texts: What effect is achieved when using the gerundive form versus the infinitive form in this sentence?

texts:
Gerundive: Try getting some rest.
Infinitive: Try to get some rest.
My textbook says that the former means "Attempt to get some rest" while the latter means to "try getting some rest as a possible solution to the problem".
They feel very familiar and I find them indistinguishable if I were to see them in a text.
Thus, I have the following questions:

Can they be used interchangeably, or is one more grammatically correct than the other?
If so, why does being gerundive or infinitive impart a different meaning to the two phrases?
What grammatical functions do gerunds and infinitives play other than changing the function of a verb to a noun, adjective, or adverb?


texts: I know that in a sentence like, "I went to the movies again." again would modify the verb went. Although, the actual meaning of the sentence is that the whole action of going to the movies was done a second time, right?


texts: What is the music in the back of a song called?

texts: I can’t think of a word that describes what the instruments behind the lyrics are


texts: "My latest five novels" or "my five latest novels"?

texts:
Is it okay to say "my latest five novels" when I want to express "five of my latest novels"?

As far as I know, "five" is a postdeterminer, so it precedes an adjective (except for "last/following/top", to name a few) as a rule.


texts: Irregular Verbs with Compound Predicates

texts:
Are both of these sentences acceptable?

We had manufactured it but gave it to someone else.
We had manufactured it but given it to someone else.

Is there a rule that says the past perfect must be used in the dependent clause if it appears in the main clause?


texts: An English word utilized to describe a name or group of word shortened from their full spelling to create a stand alone statement or sentence?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes the shortening of a names full spelling that can by itself be a statement or sentence, thanks for any assistance.

        My name.       The shortened sentence

Example: Ruben A Rodriguez     =    Rub A Rod


texts: Is it grammatically correct help me ,with proper explanation,with tense explanation

texts:
You were got bored, weren't you?
It that correct ,can we use all verbs in past tense.


texts:
There are quite a a lot of situations like this. But here I'll use just two examples.

The first one is with the word since. We can say: There have been a lot of flies since the street sweeper was put out of job, or There have been a lot of flies since the putting out of job of the street sweeper. For the former there is a complete sentence after since, but for the latter the part after since is technically a noun phrase. I know both would be okay to use depending on what part of speech is since, but which one is preferred?

Another case is with the word that for add-ons. We could say The thing that we see is falling off is not stationary. It should be also correct to say The thing that we see falling off is not stationary. But which would be the choice of preference?


texts: Was what happened to the pronunciation of the word "church", as compared to the Scots-English "kirk", a general phenomenon in Middle English?

texts:
The other day, I was reading a history of the Norman and Angevin kings, and came across the word kirk in an ecclesiastical context, which I had to look up, having no clue of its meaning.  The Online Etymology Dictionary gave me this:

  kirk
  c.1200, northern England and Scottish dialectal form of church, from O.N. kirkja "church," from O.E. cirice (see church).

I took its advice, and looked up church:

  church
  O.E. cirice "church, public place of worship, Christians collectively," from W.Gmc. *kirika (cf. O.S. kirika, O.N. kirkja, O.Fris. zerke, M.Du. kerke, O.H.G. kirihha, Ger. Kirche), from Gk. kyriake (oikia), kyriakon doma "Lord's (house)," from kyrios "ruler, lord," from PIE base *keue- "to swell" ("swollen," hence "strong, powerful"). Phonetic spelling from c.1200, established by 16c.

One notes that both words, kirk and church, have the same etymological root in the Old English, cirice.  But the Scots version, and its etymological predecessors, would all seem to be pronounced with a hard 'k'; the softening of the Middle English church seems to be a unique, derived, synapomorphy of the word tree.

So my questions are: What is this phenomenon called, exactly? Second, was it a general characteristic of the evolution of Old English to Middle English, this softening of hard consonants?


texts:
Software systems undergo versioning when changes are made to them.
E.g.: "Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows RT etc. are some popular versions of the Windows Operating System."

Similarly, some software also comes in different flavours.
E.g.: "BOSS, Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint are some popular flavours of Linux."

I fail to understand whether version and flavor of a software mean the same thing, and can be used interchangeably. Or are there some not-so-subtle differences?


texts: 'Sort out' or 'sought out', which one is correct?

texts:
I was reading an apology letter of Shirley Hornestein and found it very interesting:

  For as long as I can remember, I have been lying. From the simple white lies, to the “if-I-say-this-I’ll-get-what-I-want” lies, and the this-could-have-serious-consequences lies, I’ve told them (probably even to you). . . . For the first time in my life I sought out professional counseling and have spent the last five months learning to work through my insecurities, processing my past and am trying to understand why I have such an addictive relationship with lying.

But there are few points on my mind. Please help me to understand:

Is it sort out or sought out?
Regarding this-could-have-serious-consequences lies, is this the right structure for a sentence?


texts: Are there rules or trends for -ty vs -ness in general? Could "thoroughty" have been a word if thoroughness hadn't been there?

texts:
In a recent SE answer I've written:

I think that other answerers can address this with more historical thoroughty than I, so I'll defer to their expertise, but it sounds like the LRO frozen orbit is likely the best representative example of what's been achieved to date.

I'd hoped that it would turn out to be a word, and it's possible that others have in the past as well
Google Ngram viewer shows usage of the word surfacing around the beginning of the nineteenth century and reaching a minuscule crescendo around the beginning of the twentieth century before dropping into the noise soon after.
though comments suggest this represents the rate of typographical errors.
To me it seems that while thoroughty had the chance to exist in the English language, somehow thoroughness always had the upper hand and finally won.
Question: Are there any grammatical or historical reasons why thoroughty could not have functioned just as well as thoroughness? Is there a general trend or rule when -ty and -ness are both possible, or has it been essentially random? Are there any cases where they coexist?
The English Lessons Brighton article How to use suffixes to create nouns from adjectives and verbs lists -ness and -ity but not -ty (except in comments) but I don't see any discussion as to how these selections arose.
I'm thinking of uses such as

proceed with all due thoroughty/thoroughness
they demonstrated exemplary thoroughty/thoroughness


texts: We were to give a tagline for a charitable society for underprivileged children. Someone suggested the human touch and within seconds someone modified it to the humane touch. What is the difference between human and humane or between human touch and humane touch?


texts: Word meaning "that which is mimicked or emulated"

texts:
I am looking for a concise word which means "that which is mimicked". For context, we have a synthetic device which mimics the behavior of a biological structure. I want to say something like:

...as the performance of [synthetic device] approaches that of its [word referring to the biological counterpart]...

EDIT: The sentence I am toying with is the following, with the bolded word something I would like to replace with the requested word:

"Fabrication techniques that combine DNA motion control with base-recognition tunnelling are likely to be of great interest in the coming decade as solid-state nanopores strive to catch up to their biological counterparts in the sequencing space."

I like "inspirators" in place of counterparts there.


texts: What is the vowel length of rhotic schwa /ɚ/ when it occurs non-word finally?

texts: I know that /ɚ/ is longest when it occurs at the end of a word, since it is occurring at the end of an open syllable, as in < rapture> [ræp̚tʃɚː]. What about when it occurs syllable finally in the middle of a word, as in < saturated> [sætʃɚejɾəd]? Since rhotic schwa is at the end of a syllable, would the correct transcription be [sætʃɚːejɾəd] or [sætʃɚejɾəd]?


texts: "Are" vs. "were" when action is in the past, but subject is still extant

texts:
Which is the correct word to use, "are" or "were" (or something else?) in the following examples:

Two of the main sources I used for the project are/were Source A and Source B.
Three of the ingredients included in the mixture are/were butter, flour and sugar.
Two of the augmentations the shop added to this car are/were the canards and the spoiler.


texts: Noun regarding flowers which are blooming

texts:
Please have a look at the following poetic lines:

"
Two white roses are your cheeks...

the teardrops of sadness which flowed down them

brought them into bloom instead of withering them"

Is it right to say "brought them into bloom"?

Or is it considerably better (but probably less poetic) to say "made them blooming"?

I relied a bit on this https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bloom to write it this way since it uses the phrase "be in (full) bloom".


texts: Force somebody to do something vs. force somebody into doing something

texts:
Is there a difference between 'to force somebody to do something' and 'force somebody into doing something'?
What about other expressions like 'persuade sb to do/into doing sth', 'trick sb to do/into doing sth', etc.?
I came across this in the book Word Perfect vocabulary for fluency:

  Push somebody to do something = try to force someone to do something
  and,
  Push somebody into doing something = succeed in forcing
  someone to to something

That is, when you push someone into making a decision, the person has made a decision, but when you push someone to make a decision, you've tried to get him to make a decision, but he has not necessaily made a decision.
Is it the same about the other expressions?


texts:
I was listening to "We Own the Night", by "The Wanted" and I realized the phrase "we are only young if we seize the night".

Seize, in this case, sounds like enjoy, right? But, what's the contextual difference between them?


texts: Is "for perpetuity" a synonym of "permanently"?

texts:
I am looking for another way to say permanently ("not temporarily"), like in:

  Starting from today, the rule 'A' will hold _______.

and was wondering if for perpetuity is a grammatically correct phrase to use here? The sense, which I would like to imply, is that something is no longer temporary (and not so much that it is going to stay / be present forever).

Remark: I know that permanently fits well in the particular sentence, however, I need to use the adverb more than a few times in my text, so would like to use a synonym once in a while.


texts: "In accordance to the rule" and "in accordance with the rule"

texts: Is it correct to use the preposition to in "in accordance to the rules" or does it have to be with as in "in accordance with the rule"? I have found usage of with to be more frequent but have seen a few instances of to being used. Also, here on http://grammarist.com/usage/accord-accordance/ it says either to or with can be used.


texts:
How should units be written in a phrase like 50-100 (fifty to a hundred).

Would it be 50-100cm or 50cm-100cm?


texts: What is the correct adjective to describe someone who has been given an incentive? Incented or incentivized? I have heard/seen both.


texts: What does it mean when Americans say "We love you" in an email?

texts:
I was just having an email conversation with 3 of my community advisors and they said "We love you". I found that weird?

The community advisors teach me about how to behave in America and what the culture is in America and so on. They're government employees. Two guys and a girl. The context of email is that they check on me each week how I'm doing and I'm required to respond to them. I can relay any issues, problems, concerns, questions to them and they will come and help for free. I've last few weeks left, and they told me that I was doing just great and they ended the email with "We love you!"

What do they mean? And how do I respond? Do I say "I love you too?"

Love is very personal for me as I grew up in Africa, and its reserved just to my mom, dad, sisters, and brothers.


texts:
Is there a term for saying something in a sarcastic manner but you actually mean what you're saying?

All the time I say things sarcastically even though I mean what I say. Or if I want to tell the truth but I know no one will believe me I say it sarcastically even though what I'm saying is true. For example, everyone thinks I kissed my friend but I didn't. So when asked I reply sarcastically, "No I never kissed her", insinuating that I did because of the sarcasm in the response. But in reality I'm telling the truth that I didn't. It's almost like a false sarcasm?


texts: What is the meaning of "gets the hereditary bone"?

texts:
This has been a lyric in a song I have liked since the '80s, namely Howard Jones' song "Life in One Day", and I have never understood the significance of it.

  Time will wear away the stone;
  Gets the hereditary bone.

When I started to do some research, I found an article on the Manchester UTD Supporters Club website that started off:

  Football transfer rumours: Daniel Sturridge to West Ham or Stoke?
  What the papers say - Tue, 11/15/2016 - 08:57

  Today’s fluff gets the hereditary bone

The article goes on to talk of several football (READ: soccer, for those who don't follow the Premier League) players planning and bargaining for moving between teams, but there didn't seem to be any real bias to the story.  Just matter-of-fact reporting of who is talking about going where.

So, while I can surmise that the expression is British English, I still don't get the meaning of the phrase.

Does someone know what the expression means?


texts: What does it mean when someone says "I'm so over myself"?

texts:
I'm not native and I listened this statement in a film, in a contention between lovers:

A: "... Get over yourself"

B: "... I'm so over myself"

Based on the context the meaning should be obvious but I'm a little confused about  it.


texts: Using multiple tenses + passive and active voices altogether in one sentence

texts:
I'm trying to make an interrogative sentence by using two tenses, passive and active voices. I know that certain questionnaires, checklists, or legal statements use this kind of form, but I just can't make it properly.
What I'm trying to ask is "Have you or will you give an apple to A?" + "Have you or will you be given an apple from A?"
→ Have you or will you give, or be given, an apple to/from A?
Is that correct? It would be appreciated if you can recommend better ways to make the sentence.


texts:
Q1. Have I understood correctly? Thank you :)

A. Newcastle is keen to enhance its already strong standing among students both at home and abroad.

= students who are in the UK and students who are abroad/overseas

B. Newcastle is keen to enhance its already strong standing among students both from home and abroad.

The phrases may be similar to those in some of my previous posts, but the questions are actually different. :)
= students who are from the UK and students who are from abroad/overseas
Q2. Do C and D mean the same thing? If so, what do they refer to? A or B? Thank you :)

C. Newcastle is keen to enhance its already strong standing among both domestic and international students.
D. Newcastle is keen to enhance its already strong standing among students both domestically and internationally.

The phrases may be similar to those in some of my previous posts, but the questions are actually different. However, I will avoid asking a similar question in a new post next time. My apologies and thank you so much for your great patience with a new member. Thank you :)


texts:
If you ask a question starting with "are you...", for example:

  Are you hungry?

Is it acceptable to answer with:

  Very.

I'm not sure if it's acceptable though I've heard it used.


texts:
Recently I came across this word which means "one's self-clicked photograph". I, however, do not remember where I read it or what that word was. The article in which I saw the word was regarding social networking websites where people place their own 'self clicked' photographs. Does anybody know that word?

I am not sure if that word is from urban lingo.


texts: I'm not sure if this is a restrictive or a non-restrictive clause (using the word 'whilst')

texts:
I've been tasked with editing a new hire's bio, and I've been stumped by  comma. For context, the intern is writing about how they found the company's job ad. They are currently still studying at university. Here's the original:

I was looking to gain some work experience , whilst I’m studying,
and I happened upon a [company name] post advertising an internship
position.

Here's my potential edit (without the comma):

I was looking to gain some work experience whilst I’m studying, and I
happened upon a [company name] post advertising an internship position.

Am I overthinking this? Is there no need to remove the comma?
Edit: I forgot to specify that this is UK English.


texts: Usage of "blow by a defender" in basketball games

texts:
I have a problem to understand the usage of "blow by" or "blow-by" in basketball games (see title of the video). At first I thought "blow by a defender" means that some action is done by the defender. But no, now I can roughly understand it means that the offensive player passed the defender fast. Sometimes NBA announcers also say "... gets a step with a blow-by." That roughly means the same thing as a noun.
I couldn't find the phrase "blow by" in any dictionaries. Could anyone explain it to me? On the other hand, what does the usage of "by" here? Why it is connected to the verb as "blow by" rather than "by the defender"?


texts: general term for wheat, barley, oat, rye

texts:
What would you call the thing on this image:

http://www.tla.estranky.cz/img/mid/51/obili.jpg

I am looking for the general term, I know that it has more types:

wheat
barley
oat
rye

Suggestions:

grain
cereal
cereals


texts:
Toyota is running a Super Bowl campaign called:

  THE ‘CAMRY EFFECT A FRIEND’ GIVEAWAY Every Camry has a story. Yours
  could start on February 5th.

I see some Twitter comments mentioning this is grammatically incorrect or obscure. I understand advertising campaigns may juggle the English language to create an effect (no pun) however in and of itself, is "effect a friend" proper usage in any context?


texts: How can I remove negators: potential shouldn't be so ‘fanciful or remote’ that the proferens can't be supposed to desire protection from it?

texts:
[1.] [T]he potential for non-negligence liability should not be so ‘fanciful or remote’ that the proferens cannot be supposed to desire protection from it.

How can I rewrite 1 without any not, while changing as few lexical words as possible? 2 beneath is my attempt, and I colored in grey my changes. But 2 feels inaccurate as 2 makes 'fanciful or remote' appear attainable and craved, but 1 highlights that  'fanciful or remote' are undesired.

[2.] [T]he potential for non-negligence liability should  not be ‘fanciful or remote’ only if the proferens cannot  be supposed to desire protection from it.

Afterword (merely for context, but unnecessary)
ODO defines proferens. Left picture's from p. 400 in  Mindy Chen-Wishart's Contract Law (2018 6 edn).
Right is Steyn LJ's judgment in E.E. Caledonia Ltd. v Orbit Valve Co. Europe [1994] 1 W.L.R. 1515.


texts: Relationships between Grammar and Phonetics

texts:
When I look at some grammar rules such as:

With (He, she and it) we add (es) to verbs ending with (sh, o, ch and ss) in present simple, and so on.

I wonder if there is a link between grammar and phonetics; in other words does phonetics affect shaping grammar rules?

Note: I'm not a native English speaker, and I study English at college as my specialization.

Use as many examples as you can! Thank you!


texts: What exactly does "reading at grade level" mean?

texts:
The other day, I watched a documentary about the American school system. A term that came up again and again was "reading at grade level" and how many students could not do it. I don't know the documentary anymore, but here are two links which contain similar claims (search the linked pages for "grade level").

I can think of two possible meanings:

It means that you can read at the same level as an average person in your grade. So for example, if you are in 7th grade, you can read as well as the average 7th-grader.
It means that you can read at the same as someone in grade school, which is another term for elementary school (?)

It think it's the first option, but then the claims that someone can't read at grade level doesn't seem so bad anymore:

There will always be people who perform below average for their age, that just follows from the definition of average.
If someone is in 12th grade, but can only read as well as the average 11th-grader, they would be reading below grade level, but they could surely read enough to get by on a day-to-day basis.

So, can someone clear this up for me? What is meant when they say "a quarter of high school seniors read below grade level"?

Edit: The "possible duplicate" does not answer my question, because it does not give a definition of grade level, especially not with respect to reading.


texts:
The names for the number 0 include "zero", "cipher", "null", "naught", "nought", "love", "duck", "nil", "nada", "zilch", "zip", "o", "aught", and "ought". There are various subtleties of usage amongst them all.

Wikipedia

Ok right. 0 has a lot of name. I am looking for a word to name a number or a group of number who can be any digits but strictly not equals to 0. Positive, negative, complex, whatever but 0. When I search about opposite of 0, I found about -0 but it is still 0.

Is there a name for all numbers different than zero?


texts: Does "the military" refer to any military?

texts:
When someone uses the term "the military" is it implied they are talking about the military of the current country they are in, or any military? For example I sometimes see on application forms "Have you ever served in the military?" wouldn't it be more correct to have "Have you ever served in a military?" or "the US military"?

Is this an idiom in English that "the" refers to "any" in this context?

Another way to formulate this question: how would one phrase a question if they wanted to know if someone has actively been part of any military, regardless of which country they served for. For example if you were in the US and had a conversation with a man who appeared not to be from there (e.g. he spoke with a Russian accent) would it be more correct to ask "have you ever served in a military?" as it is probable that he hadn't served in the US one.


texts: Is it common to use the phrase “come with” without specifying with whom

texts:
We’re going to the pub. Want to come with?”

I have heard this from an American colleague.
Though this sounds odd to the majority of us, however, since I am not sure of the usage, I am asking how common is it to use the phrase “come with” without specifying with whom.


texts:
Some example sentences:

1) "His first child is a boy, while his remaining/other children are girls."

2) "He spend hundred dollars on a suit and the remaining/other dollars on new shoes."

3) "The first car was faster than the other/remaining cars."

Following my intuition, it is 1) other and 2) remaining. However, is there a rule for more complicated cases, like 3)?


texts: "Please confirm receipt of this email" or "Please confirm the receipt of this email"?

texts:
So, Gmail now is intelligent: it guesses what one wants to write and suggests it in advance! One thing it suggests is:

  Please confirm receipt of this email.

But shouldn't it be:

  Please confirm the receipt of this email.

And correspondingly,

  Please confirm receipt.

or

  Please confirm the receipt.

Which one is correct/better? To write it with "the" seems to me more natural.


texts: What's a word for "weird but somewhat normal?" Or odd/disgusting instead of weird

texts:
For example:

being attracted to a cousin.
picking your nose and eating it.
liking the smell of your own flatulence.

etc.


texts: Are these kinds of sentences considered proper English?

texts: Often, I come across expressions like 'I can't have no money', 'I don't want no help', 'Do you want them tomatoes', 'Be careful with them toes' when watching cartoons, movies and shows. Does anybody consider these to be proper English?


texts: What is the origin of "breaking one's balls"?

texts:
While watching Goodfellas for the first time ever, I have stumbled upon the expression:

  "... and I am breaking your balls..."

(for context: Clip from Goodfellas)

Since I am Italian by birth, I was wondering whether the above expression might have something to do with the quite common:

  "Non rompermi i coglioni."

which literally means "Don't break my balls." but is used when somebody is mad at someone else to signal him to stop doing whatever he is doing that annoys him.

Does anybody know something about any connection between the two expressions?


texts: What is the term for groups of numerals within a large number?

texts:
I am writing software in which I would like to be able to return the groups of numerals within a large number. For example, given a number 123,456,789, my software would return 123 then 456 then 789.

I would like to give each of the 3-digit sequences a proper name, but I cannot find what the correct one would be. Would it be groups? I thought about thousands, but that seems imprecise.

I should clarify that I know what to call each individual group (thousands, millions, etc.). What I don’t know if there is a general term that applies to all the groups.


texts: double subjunctive in conditional clause

texts:
I came up with a question while reading a poem by Duhamel:

"If I were the kind who made promises, I'd probably begin by saying..."

So, why made and not "makes"? Is it strictly necessary to use the subjunctive form in that part of the sentence?


texts: What does the term "a free concert in the mud" mean in this sentence?

texts:
I came across the following sentence in a The Atlantic article:

  Even when a seismic event—a war, a technological leap, a free concert in the mud—plays an outsize role in shaping a group of young people, no single factor ever defines a generation.

English is my second language, so it got me confused. I can understand wars and technological leaps. But how does a concert shape a generation? And why particularly a free one? Why does it take place in the mud?


texts:
John Smith registered domain john.smith under which he'd like to create a personal email address whose local part is a personal pronoun.
English-wise, which of the following email addresses would be the most natural?

i@john.smith
me@john.smith

In other words, does emailing John Smith at 1. feel more natural than at 2. or is it the other way around?


texts:
I read the news report about the attacks happened in Beirut, Lebanon. Here is the link: Beirut, Also the Site of Deadly Attacks, Feels Forgotten.

This sentence I don't understand.

"But for some in Beirut, that solidarity was mixed with anguish over the fact that just one of the stricken cities — Paris — received a global outpouring of sympathy akin to the one lavished on the United States after the 9/11 attacks."

What is "the one" here referring to? Does it mean Paris who lavished on the US? Or does it mean the solidarity? Though I searched some examples about the usage of "akin to", but still a bit confused about "the one" here. What are the synonymous words of "akin to"?

Thanks for helping me!


texts:
Is it the same meaning in tyrannosaurus as in thesaurus?

I really can’t imagine what those two words could possibly have in common!


texts:
I simply want to know what this sentence will imply-

" Why would you have gone there if you hadn't liked that place ? "

As we know third conditional sentences are used in case of hypothetical situation in regards to past

So does the above sentence mean that
the doer didn't like a particular place but still he went there ?


texts: I would like to hear from the forum regarding the use of 'sir' in American literature, such as  'The Manhattan Transfer' by Dos Passos published in 1923. In the Italian translation it is given in the extremely formal 'voi' form, and I would argue that there are numerous examples of 'sir' in that period of American literature where it could be read as being an informal 'tu', simply replacing a name or title where that information is unknown.


texts: Term to designate employee "current status"

texts:
Given the items below:

On vacation
On sick leave
On maternity/paternity leave
Employed
Retired

Related to a employee, what term nominates or best describes this group of items? Can i name it "employee status" or something?


texts: What does "the thesis of this dissertation" mean?

texts:
The thesis of this dissertation is that managing and accessing the Structured Web poses unique difficulties which neither traditional database systems nor search engines address.

This is from Dr.Cafarella's doctoral thesis. I assume that thesis and dissertation have very similar meanings. The expression "the thesis of this dissertation" confuses me.


texts: Ed ending as an adjective sounds differently

texts:
why the adjective "learned" sounds differently when describing "behavior" and "man"?

a learned behavior (d sound)
a learned man (id sound)

Many thanks


texts: Everywhere I've checked for pronunciations online it's CO-IT-TUS. Every time I've heard someone use it in real life it's COY-TIS. Since so many people pronounce it in the latter form, does that mean the original pronunciation is "dead"?


texts: What are the rules when to use double letters for words that end with a consonant when modified both in British English and in American English?

texts:
Example of such words are:

http://grammarist.com/spelling/cancel/
http://grammarist.com/spelling/travel/

As far as I know, at least in American English, words that have single syllable double their ending consonant letters when modified.

Such as:

hop - hopping
cut - cutting
map - mapped

Another part of my question is, are there any exemptions to this rule? Does this rule also apply in British English? If yes, what are the exemptions? If not, what rules apply in regard to this specific matter?

If there are no such rules, perhaps the only way to go is by memorization. Could anyone cite me a real good exhaustive list of such words?


texts: What word can I use for a group of people sharing stories with each other?

texts:
I'm looking for a single word that describes a group of people sitting together and sharing their life stories with each other. But it doesn't have to be stories about their lives. It could also be just stories about anything.

Is there any (close) single word or phrase or a better way to express this?


texts: Word and etymology for "small of one's back"

texts: I've encountered the phrase small of one's back often when I was reading the Divergent series, and recently encountered it again on a Wikipedia article. I've searched its meaning on the internet, but I'm still confused as to where exactly it is located in the body. Some says it's near the buttocks , some says it's higher up, on the part where the usual "curve" is on the torso area. Where did the term came from? Where is it exactly? Is there a single word for it?


texts: Usage of "next to" with dates and time periods

texts:
In sentence of form

  Something must be reported prior to the first working day next to the reporting month.

does "next to" strictly means "after reporting month" or it can be treated as one before the reporting month?

I'd also like to know is it valid to use "next to" idiom with date/time periods, and have some examples of proper usage. Or may be this sentence can be rephrased in more comprehensible way?


texts: Do you “get killed” or do you “be killed”?

texts:
Wondering which version is correct of these two sentences:

"I will go to war where I will be killed."
or "I will go to war where I will get killed."

I was thinking it might be an american english vs. british english thing, but could not find enough examples to verify this. Or are both applicable to the same situation?


texts:
When used as pronoun, it's "its", but what if "it" is used as the word "it" itself, a noun?

For example:

"Its function is to substitute a neuter object."

vs.

"It's function is to substitute a neuter object."

The first one sounds like it's about an object from context, not the word "it", and the second one I have mixed feelings about.


texts: What do you call "Leave Work" for people regardless of location (in-office vs. from home)

texts:
I need to communicate the fact that a co-worker is no longer engaged on a task, normally communicated as below:

  [Customer], [Coworker] had to leave the office early today, so I'm
  taking over for him.

However, [Coworker] was never even in the office because he was working from home.  Is there a word (or phrase) for the idea "leave work early" that doesn't use the idea of location?  Everything I've come up with seems clunky or incomplete. "Stop work" has some pretty negative connotations in my industry, so I need something else.


texts: Is there a word for "sensation that some events are related"?

texts: Say you find a news article about "Agent Orange" and the next day your English teacher gives you an old text about "Agent Orange". It's not causation or correlation, those terms are "broad" the term I am seeking is sort of a feeling you get.


texts: Comma before a dependent clause and the word 'respectively'

texts:
I am trying to write the following sentence:
The Senate comprises 76 members, with each state and territory having 12 and 2 senators, respectively.
Should there be a comma before with and respectively?


texts: What words can express the act of sharing in a collective sense, as opposed to a distributive sense

texts:
I would like words or very concise statements that express the act of working together and sharing items/resources to a common location for the benefit of a group of people that the items are being shared with.

To give you some background, I am struggling to think of a name for my web application which is built to allow groups of users (friends, colleagues etc.) to share digital resources to a central location. As a starting point, I tried to find alternative words for "sharing" but the only suggestions I could find were more suited to describing the allocation/division of resources. I would like words which describe sharing between people to a common location.


texts: "A novel" or "the novel" in various contexts

texts:
Why should I use the in the first case and a in the second?

The novel is the most popular form of fiction.

A novel is a long narrative.

My thoughts:

For the first case I could think of the rule:

  Use THE with superlatives such as "the best", "the biggest", "the most
  important", "the least interesting", etc.

So it's necessary to use a definite article because of  the most popular.

For the second case the relevant rule seems to be:

  Use A(AN) when you are talking about a thing in general, NOT a
  specific thing.


texts:
I was reading an article in The Atlantic when I ran across this sentence:

  Are both spellings equally as acceptable?

I've seen this "equally as" construction before, and I've wondered if it was acceptable. To me

  Are both spellings equally acceptable?

is a perfectly grammatical and complete sentence, and the version with "equally as" sounds wrong. How does it even make sense? If two things are not equally "as acceptable", does that mean that one is more "as acceptable" than the other?

Anyway, even if there's nothing wrong with "equally as", isn't the "as" redundant? Is there any difference in meaning between the two versions?


texts:
Here is a first paragraph of a Meta SE post.  It has a common word, "drop," that I don't understand in this context (the bolding is mine):

  Recently, it was announced that the "Hot on Meta" questions would no longer show up on the SO sidebar. Sara Chipps elaborated a drop on why:

Does "drop" here mean the same as post in this context?  Does it come from the idea that one drops a post into the ethernet, like one drops a letter into a mailbox?

Merriam-Webster has

  d: a place or central depository to which something (such as mail,
  money, or stolen property) is brought for distribution or transmission

  left the package at the drop

  also : the act of depositing something at such a place

  made the drop

Is this the dictionary definition that comes the closest to the usage in that Meta post?

Note: After the author clarified the meaning here, I went over to Meta SE and edited the post.  The author kindly allowed my proposed edit to go through.  Here's what it looks like now:

  Recently, it was announced that the "Hot on Meta" questions would no longer show up on the SO sidebar. Sara Chipps elaborated  a little bit on why:


texts: Which is correct — 'longer than it otherwise would' OR 'longer than it would otherwise'

texts:
Which of the following sentences is correct, and what is the underlying grammar rule?

The roads are rough, so the journey takes a little longer than it otherwise would.

The roads are rough, so the journey takes a little longer than it would otherwise.

Many thanks,
JJ


texts: A word to describe movie that shown only on internet

texts:
Is is ok to use the word "internet movie" for a movie that people have to pay money online and view only on internet, actually view only on any device that can connect to internet and play movie file.

Example.

The hirer agrees to hire the actor and the actor agrees to be hired as actor to play an internet movie. (hereinafter referred to as “The internet movie”).


texts: Meaning of the word 'function' in this context?

texts:
The concept of execution environment is an essential part of the definition of software reliability. Consider that a software system supports 10 different functions f1,...,f10, and there are two groups of users. One group of users use only functions f1,...,f7, and the second group uses all the functions. Let functions f1,....,f7 be fault free, but there are faults in functions f8, f9, f10.

function
a. the kind of action or activity proper to a person, thing, or institution; the purpose for which something is designed or exists

b. mathematical functions

c. function keys

Everyone I talked to takes the word function in this context to mean one of the above three. Which do you think is right?


texts: Which is correct: What is the course fee? or What is the course fees? Also, are the two words fee and fees interchangeable?


texts: A Phrase for 'Looking to Ceiling in Frustration.'

texts:
I am writing a short fiction, and I have a scene where my main character, pressured for time and being presented with a maddening dilemma, looks to the ceiling in frustration. Literally, he just looks upwards in exasperation for a moment.

Is there a phrase I can use to represent this motion and/or emotion?

Context: The main character has made his decision to embark on a quest which will probably cost him his life. He only has an hour to complete it, so he needs to get moving. Despite this, the woman he loves is insisting on going with him. She does have certain 'skills' that he needs, but he still doesn't want her to go, for obvious reasons. He doesn't have time for this, and looks to the ceiling in frustration.


texts: Can "of yore" be preceded by words other than days or time?

texts:
For example, "Where is my wanderlust of yore?"

Does the sentence make sense?


texts:
I was wondering: some diseases have stages with specific names, as opposed to "Stage I", "Stage II", etc. Should I capitalize the names of the stages or leave them in lowercase?

I'm asking in respect to the disease HIV, where the stages are named "acute HIV infection", "clinical latency" and "AIDS". Does each name have to be capitalized? According to a few websites (like aids.gov) the stages aren't normally capitalized, but I want to be sure. (I also would like to know for future reference, and for other diseases and the like.)


texts: Punctuation marks in use of "up to and including"

texts:
What punctuation marks (or paraphrasing) should be used to make this sentence easier to read:

  Releases up to and including Product v3.1 do not have this feature.

Is it ok to say the following?

  Releases up to, and including, Product v3.1 do not have this feature.

Are there better alternatives?


texts: What is the word for sensing something is strange

texts:
I want to describe my character waking up and sensing something is strange, however, can't put a finger on what. For example,

  Alice woke up and felt __, something seemed different.

Different like something was wrong and off. I don't mind to have an idiom as well.


texts: Which is correct: contribute or contributes?

texts:
Which sentence is correct:
1. We ask that each person contribute one item to our potluck.
2. We ask that each person contributes one item to our potluck.


texts: English counterpart to Japanese signal word, “Dokkoisho”

texts:
What is an English counterpart to the Japanese signal word, “Dokkoisho” uttered unconsciously in such case as sitting down on the bench?

When you get old, it becomes tough to move your body. We Japanese, particularly old people and the middle-aged use to utter a signal word or interjection, “Dokkoisho” when we sit down on the chair, bench or stone on the roadside and when holding up a bulky and heavy thing like heavy luggage. It sounds like a kind of sigh or onomatopoeia.

It may be similar to ‘upsy-daisy,’ but “Dokkoisho” is addressed to yourself as a monologue, and seldom used by young people or people who are in the prime of age. When you start to say “Dokkoisho” in taking any motion, it’s a sign that you’re getting old. It has a tone of both “Relax” and “Be aware of the action now you are taking.”

I’m curious to know if there are counterpart words to “Dokkoisho” in English.


texts: What's the difference between /t̬/ and /ɾ/ in American English?

texts:
I have learned that the t between vowels in American English is usually an alveolar flap, represented by /ɾ/, which is the voiced counterpart of the usual /t/.
Cambridge Online Dictionary gives /ˈbet̬.ɚ/ for the word "better". Here the voiced /t/ is represented by /t̬/*. I couldn't find anything online about the difference between /t̬/ and /ɾ/. If I am to transcribe a word in American English, which one is more accurate to use?
For example the word "water": /ˈwɑː.t̬ɚ/ or /ˈwɑː.ɾɚ/. Is there any difference between the two versions? If yes, what is the difference please?
(*it is not /t/).


texts: What's a word for the final mixing and processing of already processed ingredients (specifically in the context of cooking)

texts:
I'm looking for a word which describes the act of putting all your ingredients together and cooking them one final time as a way to sort of finalize a meal.

An example is Lasagna. First you cook all the individual parts, but then the final step involves assembling the pieces together and baking them for a while so that the dish holds together better, the flavors mix a bit, and there's also some browning.

In the abstract, I'm thinking about the construction of objects which have many components that are processed individually then brought together for a final collective refinement. Is there a word for this last sort of finishing one does to a bunch of individually finished components?

P.S. I think another example of this, not from cooking, would be "mastering" in the context of music production. That is the final phase where all the tracks are brought together and made to sound like a more cohesive whole rather than a bunch of individual pieces.


texts: Proper punctuation for compound sentence with quote that is a question

texts:
How should this be properly punctuated?

  What is the purpose of human existence, or is it meaningless is the question asked by Juan Valdez in "What do coffee pickers with burros think about all day (p. 80)?"

This example closely simulates my actual dilemma. I think that it is punctuated correctly, but does different punctuation convey a different tone or meaning? Does, for example, "...meaningless? -is the question..." convey the tone and sentiment better? Please don't suggest restructuring the sentence, because unless it is incredibly awkward or ludicrous, I believe punctuation exists to help us get our thoughts across to the reader, not to limit the creative voice of the writer with a static set of rules.


texts: Should the word "commission" be used in singular or plural in these cases?

texts:
I don't know what would be grammatically correct, commission or commissions, in the following sentences:

  We will pay you commission(s) for each client you refer to us.
  You can track your commission(s) earned via...
  Payment of commission(s) will be made at the request...


texts: Correct rule for placement of a pair of parenthetical commas in a sentence

texts:
What is the correct rule for placement of a pair of parenthetical commas in a sentence?
Let me explain the problem with the following example sentence wherein any person would find the people placing the parenthetical commas at two different places:

The CSI, in its email, has informed us that ...

The CSI has, in its email, informed  us that ...

Now, the question is: which of the two is correct? Or, better?
Are they equally good? Can I write the sentence either way?
I have googled the problem, but to no avail.
Can anybody shed some light?


texts: Understanding use of "Pragmatic" in language

texts:
I struggle with the use of the word pragmatic in everyday language. And in this post, I hope to get as much input as possible.

In a recent tweet, a guy asked Ann Coulter "what is you're alternative to Paul Ryan? You're usually more pragmatic about what is feasible including general elections..."

It seems that the use of pragmatic here is to be vocal or opinionated. But that isn't the definition of the word. It means to be reasonable with no concern to theories outside of the situation.

Strangely though, Coulter answers him.

What are some examples of the word pragmatic?


texts: How to express taking paid time-off in a sentence

texts:
I would like to have a sentence to indicate a person is on two days of paid time-off.

Could I form a sentence like,

  "He is on two days paid time off."
  "He is on paid time off for two days".

Please let me know which one is correct.


texts: What does “get rolled” in “Eight ways Trump got rolled in his first budget negotiation” mean?

texts:
The Washington Post (May 1st) runs an article under the headline, “Eight ways Trump got rolled in his first budget negotiation,” which is followed by the following paragraph:

“Democrats are surprised by just how many concessions they extracted in the trillion-dollar deal, considering that Republicans have unified control of the government. Democratic leaders Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi quickly put out celebratory statements last night. Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan did not. Here are eight ways President Trump got rolled.”

Though I don’t find the meanings of “get rolled” in my dictionaries at hand, Urban dictionary defines the meaning of “get rolled” as

1) having been busted by the police or other authority for usually small incidents ie parties.
The word comes from: the cops "rolled" (in thier cars/motorcycle) up and proceeded to enforce the law.

2) past tense of creating a joint:
We got rolled at the park for smoking our weed that we just rolled.

I also found the following statement online:

For an “older” person the meaning of getting “rolled” is typically understood. However, since my appeal is for all generations to understand and to protect me from being unfairly characterized – I double checked with Urban dictionary. While I discovered a number of more creative definitions, the old school definition seemed to still apply: “getting mugged, ripped off, robbed, etc.” typically coupled with violence. - From (iontams.com).

To me Urban dictionary’s “busted by the police” doesn’t seem to fit “got rolled” in the “Eight ways Trump got rolled in his first budget negotiation.” It's highly unlikely that the President gets busted. What does this phrase mean in the context of the Washington Post’ s article?


texts: What is the correct punctuation mark to use when introducing a definition in the middle of a sentence?

texts:
I am writing a scientific paper and I am unsure whether I should use a comma or a dash when defining briefly a word in the middle of a sentence. For example, which of the two below would be the correct form?

The digestion of proteins into amino acids, organic compounds containing an amine and a carboxyl group, is catalyzed by a variety of enzymes in the human digestive system.

or

The digestion of proteins into amino acids—organic compounds containing an amine and a carboxyl group—is catalyzed by a variety of enzymes in the human digestive system.

Also, would the punctuation mark differ if the definition was placed at the end of a sentence?


texts: "stop to do something" vs. "continue to do something"

texts:
A transcript of a recent speech by Barack Obama contains the following sentence:

Boston police, firefighters, and first responders as well as the National Guard responded heroically, and continue to do so as we speak.

The usage of continue in this case contrasts what I have learned about the verb to stop, as in

We stopped to let the pedestrians pass the crosswalk, so the car did not move.
We stopped letting the pedestrians pass the crosswalk, so I accelerated.

I suppose that these three examples are grammatically correct. People like me, who learned English as a second language, could misunderstand Obama's usage of continue as

[...] and continue (with doing something) in order to do so

I do not believe this is the actual intention. I conclude that this to do vs. doing issue is not a general pattern, but rather a restricted phenomenon. So my questions are:

Is it correct that the aforementioned phenomenon is only relevant for a few verbs? If yes, could somebody provide a list of these verbs?

Is it helpful, to regard the verb to stop as a homonym, where one version of to stop refers to a process of ceasing movement, while the other version is an auxiliary verb followed by a gerund?


texts:
The possessive form of who is whose. What is the equivalent possessive form of which?

which has the same purpose as who as a placeholder in a secondary sentence, with the difference that who is for people and living beings while which is for inanimate objects (please correct me if wrong).

Example:

  An image is read and sent to the function, which's output is displayed.

Here I have used an obscure word invention: which's in place of the word I am looking for. What is the correct word to plug in, if any? Compare with a similar who-sentence:

  An gift is wrapped and sent to the Peter, whose reaction is recorded.

The equivalent word in my mother tongue Danish is hvis:

  Et billede læses og sendes til funktionen, hvis output vises på skærmen.


texts:
I am confused about the meaning of the word propaganda
I've read on the internet that propaganda means deliberate spreading of rumors to help or harm a person, idea, etc..
So it is something that is "bad" but at the same time I've seen many people using the word propaganda in a "good" way. For example Joseph Goebbels was a minister of propaganda.


texts:
In many languages, formation of diminutives by adding suffixes is a productive part of the language. Many languages apply a grammatical diminutive to nouns, a few—including Dutch,  Italian and Russian for instance—also use it for adjectives.

In English, noun diminutives (mainly in the sense of a smaller version of something)   are generally formed by using adjectives. A common exception, among a few others, is the usage of the suffix:

  -let:

  diminutive word-forming element, Middle English, from Old French -elet.

  from which, booklet (n.)

Questions:

Why are diminutives in English not always formed by adding a suffix, like in French for instance?
Why can't a suffix like -let be applied to everday terms like hand or car? For example, handlet, or carlet.

(This related question does not deal with my specific issue.)


texts: Role of "that" in the beginning of a sentence?

texts:
IN EARLY 2020, with the coronavirus pandemic tearing across the world, most people thought it unlikely that a vaccine would arrive any time soon. And as work to develop vaccines began, there were dire warnings of the difficulties ahead. That is why it is so remarkable that, heading into 2021, it seems likely that one or more working vaccines will soon be available. That this can be said with such certainty reflects the number and diversity of approaches being taken.

What is the role of "That" in the beginning of the last sentence? Under what circumstances a sentence   can start with "That"?
Source: https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2020/11/16/the-covid-19-vaccination-programme-will-be-the-biggest-in-history


texts:
In Connie Willis' Doomsday Book, American archaeologist Lupe Montoya is described as wearing a "terrorist jacket" in several places:

  Kivrin’s tutor Latimer, looking older and even more infirm than usual,
  was standing next to one of the trunks. Montoya was standing over by
  the console wearing jeans and a terrorist jacket and looking
  impatiently at the digital on her wrist. Badri was sitting in front of
  the console, typing something in and frowning at the display screens.

and

  “Well, great,” she said, jamming her papers angrily into the pockets
  of her terrorist jacket. “The whole village will have washed away
  while I’m stuck here.” She stomped out.

and

  Montoya was covered in mud, too. She was wearing her terrorist jacket
  and thigh-high fisherman’s waders like Basingame, wherever he was,
  might be wearing, and they were wet and filthy.

I've tried looking up "terrorist jacket", but I'm only seeing things branded "terror" and a few references to vests that suicide bombers wear. Is this an actual item of clothing, or is it some sort of future piece of fashion that we're supposed to imagine? As you can see, there's not much context to go on in figuring out what it might look like.

There was some suggestion on SciFi Stackexchange (from which this was migrated) that this may be a fanciful prediction for how language may evolve in the future, and that the author is suggesting that the distinction between "bomber" and "terrorist" may disappear in future British English. My question is: is this an actual type of clothing, or was it made up for the book?


texts: Is "even if..." followed by present or future tense?

texts:
Is it correct to say:

  even if only James Bond will benefit from...

or

  even if only James Bond benefits from...


texts: Specific word for discrimination based on religion

texts:
How would one refer to discrimination purely based on religion? Is there a single word?
For example discrimination based on sex is often referred to as sexism, discrimination based on race is often referred to as racism.

I found one similar question online, at Yahoo Answers, but unfortunately as expected the quality of the answers is laughable, and outdated.


texts: A single word that describes trying to obtain something you might not actually get?

texts:
I'm trying to retrieve an object so that I can use it. Normally I would use the word "get" here so I would end up with "get X".

However, there is the possibility that my attempt to retrieve the object will fail, preventing me from using it and actually performing work.

I'm looking for a word that reflects my attempt at getting it whilst also acknowledging the possibility of failure.


texts: When did the term sci-fi come into usage?


texts: Why do Christians in American deep south say "whenever" when they mean "when"?

texts:
As a midwestern American (Iowa), I want to understand the history, reason, and mechanics of why southern Americans say "whenever" when the word "when" would suffice.
For instance:
An Iowan (and the rest of the West and Midwest, probably) would say:
"When I was a child I loved candy."
But, someone from Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina are more likely to say:
"Whenever I was a child I loved candy."

Where I grew up we were taught that "whenever" is used to describe an unknown when, either in the present or past. The other situation where whenever was appropriate is when discussing a "when" that occurred multiple times.
Ex 1: (past repeated)

"Whenever he decided he wanted to dress like a girl, he would put on his pink tutu and just dance the day away."

In this tense, whenever indicates that something was repeatedly done but specific dates and times aren't being offered. This is a generic, summary "when".
Ex 2: (future unknown non-repeat)

Jim: Hey, what time are you leaving today?
Bill: It depends.
Jim: Well, whenever you decide to go, can you pick us up some milk up from the store before you come back?

In my understanding, both of these two examples would be considered correct usage of "whenever".


texts:
I recently asserted on my blog that a distinction was moot. The sentence:

Granted, the distinction between system and package manager maintained
assets is moot on Linux distros, as they're all updated from apt-get,
yum and so on.

People have commented on my allegedly incorrect use of moot, claiming that the distinction itself can't be moot, only the point of the distinction.
I've already read  about moot points. Should I rephrase the sentence using moot point? In the contemporary context, would I be correct when describing things as moot?


texts: Why is the English word 'second' latin based but other numbers aren't?

texts: Examples: one, two, three, etc. and first, third, fourth, etc. are all germanic and old english based, but "second" is Latin based. This also applies to "quarter" and I'm sure some others.


texts:
she was so tired that she couldn’t think. (Oxford)

Oxford says that-clause above is a subordinate clause expressing a result. Semantically ‘she was tired’ seems to be the main clause, but there also is the possibility ‘she couldn’t think’ might be thought as the main one, and ‘she was tired’ is a subordinate expressing the reason of that-clause.

So the words below that do not use ‘subordinate’ sound to be better explanations for the case. Then on what ground does Oxford say the clause is subordinate?

  Cambridge: to introduce a clause that gives further information,
  although it can often be left out. Longman: to introduce a clause
  that shows the result of something:


texts:
I've come across answers that say something along the lines of, "Well I've only heard people pronounce it ev'ry."

Yeah, well if people started mass-jumping off of buildings, that doesn't mean I'd do it.

All jokes aside, my point is that people pronounce words differently depending on where you live. "Vietnom" versus "Vietnam", "fahr" (one syllable) versus "fire" (fy-yer).

I'm sort of conflicted about even asking this question, because it's something I need to know for a poem. But in poetry it can be okay to bend/break rules, whether it be slightly changing the enunciation or pronunciation of a word, or not using capitalization in the case of haiku, etc.

Still, tl;dr, I was just curious what people on here thought.

If it's only two syllables, why? If "ever" is a two syllable word--why wouldn't it be ev-er-ee?

What would make "ev-er-ee" wrong? Some old rule in a dusty tome buried by the sands of time?


texts: What is the English synonym for the German word "Sparmeister"?

texts:
Well, the title pretty much says it all.
A Sparmeister (noun), briefly speaking, is

a person who is concerned about his finances and tries to avoid
spending money whenever possible.
a person who always tries to get the best (lowest) price on things.

I would consider this word neutral, rather than offensive or complimentary.
The context for which I need this word is gonna be a sentence similar to this:

Looks like you are quite the "Sparmeister", you only spent --insert low
amount of money here--.

Is there any better wording for "Sparmeister"?


texts: Is this usage wrong? A: "What do you want to do in your free time?" B: "I would like to see my parents in my free time"

texts:
Longman Dictionary defines would as,

6. "would like" is used to say that someone wants something or
wants to do something
My parents would like to meet you.

But this English teacher said in a video
"would like" should be used in specific situation (right-now need).
So, I would say "would like" is a formal form of "want" but only for "wanting something in a specific situation"
See scenario 1,

A: What do you want to do in your free time? (general "want")
B: I would like to see my parents in my free time.
(this sentence sounds very wrong to me though I am not a native speaker)

B needs to say: I want to see my parents in my free time.
See scenario 2,

A: What do you want to do now? (specific "want", a "want it right now")
B: I would like to see my parents right now. (this sentence is fine & sounds more formal than "I want to see...")

So, I would like to ask users, if the following usage is wrong.

A: What do you want to do in your free time?
B: I would like to see my parents in my free time


texts: The sentence sounds incorrect but comes from respectable book, please review and advise

texts:
Current social standards and a sense of morality in our culture have led to the rejection of prostitution. It has been cast it aside as a deviant behaviour by the prostitute and the client.
  —The Contemporary Dictionary of Sexual Euphemisms, 1st ed., 2007

Please advise, is the second "it" in "It has been cast it aside" used correctly? Because it "feels" incorrect to me, I'd expect it omitted, as in "something has been cast aside by somebody". Or maybe it was voice transcription and writer pronounced an incorrect past participle "casted" which got recognised into "cast" + "it"?

Thank you.


texts: What is the difference between must have been and had to have been?

texts: I have gone through the answers but it couldn't satisfy me my doubt is still same that using had to have been is wrong and instead one should use must have been.


texts:
Many years ago, on my way from Hongkong to New York, I passed a week in San Francisco.

What exactly does the phrase "pass a week" mean?


texts:
As an English learner, I have been confused about the position of the adverb from the beginning. Here is a question which puzzles me：

A) It only took him ten minutes to do the test.

B) It took him only ten minutes to do the test.

Are they both grammatically correct? It will be appreciated if anyone could give me a detailed explanation.


texts: When did speakers/writers of AE begin to replace the noun "quotations" with the verb "quotes"?

texts:
Not being particularly adept at using Google's Ngram viewer, I put the two words (quotes and quotations) into the viewer and it displayed a result, with the two lines staying pretty close together until late in the 20th century.  Then I thought to myself, "Does Ngram 'know' that I want it to compare two nouns as opposed to one verb and one noun?" (You know, apple to apple, orange to orange.)

At any rate, I've always preferred using quotes as a verb and quotations as a noun, but I seem to be in a minority nowadays, with most folks considering the two words to be synonyms.

My questions are, then:

When did quotes (as in "My favorite 'quotes' are from Mark Twain"), begin to replace quotations (as in "My favorite 'quotations' are from Mark Twain") in AE and/or BE?
Should I just "go with the flow" and adapt to the change?  (If I do not, I have a feeling I'll remain in the company of a very small minority and be considered a nitpicker by the majority!)
Did Ngram do what I expected it to do, treating as nouns both quotes and quotations?


texts: Does a double negative itself convey a positive meaning?

texts: Does a double negative itself convey a positive meaning on its own? Or do we just infer a positive meaning by a double negative?


texts: "Are transmitted" vs. "are being transmitted"

texts:
After eight bits are [being] transmitted, D must go high for  at least one bit time, which is referred to as stop bit.

Is "being" required there? Why or why not?


texts:
I am currently proofreading a research paper for my literature class, and I was unsure if this is an acceptable use of a comma:

  Profound cultural and religious differences caused Smith to conclude that the Natives were nothing more than barbarians and savages, an underlying bias which runs deep throughout the entire story.

Is this acceptable?


texts: Is there a word for a last name that is also a word? If so, what is it?

texts: For example; Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, John Doe, Sweet Brown (all these last names are also words).


texts: Comforting/encouraging English idiom meaning 'it's not that bad'/'it's not all bad'

texts:
I have been told this by an unknown man on the street a few years ago, when I was looking particularly sad.

It was something that meant to say 'it's not all bad, cheer up', and it either contained the word 'sea' or another word from the lexical field of sea/sea navigation.
I just can't remember it right now.
Thanks!


texts: In the sentence "the tradition wants that it be always the same person who handles the teapot" (where "be" is a subjunctive), I was wondering if "handles" should not be replaced by the subjunctive "handle" too.


texts: "I don't give a fig" degrees of comparison

texts:
It's absolutely OK to say something like
"My liver pain bothers me more than my nose bleeding"
right?
But what about the opposite attitude. If I don't really care about something, can I compare it with not taking care about something else, for example:
"I don't give a fig about my HIV even more than about my caries"?
Is it correct from the language usage point of view? or "I don't give a fig" has the constant value which is not comparable?


texts: Is the sentence, ' I want to learn skateboard.' , grammtically right?

texts:
Is the sentence, ' I want to learn skateboard.' , grammtically acceptable ?
Instead of 'learn to skateboard  or learn skateboarding',  is ' learn skateboard ' right expression?


texts: What is the difference between interaction, communication, conversation, and discussion?

texts: I think all of these are kinds of communication. But can't think the difference between the other terms


texts: Is there a word to describe a short forceful exhale from the nose or mouth that indicates a sarcastic or derisive laugh?

texts:
When I think of the word snort the only sound that comes to mind is that nasally mucus laden inhalation noise.  Is that just my only option?

The sentence I'm trying to fit it into:
"It’s just going to take a bit more work than I’d hoped.”  Steve grinned. Sue ______.

Sue is ____ing because Steve is vastly understating the amount of work they'll need.  For more context, Sue is a mixture of playful and curious, but at this moment is having a hard time because she's starting a new job that she is woefully underprepared for.

The sound is maybe a bit like a tsk sound, or maybe a tch.  Like a very throaty tsk.  I can make the sound, but I don't know if there's a word for them. pssh?


texts: What's the meaning of the speaker's remark?

texts:
P1: Winter coat crew, whatchu wearin? Need a new winter coat. my trusty navy-issue peacoat is old as hell.

  P2: I'm just having seconds when the mashed potaters get passed around. I think that should do it.

What is the responder saying? What's the meaning of his remark?


texts: Is there a rule for when to pronounce "ah" instead of "ae" in RP versus GA?

texts:
I would like to know if there is a rule when to pronounce ah in RP versus ae in GA.
Is it a question of vocabulary or is there a rule for that?

Examples:
dance- in RP is pronounced ah
but in GA  it is pronounced ae

or: can't, romance, cast, fast, etc.


texts:
I am trying to brush up on my grammar but I am confused on when to use the correct tense of the verb.

How/when should I use the correct tense?

a) I write the letter.
b) I am writing the letter.
c) I wrote the letter.
d) I was writing the letter.
e) I have wrote the letter.
f) I have been writing the letter.


texts: What is the difference between "Every. Single. Day." and "Every day"

texts:
I just saw my friend's comment about eating some food stuff that it happens with her

  Every. Single. Day.

That just means every day, doesn't it?

Now English isn't my native language. Is this used sarcastically or something like that?

And somewhat help from this I guess. I never knew this as well: Everyday V Every Day


texts:
Recently while driving to the store (a path I have taken hundreds of times before), I was suddenly struck by a feeling that was similar to déjà vu, but in reverse.  Specifically, where déjà vu is the feeling "I have seen this before", I was struck by the odd feeling that everything seemed extremely unfamiliar (even though I know the roads well).

Is there a word to describe this "opposite to déjà vu" feeling?


texts:
Two example use

Arsenal's title credentials are under threat.
Manchester City's title credentials will be tested.


texts: What does “leaning in” mean as basic qualifications of women in the pursuit of positions in the workplace?

texts:
New York Times’ article written by Scott Schieman,  et al under the headline, “When Leaning in doesn’t pay off” starts with the following sentence;
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/opinion/sunday/when-leaning-in-doesnt-pay-off.html?hp

  “Why do women not have as many leadership roles in the workplace as
  men do? Some have pointed to internal barriers, suggesting that the
  problem is partly attributable to something about women themselves,
  they are not “ambitious enough” at work, or are deeply committed to
  work but too hesitant to climb leadership ladders in organizations. -
  - - Sheryl Sandberg, in her now famous phrase, would have women “lean in,” to be more assertive at work and not let biases keep
  them from pushing forward. By leaning in, women would obtain more
  authority.

  To understand the claims embedded in the “lean in” hypothesis, we
  need to know why, when or how women decide to pursue positions of
  authority in the workplace."

As I haven’t read Sheryl Sandberg’s book, I don’t know what she means by “lean in.”

Unfortunately none of Cambridge, Oxford, and Merriam Webster Dictionary includes “lean in” as an idiom, though all of them carry “lean on sb. / stg.”

What does “lean in” means? Does it mean stronger devotion to the work? In what instances is 'lean in' used as an idiom? Is “lean in” a neologism with specific implications /purposes invented by Sheryl Sandberg?

By the way:

Sheryl Sandberg’s ‘Lean In” is translated into Japanese by Yuko Kawamoto et al, published by Nihon Keizai Press, one of Japan’s leading newspapers known by the financial term, 'Nikkei Index' and a publisher recently, and widely read by Japanese businesswomen and men. It's becoming a best-seller.

The title and the word, ‘Lean In’ of the Japanese version are translated as “Make a step forward.” However, I wonder if “Make a step forward” exactly fits what Sandberg intends to convey and what you perceive with this word.

To me "lean in" and "make a step forword"- there's the axiom in Zen, 'Make a stepfoward at the end of a cliff to get Satori (spiritual enlightment) - sound different as a physical action or posture, setting aside the state and level of mind.


texts:
Which of these sentences is correct?

  Becky's parents cheer her on during her matches.

  Becky's parents cheer on during her matches.

  Becky's parents cheer on her during her matches.

The last one sounds weird to me.
Thanks!


texts: "Each other" - singular or plural in this sentence

texts:
In this sentence, should the last word be "life" or " lives"?

(Imagine two children brought up by the wrong parents to make this sentence make sense!)

They had had each other's life/lives.

Many thanks for a definitive answer!


texts: Which of these sentences is grammatically correct?

texts:
Upon learning about the incident, the agency launched an internal investigation to accurately determine the impacted customers.
Upon learning the incident, the agency launched an internal investigation to accurately determine the impacted customers.

Which one is correct? Or are both sentences okay?


texts: Why isn't there "is" in "They did it, thinking it more glamorous than..."?

texts:
Could you please help me with the grammar of this sentence? It's from an essay in a book on IELTS by Cambridge University Press.

People turn to buying the new brand from overseas nations, perhaps thinking it more glamorous than the one they are used to. As a result, local companies are likely to maximize their profits as they import foreign products.

Is it more glamorous grammatically correct, and if yes, why isn't it it is more...?

Thank you!


texts:
Is there a general rule whether to use the Verb + to infinitive or the Verb + ...ing format?

There are cases in which I can't decide which one to use.
Like:
 -They can't afford to go out very often.
 -They can't afford going out very often.
Or:
 -I don't mind to wait.
 -I don't mind waiting.
Or:
 -It was a nice day, so we decided to go for a walk.
 -It was a nice day, so we decided going for a walk.


texts: What is the correct usage of 'worse' and 'worst'?

texts:
I've noticed a lot of people who, according to the way I was taught, misuse the words 'worse' and 'worst'. The way I understand it, 'worse' is for comparisons, and 'worst' is the superlative. But more and more I see people using them in the exact opposite positions.

That's the worse thing I've ever seen.
This can't get any worst.

This specific thing seems to occur a lot more than any mistakes, so I'm wondering what's up with this.


texts: Should I capitalize Yes and No in "Yes or No question"?

texts:
I want to talk about a question. There are two possible answers.

Yes.
No.

Could I refer to that as a Yes or No question, with both capitalized? Or, maybe Yes-or-No-question with hyphens?
I initially wrote: "Can you answer a yes or no question?" The lowercase letters don't seem quite right. The choices for the question I'm referring to will start with uppercase.


texts:
I am having a hard time understanding the definition of dichotomy.

I saw this recent article from a Harvard student:
"• Dichotomy means two mutually exclusive alternatives and does not mean difference or discrepancy.
Correct: There is a dichotomy between even and odd numbers."

Does that support the Oxford Dictionary's definition?

"Division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different:"

I'm just completely confused, now.


texts: A word for someone who lacks in academics but is still smart?

texts: What word other than 'street-smart' means you lack in academies but you are still smart?


texts: Can [adjective] [noun] ever describe a broader set than [noun]?

texts:
In phrases of the form [adjective] [noun], the adjective is often being used to narrow the set described by the noun alone. For example, "red cars" narrows the set of cars to only include ones that are red.

I am looking for a special case in which an adjective elevates the phrase to be more inclusive. This could conceivably happen with a very common adjective-noun pair that is used so often that the noun alone gets "left behind" in the language. Can you think of any examples of this?


texts: What terminology is used for English words coined by EFL speakers?

texts:
A neologism is a newly coined word. Is there a term for a new English-language word coined by people in another country for whom English is a foreign language? While visiting China a few years ago, some Chinese friends introduced me to their new word -- gelivable. At first I thought they were mispronouncing or mangling believable, but they explained that it was a word for saying that something was sufficient or enough or adequate. A bit of research reveals that the word is formed from a Chinese word, geili. http://www.china.org.cn/china/2010-11/12/content_21327924.htm

I see the word described as a Net buzzword. A Google Ngram Viewer search yielded zero hits.

My question is: what terminology is used for this kind of formation of an English (or at least English-sounding) word that seems to be used primarily, if not exclusively by people whose first language is not English?


texts:
Lost marks. And in exams, with time pressure and stress you lose it bad. It is worst when you know that how easy it was if the English (language) was understood right. The passage was research based. A question goes like this,

  "which of the following according to xyz, is at least in part
  responsible for bla bla bla..."

Eyeballed and I quickly circled "least responsible", tricky as it is, and doomed!

There's another usage of at least in part, reference here.

  "Our balance is maintained, at least in part, by the endolymph fluid
  in the inner ear."

I want to know how/why it is used in different materials, either as "at least in part" or "in part at least".


texts:
Sometimes information comes in a highly structured manner, such as a database with its tables, rows and columns; or a heavily formatted document with a strict hierarchy of sections, chapters, headings and subheadings. Some other times, however, information is weakly structured, and looks more like a continuous stream of text. What is a good adjective for this?

I have seen the phrases "free-text" and "free-style" used in similar contexts, but I am not sure that they sound OK to native English speakers. Also, is there any other adjective that works better than either of these? Thanks.


texts: Is the phrase "breed of men" weird or just different?

texts:
Forgive me for asking two questions in a single post, but I think it would make more sense to post them together. So please indulge me.

Sentence: He is not unique. We should be able to discover such breed of men on turning the pages of history, small in number though they might be.

Is 'such (a) breed of men' too archaic an expression to still use today? (I'm using it in a translation of a short story)
Usage of article: 'such breed of men', 'such a breed of men', or 'such a breed of man'?
Also, could you please explain the logic behind your choice?

I find myself confused over the more complex usages/omissions of articles. So, a proper explanation or even a link would be much appreciated.


texts:
Hello everyone:
I was watching a documentary about Scientology when I heard the following sentence, which, I believe, contains an illogical shift in tense.
“We have been hoping that someone would have left the Gold Base and say the abuse is still happening.”
I think the speaker of the sentence should have said: We have been hoping that someone has left the Gold Base and that they would/will tell about the abuse that is still happening.
Thanks


texts:
Sometime on the Internet we see some cute cat doing some cute things:

And because of that, an English speaker will say: It's too cute.

Because I'm French, and in French we have no good equivalent for 'it', I wonder...

Does the 'it' stand for:

The cat.
The situation (what the cat is actually doing).

In French we will respectively say:

Il/Elle est trop mignon/mignonne (depending if the cat is a He (default) or a She).
C'est trop mignon (the 'C' standing for the situation)

Finally what will be the correct translation for the two phrase below ?

[edit]

A simple way to give a response to my question will be to put it plural, what did you say when you see this:

They are too cute. (the cats)
It's too cute. (the situation)


texts: Does the type of play on words in "Some people are immune to good advice" have a name?

texts:
On Breaking Bad, Saul Goodman remarks, "Some people are immune to good advice." Similarly, a friend of mine described a weekend as "a celebration of procrastination".

Does word play that juxtaposes the verb and the object, as the examples above do, have a name?


texts:
So when Mr. Trump ducked out to dinner Tuesday night without
  informing the journalists assigned to cover him, it struck White House
  reporters as a small but significant omen that cordial relations
  between the president and his press corps, a hallmark of the West
  Wing, were under threat.

Ritual of Ever-Present Coverage May Not Pass Muster With Trump

I have trouble understanding this. COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © Harper Collins Publishers says that if you duck out of something that you are supposed to do, you avoid doing it.

  George ducked out of his forced marriage to a cousin.

And The Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus lists this example:

  You can't duck out of your responsibilities.

However, I don't think the meaning of the verb as used in by the NY Times is the same. Is there some other meaning that's not in the dictionaries?


texts:
most + verb   (Is this ever ok?)

The student who most epitomizes ambition: John Doe.
The man who most epitomizes masculinity: my father.

Other examples include:
Sneakers most symbolize the casual trend.
What most represents beauty to you?
Who most represents the idea of the "ugly American"?

I understand "most" with a noun, adverb, and adjective. But I hear "most represents" and "most epitomizes," but how can I explain why it's correct if it is indeed correct?

Is there a rule that applies to modifying a verb in this way as there are so many instances?


texts: "To generate a lot of suggestions" saying

texts:
Is there a way of saying when someone generates a lot of ideas in a row.
The closest I could think of is: Tim has started to throw out random ideas at the meeting.
Would "throw out" work? Are there more casual ways of expressing it?


texts: Is "epidemiology" an appropriate word for the study of invasive species in an ecosystem?

texts:
I'm looking for a technical term to describe the study of infestations of invasive species. It seems that "epidemiology" is defined (by WHO) as

  the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events (including disease), and the application of this study to the control of diseases and other health problems. Various methods can be used to carry out epidemiological investigations: surveillance and descriptive studies can be used to study distribution; analytical studies are used to study determinants.

But it also seems that this word has a "human disease" component thoroughly baked into it.

Specifically, I am writing a report that concerns an infestation of a specific kind of insect in a forest.  Can I say something like "botanical epidemiology"? The insect causes a disease within trees which kills them.

I am just wondering if there is a word specifically for invasive species infestations.


texts: What's the name for the individual units of small foods?

texts:
I have two sections where I differentiate between "types" of foods: powder and small foods. I want a replacement for "small foods" with a single word the represents foods where they are small items which make up a larger group of the food (think nuts, candies, fruits, etc.).

Specifically, what are the elements within a group of the small foods called? In a handful of almonds, what is each almond of this handful generally referred to as? I'm looking for a word that can mean one or more and relates to having one or more of a type of small food.


texts: Problems with the meanings of the words 'already' and 'yet'

texts:
I have a problem with understanding the difference between 'already' and 'yet'.
Are these examples correct and do they mean the same?

  Have they already done it?
  Have they done it yet?
  Haven't they done it yet?


texts: past progressive with dependent clause -- dependent clause types in the face of ambiguity

texts:
I'm trying to explain how to contrast the following two sentences in a meaningful - detailed - way.

I was eating when a bee stung me.
I was eating when I was on a break.

The intention is to teach ESL learners to understand that the first as an "interruption" statement but the second is not.
I'd like to avoid saying "you just have to understand the context".
I feel like the function is different enough that maybe, maybe we can.
Is there a way to define a difference in those two
"when" clauses
to predict the function
based on the grammar of the clause or words?


texts: I understand the word "anarchy" to mean "without a political leader" rather than "no rules". Consequently, it would seem that "anarchy" has roots in "an-" and "hierarchy". Is this correct, and would someone provide more detail?


texts:
This sentence is from the dictionary:

"Congenial means sharing the same temperament, or agreeing with your temperament."

How's the comma functioning in the aforementioned sentence? What rule is being implemented?

It obviously feels natural to have the comma placed there, but does it fit into any of the prescribed rules for commas? I can tell you that it separates the coordinate completers of the finite verb of the sentence, but why? The phrase after the comma is a noun phrase--which can only lead me to assume it's behaving as an appositive (but with a conjuction attached). Correct thinking?

Thanks in advance for responses.


texts:
I was going through an article. The article is on forcing a leader out of the position of president of some election party. In the post, one of speaker said:
The aura of the leader has been  exposed now.

What I didn't understand is what someone means when (s)he says: "the aura of leader has been exposed now"?

The link to the post.


texts:
What is the correct form:
" I can't bear the thought of YOUR going out" or "I can't bear the thought of YOU going out".


texts: Exactly as the title states: Is there a word 'uptrending'? Wikipedia suggests it is, however, Word marks it as a mistake.


texts: Should I use "where" or "that" in this context?

texts:
Is it appropriate to use "where" in this sentence:

  "They made me testify. Sometimes they asked questions where you'd think: Are you crazy to ask this?"


texts:
Detective A: (The Victim said) speeding through Times Square after six? (And She's lying.)

  Detective B: You'd make better time on a goat.

I know 'goat time' means 'good time', but I don't know how I understand 'time on a goat'.

Maybe the victim is lying, so you'd better no waste your time on her?
Or it just means that you can't drive fast through Times Square after six?

Please help me to understand it perfectly!


texts: What is it called when you are sent by the organization you work for to do a one day task in another city?

texts:
Suppose that you work in a company located in London. One day they send you to install some equipment in Manchester. The whole task takes one day and you return to London at the same night. They will pay you extra money for doing this job outside of your regular workplace.

1- What is this mission called?
(I have seen the word posting but it seems to be used for longer periods of time like one month or more.)

2- What word would you use for the extra money that you will be paid for doing that task?


texts: Why do we say 'tearing about' meaning rushing around in a rather haphazard way. I can't find the expression in any dictionary or thesaurus and am not sure if  I am spelling it correctly. Most concerned it could die out if parents don't continue to use it to chastise lively children! Any ideas?


texts: Term for a former prisoner, who seems to have an aura of jail hanging around him

texts:
I read in a book about this effect, and I just can't remember the term for it. It describes the effect with a name, something like: "shadow of jail about him" or something. This is seriously driving me crazy. I've tried and tried to remembered, and googled, and I still can't remember it.

It describes people who have got out of jail, and they seem to have the aura of jail still around them. I know it is actually a phrase, not something the author coined. Can someone please help me? And sorry for the vague kind of guidelines.

If you want to know, that book was something I read years ago when I was younger, called

Jo's Boys


texts: "with a predisposition to" OR " prone to"

texts:
Which sentence is correct/better?

The difference of sleep hygiene according to social status and age was statistically significant in patients with a predisposition to insomnia

OR

The difference of sleep hygiene according to social status and age was statistically significant in patients prone to insomnia


texts: Single word request: Harming the benefactor

texts:
Suppose, I helped a person in his tough times. I stood by him in his financial crisis and made an all-out possible effort to help him overcome his distress. Therefore, I was surely a benefactor to him.

A few years later, he stole my undergraduate degree certificate and started blackmailing me.

What do you call a person who harms (or tries to harm) the benefactor?

In Bengali, we use the word "কৃতঘ্ন" (pronunciation: Kritoghno) for such persons. Google translate shows that the English counterpart is "Unreasonable". This is nowhere near to the idea!

So, what do you call such a person?


texts: A word to describe two (far apart) locations

texts:
I'm looking for a word to describe locations that are far apart. My sentence is:

  The manufacturer uses two _____ locations, thus requiring two inspectors.


texts: What does "have discussed" imply in this sentence?

texts: The module will incorporate a critical consideration of the concept of expertise and provide an opportunity for students to produce and have discussed their own communicative artefacts in the form of videos/blogs or other creative pieces.


texts:
Please help resolve a dispute between my partner and me.

The other day, I sent my partner a text explains that 'I would rather be sat in the pub drinking a beer' to which I was corrected that I should have used 'sitting' instead of 'sat'. I'm pretty sure both are proper English but she disagrees and says using 'sat' is lazy. Help!


texts: Do we use the definite article when a noun is already uniquely identified?

texts:
Do I say "Answer question 4" or "Answer the question 4" ?
I'm in doubt about which form to use in a test I'm preparing for my students...


texts: Helping-adverbs vs. Helping-adjectives vs. Adverbs of degree

texts:
I've recently come across the terms helping-adverb and helping-adjective in some old grammar books.
From the book A practical grammar of the English language (by Roscoe Goddard Greene, 1830):

A Helping-Adverb (1) is a word employed to aid an adverb, or another helping-adverb; as, " He rides too fast ;" " He rides much too fast."
Helping-adverbs, (2) very, quite, exceedingly, excessively, extremely, too much, &c.
The same words are called helping-adjectives when they are employed to aid adjectives; as, " The house is too large ;" or another helping-adjective; as, " The house is much too large."
These words are, by some writers on grammar, called adverbs of degree.
...
The words very, quite, exceedingly, excessively, extremely, too, and
some other words, are called by some grammarians, helping adjectives,
when they modify adjectives — when they modify adverbs, they are
called helping adverbs. — Blair.

From the book The American system of English grammar (by James Brown, 1826):

Helping adjectives relate to the principle adjective and to other helping-adjectives:

The weather is very much too warm.
The richer the soil, the better the fruit.

Warm is the principal : too relates to warm;much to too;and very to much.
The is a helping adjective relating to richer and better.

From the book An analytical, illustrative, and constructive grammar of the English (by Brantley York, 1862):

If such adverbial elements limits a substantive element, through the medium of some adjective element, they may be called secondary or helping adjectives ; but if they modify a verb or participle indirectly, i.e., through the medium of some other element, they may be called secondary or helping adverbs.

Questions (all related):

Are the terms helping-adverb and helping-adjective used in the grammar of the contemporary English or are they abandoned long time ago?
Is there any credibility of the explanation of the terms above? Or is it covered by adverbs of degree already and is it the only used term currently?
Might the terms helping-adverb and helping-adjective be used in the grammar of other languages currently but not in English grammar?


texts: Is “... microphones don't have cameras” a Freudian slip, intentional, or [sic]? How to tell?

texts:
In response to Kellyanne Conway's observations that microwave ovens can turn into cameras:

  There was an article this week that talked about how you could surveil someone through their phones, certainly through their television sets, any number of different ways, microwaves that turn into cameras. We know that that is just a fact of modern life.
  Kellyanne Conway, MARCH 13, 2017

That same evening, Fox News anchor Shepard Smith commented wryly:

  Microwaves that turn into cameras a fact of modern life? Microwaves do not turn into cameras. Fox News can now confirm microwaves heat food, cameras take pictures. Microphones [sic] don't have cameras. And microphones [sic] cannot turn into cameras. Fox News now confirms.
  [video]

Note that Smith used the term microphones twice here.

Was his usage of the term microphones a Freudian slip? Everyone is aware that microphones are used in wiretapping devices to record conversations.

Merriam-Webster defines Freudian slip as: a mistake in speech that shows what the speaker is truly thinking

Or did the Fox News anchor really mean that microphones do not have cameras, and cannot turn into cameras? Would [sic] itself be an error?

According to Jane Straus, author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, sic is used to indicate an error that appears in the original text.

  Sic is a Latin term meaning “thus.” It is used to indicate that something incorrectly written is intentionally being left as it was in the original. Sic is usually italicized and always surrounded by brackets to indicate that it was not part of the original. Place [sic] right after the error.

Nowadays, newsreaders and anchors read off teleprompters whose scripts, presumably, have been proofread several times. If Shepard Smith didn't misread the term, was it still an error?

Would it be considered a mistake to insert a [sic] when quoting Smith?
Is there a specific word for this type of speech error, if error it was, in broadcasting?

Related (but not a duplicate of): How do you quote a passage that has used '[sic]' mistakenly?


texts: A Single Word for "Secretly watching your crush"

texts:
What is it called, if someone watches their crush from behind without the crush knowing?

I often watch movies in which a guy looks at a girl he likes, happily watching her for some time and pretending to be talking with his friends when the girl looks back or realizes his actions.

Is there a single word for that?

I can't think of another word other than spying, which is just wrong, I think.

To be precise:


texts:
"What is a wine?" or "What is wine?"

"What is a convertible?" or "What is convertible?"

I don't know if I should be using is with "a" or not. I've heard people saying "what is a" and even "what is"; I think both are correct, but when should I be using them?


texts:
Is it correct to say:

  I have got a bank account since I was 18?

I think that it is wrong because since implies something that has happened in the past and is still happening, while got is something that has happened and has ended.

My English language teacher says that it is correct.


texts: What is the difference between illegal and unlawful?

texts:
I often hear an unlawful act, so what is an illegal act?
Dictionary.com defines the words as:

illegal

forbidden by law or statute.

contrary to or forbidden by official rules, regulations, etc.

unlawful

not lawful; contrary to law; illegal

so it appears they might be synonyms. Is there some nuance that I'm missing?


texts: My husband often uses the word "need" when I would use "want".  When asked if he would like a drink he will say "No thanks, I don't need one right now".  Does the use of the word need instead of want give the response a different meaning?


texts: Tenses in literature review / Dead author

texts:
In the sentence : "In her book Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen describes/described Mr. Darcy as a proud man."

Which tense is more suitable to be used: simple past/simple present?

p/s: I've research this and got mixed answers.


texts: Are these two adjectives acting as coordinate adjectives or cumulative adjectives?

texts:
I'm trying to understand whether the two adjectives in this sentence are acting as cumulative adjectives (no comma; different categories within Order of Adjectives) or coordinate adjectives (takes comma if "and" can be placed between the two and adjectives belong to the same category). Could you please help?

Her throw of words was like a gigantic freezing shower.

I think these are cumulative adjectives as "gigantic" refers to "size" and "freezing" refers to "observation or opinion" within the Order of Adjectives. Am I thinking right? In which case, should there be no comma?