texts:
Here's an example:

  It is our imperative to bomb the volcano early, thus preventing a much
  larger eruption later.

Is "imperative" correct there? It seems to be synonymous with "duty", or maybe "prerogative". I can tell it's being used as a noun, but usually the word is used as an adjective meaning "very important". But can it be used like this as a noun?

(Can someone tag this any better? I don't know enough about English grammar to choose the right tags, but I'm pretty sure the "imperative" tag is not appropriate here; I can't really articulate why, something about verb aspect?)


texts: Word that means "to make look like a bad thing/force"

texts:
There is a word (I think in ends in -ize) that means “to make seem like an an evil thing or force.” For instance:

  The author __ the axe to foreshadow its usage in the coming tragedy.

What is the word?

NOTE: I don't think it's "antagonize" since that usually means "to make hostile".


texts:
Every so often I want to ask the reader to look back at a page in the current book they have in their hands (my Ph. D. thesis).  If I write something like

  Critically, breaking a mathematical task down into small, individually-masterable steps can help the topic seem less daunting (Mighton, 2003) -- compare Gowers's "quantum of progress" in research mathematics (p. 50).

... it looks vaguely like I'm trying to direct the reader to page 50 of Mighton's book; I'm not.  Is there something akin to "ibid." that I could use instead of the cumbersome

  Critically, breaking a mathematical task down into small, individually-masterable steps can help the topic seem less daunting (Mighton, 2003) -- compare Gowers's "quantum of progress" in research mathematics (p. 50 of the current work).

(or similar)?

Update

  Critically, breaking a mathematical task down into small, individually-masterable steps can help the topic seem less daunting (Mighton, 2003) -- compare Gowers's "quantum of progress" in research mathematics (Chapter 3, p. 50).

A variation on the suggestion from @terdon.  Does this avoid the ambiguity I was alluding to, without being cumbersome?  I'm not sure, but I'll mark the answer as accepted.  I'd still love to know if I can use c.w. or similar as an abbreviation for "current work".


texts: What's the term for the left hand side of a comparison operation?

texts: I believe the right hand side of a comparison (i.e. the thing being compared to) can be termed a 'comparand'. Is there a word that can be used for the the left hand side of that equation? I.e. the thing that we're comparing?


texts: What does “Too much toothpaste has left the tube” mean? Is it a well-received turn of phrase?

texts:
I was drawn to the phrase, “Too much toothpaste has left the tube” appearing in Washington Post’s (January 13) article under the title, “Comey should resign.”

  “(FBI Director James B.) Comey was in a difficult situation, boxed in
  by Clinton partisans and heading an agency that allegedly was
  expressing distrust of the Obama Justice Department. By all accounts,
  Comey is a decent man and a straight shooter, and it’s unfortunate
  that the Clinton scandals landed him in such an untenable position.
  But too much toothpaste has left the tube. The FBI won’t be thought of
  as being at its best, and the agency’s investigations and actions
  won’t be met with complete trust, unless there is a change at the very
  top.”

I often hear the expression, "You cannnot push  toothpaste back into the tube," but I've never heard of “too much toothpaste has left the tube.” Does “toothpaste” here represent unsettled problems or suspicions on the stage? Is it a popular turn of phrase, or simply a writer’s coinage? If it is a well-received expression, how can it be used in other contexts?


texts:
There is a sentence

"He used to bring us a comic for a half-penny plain and a penny coloured."

Why does the 'plain' go after half-penny, not before a comic, if it means black and white and has nothing to do with a half-penny?


texts: '-gate' as a suffix to coin words related to scandals and corruption cases

texts:
I noticed that for corrruption/scandals the usage of '-gate' suffix is pretty common, as we have recently seen with 'datagate' and before with 'watergate'

Can anyone explain what the relation between '-gate' and scandals is and why this relation arose? Also, is this '-gate' used with the same sense in British English, too?


texts: Is "Whom should I give this job to?" grammatically correct?

texts:
I found a grammar rule about when to choose "who" and "whom".

Rule. Use this he/him method to decide whether who or whom is correct:
he = who
him = whom

So I have a question about correctness of the following question:

Who should I give this job to?

According to this rule we should have used whom instead of who, because I should give this job to him, not I should give this job to he. But there's a man who keeps telling me that

Whom should I give this job to?

is wrong. Please clarify?


texts: In the questions "Can you imagine Dad and I putting up with this?" is the subject pronoun 'I' correct, or should it be 'me?'


texts: What is the meaning of the phrase "to mop and mow"?

texts:
I am trying to translate into French the poetic text "The Firstborn", by British author Laurie Lee, a text about the birth of his (second) daughter – Jesse/Jessy – on 30th September 1963. He writes:

  "New-born, of course, she looked already a centenarian, tottering on the brink of an old crone's grave, exhausted, shrunken, bald as Votaire, mopping, mowing and twisting wrinkled claws in speechless spasms of querulous doom."

Obviously, the poet plays with/on (?) the verb phrase "to mop and mow", whose meaning I cannot find on any online dictionary... that is the problem with phrases... very often, dictionaries give you the meaning of words, rarely phrases!
(Stupid websites: when you enter a search, they all raise their hands: "Me! Me! Ask me!", like eager students... and when you click on the websites, they just answer "I don't know!"!!!)

I am asking you, people, what, then, since – luckily – people are more knowledgeable than websites, is the meaning of the verb phrase "to mop and mow"?
Obviously nothing to do with "to mop your brow" and "to mow the lawn"... ?!


texts: If not now then when - a saying by Hillel the Elder

texts:
I'm going to get my first tattoo in English. As English is not my first language, I would like to double-check if this sentence has any bad connotation. I did some research on internet and I didn't find any problem so far.

This is the sentence:

  If not now, then when.

Thanks


texts:
I am trying to find the correct opposite of a delegate in the context of a person being a representative of someone else that have allowed or chosen them to be their delegate.
What would you call that "someone else?"
The only word I could find is a delegator (which isn't a real word in English) or assigner, but they are technical words rather than descriptive.

Any other word I could use?

Think of it in a sentence like this:

  Here is a list of all the delegates in the company.
  But that is the list of their _ _ _ _ _ (what can go here?).

I am trying to avoid fillers such as:  bosses, agents, managers, etc.


texts:
I am having difficulty with subject + verb + infinitive set-ups, as I discovered with who/whom sentences.
I understand who and whom as the subject and object forms.
For sentences that I find a little more difficult I find it challenging to identify the form.

For example:
"This is the man who/whom Sara asked to wait for her."
I figured this would be whom. Since the man is the object of asked; as a variation: "Sara asked him to wait for her." (Subject + verb + object + infinitive + prepositional phrase.)

"This is the man who/whom the authorities refused to permit entry to the building."
I think whom is correct; as a variation: "The authorities refused to permit him entry to the building." (Subject + object + infinitive + object + adverbial phrase?).

I ask because of the following I found online:
"[This is the] man who the authorities refused to admit existed."
I applied the variation: "The authorities refused to admit he existed."
Existed applies to the man and so he is the subject of the verb exist. I'm confused because “he existed” seems to me to be the object in the sentence.

Take for example: “They refused to permit him entry”. The objective pronoun is being used. Both 'to permit' and 'to admit' are transitive here (I think); therefore, isn't “he existed” the object?

I am confused by the use of the infinitive and what qualifies as the object in the subject + verb + infinitive set-up. Any assistance with how to understand this subject + verb + infinitive set-up and the object would be much appreciated.


texts:
I believe that revisionism is in itself essentially a historical exercise. I'm looking for something that can succinctly describe the following scenarios where the "revisionism" is more immediate and possibly necessary. I'm open to both terminology and colourful idiomatic expressions.

  John Doe is the leader of the revolutionary army. He is, however, hit in a drive-by shooting and dies instantly. Later on, his second-in-command informs the army that their leader didn't die instantly and actually survived for a few minutes. He states that John Doe's last words were, "Don't lose heart and keep on going without me. I'll be watching over you from the heavens.".

Quoting from here:

  The miracle of the herring is an usual miracle ascribed to St. Thomas Aquinas, mainly out of desperation on the part of the Catholic Church because, although he was a great writer, he did little in the way of sainthood. Therefore, they created this miracle. The story goes that St. Thomas Aquinas was on his deathbed and wanted some herring, but there was no herring where he lived (the Mediterranean) so they gave him pilchards instead. When Thomas ate them, he said they were the best herring he ever tasted. The church claimed that the pilchards turned into herrings in his mouth.

(I'm not sure how much time passed between Aquinas' death and his canonisation. For the purpose of this question, let's assume that this interval was relatively brief.)

Edit: I'm concerned more with the act of revisionism to advance a cause than its end result or the subjects involved.


texts:
Would you explain the lyric "Blessed be the mystery of love" in the song "Mystery of love" by Sufjan Stevens please? Why the song writer use the word "be" instead of "is"?
Full lyrics of the song: https://genius.com/Sufjan-stevens-mystery-of-love-lyrics


texts: What is the right verb to get a degree from a university, would it be receive, earn, or any other verb?

texts:
Could you please advice what the appropriate verb to get a degree?
Please see the following sentence that will be written on a certificate of doctoral conferment.

This is to certify that above named person has completed all requirements and "receive" or "earn" a degree from XXX university.


texts:
I saw it in the Game of Throne and I felt kind of confused about this sentence.

  He was never anything but decent toward me.

Is positive or negative?


texts:
I'm aware of the existence of auto-antonyms/contranyms, but I'm looking for something that seems to be the opposite: a situation in which either word in a set of antonyms results in the same meaning. To be clear, a contranym requires antonymous homographs; I am searching for two distinct words that are antonyms but convey the same meaning in context. For example, the following sentences mean the same thing:

How is your homework coming?
How is your homework going?

The only other example I can think of at the moment is "slow up/down", although there are probably others. (I keep telling myself to write them down as I come across them, but that's a separate issue.)

Additionally, I recognize that there may be a subtle difference in connotation that I'm missing. In the situations I've presented, do the two words mean exactly the same thing, or is it inappropriate to use on in certain cases? To me it has always just been the one that comes more naturally in speech, but I believe I use the coming/going example both ways equally as often.

Edit: I should state that I'm wondering if a term for such a situation exists; I am not searching for more examples, although those are welcome!


texts: What is the name of combination, in error, of similar or related words? (E.g.: segueway)

texts:
Is there a technical term for combination, in error, of similar or related words?  This question is prompted by the following malapropism or solecism, from an article by Elizabeth Montalbano in InformationWeek:

  The project also serves as a segueway into the next-generation Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), a program by NOAA that also will collect weather and climate data.

The writer presumably formed segueway by miscegenation of segue with Segway.  The problem does not seem to be a simple typographical error, which "includes errors due to mechanical failure or slips of the hand or finger, but usually excludes errors of ignorance, such as spelling errors."  It also seems unlikely to be a neologism.  Some processes of word formation -- agglutination, back-formation, blending, etc. -- of course are in play here, but those terms don't imply error.


texts: A synonym for "simple" with positive connotation

texts:
I have developed an algorithm that performs at least as well as others in the field, but it is much simpler. That is to say, it does not depend on complicated models or advanced mathematics and is more straightforward.

When writing it up, I would like to call the method "simple," but I feel like it can also mean "unsophisticated." Is there a word that means "uncomplicated" or "simple" but has a positive connotation? I am tempted to use "elegant," but to call one's own algorithm elegant seems inappropriate.

Example sentence:

"We present a simple method for , which outperforms  on several metrics."


texts: Can I describe as "revamp the control system" for making some change at a system?

texts:
I would like to explain about the necessity of making some change on a traffic control system when the road layout is changed. Can I use "revamp" for the explanation like,

You have to consider about how to revamp the control system when you reengineer the road layout.

Sorry for my poor English.


texts: Synonyms for exclamations of joy or excitement

texts:
I am looking for words that convey similar meaning to the following: 'whoopee', 'yeah', 'yahoo', when such words are used as exclamations of joy or excitement, as in :

  'Whoopee! Hammertime!'

  'Yeah! Holidays!'

  'Yahoo! School's out!'

Perhaps in this type of usage 'synonym' is not the correct term, and I hope what I am asking is in any case clear.

In addition, very localised or period-specific words are very much okay (as long as you can reference it). For example, perhaps in 18th century Bordeaux people shouted "Mercante!" to mean the same thing.


texts: What is a less extreme word for enforce?

texts:
"The university should stringently enforce the rules.",

What word can be used in the place of the word "enforce" to make this sentence less extreme?


texts:
What is "an engaging content program"?
I am reading a text about email-marketing and this phrase puzzled me.
Here is some context:

It’s time to start working on a newsletter design that converts. Whether it’s for a corporation or your personal brand, email has the power to:
   - Connect you with a large audience frequently and consistently
   - Keep the costs of sharing new information low by cultivating a channel of your own
   - Allow you to scale an engaging content program quickly
   - Share compelling calls to action to steer your audience in a specific direction


texts: What's the meaning of "on a comparable basis"?

texts:
I'm not a native English speaker and I'm having a hard time trying to translate it. What could be the definition for "on a comparable basis"?

Edit: Here's the context in which I've encountered it:

  ... statistics were presented on a comparable basis.


texts:
Is the following sentence grammatically and semantically right?

"Despite what was in the past, nowadays extended family is an integral part of our lives"


texts: Animal equivalent for "as _________ as humanly possible"

texts: Phrases like, "as fast as humanly possible" are pretty well understood, but what about when you're not talking about a human? A dog can run faster than a human, for instance. How would you express that a dog arrives as quickly as can possibly be expected of a dog? Perhaps a rabbit can't get as close as a human can to say, a high shelf. Is there a way to fill the blank, in that example, for "as close as _________ possible"?


texts: What is the exact meaning of “It’s better to be lucky than good”? How popular is this adage?

texts:
Today’s (October 29) New York Times carries the article written by Jim Collins and Morten Hansen under the title “What’s luck go to do with it,” It deals with a nine-year research study of some of the most extreme business successes of modern times that they call "10Xers," that they recently completed.

The article begins with the following line.

  “Better to be lucky than good, the adage goes. And maybe that’s true — if you just want to be merely good, not much better than average. But what if you want to build or do something great? And what if you want to do so in today’s unstable and unpredictable world?”

I guess “Better to be lucky than good “means “to be gifted with good fortune is better than being simply good (at what remains as a question though),” but I’m not sure of its exact meaning.

Although the authors say it’s an adage that I understand should be well-established, popular form of expression, I don’t find this phrase in neither Cambridge nor Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Google Ngram either doesn’t register this phrase.

As a plausible origin of this expression, flightjournal.com says:

  “By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver. "It's better to be lucky than good," says Lamar Gillett, the only P-35 pilot in. World War II to shoot down a Japanese Zero fighter. "I was lucky I was behind the Zero instead of in front of him. I was lucky when I landed back ...”

What is the exact meaning of "It's better to be lucky than good,"? What does "good" mean here? Is it really qualified as an adage as the authors claim it?


texts: When is comparative degree adjectives with no "than" preferable?

texts:
Are there any rules / recommendation to using comparative "larger" instead of positive "large" when there is no comparison? What are they (recommendation of course)?
Examples:

"I, __, take you, __, to be my lawfully wedded(husband/wife), to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer..."

"The main participants in this market are the larger international banks."(Wikipedia)


texts: Would a "comment" have an implied brevity to it?

texts: I always thought that a comment would be, in comparison to other kind of response, such as an answer, something brief. However, it doesn't seems like Wiktionary says anything about it. Am I mistaken?


texts: Does "may want to" mean the same as "will have to"? Are there nuances?

texts:
I read the following in an article  "When the Personal Becomes Political".
Is there any difference in the following sentences? (My bold to show the difference)

The agent, Sherry Wan, clearly does not speak English as her first language, so you may want to follow along with the transcript.

The agent, Sherry Wan, clearly does not speak English as her first language, so you will have  to follow along with the transcript.


texts: What is the English word for "rinconada"

texts:
In general a "rinconada" is an incoming angle formed at the intersection of two houses, two streets, or two roads.
In geography a "rinconada" is the land between two mountain branches.
In the next image I tried to do a draw of it, the spiral shows the place that I'm referring to, where some houses could be settled, for example.

UPDATE: I take the image shared by @Mari-LouA where I mark in red what is the closest place to what I'm asking for, and I have added the translation for "gully": quebrada


texts: What is the right preposition after "report"?

texts:
"He will report into Charles." or "He will report to Charles." ?
"He will report into the Collectorate." or "He will report to the Collectorate." ?


texts: What is the word for a person who destroys monuments?

texts: About 20 years ago, I had a book that was definitions of colorful, interesting, unusual, and oddly specific words. One of the words described someone who engaged in (and possibly enjoyed, but I don't remember) the act of destroying or vandalizing monuments.


texts: Does the English language have an official Academy?

texts: For some languages, there are academies that decide topics such as grammar and spelling of things, for example, for the Spanish language, there are 22 academies in 22 different countries, all making decisions on spanish grammar in their country. I would like to know if there is something that serves the same purpose for the English language.


texts: Where does the apostrophe go when the noun is modified by "both"?

texts: "As both of my grandfather’s alma mater," vs. "As both of my grandfathers' alma mater," -- which is correct?


texts: The state of being a member of something

texts:
Suppose I am a member of a club/group. What is that state of being inside the club called, in the following context?

  I have __ to this club.

I'm thinking admission, but that really doesn't sound like it.


texts: "Meatless Alternatives" at grocery confusing/unclear?

texts:
There is a freezer section at my local grocery labeled "Meatless Alternatives" (pictured below). Strictly construing this means this section should contain alternatives to meatless foods, i.e., meat. This section stocks veggie burgers and vegan choices.

Shouldn't the section sign more accurately read "Meatless", "Meatless Options", or "Meat Alternatives?"


texts: How one refers to a third person without specifying the sex or number?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is there a correct gender-neutral, singular pronoun (“his” versus “her” versus “their”)?

Is there a generalized way to do this.

Who is it used in modern media (internet, tv, movies, songs), in a colloqial context, (among family and friends), and in a formal environment (work office)


texts:
There is an example of "after" in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

I can't believe she'd do that, not after all I've done for her.

In this context, "after"  means "despite". It can explain. Yet "not" is confusing me. What is the usage of "not" here?


texts: Reconciling the singular and plural in a title

texts:
Here is the tile of a journal article: https://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/2724039/recognizing-potential-overdiagnosis-high-sensitivity-cardiac-troponin-assays-example

"Recognizing the Potential for Overdiagnosis: Are High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin Assays an Example?"

Hmm. I think it should be:

"Recognizing the Potential for Overdiagnosis: Is a High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin Assay an Example?"

The issue, of course, concerns the implications of a  high-sensitivity assay.

Thanks.

Howard


texts: What is the hand gesture called when you knock down your opponent in a fight?

texts: Is there a word or an idiom for the hand gesture, done after finishing a task successfully or after knocking down the opponent in a fight? The one like wiping off the dust from your hands, which indicates it's a victory but it was easy for you. Not done to gloat, just happens spontaneously as if it's a natural gesture.


texts: "Accessory" pronounced with a stress on the first syllable

texts:
I'm a first language English speaker, but grew up bilingual in Spanish in a Spanish speaking country. Today I was speaking to another first language English speaker (Canadian) and used the word "accessory" but the other person did not understand me. I changed the stress from the first syllable to the second and they finally understood. I thought this was because my English is more Americanized, and chalked it up to the difference with Canadian English. Curious, I looked up the pronunciation in the dictionary but it only offered the second syllable stress pronunciation as correct.

Have I been pronouncing it wrong all this time? I only use the first syllable stress version when talking about objects (an accessory for a camera, for example) but for some reason use the second syllable stress version in other situations (like "accessory to murder"). I cannot trace why I pronounce it the first way, so I have no idea where I learned to pronounce it that way (or why the other way in other contexts). Can anyone confirm if there are any regions (that use English as first language) that pronounce it the first way?


texts: A word for one thing that is masquerading as two (The "Double Issue" issue)

texts:
I am trying to figure out the best way to describe this seemingly specific name, the "Double Issue". In English, Double has many meanings, but the main uses all basically mean 2 of something, in some way shape or form. In the situation I am about to describe, the word Double does not mean what most English speakers intuitively think it does. (Note I am not trying to dispute its defined meaning or anything)

If I were to call an issue release of some kind of content a Double Issue, most people will intuitively think it has twice the content, because that is what double means in most circumstances. However, for Weekly Shonen Jump (basically a collection of chapters of Japanese Comics released almost every week, usually of the Genre called Shonen), as well as many other Magazines it seems, It has a whole other meaning. In these cases, it is a single issue, with no more content than normal, that is labeled as 2 different issues. So, one week they will release issue 3, then the next, it is issue 4-5. they then do not release another issue the next week, and resume with issue 6 the week after that. Issue 4-5 is called a Double Issue by most English people, but to anyone who does not explicitly know what that means, they of course think there will be twice the content. Shonen Jump specifically releases only 48 issues. Over the course of 52 weeks, they release 48 Issues, with 48 issues worth of content, but 4 of them are counted as double, and so are labeled as such, so number 48 is labeled issue 52.

What I am looking for, is a better word to describe this issue than Double. Does anyone know a better word or phrase than double to describe this kind of thing?

Edit: As noted above, some people brought up that Double issue by default means exactly what was described. While I did not know that, It does not change my original intent, looking for a substitute word or short phrase that could also be used to describe this to others without the built in deception of Double. Another note, words that imply "once every two weeks" like Biweekly, do not fit this description. Shonen jump specifically is a Weekly Magazine, so using words like Biweekly to describe any of its Issues does not fit at all. The word/Phrase could likely also be a substitute for Leap in Leap Year. Though, If we can't find a good intuitive word/phrase, Leap might actually work.


texts:
Possible Duplicates:
  Which is correct, “you and I” or “you and me”?
  When do I use “I” instead of “me?”

Which one of the following sentences is correct?

  John and me are working on it.

or

  John and I are working on it.


texts: Present perfect tense and specific time expression?

texts:
According to many grammar textbooks, present perfect tense should not be used with specific time expression. Therefore, it is grammatically wrong to say "I have sold my house on 10 December 2018."
However, I often see this type of sentence in the writings from the United States:
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Official Seal of said City this 26th day of August, 1954.
Questions:
Does the word 'this' make it an exception that 'present perfect tense' can be used with specific time expression in this construction?
or
Is the use of present perfect tense with specific time expression allowed only in American English?


texts:
I would like ask you foe help with meaning for "come to rumbling halt".

Is the same meaning as "to come to a grinding halt"?

The context is that the pumps stopped working - and the full sentence is - Pumps came to a rumbling halt.

Thank you very much


texts: Hyphenating a compound noun in conjunction with '-related'

texts:
This is a bit of a conundrum, if you ask me. The compound noun in my title, 'Fluid Flow' does not require hyphenation. On the other hand, this is then followed by '-Related'. If I were to put: "Fluid Flow-Related..." then it would look like 'related' only relates to the second noun, i.e. 'fluid'. So I am inclined to put "Fluid-Flow-Related..." Yet this arguably looks a little odd, and over-fussy - especially in a title.

If anyone can shed any light on this head-scratcher, I would be most grateful!

(NB: regarding the link to a possible duplicate thread - the solution which I am specifically seeking to avoid [in the question I have put forward] is the very solution which is suggested in the other thread; in effect I am actually asking how to avoid a two-hyphen solution.)


texts: So, Can linking verbs be used with "continuous tenses"?

texts:
What Are Linking Verbs?

  A linking verb is a verb which connects a subject to its predicate
  without expressing an action. A linking verb is used to re-identify or
  describe its subject.

  Ex:

  Alan is a beast.

  Alan seems drunk.

But I would say that some linking verbs can be used with "continuous tenses" & other linking verbs can not, but I am not sure.

  feel (linking verb) to experience a particular feeling or emotion

  Ex: I’m feeling a little better today.

  Do you still feel hungry?

So, feel in this meaning can be used with continuous tenses

But I would think this sentence "Do you still feel hungry?" does not make much sense because it uses "simple present tense" which expresses something that happens regularly. Noone would feel hungry regularly.

So, that sentence "you feel hungry" would mean "you always feel hungry".

  feel (linking verb) (not used in the progressive tenses): to have a
  particular physical quality which you become aware of by touching

  adj.

  The water feels warm.

  Its skin feels really smooth.

This site says "Speakers sometimes use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is happening or is not happening now. This can only be done with Non-Continuous Verbs and certain Mixed Verbs."

so, "The water feels warm." could mean "The water is always warm" (simple present expressing things that happen regularly - more or less permanent action)

But "The water feels warm." could mean "The water is warm now" (simple present with non-continuous verb expressing things that is happening now - a temporary action)

  look: (linking verb) to seem; to appear

  adj.

  to look pale/happy/tired

  That book looks interesting.

In dictionary,

  appear (linking verb) (not used in the progressive tenses): to
  give the impression of being or doing something

  adj.

  She didn't appear surprised at all.

  seem (to somebody) (to be) something (not used in the progressive tenses): to give the impression of being or doing something (synonym:
  appear)

  adj.

  You seem happy.

So, we cannot say "you are seeming happy" or "you are appearing happy".

But I am not sure I can say "You are looking good" (sounds right to my ears) or "That book is looking interesting." (doesn't sound right to my ears)

But we can say "The future’s looking good." (source)

So, some verbs has the same meaning but one can be used with "continuous" & the other can not, right?

Ex: "you are looking happy", but "you seem happy".


texts: Is there a word for the feeling of longing coziness you get when you are outdoors during the winter and you look inside a house with the lights on?


texts:
facetious (Oxford Dictionaries):

  treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humour; flippant

I'm looking for a word that means the total opposite; to treat humorus or non-serious issues with deliberately inappropriate gravity. There exist a few words and phrases that can get the idea across (cantankerous, old grouch, stick-in-the-mud), but they usually speak to more than just my specific sought definition. Also just a word would be preferable; phrases generally aren't nearly as satisfying in their delivery. Thanks.


texts:
A little backstory here. Someone tried to school me on the internet when I made a comment about how something was a liquid. My direct quote was: "Cats are a liquid"
Now immediately someone replied with the following language lesson:
I get the point he makes with Air, Rice or Water, but if you want to specify an aggregation state of a substance, or in this particular case a creature, wouldn't that be correct usage?


texts: Any difference in meaning: "They differ in language" and "They differ in languages"

texts:
(I am not a native english speaker but a translator asking help for better translation)

I saw the expression, "All these differ from each other in language" and thought it is a typo of 'languages'. But having a typo in the first paragraph of a book is hard to swallow. Here is the actual sentence:

  All these differ from each other in language, customs and laws

Just wondering if this "language" isn't a typo but is used to mean something different.

You can see the whole page including the above sentence here: https://buk.io/@10657/1/31665-31806?t=2CK


texts: Is there a specific term for words which are embedded in others, e.g. leave in cleave, or hell in shell?

texts: I am not referring to contronyms (cleave) but rather the playful use, frequently in poetry, of words chosen specifically for their embedded-word qualities.


texts: Can’t find the grammar error in the the sentence

texts:
I recently came across a sentence which was grammatically wrong, but I couldn’t understand why. I’ll appreciate if you could help.
The sentence reads,  “I find Chinese English quiet funny, because they don’t use proper English grammar”


texts: Equivalent of the Dutch phrase "take it down a notch"

texts:
In Dutch, we have a saying 'Een toontje lager zingen' which basically means that the person should sing a bit lower, a.k.a "take it down a notch" or "put someone in his place".

Sing a bit lower is an almost literal translation from dutch. The phrase doesn't have to do anything with singing.

An example would go like this:

John is being pretty arrogant and offensive. He's stating things he doesn't know anything about, but pretends he does. He's talking down to other people, etc.

Then someone else comes in and burns him pretty good. Not by being mean, but by correcting him with actual true statements, where he was wrong.

Now this person put him in his place and made John 'een toontje lager laten zingen', a.k.a. sing a bit lower.

Is there an equivalent phrase or idiom to this in English? Or is it exactly "take it down a notch"?


texts: Why did English become a universal language and when?

texts: As we all know, English is the universal communication medium. Now we know how powerful it is to convey our thoughts. When did it become a common language? Why did they opt for this language?


texts:
A recent question to when to use of and when for/to for solution suggested that of appears only in context of chemistry, and the word means something very different then. But I recalled almost universally finding

  −2 and 2 are the solutions of the equation x² = 4.

I consulted the dictionary and to my surprise I found:

  2. Mathematics A value or values which, when substituted for a variable in an equation, make the equation true. For example, the solutions to the equation x² = 4 are 2 and −2.

I consulted the ngram and it made me even more confused than before.

It seems like solution to the equation is a relatively new trend, but picking up.

So, what’s the official stance on correctness of the preposition to go with solution in mathematics?


texts: "Regardless to the fact" vs "Regardless of the fact"

texts:
I want to say that something will happen regardless of whether something else happens. However, in my particular situation, using regardless of sounds awkward.

  Some arrangements work better than others, regardless of the number of
  detectors used.

Is regardless to a suitable replacement in this situation? Or is my first sentence fine? Are there any alternative ways of phrasing this?

  Some arrangements work better than others, regardless to the number of
  detectors used.


texts: Difference between "not as...as" and "not ...er than"

texts:
In what kind of situation can we use "not as...as" not "not ...er than"?

  This question is not as easy as that one.
  This question is not easier than that one.
  This question is more difficult than that one.

I feel these three sentences indicate the same concept. How can we distinguish how to use these three sentences?


texts:
Is there a concise way to describe something that is poorly designed, such that users are likely to accidentally make errors when using it? I'm looking for pretty much an exact antonym for "foolproof".

As an example, suppose there's a UI for job management that allows jobs to be canceled. When the "Cancel" button is clicked, a dialog appears saying "Canceling will lose job progress. Do you want to let the job finish? [Yes] / [No]" Clicking "No" will actually abort the job. The UI is working as designed, but since many users will not read the full message and assume that the opposite question is being asked, they are likely to use it incorrectly and mistakenly choose the wrong option. The UI itself works as intended and is not directly failing or causing the error, but its design is causing others to make mistakes.

I'd like a concise yet generalizable way to say, "This UI is [likely to be the cause of frequent user error]." So far the best word that I have is "confusing" but I'd like something stronger and more specific.

"Error-prone" is close, but I feel like that more strongly means "liable to make mistakes" instead of "cause mistakes to be made."

I'm not satisfied with the following words, because they suggest a defect of implementation (that it can fail even if used "correctly") and don't sufficiently convey an error-causing design: "defective", "faulty", "flawed", "imperfect", "undependable", "unreliable", "fallible"

I would also like to avoid direct or implicit criticism of the creator, so I don't want to say "poorly designed."


texts: Definition by analogy for "not hierarchical"

texts:
Question (fill in the blank): Vertical is to hierarchical as horizontal is to _______?

Google searching for this word using synonym, antonym, and 'orthogonal to' haven't given me what I'm looking for.  Equal is inappropriate, and I'd like to avoid phrases like "equal rank." Furthermore, "peer" has a social connotation I'd like to avoid. So essentially: independent but of the same hierarchical rank/stratum... "equistratic"?

I'm leaning toward "contemporaneous" but I'm hoping for a word that has a static connotation rather than dynamic/transient. I may also go with "commensurate" from Word for having the same rank.


texts: "He eyeballed me pensively"; using bodyparts as verbs

texts:
What are these words called, and why are they used in place of traditional verbs? For example:

  She handed me a pencil. [handed instead of gave]
  He eyeballed me pensively. [eyeballed instead of leered or looked at]
  She eyed the carrots. [eyed instead of looked at]
  He mouthed some words to me. [mouthed instead of spoke/said]

There's so many more, so these are just a few examples. This is colloquial speech, but it kind of irks me when I hear people say body parts in place of verbs (excl. handed because it's so common). Is there a particular name for this usage? Is this done in other languages?


texts:
I've seen, "second largest" being used more often.
Is there any special reason that, "second maximum", is not a correct thing expression?

For example, if I have an array of numbers: 1,2,3, is it correct to state that 2 is the second maximum number?


texts:
Free Dictionary states that one of the definitions for 'opprobrium' is

  Disgrace arising from exceedingly shameful conduct; ignominy.

Dictionary.com states it means

  the disgrace or the reproach incurred by conduct considered outrageously shameful; infamy.

What I'd like to know is, who feels disgraced when using the word 'opprobrium'. Is it the person who does the shameful act, or do those who know of the shameful act committed by another feel disgraced?


texts: What preposition should be used with "intention"?

texts:
Which of the following is correct? Is it

  I have no intention of handing in my resignation.

or

  I have no intention to hand in my resignation.

Searching Google for "intention of" versus "intention to" shows a preference for the former, but the latter seems more natural to me (and is also heavily used).


texts: Is this the right use of the word "canonical"?

texts:
Anything business comes up with as a requirement might be considered
  canonical to our domain model.

Is the word canonical used correctly and what does this sentence actually mean? I think the sentence could be rewritten as:

  Anything business comes up with as a requirement might be considered
  [inherently] / [automatically] / [implied to be] part of our domain
  model.

Does that make sense?

Edit: this sentence comes from the software engineering domain, but it is possible mathematics might covers the same meaning.

Edit2: I think a "canonical domain model" is an IT concept, but then I'm still in unsure of the meaning of canonical here.


texts:
I know

  There is an infinite number of prime numbers

is correct. But is

  There are infinite prime numbers

correct as well?


texts:
In John Webster's play, The Duchess of Malfi, Antonio says of the Duke:

  He never pays debts unless they be shrewd turns,
  And those he will confess that he doth owe.

I really don't understand what he means. Can someone explain?


texts: I hear this so many time while reading about famous people on news channel/social media. Where is this term derived from?


texts: What's an appropriate response to a British person asking "You alright?"

texts:
I've heard this phrase from various British people: "You alright" (comes out as a slurred "y'rite") and I'm always a bit confused on how to respond. From context, it seems to have two meanings (correct me if I'm wrong):

equivalent to an American saying "How are you" in passing
are you being served / can I help you, e.g. from the barman at a pub

In case 1, is it expected of me to say "yes" as in, yes, I'm alright, which would be equivalent to saying I'm fine in response to the American "how are you"?

And then should I ask "are you alright" back, as I would if I were saying I'm fine, you? (in the US it would be a bit rude to say "I'm fine" without asking how about you...)

In the second usage, I haven't been helped yet, should I say "no"?


texts:
In this sentence, which word is more suitable:

  I'll think of you as we watch the Blue Socks win/winning the game.

Any help about the grammar here would also be appreciated.


texts: Opportunities such as this didn't come everyday. Is this subjunctive mood?

texts: I found this sentence in the Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary when I was looking up the word"such". Is this sentence in subjunctive mood? If so, is this sentence trying to stress that the opportunity is so rare? If not, why do they use didn't instead of don't?


texts: How does the latin root of "egregious" relate to its English definition?

texts:
The latin root of the word egregious is grex meaning flock which is also the root of many other English words that deal with groups or "flocks" (usually of people): aggregate, congregate, segregate, gregarious...

But I don't see how the definition of egregious has anything to do with a flock or group.

egregious
[ih-gree-juh s] adjective

extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant: an egregious
mistake; an egregious liar.
Archaic. distinguished or eminent.


texts: The subject in sentence and use of was vs were: 'The final type of activities was organised trips'

texts:
For context, I was writing about different activities that took place during a programme. I discussed five out of six different types of activities and then said:

'The final type of activities was organised trips '

as an introduction to paragraphs that discuss these trips.

My supervisor corrected me and suggested that it should be:

'The final type of activities were organised trips'

However, I think that the subject is 'the type' (singular) and not 'organised trips' (plural). So in my mind it should be was not were...

Am I wrong? Please help...


texts: Do any words have three or more correct spellings?

texts: I can call to mind several words with another correct spelling (colour, analogue, disc, barbeque) but I can't think of any with multiple correct spellings, i.e. three or more equally acceptable, semantically identical variants of the same word. Do any exist?


texts: Am I right using "as" for equality and "than" to point out differences?

texts: I would like to know whether I am right when I use "as" meaning: similar, equal or equivalent, and the comparative, "than", to point out a difference between the nouns.


texts: Is there a word that means "someone that was betrayed"

texts: There's a word for someone that betrays, eg. the traitor and I wondered, is there a specific, single english word that means, "someone that was a victim of a betrayal"? So something that isn't broad and can be used for a variety of scenarios such as victim.


texts:
I am looking for short word that I can use instead of “not overridden”.

For example:  “All promotions that are not overridden at the store level are included in the forecast.”


texts: What is wrong with this sentence? A dangling participle? A missed modifier? HELP!

texts:
This sentence has me stumped. I know there's something wrong with it but I can't put my finger on it.  The sentence is:

  Because artificial sweeteners are more addictive than regular sugar, people who drink diet sodas consume twice as much as regular soda drinkers.

I know the sentence is incomplete in some way because it is not saying what they consume more--diet soda or food in general, but is that a participle missing or something else? It might be helpful to know that this is in regards to weight loss and the fact that diet soda doesn't help as promised.


texts: Is there a word or phrase for borders being respected

texts: Is there a word or phrase that means a "condition in which the borders of each nation are respected by all other nations"?


texts: A problem with a prepositional phrase in the sentence of a poem

texts:
The following is the sentence:

  Is it the graceful blessing
  that vivifies the existence
  and whose nectar for seekers
  is an unparalleled opulence?

My problem is with the position of the prepositional phrase for seekers.

If it is not used in that location, then it will be difficult to manage a rhyming scheme.

And I don't know if 'the' should be used before seekers.


texts: Is there a word or phrase that explains that the usage of "we" in some contexts does not necessarily mean "all of us"?

texts:
I need to explain to a person that the word "we" doesn't necessarily mean "all of us" in some contexts.

For example, a speaker giving a speech may say,

"What we learned from the Great Depression was that....

Obviously, not every one to whom the speech is being delivered might have learned the same lessons from the Great Depression. Indeed there might be some who haven't even heard of the Great Depression. So the speaker, using the word "we", doesn't really mean "all of us".

How is this usage of "we" described? I know I can simply say "We doesn't necessarily mean 'all of us'", but I want to know if there is a better word or a phrase that can describe this usage of "we".


texts: I would like to use the phrase "living hand to mouth" as a title of an art piece. However, just looking for the phrase mostly results in uses where the origin is explained. What are notable uses of the phrase "living hand to mouth"? Are there other major literary of art uses of the phrase, and if so what are they?


texts: correct usage of 'in spite of' instead of 'although'

texts:
It is difficult to figure out how to alter the word although for a case like below as in my report there are many although.. so I am looking for an alternative like in spite of

  Although the merging step increased the incorrect growth of the water over the grasslands, the merging didn't affect the classified tree clusters because the algorithm didn't lose any candidates.

I have altered it as;

  In spite of the incorrect growth of the water over the grasslands by the merging step, the merging didn't affect the classified tree clusters because the algorithm didn't lose any candidates.

I am not very sure whether my 2nd sentence is correct. would it be ok?


texts:
What is happening to the phrase "Thank you"?

Related questions:

Is thank you considered formal nowadays? Is thanks used more often?
Is there a decline in the usage of the phrase thank you observable among different generations, classes, regions or countries?
Is there a difference in how people express gratitude today compared to the past (by using different phrases)?

Preamble: I'm not seeking a discussion or criticism. I included my research on the topic below but it doesn't prove anything.

I'd like to hear about your experiences. It would be nice if you could include additional information and any research as well. Of course, there are other ways to show gratitude but my question focuses on this phrase and its usage. It is not about people becoming more impolite or less grateful.

Note:  Great subjective questions invite sharing experiences over opinions. Certainly experiences inform opinions, but the best subjective questions unabashedly and unashamedly prioritize sharing actual experiences over random opinions.
http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/09/good-subjective-bad-subjective/

I did some research and found some articles on this topic (mainly related to British and American English). I tried to include relevant parts, not everything written might be related or some of them might be broader in scope. Please do not take it personally.

The excerpt below is from an article titled Why we don't say thank you any more - it's now cheers, fab or cool (which applies mainly to British English):

  For many a traditionalist, it is the most important two-word phrase in our vocabulary.
  But ‘thank you’ is falling by the wayside, replaced increasingly with less formal expressions of gratitude, a poll reveals.
  Although the average person will say 'thank you' nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three are more likely to throw in a 'cheers' or 'ta' where it's needed, rather than risk sounding old fashioned.
  One in 20 now say 'nice one' instead, while younger generations are more likely to offer a 'cool' than a thank you.
  'Merci', 'fab' and even 'gracias' were also listed as common phrases to use, as was 'much appreciated'.
  One in twenty who took part in the poll of 2,000 people by the Food Network UK for Thank You Day, which is marked on November 24 said a formal 'thank you' was now not often needed in everyday conversation.

  dailymail.co.uk

A discussion on this topic from today.com:

  What happened to ‘please,’ ‘thank you’?
  Has society let these three simple words of civility and gentility slip away? The Rev. Sherri Hausser and Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz discuss why softening commands and acknowledging gestures are so important in our daily interactions.

From npr.org:

  Listen to the conversations around you — colleagues at the office, customers in the coffeehouse line, those who serve you, those you serve, the people you meet each day. "Give me a tall latte." "Hand me that hammer." "Have a good one."

  Notice anything missing? The traditional magic words "please" and "thank you" that many people learn as children appear to be disappearing.

  Other polite phrases also seem to be falling by the wayside. "You're welcome," for instance. Say "thank you" to someone these days, and instead of hearing "you're welcome," you're more liable to hear: "Sure." "No problem." "You bet." "Enjoy." Or a long list of replies that replace the traditional "you're welcome."

There are many articles and studies on this topic also. The following includes a study on gratitude:

"Language in Life, and a Life in Language: Jacob Mey, a Festschrift."
edited by Bruce Fraser, Ken Turner

Bonus article from psychcentral.com: Why ‘Thank You’ Is More Than Just Good Manners

Inspired by and related to: What happened to "You're welcome?"


texts:
I'm not very confident or familiar with the use of semicolons. Hopefully someone here could help me out. I'm wondering is this sentence uses the semicolon properly:

  Leadership communication skills, on the other hand, focus on the psychological aspects of communication; inspiring and motivating stakeholders with the confident delivery of mission, vision and values.

Any help would be much appreciated.


texts: Confirmation, kindly, please. Phrase "Is this sinking in"?

texts:
I appreciate your moderate and attentive treatment to the OPs as always.

A TOEFL textbooks give me this kind of sentence. ( Though in my opinion, since it is in the listening practice section, it sounds a bit abrupt. )

The whole practice is talking about the gene therapies.

Exerpt

  At this point of time, there are three types of gene therapy. The first one entails leaving the mutated genes alone, but placing normal genes inside a cell and activating them. The second type involves stopping gene abnormality by binding a specific gene sequence to the abnormal gene sequence. The final type is a so-called gene operation, as it involves away a particular portion of DNA. Lastly, I'd like to explain the risk involving in gene therapy. As a matter of fact, it is no simple task to manually place a gene inside a deceased cell from the outside. For this reason, it is necessary to weigh the risk of side effects during and after treatment, is this sinking in?

Now, here, please confirm, the last phrase will drop on the definition of the below by Merriam Unabridged.

Assuming, the narrator is confirming the listeners if the recognition of the risks entailed by the gene treatment are enough absorbed by the listeners' minds. Am I correct here?

Thank you for your always moderate supports.


texts: Can anyone tell me the meaning of these sentences?

texts:
I don't plan on face planting tonight.
  in other words, someone who would totally slay at Bend A Friend.

Does slay in the second sentence seriously mean like kill?


texts:
To place a man into involuntary servitude by taking away all of his freedoms, with no regard to his interests, is to enslave him.

To place a man into involuntary servitude by taking away only his freedom to refuse work, with no regard to his interests, is to place him into peonage.

If we place a man into involuntary servitude by taking away only his freedom to refuse work, how can we describe this arrangement without saying anything about whether the arrangement represents his interests?

Perhaps great care was taken to respect his desires, hopes and ambitions in finding a job placement within a planned economy legal framework enforcing transparent negotiations and the right to appeal. Perhaps not.

There might not be a single word to describe this notion completely and unambiguously. I am looking for a small, minimally emotive vocabulary to describe various aspects of this topic: how do we refer to each the parties involved? What do we call the document that makes the arrangement official? What is the action of placing someone into this arrangement?

References to real instances of societies that have attempted to implement this kind of system would be especially appreciated!


texts:
What is the verb for removing spaces from a sentence?
Is it de-space?


texts: A word with meaning smoothly connecting two known things

texts:
Let's say we have two facts known:

Fact A: When there is no cat, there are 10 mice.
Fact B: When there is 10 cats, there is no mouse.

Suppose now I got a new result:

New result: When there is n cats, then there are 10 - n mice.

So this new result generalizes the two known facts.
My question is: Is there any verb to describe that the new result does nicely connect the two known facts smoothly, like "The new result 'verb' the Fact A and the Fact B"?
It's like the so-called "polynomial interpolation", I mean drawing a continuous line between two known points, but somehow the word "interpolate" has no such "connection" meaning.


texts: Conditional sentences not starting with "if"

texts:
Were I rich, I would live on Long Island.
  If I were rich, I would live on Long Island.

Is the first sentence still used, or is used in particular contexts (in example, to give emphasis to the sentence)?


texts:
The following sentence sounds incorrect to me when read aloud.

"Eating and playing like the locals are important for enjoying the festive atmosphere."

I tried diagramming it and am clear on the "are" (linking verb), "important" (adjective) and the "for enjoying the festive atmosphere" (prepositional phrase).  "Eating" and "playing" are gerunds and that's when it gets confusing for me. The "and" suggests a compound subject, which would make the use of plural "are" correct, but the addition of the "like the locals" makes me feel like the entire section before the verb is a gerund phrase and is therefore singular. Which, if any, of the two is correct? Please help.


texts: What part of speech is "alight" in "set alight"?

texts:
In the clause it was set alight, is alight

acting as adverb and modifying was set
an adjective and modifying it; or
something else entirely that I'm missing.

I'm fairly certain that set alight isn't a phrasal verb so I'm a little stumped.


texts: Looking for a word that means the opposite of 'gilded'

texts:
I'm looking for the opposite of gilded when used as:

  having a pleasing or showy appearance that conceals something of little worth.

Most of the antonyms listed from different sources mean 'dull' or 'boring'.  I'm looking for a word that literally means 'mundane on the outside but with a heart of gold'.  Does such a word exist?


texts: A word for someone who knows others' intentions

texts: perceptive? intuitive? But a noun. Specifically referring to the psychology of those around her. She knows of others' intentions from paying attention, listening and she has an excellent gauge for what they would do in certain situations. Other characters are conquerors, loyalists, counselors, students, etc. She can read people well. She is a knower, a ____.


texts: Can a punctuation mark at the end of a quote be changed to a period to end a sentence?

texts:
For example, say I wanted to quote the following line of poetry: "To cloke your weariness;"

The line ends in a semicolon. However, what would I do if I wanted to quote it at the end of a sentence? Which one would be correct?

a) "To cloke your weariness;".

b) "To cloke your weariness;."

c) "To cloke your weariness."


texts: Would this sentence be considered grammatically correct

texts: A sci-fi middle-grade suspense novel about a 14-year-old girl who must retrieve the stone, preventing the rise of a human nuclear weapon.


texts:
In the following sentence, what is contextual meaning of "dynamics"?

The sharing economy has sadly proven that the pathologies of the
physical world all too often carry over to the platform, raising
significant concerns for anti-discrimination law. Charlotte Garden and
Nancy Leong begin the Handbook’s exploration of these dynamics by
excavating the landscape of responsibility for platform companies.

Dynamics have several meanings and I presume dynamics is used as 'a pattern or process of change, growth, or activity' in the quoted sentence, but it's a little bit confusing or hard to understand what exactly corresponds to dynamics in the sentence.
Would it be the process that the pathologies of the physical world carry over to the platform?


texts:
What does the word pro-attitude mean in the following sentence:

Intentions are pro-attitudes, directed towards some future state of
affairs.
reference

I couldn't find this word  in the dictionaries.
Could you suggest a synonym for this word or explain it in some other words?


texts: Is there a word that encompasses "chart" and "table"?

texts: I am trying to think of a name for the heading in a document where I am talking about charts and tables. Is there a concise, collective name for charts and tables I could use?


texts:
I was reading The Economist, and I came across this paragraph (full article here: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:XST-JdB3sT4J:https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/04/16/is-china-winning+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us):

  A test of China’s ambitions will be how it acts in the race for a
  vaccine. Should it get there first, success could be used as a
  national triumph and a platform for global co-operation. Another test
  is debt relief for poor countries. On April 15th the g20, including
  China, agreed to let indebted nations suspend debt payments to its
  members for eight months. In the past China has haggled over debt
  behind closed doors and bilaterally, dragon to mouse, to extract
  political concessions. If the g20’s decision means the government in
  Beijing is now willing to co-ordinate with other creditors and be more
  generous, that would be a sign it is ready to spend money to acquire a
  new role.

What does the "dragon to mouse" refer to here?

Thanks!


texts:
Is an object (in this case, God's existence) necessary in this sentence?

We kept discussing.
We kept discussing whether God exists.

For example, with writing, it seems that an object isn't necessary for 'writing'.

I kept writing.
I kept writing my novel.


texts: Can "to be able to" be used in perfect infinitive?

texts:
I understand the use of perfect infinitive. The thing is that I find it awful to use "to be able to" referring to something that happened in the past.

Let me elaborate with an example I just read: I am very fortunate to be able to have visited other countries such as Colombia or Brazil.

Wouldn't it be better to say "I am very fortunate to HAVE BEEN ABLE TO VISIT other countries such as..."

For me, it sounds more natural, and the time reference does not strike me as...twisted. I don't know if what bugs me is the use of two infinitives consecutively, or I don't know.

Anyhow, would love some light be thrown in the matter.

Thanks in advance.


texts: I am just wondering if there is a historical explanation for the two different ways of pronouncing  junta, a word of Spanish origin, with /h/ as in American English and with /dƷ/ in British English.


texts:
Could anyone clarify, please, what the difference between these two sentences is?
I heard an American woman say to her child: "Don't you do this!"


texts:
In semi-offical letter from non-native speaker the "medical unsurance" is offered to me. What is an unsurance really?

U & I as required in comments:


texts: Do the words "mommy and daddy" in the following paragraph need to be in plural?

texts:
I saw the young faces of several 10/12-year-old girls slowly turning purple with a pair of large tightening hands wrapped around their tiny porcelain necks.
Tears were streaming down their soft silky cheeks, silently yet futilely calling mommy and daddy to their rescue.

I feel like if not in the plural, "mommy and daddy" would imply all those girls share the same parents.


texts:
I have noticed that some native English speakers do not pronounce the "T" in "won't" in the middle of a sentence.  For example:

  I won't make you happy

sounds like:

  I wo make you happy

Is this correct ?


texts:
On StackOverFlow, the users who do not put anything in the profile have this displayed.

"Apparently, this user prefers to keep an air of mystery about them.".

Should it not be him/her?

Clarifying before hand that English is not my strong point.


texts:
I can understand the causative form (quite less frequently, we simply say causal verb) with make and get but when used with have/has, it sometimes makes me think differently. Of course, I can understand the construction like the following.

I had a barber cut my hair yesterday.

In its passive form, it can be written as

I had my hair cut yesterday (by a barber).

I can also understand that the preceding sentence (passive construction) cannot be rewritten as follows.

I had cut my hair yesterday.

If it's modified in this way then both the sentences have a significant difference in meaning that I can understand.

The thing I don't understand properly when a bare infinitive is replaced with an infinitive in such kind of constructions, such as.

He has his wife cook dinner for him.

What happens, if the bare infinitive i.e cook is replaced with an infinitive like the following.

He has his wife to cook dinner for him.

At a glance, you will be able to understand the difference between them but for me, it's not English but it's my native language in which as far as I know there is no difference between these two sentences and even the causative construction is simply made by just using some suffixes to the main verb in a sentence. So please take it easy. Could you please expose the important difference between these preceding two sentences?


texts: What is the correct way to ask about something that happened some time ago?

texts:
When I took one test I had to choose between four options:
a) Did you hear that he has been assigned to a new project last week?
b) Have you heard that he has been assigned to a new project last week?
c) Have you heard that he was assigned to a new project last week?
d) Did you hear that he is assigned to a new project last week?
And I'm confused, because different translators translate as "Did you hear he was assigned to a new project last week?"
As I know "was" is used then there is a time marker. So it is.
However there are no such option.
And I'm confused about using "Did you hear" and "Have you heard?"
When you search "Did you hear" - google returns 93.3 million results
"Have you heard" - only 56.5 million.


texts:
I am writing a thesis on "Service oriented architectures in safety-critical systems" and this is right where the problem starts.

I am a bit curious about the use of hyphens in "service oriented" and "safety critical".

So far I have encountered the following versions in literature:

service-oriented, service oriented, as well as
safety-critical and safety critical.

Additionally, the sources disagree on the correct abbreviation of "service-oriented architecture". There are the versions SoA, as well as SOA.

Is there a particular way to deal with these terms, or can they be defined arbitrary, as long as they are spelled the same way throughout the document?


texts: Antonym to "Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch"

texts:
There is an idiom, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch." Meaning, don't assume the optimistic scenario will happen before it does.

Is there a similarly pithy idiom meaning the opposite? As in, don't assume the worst until it actually occurs?


texts: word for assuming something larger from a small sample size

texts:
Is there a word for making an assumption of something larger from a small external part (possibly erroneously)?

For example:

  judging a person's entire moral character by one of his crimes.


texts:
I would like to fill in the space in the following sentence a proper word that means Technology enthusiastic

  With an inquisitive and ___ personality, I am confident ...

I've tried couple synonyms from here but all seem out of place.


texts: Difference between "acquittal" and "false accusation"

texts:
I encountered a phrase with a word "acquittal" in a context of criminal law.
In Wikipedia, its meaning is described as following:

  In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned.

In my understanding, this is same as "false accusation", which means that prosecution is found to be false.

I want some ideas about how different these two expressions are.


texts: Are most adjectives adjuncts rather than complements?

texts:
By this adjunct definition,

Adjunct: an optional part of a sentence, clause, or phrase that, if removed, does not result in an ungrammatical construction.

are most adjectives adjuncts rather than complements?  That is, you can omit most adjectives or elements that function as adjectives (i.e. relative clauses) without affecting grammaticality (though some information is lost, namely the information provided by adjectives).

The only type of adjectives that I can think of that function as complements are predicate adjectives (i.e. I became sick).

Are there other types of adjectives (besides predicate adjectives) that are complements?


texts: What goes after another person: we or us?

texts: i.e. Are Mei-Ling and ______ singing together today?


texts: What are the individual rooms at a cinema called in British English?

texts:
In the US, we call the place we go to watch movies a "movie theater" and then if I were walking into one of the large rooms with the movie, I'd call it either the screen or the theater. For example, the movie is in theater 8 or on screen 8.

I know in the UK that the building is called a cinema, but what are the individual rooms called?


texts: Was James Joyce confused about "prone" and "supine" or am I?

texts:
I've been re-reading "Ulysses" and noticed this

  Stephen totters, collapses, falls, stunned. He lies prone, his face to the sky

(emphasis mine) and

  Stephen, prone, breathes to the stars.

and a little later, Bloom

  bends again and undoes the buttons of Stephen's waistcoat

Full text of the novel (massively NSFW in case you don't know): http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4300/4300-h/4300-h.htm

So, according to everything I know, "prone" should mean he was lying face down, but these passages imply he's lying face up.


texts: “An exclamation” or “An ejaculation” ? Are these words synonymous?

texts: Exclamations and ejaculations are usually expressions of surprise or anxiety, something said quickly and suddenly.  Grammatically they are always interjections and may seem to be the same kind of utterance.   Are they ?


texts: Word describing a word ending with "-tion"

texts:
If it exists, what is a/the word describing a word ending with "-tion" (e.g. execution, exemption, perdition, definition, proposition, etc.)?

  "A word ending with '-tion' is called a(n) __."


texts: What is the appropriate construct for stating that "A and B oppose each other's positions."?

texts:
For example, in a sentence that states "Person A and Person B reacted with terror at each others' views," is there a more formal way to phrase this? The current phrasing seems like an awkward way to convey that Person A reacted with terror at Person B's views, while Person B simultaneously reacted with terror at Person A's views.

EDIT:

I think I obfuscated my question in the initial post. I'm wondering if there is a more formal way to phrase that the opinions in question are each others? The current phrasing seems like an awkward way to convey that Person A is reacting to person B's opinions and person B is reacting to A's positions.


texts:
I want to express myself in the following sentence, but I am not sure if this is  grammatically correct:

  After lots of trials and errors and overcoming setbacks and moments of frustration, xxx

My concern is that I seem to be using a lot of ands.

Can anyone give me some advice?


texts:
Is "exemplar" a synonym for the word "example"? Would the word "exemplar" fit in the sentences below?

He listed several exemplars to prove his point.

In his exemplar below, he illustrated the proper usage of commas and semicolons.


texts:
The Australian government’s own stunningly creative proposal had been to house sixty thousand refugees in a disused leper colony on the northwest coast, for however many decades it took to farm them out around the world at a politically acceptable rate.

How long until he had the place to himself again for however much time it took to sell? Could be weeks, could be years. He'd been sincere when he'd told her it would be difficult to find a buyer...

In both cases the clause is about future events. Then, why is the Past Simple used, "took", why not the Future-in-the-Past, "would take"? Apparently, there's no conditional here.


texts: What’s the usage of apostrophes in " ‘Bye, ‘bye "?

texts:
I’d like to know what effect an apostrophe has which is before a word and doesn’t work as an omitter. (Not like C’mon or ‘Course, but like ‘bye, ‘bye.)
I have three questions as follows, but any comments about this type of apostrophe are very welcome. My primary goal is to get its usage for future reading.
1. What effect does the apostrophized bye have in the following scene?

”Will you come and visit me in my bathroom again sometime?” Moaning Myrtle asked mournfully as Harry picked up the Invisibility Cloak.
”Er … I’ll try,” Harry said, though privately thinking the only way he’d be visiting Myrtle’s bathroom again was if every other toilet in the castle got blocked. “See you, Myrtle … thanks for your help.”
” ‘Bye, ‘bye, “ she said gloomily, and as Harry put on the Invisibility Cloak he saw her zoom back up the tap. (Harry Potter 4 [US Version]: p.466)[Bold font is mine]

N.B.: Moaning Myrtle, a ghost, loves Harry, but one-sided. She wants him to come to the bathroom where she lives whenever he can. She sees Harry for the first time in a long time.
2. How would you pronounce it?
3. Are there any other examples for this type of apostrophe?


texts: Is there a word for the feeling that there ought to be a word for something?

texts:
As a person who is fascinated by language and language development in children, I think about words and concepts a lot (probably too much). I often have the feeling that there should be a word for something--a common feeling, I'm sure, in this community. But I've never had a word (or phrase) for that sensation.

It's not the "tip of the tongue" phenomenon, which is the feeling you have when you know there is a word for something, but can't quite retrieve it (NCBI ToT and Aging; Science Daily ToT).

Nor is it a sniglet, a term popularized by Not Necessarily The News. It's more a desire for a "real word."


texts:
I'm looking for prefixes similar to extra- in the sense of 'outside of'. I'm attaching it to "mathematical" and in its context "extra-mathematical" or "extramathematical" can be misread as "very mathematical".

I'm specifically trying to avoid "nonmathematical" because I want to stress the connections with, rather than differences from, that field.

The term would be used to refer to fields of study aside from math, e.g. chemistry or engineering.

I'm tempted to add a [single-affix-requests] tag for this question... that would be wrong in so many ways.


texts:
Lately, I have asked a question in this way:

I would like to know how my pronunciation sounds like.

Can you tell me if this way of speaking may be considered right? In fact, I felt understood, but I'm still wondering whether I was right or not.


texts: Indirect Speech Backshifting in Commands & Requests with Time Clauses

texts:
I know that backshifting can used when reporting statements and questions. This is clearly stated in many grammar books. Aside from a mere example on some webpage, I haven't found any reference in the authentic books and websites I've checked that I could use as a proof that backshifting can be used in reported imperatives and requests with complex time clauses.

If backshifting can be used what is the rule for using it in the imperative and request sentences? Always used? depends on whether the reported situation out-of-time or not? never used?

The following is some sample request and imperative sentences with reported speech as I see it for the first two sentences. Pronouns are not important. Choose as you see fit.

  Can I come back again when I find my book?
  I asked her to come back when I found my book.

  Come back when you find your lost keys
  He told me to come back when I found my lost keys

  Shutdown the computer before you leave

  Do exercise 10A after you've finished this one

  Tidy up now if you are leaving tonight


texts:
You see it a lot from politicians.  For example:

  “I understand the House Republican leadership is in disarray, but they shouldn’t wait two weeks before holding a vote. Our troops should be a priority and I urge the House to hold a vote as soon as possible so we can get back to crafting a more responsible solution.”

What would the first part of this sentence be called?  I believe the media would refer to this as a "swipe" but is there a more formal term?  A couple of points I think should be considered:

They are not trying to be directly insulting by tying the "swipe" to a message
However, the "swipe" really has nothing to do with the message (they should vote sooner)
The "swipe" is never flattering but its also usually not something that extremely incendiary either.

Thanks in advance.


texts:
If I want to say that I spent the night at the house that belongs to the Johnsons, which of the following structures is correct:

I spent the night at the Johnson's.

or

I spent the night at the Johnsons'.


texts: What is the meaning of "Fare thee well"?

texts:
There is a song that I really like and it says "Fare thee well my honey, fare thee well". Could it be something like "good luck my honey"?
I did a little research and found that "fare thee well" means "do something perfectly" but it just doesn't make any sense to me.


texts: Is there a word that describes a word that makes you feel the thing you are describing as you say it?

texts:
Sort of like onomatopoeia, where the word sounds like that which it describes, but where saying the word makes one feel like that which it describes.

Sorry for the terrible explanation.

EDIT: This came up during a conversation with a friend who described something as 'scuzzy'. Saying scuzzy makes me feel scuzzy and here we are...


texts:
I know that 'go easy on somebody/something' is used, but I've never heard 'go easy on me'.
For example: "Go easy on me if I make a mistake though!"
Can the speaker itself be used as the object when using this expression? Thanks!


texts: Is there a one word antonym of "hagiography"? A word which means "a piece of writing that paints a biography in the most negative light possible"?


texts: Synonym for "on-the-job" as in this example

texts:
I'm looking for synonyms for on-the-job and I couldn't find one that makes sense. As in the example:

  To be a lab tech, on-the-job experience is required.


texts:
I've come across a heading I don't know how to punctuate:

10 Questions for Betty Smith – Author, Chocolate and Money Lover

Obviously she is a lover of chocolate and money, but am not sure how/whether to use commas or hyphens here. Any ideas?


texts: Using "between" to introduce a set of traits or circumstances

texts:
I was wondering if this construction using "between" to introduce a set of traits/circumstances was correct. (I'm also interested in alternative phrases that may be more appropriate):

Between his spirit, talent, amiability, and tenacity, I believe he will thrive in this role.

Between the rain and the pandemic, going outside is probably not a good idea.

Does this make sense? If so, when I use this construction, what does "between" need to agree with? (i.e. is it "between his X, Y, and Z, I believe he will..." or is it "between his X, Y, and Z, he will..."
I don't know if this is actually a colloquialism, but I've definitely heard/seen this somewhere and wanted to know if it'd be understandable to any English speaker, as well as guidelines for proper grammatical usage.


texts: Using the word 'option' meaning 'a variable', not 'an alternative'

texts:
There are two meanings of the word 'option', that I have encountered:

A variable that takes one of the multiple possible values. (e.g. "You should set the resolution option to 'default'")
An alternative, one of the possible values of a variable.  (e.g "In the resolution menu choose the biggest available option")

Are both of these meanings acceptable? Is the latter one more common than the former?


texts: What is the difference between “each to one’s own,” and “a law unto-oneself”? Are they totally different idioms?

texts:
I came across two different idioms, “a law untothemselves” and “each to his own” in the scene then British Army Captain, later a global media tycoon, Dick Armstrong, plotting to rob Julius Hahn, a desperate German press owner of the ownership of his newspaper, Der Berliner in Jeffery Archer’s fiction, “Fourth Estate.” :

  Hahn asked, “Do you think there is anything you can do?” “I’d like to,
  Julius. But as you understand better than most, the American and
  Russian sector are a law unto themselves.” - P.316

  Armstrong placed the dozen bottles of claret on Captain Hallet’s desk
  before the captain had a chance to say anything.  “I don’t know how
  you do it.” said Hallet. “Each to his own,” said Armstrong, trying out
  a cliché he had heard Colonel Oakshott use the previous day. – P.318

Wikianswer.com defines “to each his own” as ‘everyone has their own thing and a right to one's personal preferences.’

usingenglish. com. defines ‘a law unto themselves’ as ‘If somebody is a law unto themselves, they do things their own way and follow their own ideas about how to live instead of following what others do.’

“Each to his own” and “a law untothemselves” are very different on their looks in terms of the components of word, but according to the above definitions, they look pretty similar in that everybody has their own rights and preferences, though the former places focus on preference, and the latter on deed.

What are the exact definitions of, and basic difference between “each to his own” and “a law unto themselves”?


texts:
"Your (noun) was (past test verb) before it was (different past tense verb)"

OR

"Your (noun) is (past test verb) before it was (different past tense verb)"

The second one sounds more natural to me, but I'm not quite certain. Perhaps they are both wrong and there is an even better phrase to use.


texts: How can I distinguish between "to stream video" as "to broadcast video" and "to watch video"?

texts:
If I say I'm streaming PUBG on Twitch, does it mean I'm broadcasting my gameplay on Twitch or I'm watching someone playing PUBG on Twitch?

According to Cambridge Dictionary "stream" has a meaning which is to listen to or watch sound or video on a computer directly from the internet rather than downloading it and saving it first.


texts: What is a verb meaning "bringing out emotion within someone?"

texts: For example: when you are listening to a song and a piece of it moves you emotionally. What verb could be used to describe the "vivification" of that emotion?


texts: What is the name for the process which turned "iced cream" into "ice cream"?

texts:
There are several words (mostly related to food) which are shortenings of their historical forms. For example, the cold treat ice cream was originally known as iced cream in the 1680s. The -ed ending dropped off in about 1744.

A similar example is skim milk, which derives from the term skimmed milk which is apparently still in use in the UK. Other examples are popcorn, wax paper and whip cream.

What is the name for the historical process in which the -ed ending is dropped? Language Log talked about the phonology of this phenomenon, referring to it as t/d-dropping, but they did not give a name to the process each word went through. I was thinking that abbreviation might work, but is there a specific term available?


texts: In the sentence "For Modern Businesses to thrive faster, they must have a strong online presence.". Should I use thrive faster or just thrive?


texts: Pronunciation of "ikebana" by non-Japanophones

texts: Apart from "very rarely", how is "ikebana" (Japanese flower arrangement) typically pronounced in real life by non-Japanophones? Is it the same as how it's pronounced in Japanese, or has it changed like "karaoke", "kamikaze" and "karate"?


texts:
A friend of mine just asked if I had paid him back for some money he lent me.  I told him the check was cancelled on the 9th.  Concerned, he asked, "why'd you cancel the check?"

I replied, "I didn't stop payment on it.  It was deposited and so the bank cancelled it."

This is obviously a source of confusion so I looked around online but didn't find anything satisfactory.  What is the etymology of "cancelled check?"


texts: Is it a poke in the eye with a sharp, or blunt stick?

texts:
Is it "better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick", or "better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick"?

I suspect that some sort of metaphor testing facility in the Discworld concluded that virtually anything was better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but apart from that I'm not 100% certain.

Side question: is there a term for when a metaphor or cliche gets mutated?


texts:
Re: Agile Software Development -
Is there an accepted adverb to describe an activity that happens once per Sprint?

Following the pattern daily, weekly, fortnightly etc, the obvious answer would seem to be "sprintly", but that jars with me (like nails on a blackboard!)

The alternatives are all a little clunky too - "sprint-by-sprint"; "once a sprint"

  "A scrum sprint is a regular, repeatable work cycle in scrum
  methodology during which work is completed and made ready for review.

  Scrum sprints are basic units of development in the scrum methodology.
  Generally, scrum sprints are less than 30 days long."

(https://www.techopedia.com/definition/13687/scrum-sprint)


texts: Is there a word for a children's pool that's not inflatable?

texts: Looking for a word that describes a children's pool, meaning a fixed pool with a shallow water. Not talking about the inflatable kiddie pools from Walmart.


texts: Etymology of the "Chicago Seven" construction

texts:
There are many examples of a construction of the form "City + Number" used to refer to an incident involving a particular small group of people.  It is often used when it is alleged that the people in question are the victims of some sort of injustice.

Examples:

Little Rock Nine: nine schoolchildren whose attempt to enroll in a segregated school in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957 required the involvement of Army paratroopers.
Chicago Seven: seven defendants charged with crimes (later acquitted) for their alleged involvement in the protests surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Birmingham Six: Six men convicted of bombing pubs in Birmingham, England in 1975, whose convictions were later overturned.

I am curious about the origins of this usage.  What is the first known example?  Was there a "prototype" case which later examples were consciously modeled upon?


texts:
Which expression is more often said and heard in the US: "do the nails" or "get the nails done"?

For example, should I say "I'm doing my nails today" or "I'm getting my nails done today"? Which sound more natural to you? Or do would you use both expressions? Or is there another expression that is more often used when someone wants to say that she/he is going to the salon to do the manicure?


texts: When did the main meaning of the word 'gay' shift from happy to homosexual? How did the meaning evolve, if there is a relation between the two?


texts:
An example for contextual purposes:
"Smoking has become part of my routine, a [casual hiatus/break] to my day, if you will, rather than an addiction"


texts: Is there a word for the relationship between my cousin's family and mine?

texts: My mother's brother is my "uncle". His son is my "cousin". His wife is my "aunt". Each of these words names a specific person based on their familial relationship to me. Together the three of them make up a family of their own. Is there a way to name that family as it relates to me? This would be similar to how "in-laws" refers to a married couple as they relate to me via my marriage, if I were married (He's single, ladies).


texts: Meaning of these verses from a poem by Keats

texts:
What does these words mean :

And in the midst of this wide quietness
A rosy sanctuary will I dress
With the wreath’d trellis of a working brain,

I'm not a literature student, these verses were written on the first page of psychology textbook.


texts: Is the usage 'formal leave of absence' correct? What does it imply? What could be possible inferences?

texts:
Came across an email saying someone was on their 'formal leave of absence'

Is the phrase correctly used? That is, if it is correct in the first place.

What does it imply and what could be possible inferences? Thank you.


texts:
I am a bit confused regarding what is the correct way to say that we adjust a value according to some factor.

What is the correct way to write the following sentence:

  A number between 0-1 indicates how to weight the value when calculating the final score.

or

  A number between 0-1 indicates how to weigh the value when calculating the final score.


texts: Usage of "in this list" - "on this list"

texts:
Do you use "in this list" and "on this list" in the following way?

a) In this list, when talking indirectly about the contents of the list.

Example:

Have you participated in this list? (Not this one)

This one: - I do not see any problem in this list.

b) On this list, when talking directly about the contents of the list.

Example:

The individuals on this list are from this town.


texts: How to determine if a pre-head dependent of a noun is a complement or a modifier

texts:
These examples are from CGEL*.

  a linguistics student

  a first-year student

CGEL says 'linguistics' is a complement of the noun 'student', whereas 'first-year' is a modifier of the noun 'student'.

How exactly do you determine the former is a complement and the latter is a modifier?

Also, in the following examples of my own choosing, are the words in bold complements or modifiers of the respective subsequent nouns? And how do you reach your conclusion?

  a college student

  a police station

  a tax bill

*The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by Pullum and Huddleston (p439)


texts:
Which one is right?

  We use our algorithm to evaluate how accurately it is possible to
  model protein  structures with dihedral angles.

or

  We use our algorithm to evaluate how accurate it is possible to
  model protein  structures with dihedral angles.

I am inclined to the second sentence. Is there a rule for this situation?


texts: fused relative word (whatever, whoever) + the hell/on earth

texts:
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language  has presented five reasons for classifying ungoverned open exhaustive conditionals not as fused relatives but as open interrogatives, and the fourth reason is on page 989 and shown here:
(An example of ungoverned open exhaustive conditionals is the underlined clause in [61] below, with or without the hell.)

(d) Whatever the hell...
Ordinary interrogatives allow emotive modifiers like the hell or on earth to follow the interogative word: What the hell do you want? or Who on earth said that? This pattern is found also in the exhaustive conditional, as in the following attested example:
[61]

We [sc. women] must be attractive — w̲h̲a̲t̲e̲v̲e̲r̲ ̲t̲h̲e̲ ̲h̲e̲l̲l̲ ̲t̲h̲a̲t̲ ̲m̲e̲a̲n̲s̲ — because, without that we will find no place in this society.

Fused relatives do not admit these expressions: *̲W̲h̲o̲e̲v̲e̲r̲ ̲t̲h̲e̲ ̲h̲e̲l̲l̲ ̲s̲a̲i̲d̲ ̲t̲h̲a̲t̲ was wrong.

But is it really true that fused relatives do not allow these emotive modifiers?
I have found quite a few examples from news articles and books, including these two:

(1) But she just does [whatever the hell she wants to do at this point], and her record sounds like that. (The Guardian)
(2) People believe what they want to believe, and it seemed that the Whitelaw Printworks lads wanted to believe that Hal Rashadam happened upon their team on a visit to [whoever on earth he might have known in the environs of Mile End Park]. ("Playing for the Ashes" By Elizabeth George)

Although the bracketed portions in (1) and (2) are fused relatives, 'emotive modifiers' such as the hell and on earth are used.
If these examples are legitimate, is it true that Whoever the hell said that was wrong. is ungrammatical for having the hell, and that in general, fused relatives do not allow these emotive modifiers?


texts: Do both of these introductions mean the same thing and make sense?

texts:
I work with someone whom I have not yet introduced myself to; someone usually introduces a new person around the office but I wasn’t in on this person’s first day, so I missed that.

Anyway, on introducing myself, I was wondering if the following would make sense?

  I don’t know that we have been introduced.

Does it mean the same thing as:

  I don’t think we’ve been introduced.


texts:
I checked that their pronunciations are /ster/ and /der/
But I can't hear the difference between them!
Can anyone tell me the difference and how to pronounce them separately?


texts: Are 'him' and 'as' redundant in this sentence? What should be the correct construction?

texts:
Construction 1: "John Lenon, whom the fans call him their savior,..."

Construction 2: "John Lenon, whom the fans call as their savior,..."

Construction 3: "John Lenon, whom the fans call their savior,..."


texts:
Is the expression "(someone is a) bad loser" valid?
If it is valid, is it equal to "sore loser", or does it have a different meaning and/or use?


texts: Present perfect vs. Past perfect for finished actions

texts:
When is the perfect tense used? All examples illustrating perfect are always answer to the same question.
So there is no way when I can simply said:

  I have written a note
  or
  I had written a note

Is that right? Instead I  need to say:

  I wrote a note

But if someone asked me: Did you finish a note? then I need to use perfect:

  Yes, I just have written a note
   or
  Yes, I had written a note yesterday

Am I right?


texts: Secular phrase of "bless you" (after someone sneezes)?

texts:
In English speaking countries it's common practice to say "bless you" to someone who sneezes. The etymology of this practice has been covered in a previous question:

"Bless you" & sneezing

Secular Alternative

My question is, what secular alternative is in common use?

I often say something like "good health," which sounds a little odd in English but most people take it well. Is there any other common alternative?


texts: How to distinguish complements from other things?

texts: What's a sure fire way or distinguishing complements? Do the phrases 'he spoke to them' and 'cut the slices thin' contain complements?


texts: Does one 'have' or does one 'hold' a fascination?

texts:
I know that a fascination 'holds' the individual, but how does one phrase the act of being fascinated? i.e.; does one 'hold' or does one 'have' a fascination?

Would it be more appropriate to say that he or she is 'held' by a fascination?


texts: non-administrator-level-user privileges or non-administrator level-user privileges?

texts:
Please consider the two examples below. Which, technically, without rephrasing, is the correct choice?

non-administrator-level-user privileges
[Here the four-word compound adjective modifies "privileges".]
non-administrator level-user privileges
[Here "non-administrator-level" is the modifier of the hyphenated "user-privileges". Should "user-privileges" be hyphenated here, as a noun, when it follows the already-hyphenated "non-administrator-level"?]

Of course, we could truncate the phrase by deleting "level" and be left with "non-administrator-user privileges", which is, in my opinion, correctly punctuated (yes or no?) and probably the best option, no doubt. Agreed?

My question is whether or not 1 or 2 is the better punctuation choice. And why? Does each example have a different meaning because of the shift in hyphenation, or do they both have the same meaning?


texts:
Is there any word to indicate newly joined members in the company? I use

New joinees
New recruits
Freshers
Newly appointed.

But I want the correct word.


texts: Should spaces be used between "" and numbers or letters?

texts:
Should spaces be used between "<" or ">" and numbers or letters?

For symbols, what is right? P<10, P <10, P < 10 or P< 10?
For numbers, what is right? 4>2, 4> 2, 4 > 2 or 4 >2?

Is there a rule in English typography regarding the usage of spaces around those symbols?


texts:
I was drawn to the word, “pre-spin” in the following passage in New York Times’ (October 9) article that came under the title, “From Donald Trump, hints of a campaign exit strategy”:

  “Stuart Stevens, who was the chief strategist to Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential race, also doubts that Mr. Trump will stay in over the long haul. “Trump’s the only person that pre-spun his exit — it’s rather remarkable,” said Mr. Stevens.”

Though I take “pre-spin” for “preplan” or “preconceive,” I don’t think I've ever heard this word.

Google NGram shows that the word emerged around or in 1960, and its currency has rapidly increased since the mid-1990s, up to 0.0000001456% in 2000, but neither Cambridge Online Dictionaries nor Oxford Online Dictionaries includes "pre-spin."

Is the word “pre-spin” used commonly today among Anglo-Americans, or still its usage is limited to politics and journalism?

By the way, we have the similar expression to 'pre-spin' in Japanese - 事前に織り込む, whose literal translation is 'weave into the thought in advance'.


texts: Putting descriptive words in reverse order

texts:
There are sentences like this.

He was a calm and nice person.
He talked with vaguely old and British expression.

I always thought that since "calm and nice" is not a phrase, it came before the subject it describes (I'm not sure if "vaguely old and British" is a phrase or not). But some people say this sentence in reverse order, like this.

He was a person calm and nice.
He talked with expression vaguely old and British.

Why do some people say it like this, and what allows this to happen?


texts: I believe majority is correctly used with a plural noun — "majority of people" or "majority of voters". It's becoming used frequently with a singular noun — "majority of work" or "majority of travel". Is this incorrect use of majority?


texts: When a concept is found to be invalid, someone might say "so much for" it, which roughly means "I'm throwing this idea away."  Does anyone know where the expression comes from?