...and it may be that on the list of martyrs will yet shine the name
  of some faithful little reader of this story of St. Dorothea, on whose
  feast-day priests will offer up the Holy Sacrifice in blood red
  vestments, thanking God that America, and the United States, has
  given a martyr to Christ.

Is this a correct way of saying it? Is there a better way of saying the same thing?


texts: Why do the vowels in "finite" change when "in" is added to it

texts:
I just noticed that the vowels in the word "finite" change when the prefix "in" is added to it. Why does this happen? Infinite could easily have been "infainait".

"in" + /ˈfʌɪnʌɪt/ = /ˈɪnfɪnɪt/ both the vowels have changed.

What causes the pronunciation to change?


texts:
The effect of the sensory images is that it renders the pizza in a way
  that makes it sound like it bends the laws of nature, as if it is
  something so revolutionary that one needs to experience it so as to
  truly appreciate its remarkable qualities.

This is a simple and straightforward question — is the second "as if" (the one after the comma) an appropriate way to structure this sentence?


texts: One vs someone, can be used interchangeably?

texts:
I've been searching about the ability to use "one" and "someone" interchangeably but found almost nothing. So what's the difference between them and can they be used interchangeably, for example, in these sentences:

There are numerous things (one, someone) could notice
There is a hidden place (one, someone) might find
If (one, someone) comes up to you and asks....


texts: What is the "man" called at the end of words like "chairman" or "sportsman" etc.? I thought it may be a suffix but that's a morpheme with no meaning on its own such as "ful" or "ly".


texts: "I would have given you everything I have."

texts: I've run across this sentence on a language learning forum, and it claims to be an example of perfect tense.  It's been many years since I've had a formal grammar lesson, but this appears to me to be a disagreement of tense, between "would have given" (past) and "everything I have" (present).  I do not see how in the past one could have given what one now possesses in the present.  Am I simply misremembering this usage, or is this sentence in fact confused?


texts:
As already written in the title, I need help on how to write the following:

  A exploration on Levy alpha-stable distributions

or

  A exploration of Levy alpha-stable distributions

In an other context:

  A exploration on the Poisson distribution

or

  A exploration of the Poisson distribution

Can anyone tell me what the right choice is?


texts: Why is 'sheep' the same when talking about one or more than one?

texts: I am trying to find out why sheep has the plural sheep. I have found different explanations, such as, "it is because they were seen as uncountable, as in 'a herd of sheep'", "because it comes from German, which does not have the plural 's'" and that it is because it is a neutral Old English noun which does not change in the plural. Does anyone have the right explanation?


texts: How to express this sentence in another way?

texts:
I have a sentence:

The covariance across neighboring elements is not informative about the cognitive function under examination.

I want to express this in another way. Please give me a help! Thanks!


texts: How does the word "gas" relate to cheating and deception?

texts: According to A Collection of College Words & Customs by Benjamin Homer Hall, written in 1856 I believe, gas is defined as cheating or deceiving someone. Any ideas why that may be?


texts:
I'm interested in the following question:

I want to visit where my grandmother was born.

To me it seems like a noun clause because I could replace the clause with a noun. For example:

I want to visit Ireland.

Is this the correct way to check?

The definition I read for an adverbial clause states that Adverbial clauses of place modify the main verb in the sentence and provide information about the place that an action takes place. This definition has confused me about the difference between a noun clause and an adverbial clause.

How about the following sentences:

We can go wherever you want.

You can show me where it is.

Thanks for your help.

Patrick.


texts: Words for adding to beginning and end of list, and beginning and end of node

texts:
Say, I have a small list of numbers: [2,4]. (I'm using a bit of math/code notation, but the idea is the same)

If I were to add '0' to the beginning I would have [0,2,4]. I believe this is known as a prepend.

If I were to add '5' to the end I would have [0,2,4,5]. I believe this is known as an append (postpend?).

If I were to add '1' before '2' I would have [0,1,2,4]. I'm not so sure, but believe this might be a prefix.

If I were to add '3' after '2' I would have [0,1,2,3,4]. I'm not so sure, but believe this might be a suffix (postfix?).

Thoughts? Corrections?


texts: Different dictionary in New South Wales, Australia?

texts:
My writing textbook on page 446 says this:

  Use local conventions regarding punctuation, spelling, and mechanics. Be aware that these conventions differ from place to place, even in the English speaking world. For instance, the Australian state of New South Wales uses a different dictionary for spelling than all the other Australian states.

I can't seem to find anything backing up the statement about the dictionary. The author does not appear to cite his source for this information.

In short, does New South Wales really use their own dictionary?

The textbook is Markel, Mike. Technical Communication. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. Print.


texts: At least two or more: Not always redundant?

texts:
At least two or more

Is the “or more” bit above ever not redundant? Seems absolutely redundant to me, but it gets about 170 million Google hits, and many from government sites and university sites.


texts:
In email correspondence with my team I use the wording and punctuation:

  Could you please handle this.

As a polite form of:

  Please handle this.

To be clear, it is an assignment, this is not a question. Is this usage normal? Are there rules against it. Am I perceived as rude?


texts: Can we regard "lecture" as a monomorphemic word in Modern English?

texts: Judging by the derivative chain lecture appears to be the root itself (comp. lecture, lectur-er, lecture-ship, un-lectur-ed etc.). But I'm not sure if it can be divided by analogy with failure (to fail), creature (to create), departure (to depart) etc. The question is whether "lecture" functions as a monomorphemic or bimorphemic word in Modern English.


texts: Idiom for "what is apparent may not be the truth"

texts:
Is there an idiom or phrase for "what is apparent may not be the truth"

The use context is: You may see XYZ in zooming off in a Ferrari. But that is only because s/he works in the dealership as a mechanic.


texts: Is Shakespeare's Double Negative Grammatically Wrong?

texts:
In Act I Scene I of The Merchant of Venice Shakespeare's character Salarino uses a double negative in the phrase Not in love neither?, is this grammatically wrong or was this acceptable at the time?

[Antonio is sad, his friend Salarino tries to cheer him up]

  SALARINO
  Why, then you are in love.
  ANTONIO
  Fie, fie!
  SALARINO
  Not in love neither? Then let us say you are sad,
  Because you are not merry: and 'twere as easy
  For you to laugh and leap and say you are merry,
  Because you are not sad.

(Shakespeare.mit)

I have looked around a bit and in most modern and old Romance Languages, some Germanic Languages and Old English1 double negation is simply used to reinforce a negative or simply to make it grammatically correct, so it is possible that Shakespeare intended for it to mean a negative2 - as opposed to the more modern double negative = positive. However, from the context, it would seem that Shakespeare intends this to mean the modern equivalent of 'Not in love either?'; ruling out that answer.

Alternatively, this could be litotes, which is used to understate a piece of speech or simply a classic Shakespearian mistake.

Using this as context, would this sort of double negation be common or even understood?

Would it have been grammatically correct then?

Footnotes:

1: Honestly, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese , Greek and Latin, Afrikaans, Some dialects of Old English and Welsh

2: http://nfs.sparknotes.com/merchant/page_4.html 'translates' the Shakespeare to say You’re not in love either? backing up the negative intention view. (Thanks to @Keep these mind for raising this)


texts: What's the English equivalent of "it's the master's eye that makes the mill go"?

texts:
I'm trying to find out the English version of this saying, which in Italian is:
"L'occhio del padrone ingrassa il cavallo,"

And in Spanish is: "El ojo del amo engorda el ganado".

The idea is that if you want to get something done properly, like a successful business for example, you have to take care of it yourself. You can't let someone else do it, because they won't do it as good as you.

I've seen it in English as "It's the master's eye that makes the mill go", but it doesn't seem to be very common. Very little reference to that online.

Do you know a more used phrase for this idea?


texts: "Personal Objective Pronouns" vs "Objective Pronouns"?

texts:
Are these referring to the same words? I see them used around interchangebly. Also for the rest of the pronoun types eg:
- I believe the following are synonyms too: "Subjective Pronouns" "Subject Pronouns" "Personal Subject Pronouns" etc.
How is one supposed to be great in grammar when the structure is so loose?


texts: What is the difference between travel and travelling?

texts: I would like to ask whether someone can explain the exact difference between 'travel' and 'travelling' to me. Some dictionaries say that travelling is an adjective but other dictionaries say that travelling could be a noun, too. I have not found any answers regarding my question yet, so it would be great if someone can help me here.


texts:
I'm looking for a word that can describe a long-term inhabitant (inhabitant is the best I've come up with so far) of a hospital.

Specifically, a soldier living (retained? - again, word might fit here too) in a War Hospital not long after the First World War, however the answer doesn't have to take into account the time period, as I feel there is a word at the back of my mind I simply cannot find right now which means "inhabitant of hospital."

I'd like to be able to use it to complete this sentence:

  The gravel pathway was bordered by short, waist-height shrubberies behind which were the colourful flowerbeds intended to pacify the hospital's ________.


texts: What are usages similar to "Need I say more?"?

texts:
I recall hearing usages like

  Need I say more?
  Need I remind you that ...?

instead of

  Do I need to say more?
  Do I need to remind you that ...?

Indeed, they sound better, at least to me. I wonder whether there are more usages like this or not. Is this special to the verb need or are there similar usages like these?


texts: A synonym for "sensationalised" that is suitable for reading

texts:
I have to prepare a 1min response based on a question of "What’s a difference between a busy body asking questions and a critical thinker asking questions?"

I am using the current introduction.

What’s the difference between questions from critical thinkers and questions from mere busybodies? The first difference is busybodies would not ask this question. In this era where any information can be obtained at our fingertips, critical thinking is the ability to discern logical fallacies from any form of sensationalised media.

Busybodies mainly ask elaborating and clarifying questions, and the answers to these why’s and how’s can easily be found.  [Cut off]

As I have to speak in a minute, words with long syllabuses like "sensationalised" are definitely difficult to deal with, particularly with my weak English standards. Is there a suitable synonym to replace it or is there a better way to replace the entire sentence to be suitable for speaking.


texts: How to take the gender of an anonymous person into consideration?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Gender neutral pronoun

Very often, I find myself writing about a user, an anonymous person whose gender I don't know.

Right after mentioning this abstract user, I need to make a reference to the said person, and I often end up using he/she, as a shorter version of he or she.

Example:

  Note that the user may get confused by
  the fact that green button turns red
  when he/she presses the blue button.

And then I need to make another reference in another sentence right after that, and I find it heavy to write he/she again... So I write he.

I am confused by this because in French, every single noun has a gender. We don't have any neuter. Utilisateur, which means user in French, is masculine. Whereas personne is feminine.

So I don't have this problem in French. If I talk about a user then I can say he. If I talk about a person, I say she.

But how to deal properly and elegantly with this situation in English?

Is it acceptable to say he, as when one says man while talking about both men and women in general?


texts:
A geometry test asks a student to find the length of two pairs of line segments and then instructs the student to

  tell whether they are congruent for each pair.

Is the student obligated to tell if a pair is not congruent, or only if the pair is congruent?


texts:
Take the following text into account:

  These airstrikes would not only be punishment for Assad's use of
  chemical weapons against civilians amid the three-year-long Syrian
  Uprising (according to the Obama administration), but would also serve
  another purpose - to protect U.S. personnel in the case being where
  the ISIS, otherwise known as the Islamic State, were to be involved.

I was wondering, does the phrase "in the case being" make sense here in the context it is being used in? If not, what would be a better alternative?

Also, is the phrase "as per" more professional than simply using "according to"? If that's the case, would I use:

(as per the Obama administration)...

or

(per the Obama administration)...

EDIT:

I think instead of "in the case being," "in the case" would be good enough. However, I would still appreciate some feedback on this. Also, would "in the case being" make sense?


texts: Why is "xxxx doth not a yyyy make" considered valid English?

texts:
Reading doth not a writer make.

This sounds all wrong so why it is acceptable to use?
The word order looks to be all out sequence (Object-Subject-Verb).
It should be "reading does not make you a writer" (Object-Verb-Subject).

And if this is Shakespearian,  when and how did the word order in English change?


texts: Is there an American term for a group of elitist schools, similar to the abbreviation “Oxbridge”?

texts:
I saw the word, ‘Oxbridge’, a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, in a comment to a question  asking for a better word for ‘invigilator’:

  Whereas the situation is reversed in the UK, and one in a thousand would recognize proctor -- although even the one in a thousand would be the one who went to Oxbridge and would give it a different meaning altogether.

We have the abbreviation “東大一ツ橋” (Todaihitotsubashi) combining the names of Tokyo University and Hitotsubashi University, both national universities, as a symbolic phrase  of elitist schools, though I don’t know why Hitotsubashi University singly skewed to economics was paired to Tokyo University out of 783 universities and colleges (in 2012) in Japan.

In the sports area, we have the word “早慶” (Sohkei), an abbreviated combination of Waseda University and Keio University, both private universities excelling in baseball, rugby, soccer and many other sports, as well as in academic achievement.

Is there an American counterpart of “Oxbridge”, “Sohkei”  and “Todaihitotsubashi,” or does “Yale-Harvard” suffice?


texts: What can "look north" mean in a sentence?

texts:
I have a question. It starts with a sentence: Bitcoin Price Looks North After Passing $6.4K Resistance.
What does 'look north' mean in this sentence?

Below is the URL if you wish to read more about the article to understand the word.
https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-indicator-turns-bullish-for-first-time-in-8-months/


texts:
If I were a dog, I’d bark all day.
If I was a dog, I’d bark all day

Thanks in advance for your precious answers.


texts: Are there any cases where "prepend" cannot be replaced by "prefix"?

texts:
"Prepend" is seeing a fair amount of use, both in programmer jargon and elsewhere.
Its use seems to come from a desire to create a word that is a direct parallel to "append."

However, such a word already exists in "prefix."

They seem to need to be used differently:

  To dial an outside line, prepend a 9 to your number.

versus

  To dial an outside line, prefix the number with 9.

Are there any cases where "prefix" cannot be used in place of "prepend"?
Any other insights into this word and its origins?


texts: Comparing Grammar of Two Forms of A Quote

texts:
First of all, I am not a native English speaker, so sorry if this question seems very basic for some of you.
Among the following two quotes, which grammar would make more sense, and why:
1- original:
"Respect the old when you are young. Help the weak when you are strong. confess the fault when you are Wrong. Because one day in life you will be old, weak and wrong."
2- my correction:
"Respect the old when you are young. Help the weak when you are strong. confess the Fault when you are Wrong. Because one day in life you will be old, weak and wronged."
The quote has three main parts:
1- Respect the old when you are young because one day in life you will be old (so you want others to respect you)
2- Help the weak when you are strong because onde day in life you will be weak. (so you want others to help you)
3- Confess the fault when you are wrong because one day in life you will be (wrong/wronged). (so you want others to confess their fault)
For some reason, I feel using 'wronged' instead of 'wrong' makes more sense?


texts: "Left as an exercise for the reader" vs. "to the reader"

texts:
I think the most common is "X is left as an exercise for the reader", but it looks like both are in use.

Is the "to" variant correct? If not, why?


texts: Differences between "sleeper" and "dark horse"

texts:
I was wondering what the differences are between sleeper and dark horse.

Are they interchangeable while having similar meanings?

Are there other similar words?


texts:
Choose the correct pronoun to complete the sentence.

  No other boy in our neighborhood runs as fast as (he, him).

Choose the correct pronoun to complete the sentence.

  Who could make spaghetti better than (she, her)?

Choose the correct pronoun to complete the sentence.

  The book about the history of pencils was more interesting to you than to (he, him).


texts: In Apple's Dictionary app, what is the name of these characters?

texts:
I have been using Apple's dictionary app on my Mac, could someone tell me what the formal name of the characters are next to word 'Causation' in the screenshot and what is their purpose?

http://i.stack.imgur.com/bK2bD.png


texts: "These findings are critical [to inform/for informing] future research"

texts:
In this sentence, would you use "to inform" or "for informing"?

  These findings are critical ______ future research

Likewise, would you use "to understand" or "for understanding" in the following?

  These results provide a powerful framework _____ existing patterns.

This is a question that comes up a lot in science writing: when do you use the "to" vs. the "for" version of a verb? Is there a word for these two different uses?

And is there a rule for deciding which one is correct? They often get used interchangeably, but I can't find any hard rules for deciding between the two.

People often use the "to" version because it sounds less passive, but I find it more ambiguous and a bit clunky, but I can't find any actual sources to say which is correct.


texts: Writing a proper sentence as a honor in a CV

texts:
Assume a student reaches rank 10 among 20 students in a final competition. The competition composes several steps and the initial number of participants is about 300,000, but only the first best 20 students are selected.
If this student wants to add this honor in his/her CV, what sentence properly describes this honor?
For example, these two following are my suggestions:
1) Ranked in top 20 students in Competition X (competition name is placed at X)

2) Ranked among the top 20 students in Competition X.


texts: Article use in "this computer has 8GB RAM" or "this computer has an 8GB RAM"?

texts:
Which of the following pair of alternatives is correct:

This computer has an 8GB RAM.
This computer has 8GB RAM.

Should the article an be there?


texts: Is it ok nowadays to say numbers instead of digits, while expressing a sum?

texts: ( example: 2345 - these four numbers make the sum..) or must I say digits?


texts: What is a descriptor that means "quick at visually locating or identifying"?

texts:
If someone could quickly find a word in a large block of text, or were really quick at Where's Waldo? books, what is a concise descriptor you could use to express that quality?

I used to think this was visual acuity, but that doesn't seem to be the case:

  NOUN

  Sharpness of vision, measured by the ability to discern letters or numbers at a given distance according to a fixed standard.


texts: Should I place a comma or "and" between the adjectives "frequent" & "new"?

texts: I have a phrase "Frequent Automatic Renewals". Must there be a comma, or should I separate them with an "and"?


texts: Is "Zielerreichungsgrad" a word that is used in English?

texts:
I'm currently writing my thesis in English, and my professor told me that the German word "Zielerreichungsgrad" (Degree of goal achievement) is used in English.
Can anyone tell me if that's correct?
Thanks in advance!


texts: omitting one of "the more"s in "the more... the more..." structure

texts:
I'd like to know if a sentence like this is grammatically correct:

  The problem puzzled me the more I thought about it.

According to this answer The more...the more structure with normal clause?, there is an implied "the more":

  The more I thought about it, [the more] the problem puzzled me.

But is the original sentence acceptable and grammatically correct?
Thank you very much.


texts: What do you call someone who is easily influenced?

texts:
I am looking for a term with bad connotation. I am aware of the popular terms like "he/she has no personality", pliable, malleable, weak-minded but i couldn't find any more on the insulting side. It could be an idiom or a single word.
For example:

I just bought this bag yesterday and he came today with a new
one too

He never talks to her and now he does –just because I did in the morning. He is such a ____


texts:
I would like to know what the grammatical construct "kind of + v" is?

  I kind of like cold weather

or

  I kind of eat everything".


texts: Why don't Americans write "devor" instead of "devour"?

texts: Why don't Americans write devor instead of devour to be consistent with the pervasiveness of using variations such as color and armor?


texts: How to interpret the expression "of any city" in this sentence?

texts:
(thinkquest)

  London itself is a living museum, with more than 2,000 years of history and culture. But it also boasts one of the greatest concentrations of significant museums (more than 100) of any city in the world.

In the second sentence, how to interpret the expression "of any city"? Does it refer to "museums of almost every city in the world" or "museums that cannot be compared by any city in the world"? Why? It seems that I cannot find a proper explanation for either interpretation. In other words, I even think this sentence is not correct. Can anyone tell me which expression or word in the sentence is around with the expression "of any city"?


texts:
These two attitudes are no more
  contradictory than those two.

Which of the following interpretations is right (or give me a better one if possible):

Relatively, these two attitudes are not more contradictory than those two; however, it is unknown, from the statement, how contradictory those two are or whether those two are contradictory at all.
Those two attitudes are not contradictory, and these two are not either; it is not about the comparison between the contradiction of these two and that of those two.


texts: Alternative single word for "in demand"?

texts:
Is there any alternative single word for the phrase "in demand"?
Because I couldn't find the word demandable as an adjective in any dictionary. The word demanding means strenuous.
For example:

This car is demandable (incorrect, "demandable" doesnt exist)
This car is in demand (correct)

Also:

A demandable car (incorrect, "demandable" doesnt exist)
A car in demand (correct)


texts: What type of accent does this person have?

texts:
My friend has lived in Kenya for the first 8 years of his life and the United States for 2 & 1/2 years. He's been in Ireland since 2009.
He is auditioning for a voiceover job on the radio and they would like him to describe his accent. I had a hard time pinning it down.
https://vocaroo.com/aKPfKojiOvC


texts: Name for idea that if a concept is confusing you then you are starting to understand it

texts:
I feel like I've heard a term for this concept before, perhaps in the form of "(Person)'s Law"...
The notion that, only if a person finds a given concept bizarre/confusing/paradoxical are they really starting to understand it.
Examples of concepts that this can apply to: quantum physics, relativity...


texts: What is the origin of != in the meaning "not equal to"?

texts: As a programmer I have always assumed that using != as meaning not equal to when writing text (usually on the internet) came from programming languages. Is this true or is the origin different?


texts:
Intriguity as in "the state of being intrigued; curiosity"?

I saw it being used by writers multiple times, but now that I wanted to use it myself, I tried searching it up in the dictionaries and found only one that has an entry for this word.


texts:
Most people seem to stumble over this. The problem can arise with any multi-word phrase that needs a possessive but ends in S, and so sounds awkward using the clitic apostrophe-S. I've heard this particular one variously rendered as:

You guys'
You guys's
Your guys' / your guy's

What's you guys...your...guises...what's your take on it?


texts: There is a period of radical transformation as political and economic uncertainty rise or rises?

texts: I think it's pretty clear from the title. I don't know if I should be using the singular or plural form of 'to rise'. Thank you.


texts: Usage of "nonetheless" and "nevertheless"

texts:
Person A: "Is it just because you think I am sad, that you want to talk with me?"

Person B: "No, I want to talk with you _______."

In the blank, which word is correct: "nonetheless" or "nevertheless"? Also, can you give an example of the usage?


texts: Is there a term which covers ATM cards, credit cards, and debit cards?

texts:
I work in accommodation for international travelers, and people can pay with various kinds of cards:

In some countries such as USA, credit cards are very common, but debit cards are not so common.
In other regions such as Europe, most people have debit cards, but credit cards are quite a bit less common.
These days in Australia both kinds of cards are very common.

Often customers are confused when I ask if they want to pay (or make a reservation) with credit card because they know they have a debit card and not a credit card. And there are other kinds of cards like ATM cards and EFTPOS cards. These can be used for payment but not for making reservations because they cannot be charged without access to the physical cards.

I've taken to using the circumlocution "Mastercard or Visa card", but I wonder if there's a better term? For instance Maestro cards are related to Mastercards and usually work here too.

All the cards have the same form factor and either/both a magnetic strip and/or smartcard chip. They are all processed with the same machine.

A few weeks ago I stumbled across the term "payment card" on Wikipedia, that I couldn't recall hearing before. I thought this would be the right term, but it seems not to include ATM cards so I guess I should rule it out ...

(My second reason for looking for this term is to decide on which tag or tags to use for such cards over on travel.SE, where we currently only have a credit-cards tag, but more and more questions about the other kinds of cards too.)


texts: Is it acceptable to use a rare root word of a common inflected form?

texts:
I have two questions.

The word "reprehensible" is very common, but for some reason the root form "reprehend" is almost nonexistent. What is the reason behind this phenomenon?

And, if one understand the meaning of "reprehensible", then surely he should also know the meaning of its root word. Then would a native speaker find me to be a try-hard if I use "reprehend" instead of "criticise" or other common words?


texts:
I was reading the newspaper today, there I found this:

What is the use of the word 'soap' in this context? I am not a native speaker, and as far as I know, 'soap' only means the substance prepared from fat/oil that we use to wash our hands.


texts: Proverb/phrase for using a tool/process not intended for its purpose

texts:
I couldn't come up with a better title.  So I have one of my colleague using a wrong tool/process to achieve something that this tool/process is not intended for.  So basically its going to be inefficient and probably a failure.

I am trying to find a quote/proverb/phrase for these kind of situation.

Cheers


texts: What is the figure of speech for a word with a hidden meaning

texts:
I took a phrase "Change is inevitable"  and got it engraved on a money or coin box..as a gift to a friend who is relocating.I was impressed at myself coming up with it..Change as in difference and change  in terms of money ( keep the change).I am clueless what's the figure of speech of this word change.I would love to find more of it.

Thanks,
Geetha


texts:
Which one is correct or preferred?

The command /reload is... < some description >
The /reload command is... < some description >


texts: I hear "dayta" more often, but what's the correct pronunciation?


texts: "There are two parts on this spreadsheet" vs. "there are two parts in this spreadsheet"

texts:
There are two parts on this spreadsheet
  There are two parts in this spreadsheet

Which is grammatical? And what is the preferred usage?
By parts I mean some data or information（pictures, production's name, etc.).


texts:
Should there by a comma in the sentence:

  On that day in late September I went to look at puppies.


texts:
I usually use "glacial" to denote something as very slow-moving, but this time I am actually talking about a glacier so it can't be "the glacial glacier".

These are the synonyms of "glacial" (They all mean cold)

These are for "slow-moving", but none seem to actually imply the persistent slow movement of a glacier.


texts:
My friend and I had a long debate over a particular phrase. We wanted to know if either of us planned to attend an event arranged somewhere at a future date. Neither of us was hosting the event.

She asked me "would you come to event?" I told her she should phrase the question as "would you go to event?"

Does "would you come" indicate that she plans to attend that event and is just asking me to accompany her?

I'm not sure which is correct. Can someone clarify?


texts: Which is more correct, "Which one do you want?" or "What one do you want?"

texts:
Which of the following is correct?

  Which one do you want?
  What one do you want?


texts: Another way to say the max and min number

texts: I've been writing a program and I often come across naming variables that store the maximum and minimum value in a set of data. Is there any word that means both the max and minimum values of something? Right now the only word I can think of describing this is "outlier" but I feel that implies that that particular set of data is much farther away from the other points and I simply feel there is a better word out there to use. Thanks for any suggestions in advance :)


texts: Is it grammatically right even though a comparative isn't used?

texts:
Semantically, syntactically, and linguistically, is it right that a comparative isn't used as in 'I'm cute than her?'

I think it's just related with usage or choice of a word, so there's no problem with that.


texts: If "string theory" and "M-theory" are not tested yet, should they be read as "string hypothesis", "M-hypothesis"?

texts:
I came across this question on Yahoo! Answers:

Should M-theory read, M-hypothesis?
It being limited evidence for further investigation, perhaps not yet a theory.

I responded thus:
(I realise the words "use" and "usage" are.. ahem.. overused. Please disregard this stylistic concern.)

I believe this use of the word "theory" reflects an overlap in mathematics and theoretical physics.
In mathematics, the word "theory" is used informally to refer to "a self-consistent body of definitions, axioms, theorems, examples, and so on" (reference). Examples of this usage include "field theory" and "group theory".
This differs from the scientific use of the word "theory" to mean "an extensively tested hypothesis".
I believe the use of the word "theory" here is a purposeful reference to the fact that the inventors were interested in laying a mathematical foundation for their model.
Note that "string theory" has the exact same usage. In fact, the usage seems to be quite rampant throughout theoretical physics.

However, that's quite possibly just a way to rationalise what is actually carelessness on the part of scientists using the terms. It may not even fit with the facts; my knowledge of theoretical physics is admittedly slim.
Can anyone give any support for or against my explanation? I found this blog entry wherein commenter James Reed chalks it up to a combination of carelessness and an alternate definition of "theory" as "a model being developed by a theorist" (which is similar to the informal mathematical definition, I think).


texts:
What is the difference between the three terms: surname, family name and last name?

Do they mean the same?

Or are there any particular contexts wherein one is more appropriate than the other?


texts: Do "getting into..." and "getting interested in..." mean the same?

texts:
How did you get into it?

  How did you get interested in it?

Do the examples above mean the same?


texts:
I am looking for idiom or a phrase I can use to describe rotational support process. The process explained as follows:

Week 1: team member A and team member B are in charge of supporting group 1. Team member C and team member D are in charge of supporting group 2
Week 2: team member D and team member A are in charge of supporting group 1. Team member B and team member C are in charge of supporting group 2
Week 3: team member C and team member D are in charge of supporting group 1. Team member A and team member B are in charge of supporting group 2
continue

This reminds me of rolling forcasts in finance and rolling-window in Computer. However, I am looking for an idiom/phrase which I can use for day-to-day work (not field specific). Is there any?


texts: 'I was using', 'I have used', 'I have been using', 'I had used' - what is the difference amongst these?

texts:
First, is my question right? Does amongst fit here?

Please differentiate the above phrases.


texts: I'm looking for some expressions that mean "same thing" or "same difference". Can you guys post some?


texts:
I am still a little confused as to what tense I am using when I say

  She has had a lot of bad luck lately

Am I using the past simple with the present perfect and had as an auxiliary verb? Could someone give me a link that loosens this point up a little?


texts: Why is it "get out of hand," but "out of one's hands"

texts:
One has a plural noun, the other singular.

There seem to be several idiom pairs/related idioms with inconsistent grammatical number. I am also thinking "on the fringe" and "on the fringes."


texts: My glasses has "prescription?" (comparing with fashion glasses) What is a better/correct term?

texts:
I know you can say prescription glasses but how do you say it in this sentence:

My eyeglasses has ______.

My eyeglasses is _______.

if you want to compare it with fashion eyeglasses (regular lenses not for shortsightedness or farsightedness)

In my country we call it "grado" (grade) and "walang grado" (no grade)

Ang salamin ko ay may grado. = My eyeglasses has grado.

Some people from my country incorrectly say

"My eyeglasses has a grade. / My eyeglasses are graded." / "I have graded eyeglasses."

Is it okay to say "My eyeglasses has/have prescription."


texts: Is there a term for "one who sees people in terms of their 'race/ethnicity', but isn't hateful"?

texts:
I'm searching for an English word (or short phrase) that means "one who sees people in terms of their 'race/ethnicity', but isn't hateful".

I've searched for such a term, but haven't found one.


texts: How to understand "You don't get no coffee"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Are double negatives ever appropriate in English?

  "You don't get no coffee"

I feel like the above sentence is a bit confusing to understand. What's the exact meaning of it? Should we say we can get coffee, or we simply can't?


texts:
In this sentence: "Bakken is the world's oldest tivoli", must tivoli be capitalized ?
My program's atleast trying to make me think I must.


texts:
Sometimes I read a sentence containing the word canonical, but I cannot find appropriate meaning of the word.

For example, in this link:

  Returns a canonical representation for the string object.

It's hard for me to find an appropriate definition from Google:

  ca·non·i·cal Adjective   /kəˈnänikəl/

  According to or ordered by canon law

  the canonical rites of the Roman Church

  Included in the list of sacred books officially accepted as genuine

  the canonical Gospels of the New Testament

  Accepted as being accurate and authoritative

  the canonical method of comparative linguistics

  (of an artist or work) Belonging to the literary or artistic canon

  canonical writers like Jane Austen

  According to recognized rules or scientific laws

  canonical nucleotide sequences

  Of or relating to a general rule or standard formula
  Of or relating to a cathedral chapter or a member of it


texts: Using comma to set off clauses that are not essential to the meaning of another clause that is not essential of the meaning of a sentence

texts:
I was wondering if it was allowed, and how to distinguish which clause or sentence a clause is adding a nonessential information to.
Let's use the following example:
The windy streets, that have been torn apart by the demons(1), strangely reminiscent of the barbaric men this country has defended for years(2), have been rebuilt from the ground up by the new government.
(1) complements the windy streets have been rebuilt from the ground up
(2) complements that have been town apart by the demons
Is this allowed? Is there any way to make it clear which clause a clause is complementing?


texts: From the dictionary, it looks like it's some kind of ritual one does for luck, but I still cannot figure out when one would really knock on wood.


texts: Looking for an idiom for expressing difficulties at an early stage of a process

texts:
In Hebrew there's an expression to describe this - "Labor Pains"
It expresses the difficulties experienced in the very first stages of a long process.
For example, the difficulties experienced at the beginning of every new relationship that later will be bridged once one get to know each other.
I am looking for a similar idiom in English.
Please note, "burning pancakes" and "first crepe always comes out wrong" is not appropriate here. These rather describe the difficulties in the first tries of a repetitive process.
Thanks!


texts:
I'm a little confused about telling which of the three sentences below are correct:

1- why are you still awake in this late time?

2- why are you still awake at this late time?

3- why are you still awake until this late time?


texts: Is "a total of 10 payments" singular or plural?

texts:
A total of 10 payments were made.

OR

  A total of 10 payments was made.

Which is correct? Or can both be correct?


texts: What word would you use to describe a person who is highly judgemental or critical of everything, but also is highly outspoken

texts: On searching,I came across "self assertive " and "opinionated" . But neither of them seems to answer the query , fully .


texts:
What does mean a sentence "Intervention that has yet to be a total success"?

Does it mean the success is not total or that there will be total success soon?
Or the total success was planned but difficult to achieve?


texts: Comma usage in introductory sentences like "for the first two years"

texts:
My Office Word programme says that a comma is required in both the following sentences where included (according to Word, these use introductory 'sentences'). However, as English learners, we are unsure in our group whether it is neccessary in each of these sentences.

(1) For the first two years of doing business, we generated our income
through a commission we charge on every order.

(2) With the extension towards more business partners, we estimate dramatically raising costs as well as turnovers.

We appreciate your help. Thank you in advance.
Greetings from Germany.


texts:
I am trying to phrase this: "We don't have any other choice but to be responsible citizens" as "We have but a choice to be responsible citizens". Is this correct? Or have I said exactly the opposite?

It would be great if someone could explain "have but a" phrase more elaborately.

Thank you!


texts:
Is it grammatically okay to omit the "to" in the following sentence?

1) Put something back to where it belongs

2) Put something back where it belongs

What's the difference between them? which one of them is grammatically correct?

Similarly we have these 2 sentences

3) Go back to where you came from

4) Go back where you came from

any help will be appreciated


texts:
Sometimes I found it written as "WebPages" and sometimes it is "Web Pages" ..
I'm confused should it be written as one word or two words ?!


texts: What is the idiom/phrase you can use when someone tells you to do (the work) that he is assigned to do (in reality it is assigned to him)?

texts:
What is the idiom/phrase you can use when someone tells you to do (the work) that he is assigned to do (in reality it is assigned to him).

For example:

XYZ company is located in Harbor port premises in Dubai city.

Mike - officer at XYZ company.

Joe  - the Security Administrator XYZ company and works at the harbor port gate.

Mike (calls joe on his extension at the gate): Hello Mr. Joe.
I have these 3 gentlemen flying in from London to Dubai by flight # 9W-216 tomorrow morning. They are coming to visit us. They need to enter the harbor port security gate at 10:00 am. Just check whether their gate passes are still valid. They had visited us last week so it must be still valid.

Joe answers: Ok, let me see.

Joe sends the entire spreadsheet with the list of people who have valid
gate-passes to Mike by email.

Mike (after receiving the list, again calls Joe): Joe, whats this list for ?

Joe: You can check in the list for their names.

Here It is Joe's job to do the checking. But he unintelligently dumps the list to check for the men on to Mike. Mike like to respond to him by saying,

Joe you are __________
or
Jor you cannot ___________.

PS: For Joe its seems a simple task that Mike can do, while Joe simply misses the fact that its a gross inconsistency on his part (thinking) to expect it from Mike which could mean in principle and considering this example in its extremities that Joe could get away without doing any job and still get paid. This usually occurs when foot-in-the-door requests go haywire.


texts: Please explain the meaning of "appreciation" in the enclosed sentence

texts:
Reactions to German Idealism, especially those of the neo-Kantians, logical positivists and Bertrand Russell, were also instrumental in the founding of analytic philosophy, which today reveals and benefits from an increasingly sophisticated appreciation of the European philosophical tradition.

what does the bold part of that sentence exactly mean?


texts:
I study English and I ran into a problem.
What version is correct:
"no problem" or "no problems"?

P.S. Is "ran into a problem" correct?
P.P.S. Is version correct word for this situation? May be "variant"?


texts: Gerund vs Present Participle: "I was thinking about eating the apple."

texts:
A quick question that has popped up from talking with my German pen-pal. In the sentence:

  I was thinking about eating the apple.

Is eating there a gerund or a present participle?

If it is just:

  I was thinking about eating.

then that seems like a gerund to me. But adding the apple at the end has me confused.


texts:
I'd like to know what the sentence means:

  So, for you to go take the formularies,  you need to turn left right ahead , get beside that line and take one of those and give it to mr. Jeffrey

So, does that mean you have to turn left right now or you need to turn left and go straight on?


texts: "If you or your colleague has" or "If you or your colleague have"?

texts:
Which is correct out of the following two sentences?

If you or your colleague have any questions, let me know
If you or your colleague has any questions, let me know

I was originally thinking that #1 was correct because the sentence would be the following, if the colleague wasn't involved:

If you have any questions, let me know

But then my mind was telling me that perhaps the "or your colleague" bit changes the subject or something, so the sentence could be written as follows, if you weren't involved:

If your colleague has any questions, let me know


texts:
I came across a word plutocracy

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English :

  (a) [U] government by a rich and powerful class

  (b) [C] state governed in this way

I am looking for its opposite word.

I do not think communism or democracy, which have the following definitions, are good.

communism

  social and economic system in which there is no private ownership and
  the means of production belong to all members of society

democracy

  system of government by the whole people of a country, esp through
  representatives whom they elect

Is there any word or phrase which is defined as:  government by a poor class
?


texts: What will happen if I say to my boss, “"I'm not going to kiss your ring and I'm not going to kiss any other part of your anatomy."?

texts:
I was a bit surprized to find the line which was delivered by the former Governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman in December 5th Time magazine. It reads:

“In Fox News interview, Utahan tweaks the Donald, charges the real-estate mogul typifies "what is wrong with politics" and says "if he had any courage at all, he would be running for President." Huntsman: "I'm not going to kiss his ring and I'm not going to kiss any other part of his anatomy."

If he said simply "I'm not going to kiss his ring,” he is simply saying “I’m not fawning him.” But by adding “I'm not going to kiss any other part of his anatomy" I think it comes to have a smack of "pervertedness."

Maybe I’m taking his word wrong way or too serious in interpreting. But in our country, if our politician delivers literally translated words like "I'm not going to kiss his (say, his opponent’s) ring and I'm not going to kiss any other part of his anatomy," in TV, he’ll be frowned by audience, particularly by sensitive women, or it can lead to losing his seat in the worst case.

Is this kind of “anatomy related” rhetoric used by dignitaries just casually, or day-to-day in public and granted as a matter of course in United State?

If I said "I'm not going to kiss your ring and I'm not going to kiss any other part of your anatomy” to my boss, say, president of the company, what would be his reaction? Does he just chuckle, or fire me?


texts:
You wanna know what line doesn't work on a harp player?
“Hey baby, wanna pluck?”

It's a joke from a sitcom. I think I understood its general meaning but I don't understand what a "line on a harp player" is. And pluck?
Thanks for helping me.


texts: What is the word to use to describe the process of a person returning back to the original place after initially migrating to a different place?

texts: A person moves from their original place of residence to another place which we call as migration. What should we say if the person comes back to the same place after a while?


texts: An English equivalent to “débroussailler un projet”

texts:
This week, I was stuck trying to explain to my boss that I started to “débroussailler le projet” (a French expression, literally: remove brushwood from the project). What I meant with this expression is that I already explored some lines, tried several approaches, analyzed important parts, although I've not got to the core yet.

The best I could find, without resorting to complex periphrases, was “to explore the project”, but I believe a better translation exists, closer to what I meant. Any ideas?


texts: Is "…sitting direction to windows…" correct?

texts:
Did I write the following sentence correctly?

  In my office, I'm the only person who has sitting direction to windows, whereas the other staff turn their back to the windows.

I don't want to repeat "window" two times like this, so is there any word I can use here?
Do the native speakers say like that?

Thank you for helping me learning English.


texts: What verbs in English never take nouns as complements, and is there a term for this?

texts:
I can think of only a few verbs like exist and belong that never take ordinary nouns as object complements. (see below)

We never say things like, *She exists a doctor.
Rather, we would say, She exists as a doctor (S+V+pp)

However, we might see an infinitive functioning as an object complement as in, "She exists to heal others". She exists to do something - to heal functions as an object complement. But the infinitive is also quite verbal and could be understood as a clause - she exists, so she can heal others. This is not really about existence per se, but rather the purpose of her existence, and hence this complement phrase really produces a different meaning for the verb. We could simply say, She exists because exist does not require a complement to have complete meaning.

Belong is a little different because it is incomplete, particularly in a bare sentence. Without sufficient context, say, in answer to the question, 'do you belong?' we would rarely if ever just say, 'I belong.' Nor would we say, 'it belongs.' We normally complement this verb with a prepositional phrase or adverb phrase. I belong here, it belongs there, she belongs to the club, it belongs to him, and so on. And we never say things like, the wallet belongs me, or I belong club.

So, back to the original thought, are there any other verbs in English that never take an ordinary noun as a complement, and is there a term for such words?

Here are a few other candidates:

look
sit
fall
live
venture
happen
occur
smile


texts: A query about the use of Generic Reference with nationalities

texts:
In English, generic reference takes three possible forms:

A. Cats are cute.
B. A cat is cute.
C. The cat is cute.

But the names of nationalities seem to me to make an exception to this rule. As far as I know, when referring to all the members of a nation, you can only use the C version: The Italians are musical, or The French are posh, or The British are cold.
Why is it that in this case only C is considered grammatically correct? If all the Italians, or all the French, or all the British are musical, posh, or cold, why can't we also say:

A. *Italians are... // *French are... // *British are...

or

B. *An Italian is... // *A French is... // *A British is...

?


texts: How different is “Nothingness” from “Nothing,” “Emptiness,” “Void,” “Vanity,” "Vacuum," and “Zero”?”

texts:
Pursuant to my previous question on “Fear Factors” in the article of Financial Times (November 23, 2007) -“The ten things everyone should know about science,” there was the following sentence:

  “And what does the future (of the universe) hold? One possibility is
  that everything will come together again in a Big Crunch, after
  countless billion of years. But at the moment cosmologist believe it
  more likely that our universe will expand for ever into a cold,
  desolate nothingness.”

I was interested in the word, “nothingness” as I don’t think I’ve heard it very often.

Is “nothingness” a day-to-day use English word or an academic or technical word to describe such things as an effect of the Big Crunch as being used here? Or can I use it for everything that doesn’t exist?

How does it differ from other words implying the state of nothing exists, for instances, “Emptiness,” “Void,” “Vanity,” "vacuum,"and “Zero”?


texts:
What's the meaning for "six words away"? I heard it repeatedly in the movie Coach Carter.

Edit: In the scene in a bus, when the coach blasts the team for sneaking out to a party without informing him, he says "you are six words away from getting kicked off the bus" or something like that.


texts:
I found this structure in ldoceonline.com but I am a bit confused about it.

Ok,

  to impress somebody with/by something: to make someone feel admiration
  and respect about something (Source)

And the Source has these examples:

Example 1: We were very impressed by the standard of work.

I think the above sentence can be rewritten as

The standard of work impresses us.

So, I think that the "by" in this case is the preposition of passive form

Ok, some of you may say that it can be expressed as:

"The company impresses us by the standard of work." and when changing to passive form, we can omit "by the company".

However, if that is the case, then the sentence should be written as "The company impresses us by its standard of work." thus can be changed as "We were impressed (by the company) by its standard of work." and "by the company" can be omitted in this case.

Example 2: One candidate in particular impressed us with her knowledge.

I think the above sentence can be rewritten as

One candidate in particular impressed us by her knowledge.

So, I think that the "by" in this case is not the preposition of passive form, but just a normal preposition. I think "by" in this case is an alternative of "with".

Therefore, can I change the second example to the following?

We were impressed by one candidate (in particular) by her knowledge.

So, in this case, the first "by" is the preposition of passive form while the second "by" is a normal preposition and an alternative of "with"

Since this is confusing me, so I want to ask you:

Can you clarify the structure "impress somebody with/by something"?


texts:
In the Star Spangled Banner, the opening line/question is "Oh, say can you see..."

Is that grammatically correct?  Why isn't it "Oh, say you can see...?"


texts: Where is the root morpheme in Middle English talon (talon, claw) and muscheron (mushroom)?

texts: Is it possible to consider -on, -eron as suffixes (as they are in Middle French)?


texts: What did the prefix "anti" mean in the 1800s?

texts: I'm reading a book written in the 1800s where a people called themselves Anti-Lehi-Nephi.  This people called themselves this to be different then their allies the "Nephites". Did "anti" mean the same thing back in the 1800s? These people were not against or opposed to the other group of people. They were very much allies.


texts: Meaning of "If gold rust what shall the iron do"

texts:
My teacher asked me to write an essay on this topic, but I have no clear understanding of this phrase. Can someone explain in more simple words?

"If gold rust what shall the iron do."
– The Canterbury Tales (General Prologue), Geoffrey Chaucer


texts:
I understand that for common usage these words have distinct meanings. However in mathematics there is a process called convolution, and sometimes you hear "you need to convolve X" and sometimes "you need to convolute X". Similarly with related terms e.g. "to deconvolute the data" and "to deconvolve the data".

From a bit of Google snooping I get the feeling that they are simply interchangeable, much like oriented/orientated. (Although the spellchecker flags "deconvolute" but not "deconvolve" in the above paragraph). Indeed, searching "convolve" in Wikipedia redirects you to the Convolution article I linked above.

Are these words interchangeable? If so, is there so regional difference between their usage? I am compelled to snobbishly adhere to British English, after all.

EDIT: The answer of user545424 doesn't convince me. For instance, there's an incomplete debate amongst engineers here with one saying that convolute is more common, and others mentioning that convolve doesn't even appear in dictionaries. A Google Ngrams search also suggests that convolute is more prevalent, despite a decline in that and a rise in convolve. However, these last two cases are inconclusive because of the split between the common context of these words and the mathematical procedure named as such, where I'm only interested in the latter.

Does anyone else care to present an argument backed up with sources?


texts: Is "What a big like deserves this picture" correct?

texts:
While I was doing some facebook things, I shared a picture and this sentence came to my mind. I was wondering if it is correct to use this sentence when you want to share your feelings about something (in this case that picture):

  What a big like deserves this picture, doesn't it?

What I meant to say was:

  I think this picture deserves a big like, don't you?

If it's correct, could you please tell me about the detailed structure of the sentence? I just made it up and my mind naturally says it should be correct.


texts:
When i found job on job website, i found the term Converted Leads job(Related to marketing).

Please explain to me what it mean and what are the tasks will be done by this job?

Any information would be appreciated!


texts:
If she had long lost the blue-eyed, flower-like charm, the cool slim purity of face and form, the apple-blossom colouring, which had so swiftly and so oddly affected Ashurst twenty-six years ago, she was still at forty-three a comely and faithful companion, whose cheeks were faintly mottled, and whose grey-blue eyes had acquired a certain fullness.

I really cannot get a shot at what the above sentence means. Can anybody give an explanation?


texts: Is there a word for a sentence that becomes false for having been said?

texts:
There exist some statements that become untrue simple because someone has said them publicly. A conceptual example might be I have never said the word: contumacious.  A more realistic example might be 0QlmIfMjYFLUrCtBT8qd is a secure password.

These kinds of statements are probably not common, but is there any single word or phrase that can be used to describe them?


texts: Sabotaging through purposeful procrastination

texts:
In Polish there's a word Kunktatorstwo - trying to achieve own goals through delaying action, e.g. by making the opponent run out of time, making them tire out from keeping their defenses up, or believably failing to follow through an obligation, upon which they depended.

For example, you really hate your boss, who is the owner of the company and you want to destroy him even at cost of your own job (but not at cost of civil lawsuit for sabotaging the work). He's got a critical contract with a strict deadline, not meeting which would destroy his company. You perform your work in such a way that the deadline won't be met, but still your procrastination won't be provable - you perform at lowest still acceptable speed, you try solutions which you know are bound to fail (but you can claim you didn't and needed to test them), you waste time on analyses, meetings, questions, you perform a very thorough and solid (but lengthy) work where a much faster, simpler one would suffice, and generally secretly sabotage it in such a way that the final product would be at least acceptable if not for missing the deadline.

Unlike plain procrastination, which is usually subconscious, and undesired by the procrastinator, Kunktatorstwo is purposeful and malicious - it's not you who is being harmed by the delay.

Is there an english word or phrase to describe this kind of activity?

(both verbs and nouns are okay).


texts:
Apparently the word "styles" can be used for the list of honors someone has during one's life. For example:

  Styles:
  Mr. John Smith (1950-1960)
  Dr. John Smith (1961-1970)
  Dr. John Smith MP (1971-1980)

Is this correct? And where does this come from?


texts:
I am currently finishing my dissertation.
I have a Table of Contents, a List of Figures, and a List of Tables.

While I was trying to consistently (de)capitalize my headings of the chapters, figures, and tables, I realized that, by default, the List of Figures, for instance, is capitalized.
Is this necessary, i.e., do I capitalize "List of Figures" even though the captions of the figures are not capitalized?

Thank you.


texts: Onomatopoeic words with repeated first syllable

texts:
I've come across a small number of onomatopoeic words whose first syllables repeat:

borborygmus

tintinnabulation

ululation

I was wondering is there is a word describing such words and if any of your have come across more examples. Thanks!


texts: What do you call a novel that is mostly made up of non-fictional stories?

texts:
Say you have an author who has a lot of random personal stories from their life, all interesting, but don't stand on their own to be an interesting, single story. The author decides, "why not combine them all into one story?" Well, that sort of becomes an autobiography, I guess, if you actually tell the story in a more chronological way that follows the timeline of their life.

What if the author decides not to do everything chronologically? Basically, taking these non-fictional stories, reordering them a little, and placing them all into a fictional character's life, somewhat shortening the timespan in the process? Basically, the story itself and the character would be fictional, but each separate story within the fictional story is non-fictional.

Does the fictional part of the story trump the non-fictional parts of the story and just classify the entire thing as fiction, or a novel? Or is there any special word or perhaps genre that would be used to better identify something like this? Ultimately, is there a word to identify a fictional story made up of non-fictional stories?

I've seen this similar question, but it talks about historical settings in a novel, mainly the non-fictional location a book is set in. I can't imagine that's really the same thing, as the situation I'm outlining is kind of the opposite. The stories themselves are non-fictional, but the setting, location, characters, etc are all fictional.


texts: To malinger is to avoid some activity, typically work, by feigning an illness. I am looking for a similar word but using weather instead of illness. Here in Dallas, winter weather is often just damp and cold but rarely freezing. So, when the forecast calls for a winter weather advisory, many will take that as license to avoid going to work even when it's clearly not going to freeze. I've looked at words like sham, fake, fraud, etc. But nothing like what I'm looking for. Surely there must be some word or perhaps a two word phrase for this meaning.


texts: Dilemma between present perfect simple and past simple

texts:
I do not know where to find the right answer. Please tell and explain what my errors are

I must use either the  Present Perfect Simple or Past Simple

   B. How long / you / have /that?
   A. We / have / it since the kids / be / tiny. It / belong / to my parents before us, so it / be / the family holiday home for a long time.
   B. / you / go / there when you / be / a child?
   A. Yes. Then my father / want / to sell it so I / buy / it.

My version

   B: How long have you had that?
   A: We've had it since the kids were tiny. It's belonged to my parents before us, so it has been the family holiday home for a long time.
   B: Did you go there when you were a child?
   A: Yes. Then my father wanted to sell it so I bought it.

I am not sure about the solution in bold. Should it be “it belonged” or “it's belonged”? Is it OK to use the Present Perfect and Past Simple together in the same sentence?


texts: Examples of verbs that can be negated with not instead of don't

texts:
There are some examples of verbs in English that can be negated with not:

  I think not

However it seems that this statement must exist in isolation and  it is incorrect in modern English to follow this with a statement:

  I think not the shop is closed I don't think the shop is closed

Another common example is:

  We need not call the police

This sounds natural in modern English. However in general this type of negation is not possible:

  I drive not to work

Are there any rules on when this type of negation is possible in modern English? Can you give any more examples of verbs for which this is possible?


texts: When describing bends in piping, joints, and in many other contexts the word "elbow" is used.  You go to the hardware store and you see 90 degree elbows.  The word elbow is used everywhere.  Why not knee?  Why elbow?


texts:
Can the phrase semi detached house mean that a house is attached to other houses from both sides? Our English teacher told us that this is true, however on Wikipedia or on the Cambridge dictionary it is described as attached to a different house on only one side.
Thanks for help.


texts:
I periodically get emails inviting me to a "free" lunch for the purpose of hearing a sales pitch.  Multiple times these invitations have included some quip such as "See?  There is such thing as a free lunch!".

But the phrase "There's no such thing as a free lunch" describes, almost literally, the advertisement: the lunch is not free because I have to pay the rather steep price of hearing a high-pressure sales pitch.

The author of such quips appears ignorant of their own ironic misuse of the idiom.  Is there a name for this type of situation?

CLARIFICATION:

The question is not whether or not advertisers try to deceive.  I'm asking if there is a phrase which describes "ironic misuse of an idiom".


texts:
I would like to know what is the meaning of the expression "wet flannel" referred to a person or personality trait. I have seen it mentioned here:

http://www.conservativehome.com/localgovernment/2012/06/labour-councillor-quits-saying-ed-miliband-is-wet-flannel.html


texts:
As I explained in my other question, I'm writing up specs for a website with learning materials for our alpha testers to comment on. Among others, I'm describing the rating system, which has multiple criteria.

I imagine that there might be criteria that only teachers (and not students) should be able to rate, while all users might be able to see the resulting ratings (the averages or whatnot).

I'd like to write something along the lines of:

  "What do you suggest would be good rating criteria? Should some criteria be only ratable by teachers, but viewable by all users? If so, which ones?"

...but "ratable/rateable" sounds awkward to me, and Cambridge thinks the word has to do with taxes or insurance but not with rating things (Oxford defines it as "able to be rated or estimated", which doesn't really make it clear that it also applies to the 1-5 stars type of rating). Is this just me? If not, what would you suggest as suitable alternatives in this case?


texts:
Morning everyone!

Translating a Spanish restaurant menu into English, I found myself doubting whether to capitalize sauce names. Some examples are romesco and Sriracha.

Not being familiar with them, I looked them up and found out that romesco sauce comes from the Catalonian Spanish region, while Sriracha comes from the same-name Thai town where it was created.

In these searches I found Sriracha always being capitalized, and romesco not necessarily.

Would anyone have an input on the topic?

Thanks and regards!

Lau


texts: What's difference for below phrases and words

texts:
What are the differences in the following phrases:

engage in
work on
commit oneself to
dedicate oneself to


texts: Is there a similar proverb in English as of malayalam

texts: In Malayalam, there is a proverb "Whether the leaf falls on a thorn or a thorn on a leaf, the leaf is always harmed." Can you suggest an English saying similar to this?


texts:
If I run a company for children, do I run

a children's company
a children company
a childrens company

I originally thought "children's company" was correct but the children are not in possession of the company as the apostrophe would suggest.


texts: Is it typical native speaker usage to inconsistently use the pronoun "one" in a paragraph?

texts:
[NB: This is a re-post of a closed question that was rightly judged "off topic". It does present an interesting problem, though, so I've rewritten it and asked an on-topic usage question.]
Is it typical native-speaker usage to inconsistently use the pronoun "one" in a paragraph?
For example, in the following paragraph, one is often replaced by other pronouns, viz., you/your and we/our. I'd like to replace these inconsistent pronouns with either one/one’s or you/your. Which of my two revisions ([2] and [3]) is more idiomatic and natural?

[1] One needs to be very careful about discarding our old cell phones because you may leave behind information that one thinks that they have erased. You never want to find that one’s bank account has been drained because someone uncovered our PIN number and one certainly wouldn’t want your boss to find their competitor's phone number. Fortunately, there are precautions we can take if one wants to avoid these problems.**
[2] One needs to be very careful about discarding one’s old cell phones, because one may leave behind information one thinks one has erased. One never wants to find that one’s bank account has been drained because someone uncovered one’s PIN number, and one certainly wouldn’t want one’s bosses to find their competitor's phone number. Fortunately, there are precautions one can take if one wants to avoid these problems.**

versus

[3] You need to be very careful about discarding your old cell phones, because you may leave behind information you think you have erased. You never want to find that your bank account has been drained because someone uncovered your PIN number, and you certainly wouldn’t want your bosses to find their competitor's phone number. Fortunately, there are precautions you can take if you want to avoid these problems.**


texts: Word for "opening and closing the mouth?"

texts:
Example:

  The stranded fish were flapping desperately on the sand, their mouths
  closing and opening, seeking for the water that wasn't there.

Is there's a word that means opening and closing the mouth? I thought of gaping but I think it only means keeping the mouth open?


texts: When do we use "of" rather than " 's" to show possession?

texts:
It is a very simple word but I am quite confused when I write formal documents.
I do not know exactly when to use the of rather than 's. For example:

The value of the mean or The mean's value.
The domains of statistics or The statistics' domains.
The example of data or data's example.

I have searched on Google. Both cases seem widely used on many websites, so I do not know which one is well received by native speakers. Are there guidelines for choosing one over the other?


texts:
How does one describe the possessives of multiple parties? For example the apples of Mark and the oranges of Fred.

Would it be:

  Mark and Fred's apples and oranges

Or perhaps:

  Mark's and Fred's apples and oranges

Would it be different if one were describing the apples of Mark and the apples of Fred?

Note: I am looking for a sentence of this structure in particular; not a rephrasing which avoids the problem.


texts: I know it's common to say "You've got a message" and I'm wondering whether it's also correct to say "You have a message"?


texts:
If I transcribe this question "How about you?" to IPA it looks like: [ haʊ əˈbaʊt yu]. The dictionary shows the word "about" with primary stress on its second syllable but I think in my question it loses the stress:

[context] Hi. How are you? ... I'm fine. How about you?

The way I say it sounds more like this: [ haʊ(w)əbaʊtʃyu ] with some stress on "how" and "you": https://clyp.it/oazaugqw

I would be grateful for your suggestion regarding the stress in my situation.


texts:
I am software engineer in USA (moved from another country). In informal conversations with colleagues I've heard the phrase "cranking out code" (or something similar).

I googled it, and Urban Dictionary says it's

  The act of crying and wanking (masturbation)at the same time.

However, "cranking out code" is quite common if you google it.

I'm confused about the usage and don't know if it's safe to use at work, and the meaning of it. Can you please advice if can use it, and the exact meaning.


texts: Would this be the correct way to punctuate this?

texts:
I know a more common way would be to say something like,

  That crane is a beautiful animal, isn't it?

But if one were going to word it as follows:

  It's a beautiful animal, isn't it, that crane?

Would this be the proper way to punctuate the sentence?


texts: What does "What the monarchies have going for them are royal families that allow them to stand above the fray" mean?

texts:
I saw the sentence in the following quote of Kenneth M. Pollack, director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, about Middle East upheaval in New York Times’ ‘Quotation of Today.’

I understand the meaning of stand above the fray. But as I was unsure of the meaning of have going for someone / something, I checked a dictionary. It carries have a lot going for and its definition is Having many positive personal attributes and achievement.

Having seen this, I’m not still very clear about the exact meaning of the line, What the monarchies have going for them are royal families that allow them to stand above the fray. Though I can 'guess' the meaning of the whole by context, can somebody rephrase or restructure this line so it is easier for a foreign English learner to understand?

The quote in question reads:

  What the monarchies have going for them are royal families that allow them to stand above the fray, to a certain extent. It allows them to sack the government without sacking themselves.

  --- Kenneth M. Pollack, director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, on why monarchs are weathering political upheaval in the Middle East.


texts: How to distinguish between "blasphemy" and "sacrilege" in a non-religious context?

texts:
On cooking.stackexchange, somebody asked how to make a chili which isn't too hot. I suggested mixing chiles and sweet peppers, and added the tongue-in-cheek remark that some chefs will consider my solution a sacrilege. A native English speaker left a comment saying that it would be rather considered a blasphemy.

Is there a rule for using sacrilege vs. blasphemy in a joking context? Or maybe sacrilege isn't used at all?

If you need to see it, here is my original answer.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Which day does “next Tuesday” refer to?
  Meaning of “last/this/next Monday”

  Scenario: You get a phone call on Wednesday, saying "you have to report
  to X next Monday".

When do you report? The upcoming  Monday or the Monday after that?

Other questions on here have no solid answer.


texts: English equivalent of the expression “a longer arm than résumé”

texts: I've heard a non-native English speaker use the expression "in this place, having a long arm to scratch someone else's back is more important than having a long résumé", conveying the idea of favoritism in a place influencing the promotion of people within. I would like to know if there is an equivalent in English to such expression.


texts: What's another word for Guinea Pig, i.e. when you call someone a "test dummy"?

texts:
If someone is being used to test a new product or idea, they can be called a "guinea pig" (because Guinea Pigs are usually used by medical labs for testing).
What is another term that would carry the same meaning (other than "lab rat")?

I don't simply want other words for "guinea pig", like rodent or cavy. I'm hoping someone knows of a good term with the same interpretation but completely different and unrelated to "guinea pig". My main motivation is to avoid the cliche, since I find "guinea pig" and "lab rat" are used too often and the characters in my story use more sophisticated terms.

The leaders of the tribe within the fantasy world in which the story takes place, have devised a new system they want to secretly institute. They approach the first character, let's call John and try to convince him to start using a certain something (John doesn't know about the secret plan). Catching on to what is happening, his close friend Jim tries to talk him out of it by calling him a "guinea pig". [However I am looking for a different word than "guinea pig" if possible].


texts: Lingustic term for three consecutive synonyms used in a sentence?

texts: If I recall correctly, in David Brin's "The Uplift War", a species called the Gubru frequently use sentences in which three consecutive synonyms appear to emphasize a topic--presumably a grammatical predisposition on the part of the race. Their language is translated into English (of course) for the reader and might read something like this: "This is terrible, disastrous, dreadful!" (This is an example, not a sentence appearing in the book.) I once stumbled upon an established term that described this triplet usage of consecutive synonyms--and wish I had committed it to paper (or memory). What word might this be?


texts:
The term "PHP" (no, not the programming language) stands for pemberi harapan palsu which roughly means giver of false hope in English. An example of usage would be:

"Sialan lo, PHP ya! Katanya mau dikasih KFC eh taunya nasi padang!"

"Damn you, you GoFH! You said you were gonna buy me KFC! Instead you get me this nasi padang piece of crap!"

Does anyone know of a similar phrase I can use in place of PHP in english?


texts:
Is the sentence:

  He is, or at the very least, is among, the tallest in our school.

grammatically correct?
Note that (I believe) that this parallelly states that  "either he is the tallest [person] in our school or he is among the tallest [people] in our school."
However, the parallelism doesn't work all the way, as in the first part, "tallest" implies "tallest person" while in the second part, the same word is used to imply or mean "tallest people".
My question is, is this alright?


texts: Is it acceptable to say something is "apropros" of a person?

texts:
The sentence I'm crafting is as follows:

  That's some sage-like advice apropros of Mister Miyagi

Is that proper usage of the word?


texts: Doubt about the subject in this phrase: I, me, or myself?

texts:
At the end of the evening, the bar was almost empty, with only [I/?] and a very cheerful and pleasant lady I met in the last minutes of the meeting.

What is the correct form in this case?

My assumption would be to say "I", and also to invert the two subjects, as in the following wrong case, followed by the correct form:

  (*) me and her went to the pub
  she and I went to the pub

If my assumption is correct, I have a different problem. I end up with the phrase:

  At the end of the evening, the bar was almost empty, with only a very cheerful and pleasant lady I met in the last minutes of the meeting and I.

As you can see, the need to detail information about the lady pushes the "and I" too far to be reasonably meaningful in the context.


texts: Positive word for 'unsolicited' - to have come out of the blue

texts:
"An unsolicited email" always sounds negative; "unsolicited" sounds negative.
But I would like a neutral or positive word that means that the email was unexpected/unasked-for, but not unpleasant.
If something were to "come out of the blue" for example, there are no implications as to whether this thing is negative or positive (in fact it might be slightly more likely to be positive).
This is the kind of feeling I would like with the alternative word to unsolicited email.

Thanks for reading this _____ email


texts: “Church Catholic” versus “Catholic Church” is the first form acceptable?

texts:
I heard both expressions, but the first sounds more "creedal". Although, just the second is fine according to the English language norms. When is "Church Catholic" fine to be used? The Merriam Webster definition writes church universal in the same way.

Edit:
Here's a quote from Solo Scriptura, Sola Scriptura, and Apostolic Succession by Keith Mathison

  "Well, all available historical evidence indicates that the Roman Magisterium did apostatize. But the Roman Magisterium is not identical to the Church Catholic so the Church was not overcome when this occurred. The Catholic Church continued to exist even when the local Magisterium of Rome joined the gates of hell in an attempt to prevail against her. While the bishops of Rome and the Roman Magisterium were busy deserting the sheep entrusted to them and abandoning the doctrine of the Apostles with which the Church of Rome (and all of the other local churches) had been entrusted, the Catholic Church continued. Believing Christians in the Western Church were deserted by their shepherds, who were more interested in worldly gain than they were in spiritual things, [FN13] but the desertion of the sheep by their shepherds did not destroy the church. It survived the apostasy of these “priests” just as the Old Testament church survived the apostasy of her priests."


texts: Is there ambiguity in "by each" in this context?

texts:
The sentence:

"Find all malls that have been visited by each student attending Wolf
Secondary School"

I've recently encountered a question like this on a Computer Science test and interpretted it as so:

Return a list of malls, where each mall was visited by at least 1 student attending Wolf Secondary School.

But the "correct" way to answer the question was:

Return a list of malls, where each mall must has been visited by every single
student attending Wolf Secondary School.

I'm curious to if there's any ambiguity to the original question and if my interpretation was reasonable/justifiable.


texts: Logical implications of 'than they would be if …'?

texts:
Given:

  Proof-of-concept technologies, although important, are less valuable
  than they would be if they were supported by careful experiments that
  identify key attributes of the design or principles that span
  applications.

Is the sentence above logically equivalent to

  If proof-of-concept technologies, although important, were supported by careful experiments
  that identify key attributes of the design or principles that span
  applications, then proof-of-concept technologies would be more valuable.

As well as its contrapositive,

  If proof of concept technologies,although important, were less valuable, then proof of concept
  technologies were not supported by careful experiments that identify
  key attributes of the design or principles that span applications.

??


texts:
In the following passage, the word "universe" appears four times.
The second one has "a" as its article, while the others have "the".
Am I right in thinking that "a universe" in the passage means an interpretation of "the universe" that people had based on the scientific discoveries.

  Today we have discovered a powerful and elegant way to understand the universe, a method called science; it has revealed to us a universe so ancient and vast that human affairs seem at first sight to be of little consequence. We have grown distant from the cosmos -- it has seemed remote from every day concerns. But science has found not only that the universe is accessible to human understanding, but also that we are, in a very profound sense, a part of that Cosmos, born from it, our fate connected with it. The most basic human events and the most trivial can be traced back to the universe and its origins.


texts: The company I work at has this thing we have to say every morning. What is it called?

texts:
The company I work at (a US branch of a Japanese firm) has a thing we have to say every morning. We stand up and each take turns reading a line from the poster on the wall. It goes like this:

We meet challenges with courage and creativity to realize our dreams.
Once a decision is made we move quickly to carry out the plan with passion.
As a good corporate citizen we do what is right and contribute to society.
We seek to do our best, act professionally, and take responsibility for our actions.

... and so on (8 lines total).

What is this thing we read called?  "Every morning at work, we read a/an/the _____."


texts: Where did the expression "to up the ante" come from?

texts: I know what it means, but I cannot understand where it could have come from.


texts: Correct morphological parse of a word "indecipherable"

texts:
What will be the correct morphological parse of word

 indecipherable in-prefix>decipher-stem>able-suffix
    or

     indecipherable in-prefix>de- prefix >cipher-stem>able-suffix

What will be the correct bracketing for above ?


texts:
I have just learnt an idiom Gone to Texas which "was a phrase used by Americans immigrating to Texas in the 19th century often to escape debt". I like it.

But is this idiom still used? Will native speakers understand me?
And can it be used ironically to describe people avoiding responsibility by means of escape?


texts: Is anyone aware of any recent neologisms to supercede "spinster" or "old maid" that have arisen?

texts:
I'm interested to see if, in fact, there are any new words in use from around the English-speaking world to replace the odious terms 'Spinster' and 'Old Maid'. I'm not referring to the term "unmarried woman" (which frequently has the age of the woman in question attached as an apparent matter of course).

I find it very curious that there is still such a stigma attached to a woman (in particular) choosing to remain unmarried! There are many people who just don't want to accrue a piece of paper and/or a partner who, statistically, at any rate, they are likely to end up having to go through the stress of divorcing at some point.

I live in a largely Agnostic country - so it's doubly strange to me.
I feel that there should be a "positive" term for those who wish to live by themselves the majority of the time. At any rate, a word which celebrates individualistic, non-promiscuous types of either/any(?) gender who sometimes co-habits with a boyfriend/girlfriend/Lover is sadly lacking I believe! Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Is this kind of historic present sentence?

texts:
I heard this sentence in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's(film)'.

  What happened to you, anyway?
  You take off for the powder room and that's the last I see you.

The speaker talks about things happened at the past.
Why does he use simple present tense? to emphasize what she did?


texts:
Is it "0.4 miles away" or "0.4 mile away"?

My intuition tells the first form is correct, but a colleague isn't convinced.


texts: Shoud I use singular or plural for this sentence?

texts:
"I touched their forehead[s] with my fingertip."

I'm not certaint whether or not forehead in this example should be singular or plural. There's a group of people, so obviously, multiple foreheads are being touched. However each individual person only has one forehead.


texts:
There is a economic term called "return on investment (ROI)."

I wonder if I can only use it a fixed way or if I can use it as a verb "return on" as in the following sentence?

  Most of the time, such as large investment schemes can need a
  substantial amount of money, and it could take years to finish and
  return on.

or do I have to use "it/them" at the end if I do  use "investment" as a subject?

  Most of the time, such as large investment schemes can need a
  substantial amount of money, and it could take years to finish and
  return on it.

Or should I use another subject all along at best because it is used mostly as noun?

  Most of the time, such as large  schemes/projects/programs can need a
  substantial amount of money, and it could take years to finish and
  realize a return on investment.


texts: Which singular names ending in “s” form possessives with only a bare apostrophe?

texts:
Many questions already ask about this topic (What is the correct possessive for nouns ending in "‑s"? , When did it become correct to add an “s” to a singular possessive already ending in “‑s”?, etc.) and their answers vary, but they always give exceptions to the apostrophe-s rule, for example:

  6.24 The general rule for the possessive of nouns covers most proper nouns, including most names ending in sibilants."

Examples they give include Kansas’s, Ross’s land, and Jones’s reputation. Exceptions include Jesus’  and Moses’.

Which names does this apply to?  Is the Aeneas’  form correct, or is it Aeneas’s instead?


texts: Idiom/saying for "there was no possible better solution at the time"

texts:
Context: "We did the best we could. There wasn't much else we could have done because there was no possible better solution at the time"

The problem I have with what's already written is that it sounds a little too wordy.


texts: This with this are here or this with this is here?

texts:
Which is correct?

“The network with the servers are given to you.”

or

“The network with the servers is given to you.”


texts: Terminology for items made by recycling craft

texts:
Recycling craft is the art of making usable items from recyclable stuff.

What would be a suitable term for the items produced by this craft?


texts: What is a phrase like "Do I Gift a Present or Present a Gift ?" called?

texts:
I recently came across a sentence of the form - "Do I Gift a Present or Present a Gift ?" and am wondering whether sentences of this type (where words can be interchanged and still make valid, meaningful sentences) are called something ? And whether there are anymore examples ?

I tried googling with the above line but it yields nothing.


texts: "On the third floor stood a salesman with [number] artificial legs"

texts:
On the third floor stood a salesman with one artificial leg.
On the third floor stood a salesman with two artificial legs.
On the third floor stood a salesman with three artificial legs.
On the third floor stood a salesman with four artificial legs.

I'm not sure whether the preposition with can be interpreted as 'in possession of' or 'characterized by' and whether the interpretation can be influenced by the number of legs.
I did an exhaustive and exhausting search before asking here, but search results suggest that the interpretation depends on what the relation is between the 'salesman' and the 'legs' and I don't understand how this can be helpful  on the linguistic plan.
Can anybody explain, please?


texts:
Which one is the correct preposition -

She boarded ____ his compartment.

I am confused between in and at. And on second thought, will it be okay if I skip the preposition here?

The situation is that a girl boarded the train and the compartment happened to be the same as the compartment a boy named Max was in. I've tried various attempts but could not find a way which was not verbose.


texts:
During a game of scrabble the word orn caused controversy. It was my understanding that the word can still be used.

In Websters Dictionary from 1913, it is listed as a verb meaning to adorn, decorate.

According to 'your dictionary' online, this is an obsolete word.

My OED is unfortunately not with me, and the free online version doesn't recognize it as a word. Is orn truly obsolete?


texts: "Following a suggestion" vs. "taking a suggestion"

texts:
I am going to be following your suggestion.
  I am going to be taking your suggestion.

Do they mean the same thing? If not, what is the difference between them?
If they do mean the same thing, which one sounds more natural in English? Which one would a native speaker prefer over the other?


texts: what is the difference between " get in the bus" and " get on the bus"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Origin/reason for the expression “on the bus” instead of “in the bus”

I want to know when to use " get in the bus." and " get on the bus."
I will thank you If you give me the right answer.


texts: What is an appropriate replacement for the term "oriental" when used as an ethnicity?

texts:
When I was a child I remember frequently hearing references to "oriental" people. Of course "oriental" now has a pejorative connotation, and generally "asian" is preferred.

However, I can't help but feel like "asian", even if it is a step forward socially, is a small step backward in specificity. Maybe it's just my perception of the word, but "oriental" seemed to have an implied reference to people of the far east, specifically to people with a collective set of similar physical features like epicanthic eye folds and straight black hair. A group that would include Chinese, Japanese, or Vietnamese, but would exclude Indians or Iranians (though "asian" is a valid term for all of these people).

The only other term that I've heard of that is conceptually close is "mongoloid", but it has more modern associations with down syndrome, and may be considered a pejorative in its own right.

Is there a modern, socially acceptable term to reach this specific designation of person that might have been referred to as "oriental" or "mongoloid" in the past?


texts: A single word which means to start a company or business

texts: What is the single word which means to start a company or business?