texts: "miss you" vs "missing you" in the present

texts:
Both the simple and the continuous are out there, but if you had to pick one:

  I miss you.

  I am missing you.

...

  She misses her family.

  She is missing her family.

I want to say that the *stative form of this verb in the simple tense is INHERENTLY CONTINUOUS and that the continuous tense can be done without. (Should be done without for a cleaner language usage?)

Edit #2 (I meant to say stative every time I wrote *intransitive)

and I found this:

  http://is.muni.cz/th/178421/ff_m_b1/Stative_verbs_with_the_progressive.txt

  http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/support-files/stative-verbs-list.pdf

I thank you for the debate.


texts: "Take their origins from" vs. "have their origins in"

texts:
Which one is correct:

Coffee plants take their origins from Brazil

Coffee plants have their origins in Brazil


texts:
The reason I am asking this is the following. Some time ago I performed proofreading of a book, and there was a phrase containing "Protein-encoding genes". I wrote a post on my blog, detailing why this is wrong, according to the assumption that "to code" means to write something in a given standard representation (like "I code a program" in the sense that I write a program in a standard representation of a programming language). Another example is Huffman coding, which is an algorithm for compression. To encode, on the other hand, means to transform something into something else, for example, base32 encoding transforms binary data into text, so it is possible to send it via email.

Now I am not really sure about it anymore. What I can say for sure, is that genes do not perform any operation, they just store information, so to me "Protein-coding genes" makes a lot more sense than "Protein-encoding genes". I don't understand, in particular, the exact grammar of suffixes like "-coding". Is it a verb, an adjective, or something I'm not aware of ?


texts: Adding -ever to relative pronouns and adverbs

texts:
In one grammar book that I was using, different types of relative pronouns and adverbs were being described. Among those were whoever, whichever, and whatever for the pronouns and wherever, whenever, and however for the adverbs.

I am wondering if there is a special term for these relative parts of speech ending in -ever?

Also, how is their use different from the plain use of relative parts of speech without the -ever?

Thank you.


texts: Are products of wordsmithing proper English?

texts:
Several languages in which English has its roots have easily definable rules. For example, sticking "a" in front of an adjective can mean the opposite of that adjective (symmetrical - asymmetrical), while you can accomplish the same thing with "dis" (satisfied - dissatisfied). Similarly, suffixes can be tacked onto other words to create new words (for example, turning beautiful, an adjective, into beautify, a verb). These patterns are quite obviously present through our language, and are powerful tools to create new words that may not be officially recognized as part of the language (e.g. documented by Webster or OED).

If one were to use these rules to create words (uglify comes to mind, being the opposite of beautify), would these words be considered proper English, or have we dropped the suffixing/prefixing rules of our mother languages, and such words are no longer acceptable?


texts: What is 'admiralty' as an abstract noun?

texts:
I've looked it up and found:

Admiralty => office of the Admiralty & Marine Affairs -- an institution under various names in England.
Admiralty => a building and department.
Admiralty => court dealing with maritime law.

But this all started when I ran into this, the final verse of Rudyard Kipling's "Song of the Dead"

  We must feed our sea for a thousand years,
  For that is our doom and pride,
  As it was when they sailed with the ~Golden Hind~,
  Or the wreck that struck last tide --
  Or the wreck that lies on the spouting reef
  Where the ghastly blue-lights flare.
  If blood be the price of admiralty,
  If blood be the price of admiralty,
  If blood be the price of admiralty,
  Lord God, we ha' bought it fair!

In this context, I don't understand what Kipling means by 'admiralty'

Enlightenment, please.

One good answer refers to the Oxford Phrase dictionary for "Price of Admiralty" and says "The cost of maintaining command of the seas." and refers to Kipling's poem.

Is Kipling's use of "admiralty" poetic license? Are there any other examples of its use as an abstract noun?


texts:
The context is from a story I read recently in an omnibus (I found that link on the spur of the moment):

  ...were afterwards burnt to death in three several fires.

I suppose three was meant, but this use of several stumped me.  What did it mean back in 1843?


texts: From Dictionary.com, uninstall is a word, but uninstallation is not.  I tried deinstallation and that isn't a word as well.  Is there any word equivalent, ending in -tion that is a real word?


texts: A word to describe a place which is "very cozy"

texts: I would like to ask for your help to describe a coffee shop that is very cozy for chatting.


texts: What is the etymology behind the euphemism "The Troubles"?

texts: What is the etymology or history behind the euphemism "The Troubles" for the unrest/civil war in Northern Ireland?


texts:
Law term that means that some document, paper or deal has no power in law.

In Russian it is ничтожность (ничтожный договор), in Ukrainian it's нікчемність (нікчемний договір).

I've already asked it on otvety.google.ru but I'm not sure that they are right.


texts: When can we reduce "while clause" as in "don't eat lying down" and "don't talk facing the fan"?

texts:
It seems like native speakers say "don't eat lying down" and "don't talk facing the fan" when they mean "don't eat while lying down" and "don't talk while facing the fan" respectively.
But in some other situations, we can not do the same things,
For example,
“Don't drink while driving” is ok, but “Don't drink driving” is not ok.
"I saw an accident while I was walking down the street" is ok, but "I saw an accident walking down the street" is not ok.
When can we reduce "while clause"?


texts: A word that means "uncovering the truth about something"

texts: I am looking for a word that means the act of or the effect of revealing the truth of an assertion (for instance a statement made in a news report).


texts:
When writing the initials of a surname such as "St. John" (I will use the first name of Tom for an example), would those initials be written as 'TSJ' or 'TS' or 'TJ' or are all of these equally common?

Another question: Is the full form of the surname always "Saint John", or has the "St." become some sort of prefix?


texts: I want to know if this is grammatically correct " How long would the conference be for?".


texts: What is this passive construction called?

texts:
I wonder what the tax raised is called as a sentence part shown below, and whether it's grammatical. Please suggest corrections if it isn't.

  The tax raised, more small enterprises will close down.

Maybe it should be expanded to

  Having the tax raised, more small enterprises will close down.

It seems to me that it is an adverbial modifier of condition. Am I right?


texts:
I seem to have come across this sentence structure before but I can't quite remember where. Which number would be the best follow up to the phrase "To the ancient Romans"?

To the ancient Romans

theatre was art was sport
theatre was art, was sport.
theatre was art and art was sport.

I know that 3. is correct. 2. is basically the same as 1. but with an added comma. However, the message I'd like to convey is that art = theatre = sport (i.e. sport was art because it was theatre and theatre was art) rather than that sport is intrinsically art. Sport is only art because it is theatre.

Sorry if the question is longwinded and confusing. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and answer this everyone.


texts: What is the plural form of the word "Demiurge"

texts:
What would be the plural form of the word "Demiurge", (the Creator~).

One Demiurge.

Many Demiurges?


texts:
As I'm no native speaker, I wonder about the usage for compensate.
I'm writing a title of a paper.
Is it:

  "Compensating for X Effects"

or

  "Compensating X Effects" ?

In this case I want to express that the methods introduced in the paper decrease/get rid off the "X effects". The second one sounds to me as if the "effects" would get some kind of compensation. Yet, I'm not sure.


texts: Why "hoist" in "Hoist with one's own petard"?

texts:
He was hoist with his own petard is one of my father's favorite phrases. As a child I had developed a vague understanding of the idiom in which petard was a kind of flag, which is why it was hoist, and being hoist by your own was an unpleasant fate bringing to mind captains being hung from their own ship's mast.

I now understand the meaning and origin of the phrase much better and know that a petard was a kind of early bomb and the idiom refers to being injured or killed by your own bomb. I am wondering about hoist though.

The Online Etymology Dictionary explains that in this expression, hoist is a past participle. What confuses me is the usage. We would not use hoist to describe being thrown by a bomb today, it brings to mind a controlled movement and does not carry any connotations of speed or violence, quite the contrary:

  hoist v. hoist·ed, hoist·ing, hoists v.tr.
  1. To raise or haul up with or as if with the help of a mechanical apparatus. See Synonyms at lift.
  2. To raise to one's mouth in order to drink: hoist a few beers. v.intr.   To become raised or lifted.

My question is whether hoist used to have such a connotation. Since the phrase can be traced to Hamlet, was this poetic license or was the word commonly used to describe such violent movement at the time? Did to be hoist mean to die or be injured?


texts: What is a word to describe a teacher who has a habit of giving high marks to their students (even if they are not doing well)?

texts: I was wondering if I could say "a giving teacher", but I couldn't find that word having been used in such a context. Also, I have the word "generous" in mind, but I think that word has a positive connotation, which I'm not against, but are there any alternatives?


texts:
Each of the students has done well in the examination, hasn't he?
Is this correct question tag or it should be "haven't they"?


texts:
I have seen people using "This one is Daddy's" with the word "one" before a form of the verb be. I am confused about which is more accurate, to use:

  This is Daddy's.

or

  This one is Daddy's.

Hope you can address my concerns, thank you.


texts: Is there a single-word verb equivalent to "make something more professional"?

texts:
I am an employee at a non-profit start-up that makes scholastic chess tournaments more professional.

For example -- we provide all equipment a professional chess tournament would have (e.g. DGT boards, country flags, etc), enforce professional conduct (e.g. recording moves, no cheating, etc), reward prizes reminiscent of professional chess tournaments (e.g. big purses, trophies, etc). We do a lot more to make the tournaments more professional, but that's beyond the scope of the question.

Anyways, we want to add the following line to our website:

  We [insert verb here] scholastic chess.

We've considered the following verbs, but they either don't completely fit or the word has a negative connotation (e.g. romanticize - think of as better than reality would warrant).

Romanticize
Up the ante
Spruce up
Glamorize


texts:
This is a linguistics question but I thought it related to english so I'm also posting here:

I have the following tree structure, and I don't understand why "of the lane" is a constituent?

The tests I know for constituency are:

Movement/Clefting

Substitution

Question/Answer


texts: Should accents be used in French words when used in English?

texts:
In essays, or writing in general, is it more acceptable to include or leave out accents in French words (or even natively accented words in general)?

For example, would I say

  The bread was served à la carte.

or

  The bread was served a la carte.

The same thing applies to naïve vs. naive.

Does it depend on whether the word is commonplace or not? Meaning, French words integrated with English don't need to be spelled with accents, but more obscure words do? Does using an accent for a common French word in English seem pretentious?


texts: 'Literary' usage when possessive pronoun begins sentence

texts:
I am unsure the correct wording of this question. Could anyone point me to usage notes or guidance on a construction such as this:
'Theirs was a position known to few.' Or, 'His was a car without equal.'
It seems this is a slightly more literary usage, as clearly the two examples could be rephrased as 'Their position was known to few' and 'His car was without equal.' Is this a form of inversion, which therefore gives it its feeling of being more literary?


texts: What is the contemporary usage of the word "blouse", namely in North America?

texts:
I've red some definitions of the word "blouse" and not all of them agree. From Wikipedia

  A blouse is a loose-fitting upper garment that was formerly worn by
  workmen, peasants, artists, women and children.1 It is typically
  gathered at the waist (by a waistband or belt) so that it hangs
  loosely ("blouses"2) over the wearer's body.1 Today, the word most
  commonly refers to a woman's shirt[3] but can also refer to a man's
  shirt if it is a loose-fitting style (e.g. poet shirts and Cossack
  shirts).[4] Traditionally, the term has been used to refer to a shirt
  which blouses out or has an unmistakably feminine appearance.

From the Oxford dictionary

  a woman’s upper garment resembling a shirt, typically with a collar,
  buttons, and sleeves. 1) loose linen or cotton garment formerly worn by
  peasants and manual workers, typically belted at the waist. 2) type of
  jacket worn as part of military uniform.

It appears to be technically correct to say a blouse can be a man's article of clothing, but is this accepted in common usage? For example would it be considered offensive (or feminine) to describe a loose t-shirt a man is wearing as a blouse? The following picture is of a man wearing a loose t-shirt but I don't think many would consider it a blouse:

http://supersklep.com/i127980-element-t-shirt-man-machine-sea (image upload not working)


texts: Is this sentence grammatically correct? Adverb clause

texts:
When I got back my test recently, I oddly found that my English teacher thinks that there is an error in the usage of adverbial clauses in

  "It seems that moving the body while learning, which forces the learner to concentrate, improves memory."

He claimed that "which" must come directly after the word it modifies, but I am still not convinced. Could someone kindly point out whether the sentence is grammatically correct or not. Please elaborate.


texts: Is [ʌ] a back vowel or a central vowel in GA English?

texts:
The IPA symbol /ʌ/ name is "open-mid back unrounded vowel" and the IPA vowel trapezoid shows it as the unrounded version of /ɔ/, but its sound in English sounds very different from [ɔ] to me. It sounds to me identical to [ɜ] (open-mid central unrounded  vowel). Am I listening right? If so, why are 2 different IPA symbols used for identical sounds?

Example: [ɜ] in search [sɜ:t͡ʃ] (RP English) (https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/search) vs [ʌ] in butter [bʌɾɚ] (https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/butter). I would compare the GA English pronunciation of "search" but I have been already told that ɜ is pronounced differently in that word in GA English.


texts: Word for a shelf intended to be worked off of like a desk

texts:
I'm trying to figure out a more descriptive word than "shelf" for a structure that is mounted to a wall at around waist height intended to be used as a desk. This is creative nonfiction so I know exactly what it looks like.

Ways it is like a desk, not a shelf:

Computers are put on it along with things that are intended to be worked on.
People sit at it working in chairs
It is not used to store or display things

Ways it is like a shelf, not a desk:

It is At waist height
It has no drawers
It is mounted to the wall and not freestanding.

The intended sentence goes something like: "They sat at the shelf/desk/____" and/or "He worked on the shelf/desk/____". With the latter, "worked on the shelf" usually refers to preforming maintenance.


texts: How would you describe the difference between 'thereto' and 'theretoward'?

texts:
I would appreciate it if you may respond to or comment on the differences or applications of "thereto" and "theretoward" in modern writings or provide other single words that would be of similar use.
Thanks in advance for your time!


texts: Name for inexhaustive "or", which doesn't cover all the cases?

texts:
Is there a name for a use of "or" that doesn't cover all the cases, such as

We could go to the beach, or go climbing ...

Where there are more activities than are listed.


texts: For example, it appears in the picture below and usually in the follow of the word" Ibid".So what does this word mean?


texts: What is it called when you end up preparing for something and then it doesn't happen because you prepared?

texts:
For example, if you bring your umbrella with you 6/7 days of the week, and it does not rain - and then on the 7th day, you end up not bringing it with you, and it rains because you did not have your umbrella (yes, assume you are magical and can control the rain by bringing/not bringing an umbrella, but that you don't know about this mysterious power)

Is it some sort of variant of Murphy's law?


texts: What is the formal way of expressing 1990s?

texts:
How do you express the last decade of 20th century in formal written English? "1990s"? If the century is known from the context, can you simply say "the nineties"?

As in: "The involvement of US in Kosovo in the nineties"


texts: Determining who wrote what parts of a book, e.g, the Bible

texts: Is there a special word for determining who wrote what part of a book, e.g., the Bible?


texts:
We had a quiz yesterday and there was this question:

He doesn't have ......... work to do.

1.Many
2.Much
3.A lot of

Kindly answer mentioning a reference


texts: What is the difference of meaning between "a bigger size" and "a size bigger"?

texts:
I read the two forms.
I learned that the adjective is before the noun but I guess that there are some exceptions.
Is there a difference in meaning?


texts: "derivative" is to "derive" as "primitive function" is to "?"

texts:
Basically, what is the opposite verb of "derive", i.e. "to take the primitive function of"?

(Context: I'm trying to make wolframAlpha take the primitive of a function, but I can't get formulation correct.)


texts:
What is the difference between "Copyright on something" and "Copyright to something", if any?
Can I also say "I have rights on something" or only "I have rights to something" is correct?


texts: Is saying "This was the best part of an otherwise incredible day!" a correct usage of 'otherwise'?

texts:
I'm asking because I saw this tweet: https://twitter.com/chrissyteigen/status/910404003736854528, (""Otherwise" implies you did not like hangin with this baby."), which is criticizing the usage of the word "otherwise" in Ivanka Trump's tweet which reads "Cuddling my little nephew Luke... the best part of an otherwise incredible day!"

The way 'otherwise' is used there makes it sound like the cuddling with the baby part was not 'incredible' like the rest of the day, thus contradicting that it was the 'best part', but I'm not sure if it is actually technically correct.


texts:
I am new to English and this forum as well. You may have sensed it already.

Here is my question:

Can plural noun be followed by another plural noun?

As in the example:

  Notifications settings

Is it correct phrase?


texts: Please choose a time at your convenience

texts:
Hi I am just writing an email to meet someone but I am letting him to choose the time.

Is it correct?.

*

  Then I will let you to choose the time for this meeting.

*


texts:
I have trouble with an SAT grammar question:

The delegates coming this far, they did not want to return without accomplishing something.

I got it down to 2 choices:

(B) Coming this far, the delegates felt they
(C) Having come this far, the delegates

The correct answer is (C); however, I do not understand the differences between (B) and (C).


texts:
I'm studying programming, and regular English words are often shortened.
For example, "previous" is shortened to "prev", "integer" to "int", "character" to "char" etc.

How do you pronounce the short versions? Is it char like in "charcoal" or char like in "character", sounding like "care"?

Edit: why I think this question is not the same as "how to pronounce programmers' word char", my question was more in the general sense on how to think about those pronounciations, as only the case of "char" is not my only concern.


texts: Recently I have learnt stronger adverbs( absolutely, completely, totally) never collocate with non-extreme adjectives. So how do we know whether we can use "stronger adverbs" with a adj or not? Should we learn all the non-extreme adjectives?


texts:
I came across these lines in a hymn:

  Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,Which wert and art, and ever more shalt be.

I noticed that "wert", "art", and "shalt" were used with the subject "which" in the last line instead of which "thou."  At first I thought this was just a grammatical mistake on the side of the hymn writer, but then I kept seeing such things where verbs in second person singular form are used with indefinite pronouns such as "which" or "who".  Another example is give in this StackExchange question whose answer doesn't really answer my question.

So now I'm wondering, is it correct to use second person singular verbs with indefinite pronouns if the indefinite pronoun refers to a second person singular pronoun (in the hymn, "which" reffers to "Thee" from the last line)?


texts:
I'm wondering if there's a word in English for the opposite of an "honorific". For example, you would call the "Sir" in "Sir Mick Jagger" an honorific.

What would you call the modifiers in a phrase with excessive words indicating inferiority. For example:

One could be an "author", or one could be an "informal subsection co-author". What would you call "informal subsection co-" in this case?
one could be the "president" or they could be the "vice-president", is there a word for the "vice-" modifier?


texts: General word for "imaginary bad things"?

texts:
In some languages there's a categorical word for all things which are evil and imaginary. For example, Strašidlo in Czech describes ghosts, bogeymen, etc.

Is there an equivalent word in English?


texts:
In common English, we can use the phrase "and or" to indicate that any of the following cases can apply, e.g. "I can have a strawberry and or a banana", meaning I can have either the strawberry, the banana, or both.

Now suppose I swapped the wording from "and or" to "or and".  Does this phrase have the same meaning?   Is the phrasing commutative such that "or and" is equivalent to "and or"?


texts: Omitting “can” in the second clause of a complex sentence

texts:
I am wondering whether or not I can omit the verb can in the following sentence:

  Students can experience different research methodologies and can practice teamwork on cutting-edge projects.


texts: "I'll be sure to do something" vs "I'll for sure do something"

texts:
I'm not a native speaker but work in an English-speaking international environment. One American guy wrote me:

  I'll be sure to let you know

We at our company usually say:

  I'll for sure let you know

Are both ways correct and are there any semantic distinctions between them?
If both are acceptable, which expression is more common in America?


texts: I can say: "You shouldn't have done this!" Can I say: "You had better not have done this!"?

texts:
Provided "should" and "had better" are near synonyms (stronger advice in "had better" than in "should" or in more formal "ought to"), I know I can say

  You shouldn't have done this!

But how about

  You had better not have done this!

?


texts: Word to describe a certain variation of relief

texts:
What single word can be used to describe feeling relief through a physical action?

For example:

  "Punching the pillow felt ______, because it physically relieved my stress."


texts: “He is the youngest and tallest boy” or “and the tallest boy”

texts:
He is the youngest and tallest boy in his class.

Is this sentence correct?
Shouldn't we say "…and the tallest boy"？


texts:
I have something like this in my draft-

..thank you for coming for the event.

Something does not feel right about using for so near to each other in this sentence.


texts: What's the difference between "ledger" and "accounts"?

texts:
I want to know the difference between the words ledger and accounts. I don't work in an accounts department and know nothing of it. Can anybody explain it to me please?
The following definition is an excerpt from the Longman dictionary of contemporary English.

ledger
a book in which a business, bank etc records how much money it receives and spends

and

accounts
a)[plural] an exact record of the money that a company has received and the money it has spent


texts: When to use the abverbial form of maximal: maximally?

texts:
Could the following sentence considered to be a correct use case of the adverbial form of the word maximal in English?

  Use underflow to set the maximally possible value of used datatype.

When should one use maximal, and when should one use maximally?


texts: Should I use "moving in to" or "moving into" for this sentence?

texts:
While writing a sentence like this one, should I use "moving in to" or "moving into"? Since "move in" seems to be a phrasal verb, is it safe to assume that the right choice would be "moving in to"?

They invited all their friends to celebrate their moving in to Crimson Park.


texts: I have been given a topic for writing an essay on ""Ethical norms with regard to Fundamental Rights "". I can't understand the meaning of this topic, please help.


texts: Capitalizing Work Titles -- Beyond General Rules

texts:
The rule I'm getting is:

Capitalize if it comes before the name: Janitor Richard McGill was a fastidious man. Director Campbell slept in the office as McGill the janitor proofread his annual report.

But I often find that writing certain titles un-capitalized just looks plain odd.
Here are three sentences where I want to capitalize. Could you comment on the grammaticality of the choice to do so?

Just recently I met Mr. Adams (previously Managing Director and Finance Director at ... (Could you also suggest a better SHORT sentence for writing this? Sounds clunky as I type it here. It is meant to convey that Mr. Adams was previously the managing director and before that a finance director at an organization. Also, I didn't feel the need to capitalize these titles as I talked about them in the previous sentence as I did when typing out the original sentence referred.)
2. My work experience as an Assistant Accountant at ...
3. Mr. Stephen Colbert, Hiring Manager -- at the start of a letter (this one I know is correct -- my search shows that the work title at the top of a letter is almost always capitalized)


texts: "The feminine expressions could be spotted in ewes" - what does it mean here?

texts:
Could you explain following phrase please?:

  The feminine expressions could be spotted in ewes due to female hormones but not in male sheep.

Dictionaries have too much meanings for "to spot" and I have no idea which one fits here.

Here are links to the sources:

http://www.stepbystep.com/difference-between-ewe-and-sheep-100060/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPAG4-YFszM

Update

I was falsely interpreting feminine expressions as words rather than facial expressions.


texts: Is there any difference in the use of the words deride and disparage?

texts:
Although both these words have being treated with little regard for, does one convey something that the other one does not?

Our efforts were derided but we carried on the pursuit of success.

All that child needed was some encouragement in math, but her mother disparaged her before others so much that the child failed to shine in the test.


texts: What connotation exactly does the word "noddy" have in British English?

texts:
I watched a BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby the other day, and came across a bit of dialogue I couldn't quite decipher:

A character named Squeers:  I hope you didn't set out the good cut of meat.
His wife: Do I look like a noddy?

What does noddy mean exactly? Is it archaic slang?  I'm guessing it means something close to "fool" here, but I want to be quite sure of the connotation of the word and when one would use it.


texts:
In a sentence like:
America is a rich country. Its resources are massive.
If the question was: what does (its) refer to?
And there were choices to choose from:
A. America
B. America's

Which one  is the correct answer?
A or B ??

Thank you


texts: "paralyzed because of strong emotion" Is there an idiom or fixed-phrase which conveys this meaning?

texts:
I'm looking for an idiom or fixed phrase meaning someone was paralyzed with the horror of a sight.

context:

An old lady sees a young girl run over by a truck.
A middle-aged man sees his neighbor's teenage son be struck by lightning.

Not looking for a single word (there are too many of them) and it would fit a sentence like "He/She became/was/got/etc______________________."


texts: Is it "stir fry", "stir-fry" or "stir-fried"

texts:
Could someone confirm if "stir fry" and "stir-fry" are interchangeable when used as a verb (according to The Free Dictionary and Merriam-Webster) and if "stir-fry" and "stir-fried" are interchangeable when used as an adjective (according to Collins and Dictionary)?

Thank you!


texts:
When I say:

  The board and council meetings will be held on the 5th and the 6th of this month, respectively.

it seems to be the proper way to say it and it sounds correct . But when I say:

  Let's get tea and coffee for you and for me, respectively.

especially in an informal environment, it sounds unnatural at best and snobbish at worst. So what is a good informal word for 'respectively'?


texts: What is the correct way to punctuate a sentence that augments the previous thought using a phrase like "you know" or "that is"?

texts:
Here is an example:

  Traffic is terrible driving to downtown! That is, if you arrive from the south. Traffic from the north isn't that bad.

In the above sentence, the comma after "that is" feels grammatically unnecessary. At the same time, the sentence feels like it would would flow way differently than if it were just "That is if you arrive form the south."

Another example:

  I don't trust them to babysit my kids. You know, since they had that incident last year.

I think we can all agree that it would have been much better if the sentences were just one complete thought, like "I don't trust them to babysit my kids since they had that incident last year."  But I feel like there should be a grammatically correct way to express somebody who makes a complete thought, ends it, and then regrets not adding that additional clause.

My main issue is that these are dependent clauses ("if", "since") that are not normally preceded by a comma, yet it feels so weird to NOT have the comma in these cases.

At the end of the day, what the comma is trying to accomplish is the pause that would normally occur when these types of sentences are spoken.  In that case, maybe an ellipsis would be more appropriate?  It feels like it works more in some cases than others, depending on how long you want the pause to feel.

  Traffic is terrible driving to downtown! That is... if you arrive from the south. Traffic from the north isn't that bad.

doesn't seem right.

  I don't trust them to babysit my kids. You know... since they had that incident last year.

could work?


texts:
!

I found this to be strange: in Wikipedia,

  Russia at the 2008 Summer Olympics
  Russia competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics

How different is the meaning if at is changed to in?


texts: Phrase for snipping of scissors between actual cuts that a barber makes

texts:
A barber generally keeps on snipping the scissors in between the actual cuts. There is a particular phrase for this behavior. I have come across this phrase before, but can't recollect it now. The phrase was a generic term for such involuntary acts and the barber's one was a good example for it. The closest I can some up with now is "fidgeting", but I don't think that was the word.
Two close phrases I came across today are "muscle memory" and "automaticity"


texts: Which words to capitalize in Master thesis headings?

texts:
I'm writing my Master thesis in English and now I do not know about the headings. Do I have to write heading in upper or only lower case printing?

For example:

  Processing and Distribution Server
  Indoor Navigation and Positioning App

or

  Processing and distribution server
  Indoor navigation and positioning app

Which version is correct and can also be used in presentation slides?


texts:
We know that we can say:

  There is a play at the theater tonight.

But can we say:

  There is Hamlet at the theater tonight.

The last sentence sounds a bit odd, but it's not clear why. Is this grammatical. If not, why? Is it because Hamlet is a proper noun?


texts: Whatever: pronoun, conjunction or determiner?

texts:
I have already learned what is the general difference between conjunctions and conjuncting pronouns, and that is the fact that a pronoun can be a subject or an object in the clause whereas a conjunction can not. But it seems, there are still exceptions like "whoever" and "whatever".
So, in the sentence below "whatever" is certainly a pronoun. Here, the dependent clause is a noun clause.

You are free to do whatever you want.

But in the next sentence, which contains adverbial clause, "whatever" seems to be a conjunction (because like any subordinating conjunction, it shows the relationship between clauses).

I won`t leave her whatever happens.

This I more or less understood although I can`t quite get why Macmillan dictionary says that "whatever "can be both pronoun and conjunction while Lexico (Oxford) says that it can only be a pronoun...
But the real trouble is from now on!
In the sentence

Whatever decision he made I would support it.

"whatever" seems to function like a conjunction, but it`s placed before the noun just like a determiner. So, what is it here: determiner or conjunction? Or maybe even pronoun?
I don`t get it! Please, help me.


texts: What's a common interjection for the reaction to something creepy and disgusting (like some insects or spooky places, etc.)?

texts:
For example,

A: - Look! There is a centipede on the table!

B: - (interjection)!


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another?

What's the difference between the following?

Did the shop close?
Has the shop closed?

I suspect the second one to mean that the shop could still be opened but I'm not sure If I'm right.


texts:
There are quite a few words in BrE beginning with "D" where the initial consonant is pronounced /dʒ/. Think:

Dew
Duke

It seems, though, that the pronunciations of these words change in AmE, where /dʒ/ becomes /d/.

Does /dʒ/ exist for words beginning in "D" in AmE?


texts: Is There a Word of Phrase that denotes the ending of a never ending conflict?

texts:
The idea is that there is a contest, or a battle, between two opponents that are so equally matched, so eternally against each other, that they end up both destroyed. But this doesn't happen until all forces, all resources have been marshaled for one or the other side up-to optimum efficiency. You can also think of it as perfect play by both sides: e.g. Neither side ever makes a mistake nor yields to the other, until only the ultimate, logical conclusion of mutual destruction is reached?

This is for the subtitle of a book, by the way. One in a series of several. The above conflict is the central theme of this one. All the subtitles of all the books follow the pattern of: "Arc of <word>". So, for example, "Arc of Enmity", or "Arc of Eredtgauss", etc. I'm looking for a <word> that can fit the pattern and express the central theme as described above.

Thank you for reading, and for any and all help!


texts: English equivalent of Polish idiom "To explain [something to someone] like a cow in bound"

texts:
Another Polish saying "Tłumaczyć jak krowie na miedzy" that means "To explain [something to someone] like a cow in bounds".

Explanation
This idiom is used to describe a person that is dumb above the average and/or has problems with understanding certain issue and you try to talk to him as plain as possible to explain it to him. Cow is believed to be a very stubborn animal and it is difficult to make it do something you want it to do - that's an etymology of an idiom.

More details

In original Polish version word "bound" stands for a stripe of grass between fields (country land) that marks the real borders of a field so that a farmer would know where his field ends and start his neighbours.

Example
- Wait, what was that bipolar junction transistor doing once again?
- Jesus, you're deaf or what? I've been talking to you like a cow in bounds for last 3 hours.

Little help
Picture that might help in understanding idiom


texts:
i'm not an native english speaker.
I came across the "Dying ! Dying in the night " poem by E. Dickinson.
A verse is bothering me:
"Where is Jesus gone ?"
Is it grammaticaly correct ?
Would "Where has Jesus gone ?" be better ?
Or by her initial sentence, it means: where is he now that he is dead ?
I'm not implying that such an acclaimed poet could do grammar errors but i've never seen anything like this. Thanks for your help.


texts: Is a comma required here (participial phrase)?

texts:
Free press was eliminated ensuring that nothing negative about the Nazis could be published.
Free press was eliminated , ensuring that nothing negative about the Nazis could be published.

Now, from what I know, I would leave a comma in the second example, but would I be able to omit it and why?


texts: When and why did competence become "competency"?

texts:
I don't remember ever hearing "competency" until circa 1970. When I first heard that form it sounded very silly, as if someone was trying to sound lofty via the addition of superfluous syllables.

Is there a context where "competency" is correct usage, and "competence" wouldn't do just as well?

Is it a recent (last 40 yrs) permutation, or is it my sheltered background that made it sound that way?

(Is anyone here old enough to know?)

Okay, that's three questions, sorry!


texts: "Which" Relative Clause--"Which", "Of Which", or what?

texts:
I'm struggling with a relative 'which' clause right now; I'm hoping to structure it a certain way, but while I feel like I've read it that way before, I'm just not sure if it's correct and I can't find any examples of that construction. Here's the sentence in question (and the clause in bold):

I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind, the latter which I consider little more than a reductive account of the former.

My goal is to communicate this without constructing an independent clause:

I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind; I consider the latter little more than a reductive account of the former.

The real snag is that I would use something like,

I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind, which I consider little more than a reductive account of the former.

but I'm not fond of using 'the former' without clarifying the subject of the relative clause with 'the latter' (the way I read it, 'which' could, in the above version, refer to 'any supposed distinction').
How, if at all, should I revise the first version of my sentence?
Would something like,

I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind, the latter of which I consider little more than a reductive account of the former.

be correct?


texts: What does dig mean in "You are dug into a position"?

texts:
The context is :

  I think you are dug into a position.  And you think it's a sign of weakness to change your mind.


texts: Is "I can't remember the name to it" a valid sentence?

texts: Is this a correct sentence. If yes, does this convey the same meaning as "i cant remember its name"


texts: the/a right person and the tallest person

texts:
Why is it 'tallest person' always only takes 'the,' and that 'right person' may sometimes take 'a' depending on what you mean?

I don't know how I should put it, but the 'comparative superlative + noun' and 'right + noun' are said to require the definite article 'the.' However, while the former always calls for 'the,' the latter sometimes licenses the use of 'a/an' when there are a lot of 'right' people etc. although, granted, most of the time 'the' is attached. What do you think makes the difference?

He is the tallest person in the class. [Nobody is the same height or higher]
He is one of the tallest people in the class.
He is a tallest person in the class. [NOT IDIOMATIC]
He is the right person to ask the question.
He is a right person to ask the question. [There are many other right people who could answer it]

EDITED: superlative >>> comparative superlative + noun


texts:
I'm learning British English. The r is usually dropped, so I never noticed a little thing, most of the time when I use an r before the th sound, my tongue does a kind of a tap or something between r and th.

When I say brother or brethren, for example (just with voiced examples, but the unvoiced do the same.)

I really don't know what it is called or if it is normal. My tongue does a tap down on my mouth.

I really am worried about this, because when I use American accent, it will be almost impossible. Saying 'More than four thieves' will be like a great challenge.

I'm sure I'm doing the r and th pretty well, because on th I spent five months practicing and the r exists on my dialect: southern region of Brazil.


texts: Single word for "making someone work hard to achieve perfection"

texts:
I am looking for a word which describes this situations: I will Train you day and night until you become the ultimate champion of your domain.

So I am looking for a word to replace Train you day and night

Your help will be highly appreciated.


texts: Addressing two cities in the same country

texts: Should I use "In 1347, the port cities of Messina and Genoa, Italy..." or "In 1347, the port cities of Messina, Italy and Genoa, Italy..."? just want to know if one is grammatically incorrect.


texts: Appositive relative clause - verb omission

texts:
I am struggling with this sentence:

  Each year more than a thousand people, half of whom children, die
  in bicycle accidents.

Why can the verb 'to be' be omitted in this sentence?


texts: When was the word phobia coined? And how did the concept of naming different phobias come into existence?


texts: What is term for person who dismisses your side of opinion

texts:
What is the closer term for a person (in a relationship) who argues with you but when it comes to you, he/she just dismisses you as being absurd without listening a any contrary opinion (probably because of a prejudice)
or or/and
what sort of manipulation is this called when one self claims such argument as one's victory without actually arguing or debating.


texts:
Is there a word or expression that describes a person who avoids speaking too loudly?

As in: After dating a girl who spoke so loudly all the time I had to frequently remind her to use her "inside voice", it is such a pleasure to be with Sally because she is so _________ and easy on my ears.

Words like "polite" and "courteous" come to mind, but they refer to an overall demeanor that is pleasant to be around.  If there isn't a single word or expression that indicates that someone avoids speaking too loudly, what would be a succinct way to describe this?


texts: The name of red box for packaging coca cola bottles

texts: What is the red plastic box (shown in the image below) called in English? It is used for packaging coca cola bottles, and holds about 24 of them.


texts: Opening-conversation for requesting a service over the phone

texts:
As a non English speaker with a non English name, I find myself opening quite a long question before I even get a confirmation about the fact that, the person in the other side can even help me in this particular case. All I need is a single interaction before I fire away the main question such as:

  Service Provider: Hello, this is Dan speaking, how can I help you?

  Me: Hi there, this is Mehrad here. How are you doing Dan?

  Service Provider: I am good, yourself?

  Me: Good, thank you. I have my internet connection with you guys and the technicians installed the box today, however, I still cannot
  get a connection despite the fact that ...

Except, I find asking how the provider is, a little bit strange sometimes. Is there a replacement for such an opener without being too obvious and asking questions like

  I have a problem with my internet connection. Could you help me on
  this matter? (when I am calling an ISP support service which it's
  sole job to help me with internet connection problems)


texts: a massive collection of conversations was created in the same way as when collecting postcards or telegrams or letters


texts: How to properly place hyphens in a suspended compound that includes a parenthesis?

texts:
What is the correct way to format the bolded portion of this sentence with respect to hyphens and associated spaces?

  A set of approaches that mitigates these issues, by learning the optimal control with respect to the full- (or infinite-) time horizon, stems from reinforcement learning.

Normally, I would say "the full-time horizon" or "the infinite-time horizon".


texts: How to express a chronological dependency?

texts:
How do I express a chronological dependency between two events? Is it alright to say :

  "Event A must be chronologically after Event B"?

Any suggestions are welcome.


texts:
I stumbled upon this word lately, as in

  he was wont to come early

I'm wondering what feeling it has for native speakers.

For example, can I use in a meeting, or in a written report?


texts: How to say that I've finished my master degree studies?

texts:
I've just finished my master studies in computer science and I'm writing a cover letter for a research internship.

How should I declare my studies background? I thought something like:

  I have a master in Computer Science...

But I don't know if there is a more proper way to say it.


texts: What's the meaning of "I casually drink alcohol" and "I socially drink alcohol"

texts:
If I said,

  I casually drink alcohol

or

  I socially drink alcohol

What would you think about how often I drink?


texts:
I was reading "The Man who was Thursday" from G. K. Chesterton when I found this sentence which I have not been able to fully understand because of the use of the word 'inroads'. I don't really understand how does the word 'inroads' work, neither in this sentence, nor in general.

  "If in a few moments this table begins to turn round a little, don't put it down to your inroads into the champagne. I don't wish you to do yourself an injustice."

Thank you in advance for your help.


texts:
Which tense would be most appropriate in next sentence:

"Providing the correct software (to be) available, I should be able to help them with their problems"

I would go for "will be" but I am not too sure about it.

Thanks


texts: What is a good transition word to establish or allude to a parallel?

texts:
I am looking for a word or phrase to replace "similarly" in the following sentence:

  "The obligation from making a promise is an obligation to someone; similarly, the wrong in breaking a promise is an interpersonal wrong, specifically a wrong against the person to whom the obligation was made."

"Similarly" seems too imprecise and doesn't convey the meaning I am trying to establish. I am tempted to use a word like "therefore," but I mean to indicate that the halves of the sentence should be thought of as parallel and not necessarily that the second follows from the first.


texts: A single word that could replace "You made me blush" sentence

texts:
Consider a person, A, did a kind gesture for another person, B.
Person B wanted to tell me how did that action make him feel.

The feeling is somehow around the meaning of "He made me blush".

Let's assume that I was offering someone a ride and I do that occasionally, and another person offered him a ride also, which is unexpected. He wanted to tell me that he's sorry while explaining his reasoning/feelings.

  I am sorry, Paul. I will be taking a ride with X, he made me feel [insert word here].

or

  I am sorry, Paul. X [insert word here] me, I am taking a ride with him today.

I thought about the word "embarassed" me, but this doesn't feel like it fits within the context I am looking for.


texts:
I have a sentence:

She's very busy working three jobs.

Is that present continuous? it confuses me that there is a verb in ing after an adjective

Or is a gerund?

Thanks.


texts: Do the ellipsis/ellipses (...) replace commas?

texts:
There is contradicting information on how to use the ellipsis/ellipses (and contradicting information on what its exact name is called--but that's irrelevant) so I'll ask. And I know it's mostly a matter of style, no universal rule, but:

Do the ellipsis/ellipses replace a comma? Specifically when the ellipsis/ellipses indicate a pause and not an ommission.

  This is the correct way of using it, ... isn't it?

(The spaces between the ellipsis/ellipses is only to avoid confusion between trailing off)

  But I prefer it like this ... but is that enough to show that this would be after a comma?

Currently, I've already read many smaller mentions of the above but nothing concrete enough to mention, which is why I ask.


texts:
Following is a paragraph from time.com.
What does “As a general rule, it’s like Vegas.” mean?

  While Priess said concerns about information leaks are reasonable given the controversies surrounding the current nominees, he thinks it’s unlikely a candidate would make that mistake: “As a general rule, it’s like Vegas.” While legal consequences are “extremely unlikely” in the event a candidate talks, he said there would still be “huge ramifications” politically.
  Unquote


texts:
Which one is grammatically fine?
I was surprised but then
having no knowledge about this issue. I came/went
back to my city.


texts: What's the difference between from and on vs on

texts:
Although few facts exists regarding the life of the Native American
  named Sequoia, the information that is available paints a colorful
  picture of this man on the plains.

Its one of those SAT Questions where you try to find the best phrase for the bolded words. The answer was "from and on the plains" but I don't get why the "from and on" is necessary opposed to just "on".


texts: Single word for the emotion of being alone in a crowd?

texts: Can anyone suggest to me a single word for the emotion of being alone in a crowd


texts:
What is a trooferism?
Personally, I found it in context:

Comic tropes that everyone else needs to get over:
[...]

Hysterical moral cause from 6 months ago that everyone already realized was bullshit, but in the comic is portrayed positively (9/11 trooferism, occupy wall street, feminism, trannies).

I can find quite a few occurrences of the word, but no definition. The closest I think was the heavily biased entry for Troofer in Urban Dictionary:

Term of abuse used by Bush supporters against anyone who is openly disbelieving of the Bush Administration's heavily propagandised 9/11 fairytale. The term is used most often in a derogatory way as an ad hominem by neocon trolls in order to avoid dealing with the facts, commonsense, and supporting links presented by 9/11 sceptics


texts: "I am the man, who commands you" vs. "I am the man, who command you"

texts:
In a passage I encountered:

To an inattentive reader, the expressions,

“I am the man, who commands you”

and

“I am the man, who command you”

[reformatted, EA]

may appear to be precisely equivalent. This, however, is by no means
the case —(See “The Etymology and Syntax of the English Language
explained,” p. 261, fourth Edition.).

I could not find the 4th edition of the referred book, and unfortunately not sure I understand the difference here.


texts: what is the rule in sentence "they have me doing"?

texts:
I'm better than what they have me doing.

Why do we speak like this? What is the role of "have" in the sentence? Why do we use ing after verb?


texts:
I'm looking for a word or phrase to describe a labeled behavioral pattern that we might observe in someone.

For example: A person whose focus is primarily on getting promoted, might be labeled a "corporate climber".

Clearly, this isn't a job title. I don't think "role" fits either, and "label" seems too vague. Other words I've considered but am not totally happy with: "stereotype", "personality type", "trait". It's hard to describe why I'm not happy with them though. I'm just hoping someone will suggest something else.

UPDATE: I'm thinking maybe "persona". I think "characteristic" answers my question, but it's not quite what I'm looking for, so probably the description in my question isn't right. Arrgh. Verbalizing things is so hard!


texts: "With probability", "with a probability", "with the probability"?

texts:
As a mathematician, I often write and read about probabilities. In the literature, I've seen versions of all the sentences below. Which one is correct?

This happens with probability (of) 30%.

This happens with the probability (of) 30%.

This happens with a probability (of) 30%.

In particular, what article should one use and is "of" correct/necessary?


texts: Is there a word like behold and hark but for any combination of sensory methods e.g. "be-sense"

texts:
I am looking for a word similar to behold and hark which applies to calling attention to or attending with senses to some phenomenon using any combination of sensory methods/channels (light, sound, touch, pressure, temperature, vibration, smell, taste) e.g. "be-sense", as in "Be-sense this peculiar animal", "Are you be-sensing that?" or "they be-sensed the asteroid impact without knowing what it was".

An earlier question hark behold smell asked if there was an olfactory equivalent of behold (visual sense) and hark (auditory-sense).

This question broaches the topic but doesn't address my specific question.

I was hoping to use behold until I read in this forum that it tends to be used exclusively for visual sensing.

I wish to exclude words which have cognitive connotations such as know, ken, perceive, notice.

As suggested by FumbleFingers the word sense on its own is technically a good fit but to me has connotations of subtlety e.g. "they sensed that something was not quite right".

I am also looking for a word that implies active concentration rather than passive registration in the manner of "he looked at" rather than "he saw", "she listened to" rather than "she heard", " we be-sensed" rather than "we sensed".


texts: I am looking for the most common way how people in US/Canada spell something like this, preferably in accordance with Chicago Manual of Style. What is the right way to spell the title "Diana and Tom's Grill" or "Diana's and Tom's Grill"?


texts: No need for an auxiliary verb in a sentence with 'related to'?

texts:
Can you explain why there is no need for the auxiliary verb to be before related in the following sentence:

Do you have any information related to the book?

What kind of grammar rules are applied in situations like this?


texts: Do we append consonants when linking words?

texts:
How should in an instant be spoken?

[ɪ nə nɪn.stənt]
[ɪn nən nɪn.stənt]

If we use second version, then we append [n] before [ən] and before [n.stənt].

How do I correctly link words together when speaking English naturally?


texts: Is there a word for a piece of medical data about the body

texts:
Is there a word or phrase which encompasses things like a heartbeat recording, x-ray scan, EKG output, a record of blood oxygen levels from a pulse oximeter etc.
What name would you give to data about a person's illnesses, ailments, diseases and medical condition? is too broad. I'm looking for something which would apply to each item, like record or datum.


texts:
During most of history, humans were too busy to think about thought.

Why is "most of history" correct in the above sentence?

I could understand the difference between "Most of the people" and "Most people".

Problem is why "Most of history" is correct.


texts:
According to the online Cambridge Dictionary, in British English the word soppy means:

  showing or feeling too much of emotions such as love or sympathy,
  rather than being reasonable or practical: a film with a soppy ending

  That's one of the soppiest stories I've ever heard! Some people are
  really soppy about their pets.

Or as an alternative definition, the OED offers:

  Full of mawkish sentiment; foolishly affectionate; inane, indulgent;
  occas. used affectionately.

Is there an equivalent US English word?

The story so far...

It seems that the usage of soppy to describe a person is that one that is hardest to translate to US English. Would a US English person understand "She is very soppy when it comes to her children." and if not, is there a US English equivalent?  It seems so far that you can't say "She is very sappy/saccharine when it comes to her children." and have a similar meaning.


texts: Word to describe a person who decides what to eat amongst a group of people?

texts:
The situation is as follows:

After a college alumni event, old classmates are all sitting in a roundtable to discuss which restaurant they should go to eat that night. There are total of 8 guys and 8 girls. As one guy asks, "Where should we eat?" others reply, "I don't care", "I don't mind. Anything is good", or "Whatever you want, man". For few rounds, nobody brings an opinion on where they want to dine in, except to leave comments such as, "I'm so hungry. I can eat a horse now".

Then, Peter stands up and say "Let's go to XXX. They have really nice foods and the prices are reasonable. We have to check this place out. I can guarantee you'll all love it!! Let's go!"

Question: What's the best word or expression to describe Peter's personality or the act of what Peter just did (made an opinion amongst a group in assertive manner) in this situation?

Example: decisive, assertive, charismatic

COMMENT: Please suggest me if you have any slang that fits in this context.


texts: What does Twain mean by "tares" in the last sentence in a letter to Walt Whitman?

texts:
I know the dictionary answer is vetch, an alfalfa-like plant.  Is he making a comparison between "wheat" and "tares?"  I realize this sounds like a homework question, but I'm over 60, and maybe a little nerdy.

  We have among us 600 years, good & sound, left in the bank of life. Take 30 of them—the richest birth-day gift ever offered to poet in this world—& sit down & wait. Wait till you see that great figure appear, & catch the far glint of the sun upon his banner; then you may depart satisfied, as knowing you have seen him for whom the earth was made, & that he will proclaim that human wheat is worth more than human tares, & proceed to organize human values on that basis.

Mark Twain to Walt Whitman on the occasion of Whitman's 70th birthday,
May 24, 1889


texts: What is the difference between younger and youngest?

texts: I just want to know as I have read in a paper article that a person has two brothers and one sister. However, that person mentioned one brother as younger and other siblings as youngest.


texts: Conditional Subjunctive and Conditional Indicative

texts:
I am confused. When should the conditional subjunctive and the conditional indicative be used?

Conditional subjunctive:

  If you were 23 yrs old, you could join the contest.

Conditional indicative:

  If you are 3=23 yrs old, you can join the contest.

A follow up:
In the conditional subjunctive, should the second verb be in the past tense?


texts: Can "off" and "from" be used interchangeably?

texts:
I am wondering if "Off" and "From" can be used interchangeably?

Such as:

I am taking this note off the document.
I am taking this note from the document.


texts: Does anyone know the exact origin and date of use of the English tri-part phrasal verb, "come up with"? It was started to be used around the early 1900s in the States, but what is the origin of its current use; that is, "to think up," "produce," "invent," etc.?


texts: Can I have a comma followed by a word at the end of a sentence?

texts:
Consider:

  During this time of self-reflection, King was introduced to the teachings of a man who fought on the other side of the world, Gandhi.

Is it legal to include a comma between "world" and Gandhi". I know that a colon is much better, but I want to know if a comma is also perfectly legal. And if it is, may I ask why?


texts: Differences in meaning between present perfect and present perfect continuous

texts:
Please help me to identify the difference between these two sentences

This building has always attracted many tourists.
This building has been attracting many tourists.


texts: When a name finishes in "s" can you say Jaume Casals's biography?

texts:
Is this sentence correct?

Here you can find Jaume Casals's biography.

I think the final " 's " is unnecessary, but I am not 100% sure. Could anyone help?

Thanks.


texts:
I am currently writing my thesis for a MSc in computer science. In some places I came up with short but crucial explanations or remarks that I wanted to show in a stand-out display to emphasize their importance.

So I show a little grey text box, with a title. As for now I chose Nota Bene as the title — see an example here:

  Nota Bene: If the dashed lines in the interface-graph (cf. Figure 7.2, on the right) are not explicitly included, a VPN network will essentially be represented by several disconnected graphs.

Now I am wondering if nota bene is something that I can use in this context. I know that is has the right meaning but I am unsure about the style. Does this feel pompous to you? Or old-fashioned?


texts:
This is the sentrence from the text about email and displaying advirtising.  What does the phrase "low conversion from large exposure" mean?

This is the nature of advertising, of course; about awareness and relatively low conversion from large exposure.
https://econsultancy.com/blog/67464-why-email-is-the-king-of-one-to-one-marketing

I found the definition of the phrase "advertising awareness" which means "Extent to which the intended audience or targeted customers are aware of an advertising message".

As for "conversion" I guess it relates to conversion marketing - the act of converting site visitors into paying customers.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_marketing

I would appreciate if someone explain this in simple words. Thank you


texts:
If you call someone a "funny onion" this means they are a strange person. I can find some references to this expression online (e.g. http://thefunnyonion.co.uk/newsletter/Oct2012/index.html) but nothing about its history or origin.

Where does this expression come from and when?


texts:
I have heard that the origin of the present perfect construction is that sentences like "I have it done" (passive) changed to "I have done it" (present perfect).

Is that true at all?

If that's the case, would anyone mind giving me an explanation in detail on how the change took place?

Moreover, if the passive construction used to be the only usage of past participles, why are they called "past participle" in the first place?


texts: A Tag-Friendly Word or Phrase Expressing Failure to Communicate Meaning Due to Word Choice

texts:
I'm a member over at IPS.SE and we are trying to think of how to word a new tag for questions. The phenomenon we are trying to describe is failure to convey an intended idea to a given audience because the speaker is using vocabulary that the audience happens not to know. The assumed context is that both parties share the same effective language (no foreign translations, obscure dialects, or regionalisms are presumed to be present). The issue includes use of technical jargon, but is not limited to that.

The most popular proposed tag (as of my writing this, at least) is 'communication-noise', referencing the idea of a signal-to-noise ratio. I'm being difficult in that I'm not convinced that's the best fit, but I can't think of anything that is clearer and similarly succinct.

The main elements to express are:

The intended meaning not being understood by the hearer
The reason for this failure being related to the speaker's word choice (that is, it's not a matter of blaming the hearer)

Ideally, the word or phrase chosen will not itself have too much jargon-ish character, but since the tag will come with an accessible description that's not a hard requirement.


texts: What is the proper preposition for "(job title) in / at / of (company name)"?

texts:
I am writing a cover letter for my job application, and I am not sure which preposition is proper to use at a sentence as below.
"Hereby, I am applying for the position of AAA (position title) in BBB (company name)."

I am not sure if "in" is the correct one or not. How about "at" or "of", instead of using "in".

I am applying for the position of AAA (job title) in BBB (company name).
I am applying for the position of AAA (job title) at BBB (company name).
I am applying for the position of AAA (job title) of BBB (company name).

And if you can tell me why, I would appreciate.
(Using proper preposition is the most difficult part for/to(?) me.)

Thank you in advance!


texts:
I need to etymologize the city name Dubai (United Arab Emirates) for a project. Etymonline only lists the origins as "uncertain" and Wiktionary traces it to دُبَيّ, the Arabic term for it (pronounced dubayy), but goes no further. Wikipedia says the city name can possibly be traced to an Arabic word meaning "money", but provides no concrete proof of that. Uae-tour.com took a completely different angle on it and said that Dubai comes from the Arabic for "locust". In short, nobody agrees on its origin.

Is there any concrete research on this? What is the general conjecture among etymologists? Any help at all here would be great.

Thank you.

I already went through a period with my question about the etymology of "Djibouti"; this is an English word because it's listed in English dictionaries; thus there is no reason to close a perfectly reasonable question.


texts:
What is the difference between using extend and extend for? What are the subtleties between these two phrases?

  I will extend your contract for as long as possible.

versus:

  I will extend your contract as long as possible.

Are they both even correct? Is it because using for implies a relation to time whereas without it, we are extending the object itself?


texts: Should I say "study materials" or "education materials" or "teaching material?"

texts:
I am building a web application where people can upload their study materials about robotics and programming and manage them and share etc.

I want to name it well, so at the moment I have:

  Information system for study materials of robotics and programming

Is this phrase grammatical? Does it sound idiomatic? If not, would these fit the context better:

education materials
teaching material


texts: Is there a one word synonym for insincere smile?

texts: I'm writing a story in which the last two words are currently "fake smile." It would be punchier if I could condense these two words into one - is there any such word?


texts: Comma usage in thanking a person for multiple actions: "thank you for doing A, and for doing B"

texts:
I am writing the Acknowledgments section in my thesis. Which, if any, of the following is correct?

"Jane Doe, thank you for caring for your students as people and for always taking the time to chat with me."

"Jane Doe, thank you for caring for your students as people, and for always taking the time to chat with me."


texts: What we should write in roman for ordinal numbers?

texts: As we write 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th what we should write in roman for the same way?


texts: How "macro" in computer programming came about

texts: The prefix macro- is normally used for large things like macroeconomics and macroscopic. How did it come to be used to describe text macros in the programming world?


texts: When talking about a year in the past, do you use by, in or before?

texts:
There has been a few questions on this but this one example has never really been answered. If you were writing a report on the year before and you wanted to say that the a project was completed in that year, would you say:

In 2018, the Genesis project was successfully completed
By 2018, the Genesis project was successfully completed

The meaning I want to convey is that during 2018, the project was completed, not before.

Thanks


texts: Why "broke" and not "broken" in "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"?

texts:
If it ain't broke, don't fix it

an idiom says. Why isn't it

  If it ain't broken, don't fix it

On the other hand the lyrics of a song "Victory" played by a band "Deliverance" are as follows:

The time has come for you to choose
Choose whom you will serve
As for me and my band
Christ we have chose to serve

Why isn't it

  have chosen to serve

What is that strange construction with the past form instead of the past participle? It looks as if a mistake had been made...


texts:
Is there a word for or a common expression that describes when a writer has decided to stop writing? Think of a poet or a book writer who has decided to stop writing.

The author has decided to retired from writing.
The author has decided to stop writing again.
The author has decided to stop writing until she finds reasons.
The author has decided to seal her pen.”

These are the ways I can think of, but I wonder if there specific words/expression. In Chinese, I’d just write 封筆, in which the first word means “seal”, and the second word means “pen/pencil/calligraphy brush” (you get the point).


texts: Why does "forsake" mean abandon considering "sake" means "for the purpose of"

texts:
"Sake" means "for the purpose of," e.g. "the couple moved to the coast for the sake of her health".

Forsake means "abandon (someone or something)", for example - "he would never forsake Tara."

When considering the meaning of "sake", why does "forsake" have such a different meaning?


texts: To drop or not to drop the s after the apostrophe (when the main word ends in s and the word has is being contracted)

texts:
If I want to abbreviate the sentence "Please fetch me the book; I think Jean has got it.", I can write "Jean's got it."

But what if it's Carlos who has it?

Assuming you prefer the style of possessives where you'd write Carlos' instead of Carlos's, is it ok to write Carlos' to mean "Carlos has" in addition to "of Carlos"?


texts: Apostrophe Use In Abbreviated Decade Which Is Also A Possessive

texts:
I always put apostrophes before abbreviated decades. Ex: The '60s.

However, what if you want to abbreviate a decade that is also possessive of the word that comes after it? Ex: Classic dance genres spanning from ‘60s soul to ‘90s house

Where does one place the apostrophe in these instances? Or is the only solution to not abbreviate... ex: 1960's soul to 1990's house


texts: To say properly when someone comes to sell goods (i.e. food) temporarily on site and leaves

texts:
I am looking for the right expression in English for a person - male or female - who comes to a site for the purpose of selling goods (i.e. food) usually for a bigger community and then leaves. This can be a regular visit to a company premises, for example.

In an enviromment when English is the second langugage, they would always say,
'The pancake lady is here!'
OR
'The man with the chimney cakes is here!'

However, I feel that somehow it's not correct. I would rather say,
'The pancake lady has arrived. Pancakes are up for sale!' OR 'Chimney cakes are up for sale at the reception!' or something like that.

Is it correct or incorrect to say , 'here' in such situations? Or is there better way to describe it when something happens temporarily for an interest but on a frequent basis?

Please help me to find the correct expresion or English idiom.


texts: Difference between ritual, festival, and ceremony

texts:
I am trying draw a line of distinction between these three events.

As I understand it:

  Ritual is somewhat related to a religion.
  Festival is associated with a group of people and that brings happiness.
  Ceremony is something that is followed by a group of individuals before performing a task.

Can someone please tell me if I am wrong, and also provide some examples?


texts: Noun Denoting Exponential Growth in a Small Time Frame?

texts:
I’m currently working on a history assignment that involves describing the expansion of the west, after the American Civil War. I could, in theory, grit my teeth and simply get over my reluctance to use more words than I really have to—but . . . Well, I, uh . . . /cough//cough/ . . . /awkwardly laughs/

Anyway! I was going to include the impact that the construction of railroads had on the economy; basically, it minimized the effort people had to exert in order to travel around. It was easier to get to other cities, towns, and (maybe) even states—more people settled in the western areas, which had been previously been next to impossible to traverse, courtesy of the Appalachian Mountains. Due to this, the economy was thriving.

What I would like to find out is whether a noun exists that denotes “an [extreme] growth in a very short period of time”. The reason I’m requesting a noun is for this reason:

  Transcontinental railroads conjoined the Atlantic coast with that of the Pacific, which directly resulted in (extreme economic growth in a short period of time).

Any and all suggestions are appreciated, and thanks for your time!


texts: Is there a collateral adjective for 'game'?

texts:
I was looking for an adjective that would describe anything game-like that is either taken directly from Ancient Greek or Latin. 'Ludic' comes to mind, but it came to assume the same connotations as the English 'playful'.

For example, 'Employers tried to raise the incentive of the employees by rendering the working environment x', where x would be an adjective meaning 'having a game-like structure'.


texts: Proper word for "civil claim won"? What is the English idiom if any? I am translating a legal text and the sentence is literally "state fees are awarded for the civil claim won"


texts: Should I reply in the past simple or in the present perfect?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
Present perfect for past action with present effect

Is this sentence correct? What exactly does it mean?

Person 1: Where did you hide my keys?
Person 2: I put them on the table.

Are they still there? What does it mean if I say this?
–or–

Person 1: Where did you hide my keys?
Person 2: I have put them on the table.

Does it mean that I put them there and they are still there, or I put them there, so they should be there?
Also, could I say, "where have you hidden my keys?" What would be the difference?


texts: What is the meaning of "contribute" in the following context

texts:
What is the meaning of contribute here?

  Plug-ins can contribute actionSets extensions that define actions with an
  ID, a label, an icon, and a class that implements the interface IActionDelegate.
  The UI will present that label and icon to the user, and when the user clicks on
  the item, the UI will instantiate the given action class, cast it to IActionDelegate,
  and call its run() method.


texts: What is the expected response to someone saying “Happy Vacations” to you?

texts:
Someone has messaged me: Happy vacations.

Are the following replies correct?

Now it would be good.
Same to you too!

Or should it be

Same to you too!
Now it would be good.

I want it to sound that my vacation will be all the better for his having mentioned it. What should the proper reply be?


texts: What will be the question for "he is my second son"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How should I phrase a question that must be answered with an ordinal number (e.g., the third prime)?
  How do you convert the sentence “George Washington was the first president.” to a question?
  How manyth son to your father?

What will be the correct question to get an answer like "he is my second son". Here the actual answer is the word 'second', which denotes the order.

Can the phrase 'ordinal status' be used? Like "What is the ordinal status of Mr. Singh among the prime ministers of India"? Is this correct?


texts: In Gary Bernhardt's talk about Ruby and JavaScript surprises, what does "wat" mean?

texts:
There's a video of a conference presentation by Gary Bernhardt about surprising behavior in the Ruby and JavaScript computer programming languages.

At the beginning of the video, Seth asks the audience:

  You guys know what 'wat' means?"

[He makes a 'wat' sound.  He also shows a silly photo of a donkey, perhaps on a boat, wearing some waterproof clothing and holding a cat.]

Someone from the audience replies with some reply which is inaudible in the video.

Seth tells the audience member:

  Exactly, exactly.

Well, what does "wat" mean?  I did a Web search for the query [ wat sound ], but didn't get any answer.


texts: Rebuilt/ Being rebuilt/ Having rebuilt/Having been rebuilt?

texts:
I have a question and really need your help!

  _____ a short time after the civil war, Atlanta has become the principal centre of transportation and commerce and finance in the south-eastern US.

A)    Rebuilt
B)    Being rebuilt
C)    Having rebuilt
D)    Having been rebuilt

The answer is A, but why B, C and D are wrong? Can you explain to me?


texts: Whats a word for someone who thinks everything is easy?

texts: I saw this word on a reddit post but I can't find that post no more but its describes a person who thinks everything is easy, and is very douchy. When you ask them a question, they'll be like, "oh thats easy" and then tries to give the most sophisticated answer possible.


texts: Origin & history of name "she oak" or "sheoak" (a Casuarina tree)

texts:
In wikipedia's Casuarinaceae article (and somewhat similarly in its Casuarina article), one finds:

  The most widely used common name for Casuarinaceae species is sheoak or she-oak (a comparison of the timber quality with English Oak). Other common names include ironwood, bull-oak or buloke, and beefwood ... [Cox & Freeland say] the name 'she-oak' is derived from Native America sheac - beefwood.

Unfortunately etymonline shows nothing on the etymology of sheac, sheoak, she-oak, ironwood, bull-oak, buloke, or beefwood.

Questions: What are the actual origin and history of the name she oak or sheoak?  How is "a comparison of the timber quality with English Oak" relevant to the name?  Was there actually a "Native American" influence in forming the name of an Australian tree?  And for extra points, explain why the Ngarrindjeri have a separate word, kula, for male she oak trees.


texts: It would seem that 'dense' would be 'packed with brains', which is the opposite of stupid.


texts: What is the correct word for a speech which is not smooth and with lot of stops ( probably the speaker is not able to find the right english words )


texts: Ambiguous use of infinitive after "It's needed"

texts:
After writing this sentence, I found myself thinking that its meaning may be a little confusing to other people:

  It’s needed to make clear some issues regarding absences.

I used the phrase to make clear &c to indicate what is needed. But every time I read this sentence, it seems like the phrase is being used to indicate purpose: the reason why it's needed.

Is it easy for native speakers of English to understand this sentence?

Additionally, how can one write sentences in a way that avoids kind of situation?


texts:
Supposedly, when combining an independent clause with a participial clause, you separate them with a comma.  But what about a sentence like:

We built this facility, using the latest technology.

To me, that comma seems odd there.

So if no comma is needed here, what's the difference between a sentence like this, and a sentence like:

He jumped down, creating a cloud of smoke.


texts: Can someone please explain the bolded parts to me?

texts:
The master said, with vehemence, "It's far above instinct; it's REASON, and many a man, privileged to be saved and go with you and me to a better world by right of its possession, has less of it *that this poor silly quadruped that's foreordained to perish;"* and then he laughed, and said: "Why, look at me—I'm a sarcasm! bless you, *with all my grand intelligence, the only thing I inferred was that the dog had gone mad and was destroying the child, *whereas but for the beast's intelligence—it's REASON, I tell you!—the child would have perished!"**

From A Dog's Tale by Mark Twain,

From what I understand many who have been privileged to possess REASON have less of it than a dog who is destined to be destroyed. am I correct? Does that mean than here?
With all my great intelligence I could only infer that the dog went crazy and tried to destroy the baby. I don't understand the rest of the sentence " whereas but for..."


texts: "Focused on target" vs "focused on the target"

texts:
If a light source is required to be focused on a target.

Then which one is better to write

the method requires the light source to be focused on target

Or

the method requires the light source to be focused on the target

Thank you


texts:
The following excerpt from 2 States: The Story of My Marriage seems to use the word editorial in a way that doesn't match its definition:

  "That's not rasam. Whatever it is, it's definitely not rasam. And what's that, the dark yellow stuff?"

  "Sambhar", the mess worker growled.

  "Eew, looks disgusting! How did you make it?" she asked.

  "You want or not?" the mess worker said, more interested in wrapping up lunch than discussing recipes.

  While our lady decided, the two boys between us banged their plates on the counter. They took the food without editorials about it and left.

I thought that editorial means something related to publishing, and not related to food or cooking. The dictionaries I consulted seem to confirm this:

Wiktionary

  noun 1. An article in a publication giving the opinion of its editors on a given topic or current event.

Oxford Dictionary Online

  noun a newspaper article expressing the editor’s opinion on a topical issue
  adjective relating to the commissioning or preparing of material for publication

These definitions look irrelevant to the context of the excerpt. Is there another dictionary that gives a more relevant definition? What does editorial mean in this context?


texts: Know the words meaning but not the sentence

texts:
what does it mean
"A conventional evening dress is worn in most instances, save where a ruff or frill is added to heighten the effect of the headgear."
any answer would be appreciated.


texts: If additive is "something added", what would be "something subtracted"?

texts:
Yes I know I can check the dictionary. But I can't find this part.

Additive is both noun and adjective. The antonym for the adjective usage is subtractive, because it's an adjective too. But I can't find a noun antonym for the additive as a noun.


texts: What did Terry Pratchett mean by "avec"?

texts:
Terry Pratchett used in his disc world novels the word "avec" as a common food ingredient for french (in his books named "quirmian" or "Quirm" for the country) food.

Excerpt from "Snuff" by Terry Pratchett:

  Say what you like, the food in the Quirm Watch House canteen was pretty damn good, even if they did use a shade too much avec, thought Vimes; avec on everything.

I suspect that it means "garlic", deriving from an ellipsis on the french wording "avec ail" - "with garlic".

Is this correct? Thanks in advance & GNU Terry Pratchett :-)

Edit: Of course I'm aware that "avec" is the french word for "with", but that knowledge alone didn't help me here ;-)


texts:
What's the difference between "to my mind", "in my opinion" and "in my view"?

In The Free Dictionary, "to my mind" is defined in all three cited dictionaries as "in my opinion" without offering any more explanation. On the other hand, the same dictionary defines "in my opinion" as "as I see it"

Is one more common in a specific context/instance? Is one used more commonly generally? Is there a difference between its use in BrE and AmE? Is one use more formal/dated than the other?

According to Cambridge Dictionary,when we are expressing our beliefs or opinions, we use "in my opinion" or (the third candidate) "in my view".

They are technically synonymous, but in common speech, is there a difference?


texts:
I've encountered the phrase “the once and future X” and I'm confused by it. It seems to be closely related to Arthurian legends: the book The Once and Future King (referring to Arthur) or the episode The Once and Future Queen of the TV show Merlin (referring to Guinevere; this use is likely derived from the aforementioned book).

When I try to understand what the phrase means, I would think it's something like “the one who was king in the past (i.e. once) and will be king again (i.e. in the future)”. But that doesn't make any sense to me, based on what I know about the legend of Arthur (which isn't much), he didn't stop being king and then became a king again.

So, what exactly is the phrase supposed to mean?


texts: The adjective for 'shit' is 'shitty'. And is there no different adjective for the British word 'shite'?


texts: A word meaning discord between the phonology of a word and its meaning?

texts: The word 'lauded' always gets to me, because I instinctively consider it to hold the opposite denotation. Is there a specific word for a word that holds that (completely subjective) quality?


texts: This is a phrase I hear extremely often, with some modifications to the subject. But it seems to be improper, because the sentence is ended with a preposition. What is the "correct" way to say this phrase?


texts: What is the term for the person leaving the position and person replacing the position in a secondment

texts:
In academia, professors will sometimes take a secondment where they take a break from their normal role and someone will temporarily replace them.

I am uncertain about the correct words for this process.  I think this is correct, but I am unsure.

The person leaving their position is called: The secondee
The person leaving their position is taking: A secondment
A person who is away from their position is: On secondment
The person replacing the secondee temporarily is: ?


texts: What’s wrong with saying “he has his mind in the right mindset?”

texts: My friend says its gramatically incorrect, what do you guys think?


texts: Correct interpretation of a "double-negative" in American Pop Culture (i.e. "I ain't afraid of no ghost!")

texts:
In the 2016 film Ghostbusters Dan Aykroyd states:

  I ain't afraid of no ghost!

To which a lady who looks like Jennifer Anniston replies:

  That's a double negative! That means you ARE afraid of ghosts!

Is this interpretation technically correct? I would've thought that a literal interpretation would've implied that he does not fear the absence of ghosts (or the absence of a ghost, or the ghost), rather than that he fears ghosts.

Which is correct?


texts: What is the difference between "I can't get any sleep" and "I can/'t get no sleep"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What does “I Can't Get No Satisfaction” mean?

I'd like to know the difference between these sentences:

  I can't get any sleep.
  I can get no sleep.
  I can't get no sleep.


texts:
Is it grammatically correct to use "although" in a modifying clause, but without a conjugated verb? Example:

  Although not regarded as nocturnal, the Black Bear of North America is active at night in some areas.

Or is it necessary to spell out the clause fully?

  Although it is not regarded as nocturnal, the Black Bear of North America...


texts: "Predicts the lack of ..." or "predicts a lack of ..."?

texts:
Which expression is better:
"It predicts the lack of new effects" or "It predicts a lack of new effects"?
Would be happy to hear your opinion.


texts: Reduced precision has an effect on results, but does not negate them

texts:
I am writing a technical research article.

I have an experiment where precision can be easily determined (bid-ask spreads for the economists). Calculating some formula twice based on the precise observation of the upper bound and the lower bound does change the results (obviously) and is not negligible, but it does not negate the theory that is underlying. That is, the effect of the measurement error is clearly visible, but in general the theory can still be accepted.

How do i express this in a concise way?

Thanks.

edit: Per request, more details.

I can observe market values, but with limited precision. I only observe two values, bid and ask, and the true value lies between those. Calculating measurements using bid-values gives me different results than using ask-values. Both results confirm the theory I'm testing. The difference exists, but it does not fundamentally change the conclusion that the theory itself can be confirmed.

Is there a concise expression for 'confirms, but not as strongly' or 'doesn't negate, but differences are considerable'?

I guess it is obvious why I need a concise expression...


texts: What’s a “dissipated” garment supposed to be?

texts:
"Just one thing", said the tailor. "A touch to your waistcoat". He unbuttoned the dissipated garment and did it up again more symmetrically.

I've looked up the word dissipated and still I can't seem to understand what it means in this case, when used with garment.


texts: What is the meaning of "one-half meter"?

texts:
I have found this phrase that as a non-native English speaker perplexes me:

  ...returning images with a resolution of up to one-half meter per pixel.

The possible meanings of "one-half" to me are:

Every pixel represents half a meter
Every pixel represents one and a half (1.5) meters
Every pixel may represent any possible distance between the minimum of half a meter and the maximum of one meter
Something entirely different

Can you please explain?

N.B. Is it

one and a half meter

OR

one and a half meters ?


texts: Why do some early modern English writers use an apostrophe in art (ar't)?

texts:
For example, in Verses upon the duke of Buckinghams returne from the Ile of Rees (https://www.english.cam.ac.uk/ceres/ehoc/lessons/lesson1/index.html) the poet spells "art" as "ar't" in the phrase "And ar't return'd again with all thy faults..."

What is that apostrophe eliding?

Addition: I see that the OED shows "art" as the second person singular (archaic) of the verb "to be", with a citation "1535   Bible (Coverdale) Psalms cxxvii. 2   O well is the, happie art thou." So there is a use with the following "thou", so "ar't" can't be a contraction of "are thou".

My thoughts are converging on the apostrophe being a mistake (much like so many people now use apostrophes in plurals - "Pad's available") caused by the writer thinking that "art" is a contraction of "art thou". Shakespeare uses "Art cold?",
"art mad?" in King Lear without the apostrophe (ref First Folio), but later writers quoting King Lear insert the apostrophe for some reason (cf Wells, Poetic Imagery, 1924).


texts: Why is ‘I recommend her to speak to a lawyer’ wrong?

texts:
We'd recommend you to book your flight early.
  Students are recommended to make an appointment with a counselor.

are correct, while

  I recommend her to speak to a lawyer.

is wrong.

Why is the third sentence wrong?


texts: Word/phrase to describe someone who talks exaggeratedly using colloquial language and repetitions

texts:
I need a word/phrase to describe someone who talks as in the example below:

  Ya, you should check it out. Check it out. And
  you gotta try some Cincinnati
  chili. It’s chili like you never
  had. Trust me. L.A. Chili?
  England Chili? Forget about it.
  They make it here with cinnamon and
  chocolate and they serve it over
  pasta. Imagine that if you can.

  You oughta check it
  out...Check...it...out. The zoo is
  great. World class, they say.
  Many, many important, you know
  whatchamacallit, endangered
  species, breeding programs, you
  know. They’re famous for it.
  Pandas. Other things. Owls.


texts: What is the difference between 'until' and 'up until'?

texts:
I guess It's just that the second one is more emphatic, and perhaps more informal.
But which one would you prefer after stressing words like 'right' and 'even'?

She kept studying right until dawn.
She kept studying right up until dawn.
He did not give in, even until his last breath.
He did not give in, even up until his last breath.


texts:
It's included the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
I'm just curious if it is acknowledged as a proper form of "prayer."


texts: What is the history of adding the a- prefix to form words?

texts:
I have always found the a- prefix to words (as in anew, ajar, aside, awake, afoot, a-hunting, etc.) fascinating. The NOAD says on this topic:

  a- 2.  prefix

  •to; toward : aside | ashore.

  • in a specified state or
  manner : asleep | aloud.

  • in the
  process of (an activity) : a-hunting.

  • on : afoot.

  • in : nowadays.

  ORIGIN
  Old English , unstressed form of on.

  a- 4. prefix

  1 of: anew.

  [ORIGIN: unstressed form of of ]

  2 utterly: abash. [ORIGIN: from Anglo-Norman
  French (corresponding to Old French
  e-, es-), from Latin ex.]

While this gives quite a few examples, it leaves some areas of doubt to me:

At what time did this phenomenon happen?
It seem quite restricted to words of Saxon origin, as I don't see it used with words of Romance languages. Is that a consequence of point 1, or is it because usage wouldn't aggregate an Old English prefix with, e.g., a word of French origin?
Were there others words formed which haven't endured?
Arguably subjective: I wonder how it came to pass that the same prefix is used with so many different meanings.


texts: Using "single + superlative" to emphasize

texts:
Consider this question:

  What is the single longest Presidential Campaign run in the United States?

Is the word single used here only for emphasis? Are there any sentences where its use (when followed by a superlative) cannot be avoided without changing the meaning of the sentence?


texts:
Below, “room temperature” takes the article “a” in one case but not the other. “Temperature” seems like a countable noun, so why no article in the first case? What is the grammar that is working here?

  Keep the office at room temperature.
  Keep the office at a room temperature of 22C.


texts: Can lead to improvements "at" a collective level?

texts:
Can I say

....can lead to improvements at a collective level

or should it be the following?

...can lead to improvements on a collective level

Which one is the correct preposition in this case?


texts:
When writing a letter to officials you don't know the sex of, do you say Dear Madam / Sir or Dear All?

How do you avoid the fact that you don't know the sex of the official(s) to whom you are writing?


texts: Should one suspend a hyphen when using "two- to three-digit" phrase used as an adjective?

texts:
Example

  Sally alerted her accountant to four to five digit revenue discrepancies in the budget.

Should it be:

  ...to four to five digit revenue discrepancies

or with a suspended hyphen:

  ...to four- to five-digit revenue discrepancies


texts: Do we use 'competent' to indicate the person or body responsible for something?

texts:
EU texts often refer to the 'competent body', 'competent department or 'competent official', meaning the body, department or official that is responsible for the activity in question. For example:

  Since more direct contacts between the authorities and officials of the Member States might be necessary for reasons of efficiency, the provisions on delegation and the designation of competent officials should also be maintained.

Do we use competent like this?

The OED gives: Law. Legally qualified or sufficient. While ODO gives: (Of a court or other body) accepted as having legal authority to deal with a particular matter.

Maybe the concept of 'other body' can be extended to include officials?


texts:
Which one should I use for page title?

  Apple — Tasty Fruit
  Apple — A Tasty Fruit
  Apple — The Tasty Fruit

The article is only about tasty apple.


texts: Does this mixture between pronunciations have a name?

texts: If a person pronounces a word with the sound /ɒ/, for example not, but says /kɑr/ instead of /kɑː/, does this mixture receive a name?


texts: Single word for driving/flying tank, submarine, and plane

texts:
From a reddit comment:

  I have the training to fly thirteen different aircraft, two types of tanks, and a nuclear submarine.

Fly doesn't really work with tanks or submarines. What's the best way to properly state this sentence? Is there a good single word to replace fly, or do we have to say something like...

  I have the training to fly thirteen different aircraft, drive two types of tanks, and [whatever] a nuclear submarine.


texts:
What is the word that means a 'what if' phrase?

In a college course, I vaguely remember, the instructor wrote a word on the board that loosely meant or perhaps described any sentence that was a what-if statement. If I remember correctly it was essentially a word for classes of phrases, like say an appositive phrase. It was a more technical word, not something common like hypothetical, and for the life of me I can't recall it. Any help would be much appreciated.


texts:
I have the following sentence in my thesis.

  I employ X excluding the A layer and the B function.

Although I know that I can skip the second 'the', I use it.

But I need to add one more like this.

  I employ X excluding the A layer, the C layer, and the B function.

Or should I write this?

  I employ X excluding the A layer, C layer, and B function.


texts:
Is the usage of "how much" in this context, correct?

And if it isn't, is this expression "this is too much car for me to handle?" correct?
So when can "how much" be used with countable nouns and vice versa?